Hunted or Busted: A Side Story

Dusted 3: Flash Origin: Taking Steps

Happy holidays to all!

((((((((Hunted))))))))

Minato's feet pushed harder than they ever had before as he desperately attempted to overwhelm the toad Faunus in front of him. He charged across the grass towards the Faunus smirking and bouncing on his feet. The blond yelled and leapt up, spinning with his leg out with a kick aimed for Jiraiya's temple.

The toad ducked under it and stepped to the side as Minato stumbled when he landed on the ground. He turned and ran at the older man with his knife chambered at his side. He stepped in and swiped for Jiraiya's chest but his guardian merely held out his hand and stopped Minato from making the full swing.

The young blond yelled as he was yanked forward and had his feet knocked out from under him. Jiraiya pulled him around, throwing him into the ground and making him bounce off the dirt. Minato grunted before he came to a stop and coughed into the dirt. The fourteen-year old grumbled under his breath as he pushed himself up.

"You wanna call it quits for the day? Because I'll be honest watching you come running straight at me over and over is enough to make me cry for a few hours."

Minato clenched his teeth and snarled at the older man. He heaved himself up and charged at the toad again. Jiraiya rolled his eyes and raised his arm in preparation to stop the knife chambered at the boy's side.

Minato threw the blade and Jiraiya's eyes widened before her jerked his head aside while the blade flew past him.

His arms raised to block the spinning kick the blond fighter tried to land across his face. Minato pulled his foot back and kicked up dirt as he ran in to attack the Faunus. Their difference in height was very noticeable when they faced each other in combat, Jiraiya towering over the growing lad and having to reach down to block Minato's swings. But the boy was undeterred by the gap, pressing on and trying to attack Jiraiya's chest and guts before they were blocked by his iron-like hands.

The blond took a different route and dropped on the ground, swing his foot out for the toad's feet in order to sweep his legs. Jiraiya easily raised his legs and avoided the sneak attack, even when Minato continued to move over the ground to try and sweep the out. The toad took a few steps back, raising his legs each time, before lunging forward to stomp on the boy. Minato rolled back, braced himself in the dirt, before kicking up to strike Jiraiya's crotch.

Aura was extremely powerful and resilient. It could take the force of a lethal attack and save the person from a life-threatening injury. If someone's arm was hit with an immense speed and force, Aura could be the difference between a broken and swollen arm or a bleeding, messy stump. There would always be some lingering pressure from an attack taken by Aura, but it would be paltry in comparison to an attack taken without one.

But even so, some people act on reflex.

"NOT THE BOYS!" Jiraiya yelped as he cupped his crotch and jumped back before Minato could hit it.

The blond boy smirked with his opening finally revealing itself. He leapt off the dirt, slid under Jiraiya's legs while he was protecting himself, and ended up behind the Faunus. He reached out and grabbed his knife off the ground before leaping up and swinging for Jiraiya's neck. The Faunus looked back in time to see the blade flash towards him, and Minato grinned as he knew he won.

An open palm appeared directly in front of his face and he felt a powerful shockwave knock him through the air and away from his target.

Jiraiya flinched as he watched his ward flying through the air and tumble into the ground before reaching the trees. The toad chuckled shamefully, "M-My bad! Reflex!" The Faunus laughed nervously before running over to check on him. He saw the teenager struggle on the ground as he kneeled down, "Uh, you okay?"

"I-I think I'm gonna be sick."

"You're not sick, you're just a little nauseous. I'm pretty sure I rattled your eardrums with that hit." Jiraiya helped the teen sit upright and let him rest against a tree to catch his breath. The toad sat down beside him and waited for him to recover, "If anything you should consider that a compliment. That last attack was good enough that I had to use my Semblance."

"If I throw up, it's on you."

"Look I know it's my bad you don't have to keep reminding me."

"That's not what I meant."

"Don't you dare." Jiraiya sighed, running a hand through his hair as Minato finally started to collect himself again. The toad added, "By the way this was training and you have Aura, so don't go crying to any services about me hitting you-"

"Why do you have to bring that up each time?" Minato said as he took a deep breath and groaned into his hands, "What the hell? How much longer is it gonna take?"

"It's different for everyone. Took me a while before I finally discovered mine."

"Yeah but over a year? I don't think it takes most people this long to discover their Semblance. Most of the other kids in my class already have theirs mastered."

