(A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.
I do not own Naruto.
NEW:
Also, I'm done with my NaruHina Christmas two-shot, plus lemons! I also added a third chapter of lemony goodness!
I also have a new poll up: For my next NaruHina fic, what scenario should I do?
PS: If you have trouble imagining Hinata's hair length in this chapter, use this:
http:// dark1408 .deviantart .com /art/WC-Hinata-53267403
(Take out spaces) The rest of her clothes is same as cannon
"Talking."
"YELLING!"
Thoughts or emphasis on certain words.
Demonic voice or evil tones
3/28/2010
Chapter 6: The Land of Waves!
The familiar genins were communicated through wirelesses as they tracked their mission goal.
"Lavender Dove, this is Crymson Dragon. Please confirm location of target. Over."
"Target is approximately 32 meters south-southwest of your position, 45 meters east of my position, and 24 meters northeast of Orange Fox's position. Waiting for plan of attack, Crymson Dragon. Over."
"……………Our target is reputed to have great detection, evasion, and offensive skills. Orange Fox, make around fifty shadow clones to surround the target, radius 15 meters. I'll make the other fifty. Over."
"…Target has been surrounded. We're ready to move in at any time."
"……………"
"……………"
"Orange Fox, you're supposed to say 'over' when you're done talking. Over."
"Sorry about that. Over."
"…whatever. On my mark, send in clones to attack. Once target is sufficiently exhausted, Orange Fox will subdue the target. Everyone affirm the plan. Over."
"Orange Fox confirms. Over."
"Lavender Dove confirms. Over."
"Great. Let's roll on my mark. Three……….Two…..One……Mark!"
Sounds of battle could be heard throughout the forest along with screams of pain.
Naruto was struggling to hold an enraged cat, Kage and Hinata looking at him with varied levels of amusement.
Kakashi's voice came through the wireless. "Is there a red ribbon on the left ear? Over."
"Yes, Lazy Wolf, there is." Naruto replied smartly. "This is definitely Tora. Over."
"Good." Kakashi replied, ignoring his pupils' nickname for him. "Lost Pet 'Tora' search mission: Complete!"
Naruto, Kage, and Hinata sweatdropped as they watched an incredibly fat woman smother the returned cat.
"Okay, Team 7." The Hokage said, shuffling through some papers. "Your next mission is—"
Naruto quickly interrupted him. "Come on, old man! We've been doing D-rank missions for almost a week! Give us something special! Come on, at least a C-rank!"
Sarutobi sighed. "Naruto, don't you even want to consider how your friends feel about this?"
Hinata quietly injected herself into the conversation. "Honestly, Hokage-sama, you can't say anything about us not being ready. You should know that our skills are well above that of an average genin. We are fully capable of completing a C-rank mission. Isn't that right, Kage-kun?"
Iruka raised an eyebrow. One year ago, Hinata wouldn't even raise her voice to ask to go to the bathroom. Now she's standing up to the Hokage. It seems like Naruto and Kage are good influences.
"Hai. Hinata-chan and Naruto are right. It would be a waste of our skills to give us missions which…… less experienced teams can complete." Kage noted smoothly.
"Fine, I'll give you guys a C-rank." Hiruzen pulled out a sheet of paper. "Your mission is to protect your client, a professional bridge builder named Tazuna, and escort him back to his hometown." He gestured to one of his subordinates. "Bring him in." the man nodded and opened a door to the side.
Immediately, Naruto wrinkled his nose, smelling a great deal of alcohol, and Kage looked like he was about to through up. Hinata wasn't sure, but she thought she just saw the room get a little hazy with fumes. Sarutobi quickly threw his pipe in a bucket of water to prevent the room from igniting. Kakashi just kept reaching Icha Icha.
An old man with a distinct beer belly walked into the room, holding a bottle of sake. Tazuna looked over the three kids and muttered, "Great, a bunch of super bratty kids." Naruto's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to say something, but a look from Kage silenced him. Tazuna didn't notice and looked towards the Hokage. "You sure these brats can protect me?"
Kakashi took a step forwards. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I've been a jonin for almost ten years, and I can assure you that you will be well protected." His statement might have been taken a little bit more seriously if he hadn't been pervertedly giggling over his book.
Tazuna harrumphed. "Well, not what I expected, but I guess you'll do. Say, could you lend me one of those books?" Kakashi's visible eye twitched. He didn't care what the drunk thought of him, but no one took his books away. Sarutobi noticed this and quickly said, "Okay, you five will leave Konoha in one hour. You have this time to pack and say farewells, as this mission may take over a month long. Once the time is up, meet at the North Gate. Dismissed."
Hinata slowly folded away her last shirt and zipped up the bag. Now, all that was left was to tell her father. Hesitantly, the Hyuga heiress walked into her father's study. Hiashi looked up quickly.
"What is it?" He asked sharply.
"F-Father, I'm leaving on a mission. I may be gone for a month or more." Hinata answered, looking at the ground.
"Hmm, a C-rank already?" Hiashi mused. "Well, that's certainly quicker than expected. Congratulations."
Hinata smiled, feeling a small bit of pride at her father's acknowledgement. It was quickly squashed by his next words. "Do try to not be a burden to your team. You are excused, Hinata." Crushed, she sketched a quick bow and rushed out of the room. The dark blue-haired girl dashed out of the Hyuga Compound, trying to keep tears from escaping her eyes.
