Note from the author: Wow. Look at that. A new chapter. Okay, due to finals, moving, family business (10 people in one house. I'm lucky to stand before you today a physically whole man, my spirit long ago shattered/sold for funnel cake with extra sugar), and the ballooning length of this chapter (roughly twice that of the last), it has been just a tad bit of a while sense I have updated. Hopefully the pattern won't repeat itself soon (the length certainly won't. 56 pages :P). Regardless, I hope this chapter makes up for it with (finally) a fight scene. Enjoy. Oh, and I don't own any intellectual properties the bigwigs say I don't. On with the show!
Eyes of Midnight
"Okay, then what?"
"Well, usually I put in a pinch of the green flakey stuff."
"You mean Oregano?"
"That's what I said, the green flakey stuff."
"Why not call it Oregano?"
"Why not call it green flaky stuff?"
"Because there is a lot of green flaky stuff in cooking."
"I wonder why that is."
"Sigh That's not important right now. Put the pinch in this spoon."
"Why? It's going in the pot."
"Because I need to know how much a "pinch" is."
"Why? A pinch is a pinch."
"Because everyone doesn't know how big your thumb is!"
Tsunami found herself once again sighing inwardly. The exasperated woman had spent the better part of the morning trying to produce lunch with the help of her assistant. Unfortunately, her assistant, though amply skilled at preparing food, had absolutely no idea how the rest of the world cooked. To this redheaded chef, a cup was something you drank from, a teaspoon was used to shovel sugar into one's tea, and a "Pinch", "Some", and a "Handful" were clearly scientific measurements that everyone should know. Tsunami might have been less frustrated were it not for the fact that every one of the boy's clearly questionable methods worked, and did so perfectly. After watching the boy produce most of breakfast as easily as tying his shoe and then tasting said breakfast, the woman had decided that it was now her mission to somehow document the boy's skills and any recipes she could translate from his own culinary dialect.
It had not been an easy task.
"Arata? Just out of curiosity, where did you learn to cook?" came yet another of her questions.
The redhead shrugged, "Nowhere really. Along the way, I just started cooking a lot of my meals and eventually found out I was pretty good at it."
Part of Tsunami growled at the answer. He made it sound like he woke up one morning and noticed he was a cooking savant like anyone else might notice they needed a haircut. Her own skills were a product of years of experience and lessons from her mother, and still she knew that this boy next to her had most likely forgotten more about cooking than most of the books on the shelf next to her spice rack had ever known. It wasn't really a spiteful jealousy, simply a slight envy of the boy's natural talents. Her reflections were cut short as a thought occurred to her.
"Did your mother teach you, or your father?" she asked.
The boy's relaxed and smiling face faltered only for a second before he answered, "Neither, I taught myself."
Tsunami sensed an uneasy undertone to the answer and let the subject drop as she continued to work. She didn't want to threaten the flow of the day. Regardless of the occasional language barrier between the two, Tsunami had enjoyed the morning. With Arata restricted to the house for the entirety of the day in order to cement his good health, the two found themselves passing the time with a number of culinary experiments. Living with her son and father, Tsunami never really had many chances to work with another cook, and being able to work with someone else who clearly enjoyed it as much as she did had been refreshing. She simply hadn't expected her partner to be a preteen boy.
"Okay," Arata said, reaching for a knife, "while that cooks, I'll slice this green tube thingy for the salad."
Tsunami smirked, "You know darn well that's a cucumber."
Arata laughed at the fact that she had caught him. Unfortunately, the laugh was poorly timed and was cut short when the Genin accidentally sliced his thumb. Hissing at the pain and muttering a curse, the boy put the knife down and held his thumb up to get a better look. The cut was fairly shallow, but it had still managed to draw blood as a crimson bead had begun to dribble down his hand.
"Oh dear," Tsunami sighed as she opened a cabinet over the sink, "I'll get the first aid kit." Setting the kit on the counter, she flipped the top open and took out the band-aids. The woman turned on the sink before gently grasping the boy's wrist and guiding his hand under the water to clear the wound of blood, ignorant of the confused look crossing the boy's face.
Picking up the bottle of antiseptic from the box, Tsunami said, "Now relax, this is only going to sting a little bit." With a brief hiss, the woman sprayed the disinfectant on, the slight twitching of Arata's thumb the only sign of discomfort. With practiced ease, a product of raising a small boy, the band-aid was slipped onto the thumb, and all was once again right with the world.
Tsunami looked up at the boy with a smiling face until she saw the boy's uncomfortable expression.
Realizing her mistake, she apologized, "Oh, I'm sorry. I suppose you're a bit too old for the motherly treatment aren't you?"
With an awkward laugh, Tsunami said, "I guess I've been around Inari so long, it's become reflex."
In an instant, Arata's face lost its confusion, and he joined her in the chuckle before continuing on with preparing lunch.
An hour later, a number of containers holding the elements of the group's lunch were stacked on the counter. As Tsunami dried her hands after washing them, she gave an exaggerated breath of relief and congratulated the two of them on a job well done.
The sound of the back door opening caught the pair's attention, and they turned to see Sakura in the doorway.
"Something smells great," she announced.
"It should," commented Tsunami, "We've been working most of the morning. Does your teammate have cooking in his blood or something?"
The mother noticed the girls face waver for a moment before saying, "Yeah, he's really good at it." The boy shuffled his feet at the comment, deciding to simply grin at the praise and offer his own to his partner.
The three made light conversation until Sakura revealed that she had come by to pick up lunch for everybody. Looking at the sheer amount of food the two had made, the girl sighed that it was going to take more than one trip.
A light flashed in Arata's eyes as an idea struck him, "Don't worry Sakura, I'll take Naruto and Sasuke's lunches to them."
The girl gave the boy a questioning look, "Are you sure? Sensei said you needed to stay inside."
The redhead groaned at the warning, "I'll be fine. I'm not going to faint walking there. Besides, it'll save you a trip."
The girl wavered over the idea before giving in, "Alright, but make sure to tell Sasuke-kun not to overdo it. He has guard duty this afternoon. I need to get in some training too after all."
Arata nodded, holding back the urge to mutter that she wasn't the only one, and watched the girl pick up her share of the lunch and leave. Tsunami produced a second basket and began to load it before handing it to Arata and waving him out the door.
The redhead let the door shut behind him before letting his grin show. It had worked. He was out of the house and on his way to training. There was no way he was letting himself fall behind the rest of the team.
The boy stopped briefly after entering the tree line. Placing the basket on the ground, the redhead quickly removed the band-aid from his thumb and tossed it aside, not even raising an eyebrow at the fact that the cut was already gone, without even a scar to mark its passing. With that, Arata picked up his basket and was off again, humming to himself at his newfound freedom.
"Ignore it," he told himself, "It's stupid to get worked up over nothing. I should go for that branch next." With a dull thud, Arata landed on his intended target before pushing off from the tree limb towards his next destination.
"It really is nothing too," he reassured himself, "She just caught me off guard is all. That's why I got nervous. I'm going to need to use that branch for extra leverage to make the next jump." Arata's boots made another thump as he landed, and his right arm shot out to grab hold of another tree limb before adding its strength to that of the boy's legs in order to cross a particularly long gap between trees.
"What's with these people anyway? Always with the touching! It's like- Crap!" With a painful crack, the redhead's skull came in contact with a low-hanging branch, and the boy found himself on his way to a painful meeting with the ground. Cursing, Arata managed to hook his arm over a passing limb to stop his fall, even managing to keep the basket containing his lunch in the crook of his other arm. Heart thumping in his ears, the boy muttered a few foul words at his own incompetence and pulled himself up, sitting with his back against the trunk of the tree as he caught his breath and rubbed his aching forehead.
"Stupid tree. Whose idea was it to put that there? I'll bet it was on purpose," he complained to no one. As tempting as it was to blame the inanimate object, Arata had to admit that the collision wouldn't have happened had he not been distracted. And why had he been distracted? Excitement over training? The thought of being out of that house? No. He was distracted because that woman had held his hand. It bothered him. It was stupid that it did, but he couldn't deny that the miniscule contact had rattled him.
Why? It had been the same every time. The band-aide, Sakura's hug, the old man or Kakashi putting their hands on his shoulder. He knew these people well enough by now, or at least that they meant him no harm, but part of him, a part he was careful to hide, cringed whenever they made contact. Whenever these people the Genin knew he had to trust pushed that one boundary, part of him would recoil at the contact.
Regardless, he had shrugged the feeling off every time. Every time but this one. He knew why too. It was how Tsunami had held his hand. So gentle. So kind. So… motherly? Was that it? Was that what a mother felt like?
Damn it! This was dumb. He was wasting his time. Why couldn't he just let the subject go? Arata wanted to drop it, wanted to write it off like he did with most of the things he knew simply weren't in the cards. A family just happened to be one of them. He could live with that too. He'd taken care of himself for years and managed just fine. A place to sleep, an occasional full stomach, a friend here and there and he was happy. The boy was okay with the idea that some other things would just have to remain alien to him.
