Traitor

Alright everyone. Here it is. Chapter 9, and this one is now edited. So yeah…hope you all enjoy!

Special thanks to my Beta hinatasgreatestfan. Thanks for the edits!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!

"Don't worry you three. Hatake-san will be just fine. It seems your battle has caused him some extreme exhaustion," Tsunami said to Team 7. She saw the looks of relief on their faces and smiled.

Naruto then went to go into Kakashi's room, but Tsunami stopped him. "You shouldn't bother him, Naruto. He's sleeping right now. You should let him recover his strength."

Naruto was going to argue with her but decided against it. Kakashi did need his rest, and there was nothing he could really ask his teacher while he was asleep. He sighed and nodded. He felt completely useless right now. Their teacher was indisposed at the moment, and the three of them weren't strong enough to watch Tazuna alone. Naruto sighed and began to walk towards the door.

"Naruto-kun...where are you going?" Hinata asked, worried about the blond.

"Going for a walk. I need to clear my head," he said softly before walking out the front door.

Hinata watched him leave with a heavy heart. 'Naruto-kun...' She turned around and saw Sasuke and Tsunami staring at her. She took a deep breath before she spoke. "I'm going to follow him and make sure he's okay..."

Sasuke sighed. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Hinata nodded. She heard Tsunami telling her to be careful as she walked out the door. She saw the outline of Naruto walking into the woods. She took to the trees, silently following Naruto to make sure he would be safe.

Naruto walked through the woods with a solemn atmosphere around him. 'I can't believe this...We didn't defeat Zabuza...not fully. Kakashi-sensei is hurt. We can't guard Tazuna without Kakashi-sensei. We're so screwed!' Naruto stopped in his tracks when he heard leaves rustle. He turned around and saw several leaves floating to the ground. He sighed and looked up. "Which one of you is following me?"

Hinata leapt down in front of Naruto, looking at her feet. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun...I just wanted to make sure you were going to be okay."

Naruto looked at Hinata for a moment before giving the girl a soft smile. "Thank you, Hinata. I mean...I'm kinda upset that you were spying on me instead of just coming after me."

Hinata nodded slowly. "I...wanted to give you space. I thought that once you bounced back, I'd go back to Tazuna-san's home."

Naruto stared at the blunette, then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for being there for me, Hinata-chan."

"Naruto-san?"

Naruto and Hinata turned to the voice, and Naruto smiled brightly at the person before him. "Hey, Haku! What are you doing out here?" Naruto asked, smiling at the browned-haired girl.

"I could ask you the same thing, Naruto-san." Haku smiled.

Hinata watched the situation before her with slight agitation. Who was this girl talking to her Naruto-kun?! She wasn't going to let some random girl come in and take what she had taken so long to achieve. She couldn't help but feel jealous. "Who's this, Naruto-kun?" she asked, trying to hide the jealousy in her voice.

"Oh! Hinata-chan, this is Haku. I met Haku the other day when I left the house." He smiled brightly. "You never answered my question, Haku." Naruto smiled at the older girl. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm gathering herbs to make a medical salve for someone. My father was hurt recently, and I want to make sure he's going to be okay," Haku said with a smile.

Naruto growled. "Damn that Gato! He's always hurting people! Don't worry Haku! Me and my team will make sure Gato won't hurt anyone else." Naruto then gave Haku a thumbs-up and his signature grin.

Haku chuckled. "Thank you Naruto-san. If I may ask, why are you and your friend here?"

"Well uh...you see..." He looked at Hinata, not sure if he should divulge their little tiff.

Hinata smiled at Haku, moving to stand next to Naruto. "We were going into town to do some shopping for the people who are housing us. But we decided to take the scenic route." Hinata blushed slightly. She saw Haku nod, accepting the response. Hinata then decided to change the topic. "You said you're looking for herbs for a salve. May I help you?"

Haku smiled brightly. "I welcome it. I'm actually looking for two specific flowers. Do you know what a Geranium looks like?"

Hinata smiled. "I do. Why do you need Geraniums?"

"Their oil is the key ingredient to my salve. It stops excessive bleeding and hemorrhaging. I'm almost out of the oil, so I need to start extracting some more." Haku explained. "I also need Camellias. Their leaves can be ground up and brewed to make a green tea, that can relieve muscle soreness. Their leaves are large, and they have small white petals."

