To be simple I'm going to put a generic disclaimer here: If I owned Naruto, Bleach, or anything that earned me money, I would try to introduce too many unique ideas and have that position taken away from me, so the only thing I own is the plot, some attacks I have created (including names for attacks without names, along with names for people who are not given names) and a few OC's
I said I would update by Sunday, and then I realized that I had make-up work :'( so I did this Friday, published it today with a few quirks etc…
Warning, this will be rough near the end, it gets better.
Demons/Summoning/Powerful People (like me :P)
Flashback/EMPHASIS
Jutsu/Kido/Techniques
Ch7: Blood Red Dawn
The week had passed quickly.
It was today.
Ichigo and Kakashi had spoken with Zabuza the previous night and decided. Zabuza would come to Konoha's side in return for assisting him.
It was logical- why should they go out on a limb when they were already out on a limb? They should have turned down as soon as it became out of their league, the Hokage would accept Kakashi's judgment if he told him afterwards, but if he would have been with them at the decision the experienced jounin was sure he would disapprove.
But would he?
Never mind that though, it was the day.
Today.
Kakashi had told Tazuna to clear the bridge the day before and have the workers take everything off the bridge in preparation to retrieve Zabuza's sword, they were in no doubt going to fight Kisame again, and he wouldn't just taunt them and give them the blade without a fight.
Ichigo seemed to want a rematch as well, he was too eager though. He didn't show it but he could see it in his eyes- had the training he himself given the teen worn off when he stopped taking missions with him? Would it have been better to bring him along?
Kakashi shook off the thoughts again and cleared his mind, looking out over the sea that stood beyond the end of the bridge, waiting.
0-0-0
When.
Ichigo's mind was telling him he needed to stay back with Team 7, but he knew Kisame wanted to fight him again.
He knew he wanted to fight him too.
But he had to stay here!
Ichigo clenched his fists, would just Kakashi, Haku and Zabuza be enough?
But he had to stay back!
These thoughts continued to create a paradox within his mind as he sat in the house of Tazuna's family, sitting on his futon while he tried to sort his thoughts out.
In the end he knew he would stay, but he wanted to go so bad-
UGH!
0-0-0
Everything was set, well, kind of,
Zabuza was unsure about this plan of Kakashi's, if everything went downhill, which he suspected it might, then they would die, and Ichigo or Rukia would have to come save their asses- dead or alive.
It made his adrenaline pump
And he liked it.
Evert thump of the heart in his throat was a sign that he was going to fight someone for real, on his terms. Something that hadn't happened since his last assassination attempt behind. It rejuvenated him.
Time was unimportant, what was important was that he would fight, and someone would die. If it was his own death, then that would be fine. He couldn't avoid this battle anyway. If it was his enemies, than it was on their own head, no pun intended.
What if he did die though?
The thought was unusual to him in his profession, but considering the stakes were rather high, it wasn't that out of the question. What if he did die?
What if he lived?
Why was he dwelling on this?
He heard the birds fly overhead, crows from what it sounded like.
Wait, crows?
"Heh, you did come,"
Zabuza was startled as he saw something hurling through the air at him, instinctively he-
Reached out and grabbed it?
Kubikiribōchō.
"Where's the spunky kid I fought earlier? I didn't kill him did I?" Kisame asked as he casually walked into his view from seemingly nowhere, only for Kakashi to also appear alongside Zabuza,
"You don't have enough in you to kill Ichigo," Kakashi's words rang as he drew a kunai, "I have yet to meet a person who really could,"
Kisame frowned, "Ichigo isn't here, but you instead?" Kisame frowned, "That sucks, how does Itachi always get the fights I want when it's a random matchup? It's not fair-"
"Itachi?"
Both of the jounin rank nin facing the blue skinned man were shocked,
"Shit!"
0-0-0
"Why are we out here practicing when we could be fighting?"
"Because Rukia-neechan said we weren't ready," Sakura reminded Naruto as Team 7 sparred on the open water, practicing and perfecting one of the first things they had learned that weak, "Why do you want to go so bad Naruto?"
"I want to be stronger," Naruto used a kunai to block a swipe from Sakura, who in turn rolled away from Sasuke's attempt at them both, but Naruto blocked him in turn, "Ichigo said that the best way to become stronger is to fight people who are stronger than you,"
CLANG!
