Wind and Leaves
Chapter Four
One month later
"Failed?! What the hell do you mean, you failed!!" an old man yelled across a room to another. "If you weren't supposed to be the best, I wouldn't have paid top dollar for your skills!"
The other grabbed something from behind him, removing it. He pointed a rather large sword to the other man's neck.
"Stop whining. There's nothing to worry about. I, with this neck cleaving knife will take the hit myself."
"Are you sure you really want to?" the old man mustered out. "The enemy hired ninjas of tremendous skill! And besides..." he made a gulp. "Now that the demon brothers have tried and failed, they'll be on guard against further attempts."
"Remember who your talking to!" the other said. "I am Zabuza Momochi, the demon, of the Village Hidden in the Mist!"
--
"Everyone get down!"
A weapon spun toward the team as they all ducked in time. It logged into a tree as someone stepped on top of it.
"Well, well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, the kid who ran off and left the land of the shrouding mists!" Kakashi said looking up at him.
Naruto was about to move when a hand held him back. "Don't interfere. This one is on a different plane from our previous opponents. And if I have to face him, it better be.." Kakashi moved his hand to his hitai-ate, lifting it up. "...Like this. This may be a little rough."
"Kakashi of the sharingan eye, I presume?" Zabuza started. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you surrender the old man?"
'Sharingan? What the hell does that mean?' Naruto thought. Sakura looked confused.
'The sharingan? The mirror-wheel eye?!' Sasuke thought as well.
"Assume the manji battle formation! Protect Mr. Tazuna." Kakashi instructed. "All of you stay out of the fight. That's the kind of teamwork this situation demands. And now Zabuza, shall we?"
"To face the legendary mirror-wheel eye so early in our acquaintance, this is an honor."
"You keep calling it the mirror-eye, a sharingan eye, what is it?!" Naruto yelled.
"Shinobi who have the sharingan eye have mastered a form of ocular ninjutsu." Sasuke started. He began to explain as Naruto caught on.
"Enough. This conversation has gone on long enough. I'm on a very tight schedule to polish off the old man." Zabuza stated. "But it looks like I'm going to have to kill you first." He disappeared from sight as everyone got on guard.
He reappeared on the water, one hand in the air while the other was in front of him. "Ninja Art, Kirigakure Jutsu." Then he was gone again.
"Letting your guard down around Zabuza is a direct trip to heaven. I haven't mastered every aspect of the Sharingan eye, so all of you stay on your toes!" Kakashi told his team.
Everyone's heart started to race.
Fog then suddenly appeared. "What's with this fog?" Naruto asked.
"There are eight targets." Zabuza started, still hidden. "The throat, spinal column, lungs, liver. The jugular vein, the subclavian artery. The kidney and heart. So many choices. What vital vulnerable place shall I choose? Heh-heh"
'This terrible bloodlust!' Sasuke thought starting to panic. 'If I draw attention to myself by even blinking, he'll kill me! I can feel it! I can't stay like this for long! I'm gonna lose it! A master ninja, determined to make a kill, knowing my life is in his hands, I hate it! You start wanting to die just to end the suspense!'
"Sasuke." He looked up. "Calm down. Even if he gets me, I'll still protect you." Kakashi turned to him and gave a quick smile. "I'll never let my comrades die!"
"I wouldn't count on that..." Zabuza appeared in the middle of them. "Game over."
He was about to strike when he was struck by Kakashi instead. Everyone was bumped out of the way.
"Sensei! Behind you!" Naruto yelled as the Zabuza Kakashi had attacked was only a water clone and burst into water. The real one was behind him and sliced him in two with his sword but that was also a water doppelganger!
'He was able to copy me in this mist?' Zabuza thought.
"Don't move." Kakashi said from behind him holding a kunai to his neck. "Game over."
"Awesome!" Naruto yelled
"Heh. You think it's over?" Zabuza asked. "You just don't get it. It will take a lot more then mimicking me. A lot more. But you are good! In that short time, you duplicate my water clone technique and by making your clone say something you'd have said yourself, you ensured all my attention would ne focused on it while you yourself used the kirigakure technique of hiding on the mist , watching my every move. Too bad for you..."
"I am not that easy to fool!"
The Zabuza in front of Kakashi burst into water as the real one was behind him. He swung his sword at Kakashi who ducked in time but was greeted by a kick in the water. He quickly disappeared again.
"Sensei!" Naruto yelled.
'Did Kakashi-senei get kicked all that way?' Sakura asked herself.
'His physical techniques are incredible!' Sasuke thought.
'Why is the water so heavy?' Kakashi thought as he came to the surface.
"Ha! Gullible Fool!" Zabuza yelled behind him while forming hand signs. "Art of the Water Prison!"
What seemed like an enormous water bubble formed around Kakashi. "I thought I could go underwater and regroup but it was a tactical error! That prison is inescapable. You're trapped. You running around free makes it too hard for me to do my job. So, I'll finish you later, after the others have been dealt with. Heh-heh-heh."
--
A body moved from under some sheets as arms reached out to stretch. It sat up, rubbing its eyes.
"Good afternoon, Tema." came a voice.
"Afternoon?!" Temari asked a little shocked. " I overslept!"