"Wow...I had no idea a common flower held such healing qualities. May I keep a few flowers for myself?" Hinata asked with a smile.

"Of course. Come. Let's begin our search." Haku explained what a Geranium and Camellias looked like to Naruto, and they began their search. The trio, or rather Naruto did a majority of the talking in the group. He talked about the battle that had taken place the day before, how awesome they had done against Zabuza and how their sensei was hurt. Haku had listened intently, only nodding or giving a small hum in acknowledgment.

Hinata and Haku, despite not talking a lot, got along quite well. They had spoken amongst themselves, whenever Naruto wasn't talking. They had several similar interests, including flower pressing, animals, and, to Hinata's pleasure, cinnamon buns.

After about an hour of picking, Haku had an armful of Geraniums and Camellias, and Hinata had acquired quite a few as well. "I must thank you for your help. It would have taken me much longer to acquire this many flowers."

"No problem Haku! We'll help any time!" Naruto boasted happily.

Hinata smiled at her new friend. "I hope your father gets well soon."

Haku thanked the duo and turned to leave, when Naruto stopped her. "Hey Haku, why don't we all meet up later? You can meet Sasuke! He's kind of a grump, but he's nice...enough." Naruto chuckled.

Haku chuckled. "I'll see what I can do. Thank you again." She bowed and left. Haku walked through the city, coming into a very rundown and poor part of town. She entered a house that resembled a shack more than anything. When she entered, she saw her "father" sitting up in his bed. "Zabuza-sama, your wounds are still healing. Please rest," she said, placing the flowers on a nearby table. She then began to crush the flowers and strip the stems for the oil inside.

"My wounds aren't serious," Zabuza said, attempting to stand. He grunted in pain, and returned to his original sitting position.

"Indeed," Haku chuckled. She mixed the Geranium oil and several other herbs together until a creamy salve had formed in the bowl. "I spoke with two of the leaf ninja from yesterday. They are quite interesting."

Zabuza grunted. "Haku...do not get attached. They are protecting our target. Therefore, they must be eliminated."

Haku sighed. She approached Zabuza and began to remove his bandages. "Don't fret, Zabuza-sama. That won't be a problem." But it was too late for Haku. She already considered Naruto and Hinata friends. Haku then began to rub in her salve on Zabuza's wounds. She heard him groan and continued. "Your wounds are healing well. You should be completely healed in a few days," Haku said, reapplying bandages to the man's wounds.

Zabuza nodded. "Haku...start preparing. We strike in a few days."

Haku, who was cleaning up the table, looked over her shoulder. "Of course, Zabuza-sama."

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"Eh?! Kakashi-sensei's awake?! Why didn't you come get us?" Naruto yelled.

"Oh, shut up, Dobe! He only woke up fifteen minutes ago. And I didn't know where you two went," Sasuke said, folding his arms over his chest. "Tsunami took up some food for him, so he's probably eating right now."

Naruto raced upstairs and rushed right into Kakashi's room. "Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi, who was holding a bowl of hot stew, looked up at Naruto. "Hey now...what's with all the noise?"

"You're better!" Naruto rushed forward and tackled his sensei in a hug. Kakashi reacted with just enough speed to put his bowl of food to the side before Naruto tackled him. Naruto heard a groan come from Kakashi and quickly backed away. "Ehehehe...sorry Kakashi-sensei," he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Kakashi took a moment for the pain to subside before he spoke. "It's all right, Naruto. I'm more sore than hurt. Now...is everyone all right?"

Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah! Hinata-chan and Tsunami bandaged you up! Sasuke and I are fine, too!"

Kakashi nodded. "I see. I'm glad you three aren't hurt." He stared at his bowl of food sitting on his lap. 'At least I did something right.' Kakashi then looked up and gave Naruto his signature "U" eye. "Now Naruto...even though I'm going to be out of commission for a day or two, that doesn't mean I want you or the others to slack off."

Naruto nodded. "You got it, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Good, now send Hinata up here please? I need to speak with her." Naruto nodded and walked out of the room and downstairs. Within moments, Hinata walked in. "Ah, Hinata. I must speak with you."