"Hn,"
Sasuke bounced away from the lock he was in with Naruto to dodge an underwater attack from Sakura, who had become skilled in it, only for both of them to be bombarded with a barrage of shuriken from Naruto,
"But not people that are out of your league completely," Sakura argued, "Getting killed will not make you stronger,"
Somewhere very, very far away, possibly in a different dimension entirely, a man by the name of Kenpachi sneezed.
Hard.
Naruto let himself sink into the water to avoid a clash with Sasuke, letting Sakura come up behind him with the intention to take him in close quarters,
"Tch," Sasuke flipped over the incoming Sakura and landed gracefully,
So graceful, in fact, that he slipped and fell flat on his face, submerging in the water.
Naruto emerged behind him laughing as Sasuke came back to his senses, "That was… priceless! WE should have gotten that on taAPE!"
Naruto's fluctuation of voice was explained by Sasuke pulling him under- filling his mouth with water,
"What the heck-"
CAW~!
They all stopped.
What was that sound?
CAW~!
A bird? No, a crow; a raven,
"It seems you have made little progress, brother,"
The three genin were shocked by the appearance of a man from a flock of crows- he wore a black cloak with red clouds and a slashed konoha hitae-ate,
'Missing-nin?' Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by Sasuke's sudden dash at the man, "Sasuke what are you-"
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Great Fireball!)"
Naruto saw the ball of fire go up and new Sasuke was going for the kill, whoever this person was-
Wait. Kill?
0-0-0
"Oi, your turn duck-butt," Sasuke gave Naruto one of his famous evil glares before continuing,
"As you all know, I am Sasuke Uchiha. My like, dislikes, and hobbies are my own business, but," Sasuke's eyes hardened- something that they had not been doing previously, "I have a dream to kill a certain man."
0-0-0
'Was this the man Sasuke wanted to kill?' Naruto wondered as he saw Sasuke try to attack the man physically, 'His brother?'
"DIE ALREADY! JUST DIE!"
Naruto and Sakura were so shocked by his sudden outburst of emotion they barely noticed the fight before them,
Until it ended that is.
Sasuke was suddenly grabbed out of the air by the man and held up, allowing him to stare into his eyes,
All was silent.
Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke dropped hard with a splash of water and began to sink into the lake,
"SASUKE!"
"Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto,"
Naruto looked up in anger at the man that claimed to be the brother of his teammate, who was calmly looking at the two conscious members of Team 7,
"You will come with me."
"NEVER!"
"As if you had a choice,"
Itachi just stood there; looking at them, with every moment Naruto could only wonder what he could be doing-
Unless…
"Sakura, don't look at his ey-"
Movement!
Naruto's words were cut off by a sudden kunai that flew in their direction, which he dodged- pushing Sakura out of the way,
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Multiple Shadow Clone Justu!)"
Itachi raised an eyebrow as Naruto formed countless clones of himself, all facing him, surrounding him on all sides
"Such an advanced technique…"
Naruto ran at Itachi regardless, his massive army of clones spreading out closer to the dark haired man,
"Do you know it's one, worst weakness?" Itachi closed his eyes and moved his hands at unrealistic speeds, "It is something I learned myself,"
Naruto, the original, paused, 'Weakness?'
"Bunshin Daibaku! (Great Clone Exploding Technique!)"
0-0-0
The explosion did not stop the battle with Kisame, who had immediately begun to engage them after the explosion went off, bringing Kakashi to a single conclusion.
It was a trap.
This whole business was a trap, whoever it was designed to catch in it was a separate issue though- why did Kisame want him to fight Itachi? Did Itachi have the advantage over him?
He must have better control over the sharingan, but is he after Sasuke?
Kisame was fooling around with Zabuza, who was faring well while Kakashi and Haku set up their preparations; this was a delicate game to play. And they knew Kisame had his own games to play.
If Zabuza or himself tried to leave, they would lose their advantage and Kisame would kill off one of them and chase the others- they had to stick here or go there, and if they went there their enemies would be together, and they were more likely synergetic than Kakashi's group.
Kisame was playing with Zabuza, who was still slightly off from the battle before, and he was not enough to face off against Kisame on his own anyway,
"Sensatsu Suishō! (Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!)"
Haku released a thousand flying water needles from the misty air, all aimed at Kisame as Zabuza took a three-second breather,
A matter of time.
Zabuza jumped back at Kisame before he could go after Haku and clashed blades, parrying several blows as Kakashi began to approach them,
They locked bades-
Kakashi ran up to them, lunging for Kisame from behind with his right hand brought back- prepared for a thrust,
"Raikiri! (Lightning Cutter!)"
