I may not look like much, but I’m a pro at pretending to be a ninja

Pon and Zi

As soon as the buzzer indicating the start of the first round went off, her whole body became tense and the first thing Huiyin thought to do was run.

Her instincts told her that she needed to be on the move and that she needed to get a blue flag as soon as possible, but her actions suggested otherwise. Her feet remained firmly fixed on the shiny, silver plaque. Cold sweat formed on her hands when she realised that moving around may not be the best option for her as she was unfamiliar with the area.

Her brain presented her with an alternative — to hide from the enemies.

If they couldn’t find her, they couldn’t kill or hurt her. They couldn’t take her flag either. If she hid, she would be able to wait for Chanyeol and Yixing to find her and then at least she’d be in one piece; that is, if she wasn’t found by someone else.

With a groan, she looked around cautiously. The place she had been taken to was by the base of a cliff. If she took a few steps back, she’d be in the view of whoever happened to be at the very top. To her right she could hear running water and assumed she was close to a lake or a river of some sort, but other than that she was completely surrounded by green. Rubbing her temples, Huiyin sighed this time.

Why hadn’t they discussed possible scenarios and tactics in the days leading up to this competition?

Maybe she could hide their flag somewhere and once they picked up another flag, they could come back and pick up their original flag and— “That’s a stupid idea,” Huiyin muttered under her breath. What if they got lost on their way back to their first flag?

“I need to find Yixing and Chanyeol.” She sighed, glancing around once more. “If I were looking for someone, where would I look first?” Her mind brought back the image of the many contestants in the gym earlier and she shuddered, reluctant to take a step in any direction. Going anywhere without a plan seemed stupid — with the amount of people entering the competition, Huiyin could easily run into the wrong people and they could easily tear her apart.

She hadn’t yet completely gotten the hang of controlling her power, though she had definitely improved since the first time she used it. Defending herself and/or attacking others would take a bit of work. Chewing on her bottom lip, Huiyin finally decided to head in the direction of the running water.

Who knew, maybe she could make a storm or a blizzard if she really needed to.

*

“If you were Huiyin, where would you hide?” Chanyeol asked, looking around the forest leisurely as if he was taking a stroll through the park. Yixing grunted.

“I don’t know, in a bush,” was his reply. Chanyeol made a face. In a bush? That was a little boring. “Why are you asking me? You should know her better than I do.”

“I was hoping for some kind of a new perspective on things, but,” Chanyeol hummed and Yixing felt like his answer was going to make him regret teaming up with them. “In a hill!”

Yixing paused to stare at him as though he was an alien. “In a hill? Not on a hill?” Chanyeol grinned.

“You saw her make that huge hole in the gym in our first week! She could’ve blown through some rock and made herself a cave and then blocked the entrance!” Yixing resisted the urge to tie his companion to a tree and leave him to go and look for Huiyin on his own.

“I’m sure we would’ve heard that if she did. It’s dead silent in here.” And it was. Apart from the occasional rustle of the leaves, a bird’s call and the crunch of branches and dirt under their shoes, they couldn’t hear anything. No fighting, no yelling, no sign of human interaction. It made Yixing wonder how big the forest really was, and if there were other things within the forest (like the dragon Chanyeol dreamed up before they entered).

He was sure that by now they would’ve run across some other team and needed to have fought, but then there was also the fact that no one knew what colour their flag was. Until they knew, they couldn’t randomly go around fighting teams for flags they didn’t have. It’d be a waste of time and energy.

Yixing suddenly looked at Chanyeol with a stern expression, making the scientist slightly uneasy under his gaze.

“Is there something wrong?” Chanyeol asked. Yixing merely turned his head to his right. The taller one followed suit and patiently waited for the healer’s response. “Yixing?”

Yixing quickly snapped his head towards the Chanyeol and ran towards him. Chanyeol wanted to put his arms out so Yixing wouldn’t run into him, but he was too slow. Their bodies collided, forcing Chanyeol to fall on his back with Yixing on top of him.

“Ouch! What’s wro—” Before Chanyeol could complete his complaint, he felt something wet drop onto his cheek. The light behind Yixing made it difficult for the scientist to see anything other than Yixing’s silhouette. Chanyeol’s heart clenched, as he felt something was wrong. His body quickly shuffled, pushing Yixing off in the process and his vision finally grew clearer.

Chanyeol’s eyes widened when he saw the vibrant red trickling down Yixing’s forehead. A good chunk of his skin was scraped, allowing his flesh exposed. He wiped the wet spot on his cheek, only to see red screaming at him on the back his hands. His heart sunk and his hand shook. He then noticed how limp the healer’s body became so he quickly grabbed hold of him, but Yixing pushed him away.