But that was just it. That feeling hadn't been alien. The boy desperately wished the emotions had been a new sensation, but he couldn't deny the familiarity. He remembered having the feelings before. It had been a long time ago, but he could still remember her face, could still remember her. Pain shot up Arata's spine and quickly dismissed the ache in his forehead. Grumbling and putting the thoughts aside for the moment, the redhead reached back and massaged his aching back, grumbling to himself.
"Would you like some help?"
Arata jumped at the noise and looked down at the smiling face of the voice's owner.
"Sorry," the girl apologized, "I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to see if you were all right. You took a nasty crack to the head there. I think I have something that could help with that."
"Oh, thank you," replied Arata before he nimbly leapt to the ground in front of the girl, setting the lunch by his feet.
Reaching into the basket on her arm, the girl retrieved a few stalks of greens and handed them to the Genin.
Arata arched an eyebrow at the plants, "Wolf's Tongue?"
The girl smiled at the boy and smoothed the front of her pink kimono, "You know your plants."
"A few of the useful ones," replied the redhead, "Wolf's Tongue releases a pain killer when chewed. You grind it in with your back teeth and then store it in your cheek while it leaks the chemical. Good for some quick relief without an annoying high, but you don't want to swallow." Bending the stalks in half, Arata popped the greens in his mouth and began to chew.
"Very good, though most doctors will tell you it works best when refined into a paste," commented his companion, "I've been collecting these for a friend of mine who needs the stronger form."
Arata looked at the girl as he chewed. There was something about her. Her movements were purely feminine, but something just seemed… Spotting a particular part of "her" throat, the boy realized his misconception.
After using his tongue to spread the remnants of the plants along his gums, Arata scratched his head and said with a slight distortion from the full mouth, "Sorry if I shorted your friend some relief."
The young man's face kept its warm, beaming expression, "Don't worry, I have enough to last the next couple of days, I just thought I'd stock up on some extra to be sure."
Holding out his hand Arata introduced himself, pausing slightly to wonder why he had done so.
"Haku" came the reply.
"So Haku," Arata said, savoring the feeling of the medication kicking in, and wanting to give it time to work before heading off, "Is your friend okay? I know a doctor in town who might help, but your friend might not be your friend anymore after seeing him."
Haku waved the offer off, "Thank you, but it's nothing serious. What about you? Is the medicine working?"
"Yeah, my head's fine," answered the Genin
"Not even a bruise. Impressive. And your back? I noticed you rubbing it but didn't see you hit it," the young man pointed out.
"Oh that? That comes and goes, no big deal," Arata replied.
Tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, Haku said, "You seemed fairly agile from what I saw. What caused the collision?"
Arata's face reddened at the question, "Oh, yeah, I was a little distracted."
"Would it be rude to ask by what?" asked Haku.
Arata's eyes became downcast, "Thoughts. Mostly about an old- uh- friend I guess."
"It looked like these memories were troubling you," commented Haku. The warmth in his face never wavered, clearly encouraging him to continue.
Arata didn't like where the conversation was going, "They tend to when the subject of the memories is dead." His answer was terse, declaring the subject closed.
Haku dropped his smile and gave a pacifying bow, "You have my apologies Arata-san. I did not mean to pry."
The voice of guilt immediately shamed the Genin, and he responded, "Damn it, no. I'm sorry, I'm just in a bad mood. Really."
The return of Haku's smile showed that no harm had been done, "Very well, I wish you well Arata. I must be back to my efforts."
Pointing through the trees to a nearby field, the redhead offered, "I remember seeing some Wolf's Tongue over there."
Haku gave his thanks and turned to leave as the Genin retrieved his basket from the forest floor.
The young man was almost out of sight when he heard over his shoulder, "So, how long until Zabuza comes back?"
Without even stiffening at the remark, Haku turned to see the now-stony face of his acquaintance, "How did you know?"
"I only got a whiff of him, but you're covered in his scent," came the response.
"You take quite the risk to be so blatant. I am his ally after all," Haku pointed out, his own face now mirroring Arata's neutral expression.
"From what I hear, if you wanted me dead, I would be," the redhead replied.
An appraising look crossed the rogue nin's eyes, "You might surprise me. You certainly surprised my master."
"Regardless," Arata continued, "We're booked Monday, but we can kick his butt Tuesday if you have the time. So when's good for you?"
A smirk pulled it's way across Haku's face, "If I were to answer your question, would you believe me?"
"I don't know," answered the boy, "You seem like the honest type, which has me wondering why you're running with a guy like him."
An affectionate smile played across the young man's lips, "He is the closest and only person I have. I'm willing to do a lot for the people I love. You understand don't you?"
The smile faltered when Haku heard the response, "No."
"You have no one you love?" asked the rogue nin.
Arata's eyes darkened at the question before he replied in a low voice, "I can't…"
"I'm terribly sorry to hear that," Haku said with genuine honesty.
"Haku…" Arata called, "I don't want to hurt those you care about, but if I have to, I will."
Determination written on his face, Haku replied, "I suppose my warning is the same."
"In the meantime, care to join me for lunch?" Arata offered, the shadow gone from his eyes as quickly as it had appeared.
Haku held back the urge to laugh and responded, "No thank you, Zabuza-sama will wonder where I have gone. I wouldn't mind the recipe to that soup you scalded him with some time though."
Arata laughed at the request, "Sure, the next time we meet." Without another word, the pair turned from each other and went their separate ways.
Pillars of amber broke through the thick cover of tree branches and showered light onto the forest floor. A refreshing breeze wove its way through the forest, dancing around trees and giggling its mirth in the whisper of the wind. It was a fantastic day for doing nothing at all. Unfortunately, for two Genin, they had no time to enjoy such a day, as they were far too busy climbing trees. Well, to be more specific, one was busy climbing a tree while the other was preoccupied with falling from one.
With a heavy thud and a wheeze noting the hurried exit of all of the air from his lungs for the latest of many times that day, Naruto found himself once again staring up at the forest canopy from his place on his back on the forest floor.
"And that is why gravity is friend to no man."
Emerald eyes appeared in front of Naruto's face.
"Hey Arata, what are you doing outside of the house?"
The brow above the eyes furrowed in a frown, "Is that any way to greet a friend bearing lunch?"
Naruto's face lit up at the announcement, and he quickly flipped himself onto his feet before flopping back onto the ground and crossing his legs, rubbing his hands in anticipation, "Awesome, what'd ya bring me?"
Arata chuckled at the boy's eagerness and joined the blonde on the ground before he began to unpack the basket.
Handing his teammate a bowl with one hand and offering him a thermos of soup with the other, the redhead asked, "So, where's Sasuke?"
As if to answer him, a second form came crashing through the treetops to slam into the ground next to the pair.
"Hey Sasuke. Hungry?" Arata said.
The form groaned before growling, "Aren't you supposed to be at the house?"
"Aren't you supposed to avoid annoying someone holding hot soup?"
"…point taken."
Pulling himself up, Sasuke settled by his teammates before requesting his own share of the meal.
Arata raised an eyebrow, "Not even going to admit that just happened are you?"
"No… no I am not," came the reply. It took Naruto and Arata a good minute to stop laughing.
The trio spent the next half an hour chatting amiably, or as amiably as their respective personalities would allow.
"So we're preparing for our next fight by climbing trees?" Arata commented as he speared another bit of salad with his fork.
"It's a lesson in chakra control," Sasuke snorted, "Even Naruto sees that."
"And if that fails, we can at least hope Zabuza is afraid of heights," replied the redhead, ignoring his teammate's comments, "By the way, your training's done for now. You have afternoon guard duty, so Sakura's switching places with you."
Grinning at Sasuke's disappointment at being denied more training time, Arata finished the last of his meal and stood up, dusting himself off, "So, let's get started Naruto."
"Nice try," the blonde said after sipping from his soup bowl, "but you're going back to the house."
"Not a chance," growled Arata, "I didn't finagle my way out here just to turn around and go wait quietly in my room."
Naruto sighed at his teammate's refusal, "No. I'm not seeing you get hurt again because you were stubborn."
"Then you'd better give tips and keep an eye on me because that's all I'm going to give you," replied the redhead.
Sasuke felt his own need to keep the obstinate fool on the ground, "We're serious Arata. This looks like nothing, but Naruto and I haven't been getting these bruises from nothing. If you do this before you're ready, you really could get injured."
Arata struck a thoughtful pose before asking, "So what the two of you are saying is that I shouldn't just blindly charge into the training exactly like this?" Before his teammates could stop him or even lodge a complaint, the Genin was off and charging strait towards the nearest tree. Without breaking pace, without even reacting to the large and very solid obstacle quickly approaching him, Arata dashed forward. When the boy finally reached the trunk of the tree, he still didn't slow down. He simply changed directions. After a perfect ninety degree turn strait up, the redhead found himself sprinting along the bark of the tree, branches whizzing by his ear as he spiraled up the trunk in order to dodge them. After nearly thirty feet, the boy felt his feet slipping, felt himself gaining less and less ground for each stride, and felt gravity reaching up to rudely form a fist around his stomach, pulling back hard to remind him who was in charge.