0-0-0
'W… what was that?'
Naruto and Sakura had gotten below the water after Itachi unleashed his technique, which blew the shore nearby sky-high. Sand was drifting in the air and Naruto was recalling memories of exploding.
Lots of them.
"I must admit, this was impressive Naruto,"
Naruto looked up from the water and saw Itachi submerged in the water beside him, floating eerily in the calm waters,
Spinning eyes-
'Shi-'
"But now you have lost."
Naruto's world spun- suddenly finding himself strapped to a cross in the middle of a red nowhere,
"And having lost,"
"You will pay the price,"
Naruto looked in fear as he was surrounded by multiple Itachi, each of them carrying a tanto pointing at him,
"GAH!"
Naruto screamed as the tantos were thrown at him- each hitting him hard enough to sink through his body and into the cross behind him- his mind became numb,
The ritual seemed to continue forever, until finally Itachi held up his hand and spoke,
"Congratulations, half a second has passed," Itachi smirked, "71 hours, 59 minutes, and 59.5 seconds remaining,"
"NO~!"
0-0-0
'N-Naruto? Sasuke!' Sakura went ballistic as she pulled Sasuke to the surface, only to find Naruto on the shoulder of the man that had looked him in the eye a second ago
Defeated.
Knocked out cold.
"Take care of my brother," Itachi said casually as he turned to leave, stepping out into the ocean-
Only to jump to the side as he avoided a swipe from a large sword-
Zangetsu.
"I think I'll take back my friend now," Itachi looked on in interest as he saw a man with orange hair, wearing a black robe with a red rope and a white rope present underneath the black one, walk calmly onto the water, staring at him with his eyebrows arched, "Will you let him go willingly, or will I have to kick your ass first?"
KAW!
Ichigo flinched, turning his head and seeing a crow fly between them, swooping down and grabbing a fish out of the water as it flew away
"What are you here for?"
"Nothing in particular."
"Then leave,"
"I think I will stay as long as I want,"
Ichigo looked up and saw the man's eyes turn red,
"Tell me, Kurosaki Ichigo," Ichigo shielded his eyes as the man walked forward- his eyes glowing red and a black circle was spinning,
Itachi walked within arm's reach of Ichigo and stood calmly, "What do you see?"
"I… I see…"
Ichigo lifted his arms from his face to reveal,
A smirk?
"NOTHING!"
Before Itachi could process what had happened Ichigo had reached and grabbed Naruto, turning and tossing him to the shore with his other teammates and slash Zangetsu down towards Itachi- missing as Itachi regained his composure,
"I don't know how you got that eye," Ichigo stated, as he ran forward, bringing down his large sword against Itachi's two reverse-grip kunai, "But I know that only three people exist with that eye, I know two already, so you must be-"
"Uchiha Itachi,"
0-0-0
"Nice try!"
Kakashi smashed his Raikiri (Lightning Cutter) into Kisame's blade, only to be merely batted away as the giant blade sucked the chakra right off his hand,
'So fast!' Kakashi exclaimed as the energy left his hand and he retreated back, and Zabuza was forced to do the same,
"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha! (Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!)"
'This is it!'
Zabuza had gone over the scenario a million times in his mind when Kakashi and Rukia explained it- Haku had to do this perfectly,
"Hyoton: Chikyū no Shimo! (Ice Style: Frost of the Earth!)"
Zabuza grasped his great sword and implanted it perpendicular to the ground as Haku appeared between him and the wall of water- initiating the jutsu,
The water froze instantly- at least the blunt face of the wave,
Zabuza stood on his sword and reached out, grabbing Haku's foot and allowing her to vault over the wave and land on the wall of ice,
"Ame ga Futte Suishō! (Raining Water Needles of Death!)"
The water that had been stopped by the wall of ice was now being reversed- forming millions of water needles headed towards Kisame,
'Well this is interesting,'
Kisame smirked as the needles covered the sky,
'I can afford to take a few hits here,' Kisame put Samehada on his back and extended his arms out to either side,
"Now let's see," Kisame grinned as the needles flew down, releasing chakra from his body in insane burst, "If any of them can actually hit me,"
0-0-0
'Nothing?'
Itachi held a calm face as his kunai blocked the monstrous sword that Ichigo called Zangetsu, finding the blade was heavier than his opponent made it seem,
'I know that he looked into my eyes,' Itachi thought, 'So why?'