“G— go, now!” Yixing demanded breathlessly. Chanyeol was reluctant until he saw Jongin standing just two metres away from them.

“Why are you attacking us?! We don’t even have a flag yet!” Chanyeol yelled, only to earn a smirk from Jongin.

“This is the perfect chance to rid those who oppose our Prince. Opposing the Prince means opposing the Empire. I’m only doing my job.” He explained with a shrug, taking out two daggers from his pockets.

Chanyeol felt his throat tighten, not allowing any air in or out of his lungs. His erratic heartbeat was the only sound he could hear although he could see Yixing’s distress face shouting at him, possibly telling him to leave, but he couldn’t hear a word. Moreover his body felt as if it weighed a tonne and he couldn’t even lift a finger, let alone run.

Just when Jongin was perfecting his aim and Chanyeol was preparing to die within the first ten minutes of the first elimination round, Jongin’s hands turned blue. Chanyeol’s eyes furrowed at the sight, and he blinked a few times, making sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. This time, the daggers were painted with a glistening coat of blue and the scientist believed he’d never seen such beautiful daggers in his life.

Jongin rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue. “I see how it is. Let’s play again in the real battle rounds then.” And Jongin disappeared in a split second.

Clueless Chanyeol was breathless from the sudden occurrence. He glanced down at Yixing who seemed to have trouble holding himself up. Just as he was about to help him, someone else beat him to it.

“Here, drink this. I believe there was something on the dagger that paralyzed you,” said Minseok, pouring a yellow substance into Yixing’s mouth. “Ironic, isn’t it? A healer cannot heal himself.”

“I— It was you?” Chanyeol gasped in surprise. “So that was…ice? Your powers are amazing! Thank you so much!”

Minseok giggled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “My powers aren’t that great.”

“Why did you help us?” Yixing asked, finally able to stand on his two feet and dust off the dirt on his clothes.

“I want us to become allies.”

“Sure!” Chanyeol beamed brightly at his new companion. Minseok was about to smile back until he noticed Yixing’s sceptical gaze.

“Why should we trust you?” Yixing asked. “Because I worked with you guys?”

“No. Though I’m sure Luhan would look after your team because you’re working with him, but I generally wanted to give you guys this,” Minseok said, handing Chanyeol a blue flag. “Huiyin is holding a red one. Go find her now.”

“But why?” Yixing asked again.

“Luhan has done a lot of things he shouldn’t have. I just want to do something to compensate the things he did to you guys.”

“And why should you pay for his doings?” Chanyeol asked.

Minseok’s head hung low as a shadow of sadness draped over his head. “Because I’m the reason he’s doing all this.”

Just when Chanyeol was about to ask another question, the movement below his feet diverted his attention. The ground was shaking rapidly until cracks surfaced, pulling the ground apart until two platforms were formed. The three of them swayed in various directions to maintain their balance. Once the earthquake stopped, a loud crash in the distance was heard, followed by the voice of an eagle in the sky.

“That’s Sehun! I have to go now.” Minseok said, giving them a slight wave as he ran towards the direction of the eagle.

Yixing and Chanyeol shared a look. ”We’d better get Huiyin. The faster we get out of this round, the better for us.”

*

A rustle of leaves caused Huiyin to automatically drop behind a bush. Covering with her hand, she felt her heart pounding in her chest and heard her blood rushing in her ears. "Damn it, where the hell is she?"

'That’s not Yixing and Chanyeol,' she thought.

"Lets try over there." With wide eyes, Huiyin carefully parted a branch, peeking between the gaps of the leaves to see two pairs of legs walk away from her spot, but that didn't make her any less nervous.  Letting go, she counted to twenty before easing herself onto her feet again, avoiding any branches or anything that would cause her to make too much noise.

Better to be safe than sorry. She didn't want those guys coming back, thinking she was their teammate and then engaging in a fight with them when they found she wasn't. She was sure she'd lose; she would be outnumbered and with her minimal training, it was obvious who would win.

As the rush of water became louder with every step, Huiyin allowed herself to make more noise, continuing to keep a cautious eye on her surroundings. At least the sound of the water would cover any small noises she made. The whole time she held the red flag in her hand, chewing her cheek in worry that people would see and would chase after it like a bull, especially if they had a blue flag.

Stumbling through a bush and onto the riverside, the scientist looked around, catching her breath. There didn't seem to be anyone around—

"Um, excuse me?"