Teeth chattering, Mayu slowly stood. In an effort to ward off the cold, she wrapped her arms around her. However, the cold had not been the only reason for the trembles. The absolute dread of having to face Haku's brutal attacks a second time would only make her fear of bees more permanent. The kunoichi grit her teeth, gaze uselessly attempting to find some indication of where their enemy hid in plain sight. These eyes could not hope to track the older shinobi down, though. Mayu did not see any way out of this predicament. Not at the moment. Not when she was a jumbled mess of increasing panic.
"Ma- Sakura, any ideas?" Sasuke questioned. Mayu blinked, and then turned startled eyes to her teammate. Both he and Naruto looked back at her expectedly. It was very different from when they had first started out. Before, they had practically raced away from her and potential strategies as a team. Mayu felt a rush of delight now that they were looking to her for answers. Then immediately deflated because she had none.
Haku had trapped them again. More effectively than before. No hope of distraction from the outside. No way to squeeze through the nearly nonexistent gaps. No way to keep up with the opposing speed. The genin of Team 7 were pinned between cement and ice. With their current skills, the situation seemed impossible to overcome. Haku had shown a manipulation of ice that he had not shown in the anime. He had become more dangerous than what Mayu had come to expect. And she might have been the reason for that simply because she had made herself a target. She had joined a fight this body had not meant to be a part of.
"Not… right now," Mayu admitted. Sasuke pressed his lips together, and Naruto frowned slightly. "I need a bit of time to… assess. Maybe." Honestly, she did not have a lot of time before Haku truly killed the kindness in his heart. In that time, she needed to figure a way out of this situation. Still, she might not be able to figure out anything even if she had all the time in the world. As it stood, they were just waiting for the attack.
"Alright then," Sasuke replied. He stood up and narrowed his eyes on one mirror in particular. "I'll just bust these mirrors." Mayu bit her lip, already knowing what he had planned to do. Her teammate raced through hand seals as Naruto questioned his motive. "These mirrors are made of ice, so…" The Uchiha sucked in a gulp of air. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Unlike before, the fire and charka actually looked like a large ball. It erupted and headed straight towards the mirrors in front of the team. It collided with more than a few mirrors. Ice and fire created steam upon impact. However, when the attack eventually dissipated, the ice mirrors remained intact. Haku seemed unperturbed, expression remaining unimpressed.
"It didn't do anything at all!" Naruto complained, also unimpressed by the effort.
"You cannot melt this ice with fire of that power level," Haku told him. Sasuke clenched his teeth, glaring hard at the ice user.
"Well… It's a bit warmer in here," Mayu remarked. It only made her teammate redirect his glare on her. The kunoichi pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes right back. If they made it out of this alive, she was going to beat the glare out of him. Their slight glaring match ended prematurely, though. Each mirror glowed, signaling the beginning of retaliation. Haku lifted his arm, showing senbon. Mayu swallowed hard, bracing herself for the pain. She did not wait long for it. Not seeing it coming, she still felt the strikes to her skin. She screamed out, along with her teammates. The quickened attack knocked her onto her back before it abruptly ended.
"Damn! Where is he attacking from?!" Naruto demanded as he sat up. "Is he using clones?!" The blond stood up, hastily looking around. Mayu did not attempt to do the same. It was of no use. "Where's the real one?!"
"Trying to follow me with your eyes is useless," Haku stated. "You will never be able to catch me."
"We'll see about that!" Naruto exclaimed, unwilling to give up. His hands came together, forming a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"No, don't!" Sasuke warned, but it came too late. Naruto had created enough clones to go after each mirror. Each clone shouted out their battle cries as they rushed at their respective ice sheets. Mayu sat up, hoping to catch a glimpse. Her teammate was just as loud and obnoxious in his attacks, but it would force Haku to attack him first. Maybe that would be the time she needed.
"I'll find the real one by crushing them all!" Naruto proclaimed. However, before fists could meet ice, the clones popped out of existence. Mayu's eyes widened, realizing that she could not even see a blur as she had when she had watched the show. She could not see Haku at all. One by one, the clones were destroyed, seemingly of their own volition. Finally, only the real Naruto came crashing down beside Mayu and Sasuke. He groaned lightly, aching from the counter.
"This jutsu uses the mirrors' reflections to transport me," Haku informed. "From my point of view, you guys seem to be moving in slow motion."
"Damn it! So what?!" Naruto shouted, sitting up again. "I can't die here! I have a dream I must fulfill… The dream to have everyone acknowledge my strength! And the dream to become Hokage!"