Rushing towards the North Gate, Hinata didn't notice running by a familiar black-haired boy. As he watched the Hyuga heiress run off, he made a familiar seal before following the lavender-eyed girl.
Hokage's office…
"Heya, old man, I'd like to ask a favor."
The Hokage looked up from his paperwork at stared at the blonde boy. "What is it, Naruto? Aren't you supposed to be at the North Gate right now?" He sighed.
"Well, I've been thinking about getting a new place for a while, now, with my dad's money. Problem is, it'd take to long to move our stuff, not that we have much, when we're busy with team training and things like that. So I thought that now me and Kage are gonna be off on a mission, we'd get a new place built, and by the time we get back it'll be finished."
The Hokage smiled. "Well, it sounds like a good idea, Naruto, but where do I come in?"
Naruto sighed. "You know how everyone gives me shit for having the Kyubi in me? Well, I really don't trust anyone to build me a safe, functional house. So I was thinking, you could buy out the apartment and have a demolition team tear it down, and then build a new house. And since you're the Hokage, people are likely to do a really good job, yeah? Just take the money out of the Namikaze account."
Hiruzen nodded. "That's an excellent idea, Naruto." He sounded vaguely surprised. "What size house do you want?"
"Oh, just a standard two story house. Around four bedrooms and four bathrooms, in case we ever have guests, and a kitchen and living room. Make sure to put two of the bedrooms on opposite sides of the house, though, Kage shouts in his sleep sometimes. Oh, and a large backyard for training and stuff. And besides, by the time we get back it'll be around September, so it'll kinda be like my surprise birthday present to Kage." Naruto snorted at a sudden memory. "I hope it turns out better than all the other birthday presents we've given each other. Last year nii-san gave me a sword and I stabbed myself with it. Once I gave him some metal-polishing oil for his blade, and he accidentally set it on fire."
Sarutobi sweatdropped. "Okay, Naruto, I'll be sure to do all that. Now don't you have somewhere to be?"
Naruto grinned back. "Don't worry, I already am." He poofed away in a cloud of smoke.
The Hokage blinked. Shadow clone? Damn, those things are useful.
Konoha North Gate…
Naruto, Kage, Hinata, Kakashi, and Tazuna all met up at the North Gate of Konoha.
"Yo, everybody ready to go? Last chance if you forgot anything?" Kakashi asked. His three students nodded. Together, the five people walked off on the road to the Land of Waves. Naruto and Hinata noticed Kage looking back at Konoha, and asked if something was wrong. Kage just shook his head. "It's nothing."
Hyuga Compound…
"Hyuga-sama," A branch member addressed the clan head, "there is a boy outside who wants to speak to you. He says it's about your daughter."
Hiashi scowled. What had the girl done now? "Send him in."
"Yes sir."
Hiashi studied to boy who walked in. He was of average height for a 12-year old, with coal-black hair and narrow dark brown eyes. Hiashi frowned. If the boy's skin was just a shade lighter, he could easily be mistaken for a Hyuga…
…
…
Or an Uchiha.
Except for the eyes, that is. The Hyuga typically had no irises, and the Uchiha typically had black or grey eyes. These traits were assumed to be the result of having a doujutsu.
Hiashi had no idea how close he was to the truth.
For now, Hiashi had a neutral opinion of Hinata's teammates. He had definitely noticed his daughter getting stronger as a result of training with them. Also, Hiashi was one of the few who knew the Kyuubi brat's true heritage. Minato Namikaze had been one of the few people to ever earn Hiashi's respect, so the least he could do was give his son a chance, despite his………resident.
Now this other boy…………… he was an unknown. Hiashi had done some 'research' (not like Jiraiya's research) on Hinata's other teammate. This……Kage……was a very interesting boy. Hiashi had discovered several…… troubling facts about him. First of all, his entire parentage was unknown, which wasn't that surprising, given he was an orphan. However, it seemed that he had managed to survive on his own until he was seven, at which point he was put into an orphanage. Later, he ran away from said orphanage with Minato's boy. Now, none of this was very disturbing. However, it seemed that he had killed five men and crippled another in an altercation involving his so called brother. Hiashi was deeply troubled by this. According to an ANBU report, Kage had seemed to have no emotional reaction to this incident, which was incredibly unusual for a child of his age who had just made his first kill. Or kills, as it was.
Hiashi frowned. By all accounts, the boy seemed rather unstable, but here he was waiting patiently in front of him. Hiashi realized he had gotten lost in his thoughts for a moment. He activated his Byakugan for two reasons: one, it allowed him to determine if the boy lied, and two, it usual freaked the shit out of people, which Hiashi had to admit was fun to do. Unfortunately, Kage didn't seem the least bit discomfited, in fact he seemed to expect it.
"How can I help you, boy?" He growled. Honestly, he felt the slightest bit grateful to him and Minato's boy. Somehow, they had managed to help Hinata stop stuttering. Hiashi didn't know how they did it; no matter how many times he had told her to stop, Hinata just couldn't help herself! No matter how many times Hiashi had told her to stop, she just kept on doing it. However, it was unbecoming for a clan head to show too much positivity or gratitude. After all, Hiashi had an image to maintain.