With a flick of his wrist, Arata slipped a kunai from his jacket and pulled his arms back behind his head, gripping the hilt with both hands. Finally, his feet found no purchase against the arboreal wall and slipped from beneath him, rendering the boy face to face with his opponent. With a labored grunt, Arata brought his arms forward in a powerful arc and slammed the kunai home, resting his weight on his newly found perch before easing himself onto a nearby bough.
Grinning and breathing heavily the boy surveyed his gawking teammates before calling down to them, "So, just to clarify, I shouldn't be doing this at all right?"
His frustration pushed aside by sheer shock, Naruto found himself replying back to the boy, "How did you do that? Kakashi Sensei just started teaching us that!"
Arata retrieved his kunai before making a halting decent to the forest floor, leaping from branch to branch as he went.
After landing in front of his now-composed teammates, the redhead answered, "Yeah, well, it's a useful skill. You'd be surprised at how many people leave their second story windows unlocked. It's like they don't expect a dashing young thief to climb through them or something."
Naruto beamed at what he hoped was his teammate's joke, ignoring the condescending look Sasuke wore, "Man, you have to be some kind of prodigy to know that stuff already."
Arata shrugged the compliment off, "Not really, I just learned what was useful at the time. I didn't even know it had to do with chakra control. Besides, I got a look at some the progress the two of you have been making while I was up there. You've both got at least twice my distance. I have some serious catching up to do."
Noticing the look in his teammate's eye, Naruto rubbed the back of his head, contemplating what to do now before Sasuke answered for him, "I guess you'd better get to work then."
The blonde glared at the Uchiha for encouraging the risk, but the raven-haired Genin simply responded with a bored roll of his eyes, "We're not convincing the idiot anytime soon. Might as well be sure everyone's ready when things finally go down."
Ignoring the groan from Naruto, Arata simply gave a grin to both of them before declaring, "Well, with that settled… race you to the top!"
Humming to himself, Haku deposited the last of the Wolf's Tongue in his basket before standing up and gently dabbing his brow with the hem of his sleeve, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear as he did so. The rogue nin certainly owed the boy from earlier a thanks. Alongside the Wolf's Tongue had been a patch of flowers that could be boiled to produce a disinfectant, something Zabuza-sama's many cuts would certainly benefit from. It was a sour thought that the boy most likely wouldn't survive the coming fight. Perhaps Haku might be able to convince his teacher that the copy nin was the only one that really needed to die. Then again, considering what that boy had done to Zabuza-sama…
Stretching as the noonday sun beat down upon his neck, Haku noted his aching back and wondered if he could spare any of the painkiller for himself. Marking his poor mood up to the rising heat, the young man retrieved his basket and turned to make for the nearby tree line, thoughts of the water in the canteen left hanging from a tree limb in the cool shade playing through his mind. Haku stopped suddenly and grew rigid at what he saw. Weaving through and around the trees like water flowing downhill, a dense fog was approaching, enveloping the forest as it went. As if afraid of the sun's light, the mist stopped at the forest's edge. The silver curtain hung there, it's edges curling back over themselves every time they strayed too close to the direct light of the field.
Haku watched the fog nervously, eyeing the dancing shadows of the branches now hidden in the grey sea. The young man was clearly no stranger to such techniques and knew a mist jutsu when he saw one. His eyes flew to one part in particular as a section of the silver wall seemed to overcome its fear and began to distend and push outwards, until, like a bubble that had been popped, the mists flew back to the tree line, leaving the figure they had been cloaking in the open as he continued to walk forward.
He made no sounds save the soft crunch of the sun-dried soil underneath his boots as he strode towards Haku, hands stuffed in the pockets of the man's mat-black jacket. The sun glinted off of the hilts of two daggers hanging on each side of the man's belt. His pants were an urban camo that stood out offensively against the greens of the field. Hanging down to his neck was a mess of dark brown hair that appeared to have bits of dirt woven into many of the unwashed dreads. In fact, the entire man seemed to have been covered in a light dusting of earth, as no part seemed clean aside from the gleaming metal of the headband strapped to his shoulder, a weathered gash dug through the symbol for the Hidden Village of Rock. The whole of the man's face was concealed by what looked like a gas mask, a single circular filter set to the right of the mouthpiece. A pair of ice-blue eyes stared forward from the shadows of the goggles.
Haku could eventually make out the slow rhythmic rasps of the man's own breaths echoing inside the mask as he continued forward until he had almost reached the rogue nin.
Without a single word the man simply walked past Haku only stopping when the young man himself finally spoke up, his voice even but still betraying its owner's anger, "They're our marks Obutsu."
Halting in his tracks immediately, the man calmly called over his shoulder, "They were your marks Haku. They were." The man's nasally voice was flat and distorted by the mask he wore, but the words were clear enough, and so were their meaning.
Turning to face the man, letting the basket drop at his side, Haku replied, "No. We were contracted to do this job, and we're still going to finish it."
Obutsu turned slowly around to meet Haku's gaze before answering in a disinterested voice, "I'm afraid you've been replaced. Your former employer and my newfound boss isn't one to reward failure."
Haku's composure began to crack and he gritted his teeth as he forced out a response, "Understand this Obutsu, Kakashi is my master's to kill and no one else's-"
"No, you understand," the man interrupted, his apathetic tone replaced by clipped anger, "I have lost the chance at too many contracts to your precious Zabuza to let this one slip away, and I'm not about to let that washed up failure or his bed warmer(1) stand in my way!"
A rare scowl flashed upon Haku's face, "Never speak about Zabuza-sama that way!" Haku's right hand twitched and formed a fist to catch the set of senbon needles that fell from the kimono's sleeve. Lashing his arm forward, the young man sent the needles hurtling towards their target.
Cold eyes watched the needles with little interest as they passed through the spot their owner had occupied moments before.
"Really Haku," Obutsu taunted leaping to the side and then back towards the center of the field, "I didn't think you had that kind of temper in you. You should be careful. It throws off the aim, and I'd wager that kimono of yours doesn't have room for many extra weapons. Perhaps you should ask Zabuza to buy you male's clothing next time."
Growling to himself, Haku bounded after the man who had insulted his sensei. With a flick of the wrist, another salvo of needles was sent at Obutsu. Coming within inches of his face, the projectiles flew past the rogue nin to impact harmlessly against the trunk of a nearby tree stump, their intended target continuing his retreat towards the tree line.
"Water," Haku thought as he maintained his pursuit, "I don't have my normal supply of weapons, and I need water if I want to use- wait!" A slight smile replaced the scowl on his face. Retrieving a kunai from within his kimono, Haku threw the blade with all his might.
Obutsu congratulated himself on fraying the young fool's nerves. He would barely have to try to dodge this next attack. Twitching his body to the right, the rogue nin watched the kunai fly by before returning his attention to Haku. It wasn't until he heard the hollow thud followed by a splash that Obutsu began to realize how little he had gotten to the young man.
Slamming into the canteen that had up to that point still been hanging from the tree, the kunai faced little resistance from the water skin before ripping through it with enough force to spray the contents through the air in a small cloud. A cloud that now hung there, free of any gravity.
Haku's right hand already halfway through the requisite hand signs, the young man smiled as he watched Obutsu's gaze shift quickly from the demolished canteen to his opponent as realization dawned in his eyes. Mouthing the words "Sensatsu Suishou(2)" Haku jerked his left hand towards himself. The air cracked as the temperature around the cloud of water plummeted. Within the blink of an eye, the water condensed to form a wall of needles that then flew forward towards their target.
Obutsu cursed as he saw the mass of frozen projectiles approaching, tensing every muscle in his body as he tried to summon the speed necessary to escape. Pulling himself out of the way, Obutsu felt the chilling wind of the passing needles, smiling at his triumph before a stinging pain screamed up his left side. Looking down, the rogue nin saw a number of raged cuts in the cloth covering his left thigh and a growing crimson stain showing beneath them.
The needles continued their flight path towards their master before halting just before Haku's now outstretched hand. His arms flying forward, Haku plucked two fistfuls of needles from the air, noting the increased size of some of them, the cold adding the freshly drawn blood to many of the projectiles' volumes.
Letting the others fall to the ground to wait for future use, Haku let his smile grow into a smirk before he called to his opponent, "I suppose I'm not as low on ammunition as you might think Obutsu."
Grimacing and favoring his right leg, Obutsu spat, "Looks like you're tougher than you dress. No matter, it's my turn anyway."
Raising an eyebrow at the man's words, Haku watched as he placed his gloved hands together to form a series of hand signs. Not wanting to give him the chance, the young man hurled a handful of senbon at the man before snatching another set from the ground.
With the projectiles fast approaching, Obutsu finally finished the symbols before calling out, "Koudo Ryokou Jutsu(3)!" Rapidly, the earth beneath the man's feet broke apart, rocky soil shifting as easily as sand. As the needles closed in, the man fell strait down into the void created in the earth, the dirt flowing back into place behind him.
Haku balked at the sight. Where had the scum gone? Earth jutsus were something alien to Haku, but from what little he had heard, the young nin had a sinking feeling he knew what was coming. Unfortunately, he realized he was right too late.