Mayu looked towards her teammate. Pensive, she stared at him. She had heard it before. Naruto often spouted dreams of becoming Hokage. Couldn't go an entire season without it. However, hearing it now was a bit different. She had doubted herself. Haku had slashed her confidence just as he had her skin. But she could not give up now. Not when it had practically been her fault that things had become more dangerous. Besides, she had not gotten to meet Gaara yet. Or Lee. She couldn't let it end here, especially for these two bozos she called teammates.
"He's right…! We all have dreams!" Mayu muttered, struggling to stand. The ache was everywhere, but she had managed. "Our dreams—our goals—won't end here! Not because of you!"
"Dream…?" Haku repeated in a whisper. He sighed lightly, a frown tugging at his lips. "Becoming a true shinobi has always been difficult for me… If possible, I do not want to have to kill you. Nor do I want you to kill me. However, if you come at me… I will become a true shinobi this time. This bridge is the place where we fight… to connect our dreams. Me, for my dream, and you, for your dreams. Please do not hate me."
That's a bit hard to do… since you're throwing very sharp needles at me!
"I want to protect someone precious to me... to work for that person, to fight for that person, to make that person's dream come true," Haku continued, unaware of Mayu's increasing ire. "That is my dream. For that, I can become a shinobi. I will kill you!" he finished, holding up three needles. For some reason, Haku's words caused her teammates to smirk. She looked back at them, baffled by their reaction to the threat on their lives. The kunoichi mentally shook her head. The rules of this world would never cease to confound her. Sure, she liked to fight just as much as the next person, but dangerous people threatening to kill her would never invoke a positive reaction.
Mayu refrained from rolling her eyes, incredulous. Instead, she pulled a kunai from her leg holster—the last one, she felt. She noticed Haku dart his eyes in her direction, but she paid no mind for now. Actually launching an attack on the older shinobi would prove fruitless. She would need to change tactics. So if tracking with eyes had been useless, then…
"Just because I screwed up the first time doesn't mean I'm going to quit!" Naruto yelled out, again, forcing the attention on himself. "I'll try as many times as I need to!" Again, he formed his favorite hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Again, multiple clones popped out of clouds of smoke.
Mayu breathed in deeply as Sasuke shouted for Naruto to stop his attack. She shut her eyes, and everything stilled around her. With her sight cut off, she felt her other senses flare. She felt the shift in the air as the clones' shouts abruptly cut off. Her ears and nostrils twitched. This felt a bit familiar. Her mind remembered this tactic. If her eyes did not work, then she had to rely on her other senses. Again, one by one, the clones disappeared, leaving only the three of Team 7. Here it comes… Mayu felt the first slash on her skin, and abruptly changed the movement of her arms. The clang of senbon against kunai caused her to open her eyes. The hand of her enemy shook, as did her own, as the two stared each other down. Haku's lips parted and his eyebrows rose, clearly taken aback that his attack had been halted.
Fortunately, her teammate did not waste time gawking. Sasuke twisted his body, lifting and swinging his leg. His foot landed a solid hit against Haku. The older shinobi flew backwards, smacking against one of the crystal ice mirrors. "You got him!" Naruto praised loudly. Unfortunately, Haku quickly retreated into a mirror, causing the blond to groan in disappointment.
"You got him," Sasuke repeated, moving to stand near Mayu. "He is slower than the first time, but you were able to counter his moves." Now that he mentioned it, Haku had seemed slower in his pace. She still had not been able to see his movements, but it had been a slight difference in the feel of the attack. Perhaps the team's combined efforts had not been so much in vain. The older shinobi had been weakened from their previous efforts, after all. "Another effect of your mad skills?" Mayu smirked.
"Just a little something, something," she said. Truthfully, her sensei back home had taught her to ward off attacks in the dark. Her grandmother, on her mother's side of the family, had similar, albeit peculiar, methods. She had not believed she would ever have to use such tactics, especially against speed. "I can't see him, so I stopped trying to. Don't go doing the same, Sasuke. Your eyes can be better than ours." The Uchiha nodded his head. "Maybe we can win this together." The distraction, the defense, and the attack. Together, they could take Haku out.
"How…?" the older shinobi murmured. "It should not be possible for anyone to follow my movements in here. It must have been a coincidence."
