A quick note: Firstly I do not own any of the material used in this story excluding my own creations.
This stroy starts when Zabuza and Kakashi are fighting for the first time. Kakashi is currently trapped in a water prison.
I am still pretty young so please excuse any mistakes. It would also be nice if someone could tell me how to spell shuriken. This is my first story. Hope you enjoy!
Edit: I just changed the spacing to make it easier on the eyes. It's split pretty randomly. Please review!
Chapter 1: Revealed!
She ran. Faster and faster, harder and harder. Her breath tore at her throat. "On my own terms." She would live by her nindo. No matter what. She skidded to a halt. Bushes blocked the path. Almost unconsciously, she scented the air. Blood, that rusty metal smell.
Ahead was her destination. She crouched low and slipped off her backpack. Her fingers scrabbled for the zip. She slowly opened the bag, all too aware of the "zzzzzzzzz" it made. She reached in and her fingers met smoothness. She grasped and pulled out a plain scroll.
The woman bit under her nail and watched as blood slowly welled from her digit. She thought for less than a moment before smearing her blood on the cream of the scroll. A small column of steam wafted up from the paper. "Hand seals." She worked rapidly.
As she finished the last seals, her palm slammed into the ground, little pinkie touching the scroll. Ancient marks spread from her open hand, winding out into the bushes. Birds stopped their songs and rabbits retreated to their burrows. The smell of the predator was near.
The bushes on the left rustled. Slowly and silently, at least 20 wolves slunk out. Their coats glistened as black as midnight. They regarded the woman with a calm familiarity. She nodded, acknowledging their arrival. She rolled up her scroll and stowed it back in her pack. "Transformation Jutsu." She formed the seal.
The woman's body shifted beneath her. Chakra powered through her veins, only to be forced back down. Then was not the time for a loss of control. Her nerves seemed to fizz slightly. She fought her way through a cloud of smoke. The world around her was enhanced, more vivid despite the change of colour to black and white.
She raised her tail and ears, signalling the pack. A smooth bubble of calm settled over her. She had always felt safe in this form. Nothing could hurt her. That is what she felt, even if she knew better. The wolf padded forward on stealthy paws. Nudging bushes out of her way, the creature peeked at the battle up ahead.
Before her blue eyes, a drama unfolded. A man was suspended in a water prison. Grey hair and one eye with the sharingan. Hatake Kakashi. A demon, for that is what he resembled, held it, his face twisted. That could only be Zabuza. A Zabuza clone fought with clones in bright orange.
Uzumaki Naruto's. They were seriously getting their asses whipped. Still, no hurry. The wolf signalled with her tail and the other wolves spread out behind her. Freeing Kakashi was top priority. But Zabuza and his clone were pretty formidable. "First take out the clone."
Naruto's doppelgangers were being demolished. The animal saw two Naruto skid across the ground. One transformed into a shuriken. Smooth. The other Naruto grabbed the shuriken and stuffed it in his bag. She wondered if Zabuza saw it. Naruto skidded to a stop. "I still have this!" he called in triumph.
He grabbed the Naruto shuriken and tossed it to Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke leapt and caught the weapon. He carried his momentum into a whirling spin. He stopped, the shuruiken held by his face. "Windmill of shadows," he announced in a grave voice. Quite advanced, for a genin. Sasuke ran forward... and then suddenly disappeared. Within a second he appeared above the Zabuza clone and released the shuruken. It flew through the air. "You can't touch me!" Zabuza taunted. It flew past him. He turned.
His eyes widened in realization. The weapon was meant for the real Zabuza. After all, he couldn't dodge. The star of death spun closer and closer. The observer waited with baited breath. Like a bolt of lightning, Zabuza's hand ripped through air. His fingers closed around the blade. "I told you, a shuriken can't touch me!" he boasted. Then he froze. Another shuriken was speeding towards him. The wolf would have whistled if it could. It made sense now. Very, very smart. He couldn't catch.
He didn't have time to safely drop the other shuriken. The weapon was a blur of silver. The fact is: it should have hit. Unfortunately Sasuke's aim was a bit off, slightly low. With a tightening of muscles, Zabuza sprang into the air. The shuriken passed safely beneath him. He landed in triumph. A slight "tchk" came from behind him. He turned. 21 pairs of black ears pricked up as the owners heard a grunt of surprise. Blue eyes strained for a glimpse of the action. The original canine managed to get a view just in time to see Naruto in mid-air.
