Here's chapter 7!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or AtLA or anything else you may recognize. I own only my OC.


We had traveled further and were getting closer to the Land of Waves. After the debacle with those enemy ninja we were all on edge. None more visibly so than Naruto. He had been acting a lot more jumpy since our encounter with the Demon Brothers. He was darting back and forth, shouting more than usual, and attacking anything that moved. Frankly, he was starting to get really annoying. That's not to say, however, that the rest of us weren't more alert too.

Sakura was glancing around, scanning the area with a calm and slightly curious face. Sasuke had been keeping his hands near his weapons pouch at all times. As for myself, I had taken the cap off of my waterbending pouch and left it off, so I had easy access to some water if it became necessary. To civilians it would have looked like Sakura was taking in the local flora, that Sasuke had his thumbs hooked in his pockets because that's just the way he walked, and that I had just forgotten to put the lid back on my pouch. Kakashi wasn't showing any visible signs of worry, but he was a jonin so it wasn't a big surprise that me, a genin, couldn't tell if he was concerned or not.

This was supposed to be a C-class mission, meaning that the worst we should have run into is a couple of thugs or bandits. We had encountered a pair of chunin level enemy ninja. While taking on two chunin by himself is no problem for Kakashi, he wasn't alone. He had to look out for not only our client, Tazuna, but for the four of us genin as well. No matter how good we thought we were, we were genin fresh out of the Academy, and we still weren't completely solid on our teamwork yet. We may have scraped by with the Demon Brothers, but who knows what else - or more importantly who else - we'll encounter.

"Gah!" Naruto yelled as he threw another one of his shuriken at one of the bushes. I was really beginning to wonder how many he had in his weapons pouch because this was the eighth one he had thrown, and he only went back to pick up a few of them.

"Naruto, quit throwing weapons at everything!" Sakura shouted as a white rabbit popped out of the bush that Naruto had thrown his shuriken at.

Oh, that poor, defenseless rabbit. It was probably so scared now an- wait. It's summer time. Why is it's coat white? That only happens in the winter, right? A wild rabbit's fur shouldn't be-

"Everybody down!" Kakashi ordered as he dropped to the ground, pulling Tazuna along with him. On command, I threw myself to the ground. Right after I hit the dirt I heard a heavy swoosh or air zip right over where my head had just been. I watched with wide eyes as the biggest sword I have ever seen embedded itself in a tree a few meters ahead of our group.

Oh, man! That sword is freaking huge! Whoever's using that thing must be a giant in order to properly wield that thing. I, along with the rest of our little entourage stood up and stared at the giant sword in the tree. Seemingly out of nowhere, a tall muscular man whose hair was spiked and had a face covered in bandages landed on the handle of the enormous weapon.

He looked down at our group and as he stared at our sensei I could tell that he had dismissed Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, and I and didn't consider us a threat. He was staring at Kakashi intently. Whoever this man was knew exactly who Kakashi was and what he was capable of.

I looked at my teammates as discreetly as I could manage and motioned for them to move closer to Tazuna. If this bandage-face guy knew who Kakashi was and was still standing there confidently instead of running away, I was betting that he was way out of our league. Kakashi would deal with him, and us genin would focus on protecting our client.

Sakura seemed to be the only one to catch my message and began to cautiously move closer to Tazuna. Naruto wasn't paying attention. In fact, he was looking at our new opponent with determination clear in his eyes.

I paled at the sight. Oh, no. Naruto wasn't actually considering going up against this guy was he? We really didn't have any clear information about this guy yet, but based on the ever increasing sinking feeling I was getting in the pit of my stomach, it couldn't be anything good. It was never anything good.

Sasuke had gotten my message too, but quickly glanced at me before turning his attention back to Kakashi and the enemy ninja in front of us wearing a similar look on his face as Naruto. For real? Is he seriously ignoring me? What the freaking heck Uchiha?! I couldn't believe him. I mean, I would kind of expect this from Naruto because he's Naruto, but Sasuke's smarter than that, right? He does know that our primary objective is to protect the client, doesn't he? This is seriously not the time for another wave of all his 'I'm so much better than all of you' crap.

I let out a frustrated huff. That's it. I am officially on a team full of idiots. Sakura and I stood in defensive positions around Tazuna while the boys and Kakashi were more preoccupied with watching bandage-face.

Kakashi began to speak and take some steps forward. "Well, well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, a rouge ninja of Kirigakure," Kakashi said calmly.

Yup, I knew it. It was never good. I knew there was a reason for that sinking feeling. This guy is Zabuza freaking Momochi! He's killed hundreds of people before he even became a shinobi; he was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, and had garnered the title of "Demon of the Mist". This guy was a big time threat.

I glanced over to the boys of Team Seven again. Sasuke, while looking intrigued with Zabuza, didn't show any signs that he was going to do anything stupid. Naruto on the other hand, looked like he was ready to pick a fight with this guy the first chance he got. Not good. Definitely not good. The blond idiot was going to get himself killed if he thought he could take on Zabuza. He's at least an A-ranked threat in Konoha's bingo book, and we were genin. We wouldn't stand a chance against someone like him!

"Ahhh!" I watched in horror as Naruto yelled and began to charge at Zabuza. Oh spirits! What in the world is running through your thick head you little idiot?! Luckily, Kakashi stopped him before he could get very far.

"You're in the way," Kakashi spoke gravely. "Get back."

The laid back, relaxed, and somewhat lazy Kakashi that we were used to seeing everyday had disappeared. He stood up straighter and his voice was more stern. Kakashi was in mission mode right now. He had his opponent in front of him, and was ready to fight. Seriously fight, not the lazy movements he had used against us during training. Now, we'd get to see a taste of what Kakashi was really capable of. This both thrilled and worried me.