Erupting from the ground behind Haku, loose earth running off his body in rivulets, Obutsu let loose with a low hook against Haku's lower back. Staggering forward and sucking wind, his kidney calling in protest, Haku barely had time to turn his left side to the man and bring up his arm to block a swing at his head. Keeping his guard up and retreating, Haku forced a simple jutsu through his mind. Running chakra through his clenched fist, Haku melded the ice needles still between his fingers, flattening them to a razor's thickness and fussing them together, molding them into a crescent blade curled along his knuckles. New weapon in hand, Haku brought his right arm around in a slicing hook.
Obutsu was having so much fun too. And then he saw that blade. Well, it was a little early for the kill anyway. Pulling back from the attack, the nin formed the hand signs again, allowing himself to fall backwards into the gaping maw of dirt that opened up behind him.
Eye's widening at the disappearance of his opponent, Haku forced himself to remain calm. He knew Obutsu's pattern. If he didn't want another fist or worse in the back, he needed to move while the man was still underground. Running forward and keeping his sight set behind him for Obutsu's return, Haku readied himself. It was because of this that that the young nin had only the sound of cracking dirt and tearing grass roots to warn him of his mistake. Running on instinct, without even turning forward to see what he knew was there, the rogue nin threw himself to the left in time to see a gleaming blade whistle through the air where he had been moments ago.
Carefully righting himself to keep from tripping, Haku glared at Obutsu, certain that the oaf was grinning behind that mask. How? He was underground. How could he know where Haku had gone?
"Figure it out yet?" the man's voice rasped behind his mask, followed by a disturbing wheezing sound that took Haku a moment to recognize as laughter, "There's a reason I'm called the Land Shark boy!"
With the sound of shifting dirt, Obutsu was gone again. Haku's knuckles grew white as he clenched his fists in frustration. Now he was completely on the defensive, and he had no idea how to change that. The needles left in the grass couldn't provide the water he needed for the only jutsu he could think to use.
Twenty feet from the young man, Obutsu erupted from the ground, traveling forward through the air and perpendicular to Haku, his body flying in an arc over the ground. The man's arm lashed out and sent a kunai hurtling toward Haku. Turning, the young man raised his right fist to deflect the projectile with his makeshift weapon. Without even slowing down, Obutsu dove headfirst back into the ground. The process was repeated moments later behind Haku, the young man barely managing to roll out of the way. As if a fish in the ocean, Obutsu would surface, strike at his opponent, and disappear beneath the ground before Haku had any chance to retaliate. Begrudgingly, the rogue nin had to admit to himself that Obutsu's alias was well deserved. The man did indeed resemble a shark leaping from the ocean to strike at its prey.
Haku's head jerked from left to right, desperately looking for a sign of where his opponent would come from next. All he could see was an ocean of grass, some of it waving in the wind. Except… there was no wind. The rogue nin's attention shot to the patch of grass that seemed to be bending in the nonexistent breeze. He watched as the grass twitched in different places, watched as the world's smallest windstorm moved across the field, leaving a perfect trail. Bursting up from the ground, Obutsu was met with the sight of a slew of senbon needles set on an intercept course with his body. Desperately, the nin tried to dodge aside, but with no ground under his feet for traction, he accomplished little more than flailing a bit in the air before two needles slammed home, one imbedding itself in his right shoulder, the other bouncing off the rim of his skull, tearing a gash along his scalp. His concentration ruined, Obutsu failed to keep his jutsu going and found no welcoming void in the earth to greet him when he reached the ground. Rolling and spitting curses, the man left a rising trail of dust as he came to a halt.
Standing, deep pants of exertion and rage rattling inside his mask, Obutsu pulled himself to his feet to stare a smirking Haku, now standing once again over his needle supply, in the eye. The rouge nin had been tempted to charge the buffoon, but close combat had never been his forte, and he hoped Obutsu would be foolish enough to fall for the same trick again.
His hopes were dashed at Obutsu's next words, "I suppose I was a fool to pick this fight in an open field, wasn't I?"
"You were a fool to pick this fight at all Obutsu," the young man replied, "My master would have killed you by now. Now leave while I'm still willing to let you."
Ignoring Haku's threats, Obutsu yanked the senbon from his shoulder and continued, "The vibrations of my little trick tend to show up in odd ways at times, but I hate dodging tree roots. So, naturally, I've had to find ways around getting detected. Normally I save them for necessities because frankly, I like what I do, and I like to make it last as long as possible. That, and I can't stand being accused of a lack of originality."
"But," Obutsu finished, whipping a dribble of blood from his goggles before forming hand seals, "When I must, I must."
Haku recognized the seals. He should, he'd seen them countless times before. Apparently freed from their fear of the sun, the mists hiding in the shade of the forest began to creep forward. Recognizing his intent, Haku realized he had to keep Obutsu from reaching the fog. Charging forward at the man, the rogue nin readied his blade. Unfortunately, the charge was pointless, as Obutsu was already disappearing beneath the earth, leaving an almost imperceptible trail of waving grass behind him and leading towards the shielding silver curtain.
Grinding his teeth, Haku turned to retreat to the opposite tree line only to see an identical curtain waiting for him. Uttering another rarity of a curse, Haku realized what had happened. This entire fight up until now had been a distraction; a diversion to keep him ignorant of the grey wall slowly encircling the field, hiding in the shade to keep from attracting attention. And it had worked perfectly. Every move Obutsu had made had been leading up to this faultless trap. A sadistic smile began to creep across the young nin's face. It was a pity Obutsu had put so much effort into his own death.
"Honestly Arata, I really should have seen this coming."
"Yeah, you probably should have-OW!" the boy yelped as Sakura dug her elbow into the boy's already sore abdomen. Even with Naruto forcing him to take a slower pace, the boy was still sore from the day's exertions and more than a few failed attempts to avoid falling.
"And you Naruto," Sakura continued to admonish, "how could you let him do this. You know he was supposed to stay in bed."
The blonde shrunk under the fuming glare of the pink-haired Genin and tried his best to shift her ire, "Hey, Sasuke's the one who okayed it."
It was to no avail as the sound of Sakura cuffing her teammate over the head, an oddly hollow note, soon rang throughout the surrounding woods, "Don't try to blame Sasuke!"
Turning to the raven-haired boy, the girl's voice took a calmer but still annoyed tone, "Sasuke-kun, you knew Arata needed to rest."
"He seemed fine to me," the Uchiha replied, shrugging the complaint off.
"Yeah," agreed Arata, "He's had a head start and I've still almost caught up to him."
"Then again," Sasuke added, his eyebrow twitching, "he is looking rather feint. Maybe he should take the rest of the week off."
"Come over here and make me!" was the redhead's reply.
"Enough!" Sakura interrupted, wary of the look in both of the Genins' eyes. Minutes ago, the girl had arrived to trade places with Sasuke only to find her teammate, a teammate who's health the girl still held as her personal responsibility, pushing himself to exhaustion miles away from the bed he should have currently been residing in. Sakura extended her finger forcefully in the direction of Sasuke.
"Sasuke, you're going to the bridge to help out Kakashi sensei," the girl declared before shifting her attention to the next in line, "Arata, you're going back to the house to rest. And Naruto…"
At this, the Kunoichi's wrath seemed to peek as her commanding digit finally came to rest on the blonde, "You're going with him, and I don't care if you have to knock him unconscious again, he's going to BED!"
At the end of the last of her words, one could here a pin drop in the forest, mostly due to the fact that none of the boys seemed able to muster the courage to argue. Therefore, it was easy for all present to hear the dull crump rolling through the trees. All heads immediately turned to the direction it had come from.
It was Arata who confirmed what all present had been worrying about, "Explosives." The word and it's meaning hung in the air for a moment. Somewhere off in the distance, a detonation had gone off, and that most likely meant combat.
"Construction blasting?" Sakura hoped.
"No," Arata disagreed, "Wrong direction, and it's an explosive tag. The high pitch gives it away."
A chill ran down the group's collective spine. If Zabuza was back, they weren't ready, and none present seemed in any hurry to find out is he was.
Naruto's voice finally broke the silence, "Well come on. We have to help."
The blonde began to move towards the noise but was stopped by Sasuke's voice, "No Naruto, we need to get Kakashi sensei."
The Genin turned towards his teammate, "But it'll be too late then. Who knows what that psycho with the sword could do before we get back."
"We don't even know if it's him," Sakura argued, trying desperately to keep the fear from her voice, "You know what kind of shape Sensei left him in."
Naruto shook his head forcefully, but it was Arata that replied, "We're the only ones here with the guts to fight that don't work for Gato. Even if it isn't him, I doubt whoever it is is doing public services." Sakura couldn't deny that point.
"Well what then?" asked Sasuke.
"We split up." The trio of Genin turned to look at Sakura, her comment catching them off guard.
Forcing what little strength she felt she had into her words, the girl continued, "It's the only choice we have and the best tactical decision we can make when civilian lives are at stake. Three of us move to intercept the aggressor while one retrieves the senior ninja. The combat team will have to do it's best to hold out until backup arrives." Finished reciting part of a tactical lecture from the academy, Sakura looked to the boy's for a reply.
