Chapter 1:
Above the thick mist, a cloud of red rises higher, this one in the shape of a body, a creature, a monster with sharp talons and long teeth. Just looking at it fills me with fear and by the time it's power reaches us, I'm shaking.
I don't need to feel the power to know we're in over our heads. But the power slams into all of us, making our bodies go rigid to the point where it's noticeable. Even Kyoske with his smart mouth has it clamped shut, his eyes wide as he watches the crimson cloud. Hideki is speechless, sweat forming on his brow. As for Megumi-sensei, she stands beside us, brow furrowed with irritation.
Slowly, Kyoske sucked in a breath and turns to look back at us.
"You guys felt that, right?" He asked.
But there was no need for confirmation. Seeing it was one thing but feeling it was completely different. If the cloud didn't strike fear into your soul, the power drifting away from it would see you digging a grave.
"Was that Zabuza?" Kyoske asked. "That wasn't in the file."
"There's no way that's Zabuza." Hideki said, lifting the bridge of his glasses with his forefinger.
"They do call him the Demon of the Mist don't they?" Kyoske asked. "That certainly looked like a demon to me."
He had a point and I felt my stomach tighten at the possibility. Though it didn't match up. If he had been the owner of the mysterious and now slowly disappearing red cloud, that would have most definitely been in his file.
"It doesn't matter." Megumi-sensei said, standing straighter.
We all looked up at her, our lips pressed into tight lines. I knew what we were all thinking, wondering of the cloud had made our sensei lose some of her sanity. But, I looked back at the mist here occasionally a flash of silver would let me know a weapon was flying through the air. Of course, sensei had a point too.
This mission wasn't about the fog demon. It was about our own village and Gato thinking he could do whatever he wanted with it. Before, all we could do was stand back and watch him but now we were being given the opportunity to deal with him personally. If taking out Zabuza or whatever demon lurked in that fog was what was standing in our way, I knew we would all push through, giving it our best.
"We came here to give Gato a message." Megumi-sensei said, her jaw clenched. "If ripping Zabuza and whatever is in there to shreds is part of it, we will do whatever we need to."
"Hold nothing back." Hideki said, his voice like ice.
Kyoske nodded, wiping his cheek with his sleeve. "Yeah, sure."
"What if it's the Leaf ninja?" I asked, meaning it to be said mentally but instead flushing when it came out.
I could tell by the looks on my teammates faces that it had never been considered. After all, there hadn't been a file on them. All we knew was that they were with Tazuna, in our place after we were rejected to take on the mission. The Leaf ninja were cheaper and not as pricey as our services and Tazuna had asked for us specifically.
"Couldn't be." Kyoske said, scratching his head. "I mean they're Leaf brats."
"They have a few strong ninja." Hideki said. "The Hyuga and Uchiha clans are noble."
"Uchiha's were wiped out." Kyoske said. "Hyuga clan is more focused on their weird practices. They don't house a demon behind their walls."
"Enough." Megumi-sensei said before nodding to the mist. "We keep it simple, go in and get out. Take out Zabuza and pull back to wait for Gato."
We all nodded but another question lit up in my head.
"Hey, wait what if Gato isn't around?" I asked, earning a look from Kyoske.
But sensei didn't lose the determination in her face. Looking straight ahead, her face barely flinched. She merely folded her arms.
"He's here." She said. "Lurking around. We time this just right, he'll get there right when we're finishing up with Zabuza."
"What if the Leaf interferes?" Hideki asked, raising a kunai.
"We take them out too." Kyoske said. "This is greater than them."
"I doubt they'd fight us taking out Zabuza." I said.
"Which is why we have our disguises." Megumi said, lifting up her ANBU mask and putting it over her face.
We all nodded and I looked down at my mask, studying its intricate design and our Village's symbol right at the forehead. I was surprised such a disguise had been given to us. Considering how the village felt about my team overall, over my entire village just off the coast of the Land of Water, I was surprised they had chosen us in the first place.