Hinata walked in and sat in front of Kakashi. "How are you feeling, Sensei?"

"I've felt better, that's for sure. But I'll be fine in a couple of days," Kakashi said with a nod. "Now, Hinata...I have a special mission for you."

Hinata blinked. "A mission?"

"Yes. It's quite simple, really. I want you to push Naruto and Sasuke in their training. I want you to help with their chakra control, and their sparring skills. Your Byakugan might help them with their weak spots, where their defenses are lacking," Kakashi explained.

Hinata blinked. "But Kakashi-sensei...what about Tazuna-san and the bridge?"

"Don't worry. I've taken that into consideration. You'll be leaving with one of the boys to protect Tazuna, while the other trains separately. You'll be tutoring them as you guard Tazuna," Kakashi explained. "And, it will also train your Byakugan. It will help with sharpening your sight."

Hinata nodded. "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow. Today, take Naruto and Sasuke and begin training."

Hinata stood up and bowed to her sensei. She walked downstairs and saw Naruto and Sasuke waiting for her. Sasuke was the first to speak. "What'd Kakashi want?"

"He wants us to continue our training with out him. He's given me instructions on what to do," Hinata explained.

"I see. Let's go then," Sasuke said, turning to leave.

Hinata and Naruto nodded. As they left, Tsunami approached them with a large bento box. "This is for you three. I want you to be able to keep up your strength."

Naruto's mouth began to water. "Oh, boy! We get a super good lunch!"

Hinata smiled and took the bento. "Thank you, Tsunami-san. There are flowers on the table. Can you take the leaves of the white ones and brew them into tea for Kakashi-sensei? It'll help his recovery process."

Tsunami nodded. "I will. Good luck, you three."

The three Genin nodded and left to train. When they arrived at their destination, they immediately went to work. Sasuke went to work on the tree climbing exercise, Hinata watching with her Byakugan. She had noticed Sasuke would have an even amount of chakra in his feet, until he would get further up the tree. She could see the chakra intensifying, and Sasuke would be expelled from the tree. "Dammit!"

Hinata approached Sasuke, who was getting ready to run up the tree again. "If I may, Sasuke?" she saw Sasuke nod, and continued. "When you get to a point further up the tree, you use more chakra than needed."

Sasuke sighed. "Probably because I'm anxious to get higher."

Hinata nodded. "Stay calm as you run up. You'll go much higher if you do."

Sasuke nodded. He approached the tree again and began his run. Sasuke had run higher than he ever had on the tree before. While he didn't make it to the top, he was close. When he made it back to the ground, he looked at when he had stopped. "I'm close."

Hinata smiled. "Indeed. Continue to focus and keep calm, Sasuke. You'll make it within the hour." She saw Sasuke nod and went to Naruto, who was doing a few combinations against a rather thick tree. "Naruto-kun?"

Naruto stopped his attacks and turned to Hinata. He saw her get into her Juuken stance and Naruto couldn't help but smirk. "You're on, Hinata-chan."

The couple quickly engaged in a spar, though it was short lived. Hinata struck several weak spots, causing Naruto to fall to his knees. He looked up at Hinata, who looked upset that she hurt Naruto. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun..."

"It's okay, Hinata-chan," he said, standing up. "You showed me where my weak spots were. It only means I need to improve more. Don't worry! I'll have those weak spots covered in no time!" Naruto said, giving the heiress a thumbs up.

"You better improve, dobe. You need to give me some sort of a challenge," Sasuke called towards Naruto.

Naruto looked up and saw Sasuke standing on a branch, rather far up the tree. Farther up than Sasuke had ever gone before. "Woah. Look who finally decided to join the club," Naruto teased.

Sasuke frowned. "Can it, dobe. You had extra help during the academy. I didn't. So you technically had a handicap," Sasuke explained.

"Excuses, excuses. You couldn't beat me if the Yondaime himself gave you all his power," Naruto said, waving Sasuke off.

Sasuke growled in annoyance. His anger got the best of him and he lost control of his chakra, causing him to fall from the tree branch.