"But why?" Naruto asked, still not getting how this guy was so different than the other two ninja we had faced off against earlier on our journey.

"Because Naruto, he's not like those other ninja. He's in a whole other league. If he's going to be our opponent, I'm going to need this," Kakashi said sternly as he began to straighten out his hitai-ate, revealing not only a scar that ran down the center length of his eye and the areas around it, but also a crimson red Sharingan eye.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan eye. Did I get that right?" Zabuza mocked. He obviously knew that Kakashi was Kakashi. I stole a glance at Sasuke and saw him with clenched fists and a tense jaw, but other than that nothing. Good. That meant he was still focused. It was a real good thing Sasuke found out about Kakashi's Sharingan before today.

"You'll have to hand over the old man," Zabuza stated and I watched for any sort of signal or something. I knew that Kakashi wouldn't give up Tazuna to this guy, even if it did mean a fight would break out. Kakashi just wasn't that type of ninja. He wasn't that type of person. Tazuna had been placed under our care for the duration of this mission and Kakashi would make sure it stayed that way.

"Quick, Manji formation! Protect the bridge builder," Kakashi ordered. The four of us quickly moved into the formation that Kakashi had called out.

"Stay out of this fight," our silver haired leader said seriously. "I taught you all teamwork. Now it's time to use it."

"Well, it seems I get to the famous Sharingan in action. What an honor," Zabuza chuckled darkly.

Naruto let out a cry of frustration. "All I keep hearing is Sharingan, Sharingan, Sharingan. I've heard it here and back in the village. Will someone please tell me what the heck the Sharingan even is?!"

Sasuke was quick to speak up and answer Naruto's question. "The Sharingan is the rare ability that resides in the eyes, a dojutsu. A person in possession of this dojutsu is able to instantly see and comprehend any genjutsu, ninjutsu, or taijutsu and reflect it back to their opponent. The Sharingan is a very special and rare kekkei genkai. However, there is a lot more to the Sharingan than just that. A lot more," Sasuke explained.

"You've got that right, boy, but I'd suspect nothing less from one of the only two surviving members of the Uchiha," Zabuza directed at Sasuke, and the rage in Sasuke's eyes was more intense than I'd ever seen it, "but you only just scratched the surface. The Sharingan is able to analyze an opponent's technique and then copy it down to the smallest of details."

How did Zabuza even know that Sasuke was an Uchiha? Ah, that's right, because Sasuke goes around wearing a huge Uchiha symbol on the back of his shirt. He really needs to wear something different. I get having pride for your clan and all, - I men, I have a huge water tribe symbol on the back of my jacket - but that huge red and white fan on his back may as well be a target for anyone looking to get their hands on the last Uchiha and his eyes. He may not have an active Sharingan at the moment, but potential was always there.

Suddenly, a thick fog began to overtake the area. What?! When did this happen?! I didn't even see him weave any hand signs! Either he moved too fast for me to see, or he doesn't need them to perform this jutsu. Either way, this was bad.

I watched helplessly as the thick blanket of hazy white mist began to consume the entirety of the once clear surroundings. Soon enough I couldn't see Kakashi, Tazuna, or any of my teammates. Heck, I could barely see a foot in front of me. This was not good. Not good at all. If I couldn't see, I was basically a sitting duck. I relied on my vision for practically everything. I didn't have a strong enough chakra sense to be able to pinpoint where each person was without having to sit still and put my complete focus on that. Nor did I have a heightened sense of smell or hearing like members of the Inuzuka clan. I was basically useless, and I was beginning to freak out. I do not like this feeling of uselessness. I don't know how to handle this type of situation! What do I do? What can I do? How will I-

"Sumiko!" I heard Kakashi's voice call through the thick mist. "I need you to focus, Sumiko. Do you think you can get rid of this?" he asked.

I took a deep breath and began to calm myself down. Now was not the time for a panic attack. Okay, focus. What did Kakashi mean by get rid of this? How could I - oh. Duh. I am a waterbender and all this foggy mist stuff is made of water. In theory, I should be able to disperse it. I still have a difficult time tearing apart jutsu that were in the process of being used, especially higher level jutsu, and there was no guarantee that I could get rid of this mist. But I had to try.

Right, okay. Let's do this. I took another deep breath and held my arms out in front of me. I lightly tugged on the water that made up this mist with my bending. I could feel the resistance from what I was pretty sure was bits of Zabuza's chakra throughout the mist, but I tugged harder and I could feel the water particles of the mist to begin to gather and form a blob of water that hovered in the air. Fighting against Zabuza's chakra was taxing, and I could begin to feel the toll it was taking on me. I didn't want to waste all my energy before the fight even started, so I stopped. I hadn't been able to fully get rid of the mist, but at least we could see somewhat clearly now.

"What's this now? You seem to have some interesting students, Kakashi. Tell me girl, who are you?" Zabuza asked.

Awesome. Just great. You go and give everyone some visibility, but then you go and draw Zabuza Momochi's attention to you.

"Leave my students out of this," Kakashi said darkly.

Zabuza chuckled. "But why should I? It's obvious she's a natural water user. If she can pull apart my jutsu like that, she clearly has potential. Potential that's wasted in the Land of Fire," he paused and turned his gaze to me. "I could use a new apprentice. Sumiko, is it? I could teach you many things Konoha ninja would never be able to. You have potential. Under my teachings you could become great," he offered.

"Leave Sumiko out of this," Kakashi said with venom in his voice.

"Why not let the girl answer for herself, Kakashi?"

I could feel the collective gaze of my teammates on me. I glanced at them to see Naruto and Sakura looking at me with worried expressions. I blinked in surprise. They didn't actually think that I would accept this guy's offer, did they? Did they really think so little of me that they would believe that I would abandon the village, abandon them to go and train under Zabuza Momochi? That would really hurt, if that's what was running through their heads as they stared at me like that.