"It's simple, Haku-san. We were trained by the best," Mayu told him. "So bow down like the rest!" To her utter surprise, both Naruto and Sasuke finished the phrase in unison with her. Of course, Naruto had been louder, but Sasuke had made his voice known as well. Huh. Apparently, she really had been on this team long enough for that mantra to stick. Granny Theresa, the one who had taught her the phrase, had said that it sounded better in English, though. Still, it did the trick of taunting. Haku visibly frowned before his mirrors began glowing.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed. Mayu shut her eyes again and shifted her feet. Multiple footsteps hit the ground, indicating the clones had formed. However, there was also a single foot slamming against the cement. The clones jumped up and Sasuke moved as well. The air around them shifted again. Mayu's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Haku was not destroying clones first. His single target was Sasuke. Made sense, considering he was essentially their sword in this situation. But Sasuke was not defenseless. His foot shifted, and he met Haku head on. It was a crazy rush between them. Oh. Sasuke could keep up. They had managed to slow Haku down just enough for it, after all.
Upon realizing close combat was not working, Haku sprung away from Sasuke. Mayu cracked her eyes open, witnessing the older shinobi retreat into the safety of his ice. Despite his expression remaining stoic, Haku visibly trembled with the exertion. A line of blood slipped from his mouth to his chin. However slight it was, it was proof that he had been harmed. "I got him. I'm getting the timing down," Sasuke announced.
"Nice!" Mayu congratulated. Her dark-haired teammate smirked. "Next time, burn him." The smirk, to her surprise, widened as he turned his eyes to her. He nodded in agreement, staring with a look she could not decipher now. She would think about it later, maybe, but right now, she had to focus on surviving this mission. Mayu shifted her attention back to their enemy, shutting her eyes and wondering what his next move would be. Haku chose a long-ranged attack. She could not see it, but she got a feel of the thin projectiles flying through the air, heading towards Naruto and his clones. "No…!" Mayu exclaimed.
Of course he would go after the slowest of them—their perfect distraction. Sasuke quickly moved, grabbing the kunai from Mayu's hand. She opened her eyes, watching her teammate halt in front of the real Naruto just as his clones forcibly disappeared courtesy of the senbon needs that hit various vital points. He deflected the oncoming needles, but missed one. It struck him in the shoulder. He shouted in pain, stumbling backwards into Naruto. Haku proved to be too smart. He had realized that attacking the distraction would turn Naruto into his advantage instead of theirs. Mayu felt two senbon pierce and sink deep right above her knee.
She barely managed to dodge the needles aimed at her chest by springing backwards by use of her uninjured leg. Upon standing upright again, she attempted to survey the situation. Naruto was trying to yank the needle out of Sasuke, but the Uchiha swiped out him to stop his advancements. Haku did not seem to be in any of the mirrors, though. Crap. Where had the older shinobi gone? Gritting her teeth, Mayu shut her eyes again. What she had not expected was for arms to encase her torso from behind. Her eyes shot open and she sharply turned her head, seeing Haku's face mere centimeters from her own. He had slipped out of the ice sheet behind her. Impassive as ever, he pulled her backwards, molding their bodies into the ice.
Then he released her, leaving her stuck, limbs uselessly flailing. The rest of her body was held tightly by ice. Thankfully, her face had not been confined to the ice, but as it stood, she had become immobile. Useless. Vulnerable. Mayu would have shouted in frustration if she had not already started violently shivering. The ice was colder than normal ice. She was already becoming numb. Or perhaps the numbness came from the senbon needles sticking out of her. Despite her efforts, she still had become a pincushion again. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted, noticing her sudden predicament. Sasuke, too, looked her way, expression mirroring her frustration perfectly.
"What will do you now?" Haku's voice echoed. Her teammates whirled around to face him. The enemy had appeared opposite of her, inside his mirror. "I have effectively crippled your unified team. You have become a broken force once again. I do not intend for you to become one a second time." Mayu's eyes widened and her lips parted. Haku had always sounded serious, but that… She actually felt a chill from that threat. Or maybe it had just been the ice. Either way, this was not good. Had Haku truly killed the kindness in his heart now? Crap. "Shall we see whose dream will survive this bridge?"
Mayu watched as Haku launched senbon at her teammates. Sasuke ripped a senbon from his body and used both senbon and kunai to deflect the oncoming needles from impaling himself and Naruto. However, the needles then came for Mayu. Sasuke hastily made his way over, jumping up to protect her from the senbon. Then, of course, Haku went after Naruto again. Sasuke rushed towards his other teammate, blocking. This went on a few times. Mayu realized then that Haku wanted to sap Sasuke's stamina. Sasuke was already panting over the effort. For a few moments, Haku gave him reprieve. But he could not continue going back and forth.
"You can't keep doing this, Sasuke!" Mayu exclaimed.
"Don't you think I know that?!" he retorted, sharply turning to face her. "But what else am I supposed to do?!"
