Chapter Three: Switching Sides
The forest around her was blinding, but she continued to run anyway. She didn't know where she was going, she just needed to get as far away from Kakashi and Team 7 as fast as possible.
Every time she closed her eyes she was back underneath the floor boards, hiding as everyone around her were fighting for their lives. She had just been waiting for someone to come and decide her fate. But now, she was done hiding, and she was done waiting. As much as she wanted to stay in Kohana, no matter what her threats had been, she wouldn't dare think of the place anymore.
"Well. What do we have here?"
Kita stopped.
"Oh, it's you," she said, a wave of relief rushing over her as she spotted the masked boy in the trees. "The hunter nin from the Mist."
The boy nodded. "What are you doing here all alone?"
"My team," she said, staring down at the ground. "I mean... my village. They all betrayed me."
"Where do you plan to go?"
"I have no idea..." she responded. "I haven't thought that far ahead. I just..." she gulped. "I had to leave."
The hunter nin nodded.
"Well, if you want. You can come with me."
Kita stood behind the long red robes that draped over her father's legs, watching as the old man limped up to the steps of the building. She noticed firsthand that there was something off about him; he walked with a limp, and he was bandaged from head to toe, yet everyone that accompanied him seemed deathly afraid of him. How was it that someone so crippled and lost looking could instill such fear into the hearts of what was supposed to be the most powerful force in the Fire Country?
"Danzo," Lord Kenji greeted as the man approached him. "What do I owe this pleasure?"
"My Lord," the man said, bowing slightly. It was as the man was rising back up that he caught sight of the small girl hiding behind the man's leg, her arms gripped tightly around his knees. She looked no older than four years old, with short black hair and oddly colored eyes. She wore a bright red dress, with a small black shall hanging over her shoulders and a golden head band wrapping around her forehead. Danzo smiled. "This must be the infamous Lady Kita that the Village elders have been raging about. To think... there was an heir to this country all along."
"You don't sound very excited," the young Lord grumbled, causing Danzo to stir a bit before casually shrugging.
"Very well. I'm here to make a proposition for you," the man said. "May I come in?"
The raven haired man bent down so that he was eye level with his daughter. "Kita, why don't you go play with Tsukagi in the garden? I'm sure she would love to spend time with you."
The young girl glanced to from the old man to her father before giving a slight nod and walking down the stairs. Danzo's ANBU moved quickly out of the way as the young girl walked past them, her long, black shall flowing behind her.
Kita's eyes widened at the sight of the man before her. Zabuza was alive and well, and he was currently leaning against a tree by the river the hunter nin had brought her too.
"You..." she turned towards the masked ninja. "You set me up."
The boy chuckled, shaking his head and removing his mask. His face was soft, nothing like the cold blooded killer she expected to be hiding underneath it.
"You said you're friends betrayed you. I offered for you to come with me. I didn't lie."
"He's the enemy!" She shrieked, pointing towards the man beside the tree who had only just begun to pay attention to the scene that was unfolding. Zabuza laughed.
"It's useless, kid. They have her brain washed."
"You admitted it yourself! You killed all those people!" She was shaking now, clenching her fists tightly against her sides.
"Yeah, I did," the man spoke, standing up. Kita hadn't realized how tall he was; she barely reached his shoulders. "But have you ever stopped and wondered how many people your leaders have killed?"
The girl turned her head stubbornly away.
"Come on, little girl. Haku didn't bring you here to use you as a bargaining chip. He's not that type of guy," the man laughed, turning to his young friend. "But... he has yet to tell me why exactly he brought you here."
"She can protect you," the boy responded. "In the ways I can not. We need a good defense, especially if you are fighting against Kakashi."
Zabuza nodded, cocking his head towards the younger girl. "Well, what do you say kid?"
"I... I can't harm them," she responded. "They may have betrayed me but..."
"Don't think of it as betraying them," the hunter responded. "Think of it as protecting someone important. Have you ever had a precious person?"
Grey eyes, raven hair, and that perfect smile flashed through her mind. Glimpes of red, black, and gold silk; a warm fire place, a nice bed. Roses aligned throughout a castle.
"I did."
"And would you do anything to protect that person?"
Kita nodded.
"Well, Zabuza is my precious person. And if you want, he can be yours, too."
"Hey, Tsukagi..."
The older woman looked from her spot on the ground over to the young girl beside her. Kita was currently sitting with her legs crossed on one of the main cement paths that had been structured around the garden. Usually, the young girl would visit her in the afternoons once her father had been called away to his endless meetings. The girl and the gardener would walk around the land, feed the fish in the pond located in the backyard, and sometimes they would leave altogether to go try some of the foods in the nearby villages. Tsukagi didn't know why the young Lord trusted her so much as to put his daughter in her care, but she dare not question it.
"What is it, my Lady?" the woman asked, pulling up a few weeds from the ground. It was barely 9am, which worried her; Lord Kenji had made it very clear that his mornings were to be spent with the young Lady, as to make up for lost time.