I turned back to Zabuza when he spoke again. "What do you say, girl? Are you willing to become my apprentice?"

I scrunched my nose at the nuke-nin's offer. Please, like I would actually leave Konoha, leave my home, my friends, my family, for power. I mean it was kind of cool - in a sort of frightening way - that a shinobi like Zabuza would take interest in my abilities, but seriously, who did this guy think I was? Some sort of power hungry idiot? I can get stronger without the help of some rogue ninja, thank you very much. Besides, I highly doubt he had any experience in training a waterbender.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to reject your offer. I belong in Konoha," I answered.

Zabuza scoffed, "Pathetic. Just like the rest of you Leaf rats."

"Quit pestering my students, Momochi. Your fight is with me," Kakashi said, drawing Zabuza's attention back to him and away from us.

"Very well. Did you know that in the assassination unit of Kirigakure, we had orders to destroy you on sight?" Zabuza spoke. "We had your profile in our bingo books. They had you labeled as the man who copied over one thousand jutsu, Kakashi: the Copycat Ninja.

It was pretty cool that our sensei was a famous ninja renowned for his abilities, but at the same time it was worrying. It meant that Kakashi had a large target on his head. It also meant that once word got around that Sharingan no Kakashi had taken up a team of genin, enemies might try to use us against him.

"Now that's enough talk," Zabuza said. "I need to exterminate the old man. Now!" he said viciously as he slid down into a crouching position on the handle of his oversized sword.

Tazuna let out a frightened cry, and in a swift reaction, the four of us genin pulled out our kunai knives and slid into a defensive stance around the old bridge builder. In a flash, Zabuza effortlessly pulled his massive sword out of the tree trunk and jumped away to a different location. It took us a few seconds to figure out where he had gone.

"He's over there!" Naruto shouted.

"He's standing on the water," Sakura added.

I looked at Naruto and followed his gaze to see that Zabuza was indeed standing on the water. Oh man! How did he do that?! I wasn't talking about the water walking thing, that was a chakra control trick that the majority of us had mastered not too long ago - Naruto was still a little shaky on staying on top of the water for long periods of time though. What I meant was, how did he get all the way over there without even making a sound?!

I watched as Zabuza raised one arm straight up in the air and held his other arm close to him with his hand laying by his lips in the form of a seal. I didn't have to be a sensor to know that he was gathering up large amounts of his chakra. I could feel it in the air, and the water around him was beginning to swirl.

"Ninja art: Hidden Mist Jutsu," Zabuza called out.

Like before, the air around us turned into a thick blanket of heavy mist. Unlike before, there was still a slight degree of visibility. The only thing that wasn't visible was Zabuza. He had vanished.

"Sensei," Sakura called to Kakashi. The look on her face showed that she was worried. She wasn't sure what to do and was looking to Kakashi for guidance.

"He'll go after me first," Kakashi said.

"But sensei, who is he?" Sakura asked.

I couldn't help but let out a sigh. You know, Sakura is supposed to be the brightest kunoichi of our year in terms of academics and studies. She had never gotten a question wrong on any written exam and she had had all the shinobi rules memorized before she even started at the Academy. With all that knowledge one would think that she would have thought to pick up a copy of one of our bingo books at the Mission's Office and familiarize herself with some of the ninja in it. Heck, that's one of the first things Anko had taught me once I entered my final year at the Academy. I'm sure that Ino and Hinata at least know about some of the ninja like Zabuza too.

'You're forgetting,' a little voice in my head reminded, 'that Sakura doesn't come from a strong shinobi background.'

Oh, yeah. That's right. She wouldn't have been educated in those types of shinobi things. With a quick glance to both Naruto and Sasuke, I realized that none of them really had any of the extra shinobi info that came from living with high ranked ninja like Kakashi. Sasuke would have when he was little, but... then the massacre happened.

I hadn't really realized up until this point that I was extremely lucky and privileged to have Kakashi as a guardian. I never realized how much I had learned from him and his colleagues, even if they were just little things.

"Sumiko, are you paying attention?" Kakashi called.

"Hmm? I'm sorry, what?" I said as I was drawn out of my thoughts once more. Man, that was happening a lot lately. I need to focus on what's going on now and stop going off into my own head.

"What?! Were you really not paying attention, Sumiko-chan?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Sumiko!" Sakura began to scold, "Kakashi sensei just finished telling us all about our enemy. Zabuza Momochi, he-"

"He was the leader of the assassination unit when he was still in Kiri. He's a master of the silent killing technique, meaning he can kill someone without them even noticing until they're already dead. He's known as the Demon of the Mist. He's ruthless and bloodthirsty. He once killed an entire year of Academy students before he was even a genin. He wields Kubikiribocho, and is one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. I already know," I said cooly.

Sakura looked startled at the amount of information I had just spurted out. "How-how did you know all of this already?" she asked, but I ignored her question and looked at Kakashi for instructions.

"The Sharingan cannot fully negate this technique, so be on your guard," Kakashi warned us.

I collected water from the surrounding area and it coiled around my arm like a snake. It would be there if I needed it, but I'd use actual steel first. Like the rest of my teammates, I raised my kunai back into a defensive position.

"Well, if we fail, we only lose our lives," Kakashi said with a sigh.

"How can you say that?!" Sakura cried. I shrugged my shoulders in response to her and Kakashi's words.

"Ehh, there are things worse than death," I said nonchalantly and my teammates and Tazuna looked at me like I was crazy.

"What? It's true," I told them, and it was true. I had spent enough time around Anko, who works primarily in T&I, and have heard enough stories to know that there were things worse than death.

Once again, the mist began to get thicker and thicker. I tried to disperse it again, but Zabuza had put more chakra into the jutsu and I couldn't pull this mist apart like I had the last one.