"You know why I'm here." Kage sneered. "Don't pretend like you don't; I dislike repeating myself."
Hiashi nodded, feeling a small amount of respect for the boy. He had always hated such pretenses, himself. Saying the same thing over and over was simply a waste of time. "Very well, what is it about my daughter?"
"Hinata loves you. Almost every thing she's done, every word she's ever spoken, was to get your attention. To get you to acknowledge her. But you never did, and you never will."
Kage turned his back to Hiashi and looked out the window, a clear sign of disrespect. "I used to think not having any parents was the worst thing that could happen to a child. After getting to know Hinata, I learned I was wrong. Did you know that she thinks you don't love her?" He asked semi-rhetorically.
Hiashi felt obligated to respond. "Love is just another useless emotion that will make her weak. I'm trying to make her strong so that she can be the clan head."
"And how has that been working out?" Kage threw a contemptuous glance over his shoulder. Hiashi remained silent and kept his face stoic, although he had to admit to himself that it really hadn't. Up until a year ago, Hinata was basically at the same skill level that she was at when she was six years old. Suddenly in the last year of the Academy, she had suddenly started coming home at late hours, saying she had been 'training' with 'friends'. Hinata's skills began improving in all areas. Sometimes, she seemed to slip into a bastardized style of Juken, but it seemed to be no less effective, so Hiashi let it slide. Hiashi assumed her two new teammates were the friends she had been training with.
Hiashi realized he was defending himself (albeit mentally) from…… this boy! "What do you care? I don't have to explain my ideals to the likes of you!"
Kage turned around and walked over to a chair and sat down. Another disrespectful slight, sitting down without being asked to. By his actions, Kage said that he considered Hiashi to be an equal, or even an inferior. "There are three things that will happen. Hinata will live by your ideals for the rest of her life and wonder what her life is missing, die fighting or fleeing your ideals, or kill you." Kage stood up and began to leave.
Hiashi stood up. "I'm not done talking to you!"
"I don't care. I'm done talking to you." Kage answered without turning around.
Hiashi dashed in a blur of speed and gave a small Juken strike to Kage's lower spine. Unable to feel or move his legs, Kage collapsed to the ground.
"Just what I would expect from you." Kage spat. "A bastard like you doesn't deserve to be a father." He dissolved in a cloud of smoke.
Hiashi blinked. Shadow Clone? He returned back to his seat and calmed his breathing, making sure his face betrayed no emotion. He called the Branch member back into the office.
"Cancel my meeting with Hiroshi." Hiashi told the Branch member. He needed to think. The boy had said many things Hiashi thought would be blatant falsehoods, but Kage had been speaking the truth the entire time. Hiashi needed some time to reflect upon his actions. Only a fool refuses to consider he is wrong.
Have I really treated you that badly, Hinata?
Close to the Land of Waves, after 2 weeks of travel…
Naruto looked around at his surroundings. It was nice to get out of the city once in a while. He looked around at the trees, the full moon in the star-filled sky, the leaf-covered ground, his friends, sensei, and client, and a small puddle.
Naruto frowned. Something was wrong.
Suddenly, a chain of shuriken ripped through Kakashi's body, tearing his body to shreds.
The three genin and Tazuna whipped around to see two ninjas, each with the headband of Kirigakure (Village Hidden in the Mist). They were holding the bloody weapon between them.
"NO! Damn it, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted.
"Mourn later." Kage commanded.
Two shinobi were connected by a chain. Kage quickly assed the situation. The weapons the two hostiles were using seemed to by a joint weapon. It would be highly effective if both users moved in perfect synchronization, but if one user slipped up or was too slow or too fast it would quickly become a burden. Kage quickly threw several kunai, pinning the chain to a tree. Together, the genin team jumped back to protect Tazuna.
The two shinobi smiled and disconnected from the chain. One had a claw on his right hand, and the other had a claw on his right hand. Naruto smelled what could only be described as a slight wrongness in the air, and realized what it was.
"Be careful." Naruto warned. "I think those claws are poisoned."
Kage nodded, processing this information. The two probably fought in synchronization, while one distracted an opponent the other could attack. Assuming Naruto was right, all they would need is a small scratch, depending on the strength of the poison. In two seconds, he had a battle plan.
"Hinata, with me on this one. Wait for an opening, then strike. Naruto, incapacitate the other one on the right! We need to question him. Go on my mark." Kage said in a low tone, so only Naruto and Hinata could hear. Naruto and Hinata nodded and took ready positions.
The two enemy shinobi laughed. "You genin are pretty gutsy, thinking you can take us, the Demon Brothers, on." Said one.
"You three seem pretty close." Said the other. "Just give us the old man, and we'll let you three go. I think that's pretty fair, don't you think, Meizu?"
"Indeed, brother. You should do as Gozu says." Said Meizu. "There's no way you three genin can beat us chunin."
"Don't underestimate us." Kage warned, drawing his kunai-katana. "We're not your average genin. How about you two leave. We'd hate to have to kill one of you."
Gozu laughed. "Brat, there's a difference between gutsy and just plain stupid. Do you really think—"
"NOW!" Kage shouted, and dashed towards Gozu, trusting Naruto to cover him from Meizu on the right. Hinata followed right behind him. Naruto made hundreds of shadow clones, all of whom charged towards Meizu.