"If anyone in your class said they've mastered their Semblance already then they're full of shit and you should tell them that." They sat in silence, Minato raising an eyebrow before Jiraiya shrugged, "Okay don't actually say that but you should know they're blowing hot air. To master something means to have complete control of it and how it can be applied in any scenario, and a real master would know there's always something more to do with your abilities."

"Man, I hope when I finally get mine it's something super powerful and awesome." Minato grinned as he looked up wistfully, "Could you imagine if I could shoot energy beams out of my hands? O-Or if I could control the weather - bringing down thunderstorms and tornados with a wave of my hand! Oh it's gonna be so cool!"

"Yeah, don't expect anything like that when you finally get yours." He laughed at the young man's wild wishes, "Semblances are supposed to be a reflection of yourself. Do you really think yours will let you do crazy stuff like that?"

"Um...if I really think I'll make lasers or control weather, would that work?" Minato floundered under Jiraiya's dry glare before he shrugged, "Okay it probably won't be anything big like that, but I at least hope it's powerful like yours."

"Making shockwaves wasn't the easiest thing to learn to control." The toad casually held out his hand and released a small shockwave from his palm. It released like a pop in the air around his palm, causing a quick flutter of wind and shaking some of the leaves above him when it did, "I can't tell you how many times I knocked people away or blew myself off my own feet trying to get this thing under control. It was ridiculous."

"But you figured it out in the end. And now you can shatter boulders with a punch and pop Grimm. Literally pop them! You make a show of it every time you bring me out in the wild!"

Jiraiya cackled and scratched his head, "Hahaha, I'm nothing if not an entertainer!" The white-haired Faunus shook his head and finished his chuckle with a sigh, "But it takes a lot of work to finally get your Semblance to work to a fine degree like that. Some people are blessed with brilliant talent, and some have to do it by trail-and-error. Lots of it. Too much. Too much collateral damage and expenses to be paid because of some honest accidents."

"Well I can guess which one you had to go through." Minato watched quietly as Jiraiya started to mumble lowly to himself, lamenting his past mistakes and reliving the trauma of all the reimbursements he must have paid. The blond teen looked down at his knife and gently gripped it in his hand.

His father and Jiraiya looked so powerful and unmatched when they were fighting. Even Jiraiya's friends, Tsunade and Orochimaru, looked unbeatable when they moved and attacked. But they didn't just become like that overnight. They didn't pick up their weapons or step into a battlefield and know what they were capable of doing.

It was going to take time until he reached that level. Lots and lots of time and practice. Which was a bit of a bummer, but at least he had a clear visual of what he was aiming to reach when he could become that powerful.

And there was no point in wasting any more time.

"Hey," Minato spoke and finally got Jiraiya to stop mumbling to himself. He spun the blade around in his palm before pointing back to their training field, "Are you gonna call it quits now? Because I'm ready to get back to it if you're are."

"Cheeky shit." Jiraiya smirked. He lifted himself up and stretched his arms, walking over to his spot so he was across from his sparring partner, "You might not have a Semblance yet but you could make up for it with fighting ability. That last part when you lost your temper and started attacking without a pattern was pretty good. You might wanna try that."

He remembered actually being able to attack Jiraiya and make him step back, and he remembered what it felt like when he did. That feeling of helplessness and being so weak he couldn't do anything. The idea that he'd have to feel like that again in a clutch made him sick and filled with anger. He would never feel helpless again. If he could have his way no one would ever have to feel that way again.

Minato gripped his knife and charged, Jiraiya smirking as he prepared to block him.

When he became a Huntsman...when he became strong...he would never let someone feel that fear or despair ever again. Wherever he was needed...he'd help those he could!

Minato leapt at Jiraiya and the toad prepared to block his knife.

Until the blond teen disappeared in a flash of yellow light.

Jiraiya blinked in shock before he heard a sudden gasp and rustling of leaves behind him. He looked over his shoulder and spotted Minato lying on a branch in one of the trees. The boy seemed just as confused as him as he looked around in confusion, "What just-"

Another flash and he was gone. Jiraiya heard a grunt and looked aside to see Minato lying in the grass. He lifted himself up but then appeared by the edge of the forest with another yellow flash. He started disappearing and reappearing all over the area, slamming into the ground and bushes and trees before flashing away again. He tried to get a word out before he disappeared each time and Jiraiya found himself being talked at from all directions.

His ward continued to teleport all around him as the toad nodded, "Okay...I think we found out what you can do."

((((((((Hunted))))))))

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