Naruto was quick to react and leapt up into the air, catching Sasuke. Landing on a thicker branch, Naruto frowned at Sasuke. "You know, the first time I wanted to hold someone like this...I was kinda hoping it'd be Hinata-chan." Naruto looked down at Hinata, who was waving up at him.

Sasuke blinked at Naruto, before the blond dropped him onto the branch. "Hmph...dobe."

"A simple thank you is fine," Naruto chuckled.

"I'll thank you when I'm dead," Sasuke said as he stood up and dusted himself off. The two boys jumped down from the branch to the ground, Hinata running up to them.

"Sasuke, are you all right?" she asked with concern.

"I'm fine. What's next?" he asked softly.

"Well...Kakashi-sensei said to push you two," she said softly. "I was thinking...we could work on a few team exercises and then we could spar against each other and point out what we could improve on," Hinata suggested.

"Great idea, Hinata-chan!" Naruto beamed.

Sasuke nodded. "Since you thought of it, what do you have in mind?"

The Genin then got to work, working on different teamwork patterns. Coming up with situations and coming up with different combinations between them. They also had several sparring matches, most of which Hinata would observe to point out any weak spots in the boys' forms.

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Six days had passed since the battle with Zabuza and everyone was in high spirits. Naruto's and Sasuke's taijutsu had improved thanks to the extra training. Whenever either wasn't with Hinata guarding Tazuna, they would be training themselves into the ground to get stronger. Hinata had been training as well. Her Byakugan sight line had increased significantly. Before entering the Academy, Hinata was able to see up to 10 kilometers. Now she could see up to 15 kilometers. She was also able to magnify her sight and see more of the smaller insects in the forest.

Over those six days, Haku had visited them three times, meeting Sasuke and getting to know the Genin better. Haku's feelings towards the Genin had grown, and she couldn't help but feel torn about the upcoming battle that was to take place. She and Hinata had become the closest. Hinata was Haku's first friend, and Haku was Hinata's first girl friend.

Kakashi's health had improved greatly. With the help of Hinata's tea – and some rest – he was ready to go back to work. He had observed his team's training for the past few days, and he was quite impressed with what combinations they had come up with.

Team Seven and Tazuna were currently heading towards the bridge. With little to no interruptions at the bridge, Tazuna was able to make significant progress. If things remained this quiet, the bridge would be finished in just a few more days. But as they got closer to the bridge, Kakashi couldn't help but feel uneasy. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something felt off.

When they reached the bridge, everyone stopped in horror. Strung across the bridge were Tazuna's workers, either dead or unconscious. Kakashi approached one worker, who was barely conscious. "Who did this to you?" Kakashi asked with urgency.

"A d-demon..." The man whispered.

Kakashi laid the man down and noticed a very familiar jutsu. 'So he isn't dead...'

"Kakashi-sensei...this is the Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Hinata called out.

"It can't be! Zabuza's dead!" Naruto cried. He was quickly silenced by a dark chuckle.

"I'm dead, am I?" Zabuza's voice carried through the mist. Within moments, Zabuza's figure appeared through the mist, accompanied by the hunter nin who had taken him away.

"So...he was working for you the whole time..." Kakashi said more as a statement than a question. His eyes then drifted towards Zabuza's companion. She has skill with a senbon and knows the human body well if she knows where to strike proper pressure points. Kakashi then turned to his team. "You three protect Tazuna. I'll take care of Zabuza and his friend."

Zabuza chuckled and slightly shook his head. "You're more of a fool than I had originally thought Kakashi. Do you really think your little Sharingan trick will work on me twice?" Zabuza chuckled. "As for Haku here...she'll be able to decimate your team before they can even land a hit on her."

The Genin stared at the hunter-nin with shocked expressions. "H...Haku...?" Naruto asked as he took a step forward.

Kakashi turned towards his Genin and saw the horror etched on their faces.

"Y-You're not really Haku...are you?" Naruto said quietly, as his right hand slowly and shakily reached out towards her. A senbon flew by Naruto, scratching his cheek as it flew by. Naruto froze, his hand still stretched out. "H-Haku...why?!"

"I am Zabuza-sama's tool. Therefore I will do whatever Zabuza-sama wishes me to do," Haku said as she grabbed more senbon.