"Protect yourself and the future Hokage!" Mayu shouted. Both of her teammates stared at her. Naruto's eyes noticeably widened and his lips parted, clearly surprised. Sasuke's glare softened somewhat. "You are Konoha's last Uchiha. He is our future. Neither of your dreams can die here!" The kunoichi bit her lower lip. Compared to their dreams… hers were not as noteworthy. In the grand scheme of things, she did not matter. Naruto and Sasuke, however, were meant for greater things. Mayu still felt that she had been partially responsible for the precarious turn of events. "Besides, it's not only the strength and speed, Sasuke." The Uchiha furrowed his brow. "I can endure," she stated, hoping he would understand. "So don't focus on me."
"… No. No way, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled out, nearly glaring. "I'm not gonna let your dream die either! What kinda Hokage would I be if I let that happen?"
"Wh-What?!" Mayu screeched, partially annoyed.
"He means…" Sasuke began, catching her attention. He, too, was glaring at her. "Shut up and let us protect you!" Mayu clamped her mouth shut, honestly surprise. It was not often that Uchiha Sasuke raised his voice, but in this instance, he had. "Don't discard your dream just cause!" Mayu felt a stinging in her eye, overwhelmingly touched by her teammates' words. Never in her life had she ever believed something like this could happen between them. Originally, she had been a fan—a rather enthusiastic one. And now, she was closer to… to an extended family. Inside her mouth, her teeth clenched together. She may have had a fleeting thought before, but now the thought burned in her mind clear as day. They were no longer simply fictional characters. They were people she had come to care deeply for. Apparently, they had come to care for her, too.
"If… If we make it out alive, I'm gonna hug the crap outta both of you!" Mayu declared, unashamed. It had only been a short while ago that she had silently vowed to beat the glare out of him. Maybe she could substitute one vow for another…? Nah, birdbrain deserved both. The two shinobi appeared stunned by the declaration, both sporting sudden redness in their cheeks. While Naruto grinned awkwardly, Sasuke appeared to be so done with her crap.
"You and your hugging," he muttered, seemingly refraining from rolling his eyes. Mayu did not stop her eye roll at all. Sasuke had sounded sorely put out by the notion of hugging. "We're all getting out of here. No more of this defensive stuff. Naruto, we're going on the offense!" The blond shouted in agreement.
"Will you be able to…?" Haku's question came with mocking undertones.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
More clones of Naruto appeared, surrounding both shinobi, and noticeably crowding in front of Mayu. The clones exclaimed and jeered, showing bravado of their apparent oncoming victory. "It makes no difference how many times you summon. The result will be the same," Haku said. The mirrors glowed, signaling the next attack. Mayu shut her eyes, but it did little to feel for Haku's movements. The ice that encased her subdued her senses, and even if it had not, she still would not be able to counter. A sitting duck, as it were. Mayu opened her eyes again, though it would not do much good in this next clash.
Haku attacked again, slipping out of the ice for his quickened melee attack. Like before, clones disappeared, seemingly at random, having been struck by a near invisible attack. It would end up the same as before, or so Mayu thought. To her utter surprise, the attack halted and clones stopped disappearing in smoke. She gasped loudly once her eyes focused on the cause of the intermission. One of the clones had managed to grab onto Haku. The older shinobi's wrist had been bound by fingers, stopping the senbon from reaching its target. "What?!" Mayu blurted, stunned. She had not seen it herself, but Naruto must have moved as fast Haku to accomplish the block. And then all the clones were moving, so quickly that she could not keep up. The remaining clones surrounded Haku, grabbing ahold and trapping him in place.
Naruto was fast. He was as fast as Sasuke. More importantly, fast enough to keep up with Haku. The real Naruto grinned widely giving thumbs up. That trickster…! He had fooled them all. Her blond teammate had taken the advice Mayu had freely given, utilizing it effectively in combat. After, of course, he had led everyone to think otherwise. The biggest trickster wins, indeed. Uzumaki Naruto was brilliant. Sasuke did not waste any more time. He raced through hand seals, and then unleased his clan's signature jutsu. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Once again, fire spewed from his mouth, heading straight for the clones and Haku. The fire consumed them all. The blast of air erupted harshly upon collision, forcing Mayu to turn her head and squeeze her eyes shut. It had not been the same blast as before, but in close quarters, the wind, fire, chakra, and mist left her breathless.
Once the wind died, Mayu coughed out several times until she felt the ache. It seemed the only way to get her breathing under control. Once steady, and feeling her skin grow cold again, she turned her head and slowly cracked her eyes open. There was still a swirling vapor, but she could make out Haku's shape. He stood alone, the clones around him having had been destroyed. Finally, she could see him clearly. He was visibly worn-down. And scorched. His hair had been singed at ends. The fire had burned holes right through his clothes as well, blackening them and weakening the fabric. Pink blemishes meant that the fire had gotten to his skin as well. First degree, perhaps even second-degree.