Meizu easily carved through the first few dozen clones. He dispatched several more with little effort, sweeping his claw through several clones at once and easily avoiding strikes. But as the fight wore on, he began to slow down. Meizu was a stealth fighter; he relied on surprise attacks to catch his opponent off guard. He was running out of stamina, and Naruto was as fresh as the beginning of the fight. All he had to do was keep on making shadow clones and wait for Meizu to make a mistake.
Meizu, although more skilled than each individual clones, was overwhelmed due to sheer numbers. For every shadow clone he slashed through, two more took its place. On one particularly wild swing, a clone managed to grab Meizu's right arm, effectively trapping the metal claw. Soon more clones grabbed onto the missing-nin, dragging him to the ground and pinning him down. They disarmed him and held a kunai to his throat, ending his struggles by threat of death. The only thing Meizu could do was shout profanities before a clone slammed the hilt of a kunai into the back of his head, sending Meizu into the world of unconsciousness.
Kage attacked Gozu, using the longer range of his weapon to keep Gozu's poisoned claw at a safe distance. He and Gozu were about evenly matched. The width of Gozu's claws allowed him to easily block Kage's strikes, and its size allowed him to maneuver it easily. Kage's reactions allowed him to dodge Gozu's counterstrikes, barely dancing out of the poisoned weapon's reach each time. Hinata stayed at the edges of the fight, close enough to intervene if necessary and distract Gozu, but far enough that he could not strike at her without opening himself to Kage. Hinata waited for an opening; Gozu had almost two feet of reach more than her, so it was best to let Kage do most of the fighting.
Gozu lunged, and Kage quickly reached into his kunai pouch and drew a regular kunai with his left hand. He made an X shape with his katana and kunai, trapping the claws a scant inch from his face. Hinata didn't need to be told this was her opening. She dashed in, although Gozu was already freeing his claw, and got three good strikes in, and one on his kidney, before jumping away to avoid a slash.
Kage made a downward slash, forcing Gozu to redirect his attention again and block. Unable to react due to his numbed muscles and unable to move his upper body its full range, Gozu realized he was going to lose the fight at this rate. He began to wildly parry Kage's blows, hoping to force him off balance and get a quick kill before focusing on the girl.
The black-haired genin threw a feint at Gozu's left side, and Gozu fell for it, flinging his claw out to block a non-existant slash. Kage took the opening and stabbed Gozu through the stomach with his katana. He quickly followed up with a slash from the kunai with his left hand, cutting through Gozu's mask and opening his throat. Gozu died almost instantly. Kage pulled his sword out and wiped it on Gozu's clothes before sheathing it, doing the same with his kunai.
The black-haired boy looked over at his brother. As expected, Naruto was able to subdue the other attacker by flooding him with shadow clones. Luckily, none of the three teammates had gotten even a scratch.
"Well done." Kakashi said, stepping out of the trees, reading a familiar orange book.
His three students gave him a WTF look. "Kakashi-sensei! You're alive……Why the hell didn't you help us?!" Naruto shouted after a few moments of silence.
The jonin shrugged and turned the page. "You guys didn't need it." Incredible. Their skills are far better than I expected, even from the Rookie of the Year, the top kunoichi of their class, and the Yondaime's son.
"Why did you let the brats fight? I could have been killed." Tazuna hissed.
"Oh, if I wanted to I could have killed these two…" Kakashi gestured to the man pinned to the floor and the man lying in a pool of his own blood. "…but I wanted to find out who they were after. It would be highly unlikely for two ninja to attack a full team. It might be because I have a decent-sized bounty on my head, but they kept attacking after they thought they killed me. They were after you, Tazuna, and you know that. The C-rank mission we're on only involves protecting you from standard thieves and bandits, not ninja. My team could have been killed due to your lies." Kakashi had a dangerous glint in his eye.
Hinata paled at the word 'killed', and rushed off into the trees. Kage noticed this. He rolled his eyes.
"Sensei, nii-san, go set up camp. If these two were working with others close by, they would have attacked at the same time. I'll go after Hinata-chan. Don't bother to come looking for us. We'll be back soon." Naruto and Kakashi nodded as Kage walked off.
Hmm, interesting. Kakashi thought. Naruto seems to defer to Kage in all areas of planning, yet Kage follows whatever course of action Naruto takes. Hinata used to seem like she had a crush on Naruto, but now she's acting...different. What a fascinating group I have here. Oh well, time to focus on the present.
He turned towards Tazuna, who saw his life flash before his eyes. Too bad it wasn't much, just a bunch of scenes of his childhood and most of his adult life getting drunk.
Kage found Hinata puking into the bushes. He stood behind her and held her semi-long hair back as she threw up.
"What's wrong, Hinata-chan?" Kage asked when she was finished. Hinata stared at him in shock.
"Kage, we just killed a man! What do y-you mean, 'What's wrong?'" Hinata hissed.
Kage shrugged. "So? He would have killed us."
"And we killed him instead. His corpse is r-rotting on the ground. Doesn't that make you feel anything?"
Kage's face immediately went blank, a look of cold detachment crawling over his features. "He wasn't my first." Kage said in a monotone. "I've killed before. I don't like it. But to protect my family, I am willing to do anything. Even if they hate me for it." He walked away stiffly.