"Don't worry about it." Haku told her as he sat down beside her on the bed. "Zabuza said he'd take on this one by himself. Besides, you did need the sleep. You did only get back this morning."
"I know." The blond beauty replied as she got out of bed, her blue kimono loosely hung from her body since it was tied weakly with a blood red ribbon. She grabbed her hitai-ate from the bedside table, pressing her thumb on the engravement. She let out a small sigh as she remembered when she found out Haku and Zabuza were mist nin.
Sure, it did explain a lot, but she felt a quick stab in the heart since she was with the enemy.
But they weren't enemies. Not to her.
Zabuza saved her and gave her a place to stay. Haku was kind and generous and taught her with Zabuza. They were her new family. She could have left if she wanted to but she didn't. She couldn't help but feel that Konoha ran her out on purpose.
She opened her grey eyes. Because of them her other senses were so strong she didn't need to see to know what was happening.
As she tied it on her forehead when her body sensed something. She knew Haku had sensed it too by the sound he made when he stood up. He threw her a mask.
"We're needed." the two said together as they left.
--
"Can you see the future?" Zabuza asked pinned to a tree.
"I foresee..." Kakashi started as he was ready to finish him off. "...Your death!"
Before he could say anything else, needles flew through the air striking Zabuza's neck. Everyone was shocked as they looked to see where the needles came from.
"Your prediction has come true." a masked boy said from a treetop.
Naruto dragged himself out of the water, looking who it was who got the kill. He saw a kid in a mask in a tree nearby with standing with another standing next to him. She was wearing an identical mask .
Kakashi left the tree and kneeled down next to Zabuza. He check his pulse. "Way dead."
"Thank you for your help." the girl said as they both bowed. "I hope you don't mind our interfering..."
"...But we wanted the satisfaction of putting Zabuza out of his misery ourselves." the other finished.
"Your masks are familiar," Kakashi stated, "Aren't you shinobi hunters from the Village Hidden in the Mist?"
"Yes we are." the male answered.
"Shinobi hunters?!" Naruto asked.
"We are members of the Elite Tracking Unit from the Village Hidden in the Mist." the female stated. "It is our responsibility-"
"And our art." the male added.
"-To hunt down and deal with the rogues and outlaws."
'By his size and the tone of his voice, that boy can't be much older than Naruto or the others.' Kakashi thought. 'And that girl seems to be the same in age as well, and yet their both full fledged Shinobi Hunters? They're not your average kids!'
Naruto stole a glance at Zabuza's body than at the two, then at Zabuza and again at the hunters. The male looked at him confused.
"What's going on here?!" Naruto yelled. "Who are you guys?!"
"Relax Naruto. They're not the enemy." Kakashi told him while getting up.
'Naruto?' the female thought over Naruto's yelling. 'It couldn't be could it?'
"Naruto, this probably won't be the first time we meet others that are both younger than you and stronger than me."
'Younger?' the girl thought. She and the boy went down to Zabuza.
"Your battle is over for now." she told them as they pulled one arm over their shoulders. "And the remains must be disposed of, before they give up secrets to our foes."
With that said they were gone.
--
After finding a safe spot, the two lied down Zabuza. Temari stuck his sword in the ground as Haku got out his tools.
"First, I'll remove the wrappings around the mouth so the blood can drain out." Haku started as he took out medical scissors. He was about to cut Zabuza's bandages when his arm was grabbed.
"Enough." Zabuza told him. "I can do it myself."
"Your awake already?" Haku asked.
"You work like a butcher." Zabuza told him as he roughly pulled out a needle.
"Please Master Zabuza." Temari pleaded as she sat on the other side of him. "Gently. If you pull those out any which way, you really might kill yourself."
"Tema! I thought you'd still be out." Zabuza told her.
"I'd never do that when there was a job to do, sir." she informed him while pulling out the other needle for him.
"And how long are you two going to keep those masks on? Take them off!" Zabuza demanded.
"Old habits die hard." Haku relied as he and Tema took off their masks. " And it was also useful for our pantomime routine."
"They could have killed you if we didn't intervene." Tema told him.
"You two didn't need to target the vulnerable areas in the neck to put me in a deathlike trance. Any other points would have been fine!" Zabuza told the both of them while he replaced his bandages. "You both are sadistic brats."
"Thank you!" they both said simultaneously.
"He just didn't want to mar your perfect body, sir." Tema informed him with a slight blush.
"And besides." Haku added. "The neck is so much less muscular than the rest of the body. I can more precisely target the points that will leave an ordinary target paralyzed and apparently dead for a full week."
"But of course someone like you would recover much more quickly, right?"asked Temari.
Zabuza looked at the both of them."You two are so innocent and guileless. No doubt it's why I like the both of you."
"Well, we are only children." Tema told him with a smile while Haku was smiling too.
"Without us even noticing, the mist has lifted." Haku told them both as he stood up. "Next time, will you be alright?"
"Next time..." Zabuza started as he patted the blond's head. "I'll break the Sharingan!"
Naturally Temari would be excited to be at one of her Master's fights or even help him by being in it too. The feel of them squirming beneath her grasp. The sound of bones breaking. The smell of blood. But this time she was a little worried. After all her little brother was on that team. Though he was able to hold off in a fight with Zabuza, could he do it again?
She knew this day would come the moment she found out she was hanging with the mist.