"I think I have a few questions-"
CLANG!
Itachi pushed back and Ichigo stepped back- an opening for Itachi to throw one of his kunai at him,
"What about?"
Ichigo dodged expertly,
"-About why you just, oh I don't know, killed off your clan," Ichigo clenched his fists and let his blade whack at the older Uchiha, "Because it doesn't look like those fancy eyes you got from it do much in my perspective,"
'So he's immune to my genjutsu?' Itachi grit his teeth as he pulled back from the angry Shinigami, 'But not ninjutsu, and I know that he can't mold chakra for that matter,'
Itachi's hands flew, "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!)"
"Getsuga Tenshō! (Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer!)"
Itachi wondered what type of monstrous opponent he had stumbled onto as the black wave incinerated his great orange flame,
"And now-"
Itachi's eyes were active as he watched Ichigo hold his sword in front of him- his eyes blazing, pure energy rising around him,
"Bankai! (Final Release!)"
Itachi's eyes widened as the boy changed dress and weaponry,
"Now," Ichigo whispered into Itachi's ear, "Let's dance,"
0-0-0
"Did it work?"
Zabuza and Haku stood side by side, looking on as the misty air from the water disappeared from sight,
"Tsk," Kisame cracked his neck and stretched, "If a little rain could kill me I would stay out of Ame, and yet I go there every other week or so,"
'He didn't take a single hit though?' Zabuza took the sword in his hand and backed away with Haku, "You go to Ame?"
"I have a few old friends," Kisame shrugged, "None of your business really-"
~Plosh!
Kisame took a single step from his location and wondered why Haku was so eager to use his jutsu again,
"Hyoton: Chikyū no Shimo! (Ice Style: Frost of the Earth!)"
The water near Haku began to freeze and progressed towards him, but Kisame merely shrugged as he went through his own handseals,
"Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu! (Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Technique!)"
The water around Kisame surged- rising around him in two spiraling missiles of water with sharks as heads,
"These Jutsu are nothing," Kisame extended his arm towards the ice wall and the two missiles launched-
Suddenly his missiles gained a lighter, brighter blue hue-
With a neon glow?
Then it hit him.
And it moved to fast for him to dodge-
"Raikiri! (Lightning Cutter!)"
Kisame grit his teeth as the water current caught him off guard- suddenly remembering the ice technique.
The ice did not conduct the electricity.
'I was too careless,' Kisame heard his sword scream out in pain- but then again only he could hear it, 'But this is something I can deal with,'
Despite the pain Kisame called upon his large chakra reserves,
"Ōkibo na Suirō no Jutsu! (Great Water Prison Technique!)"
0-0-0
Itachi was troubled. When he left Kisame to go find the jinchuriki he realized the absence of two dangerous opponents; Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki.
He had decided it was a trivial matter and that he could defeat them easily if need be, but then the former revealed immunity to his bloodline.
That was startling.
Along with the fact that his attacks were physically stronger than his own, he had a large amount of chakra behind him to back himself up, which led to another problem,
No chakra.
No chakra meant that he couldn't use genjutsu on him, because he simply did not have a chakra system. And since genjutsu was fluctuations in one's chakra system he was immune to it.
And after using Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader) three successive times, he wasn't in the greatest condition.
Ichigo either knew that, or was just ticked off, because after using one of his techniques without chakra, his blade had shrunk.
At first, he wondered if he was being underestimated. But that changed when Ichigo took his first step,
Because his first step went past Itachi.
Shunshin (Body Flicker Technique) was not as fast, and that technique required chakra. The closest thing he could think of would be Gai's physical state, and that was his only focus.
This was something he would have never expected.
And when all those thoughts finished going through Itachi's head he ducked- losing a strand of hair to a slice from the thin, black katana.
He brought up his kunai to block it from coming back and he blocked, but Ichigo's speed was uncanny, and he had prepared a third swipe by the time Itachi had recovered from his block. His only way to avoid the swipe was to let himself sink into the water, daring the orange-haired teen to come after him,
'This is sucking!' Ichigo clenched his sword as he looked around for signs of the man in the black cloak and red clouds, 'I'm faster, stronger, but he's slicker, there's no way I can get him at this rate!'
Ichigo suddenly noticed a small trickle of blood on the water where the man had stood,
'At least I hit him-'
Ichigo paused,
'Wait, I never hit him-'
"Amaterasu! (Illuminating Heaven!)"