"Kage, wait!" Hinata called out. Kage turned around, the terrible look of nothingness still on his face. "I don't hate you, I'm just a little………confused. I just need to think s-some things through. Can you stay with me? I don't want to be alone right now."
Kage's face softened. He walked back to Hinata. Together, they lay back down among the grass, looking up at the full moon. Eventually, Hinata spoke.
"I know what we did is necessary. I don't have to like it, but I'll do it again i-if I have to."
Kage nodded his understanding. "We should get back to camp. I'm sure Kakashi sensei is done grilling the client and the perp."
As they walked back to camp, Hinata's words echoed in Kage's thoughts. There is a certain satisfaction in knowing that I removed a threat to my family, even when I kill. Does that make me a bad person?
Back at camp, Tazuna had quickly explained the economical situation of his country. If he couldn't build the bridge, Gatou would retain a complete monopoly over the inhabitants of the Land of Waves. Knowing this, Gatou had hired ninja's to assassinate Tazuna. The Land of Waves was poor, and the only mission they could afford was a C-rank.
Kakashi frowned, now slightly calmer. "Hmmm. We're almost definitely going to be facing more ninja on this mission, making it at least an A-rank. It definitely causes problems when you lie about the mission specs. My team may be unready for this."
"Please!" Tazuna begged. "My people need this. If it's about the money, we'll pay you once we get back on our feet. We'll be ruined for several generations if I can't complete this bridge! My grandson and daughter will be among hundreds who will die of starvation."
"I understand your reasons, but I still need to ask my team."
Predictably, Naruto was the first to answer. "Kakashi-sensei, I think we should do this. Hundreds of people will die if we don't. Besides, what kind of Hokage would I be if I ran away at the first sign of trouble?"
"I see. Hinata?"
"Naruto is right, sensei. I for one can't just turn my back and forget about this. I would be haunted by my conscience for the rest of my l-life." Neither Naruto nor Kage missed the lack of '-kun' at the end of Naruto's name.
"Kage?"
"Why the hell does my opinion always come last? First Iruka, then the Hokage, then you?" Kakashi sweatdropped, and Kage continued. "Whatever. I'm in. That was a two-man chunin team, and we were able to defeat them without your help. If we run into anyone stronger, you should be able to defeat them."
Kakashi nodded, proud of his students. He remembered one of his own missions, with Rin, Obito, and Minato-sensei. Ironic, really. His team's mission was to destroy a bridge, and now his students' mission was to make sure an important build was built.
"Fine. Get to sleep, you three. We still have long days ahead of us."
As Naruto and Kage went into their respective tents, Hinata waited behind to ask her sensei one last question.
"Kakashi-sensei, what happened to the last ninja?" She asked, although she probably already knew the answer.
"What was necessary." Kakashi replied. I'm sorry, but you'll have to get used to it. A ninja's life is filled with blood and death. Find the few moments of light and happiness, and cherish those moments. Sometimes, they're all you have.
A few days later…
"Finally, we're almost there! Just half a day's walk and I can sleep in a nice, warm bed." Naruto shouted.
Kage restrained himself from hitting his brother upside the head. "Naruto-nii-san, what is the point of sneaking all the way here if you're just going to announce our presence to the world with your loud mouth?"
"Chill out, nii-san. No one's gonna attack us this close—aahh!"
Hinata sensed a presence and immediately threw a shuriken. It passed right by Naruto's face, almost cutting his cheek, and went into a bush.
Kage raised an eyebrow. He knew Hinata was still mad at Naruto, but attacking him was going a bit far, wasn't it? "Nee-chan, I'm going to assume you didn't just attack nii-san for no good reason."
Hinata shook her head. "No, I felt something. Byakugan!" She activated her blood limit and looked in the direction of the projectile. Kage realized he sensed something, or someone, too, and drew his sword. However, he faced a different direction, scanning the area.
Hinata immediately saw what she sensed and deactivated her Byakugan. "Oh. It's just a rabbit." Her team sweatdropped.
Suddenly, Kakashi head the familiar whooshing sound of an object moving through the air at high speeds. "GET DOWN!" he shouted. He tackled Naruto to the ground, and Kage tackled Hinata to the ground. A massive zanbatou flew over their heads and slammed into a tree. A bandaged man body flicked, standing on top of the sword's handle.
Damn it, it's him! There's no one else it could be. Kakashi thought.
"Protect Tazuna at all costs. This one's mine." The Jonin ordered, lifting his headband to reveal his Sharingan eye. "Under no circumstances are you to enter the fight."
The enemy shinobi chucked. "The Sharingan, a doujutsu that can copy any technique instantly, shown to me already? I'm honored, Copy-nin Kakashi."
Suddenly, the bandaged man appeared in the middle of Team 7's defensive formation, ready to decapitate all of them. Kakashi turned around and blocked the swing of the sword with a kunai, grunting under the weight. Suddenly, he poofed into smoke. The real Kakashi appeared behind the ronin and stated "It's over."
Kakashi cut the man's throat, and out of the gaping wound poured……blood? The bandaged man dissolved into water.
"I'm not that easy to kill." A sword cut Kakashi in half, revealing his inner organs, which turned into… more water?
Again, Kakashi appeared behind the Zanbatou wielder, but this time, the man kicked Kakashi to the side before he could attack. The Jonin landed on his feet on a nearby lake, his opponent quickly jumping after him. Before Kakashi could recover, Zabuza started making handseals.