"B-But we're friends...!" Naruto yelled at the girl.

Zabuza chuckled darkly, and Naruto turned his attention to the mist demon. "You were played, boy. She only became your 'friend' because I told her to gain your trust. Your friendship with her meant nothing."

Kakashi stared at the girl and noticed an ever-so-slight flinch when Zabuza said her friendship meant nothing to the Genin. 'This girl still holds a soft spot for them...perhaps we can use this to our advantage.' Kakashi then turned his attention to Naruto, who was visibly shaking. 'Shit...'

"Sasuke, I want you to engage with Haku. Hinata, try to calm Naruto down. We need him to focus and realize that she is not your friend and that she's the enemy," Kakashi explained.

Sasuke and Hinata flinched slightly. Hinata really liked Haku and thought of her as a really close friend. Sasuke, while he didn't know Haku as well as Naruto or Hinata, also deemed Haku as a friend and hated that he might have to kill her. Sasuke nodded at his sensei, then turned to Haku. "You pretended to be our friend...and you betrayed our trust. I don't take well to betrayers," Sasuke said, pulling some shuriken from his weapon pouch.

If it weren't for her mask, Haku's emotions would have been clearly seen. She was upset and didn't want to fight her friends. But she was Zabuza's tool, and she'd do anything for Zabuza. Haku took a deep breath, willing away her sadness, and prepared for her fight.

Sasuke threw the shuriken, which were intercepted by Haku's senbon. 'Damn...I forgot about her precise aim.' Sasuke did several hand-signs, inhaled, and breathed out his Giant Fireball Jutsu. Sasuke watched his opponent preform a simple hand sign.

Haku stared at Sasuke, calling out, "Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"

The two jutsu collided, causing a hot mist to surrounded them. Sasuke frowned. Damn...Zabuza's mist is bad enough, now I have to deal with this...After Sasuke could begin to see through the thick mist, he saw something shining. He cautiously approached and took a step back in shock. In front of him was a mirror. "Wh-What...?!" he said, staring at his reflection.

"Jutsu complete. Demonic Ice Mirrors." Haku smirked as she stood outside the dome of ice mirrors. To Sasuke's surprise Haku then merged with the ice mirrors, her reflection showing on all the mirrors.

Sasuke stared at all the reflections, shivering in slight fear.

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Zabuza watched Haku and Kakashi's student engage in combat and chuckled. "Haku could kill your little student in five minutes," he said grabbing his sword. "And it appears your other students are worthless," he added, pointing to Naruto and Hinata. Hinata was kneeling next to Naruto, who was still shaking. "Just admit defeat, Kakashi. If you do, I'll make your deaths swift and painless." Zabuza chuckled darkly.

Kakashi turned back to Zabuza and glared. "I will not abandon my team. I will also...not allow you to get away with your sins," Kakashi said as he lifted up his hitai-ate, revealing his Sharingan. Kakashi heard Zabuza chuckle, and it sent a slight shiver down his spine.

"You think your little eye will work again? Shame on you, Kakashi." He chuckled again and lifted his sword. "That trick won't work on me twice. Prepare to die."

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"Naruto-kun! Please! Snap out of it!"Hinata pleaded. "We need your help!" she cried. No matter what she did, Naruto was still shaking and not responding to her. "Naruto-kun!"

What Hinata didn't know was Naruto wasn't just shaking from shock. He was also shaking with rage. Naruto looked up at the fight going on between Sasuke and Haku, and he let out a small growl. His whisker marks grew dark, and his eyes flashed red.

Hinata gasped. "N-Naruto-kun...?" She had never seen anything like this before. His eyes would flash from the crystal blue color, into a deep crimson. His pupils would switch from round to slits, almost like a cat or a fox. 'What is happening to you, Naruto-kun?' She then heard Naruto growl again, and saw him bare his teeth, which were rather large and sharp. Hinata gasped and hugged Naruto tightly. "Naruto-kun! Snap out of it! Please!"

Naruto gasped and turned to Hinata. His eyes had changed from red to their crystal blue once again, and his eyes had softened. "Hinata-chan?" he asked, staring into her lavender eyes. He saw the worry and fear in her eyes, and he hugged her back. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan." He then pulled away and gave Hinata a confident smirk. "Come on...let's go help Sasuke."