"Sumiko, do something!" Naruto said.

I grit my teeth and pulled harder. I was met with a strong resistance from Zabuza's immense amounts of chakra. "I'm trying, Naruto, but I can't! He's put more chakra into it, and I can't pull apart higher level jutsu!" I told him as I still kept trying to tear at the mist.

"Sensei!" I heard Sakura cry out in fear.

"Agh! Come on you stupid mist! You're made of water, so why can't I control you!" I grumbled in frustration as I tried my hardest to get the mist to bend to my will.

"Sumiko, stop." I glanced at Sasuke seeing as he was the one who spoke to me just now.

"You're just wasting energy. Save it for something else," he told me. I sighed and dropped my arms back down into a defensive stance. Sasuke was right. If I couldn't pull apart his jutsu it would be best to save my energy for something else.

It was quiet for a few moments as the mist continued to thicken. The, suddenly, from somewhere out in the mist, Zabuza spoke. "Eight points. Larynx, spine, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart. Now which one will be my attack point?" he said with a villainous chuckle.

The, as if being toyed with by Zabuza wasn't enough, this strong, overwhelming suffocating feeling filled the air. It felt like I couldn't move, like I couldn't even breathe! I had never before in my life felt such an intensely dark and smothering feeling such as this.

All of a sudden, my stomach lurched and I felt like I was going to be sick. Oh, spirits of the moon and ocean, what was this feeling? I mean, I've felt killer intent before from Anko, but never at this high level! Was this what a battle between jonin was like? Was it so intense that the very air around them was affected?

"Sasuke! Calm down!" Kakashi ordered.

I snapped out of my trance and turned to Sasuke. I looked with wide eyes as I saw him with both hands gripped tightly around his kunai, ready to strike. The tip of the blade was poised right at his sternum. My mind blanked momentarily. He wasn't actually thinking of committing suicide was he?! That would be insane!

"I'll protect you with my life. All of you," Kakashi reassured us. "I will not allow my comrades to die. Trust me."

That's right. It's not just the four of us and the old man, Kakashi is here too. He's ex ANBU. We stand a pretty good chance at survival with Kakashi with us. That suffocating feeling of fear and despair began to fade from my mind.

I glanced at Sasuke and saw that he seemed to be doing better now as well. His kunai knife was back in it's defensive position and no longer perched to strike himself.

After seeing that Sasuke was no longer suicidal, I looked at Sakura and Naruto. Sakura looked frightened, but I knew that she wasn't dumb or reckless enough to try anything stupid. Naruto looked frightened too, but I could tell that he was trying to hide it.

Finally, I looked at Tazuna, our client, the man we were hired to protect. He looked scared stiff. The color had left his tan cheeks, leaving him pale and looking almost lifeless. I turned my gaze back to the front and tried to see if I could somehow locate Zabuza in this mist.

"I wouldn't go making promises like that," Zabuza spoke and my stomach lurched once more. That voice sounded like it was coming from right behind us. Not good. I could now feel Zabuza standing in the middle of our formation.

In less than two seconds, Kakashi had spun around and launched himself at Zabuza, driving him further into the clearing and away from Tazuna and us genin. We all watched as Kakashi thrust his kunai into Zabuza's abdomen only to see clear liquid water come out instead of blood.

"Sensei, behind you!" Naruto called out in warning as the water clone melted away and the real Zabuza launched his attack.

I frowned. I know Kakashi said to stay out of this fight. I also knew that as team medic I shouldn't go rushing head first into combat situations, but I just had to do something! The water I had coiled around my arms unwound itself as I willed it into a whiplike form using my bending.

"Sumiko, no!" Kakashi ordered as he continued his fight with Zabuza. "I need you to save your energy. We'll need your abilities if anything happens to anyone. Leave him to me." he told me.

I nodded sharply and wrapped the water around my arms once more. Kakashi's right, if anyone were to get seriously injured it would be up to me to help them. I was the closest thing my team had to a medical ninja. I need to focus on that role, and quit trying to put myself on the front lines.

We watched on as Zabuza and Kakashi fought. They went back and forth. Each dealing a blow and then dodging one. Finally, Zabuza found an opening and using the handle of his giant sword, Kubikiribocho, he thrust it into Kakashi's abdomen and sent our sensei flying through the air. He landed on a large pond of water and Zabuza followed Kakashi into the water.

"Sensei!" Naruto cried out in worry.

"I-I can't believe that Kakashi-sensei just got kicked into the air like that." Sakura whispered.

"Calm down you two. Kakashi will be just fine." I hope. I watched as Kakashi's head popped out of the water. He lifted his arm and stared at it. My eyes narrowed at his actions. "Something's wrong," I said to nobody in particular.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked. I shot a quick glance to him before looking back at Kakashi.

"He should have been out of the water by now. Kakashi wouldn't stay in there long knowing that Zabuza has an affinity for water," I said as I tried to scan Kakashi at a distance for any visible injuries. He didn't seem hurt, so it must be something else then.

In a flash, Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi with his hands already forming a seal. Zabuza's hands wove quickly through a series of hand signs. "Water Prison Jutsu!" Momochi shouted.

"Kakashi!" I yelled out in fear as I watched our silver haired jonin become trapped in the large water prison.

"This prison is made of water, but it's harder than steel. Kind of hard to fight back when you can't even move, isn't it Kakashi?" Zabuza chuckled. "I'll finish you off later, but first I'm afraid your little comrades must be eliminated." Zabuza said as he kept his right arm in the water prison jutsu and used his left arm to create another hand sign.

Oh, man. He can effectively use hand signs with only one hand?! Only the super elite were able to manage that. We are in some serious trouble. I watched as Zabuza created another clone with his one handed seal. Crap, crap, crap. We need a plan and we need a plan now. I turned to my teammates to see them freaking out too, when Zabuza spoke once more.