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu)!" A massive dragon formed of water crashed down on Kakashi, forcing him under the surface of the water.
"I, Momichi Zabuza, Demon of the Bloody Mist, declare this battle over." Zabuza said, forming handseals. "Suiro no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique)!" An orb of water enveloped Kakashi, trapping him inside. At the same time, a clone of the bandaged man rose up out of the water. Zabuza turned to face Team 7.
"Heh. You're a bunch of kids, wearing those headbands and acting like real ninja. A real ninja has looked death in the face so many times it becomes a part of every day life. You can't call yourselves real ninja, you're still wet behind the ears."
The water clone began to approach them, and Kakashi yelled, "Take the client and run away. You have no chance of beating him, but as long as he's holding me in this prison he can't move. The clone can't go very far from his body. I got careless; this fight was over the moment I got captured. There's no reason for you four to pay for my mistakes…"
Naruto cut his sensei off quickly. "'Ninja who abandon the mission are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.' Isn't that what you told us?"
Zabuza laughed before Kakashi could respond. "Still acting like ninja, huh. This is a joke, I mean, look at you." He pointed at Kage. "You think it's cool to carry around a sword? That thing's so thin…"
(Remember, Kage's katana is basically a kunai stretched so that the blade is three feet long. The handle is long enough that he can wield it with two hands, but he can also wield it using only one hand because it is so light: the blade is still only an inch across. The pommel still has a hole in it, and there is no tsuba [guard] on the top of the hilt.)
Suddenly, the water clone rushed Kage with a downward slash, who blocked with his right hand on the hilt and his left hand at the tip, on the flat of the blade. "…THAT I CAN BREAK IT WITH ONE HIT!" The two blades collided, and Kage fell to one knee due to the impact, but the kunai-katana didn't break. Kage pushed the surprised clone's blade to the side and slashed at his legs, cutting through him at the knees. The clone promptly turned to water as it died.
"Naruto, make some shadow clones to attack Zabuza when he's distracted. Trust me, you'll know when. Hinata, your chakra control should be good enough to make a shadow clone form several feet away. Make a single shadow clone, but form it under the water. If Naruto's clones fail, have your clone grab his legs. I'll take care of the rest." Kage ordered softly.
The brown-eyed genin stood up above the spilled water of his enemy. "Naruto, Hinata, leave him to me." He announced loudly, hoping to fool Zabuza, and jumped onto the water, thankful that Hinata had taught them water-walking with chakra.
Zabuza raised a hairless eyebrow. "Interesting. That sword is not made of ordinary metal, is it? Oh well, brat, it doesn't matter. What makes you think you can defeat me if the famed Kakashi of the Sharingan couldn't even give me a scratch?"
"I may not have the Sharingan, but I don't need it to copy your moves." Kage placed the handle of his sword in his mouth and bit down, freeing his hands. "Geh' uh loah' o' thith! (Get a load of this!). Ox-Monkey-Hare-Rat-Boar-Rooster-Ox-Horse-Rooster-Rat-Tiger-Dog-Tiger-Snake-Ox-Sheep-Snake-Boar-Sheep-Rat-Monkey-Rooster-Dragon-Rooster-Ox-Horse-Sheep-Tiger-Snake-Boar-Rat-Monkey-Hare-Boar-Dragon-Sheep-Rat-Ox-Monkey-Rooster-Boar-Rat-Snake-Rooster!"
Incredible. Kakashi thought, looking on in amazement. He only saw it once, yet he was able to memorize all 44 seals. Without the Sharingan, too!
Naruto and Hinata gasped in surprise, but stuck to their instructions.
Zazuba was impressed. This kid reminded him of Haku. Hell, he and Haku even had the same eye color and skin tones. Not that he looked like a woman, but by the genin's visual analyzing skills.
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu)!" Kage called out, finishing the Rooster handseal.
Zabuza prepared for the attack. Kakashi waited. Kage waited. Naruto, Hinata, and Tazuna waited.
…
…
Nothing happened. Kage sweatdropped. Shit, why isn't this working? I know for a fact that I got all seals correct.
Kakashi would have facepalmed himself if he could move. Damn, Kage must have absolutely no water chakra affinity. I'm going to have to teach them about that if I can get out of this. I hope you three have a better plan than that…
Zabuza started laughing, and Naruto saw the perfect opportunity to attack. He created a dozen shadow clones, all of whom mobbed Zabuza. The missing-nin did a weird half-jump spinning kick, his foot tracing out one half of an infinity sign before completing the shape with his other foot, dispelling all of the clones. Hinata noticed that he kept one foot on the water and one hand in the sphere at all times. She made her own shadow clone, making sure it formed underneath of the water.
The Hyuga heiress nodded to Kage. He immediately rushed Zabuza, who scowled. Zabuza couldn't use his sword; one hand was forming a seal to keep the water prison viable, and the other was in the prison funneling chakra. He was about to kick the brown-eyed genin away when he felt two deceptively soft hands grab his ankles in a tight grip.
Kage slashed at the hand holding the prison. Zabuza cursed and released the jutsu, using a chakra powered jump to launch himself ten feet into the air. He pulled Hinata with him, as she was still holding onto his legs. In a fit of rage, Zabuza cut through her with his zanbatou, but she turned out to be a shadow clone as well, dispelling in a puff of smoke.