After a brief moment's thought, Sasuke agreed, "Alright. Arata? Naruto? You two are with me. Sakura, get Kakashi-"
"No," Sakura interrupted, "I need to go with the combat team. I'm the only fresh nin here. You're rested and the fastest one of us Sasuke. You go." Sasuke made to argue but couldn't. She was right.
"Are you sure Sakura?" Naruto asked, in no hurry to see the girl he cared about in danger.
She wasn't. She didn't want to go. She wanted to get Kakashi. Every inch of her body wanted to run as far away from the sound of battle as she could and stay there. But she couldn't. Every bit of tactical knowledge she had soaked up while most of the class had been knapping told her that this was the only way they stood a chance of winning, and every part of her soul knew, knew, there would be no coming back if she backed down now. They needed her and damned if she was going to fail them again.
"Yes. I'm certain. Now come on. We're wasting time." Later, the girl would look back and relish it. Relish the respect she saw in her teammates' eyes. The look that showed that she was an equal to them. At the moment however, she could only steel herself for the terror she knew was to come.
The group stood rigid for a moment, all hesitant to move, each one giving the others one last look at teammates they didn't know if they'd see again. An impossible situation for children, but one they were in all the same. The moment was over quickly as they each broke their stares and went their separate ways, their unspoken goodbyes hanging on the wind.
No wind blew in the grey tinted ghost lands. What had been a warm field moments before had become a shifting sea the color of tarnished silver where shadows danced in the barely opaque distances only a few dozen feet from Haku. The mist was thickest around his ankles where it curled and flowed over the ground, obscuring the grasses beneath them and dismissing any chances Haku had of predicting Obutsu's next attack. While others might have been chilled by their eerie surroundings, Haku was celebrating on the inside. Obutsu had chosen a jutsu the young nin had spent nearly the better portion of his life around, and Haku was going to make him pay for his foolishness. He just had to wait for the fool to get above ground.
He didn't have to wait long. Moments after Haku had shifted his feet to a more stable stance, Obutsu broke through the soil behind Haku, aiming the kunai in his hand at Haku's back. Wary of the nin's trick by now, the young man didn't even try to turn but instead threw himself forward into a roll, hearing the whistle of the kunai slicing through the air behind him. Using the momentum to carry himself back onto his feet, Haku stayed facing forward, focusing on the hand seals he had begun even before rolling fully upright again.
"Now!" his mind raced, "Do it now! Before he has a chance to get back underground." Finishing the last seal, Haku forced his palms against the ground before shouting the familiar name of his signature jutsu. Rapidly, as if a vacuum were created, the mists began to swirl towards the point where Haku's hand made contact with the dirt. For the second time that day, an unnatural chill filled the air. Resounding with a snapping noise, the surrounding air immediately felt like that of an ice box as the streams of the fog continued to circle down towards Haku's hands like water exiting a drain. Beginning from where Haku touched the field, ice began to quickly form along the ground, spreading outward in a perfect circle. Grasses were bent and crushed under the advancing slab as it forced them down under the perfectly smooth sheet of ice forming beneath the two nins' feet. Obutsu could only stare as, in a matter of heartbeats, the ground beneath came to resemble a glacier more than a field. No, not a glacier. It was too smooth to be a glacier. It was more like… The perfect mirror surface of the ice reflected Obutsu's shocked expression back at him as he realized what was happening. The masked nin tried to turn to escape, but his feet nearly came out from underneath him on the now slick floor of ice. Steadying himself with artificial friction from chakra he rushed to his feet, Obutsu righted himself in time to see new, smaller vortexes of mist begin to form, ice materializing in mid air to form a ring of smaller mirrors. These mirrors were topped with a smaller ring at a slight angle, the process repeating itself until a dome was finally formed over the pair.
Drawing himself back to his full height, having no trouble keeping his footing on the ice, Haku turned to his opponent, doing his best not to tremble after spending so much chakra. The jutsu, being exhaustive normally, had become even more so with the larger, extra mirror along the ground. But it had been necessary. That mirror had been the lynchpin. Knowing the strength of the ice involved in this juts, Haku doubted his opponent would be making any escapes any time soon. Part of himself that Haku wasn't proud of relished the panicked look in Obutsu's eyes as they darted around, looking for a way out of the trap.
"Like a cornered animal," Haku realized. The very trap that Obutsu had so carefully lured Haku into had provided all the materials the young nin had needed. After all, what was fog but water vapor?
Obutsu's attention was brought back to his opponent as he watched Haku disappear, sinking into the newly formed mirror. A feeling like cold breath whispered across the mercenary's ear before he a slight pain registered on his cheek. Bringing a finger to his face, Obutsu felt the familiar warmth of his own blood. Whirling to look behind him, the nin was met with the feminine eyes of Haku staring back at him from inside the mirror, readying another crystalline senbon.
Dodging to his left Obutsu came out of the roll cursing, "How? What Genjutsu is this!?"
Leaping from a mirror across from Obutsu, Haku charged at the man, crescent blade once again in hand, only to fall from sight back into the mirror floor inches from the man. A startled Obutsu had no time to gather his wits before he felt a senbon impact with his back. Staggering forward, Obutsu looked up once again to find Haku staring back passively at him from the pane of ice in front of him. Obutsu's arm lashed forward, flinging his kunai at those damnable eyes only to see it bounce harmlessly off the mirror, not even leaving a scratch. As if to taunt him, Haku's visage appeared in the mirrors next to his target, spreading to the surrounding slabs of ice until the entire dome stared back at Obutsu with the same apathetic gaze.
"Show yourself!" Obutsu raged at the reflections, "Stop hiding behind this illusion and fight me like a man if you still consider yourself one!"
A look of the slightest disgust ran across the eyes of the Hakus before disappearing behind their indifferent masks, "To think you would have the gall to accuse me of being a coward. This is no illusion Obutsu, and as for where I am: I'm anywhere I want to be right now. A painful turn isn't it? Though I admit that I too dislike being, what was it, "accused of a lack of originality"? So, to save face for both of us, stand still and let me end this. You can mutter a last curse if you like. It seems to be a pattern among ones such as yourself."
"Not an illusion. It's not an illusion," Obutsu's mind raced, "Then… Then it's not a problem."
The nin's eyes smiled unnervingly behind his goggles, "You little bastard."
"Artful last words Obutsu," commented Haku, "They suit you well."
Ignoring the young man, Obutsu kept going, "You think I'm new to this? I've found a thousand and one ways to kill a man and tested every one of them. You get that kind of practice and you get damned good at what you do."
Obutsu's hands began to flash through hand symbols as he continued, "My jutsu breaks through earth and stone to get me where I want to go. It's just a matter of chakra. Do you really think your pathetic little mirror gag is going to stop me?" Realizing where this was going, Haku leapt from a mirror, unleashing a hail of needles at Obutsu, but it was too late. Crying out the necessary words, Obutsu slammed his fist into the middle of the reflective ground. With a flash of concentrated, tangible chakra, the mirror shattered, pieces whistling through the air in all directions. Dodging the crystal shrapnel as best as he could, Haku tried to find Obutsu only to see a closing hole in the earth where the nin had once stood. Forcing his hands into a seal, Haku tried to address a more pressing matter. His network was falling apart.
The ice mirror jutsu wasn't a simple one. It took the careful weaving of chakra into a web that held the ice together, giving it it's strength. Now, with one of the mirrors broken, chakra was being released quickly, and the jutsu was beginning to unravel. Haku had to act quickly to save his last hope in this fight. He simply didn't have the chakra left for anything else. Carefully, using the last of his chakra, Haku began to mend the paths of energy flow within the mirrors. He just needed a little more time.
Obutsu's voice from behind informed him that he didn't have it, "I wonder what happens when you hit the outside of one of these." Smoothing the adhesive side of an explosive tag against the back of the mirror directly behind Haku, Obutsu disappeared beneath the ground again, wheezing his disturbing laugh as he went.
"Damn," was all Haku could mange to think before the tag went off, shattering the mirror and flinging Haku to the ground. All concentration from their master gone, the other mirrors followed suit and fell to the ground in rapidly melting pieces.
Ears ringing, Haku tried to pull himself up only to feel a boot connect with his side, sending him flying across the grass. Sucking wind, Haku began to get to his feet, his eyes still blurred from the explosion. Another strike to the head sent him back to the ground.
Haku's clearing ears began to make out Obutsu's words, "Little --, or –ould I ca— you –itch? I can never tell with you." More blows began to rain down, and a weakened Haku could do little against them.
Granted, Obutsu had had better fights, but at least he had finally reached his favorite part. There was something about being able to hurt someone at will that was just so… satisfying. Maybe it made him a bad person, and maybe there was a time he might have cared, but it really didn't matter now. What mattered now was making this panting, shuddering creature in front of him pay for every nick, bruise, and gash he'd insulted Obutsu with. And he would exact the payment in full.