"You think wearing a headband makes you a ninja? When you have hovered between the plains of life and death so many times that the experience no longer phases you, then you may be worthy of being called a ninja," Zabuza told us. "When you have become so deadly that you have earned a place in the bingo books of the great ninja villages, then you may have earned the title of ninja," he continued while creating another seal with his left hand.

Aw man, don't tell me he's making another water clone.

"To call whiny little brats like yourselves ninja? That's nothing but a joke. You're pathetic."

Once again, Zabuza disappeared into the mist. Oh, man. I'm really starting to get why he's regarded as the Demon of the Mist. You never know where he could be once he shrouds himself in the mist.

Water clone Zabuza appeared before Naruto and my blond teammate fell back in surprise. As Naruto fell to the ground, his hitai-ate slipped off and the water clone of Zabuza snatched it away from him. The clone then dropped the piece of cloth and metal that bore the insignia of Konohagakure to the ground and stepped on it, grinding Naruto's headband deeper into the mud with the bottom of his shoe.

"You all aren't ninja. You're just a bunch of children," the former Kiri shinobi sneered.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried out in worry and even Sasuke had a concerned look on his face. Damn it! Naruto needs to get away from that water clone, and quick! I stretched out my left arm and the coil of water I had wrapped around it shot out to encircle Naruto's waist and pull him back closer towards us, and away from Zabuza's water clone.

"Listen!" Kakashi called from within the water prison, his voice sounding strained and distorted. "Take the bridge builder and run. You can't win this fight. He's using most of his chakra to keep me in this prison. The water clone can't follow you very far, now run!" he ordered.

Wait, what? I stared at Kakashi in disbelief. He didn't actually expect us to leave him here, did he? What happened to the whole "those who abandon their friends are worse than scum" thing he had been drilling into our heads since we first became a team? He was asking us to leave him here, and I don't know about the others, but I can't do that! I refuse. Kakashi is the closest thing I have to real family in this place, and I am not going to just abandon him!

I looked over to my teammates to see if I could gauge what they were thinking about this whole situation. Naruto seemed to still be in a state of shock. He still hadn't gotten up off of the ground after Zabuza's water clone had taken his headband. Sakura was looking at us with a scared look on her face. She caught my gaze and looked to me with pleading eyes.

My eyes shot up in surprise. She was looking to me for direction? Why me? I turned away from her piercing gaze. I didn't have the answers she was looking for. Heck, I didn't even have the answers I was looking for. I had no clue how we were supposed to take this guy down.

I turned to Sasuke and I stared at him intently. He was thinking hard about something. I could see it in his eyes that he was focused. Hopefully, he was thinking up some sort of plan because we needed one. Badly. "We've got to do it," he said seriously before charging at the water clone.

That's not what I had in mind when I said I hoped he was thinking of some sort of plan, but at least he's trying something I guess? That's more than I could say for myself, so I watched as Sasuke went after the Zabuza clone with a bunch of shuriken. The water clone swung at Sasuke with his sword, and Sasuke leapt above him in attempt to gain an opening from above. It didn't work. The water clone snatched him out of the air and grabbed him by the throat.

"Sasuke, no!" Sakura cried.

"Oh, ma. He got Sasuke!" Naruto said in disbelief.

I watched as Sasuke struggled to get free from the Zabuza clone's grip. He clawed at the water clone's arm in a desperate attempt to escape. As I noticed his face start to turn blue something in me snapped. Using the water from the surrounding area, I formed two large pillars. I flicked my fingers and the water turned to ice. One after the other, I sent razor sharp discs of ice flying from the ice pillars. I watched as the frozen discs severed the arm of the water clone that had been holding Sasuke.

Sasuke gasped for air and dropped to the ground. Once he was out of the clone's grasp, I sent more of the sharp ice discs at the water clone. Some of the ice managed to sever another limb but most of them just embedded themselves somewhere into the clone. I watched in horror though, as the water clone absorbed the discs and used the water from them to replace the limbs I had managed to cut off.

"Damn it," I whispered under my breath. If this thing absorbs water then what the heck can I do to help stop it?!

The real Zabuza chuckled. "Nice try girly, but that's not going to work," he taunted and I grit my teeth at his words. We'll find some way to get rid of this stupid clone. We have to.

"Sure you don't want to reconsider joining me? I'll spare your life and take you on as my apprentice. I sense a killer instinct in you. I can help it grow, teach you how to make the most out of it," he offered once more.

"Aghh!" I shouted in frustration. Stupid freaking nuke-nin! "Will you please just leave me the hell alone?!" I said as I sent an ice disk hurling towards the real Zabuza, but his clone stopped my attack before it even got close. Like hell I was going to leave the place I've come to call home and the people I've grown to care about to go with some stupid bandage-faced missing ninja. I don't care how strong he is, I'm not leaving.

I heard Naruto cry out in pain and I quickly looked to him to see what was wrong. He was staring at the bandaged hand he had injured earlier when facing the Demon Brothers, and my mind went into medic mode trying to figure out what might have caused him to cry out. What's wrong with him? Did his wound open back up? Did he cut himself again? Was there some sort of delayed reaction poison that I didn't pick up on?

Naruto stared at his hand and then a look of realization crossed his face. What are you thinking about Naruto? I watched as Naruto got up slowly and stared at Zabuza's water clone's right foot with a determined look on his face. My face scrunched up in confusion. Why is Naruto staring at the clone's feet? I squinted my eyes and looked closer at his feet and saw the faint glint of shining metal.

Oh, his headband. Naruto let out a loud battle cry, and charged at the Zabuza clone. "Naruto, no!" Kakashi shouted.