Hinata was happy that Naruto was back to himself and ready to fight, but she couldn't help that sinking feeling in her stomach after she saw Naruto's changing appearance.

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"Now, we have to do this quickly. Remember, we're taking her as a hostage. So we don't murder her."

"Yeah, yeah. You told me this six times already."

"Well last time you killed the hostage before we could bring her back to the boss!" Two samurai stood before Tazuna's house, swords tied to their hips. One had shoulder-length silver hair, a blue bandanna on his head, and small red triangles tattooed under his eyes. The other was a tall man with his brown hair in a topknot. He had a scar on his forehead and an eye-patch over his right eye. The shorter, silver-haired Samurai turned to his partner and nodded. "Would you like to make the entrance? Or shall I?"

"You know I like making an entrance, Kin." The brown-haired samurai laughed.

"Then go right ahead, Goro," Kin said with a smirk.

Goro smirked, and with a small deal of strength, kicked the front door in.

Tsunami, who was washing dishes with Inari, yelped in surprise when she heard the door being kicked in. Both Tsunami and Inari turned around and gasped. "Wh-Who are you...?"

"That's none of your concern, Missy," Kin said. "Now come with us quietly."

"Leave my okaa-san alone!" Inari said, stepping in front of his mom. Inari yelped as he was kicked away by Goro. He coughed and clutched his stomach, the wind completely knocked out of him.

"Inari!" Tsunami went to run towards her son when Kin stopped her, sword extended. "What do you want with me?!" she yelled.

"We want you to come with us...quietly," Kin said as he took a step towards Tsunami. He suddenly lurched forward and hissed in pain. He turned around and saw Inari glaring at him. "You damn brat." Kin then grabbed the sheath to his sword and brought it down onto Inari.

Inari gasped and closed his eyes, waiting for the impact. Instead of the feeling of the hard sheath hitting him, he felt arms wrap around him. His eyes widened as he saw his mom use her body to defend him from the hit. Tsunami yelped in pain and slumped to the floor. "O...Okaa-san...?"

"Hmph. Way to go, Kin. You knocked her out! We were supposed to take her alive and kicking." Goro went to pick her up, but Inari shoved his hand away. "You damn brat!"

"Leave her alone! If you want a hostage, take me!" Inari yelled.

Kin and Goro looked slightly confused.

"I-I'm Tazuna's grandson. I'm more valuable than my okaa-san," he said, glaring at the samurai. "I'm my Jii-san's apprentice. With me...the bridge building ends." Inari frowned.

Goro looked down at his partner. "What do you think?" the large man asked, a dark grin creeping up on his lips.

Kin grinned as well. "I say we take him. Tie him and gag him," Kin said, turning towards the front door. When he turned back towards his partner, he saw that he had already hoisted a bound and gagged Inari over his shoulders. "Excellent. Let's go."

As the two samurai left the house, Tsunami had awakened to see them carrying her son away. "I...Inari..."

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"D...Dammit..." Sasuke was on one knee, staring up at the multiple reflections of Haku. None of his fire jutsu were working on the ice. He was exhausted, and he had been struck several times by Haku's senbon. 'She's so fast...I-I can't keep up!'

Hinata and Naruto rushed towards the dome and saw Sasuke was starting to fade. "Sasuke!" Naruto yelled. "Hang on, Sasuke! We're coming in!"

Naruto tried to rush into the dome but was stopped by Haku, who threw senbon at him. "I don't think so, Naruto-san. The only way you'll get your friend out is if you kill me."

Naruto flinched. He didn't want to kill Haku, but he didn't want Sasuke to die in there.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata whispered. "Keep Haku preoccupied. I have an idea."

Naruto nodded, then began to throw shuriken and kunai at the mirrors, which were merely deflected by senbon. Sasuke had caught on and began to attack from the inside.

Hinata then acted when she saw Haku being attacked by both her comrades. She had managed to sneak into the dome and next to Sasuke. "Sasuke, I have a plan. I might be able to find the real Haku with my Byakugan. The real one has to emit more chakra than the copies."

Sasuke smirked. "Good idea."