After a number of other blows, Obutsu drew one of the daggers at his side and grabbed Haku by the throat and lifted him up before slamming him against the tree stump that dominated the center of the field, the remnants of the tree's former trunk creaking with the impact, cracks beginning to show in the bark.
Bringing the point of the blade to the young man's gut, Obutsu taunted, "Where to begin? Should I go for the throat? No, too soon. How about a nice belly wound, spill those pretty guts of yours all over the ground? Messy, but as you can tell, I'm not one for cleanliness, which is good, because this is going to get very, very dirty." Obutsu threw his head back in laughter as Haku tried to choke out a retort, but was cut short by the feeling of his dagger leaving his hand as it was slammed away by the collision of a shuriken. Turning to the direction the blow had come from, Obutsu had just enough time to see something land at his feet in a ball before a foot lashed out and upwards from the form and connected with the nin's gut. Flying back a number of feet, Obutsu hit the ground rolling before picking himself up again.
The form straitened before beginning to talk, "Wow, I guess excess chakra can repel my foot from the tree and repel morons from my foot. And Kakashi sensei says I'm a slow learner."
Another form landed next to the horrendously orange one and replied, "No, he says you're hyperactive, a knucklehead, and a pest. He didn't say anything about your learning skills. Now hold him while I get Haku out of here."
"You just had to ruin my moment didn't you Arata?" the orange one whined at his hooded companion before turning and charging Obutsu, "Hurt my friend will ya?"
Haku looked up at Arata, one of his eyes already starting to swell shut, and watched as the Genin bent down to speak to him, "Come on, we need to hurry so I can back him up. We aren't exactly fighting fit right now. Can you be moved?"
Mind reeling at the turn of events, Haku could only nod and ask, "Why are you here?"
"The salad bar. Best deal in town," Arata answered as he moved Haku's body into a position lying face down across his shoulders, "No time to question providence Haku." Moving as quickly as Arata felt Haku could handle, the Genin carried the young man toward the tree line.
Easing Haku down into a sitting position against a tree well out of sight of the fight, Arata called over his shoulder as he turned to leave, "Don't run anywhere." The redhead was stopped by the feeling of Haku gripping his forearm.
The rogue nin wore a severe look on his face as he did his best to strain out a warning between ragged breaths, "Vibrations. I just figured it out. He sees you when he's under by your vibrations. Just… be sure to watch the grass." Arata made to ask what he meant, but Haku's head was already slumped in unconsciousness. After checking to be sure the young man was only unconscious, the Genin turned and made for the sounds of battle.
This day had been full of inconveniences. First, Obutsu had had to contest with Haku before he could complete the contract on the bridge builder. Then the fool had actually proved himself to be worth something in a fight. And now, worst of all, these brats had shown up to take his prize while he was still busy killing it! Obutsu had been hoping to kill all of them anyway, but not all at once. Add to all of that the fact that this orange one wouldn't get the hell off of him! Every time Obutsu would try to back away to escape into the ground, another shadow clone would try to jump him. They weren't particularly hard to kill, but Obutsu's patience was certainly wearing thin. This was not helped when a particularly large group leapt forward to tackle the man.
Naruto gleefully followed his clones after the toppling man, leaping onto the dog pile in order to get his own shot at the jerk that had hurt Haku. He wondered if this was going to be as easy as defeating Mizuki. His thoughts were cut short when a powerful arm shot out of the mound of bodies to grab him by the throat, gripping his neck with enough force to break Naruto's concentration and dissolve the remaining clones, already weak from the blonde's depleted chakra supply.
"Was that it?" Obutsu demanded, tightening his grip, "Just pile on and hope for the best?"
"Nah," Naruto choked out, "In case the orange isn't a clue, I'm a distraction."
Obutsu's eyes widened behind their goggles at the announcement and barely caught the slight metallic sparkle passing his field of vision before he realized what it was. By then though, the razor wire was already around his neck. Landing with her knees braced against Obutsu's back, Sakura pulled hard against the wire in her hands. Were it not for the high collar of the man's jacket, the kunoichi might have drawn blood, but instead she only managed to force Obutsu's throat shut. Panic flashing into the rogue nin's mind, Obutsu dropped Naruto and brought all his attention to whatever new creature had decided to make his life a living nightmare. Collapsing on the ground, gasping in air through his bruised larynx, Naruto made to get up and aid his teammate but found himself collapsing back to the ground, pain shooting up through his right ankle.
"Crap!" he hissed to himself, "Guess infusing chakra to your feet for combat is trickier than it looks."
As Naruto tried to make his way to his feet, Sakura found herself in a surreal rodeo as she held on for dear life against a struggling Obutsu. The girl had leverage, but her opponent was clearly many times stronger than her. Bouncing up and down as her mount stumbled around the field, Sakura gritted her teeth and tightened her grip. Doing her best to keep the man from inching his fingers under the wire around his throat, the Genin wasn't prepared when Obutsu pitched forward and slung the girl ahead through the air. Righting herself in mid-flight, Sakura landed next to Naruto and noticed how the blonde was favoring his left leg.
"Well, so much for Plan A," sighed the Kunoichi.
"We had a plan?" asked Naruto, mock confusion in his voice.
"Yeah," the girl answered, "Winning."
"Maaaan," Naruto whined, "what's Plan B then?"
"Not dying until sensei gets here."
"Oh. Lets try harder on Plan B."
How many brats did they have left? Regardless, Obutsu wasn't about to lose to a group of snot nosed brats. Forming his hands into the proper seals, the man completed the jutsu and disappeared into the ground leaving the two astonished Genin to worry at where he'd gone.
"Sakura," Naruto hissed, "Remember that jutsu Kakashi sensei used on Sasuke during the bell test? I think this guy is using something like that."
Sakura grimaced at Naruto's grasp of the obvious. Even if he was right, this didn't add up. Kakashi had revealed that there was a weakness to the jutsu he had used. Once under, one could only move a short distance. Also, as the technique used chakra, the stress it put on the body used up one's air supply quickly. If their opponent was still under, he would need to come up for air soon, which meant the two of them had limited time to act.
Grabbing Naruto's arm Sakura turned and took off, pulling her teammate behind her, "Come on Naruto, we have to get out of range while he's still blind."
Casting a look behind her, Sakura suddenly felt as if she were missing something. Hearing the sound of Obutsu rising from the ground in front of her confirmed her fears. It mad sense really. Why use a jutsu a Genin could see the flaws in? He had been waiting for her to make this mistake and she'd fallen right into it. All she could do now was cut her losses. Extending her arm forcefully, Sakura pushed Naruto to the side and did her best to dodge in the opposite direction. Too slow though. She knew it too. Whoever this was they were fighting was going to get a shot at one of them, and the kunoichi could see through the false slow in time created by the adrenaline in her system that the man's hulking form was aimed in her direction.
Sakura felt the wind being knocked from her, but it wasn't a rough blow of anger, rather, it had been something akin to a tackle. Arata had finally made it back to the fight. With instinctual agility, the boy turned in the air to place himself below his teammate, cushioning her fall with his own body. With no time for thanks, both Genin scrambled to their feet and readied themselves for an attack, but Obutsu was already gone.
"The heck was that?" demanded the redhead.
"He's using an earth based jutsu," Sakura answered, "We need to form a defensive ring. Keep it tight so he can't get between us."
Not ones to argue with the girl's tactical appraisals, Naruto and Arata put their backs to their teammates', the three keeping their eyes open for the inevitable attack.
"Any ideas?" Arata asked, the tension of waiting straining his voice.
"Keep on the defensive until Sensei arrives," Sakura replied, unsure of what else they could do. The whistle of its flight preceded a kunai flying through the air. Naruto felt the projectile more than he saw it and ducked, pulling Arata down with him as the kunai flew on.
"I don't think we can wait that long," Naruto commented just before Sakura found herself deflecting a second projectile with a recently drawn kunai.
"I know, but we can't split up until we know how to counter his jutsu," warned the kunoichi, "If I could only figure out how he targets us when he's underground."
Haku's words came back in sudden clarity.
"The vibrations!" Arata snapped, "Haku said-"
"Who's Haku?" Sakura demanded.
Arata found himself leaping alongside his teammates as a pair of throwing knives emerged from the mists to whiz beneath their collective feet before responding, "The guy we saved."
"That was a guy?" Sakura blanched, "He was prettier than m- I mean Ino!"
"You can trade fashion tips later Sakura," Naruto quipped, landing poorly on his injured ankle, "Get on with it Arata!"
"Oh- right," Arata said as he felt a shuriken nick his ear before the projectile disappeared into the silver beyond, "Haku said something about this guy seeing us with vibrations."
Sakura barely had time to dodge the next piece of flying aggression when she halted for too long, the pieces in her mind finally coming together. That was how he knew where they were. Something about the jutsu could feel their vibrations. That's how he could see them. Now that she knew how he followed them, she could form a real plan, and she could already feel one percolating in the back of her mind.
"Naruto. Arata," Sakura said, keeping her voice low.
She was pretty sure the man couldn't hear their voices underground, but she wasn't about to take that chance, "I have an idea. When I run, keep formation. I want to be his prime target."