"Ahh! Naruto, you idiot! What in the world do you think you're doing?!" Sakura screeched as she pulled down on her cherry blossom pink hair out of worry and stress. Oh jeez, Naruto. Please have some sort of plan.

Despite the warnings of Kakashi and Sakura, Naruto charged on only to get kicked in the face by Zabuza's clone. I watched on with frantic eyes as Naruto came crashing down back towards us. Droplets of blood flew threw the air alongside him as he fell. Crap, he's bleeding! I ran over to him when he landed face down on the ground. Hopefully it's just a bloodied nose or something else that's not too major. I'm really hoping he didn't get hurt too badly.

"What were you thinking, charging at him like that?" Sakura scolded. "Not even Sasuke could get to him. We're only genin. How did you ever possibly think you could beat a jonin like that? What did you think you could accomplish?!"

I shook my head and let out a sigh. I knew that Sakura meant well and that she kind of did have a valid point, but now is really not the time for a lecture. Besides, Naruto did manage to accomplish something.

I knelt down beside the injured blond. "Naruto-kun, are you okay? Do you have any injuries that need immediate medical attention?" I asked, but I received no answer.

I watched on with wide eyes as Naruto shakily tried to stand up. I could tell he was struggling, so I tried to lend him a hand. As I helped him into a crouching position I caught a glimpse of the hitai-ate Naruto held in his bandaged hand. I couldn't help but smile at that. Naruto may have gotten himself beat up, but he still got what he wanted. He accomplished his goal. As Naruto struggled to stand, I asked him once more if he was in need of medical attention.

"Maybe later, Sumiko-chan," Naruto replied, and a look of pure determination set itself upon his face as he stared at Zabuza.

"Hey, you! The guy with no eyebrows," Naruto called out. "Put this in your bingo book. The ninja who will become the Hokage of Konohagakure," he paused to take a breath and quickly tie his headband back on. "He never gives up, and never backs down. His name is Naruto Uzumaki!" he said confidently.

I smiled at Naruto's words. It was his dream to become Hokage, and seeing that fire in his eyes I knew that somehow he would become the Hokage one day. I didn't know when or how, but I knew deep down that Naruto Uzumaki would one day become the Hokage of Konohagakure. He wouldn't settle for anything less.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto called out to our Uchiha teammate who was a few paces behind him. "Can you hear me, because I've got a plan," Naruto said with a confident grin.

"Yeah, I hear you. So you've got a plan, huh? Finally thinking about teamwork are you?" Sasuke said with a smirk and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Was he not the one who just charged at Zabuza's water clone by himself just a few minutes earlier?

I stepped back towards Sakura and Tazuna. Something told me that I wouldn't be needed for this plan, so I moved out of their way. I watched as Naruto wiped the blood off of his face. "Alright guys, let's go wild!" he exclaimed.

"What are you doing? Take off already! This fight was over the moment I got caught. Your mission is to protect the bridge builder, not prove how brave you can be! Stay on mission! Now go!" Kakashi ordered and I could hear the concern in his voice. I knew that Kakashi wanted us to be safe, but I sure as hell wasn't going to flee and leave him behind.

Naruto turned to Tazuna. "Bridge builder?" he asked and Tazuna nodded in response.

"This all happened to you all because of me. But now... forget about me. You do what you have to to save your sensei," the old man told us.

"You heard the man. Sorry Kakashi, but running away and leaving you behind? Not gonna happen," I said.

"Sumiko, don't be an idiot. You know what will happen if you all stay. Get out of here!" Kakashi responded and I narrowed my eyes at his words.

"What's the first lesson you taught us when we first became a team, Kakashi-sensei?" I asked him. "Those who break the rules are scum," I started.

"But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum," the four of us genin finished in unison.

"We aren't going to leave you behind, Kakashi," I said sternly as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Alright, you hear that?" Sasuke said confidently.

"Yeah, believe it. You ready?' Naruto added as the two boys of Team Seven slipped into an offensive stance.

Zabuza began to laugh. Not a deep chuckle like he had been doing earlier in our encounter, but an actual laugh with shaking shoulders and everything. It really got me angry. "You all haven't learned anything, have you? You're still just a bunch of babies playing ninja. When I was your age, I had already destroyed numerous opponents," Zabuza said.

I heard Tazuna gasp in surprise, but I just steeled my gaze. I knew this already. He had wiped out an entire class of Academy students in Kiri just because he felt like it. It was a bloodbath, even for a village already nicknamed the Bloody Mist. Kirigakure changed the way the ran things after Zabuza went through. Kiri already had death matches between students as their graduation test, but Zabuza had caused enough destruction for Kiri to change their ways.

All of a sudden, the clone attacked. He kicked Naruto out of the way, then went after Sasuke. Zabuza's clone launched Sasuke into the air with a kick and blood came spewing out of his mouth. Crap. Not good. I pray to the spirits that that kick hadn't caused any internal injuries.

As Sasuke fell closer to the ground, Zabuza raised his right leg and smashed him into the ground. Sasuke let out a cry of pain when Zabuza mercilessly stepped on his abdomen, causing more blood to gush out.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out. Crap. I definitely feel like that caused some bad damage. Thankfully, Naruto then created a bunch of shadow clones and surrounded Zabuza's water clone. All at once, Naruto and all of his shadow clones attacked the water clone Zabuza. I moved to try and get close to Sasuke to look over and heal his injuries, but said boy held his arm out to stop me.

"No. Sumiko, stay back. I'm fine. Stay with Sakura and protect Tazuna," Sasuke spoke. I stared at him doubtfully for a while, but then moved back to Sakura and Tazuna. I had to learn to trust my teammates. I stood back and watched Naruto's shadow clones jump on the Zabuza clone to create this massive dog-pile, but then the enemy clone, in a burst of strength, sent them all flying.