Haku panicked slightly when Hinata had entered her ice dome. 'Oh no...I could be in trouble...' Haku turned her attention from Naruto to the duo. 'Forgive me, my friends.' Haku glared at her friends, her hands moving quite quickly, forming hand signs.

Sasuke and Hinata stared as Haku did her multiple hand signs. To Hinata, Haku's hands were practically blurs. Sasuke watched and Haku's hands had significantly slowed down. He could see each sign as if Haku was going in slow motion. 'It can't be...' Sasuke smirked. 'Yes! My Sharingan!' Just as Sasuke's Sharingan had awoken, the ground began to rumble. Sasuke grabbed Hinata and leapt in the air as large ice spears erupted from the ground. Sasuke and Hinata landed next to them, Sasuke smirked at the many Hakus. "You're in trouble now, Haku. I've got my Sharingan."

Haku frowned. 'This surely complicates things.' Haku then began to attack with all her might, sending more senbon, more ice spears protruding from the ground.

Sasuke, despite his new advantage, was still not fast enough to dodge all the senbon or spears. Hinata wasn't near as badly off as Sasuke, due to Haku's main focus being to take out the strongest person.

Naruto watched from the outside, trying to attack the mirrors, hoping to find the real Haku. He stopped when Sasuke cried out in pain from a spear piercing through his right thigh. "Sasuke!"

Hinata knelt beside Sasuke, who was clutching his thigh. "Hang in there, Sasuke!" Hinata was suddenly surprised when dark smoke surrounded the done. "Wha–" she then gasped. 'Naruto-kun! It's his Burning Ash!'

Haku frowned. "Damn..." She could only wait for the smoke to clear. But she knew two people were still in her dome, she could sense their chakra signatures.

Once the smoke cleared, Naruto was standing in front of Hinata. "Heh...now it's my turn to play." Naruto smirked. "Hinata...which one is real?"

Hinata stood on shaky legs and activated her Byakugan. Hinata scanned the mirrors and gasped. "Above!"

Naruto looked up and saw Haku diving straight towards him. Naruto was kneed square in the face, driving him into the ground. Haku then disappeared back into the mirrors.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata rushed over and knelt beside the blond. "Are you okay?"

"Ugh...y-yeah," he said, spitting out some blood. 'Damn...Haku is a lot stronger than I thought.'

Haku frowned. 'I need to end this now.' Haku took out more senbon, looking at the downed blond ninja. 'I'm sorry Naruto-san. I hope you'll forgive me in the afterlife.' Haku took aim and threw the senbon.

Naruto closed his eyes, waiting for the impact of the senbon...but they never came. Naruto looked up and he couldn't help the gasp that left his lips. "H...Hina...ta...?" Naruto got up to a kneel and stared at the skewered girl. "Wh-Why?!"

Hinata coughed up blood, that splattered at her feet. "B-Because...I...I couldn't l-let you die...before y-you fulfill your...dream..." Hinata then fell backwards, Naruto moving to catch her.

"But what about your dream, H-Hinata? You wanted a family, to be a brilliant kunoichi! You can't die!" Tears fell uncontrollably from his eyes. "Please H-Hinata...I c-can't lose you!" he hiccuped.

Hinata smiled, her eyes growing heavy. "I-It's okay Naruto-kun...you w-won't..." Hinata's eyes slid closed, her body going completely limp in Naruto's arms.

Naruto's eyes widened, and he shakily laid Hinata down. Naruto hovered over Hinata's body, his own practically vibrating.

Haku drew more senbon, staring at the boy and the girl's body. 'I'm sorry, Hinata-san...You didn't deserve to die this way. I hope you can forgive me for what I have done, and for what I'm about to do.' Before Haku could throw the senbon in her hand, she noticed something very disturbing about Naruto. He was glaring at her, razor sharp teeth bared, eyes crimson, whiskers darkened, and hair wild. Red chakra oozed from his body, bubbling in anger. 'Wh...what?'

Naruto glared and stood on all fours protectively in front of Hinata's body. He let out a low growl before letting out a spine-chilling roar, red chakra exploding from his body.

So there it was! Chapter 9. I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter. Thanks again, and please review!

~Lu Lu-Chan25