"Sakura," Naruto argued, "Let me send a shadow clone."
"No," the kunoichi refused, "He'll feel the extra pair of feet and know. I'm in the best shape. I'm the only one for the job." Her teammates made to argue as they ducked another flying weapon, but Sakura was already off and running.
Before the blonde could go after her, Arata grabbed his arm and forced him to stay, "Trust her Naruto." Fear filled eyes of cerulean and emerald watched their teammate move with a purpose.
Obutsu felt the change through the earth. He'd finally broken one. Now came the chase. Forcing more chakra into his jutsu, the Land Shark sped up, homing in for the kill.
Her heart pounding in her ears and heaving breaths shaking her frame, Sakura ran for all she was worth. She had to get her speed up. More importantly, she had to get his speed up. The kunoichi knew from the direction of the last attack that their assailant was behind her and that by now he must be giving chase. She just hoped she could make it to her target before he caught her. As she saw her destination looming in the distance, Sakura began to run through a series of hand seals. Seals that the Genin knew Obutsu couldn't see. His loss. Reaching her goal, the kunoichi skidded to a halt and bent forward, slamming her hands against the ground after finishing the final seal.
The young girl's voice rang through the mists as she called out, "Sawa Kansei Jutsu!(4)" Immediately, the ground surrounding the kunoichi began to shift and churn. In the span of a heartbeat, dry earth became sucking mud as a miniature bog formed under the girl's feet. The massive stump behind her, the key to her plan, began to list as the ground supporting some of its roots began to slip from underneath it, no longer able to hold it's weight. This drove more of the trunk underground, aiding Sakura in her plot.
Even had he felt the change, Obutsu could have done nothing. He was going too fast as it was. He had known the tree was there, but he had planned to dodge around it in his pursuit. Unfortunately, that plan had involved the earth in front of him being solid. The quagmire he slammed into was far from that. The rogue nin had geared his jutsu to carry him through the dry and tightly packed earth of the field. The amount of chakra that took had been finely measured and applied. He could increase the flow of chakra for stone or lessen it for certain softer materials, but he needed forewarning. He had none when he felt his body enter the slime that had only moments before been solid ground. The technique, overpowered by the hard earth it had to break through and his attempts to run the girl down now shot him forward like a bullet. Straining to get back under control, Obutsu pulled his chakra level back as fast as he could not realizing there would not be nearly enough left to move the roots of the tree he had forgotten all about in his panic.
The only evidence Sakura saw that her plan had worked was the sudden and violent vibration of the tree stump she had come to a halt in front of. A trail of rather large bubbles leading towards the former oak tree began to form in the quagmire. Sakura recalled out of nowhere reading once that oak was one of the hardest of all woods. For her sake, she certainly hoped so. Grinning at the cheers of Naruto and the approving look in the eyes of Arata, the girl began to pull her feet from the sucking mud and make her way over to them. Seeing the exuberance her teammate's eyes turn to terror, Sakura snapped her head around to look behind her.
The kunoichi was suddenly a child again as a nightmare from her younger years began to play out. Rising from the bog, a ghoul pulled its way to the surface, mud clinging from its form and mixing with the bright red of blood seeping from a gash opened across its forehead. Gurgled breaths rasped from within the form's chest as the creature seethed with rage, its hand revealing eyes alight with wrath as it wiped its bulging sockets clean. As Obutsu stepped forward, the cylinder of the filter on his mask swinging by a thread and dripping slime back into the mire, Sakura's conscious mind reminded her that the terror that stood before her was an enemy nin and far more dangerous than the dreams her parents had once so gallantly chased away. Turning to run, Sakura felt Obutsu's hand grasp her hair in a vice-like grip before pulling back painfully hard. Slinging the girl around by her scalp, Obutsu slammed the kunoichi's head against the trunk of the tree with sickening force. Sakura let out an anguished cry as her vision blurred and she tasted iron.
Ripping his mask off with his free hand, Obutsu revealed a disturbingly pale and ugly face contorted into a hate filled scowl.
"My re-breather!" Obutsu spat through rotten teeth, "You broke my re-breather! Do you know how many men I had to kill to afford that thing?!" As he spoke, the monster pulled the girl's head back again before bashing her skull once more against the creaking wood of the tree stump. Her head screaming and her ears ringing, Sakura could only note the metallic taste had intensified before she blacked out.
Making to repeat the process again, Obutsu noticed from the corner of his vision her teammates rushing to her aid.
"I'll kill you!" was Naruto's battle cry as he hobbled forward, Arata taking the lead.
Sneering at their bravado, Obutsu flung the girl once again by her hair toward the pair, her limp form flying past Arata to collide with Naruto and tackle him to the ground. Continuing forward, Arata made to slow the approaching man down. Leaping into the air, the redhead brandished a kunai. Without even breaking stride, Obutsu's superior skill allowed him to grab the boy's wrist and hurl the Genin behind him and into the muck. Continuing towards his prey, Obutsu reached Naruto, the blonde still struggling to get Sakura's body off while trying to get to his feet with one leg. The Genin had only managed to force Sakura away from their attacker when Obutsu's boot came down against his head. Lights danced in front of Naruto's eyes. Feeling the boot a second time, the boy realized he'd failed. He was going to die. His friends were going to die. Sakura…
The blonde's eyes flashed red as they stared up at Obutsu, bloodlust written in their gaze. A low growl rumbled from within the boy's chest. The rouge nin didn't like the looks of that.
"Enough tricks!" Obutsu spat as he swung his boot against the Genin's skull for a final time. Naruto twitched and the growl echoed again, but the blonde lay still as his eyes closed.
Breathing heavily, Obutsu began to turn to deal with the last of the trio but felt the blow of a child's full bodyweight against his back.
Hooking his elbow around the older man's neck, Arata braced his other arm against the back of the man's head and completed the chokehold, holding on for dear life, "Leave them alone!"
Thrashing about, cursing the boy for using the same trick, Obutsu tried to remove the weight on his back. Again and again, the rogue nin slung his elbow back into Arata's rib cage, the boy grunting in pain at each blow, but still maintaining his grip. Reaching around, Obutsu finally grasped the hem of the Genin's jacket and flung the boy around and forward, ripping him from his hold on Obutsu's neck. The man's strength was so great that Arata was propelled forward and out of his own coat, landing back in the mire he had so recently pulled himself from. Hearing the sound of running footsteps, Obutsu turned to see a pair of forms identical to his former rider fleeing into the mists, carrying the boy's teammates.
It had worked. Well… sort of. He had managed to distract this psychopath. He had also managed to get his shadow clones past the struggling man while he was occupied with maintaining his airflow. Arata had even managed to get distance between him and the giant to ease his escape. He just hadn't planned on him throwing him back into the miniature bog, at least not headfirst. He'd been able to pull himself free the first time but only because he'd landed well. Now he was half buried in the stuff… and it was his upper half. Clawing his way to the surface, the Genin began to struggle towards dry land, trying to shake his head to clear his vision. He was almost there too, but Obutsu wasn't one to be patient. Hearing a heavy weight splash into the mud in front of him, Arata felt himself being lifted by his shirt a foot and a half above the ground.
Stinking breath stung the boy's nostrils as Obutsu spoke, "No! No getting away! You're not getting away with ruining this for me!" A powerful backhand to Arata's face propelled him to Obutsu's side, the redhead's groaning form finally landing on dry land. Trying to reach his feet, the Genin suddenly couldn't breathe as he was yanked up from behind, his own weight strangling him with his collar. A powerful grip latched onto Arata's wrist and wrenched his right arm behind his back. The hand holding the back of his shirt now forced the struggling boy forward, slamming the redhead against the tree with enough force to move it slightly, it's foundation still uncertain.
Arata's thrashing form now held in place against the ruined trunk by an arm lock, the other hand let go and was replaced quickly by the prick of a newly drawn dagger. The Genin's thrashings lessened immediately.
"That's a good lad," Obutsu breathed into his ear, "Now you're going to help me out. You see, you've cost me every win I've had a chance at today, so here's what's going to happen: I'm going to start cutting into you," at this Arata stiffened as he felt the blade inch barely into his skin, a crimson trickle appearing on the steel, "and you are going to scream as loud as you can until that precious little instructor you three have been gabbing about gets here. I do hope for your sake he's in some kind of fighting condition, but considering he just had it out with Zabuza, I doubt it. Either way, I'm going to kill him, and you, and your friends, and then I'm getting paid and leaving this waist of space you call a country! Now… shall we begin?"
Please understand. I don't enjoy this, but what I do is necessary. I suspect you will thank me later. Now, shall we begin again?
Arata screamed. Even before Obutsu could do anything, Arata screamed with every ounce of air in his lungs. The shriek resonated with a fear the rogue nin had never heard in any of his victims. There were no words or pleadings, only a howl of abject terror given by those who had given all sense and control over to gibbering terror. The child's thrashings began anew, and Obutsu had to pull the knife back to avoid the boy forcing it into his own back and ending his captor's plan. The Genin kept screaming, and Obutsu found himself struggling to keep the child under control. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the screaming stopped, Arata collapsing motionless against the tree.