Mayu narrowed her eyes as she continued to examine Haku. Fire jutsu was hotter than normal fire because of chakra enhancement. If the attack had hit him dead on, then the older shinobi would have been burnt to a crisp. Burnt to ashes, in fact. Yet he remained upright, damaged by her teammate's efforts. Haku clenched his teeth, gaze unfocused. Though, if Mayu had to guess, she would say that he appeared stricken. And then something in his eyes changed. She had seen it before. A hobby of hers had been to find and pet stray cats. Some felines, the feral ones, did not like her approach, and viciously attacked after she had managed to corner them. Now, she knew better.
Haku moved then. It had been a slight shift, but it made the sweat pouring down his face more visible. Wait… That was not sweat. The liquid dripped off his skin like flowing water. Like water that had been melted. Could it have been some type of… armor? That would explain how he had avoided the full attack, but Mayu had not seen that ability before. Then Haku lifted his hand, and with it, preformed hand seals. The older shinobi opened his mouth, voice coming out dreadfully calm. "Certain-Kill Ice Spears." The attack came from behind Haku. Quicker than the shift of her eyes, giant ice spears shot towards her teammates. She could not warn them in time, let alone gasp in surprise.
Mayu could only see the result. Sasuke had twisted and maneuvered his body to evade the spikes, though he had not dodged completely. Blood slid from his arms and legs—deep gashes in his skin. Naruto, too, had managed to avoid most of the attack. Most of it. One ice spear and pierced right through his shoulder, and straight out the back. His blood flowed so heavily that it dripped with an echoing splash on the cement ground. "N-Naruto…!" Sasuke called, still in his twisted position. He tilted his head as much as he could to look in Naruto's direction. The blond did not respond. In fact, his body slackened. Mayu stared, eyes wide, in absolute horror. Her throat constricted so much that it ached.
The ice spears retracted, causing the two shinobi to fall. Sasuke gasped in pain as he hit the ground. Naruto did no such thing. The injury looked bad. Blood soaked through his orange jacket. Mayu sucked in a breath, eyes trained on Naruto's motionless form. This was not supposed to happen. Haku was not supposed to show any of these capabilities. She would have planned for them if he had. All of this had taken her by surprise. And Naruto and Sasuke had suffered for it. "N-N-Naruto…?" Mayu croaked, hoping that her voice would reach him. There was no response. A stinging in her eye changed into an overflow of tears. She nearly choked on another attempt at his name.
Mayu squeezed her eyes shut, feeling herself tremble. This was her fault. If she hadn't interfered with the story, none of this would have taken place. They were all going to die here on this bridge because she had drawn out the true shinobi of their opponent. In the end, her presence had been a blight on her teammates' path. She had been too weak. Too useless. Accept to get them all killed. Mayu clenched her teeth so hard, shooting pain throughout her body. A body that did not belong to her. She shakily breathed in, and then screamed aloud. Thirteen year-olds should not experience this type of stress, but here she was.
Then the world around her shattered like glass.
She no longer felt the prison of ice around her. In fact, she did not seem to be on the bridge anymore. Naruto and Sasuke had gone. And so had their enemy. In this bright void, she felt warmth. Her body no longer felt the aches. There was no exhaustion or tears. It felt serene, and she was calm, no longer screaming out her guilt and trauma.
"Blood of my kindred," a soft voice caught Mayu's attention. The girl turned around, eyes settling on a woman. Fair in complexion and hair, the woman dressed in a traditional white kimono, decorated by green, blue, and gold flowers. The sash, which looked more like a corset, was black, with golden twigs for the printed design. The kimono hung off the woman's pale shoulders, revealing more than a little skin, plus cleavage. Her painted pink lips frowned as her light green eyes watched her through long eyelashes. Pretty lady, Mayu decided. "It is not yet your time to awaken."
"Awaken…?" Mayu repeated, confused.
"Not yet," the woman said with a shake of her head. Her platinum blond hair sway, looking as though it might come undone from its elaborate hairstyle. "However, I cannot let this go on. I will open your mind, just a bit. It is our strongest weapon, you see." The woman lifted her finger, stretching her arm so that the tip reached Mayu's forehead. "So go forth, and make your ancestors proud." The girl tilted her head up, stretching her neck.
Eyes wide, she let the power engulf her.
0-0
This was a lot more violent this time around, yeah? -finger guns-
