When Stars Collide | Book 2 | Sasuke X OC

Step Four: Silence and Stealth 🐯

**Authors Note** Again, just in case you didnt catch it at first, my character looks like the girl above. Her clothing for the remainder of "Shippuden". If you ever forget, just look at the cover photo.

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I was lying in a grass field when out of nowhere, I was being attacked by baby tiger cubs. I felt the ground movement, but they were silent, making them almost undetectable.

"Where did you come from??" I laughed tickling their stomachs.

"Mei told us to stalk you and POUNCE!" One said, and I knew exactly what the next thing was.

"Silence and Stealth." I heard Mei come from the grassy plains. I didn't even notice her. "Us bigger cats stalk our prey when we hunt. We are silent and stealthy. You have learned from Aina how to feel vibrations, but what happens when those vibrations are minimal?" I lowered my gaze trying to answer the question realizing that may be a real-world situation.

"Exactly."

"Alright! Let's begin!" I followed her into the forest, but she was moving quick, "Wait! Hold on! Wait for me!" I noticed I had lost and then realized she's already training me. Silence colored the air, and everything was still. It reminded me of the lush forest I walked through heading to the Village. "Mei?" I turned around to find her, and she vanished. I focused my chakra on my feet, trying to feel the vibrations in the area, but there were none. It was as still as the air until I felt a twig snap under my foot. Swiftly, I was tackled to the ground by Mei. "Where did you--"

"This is Dead Forest. You will be running from me; I will only move when I hear a crack from the twigs below you. I will then find you and tackle you." She growled, "Run..."

As I sprinted through the forest, the sound of snapping twigs echoed behind me. I caught sight of her chasing me, her determination evident. In a daring move, I darted upward into the trees, narrowly avoiding her pounce from below. However, she was quick to react, leaping into the air and knocking me off balance, sending me tumbling to the forest floor. 

"For us cats, we have a soft step. We are calculated, and when ready to pounce, we can attack and bring down our prey. For humans, that's not normally the way it works. You have hard footsteps; they land without grace. You need to use the air around you and the energy you felt while training with Aina to push the chakra to your feet. This will allow you to glide across the surface with minimal sound. The hardest part is not cracking the twigs below you with your chakra." She let my small frame go and motioned me to run again, this time focusing on the chakra in my feet.

I took a step and cracked a twig and then another, and it continued to happen. I pouted and flailed my arms around, "There are twigs everywhere!"

"That's because you are not running. Running helps you glide. You need to run or quickly pace yourself for it to work. The air around you will push you off, and then you will be able to glide. You need to be...well... quickfooted." I gave one head nod and started to run. I was okay for about a minute, and then *SNAP*, Mei had begun running towards me, and I was already pinned to the ground in seconds. The sun started to set, there was a beautiful exit up ahead, and I wanted to run to it.

"We should head back. You need to--- Hikari?" I was already at the edge of the forest, looking at the view from above a cliff. Clouds overlayed the sky, the sunset was in perfect view to the west. The sky was turning a soft pink and purple, and the clouds sat looking fluffy. "You did it." I looked back and saw Mei.

"Did what?" She looked at me, confused.

"You ran away without me hearing a snap of a twig. You didn't notice?" I thought about it for a second, and she was right. I didn't realize it at first. "Was it because you were not thinking about it?" I stood there without an answer. "Never mind that. We can try again tomorrow."