0-0-0
Everything went blue, and by blue he knew it was water.
Zabuza grimaced- Kisame had them bad. They would drown if they couldn't do anything.
And when you can't move, that doesn't leave to many options.
Kisame grinned as he walked up to the three floating water prison techniques- his own variation of course,
"Nice try, Copy-nin Kakashi," Kisame revealed a black burn on his right arm, a result from Kakashi's Raikiri (Lightning Cutter), "But you underestimate us Suiton (Water Style) users, we expect Raiton (Lightning Style) attacks."
The famous Copy-nin winced as he saw where Kisame was going with this,
"And I have the chakra to stand here all day, you will drown." Kisame took Samehada and placed it on his lap as he sat, "So, any last thoughts?"
"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu! (Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!)"
'What th-'
Kisame's eyes widened as he felt himself pulled underground, up to his head at least, and Kakashi Hatake was now in front of him, igniting his arm in the white lightning,
'My last shot,' Kakashi thought as he rushed the man, 'If this doesn't do it, we die,'
He thrust his arm forward,
"Raikiri! (Lightning Cutter!)"
Kakashi slammed his hand into the head of the man below him-
He had hit him!
-Only to turn into a puddle of water
'NO!'
"I live with a real sharingan user every day,"
Kakashi suddenly felt an incoming from the side, getting hit with a great force-
Samehada,
Zabuza and Haku watched in horror as Kakashi spun with the blow- a trail of blood following him through the air as he hit the ground.
'Damn it!' Zabuza cursed as he tried to hold his breath under the pressure of the water, 'We'll die, all of us-'
"Heh, lookie here,"
Kisame walked up to the two, who were still trapped in the floating spheres of water,
"You sure don't look so well Zabuza," Kisame grinned as he saw the two struggle for breath, "But I wonder what would happen if you lost your partner here,"
Zabuza's eyes widened and he began to cough from within his prison-
Kisame drew back his blade, preparing to slug them-
"Die then," Kisame swung-
"Hyoton: Chikyū no Shimo! (Ice Style: Frost of the Earth!)"
Kisame was surprised as Haku's sphere, the one he hit first, spontaneuously froze- grabbing onto his sword as it continued through its path, breaking Zabuza free of his sphere as they hit him,
"Get off of my sword!" Kisame tried to whack the ice off of his sword, which was continuing to freeze over his prized weapon,
Zabuza grabbed his sword from where he had dropped it from being trapped in the sphere and ran at the man, seizing the opportunity to attack him without losing chakra,
"You think you have the advantage, but you don't!" Kisame laughed as Zabuza slammed his blade against Kisame's and realized what he meant,
He cracked off some of the ice,
"The only person you're helping is me!" Kisame laughed as he continued to use Zabuza's offense to his gain, "Keep going you fool!"
0-0-0
Calm and prepared.
Rukia knew Gato would not settle for losing Zabuza's services so easily- he was a man with money. Loads. If anything that Haku told them was not factual she still would have come here just in case,
Gato's mansion was huge, just from the outside, and she only wondered what type of royalty was on the inside,
And considering the situation of the people around her, it was sickening. Not that he prospered, but it was his literal, twisted intention to deprive them of prosperity.
She hadn't moved the whole while in the brush surrounding the place; it had been a few hours maybe? Their guard was pathetic.
She knew something was fishy about this whole mess- not Kisame, not the main source of the people's food, but Gato was strangely quiet during all of this.
Why though-
Movement!
Her eyes darted to the source of the movement- a hooded man had walked up to the mansion,
"Open up!"
0-0-0
Ichigo thought fighting someone that could beat his sensei-figure, Kakashi, and holding the winning hand, was unusual enough,
But when you see a lake spontaneously combust into black flames, well, that just doesn't happen.
And when they spread over the water instead of dying, you have a big issue.
He could quickly escape with a good Shunpo (Flash Step) if he wanted, but he knew he couldn't just leave this flame going; Smoky the bear taught him as much.
But how the hell do you put out a flame that's burning water!
'If this hits the mainland, the island is toast,' Ichigo grit his teeth as he came to the conclusion, 'This is going to be a long, long day,'
Ichigo used his immense speed to get to the shore, where he looked at the flame and prepared his strike;
"Getsuga Tenshō! (Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer!)"
Ichigo's blast hit the water where the flames resided and it disrupted them, causing him to smirk,
"Getsuga Tenshō! (Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer!)"