One by one, the clones began to disappear until there was just Naruto left. He pulled a special type of large shuriken out of his backpack and threw it to Sasuke. It made sense. Sasuke was the best with weapons on our team after all. With a shout of "Demon Wind Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows!" Sasuke threw the bulky ninja tool straight towards Zabuza. Not the water clone Zabuza, but the actual Zabuza.

I thought it was a good idea, but Zabuza will still probably reflect that with no problem. From beside me I could hear Sakura's high pitched squeal. She was no doubt in the middle of a fangirl moment.

Sakura, Tazuna, and I watched on as the shuriken got closer to Zabuza only for him to catch it with his free hand like it was nothing. Darn, it was a good idea that was worth a shot, but - whoa! In the shadow of the first shuriken another shuriken was hiding underneath. Now that was a good plan. The second shuriken was heading straight for Zabuza and looked like it would actually hit, until he jumped over it.

"I told you," Zabuza began, "you can't touch me with a simple shuriken." I gasped as I noticed the second shuriken head back towards Zabuza in the way a boomerang would. How in the world? As it backtracked towards Zabuza, it exploded in a cloud of smoke only to reveal - Naruto?!

Naruto launched a kunai at Zabuza from behind. "Take this!" he shouted. Oh, wow! I couldn't believe this was happening! Naruto's plan was working brilliantly! It was amazing! He might actually pull this off!

I watched with eager eyes as Naruto's kunai drew closer and closer to Zabuza as a thought came to me. Oh! Zabuza won't be able to dodge it without moving his arm! His jutsu will break! And indeed, Zabuza had to release his hold on the water prison jutsu giving Kakashi a chance to get free.

"Yes!" I shouted excitedly, thrusting my fist into the air. "You did it! Way to go Naruto!" I cheered.

"Good job, Naruto, that was an excellent plan. You too Sasuke, good job," Kakashi praised the two boys.

I could easily tell that Naruto was ecstatic by the look on his face. Naruto then began to tell all about his plan and how he transformed into a shuriken, how Sasuke pulled out his own shuriken to hide him, and all the other little details that made his plan a success.

While I didn't mind listening to how Naruto pulled off his awesome plan, I would prefer it if he told us while he wasn't in the water just a few feet away from Kakashi and Zabuza. Once Naruto finally finished speaking I chimed in.

"Naruto, that's really great and I'm really proud of you guys for managing to pull this off and all, but will you please get out of that water already?! Or so help me I will go and get you out of there myself!" I shouted to the blond boy. It was really stressing me out how Naruto was still in the same pond Kakashi had gotten himself trapped in. I didn't want anything bad to happen to Naruto.

"Eh he he, sorry, Sumiko-chan," Naruto laughed nervously as he started to swim to shore. Suddenly, the two jonin took off and began to weave an intricate series of hand signs at an incredibly fast pace. I could see large waves of water begin to churn up from behind both jonin. Damn, Naruto was going to get caught in the middle of whatever they were about to do if I didn't hurry.

"Sumiko, get him out of there!" Sasuke ordered as he and Sakura fell into twin defensive stances in front of Tazuna.

I nodded. "Already on it." I stretched out my arms and in a sweeping motion used a large amount of water around Naruto to pull him back to the rest of his team and away from the fighting jonin.

We watched as Kakashi and Zabuza used the Water Dragon jutsu. The force of the two water dragons clashing was so much that giant waves were being sent our way, but I couldn't help but marvel at the sight. The Water Dragon Jutsu was certainly a work of art. I wonder if I could replicate that form without having to learn the jutsu?

As the others braced themselves for the huge rush of water, I stepped out in front of Tazuna and my teammates. In an outward "X" type of motion I threw out my arms and stopped the rushing water from hitting us. I instead redirected it out sideways using my bending.

After the water had passed us, I slid back into position and focused my attention back to the jonin fight going on in front of us. Kakashi was moving at the same time and making the same actions as Zabuza did, down to the last details. Finally, Kakashi used the giant Vortex jutsu and sent Zabuza underneath the water in a giant whirlpool. As Zabuza shakily arose from the watery remains of Kakashi's jutsu, Kakashi pinned him to a nearby tree with a number of kunai knives.

Zabuza looked up at Kakashi, who was now perched on one of the higher branches of the tree, with eyes wide with fear. "But... how? Can you... see into the future?" he asked Kakashi. His fear was portrayed through his every word. Zabuza was afraid.

Kakashi looked down at Zabuza from the corners of his eyes. "Why yes, yes I can," he stated and I could hear the sarcastic edge in his voice. I don't think he could really see into the future, even if he was in possession of the Sharingan. "This will be your last battle ever," Kakashi said darkly.

Out of nowhere i heard the sharp whizzing sound of metal, and suddenly two senbon needles had found their way into Zabuza's neck, sending the large jonin level shinobi tumbling down. I gasped and so did the rest of my teammates. What had just happened? Where did those senbon come from? Who else is out here? What the heck is going on now?!

A mysterious figure in a mask that signified a tracker-nin appeared in a tree. The masked ninja laughed quietly and said, "You were right. This was his last battle."

Kakashi jumped down and checked for a pulse on Zabuza's body. After sensing no signs of life, Kakashi stood and faced the masked ninja who had appeared before us. Whoever this ninja was, bowed.

"Thank you," the masked shinobi or kunoichi, I really wasn't sure which, said. "I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time now. I needed this chance to finally take him down," the ninja said politely.

Kakashi stared at the tracker ninja as if checking for any signs of suspicion. "I can tell by your mask that you're a tracker ninja from Kirigakure," he stated and the tracker nodded in confirmation.

"You're well informed."

"Wait a minute!" Naruto exclaimed as he hastily slid onto the scene. "A tracker! He could be another enemy!" I sighed and shook my head. Did he even know what a tracker-nin was?