In the council's eyes, it was absurd; but to Tsukagi, it was completely understandable. The woman couldn't imagine finding out that she had a child, and had missed out on the first five years of that child's life; she knew the young man must have felt awful, especially after the raid on the group of traveling shinobi. He had backhandedly killed his own wife... and his daughter's mother in an attempt to stop the Leaf Village from waging war on regular citizens who could do nothing to fight back.
"Who was that man... the one with the bandages?" the girl asked, leaning back and using her hands as support. "I mean, he's kind of weird looking. He doesn't seem like a nice guy."
"He's an elder from the Hidden Village," the woman replied. "Kohana, I believe."
"What?" the girl said, standing up suddenly with her eyes full of excitement. "You mean the shinobi villages? He's a ninja!?"
"Lady Kita..."
"I want to talk to him, Tsukagi!" the girl said, spinning around. "I want to know how to be a ninja!"
"Lady Kita, now why would you want to do that?" Tsukagi asked, wiping the dirt onto her apron and staring at the girl. "Your father would never allow that."
"He might!" the girl grinned. "I mean, look what he taught me!"
The lady watched as the girl stopped spinning and closed her eyes. She placed one of her hands in a seal in front of her, an excited grin creeping onto her face as the air around them became thicker. Tsukagi stared with wide eyes as a small barrier formed around her.
"Lady Kita..."
"See?" The little girl squealed, throwing her hands up into the air and breaking the barrier around her.
The woman shook her head. "Lord Kenji, what are you thinking..."
"They're coming!"
The area around the four ninja and the old bridge builder began to fog up, the mist around them soon becoming too thick to see through. Quickly the three shinobi jumped into position around the bridge builder, their arms up and legs out in fighting stance. Kakashi made a single hand sign and closed his eyes in concentration.
"It's been a while, Kakashi," a voice said, cutting through the mist that surrounded them. "And I see that you still have those kids tagging along. And look at that, that boy's trembling."
There was a small flash of movement, and the five were surrounded by clones.
"I'm shaking... with excitement," the raven haired ninja smirked, not moving from position until Kakashi gave the go ahead. It took the boy less than a single movement to turn all the clones around them into water.
"Looks like you've got competetion, Haku," the man said as the mist began to clear up around them. The young boy stepped out into the clearing.
"It appears so."
Kita looked down at the scene below her. She was currently perched up on the highest branches of the tree directly across from the seven; Haku had told her that the only thing she needed to do was protect Zabuza. She didn't have to fight, didn't have to harm the Kohana shinobi, and didn't have to get involved with the pair any further if she didn't want to. Haku had promised her refuge; if she protected Zabuza, he would help her find a destination, and he would bring her to it. If she wanted to stay, they would allow her to as long as she did not become a nuisance. To her, it seemed like a win/win, except for the fact that by the end of the battle someone would die. And she didn't know who she hoped it would rather be.
"Impressive kid," Haku mused, still staring at the raven haired avenger. "Even if the water clones were only one tenth of the original, it was still impressive."
Haku vanished just as Sasuke sprung to attack.
"I don't want to kill you, but you won't leave quietly, will you?" Haku asked as Sasuke's kunai collided with his senbon.
"Don't be stupid."
"I just thought that you wouldn't be able to match my speed for long, and besides... I've already laid the groundwork for two attacks."
"Two attacks?"
"First, there's the water splashed all around us. And second, I've trapped one of your hands, which leaves you only one hand to protect you from me." Haku began moving his free hand. "Secret art: the thousand stinging needles of death!"
"SASUKE!" Sakura cried out as the water around her teammate rose, freezing the boy in place. Kita watched as Naruto managed to get him out, a most determined look on his face.
I'm going to be Hokage... his word's echoed through her head. Believe it.
It was at the end of this thought that her eyes widened. The air had suddenly turned cold and the water around Sasuke had begun to rise.
"Let's not forget, I'm your opponent. Our children can play together... I mean, while my boy kills yours," he smirked. Kakashi leaned forward, about to head towards his students aid, but Zabuza stood in his way.
"SASUKE!" Sakura screamed, tears welling up in her eyes.
Kakashi moved forward, a fist of lighting aimed for Zabuza's chest.
It took all he had to keep from gasping.
His fist was supposed to go straight through Zabuza's body, but instead it had been blocked by a barrier of air. Zabuza just stood, grinning at the silver haired man.
"So..." Kakashi said, narrowing his eyes. "It appears there's another."
Zabuza continued to grin, pointed teeth flashing across his face. Sakura stood, clenching her fists. "Did... she couldn't have joined them!"
Kakashi glanced up towards the trees. He saw a flicker of black hair blowing in the wind from up in the branches. Kita crouched, her hand in a single seal with her eyes fully closed.H
"Is that all you got!?" Kakashi called. She didn't bother answering.
"Come on Kakashi," Zabuza drew his sword. "How about you show me what you got?"