He shouted, "Take this!" and threw a kunai at Zabuza. The yell rattled all ears present. Hadn't Naruto ever heard of keeping quiet? As the kunai whizzed forward, time seemed to stand still. There's no way Zabuza could stop the knife, was there? Contact was seconds away. The kunai was mere inches from Zabuza's face. With a slight "swish", it whistled straight past his ear. All watching felt a numb disbelief. How could he have missed completely? The clearing was engulfed in silence. "Naruto!" Sakura growled, breaking the hush.
"Uh... water got in my eyes," Naruto excused. Then an eerie cackling flowed through the battleground. Zabuza threw back his head, helpless with laughter. The alpha's muscles tensed. He had dropped his guard. Now's her chance! She motioned for the rest of the wolves to stay put.
With a deep breath she crept forward. Paw over paw, silently. Everyone's gaze was fixed on Naruto. The wolf kept to bushes and long grass. Her dark pelt blended into the shadows. Only a few more metres to the clone. She could make it. At the edge of her vision the wolf saw Sakura turn away from Naruto, all huffy. She turned towards the creature. Half in a bush, the shadow froze, every ligament quivering. Sakura was still. "Please let her not panic, please." Sakura blinked, looked again. She opened her mouth, taking a big gulp of air. All at once, a deafening squeal burst from her lungs. "Aiiiiiiiie! It wants to eat me!" she screeched. The Zabuza clone turned in surprise. In a second he would see the wolf. She had to go for it, now!
She dashed forward and took a flying leap. He saw her. His eyes widened as she looked in them. She was a pace away. Almost. With a tightening of muscles he sprang back, out of range. The animal landed lightly. Damn it. Something skimmed her fur. She caught a strong scent of metal. A kunai shot past her, aimed at the Zabuza clone. This time it's a good shot. However, Zabuza had two free hands. He caught the kunai with an easy motion of his fingers. The wolf heard a trace of a muttered curse from Sasuke.
She glanced back at him. His eyes met hers and he nodded. Sasuke already knew she wasn't a normal wolf. She focused back on the Zabuza clone. His eyes sparked in annoyance. Clearly the wolf was seen as a mere distraction. Time to change that. She gave a commanding bark and her comrades stepped out of the forest.
The alpha crouched down. She was a hare's breath away from attack. Movement caught her eyes. Behind her, the real Zabuza reached for his shuriken. He grabbed four and flung them at her. Not good. Once again, something streaked past her and hit the shuriken in flight. The canine peeked back at Sasuke. Just as she suspected, he had his own shuriken in his hands. She guessed she could trust him to cover her. "Never let your guard down!" the Zabuza clone mocked. He burst into a run, sword in hand.
In a second, wolves surrounded him. He took a swing at the aplha. She skipped to the side and his sword sliced down a millimetre away. It hit the ground with a soft thunk. Zabuza tugged, but it was embedded firmly in the dirt. The alpha pounced. Around her, her brethren leapt too.
With a hiss, Zabuza left his sword and began making hand signs. They're so fast they blurred together. I had no time. In a split-second, a spear of water shot out of the river. It came closer, whizzing through the air like it really had been thrown. It skimmed past the other wolves, tossing them aside with casual ease. The alpha could feel the smaller globules of water spattering ahead of it. She leapt to the side and the water hurtled past her. Great. She had dodged it. Without warning, it suddenly twisted around.
She prepared to jump away again. Too late. The spear slammed into her shoulder. She felt her muscles tear and her blood pour. Pain raced through her nerves. She was tossed into the air. Everything passed by in a blur. With a thump, the wolf hit the ground. You could say the ground hit her.
She writhed in agony. She had to get through this. Through her torture she saw the remainder of her wolves surrounded her. She could feel the fuzzy blackness of unconsciousness creeping up into her head. One last trick. If it didn't work, she'd be as good as dead. She pictured her face.
She pictured it bloodied and broken. Then she imagined it still and cold. In a moment, determination rushed through her. Adrenalin overrode the pain. She stood, wobbling, about to collapse. But her mind was clear. She pushed the throbbing of her wound away. Zabuza looked mildly surprised.