0-0-0
The situation with Kisame was just getting worse; Haku had gone to try wake up Kakashi,
He was out cold.
Worse, his chakra was very low, he had multiple open-wounds on his shoulder, and Zabuza was in no condition to beat Kisame on his own.
Unless they got back-up, they would all die.
"Zabuza, you are not on my level,"
Ice clashed against steel in a loud clash of weaponry,
"Oh yeah?" Zabuza growled as he felt some of his chakra leave him again, "Then prove it, so far we've been even one-on-one,"
"And when your friends come I just knock you all down like bowling pins," Kisame laughed as Zabuza grit his teeth and Kisame took his chance- charging forward while the blades were locked,
Zabuza forced every movement of his body towards his blade in hopes of holding off the fish-man in time to receive back-up, for Kakashi to wake up, for Haku to do something-
Kisame's charge ended when Zabuza was slammed against the wall of a shed- causing it to crack and his back to complain of his pain,
"You want me to show you why I am stronger than you?" Kisame narrowed his eyes, "Then I will show you,"
Zabuza grimaced as Kisame, with a flick of his wrist and his might blade, disarmed him wholly.
Kubikiribōchō went flying through the air, catching the attention of Haku- who was running towards him,
'Is this it?' Zabuza's eyes were wide as Kisame pulled him up by the throat, drawing back his sword,
"I say my sword doesn't slice, but shaves," His grin became evil, "But today, I will make an exception,"
Pain.
Pain shot through Zabuza's system as he felt his chest explode- his vitals, his spinal cord, everything was demolished by the thrust of Kisame's sword,
Then it all started to go black,
"ZABUZA-DONO!"
'Haku?' Zabuza's last thoughts and visions were of his daughter in all but blood was rushing up towards them- anger in her eyes showing in her tears,
'I-' Everything faded, 'I'm sorry, for everything…'
0-0-0
"NO!"
Kisame cackled and backed away, allowing the girl to fall on her knees in front of the dead man, making her the only conscious survivor,
Then he heard his sword moan in pain,
'Wait, what th-' Kisame looked at his sword and found out he had made a mistake,
He had pierced Zabuza's liver, and the contents of it were now burning Samehada alive.
Bad.
'Damn you Zabuza, causing me trouble even in the afterlife-'
"Makyō Hyōshō! (Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!)"
Kisame looked around and saw himself surrounded on all sides by ice mirrors with the same girl in each,
He paid no mind,
"I need to clean off Samehada," He looked down at his sword- some ice remained, but the acid close to Samehada's mouth was dangerously close,
Too close,
"Move."
"You will pay for killing him!" Haku screamed, "Sensatsu Suishō! (Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!)"
"I thought you tried this before," Kisame swung Samehada to his backside and lifted his arms towards the sky, "You can't touch me!"
Haku was shocked as Kisame let out an insane burst of chakra- shattering the mirrors and blowing away the needles of water she had formed,
She fell to the ground and Kisame held her in place with his foot,
"Now will you shut up and die?"
Kisame lifted Samehada over the girls head, not taking the chance of getting the liver liquids on Samehada,
He swung-
Interecepted-
And knocked back-
Kubikiribōchō?
Kisame stumbled back as he realized what had happened, but the shock of it put him off guard,
Kakashi was standing in his path, wielding the dead Zabuza's blade,
"Kisame," Kakashi panted as he stood, still low on chakra, "You will rot in hell when this is over,"
"Oh really?"
Kisame took a step forward- but Kakashi was already there!
He intercepted the blow only to hold off another, and another-
He was on defensive?
Kakashi then swung out long-range at him as Kisame tried to distance them,
Then he realized why he was on the defense,
That was his style Kakashi was using- his blasted eyes copied his style?
No, it was more than that-
CLANG!
Kisame rolled away and brought up his sword to defend against Kakashi, who had jumped and was bringing the blade down hard,
It looked so similar to that kid he fought earlier,
Wait, the kid?
Kisame blocked the blow and turned his blade, knocking it aside as he scraped Samehada against Kakashi's arm, causing the dried scabs to go away- replaced with new blood,
He hadn't given the Copy-nin as much credit as his name deserved, he anticipated fighting Kisame with one of the large blades at one point. He was prepared,
But not nourished enough.
Kisame prepared to back away from Kakashi, but he had done the same,
Kisame looked interested- Kakashi was going to use a jutsu?
"Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu! (Earth Style: Summoning: Tracking Fang Technique!)"
'Earth style summoning?' Kisame's thoughts were put on halt as he suddenly felt something biting him,
Multiple bites,
He looked at himself and found himself surrounded by ninken,
'What is he trying to-' Kisame looked and saw Kakshi running at him with the blade, 'Oh, that,'
"Kisame," Kakashi slung the blade over his shoulder,
Swung it forward,
Hit flesh,
Poured blood,
Sent his head flying,
"Rot in hell!"
Kakashi panted as he looked at the body infront of him, the blood pouring from his neck where he had decapitated him,
He stuck the blade in the ground and walked over to the body, dismissing the ninken as the last of his chakra faded, taking the man's blade in his hands,
'Samehada, one of the Seven Swords of the Mist,' Kakashi looked at the blade and wondered if he should return it or bring it home as a souvenir,
Until Kisame's head emerged from it-
"FOOL!"
Kakashi was to shocked and tired to respond in time as Kisame completely emerged from his sword, lashing out with a fist that sent him flying, sending him next to where Haku was trying to stand,
"You thought you could kill me so easily?" Kisame motioned to the body of himself behind him, which was revealed to be a combination of a genjutsu and a Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone),
'I was… careless?' Kakashi pondered as Kisame closed in on them, both of them too weak to fight back,
'Damn it Minato, Obito, I'm sorry,'
0-0-0
Light?
Zabuza's mind was boggled, wasn't he dead? He was supposed to be burning in hell wasn't he?
But he saw a great light- not a flaming light, but a holy light. Now he stood on a floor divided evenly where he stood between black and white, on the black side he saw a tunnel, reaching far into the distance, but on the white side,
'K-' Zabuza failed to speak as he saw a grown woman sitting in front of him, crying,
'Kami-sama?'
"I…" The woman he presumed was Kami, had tears trailing down both cheeks-
She was pretty by the way, she wore a beautiful red kimono with gold lacings similar to rose patterns, and long, flowing red hair, and golden-amber eyes,
"That man is going to kill everyone on your side down there," Kami sniffled, "You daughter, Haku, is someone I hold dear to my heart- but she is going to die!"
The woman continued to cry and Zabuza stood still in shock, wondering what he could do to help this person-
But his feet couldn't move.
And tears began to trail down his own eyes,
"If you love my daughter then please," Zabuza pleaded, "Save her!"
Kami sniffled, "I can't act so blatantly as you say- if I did, your world would tear by the seams,"
"Anything!" Kami was surprised as she saw the mass murderer, Demon of the Bloody Mist, the man who had sent millions to their deaths, standing there,
Crying like a desperate child,
"Please, I'll do anything!" Zabuza's tears flowed, "Put me in the deepest pits of hell for all I care, but please, save her…"
Kami seemed astonished by his words as Zabuza's tears continued,
"Zabuza Momoichi, you said you would do anything?"
Zabuza stopped for a moment and sniffled, "Y-yes, anything,"
Kami smiled, "Then I hereby sentence you, Zabuza Momoichi, to a life-long sentence of guiding souls to the place called Soul Society,"
Zabuza stopped crying completely as he heard the booming voice of the woman in front of him,
"And in the process I make you the first of the forces that will hold the balance between the dead and living, the first Shinigami,"
Zabuza's eyes widened as he was taken up into the air and a magical, light energy flowed around him, changing him into a black robe similar to what Ichigo and Rukia had worn,
"As your first assignment, you are to bring me the soul of the man known as Kisame Hoshigaki,"
Kami smirked as Zabuza noticed the katana at his waist,
"Dissmissed!"
0-0-0
Samehada was hoisted on Kisame's shoulder as he pinned down the fallen Kakashi with one of his feet, holding a squirming Haku by the throat with his other hand,
"Heh, it's over," Kisame looked the girl in the eye with an unworldly grin, mocking her as he grasped her throat, "Any last words?"
"KISAME!"
Kisame looked to the side to see something that scared him to death,
'Z-Zabuza?'
The man was standing in front of him clear as day, now wearing a black cloak- like the one the midget wore when she came to the rescue that day, but with a cut down the middle of the robe that allowed his legs more freedom, and short sleeves that flowed in the wind.
"Heh," Kisame tried to pass off the anomaly, "Now I get the honor of killing you twice? Facina-"
Pain.