Kakashi rose to his feet, his Sharingan eye blazing. "Good job, you three. I'll take it from here." Which the three genin translated as: I'd like to bitch at you for disobeying me, but you did just save my life.
"Kage, this is how you do it." Kakashi said, realized what Zabuza was about to do.
They each went through 18 handseals, each racing to complete it first.
"You can't beat me you—" Zabuza started to say. 3…4…5
"…damn monkey." Kakashi finished. 11…12…13
Zabuza's eyes widened, although he kept going with his handseals. What? Is he…
"…Reading my mind?" Kakashi finished the seals. 17…18…Done!
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Vortex Jutsu)!"
A massive vortex of water smashed into Zabuza, crushing him into a tree with its pressure. "Impossible." Zabuza gasped out. "How could you copy my moves before I made them? Can your eye see the future?"
"Yes." Kakashi answered. "But I'm afraid you don't have one."
Kakashi was just about to finish Zabuza when two senbon needles thunked into Zabuza's neck, who fell to the floor lifelessly.
A hunter nin with the symbol of the village Kirigakure appeared, landing right next to the body. "You're right, he doesn't. I must thank you for tiring him out, I alone do not have the skills required to defeat Zabuza. Now I must dispose of this body." The hunter nin made to pick up the body.
Kakashi felt something was off. Wait a second, hunter-nins are supposed to destroy the body on the spot and take only the head for identification. "Hey wait—"
Seeing that the ruse was over, the hunter nin through a single senbon into Kakashi's left kneecap, going through his ACL tendon. As the jonin fell to the ground, the masked ninja grabbed Zabuza's body and Shushin'd away.
"Damn it." Kakashi growled, standing up with some difficulty. Naruto, Hinata, and Kage ran up to him, Tazuna not far behind. Kakashi gritted his teeth and ripped the senbon out of his leg, checking the wound. He wouldn't be able to do any prolonged major activity for long, at least until he got back to Konoha and got healed.
Tazuna bowed lowly. "Forgive me; it seems I have underestimated you three. As my apology, I would like to offer you three my place to stay at for the remainder of this mission."
Kakashi nodded, then collapsed to the ground. I think I used too much chakra there.
Naruto made several shadow clones to pick up his sensei, and the group moved on, too tired to be wary of further attacks.
Some time later…
Tazuna had quickly brought his protectors home and introduced them to his daughter, Tsunami. Kakashi groaned on the bed he was laying on.
Kage, Naruto, and Hinata instantly realized their sensei was awake.
"Kakashi-sensei, who was that m-masked ninja? Are you okay?" Hinata asked.
"At first I thought was a hunter nin of Kirigakure. Also known as body erasers, their job is to completely dispose of missing nins and traitors without leaving any trace behind. A ninja's body can reveal important information about its village, like ninjutsus used, special herbs, chakra types, and other things, like possible kekkei genkai. To prevent other villages from learning this information, hunter nins hunt down loose ends and completely eradicate them."
"That's why that wasn't a hunter nin. I think that guy simply put Zabuza into a near death state. Zabuza is still alive. He'll attack at a later time, probably a week, you three need to prepare."
Naruto, Hinata, and Kage were absolutely shocked, although Kage didn't show it.
After thinking about it, Naruto grinned at the chance of facing Zazuba again.
Hinata was slightly scared that Zabuza was still alive, but was determined to see the mission through.
Kage's face was absolutely blank. "Kakashi-sensei, what do you mean, 'us three need to prepare'? What about you?"
Kakashi sighed. "My leg is shot. In combat I'd most likely be a liability, I have almost no maneuverability with only one good leg. Against Zabuza, one of you has a better chance than me. In this next week, I want you to train yourself to death. If you don't become better than you are now, you will die, guaranteed. I'm sorry, but that's how it is, accept it or quit the mission."
"You should quit now." A small cold voice came from the corner of the room. The occupants turned to see a small boy.
"Inari, hush." Tsunami scolded.
"No, mom. They will all die. It's useless to try to fight against Gatou. He's too strong; if we try to oppose him he'll just kill us too." Inari yelled
A strong killing intent filled the room, a dark, suffocating presence. Kakashi's head darted around: such a strong feeling couldn't come from genin or civilians. His black-haired student stood up, and Kakashi realized it was coming from Kage.
Kage smoothly pulled out a regular kunai and slid the handle into Inari's frozen palm, closing the boy's fingers around the weapon. "Then just kill yourself, if you believe you're going to die."
When Inari didn't respond, Kage raised an eyebrow. "Too scared? That's okay, I'll do it for you." He took the kunai and drove it towards Inari's face.
Tsunami screamed. "STOP!" The tip of the kunai halted a millimeter from Inari's unblinking eye. Kage glanced over to Tsunami, then continued to talk.
"Gatou is already killing you right now. If you refuse to defend yourself, you are letting him kill you, and thus you are already killing yourself slowly. The question is, do you want to die, or are you willing to protect yourself and your loved ones?" Kage put the kunai in Inari's pocket and patted it. "Think about it. What you do with that knife is your answer."
Kage stood up, looking at his teammates and sensei. "I'm going out to train before I go to sleep. You can try to find me, but you'll probably be wasting your time." Being a ninja, he opened the window and jumped out of the second story, instead of using the stairs and the front door like regular people.