"Naruto, calm down will you? You don't even know what a tracker does. You skipped that lesson, just like most of the others," Sakura said. "A tracker ninja, or just simply a tracker, is a special type of ninja. They play a special role in their village," she explained.

"Yeah, Sakura's right," I started. "You won't see your run-of-the-mill shinobi or kunoichi in these specialty slots. Trackers, like hunters are ninja with an exemplary ability to sniff out other ninja. Usually they have some sort of chakra sense or other natural heightened tracking ability. These ninja spend most of their time outside of the village tracking down rogue ninja and disposing of their target. They ensure that the secrets of their village remain secret," I finished explaining as I stared at the ninja in the mask.

"You are correct," the tracker-nin spoke. "I am a member of the tracker corps of Kirigakure. It was my job to dispose of Zabuza Momochi." Naruto looked back and forth between Zabuza's corpse and the tracker ninja several times before he finally said something.

"Just who do you think you are?!" Naruto shouted angrily.

"Easy, Naruto. He's not our enemy," Kakashi spoke calmly in attempt to pacify the angry Uzumaki. Oh, so I guess this ninja is a boy after all.

"But Kakashi-sensei! Zabuza was this great, huge, monster and this kid took him down like it was nothing! Even you were having trouble fighting him!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto's head and patted his head like he was one of his ninja dog summons. "Listen to me Naruto, in this world there are kids out there who are younger than you but stronger than me," our sensei explained, but Naruto's face showed that he still wasn't satisfied with that answer.

I turned my attention to the tracker-nin who began to disappear in a small whirlwind. He reappeared by Zabuza's body threw it in over his shoulder. "There are many secrets hidden within this body. I must not let them fall into the wrong hands, so if you'll please excuse me," he spoke once more before disappearing again.

I watched as Kakashi placed his headband back over his Sharingan eye and let out a sigh of relief. I pursed my lips. I really need to make sure that Kakashi's okay. That battle with Zabuza was pretty rough, and he's used up a lot of chakra. I heard Naruto let out a cry of frustration, and I turned my attention to him.

"Gah! What are we even doing?! We're nothing! I can't believe it!" he yelled as he began to repeatedly pound his fists into the ground. I winced at his actions. He was frustrated, there was no doubt about that. It was a huge blow to his morale to see someone who seemed to be our age, take down an elite jonin like Zabuza.

Still, the medic in me didn't like seeing Naruto punch the dirty ground since he had already sustained injuries. I didn't want him creating any new ones. I also didn't want any mud or anything getting in his already injured hands. Thirdly, the friend in me didn't like seeing Naruto so upset, so I walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto?" I called out softly just as Kakashi spoke.

"As ninja," he began, "we often find ourselves encountering things that are never easy. Save your fight for the next enemy," Kakashi told Naruto.

Naruto stopped punching the ground after hearing Kakashi's words and his shoulders slumped forward. Naruto then turned to me, and I offered him my hand. He looked at me and after a few seconds he took it. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze and helped him stand.

"Now, as exciting as that may have been, we still haven't completed our mission just yet," Kakashi spoke. "We still have to get Tazuna here to his bridge," he finished with a much lighter tone to his voice.

Tazuna laughed nervously, "Well, you all went through all this trouble and it was my fault, so when we get there you can all stay with me at my house," the old bridge builder offered. I perked up at the news. Sweet! No having to spend extra money on renting a room at an inn or camping outside!

With that, we began to head on to our destination. Kakashi again took the point in our formation, but after just a few steps, he collapsed.

"Kakashi-sensei!" both Naruto and Sakura cried out. I ran over to Kakashi and flipped him around so he was lying on his back rather than his stomach where he was getting a face full of dirt and mud. As soon as I flipped him over I ran a diagnostic jutsu.

I was glad to see that the only actual injury he had was a gash on the hand he used to block one of Zabuza's attacks. I was not happy to see that his chakra reserves were so low. I could heal up the wound on his hand in a minute, but there's nothing I can do about chakra exhaustion. He'll just need to rest until his chakra levels are back to normal.

"Sumiko, what's wrong with Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked me as I worked on taking off Kakashi's metal plated glove. After pulling the glove off of his hand, I channeled chakra into my hands until they begin to glow a soft green.

"He has chakra exhaustion," I said as I began to work on healing his wound.

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked nervously as the gash on his hand patched itself up with the coaxing of a bit of medical chakra.

"Yeah, he'll be alright. He's just going to need rest. A lot of rest," I told her as I put Kakashi's glove back on his hand.

As I faced my teammates I scanned them and Tazuna for any sort of bodily harm. "Do any of you have any injuries? Naruto, Sasuke, I know you two took a couple of nasty hits. Are you both okay? Don't you dare lie to me either, I saw the blood," I told them sternly.

"I feel just fine Sumiko-chan," Naruto said with a smile and I smiled back at him.

"Good. I'm glad you're okay. What about you, Sasuke?"

"Hn. I'm fine," he said.

I sighed. I know they had some injuries. There was nothing wrong with admitting that you needed medical attention. Ugh, boys. "Fine, if you say so, but everyone is getting a check-up when we reach Tazuna's, no exceptions. Got it?" I said as I walked over to Kakashi and picked up his legs. I turned back to look at the rest of our traveling party to see them just looking at me.

I sighed again. "Don't just stand there you guys! Someone has to help me carry Kakashi. He's heavy and we still have to get old Tazuna here to his bridge."

"Hey!" Tazuna grumbled. "Who're you calling old?"


There's chapter 7! Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think! Also, if you're interested in reading other fanfics of mine, I've got another Naruto fic, a Harry Potter fic, and a Final Fantasy XV one as well. Thanks again!

-S.F.E.