But, deep down I knew why. The Village Hidden by Mist didn't like to get it's hands dirty or caught up in national drug handlings. They were trying to become "noble" and come off as disinterested in political affairs. But the Daimyō, our village's feudal lord, was good at masking his maliciousness. Half of his land was left to fend for themselves, left to starve and suffer. But he was all about money, under the table money, and ensuring that anyone who defied him, anyone who stood up to him, was erased. Our village, barely on any maps, had been empty until a few hundred years ago, in fact that stretch of land had been part of the biggest island. But we had been banished, our people thrown further into the surrounding thick mists, a powerful Genjutsu placed over it, to shield it from being found. A jutsu so powerful, it was hardly noticed by passing ninja.
We were outsiders in our own land and the Daimyō only turned to us to handle extra secret and messy missions. The sad part was that we had no choice. We couldn't fight back because our village priestess, the highest authority in our neck of the woods, was against it. She wanted to teach the Daimyō a lesson, to which Kyoske would always say was a fool's dream. The old man wouldn't learn a thing until it was being shoved in his face.
Either way, until his lesson was learned we were the team he turned to when he wanted to get something messy done, something that involved a lot of blood loss. Destroying Gato and having it all be traced back to him would prove he cared about political affairs but having us sent in, who were a hair above rogue ninjas, was somehow better.
I put on my mask, pushing all my thoughts behind me. What was the point of thinking anyway? Go in and get out. Get Gato and go home. Not too difficult to process or pull off and besides I wasn't afraid of Zabuza. On our island, we were the strongest set of Genin, the only set in the Land of Water who had a several level A-ranked missions under their belts. If anyone could handle this mission, it was us and we had no reason to fear, menacing demon cloud and all.
"Let's get this over with." Kyoske grumbled. "I've got better things to do."
That was all it took before we darted off the bridge. We ran quickly, our feet moving so fast they barely made ripples in the water. When we reached the bridge we didn't hesitate and launched ourselves onto the sides. We climbed stealthily only stopping near the railing, but Megumi-sensei hoisted herself up to survey the scene.
"How are we looking?" Kyoske asked.
"Shh!" I whispered, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and giving him a sharp jerk. "The last thing we want is to get caught."
He shot me a dirty look. "Miyuki, what does it matter? If we get caught, we destroy them. Done."
"Unnecessary bloodshed was not in the mission." Hideki snapped.
"Enough." Megumi-sensei growled sharply and we all swallowed our arguments.
"There are two bodies on the ground. One Leaf shinobi and the other an unknown ninja. I've never seen him before but he's wearing a Mist headband." Megumi-sensei said. "I think he's dead."
Hideki pulled himself up. "Yeah definitely dead." He breathed after a few moments. "There's a massive hole in his chest."
"Who's the Leaf ninja?" I whispered.
"Zabuza seems distraught." Megumi-sensei said. "Now's our chance."
She looked down at me and nodded and I swallowed before pushing myself up. It was either now or never.
Zabuza was in the middle of speaking, gesturing to the body on the ground. I could see Tazuna behind a pink haired girl who was holding the body of the fallen Leaf shinobi in her arms. Tears streamed down her face, her eyes a glittering emerald. A few feet away from her stood a blonde ninja with tanned skin and what looked like whiskers painted onto his face. He was focused on Zabuza and another Leaf ninja, the one Zabuza was speaking too.
It was a perfect time to intervene because everyone was distracted or distraught. Talk about getting in and out. I reached into my weapons pouch and pulled out a kunai. Without another though I started running toward Zabuza, weapon raised high. He almost didn't see me coming. Almost.
I was close, less than two feet away when his attention shifted from the shocked white haired ninja and turned on me. When I was a foot away, he swung to face me, meeting me with his sword and in the blink of an eye our weapons met with a sharp CLANG.
"What's this?" Zabuza growled.
"Who-who's she?" The blonde boy shouted.
"Probably another one of his sidekicks." The white haired ninja growled before running toward me.
I was confused but didn't hesitate. I pushed off of Zabuza's sword, preparing myself to meet the white haired ninja when suddenly Megumi-sensei appeared to block him. She shoved me harshly toward Zabuza, signaling he was my opponent and not this white haired ninja.
"There's more of them?" Tazuna gasped.
I delivered hit after hit against Zabuza but each time he met my blows with his sword. He chuckled darkly, his eyes crazed.
"You here to kill me, little shinobi?" He growled before shoving me back and delivering a sickening kick to my stomach.
I gasped, dropping to my knees. It had been unexpected and I scolded myself for not seeing it coming.
"Hit me with your best shot Mist ninja! I have nothing more to live for!" Zabuza growled, raising his sword.