Obviously he thought the wolf was finished. She growled and sprang at him. Her comrades followed. Sasuke too. He dodged a canine, slashed at another one with a kunai. They kept him distracted but the attack didn't do any damage. The alpha just hoped that Sasuke could get in a blow.
For a moment she caught sight of him. He sneaked up behind Zabuza. She had to keep the demon really, really busy. She snarled and went for it. Zabuza got clear of her attack. She landed and sprang at him again. Her barrage was working. Zabuza was tiring now and focused purely on the wolves. The alpha heard a swish and Zabuza screamed in pain. He poofed into smoke. A kunai clattered to the ground. Sasuke walked over and picked it up. It's going great. Now they only had one Zabuza to deal with.
She readied her pack for the next onslaught. Zabuza was vulnerable. It was time to strike. The wolf checked on Sasuke. He was completely passive, his face smooth. What was going on in his head? I heard before I saw the "tap, tap, tap" his hand made against his leg. He was thinking of a pattern.
Hand signs. She let out a woo, telling her pack what to do. They moved, a blur of black. The wolves encircled Zabuza. Now, if Zabuza dodged Sasuke's jutsu, he would find them waiting. Behind her, she caught the odour of smoke. Fire style Katon jutsu. She would have been surprised. The jutsu was advanced. But she had read Sasuke's file. He was an exceptional genin. A fireball skimmed over the wolf's head. She felt her fur singe as it streaked past. Sasuke's aim was perfect. The fireball hurtled towards Zabuza.
He was frozen, trying to think up a move. The flames were almost upon him. His muscles tightened. He had made up his mind. With cat-like grace, he leapt away. Backwards and high. The water prison, without Zabuza's support shattered. Droplets sprayed outwards. Kakashi hovered for a moment before crashing into the water. The wolf's eyes eyes followed the tiny molecules of water that shot into the sky. She saw Zabuza, her newly-remembered enemy, still in the air. He lightly began his descent, making hand signs as he went.
For the first time, the canine was dumbstruck. The signs? What were they? She clicked. It was for that water spear jutsu from earlier. She saw a tiny ripple slowly swell. It raised up into the familiar spike of liquid. Hanging poised for a second, it was a cobra waiting to strike. With a sudden burst, it threw itself forward. Away from Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke and the bridge-builder. Past the alpha and her pack. Steadily but unsteadily her mind tottered toward an answer. It reached it, grasped it and she snapped into focus.
Zabuza was going for the utterly defenceless one. It was for Naruto! No one could reach him, except, maybe, her. The spear would pierce his heart, his lungs, his brain. It would be deadly and precise. The alpha looked at the boy. He still bobbed on the water's surface. Naruto seemed to come to the same conclusion as me, for he tensed and turned towards the shore. She caught a glimpse of his eyes. They shone with fear and a desperate need to live. Pretty blue eyes, just like hers. The wolf was suddenly jolted back into memory.
She saw her running. Two cloud villiage ninjas chased her, their faces hidden in the dark. One made hand signs and a split-second later her leg blossomed red. The ninjas advanced, slower now, for the kill. She ran to save her.
She ran to save him. Muscles burning, she sprinted like lightening across the ground. Five metres to impact. Still too far. Lungs burning, muscles straining. Three metres to impact. She'd make it! Her foot brushed against a stone. She lost her balance, righted herself, carried on running. She'd lost too much time. One metre to impact. She sprang into the air as she reached the water's edge. Almost there. She splashed into the water, just in front of Naruto. A column of liquid filled her view as it shot towards her.
No time, not for anything. No time to protect herself. At least she had made it. At least Naruto would live. The spear slammed her, threw her skyward. She watched the clouds come closer. With a sickening lurch, she fell back to earth. With the last of her strength, she solidified the transformation jutsu. The wolf's body relaxed. She was ready. Her shoulder wound would have prevented her landing on her feet anyway. There wasn't much of a point trying. She managed to twist her head downwards.
A couple of seconds from impact. Goodbye world. Searing orange filled her vision. Compared to the dull brown of the mud, it was like a flame. She shut her eyes, shielding them. Wait, orange?
So that's the first chapter. Please review! Feel free to tear me down. It's good for me, right?