Kisame looked down at the pain in his gut and looked back up, Zabuza was there,
He had impaled him?
Now the man had his free hand holding his face,
"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man!" Zabuza began chanting with his deep, angry voice, "Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws,"
Kisame struggled to move the hand of the man, but he was strong- much stronger than he had anticipated-
"Hadō #33. Sōkatsui! (Demon Way #33: Blue Fire, Crash Down!)"
Kisame's world went blank as a blast of blue wiped him from the mortal plane, leaving Zabuza with a smirk,
'I think I'll like this job,'
0-0-0
"Hold on, we're almost there," Kon, as Ichigo, with both Naruto and Sakura over his shoulders, was leading Sakura through the forest, back to Tazuna's house,
"Now you can become multiple personalities and persons?"
A man in a black cloak and red clouds, the one he had seen before with the real Ichigo, stepped in front of their path, and for some reason he had a dried blood tear going down his face,
'Bad,' Kon was prepared to do three things, talk, run, or fight,
And before he got a chance to do any of them, he was interrupted,
"Itachi," Kon and Sakura looked up to see a large, venus-flytrap like plant stick out from the tree next to Itachi with a human head inside,
Divided in two by black and white,
In the same robe as Itachi,
"Leader-sama wants you-"
"-to live, fool."
Itachi seemed stunned by their outright insult to his state, but he consented,
"Kisame is-"
"-dead."
Itachi's eyes widened as he heard the words, and Kon grinned from Ichigo's face as he heard the news. They had won!
"Very well then," Itachi gave one last look at Ichigo and Sakura before turning and leaving, "I shall go,"
"The child is-"
"-of no consequence."
The talking plant and the famous Uchiha vanished- leaving Kon and Sakura wondering what was going on,
"Kon?"
Rukia jumped down from the trees and looked at the group, then turned to Sakura,
"What you saw here, meaning anything related to Ichigo over here," she pointed at him, "Or those men in the robes, is officially an S-rank secret. Nothing happened here, understood?"
Sakura nodded dumbly as they continued towards Tazuna's house. It had been a weird day in general, one more question wasn't that bad right?
"Where were you Rukia?" Kon asked as they walked, "Was Gato up to something?"
"'Was' is the correct term to use Kon," Rukia walked in front of them and pointed to smoke rising in the distance,
In the direction Gato's mansion was,
"He wasn't just on our hit list," Rukia said, "Someone else beat us to it,"
"You mean-"
"Yes," Rukia replied, "May Gato rest in peace- and by peace I mean rotting eternally in hell,"
Kon and Sakura shivered as they walked up to the house and entered,
It had been a long, long day.
X=X=X
Cut!
Sorry if it was kind of rough, but did you really think that I would just let an awesome character like Zabuza go to waste? This was my plan from the beginning! Who liked it? I tried to make the chapter longer since I owe you guys (the people that like this) a lot for being patient while I struck a gold mine in my other fic, and started a new one. Chunin Exams are next so hold on to your seat belts!
Couple of important notes to this chapter;
-Kisame didn't wear the cloak, but Itachi did, Zetsu did, what does this mean? :O I left a trail of breadcrumbs to those who can figure out what this suggests, there has been a big thing change in the Shinobi world.
-Ichigo is immune to Genjutsu! :O Ichigo v.s. Itachi; winner is Ichigo! But seriously, after using three eye-bleeding techniques in a row, you would be pretty tired. Then going to fight a guy with a huge blade like Ichigo, that suddenly trades size for speed, you think that trying to just complete the mission wouldn't be a good idea? Besides, I like Itachi, I don't want him to die yet. He's too awesome!
-Haku, Kakashi, and Zabuza v.s. Kisame; Kisame loses! Zabuza makes a stunning come back from the dead! The whole Zabuza-Shinigami thing was too awesome to deny, it was a must. Kisame was a juggernaut the whole time, but if you saw a man you just killed grab your face what would you do? Really though you just killed the guy, and now he comes up at you like nothing happened…
-Zabuza is the first Shinigami? Kami intervenes (like a boss) what does this mean for the Kurosaki crew?
-Gato is dead, by whom? Who else was after the fat man? Why?
-Should Rukia have intervened? Yes. Why not? Because of events not shown to your eyes, and it made the fight epic! But really though, the reason resides with the fat man.
Love you guys! Hope you enjoyed, have a Merr-y Jan-u-ary!
~Crunch! (Random Cookies) :D