My hands were moving as he raised his sword and just as he was about to swing, I inhaled.
"Water Style! Raging Waves!" Out from my mouth gushed a powerful stream of water-fall like water. It rammed into Zabuza who's eyes went wide the minute the water left.
He went flying back, past the water ninja body with the hole in his chest.
"You alright?" Kyoske called.
"Sensei!" Hideki called.
I glanced back and saw Megumi-sensei and the white haired ninja going at it, delivering kick after kick and punch after punch. They matched each other and I could tell the white haired ninja was growing frustrated.
"MIYUKI!" Kyoske screeched and I nearly jumped out of my skin, but swung around only to see Zabuza running toward me, his eyes ablaze.
I braced myself, dodging his attack but also receiving a blow to the face in the process. I went flying back and heard my mask crack in the process.
"You alright?" Hideki called.
I was lying face down on the ground, the left side of my face ablaze but I kept strong by gritting my teeth. I could already picture Megumi-sensei's face and dreaded looking up at her for that exact reason. How could I forget the number one rule of fighting? Never take your eyes off the opponent. Never.
I swallowed, my hands balling into tight fists.
"Get up"! Kyoske shouted. "Or do you need us to jump in?"
I didn't want any help. I could handle Zabuza on my own and now…now it was personal.
I pushed myself to my feet, not giving the boys a satisfaction of a response but from the corner of my eye I spotted Hideki raising a hand.
"Wha—" Tazuna sounded bewildered when he saw the side of my face. "She's just a girl."
"I don't need anyone's help to take down this monster." I growled and reached up to brush my bangs further to the right, away from both of my eyes.
"Wh-who is she?" The blonde boy asked.
"She's just a kid…she's just like us." The pink haired girl said.
"Monster?" Zabuza growled, not seeming the least bit insulted. "I'll have you know I'm a lot more than that kid."
I sucked in a breath. "Water Style! Raging Waves!"
Another stream of water burst out, but this time Zabuza dodged it with ease but I followed after him.
"You're running out of tricks, girl!" Zabuza roared, lifting his sword to block my attack.
I jumped into the air, pulling shuriken from my pouch and firing them one after the other. He blocked them of course, but that wasn't my plan. I was jumping down toward him and delivered a hard kick to the face of his sword. He hadn't expected me to land on his sword and he most certainly hadn't expected the next jutsu either.
I inhaled and placed a hand on my chest. I could feel the chakra building in my lungs and didn't hesitate as I lifted my other hand, cupping it around my mouth. Zabuza growled but it was too late. I had him right where I wanted him.
"Wind Element!" I breathed. "Spiraling—"
Something sharp zipped right past my line of view and I gasped, giving Zabuza the opening he needed to push me off his sword and to the ground.
"What the—" Kyoske growled.
"Gato." Megumi-sensei breathed.
I looked up and found her standing in a defensive position a few feet away from the white-haired ninja but both of them seemed to have not been fighting for a while. She was looking back to where the bridge began and I followed her gaze.
As promised there stood Gato but he wasn't alone. At least two hundred thugs carrying various weapons stood behind him and he stood right at the front, right at the center, with the biggest grin on his lips. Cocky, confident that his band of idiots could take us out.
"I no longer have need for you, Zabuza." Gato called out. "So I've bought along a few friends to help deal with you."
"He's throwing him under just like that?" Kyoske asked.
"It doesn't surprise me." Hideki said. "He's a slime ball after all."
"I was just thinking the same thing about you, Gato." Zabuza growled, turning to glare at Gato.
"What do we do?" I asked, turning to Megumi-sensei.
"Stay on track with the mission." Megumi-sensei said, pulling a kunai from her pouch and launching it toward Gato. He screamed and jumped back, barely missing the kunai as it landed at his feet.
He paled and jumped back. With the look on his face you'd think Megumi-sensei had tried to swipe at him. He glared at her, pointing a finger. "Who do you think you are you…you…witch! Kill them! Kill them all and bring me her head!"
"Try me." Megumi-sensei said, pulling into an offensive pose.
Hideki and Kyoske jumped to her side, ready to aid when Zabuza coughed.
We all glanced at him.
"I can handle this." He growled. "Gato…Gato is mine."
"Not in your condition." Megumi-sensei said.