Inari suddenly ran to his room, crying. Tsunami sighed. "I'm sorry, he's been like that ever since Kaiza died. He saw him like a father figure; when Gatou killed him it broke something within my son."
Naruto frowned and stood up. "I'm going to go talk to him."
Hinata nodded. For some reason, she felt like she wanted to go see Kage. "Fine. I'll go try to find nii-san. He may be able to h-hide his chakra signature, but his body is still there. Maybe with my Byakugan I'll f-find him." She left through the window.
Naruto went upstairs to find a crying Inari holding a picture of his stepfather.
"Kage-nii-san was a little bit harsh, but he's right, you know." Naruto started.
"No, he knows nothing! What do you know about my suffering?"
Naruto frowned darkly. This kid doesn't even begin to comprehend the meaning of the word 'suffering'. "Kid, how many meals do you eat in a day?"
"T-Three." Inari replied through his sobs.
Naruto snorted. "That's how much Kage ate in a week when he was your age. How many times have you been beaten to death?"
Inari was so surprised he stopped crying. "None."
Before he could ask why, Naruto took the kunai out of Inari's pocket and slammed it through his hand, gritting his teeth with the pain, but not making a sound. "You know what? This doesn't even hurt." Naruto lied. "I've been beaten, stabbed, poisoned, strangled, drowned, and burnt so many times I'm almost used to it. But you know what?" Naruto pulled the kunai out, and before their very eyes the wound started to close up. Inari watched in amazement as new flesh formed. In just under a minute, Naruto's hand was as good as new.
"I'd always get better, and then people would continue. Sometimes, I'd die multiple times in one night. But one day, everyone stopped. Do you want to know why?"
Inari nodded. "One day, a mob had just beaten me to a pulp. My brother killed almost all of them, and the last man now lives in a hospital, able to squirm around like a worm and speak. That's why he was so disgusted at you. You think your life is horrible; you don't even begin to understand pain. All you're doing is letting people take advantage of you. A ninja……is just a killing machine. But what you kill for……that is what determines what kind of person you are."
Naruto handed Inari the bloody kunai. "Keep it. Kami forbid, but maybe one day you will find out what kind of person you are, too."
Naruto left the room. A stunned Inari looked at the bloody kunai in his hand.
After almost an hour of searching, Hinata finally found Kage. She had to rely almost exclusively on her Byakugan, as Kage had masked his chakra signature fully. She watched him practicing a series of kata with his sword only in his left hand.
A dim region of Kage mind realized Hinata's presence, but Kage didn't care; he was too focused. Wielding his blade in his left hand, he cut through the air gracefully, decapitating and impaling imaginary enemies.
Parting the Waterfall…flows into Fury of the Tiger…flows into Dance of the Swallow…flows into Peeling the Red Camellia…flows into…
Kage went on and on, fighting the exhaustion and pain he felt, unused to using his katana in his left hand. At some point, his forearm gave out in a spasm, and he dropped the sword, falling to his knees. The brown-eyed boy gasped as he tried to regain his breath.
Hinata saw Kage fall and immediately jumped to his side. He waved her away and shakily stood up on his own.
"Kage-kun…"
"Do you think I was a bit harsh?" Kage asked rhetorically. "With his attitude, he's in for a rude awakening one day or another. Maybe this way, he won't die when things go pear-shaped."
"Is life and death a-all you think about?" Hinata asked without malice, deciding to just drop the whole situation about Inari.
Kage shrugged, and started stretching so his muscles didn't cramp up. "Probably. That's what I'm doing out here, I'm trying to think of a plan so we don't get killed. Life's tough, hime, I just do what I have to do to get by."
Hinata frowned at her new nickname. "Hime? Princess?"
Kage smirked at her before moving on to a calf stretch. "Yeah. You're the heiress of the Hyuga clan; doesn't that make you like a princess?"
Hinata scowled at him before thinking of a comeback. "Oh yeah? Well I guess that makes you a kimi, doesn't it? The brother of a princess is a p-prince."
Kage kept a smile on his face, although he was kind of annoyed. I can put up with my nickname longer than she can put up with hers. "Well, I need rest if I'm going to train all week. I'm going to head back and go to sleep. May I escort you home, Hinata-hime?" He said somewhat sarcastically, offering Hinata his arm in a mocking gesture.
Hinata smiled back sharply, although in a peeved but friendly manner. "I would like that, Kage-kimi." She took his arm in a dainty fashion.
Sardonically, the two friends walked home.
Somewhere else…
Zabuza's eyes shot open. "I'm going to kill those brats."
A/N: Fin.
In case you don't know, hime means princess and kimi means prince. So Hinata-hime means Princess Hinata and Kage-kimi means Prince Kage.
Alternately, Hinata can mean bright (as in light), or a sunny place. Kage means shadow. So Hinata-hime and Kage-kimi can mean Princess of Light and Prince of Shadows. Interesting, huh?
A little bit of interesting Onomastics (study of names) right there.
Love it or leave it, but you gotta review it! I mean, hell, you've obviously spent some time reading it. Can't you spend 30 seconds to review it?
Or is that too 'troublesome' for you?
Shikamaru: I resent that.
Jaytang: Shut up. No one cares what you think.