"You think this army of fools can take me on? I am the Demon of the Village Hidden by Mist! If they couldn't take me down, neither can these fools!"
It was a bold comment but true nonetheless. I looked at Megumi-sensei but found she didn't look as impressed, or at least I could assume since her mask was still on.
"I've heard about you ninja, the three children from a village forgotten in the mist." Zabuza said, his eyes cutting into us. "I know what you came here to do."
"Then if you know, you'll let us handle it." Megumi-sensei called.
"For once, I'm sparing your child's hands from getting any dirtier." Zabuza growled, looking down at me.
I felt myself flush, but struggled to keep a stern front.
"Zabuza—" The white haired ninja began but was cut off.
"Kakashi," Zabuza said and looked back at him. "Bring my body back to Haku when this is all over."
After that, Zabuza was charging, full on right toward Gato's small army. Half of them looked about scared out of their minds but others, mostly in the front held strong, raising their weapons over their heads. Zabuza was fast, his long arms raising as he punched and kicked at the army. He also received a few hits in the process and in a matter of minutes had sustained so much arm damage, his arms lay limp at his sides. But he kept moving.
He was merciless, his teeth sharpened into knives and he used even those in battle. Sinking them into necks and pulling on the flesh. A few of Gato's army began to run and even Gato after realizing how bleak everything was looking, turned to run as well. But it was too late.
Zabuza rammed into him with such a force, the small man's feet gave out from beneath me and a few breaths later, Gato was flying off the side of the bridge down into the watery depths below. Zabuza glared at the remaining henchmen who collectively shivered before turning on their heels back to where they came.
As he dropped to his knees, Kakashi, the white haired ninja, was at his side, lifting the big man with ease and dragging his weak body back toward the other ninja who was lying flat on his back dead.
"Mission accomplished." Kyoske said, crossing his arms. "And we didn't have to lift much of a finger."
I watched as Zabuza's breath came out in smaller huffs and knew just by looking at him that not only had he reached his limit, he was close to death, better yet, he was ready to die.
But it didn't seem right. It didn't feel like our mission was over and I felt that was exactly what Megumi-sensei felt too because she had yet to motion for us to leave. Instead, she continued to watch Zabuza die as we all did, our eyes locked on the subtle rising and falling of his chest until…until…
We all watched as he died a few minutes later, his breathing stilling, his body going stiff. Kakashi reached over to close his eyes and rose to his feet, all of us in a hushed silence. Finally, eyes landed on us.
"Who are you?" Kakashi asked.
This made Megumi-sensei laugh and it was so sudden and unexpected that it caused Kyoske, Hideki and I to look up at her, confused.
"You don't remember?" She said between chuckles before her laughter cut short and an icy tone took over her voice. "It's funny White Fang because I remember you."
My brow furrowed. White Fang? I had heard the name before, in a history class and then suddenly it hit me. The White Fang of course. He had been an ANBU back then who had saved Priestess Akane from enemy shinobi. The White Fang was one of the only outside shinobi to ever see our village and he had helped save us all.
"There is no way." Kyoske breathed, earning an elbow to the ribs from Hideki.
"He's the White Fang?" I asked, turning to face this white haired ninja. I was sure the White Fang had been known for even more but I couldn't remember, I just knew he was great, a formidable opponent if anything.
Either way, White Fang gave no response, he just continued to glare at her.
If her laughter wasn't enough to shock us, Megumi-sensei she lifted a hand to her mask, her fingers gripping the edge and in one swift motion she pulled it off, revealing herself to the small crowd. The young Leaf Genin and Tazuna had no reaction, whereas White Fang looked like he had just seen a ghost.
"I-I thought you were d-dead." He said, the words leaving his mouth shakily.
Silence filled the air. Everyone but Kakashi and Sensei seemed to be holding their breath but I felt blindsided as did my teammates. We were uneasy, staring between the two of them. I didn't know what to look at or what to feel but I felt a faint sense of betrayal burning inside of me.
In a matter of seconds our mission had become much more than it was supposed to be. We had been sent in to kill Gato and anyone who got in our way. Revealing ourselves had never been in the agenda and no one had mentioned the White Fang being present. More than that no one had mentioned that our sensei and the White Fang had any sort of history either. His question burned in my head and amid everything I couldn't help but wonder how.
How had he thought she was dead?