"What the hell kid?" Obutsu spat. As if to answer him, the Genin's head snapped back up, and motion returned to his body. Lifting his leg, the redhead braced his foot against the tree and, with the false traction of Chakra, he began to run up the base, pushing Obutsu back with the force. With the rogue nin's arm lock still firm, the boy's limb began to bend back and back until, with a disturbing pop, his shoulder left its socket. Without even a hint he had felt the departure of his joint from its natural place, the boy continued running up until he was horizontal with the man's head. Once at that level, he kicked off and soared over Obutsu's shoulders and landed behind him, the force pulling the Genin's wrist from Obutsu's hand, his grip slackened from the shock of what he'd just witnessed. Arata sprung back and away, his right arm hanging loosely from his frame.
Obutsu spun to face the boy and saw his lanky form crouching on the ground, his head turned to examine his injured shoulder, as if unable to understand why his arm no longer conformed to his will. When the child's head jerked to look forward again, Obutsu looked him in the eye, and midnight stared back at him.
Were it possible for one's pupils to open enough to take up the entire eye, the obsidian orbs focused on Obutsu would have resembled something like that. There were no whites or irises left to the eyes, only a deep, glassy black. One could not perceive movement in the orbs, but Obutsu felt their gaze upon him all the same, and it chilled him for some reason. The boy's upper lip began to curl back in a feral grin, reminding his opponent of a dog baring its fangs. It might not have had such a striking resemblance had the teeth the smile revealed not mirrored those of an animal so closely. Massive and inhuman canines shined white from within the child's mouth. That sight alone caused Obutsu to hesitate, but what the boy did next had him take a step back.
Turning his attention back to his injury, the redhead's working hand flew to his crippled arm and began to work the shoulder around its empty socket. Obutsu stood speechless as he watched the boy rotate the limb forward and then backward before seeming to finally decide on a favored position. With a wet crack, the shoulder was forced back into place, the only sign of pain on the boys face being the faint twitch of his right eye, the smile never faltering, even growing slightly wider for a moment.
Flexing the newly repositioned limb, the boy's face turned back to Obutsu, and he once again felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise involuntarily as he heard the boy speak, "You look tougher than the last ones. I hope so. You'll have to last considering there's only one of you." Obutsu didn't know what to make of this. The boy's voice had changed. The sound was similar, but more clipped and with almost a whisper quality to it.
The rogue nin had had just about enough surprises that day, and his pride boiled in the back of his mind at the fact that this child scared- no, caused him to hesitate. He was going to kill whatever this kid was and shut that freaking mouth of his. He forced a grin onto his face and decided he might even keep those teeth of his. His fingered the knife still in his hand, feeling the slickness of his palm. Most likely from the mud. Definitely not from sweat. Definitely. Still, he'd be sure this time. No sense charging what you don't know. Sheathing the knife, Obutsu began to form seals. The boy in front of him regarded the man curiously, his head twitching and tilting like an animal might regard an oddity. The mists surrounding the pair began to twist and thicken, each seeing their partners disappearing in the fog.
An impenetrable grey wall now a few feet from Obutsu's face, the rogue nin smiled a bit more comfortably and began to move. As quietly as his decades of experience allowed him to, he crept through the mist. He had to hand it to Zabuza. The fool knew a good trick when he saw one. The mists had been thinned somewhat by the jutsu that freak Haku had used, but Obutsu had managed to concentrate the last of the mists into a smaller area. Now he only had to find the boy, no doubt cowering after being blinded, and kill him. The man doubted he had enough left in his reserves to finish off Kakashi, but he didn't care. One body would be prize enough for today. Running through a handful of seals, the rogue nin set about finding the boy. His re-breather might have been totaled, forcing him to stay above ground, but part of the jutsu was still useful. Finishing the fraction of the technique, Obutsu began to listen for the boy. He had never been able to describe this part of the jutsu in words. It felt like a combination of touch and hearing. Vibrations traveled easily through the earth. He'd feel them resonate through him. Up his legs, rattling along his spine, and always ending at his ears, beating out a rhythm that showed him the world, or at least any part connected to the ground. It took concentration, but he was rarely interrupted while underground. Through his vibrating sight, he saw him. The boy wasn't moving, but even the shifting of weight from one foot to the other was enough. Obutsu circled to the child's left and began to move in.
Picking up speed, he drew his blade and readied himself for the attack. A moment before the kill, the boy's shape became obvious in the shadows of the fog. He was still facing forward. He'd never see it coming. Right as Obutsu brought his weapon up to strike, he felt it again. The gaze. He saw in the clearing mist the boy's head turned ever so slightly to the left, just enough to bring his opponent into view. He saw those eyes, those accursed black eyes, and part of him recoiled, calling in the back of his mind to retreat. But it was too late. He was committed to the attack and his momentum kept him going. A different voice howled in triumph as he saw the foolish child raise his left arm to block the strike. He lashed out, slashing at the boy's wrist, intent on removing his opponent's hand. His blade struck home against the boy's arm… and stuck. A metallic note resounded from where the knife met the Genin's forearm. Grinning the same savage smile, the boy stopped the blow and pushed back, catching a surprised Obutsu off guard and forcing him backwards a step. Stepping after him, the Genin's right hand shot under the long sleeve of the arm he had just blocked with and withdrew a massive dagger of his own. Treating the drawing of the blade and his attack as the same motion, the knife flashed forward. Unable to parry, the blow coming from inside his guard, Obutsu felt his chest come alight with pain as a deep gash was opened up across his torso. Stumbling back, he tried to bring his dagger forward, but saw the Genin's left arm lash out and backhand his wrist, forcing him to open his hand and drop the blade. Obutsu knew he had to get away and regroup. Staggering backwards, the rogue nin brought his arms up into a defensive stance and readied himself to fight the boy back. The attack didn't come, however, as the boy simply leapt backwards and disappeared into the mists.
"Damn you, hold still!" Obutsu called out, trying to keep his voice from shaking. His chest ached with the wound. The boy hadn't dug deep enough to hit anything vital, but he was losing more blood than he cared to. He wanted to form the jutsu again, wanted to find the brat, but he couldn't. He suspected lowering his guard for a second would be a mistake.
"You tried to lie to me," the boy's voice came from the fog, "You tried to hide in a silver lie and kill me you did." What the hell was this kid getting at now? Obutsu didn't know, but he didn't like the sound of the boy's voice. It was becoming more unnerving with every word.
"But you can't lie to my eyes. Even closed they show me secrets they do," the child's voice had taken on an almost singsong quality, "They show me such a beautiful world of red and blue. I try to paint it with more red. It's my favorite color. But the red just keeps fading, so I have to get more. My eyes tell me other things too you know. They tell me you're afraid of me."
"Why should I be afraid of a child?" Obutsu spat back with more courage than he felt, still backing away from the voice even though it seemed to keep changing locations, "Do you know how many children I've killed."
"Less than you'd brag I'd wager, and you are afraid of me. The eyes tell me so," came the reply, "My nose too. I smell your sweat, your blood as well. You're loosing quite a lot of it now aren't you, but your heart just keeps pumping doesn't it? I know it does because my eyes show it to me, another secret your chest can't keep from me, let alone this silver lie you put up. I'm watching it beat, watching it get biiig, then small, biiiig, then small, biiiiig, then small. It's going faster now, but you aren't. You are afraid of me."
To hell with this, Obutsu was getting out of here.
Bringing his hands together into the seal to dismiss the fog so he could make an escape, Obutsu suddenly heard from just behind him, "And you should be." Yelping, Obutsu turned and lashed out at the voice with his left hand, slamming it into the unforgiving surface of the rotten log. He'd been so disorientated, he'd ended up back where he'd started. Cursing, he snatched his hand back and held it out in front of him to survey the damage. Flexing the hand open and shut to check for broken bones, the rogue nin was too distracted to hear the whistling of a flying object. Piercing the mists, leaving a corkscrew contrail in its path, a dagger flew forward and into Obutsu's opened hand with enough force to slam it backwards and against the tree, impaling it to the wood. Screeching at the pain, Obutsu didn't even notice that it was his own knife embedded in his palm.
Still screaming, the man barely had time to see the boy's form emerging from the mists, charging at him. Leaping into the air, obsidian eyes opened wide with excitement, the boy collided with Obutsu, tackling him back and against the tree. The aged trunk, already stressed from the battle, finally gave way, and, with a shriek of tearing wood, the log broke off just below the rogue nin's knee, collapsing backwards into the mire that still bubbled on the other side of the stump. Too distracted by the agony in his hand and the screaming pain in his chest from the boy's weight against his wound, Obutsu barely registered his right arm being carried backwards by momentum, extending itself along the curve of the massive trunk. That was, until he felt his opponent bring down his second dagger, pinning his remaining hand to the log, the exotic blade sliding effortlessly through flesh, and bone, and eventually wood. Obutsu's screams took on an even higher pitch as he lay there, held in position by the boy sitting on his chest and the man's own skewered flesh. Terror ruled his mind as he stared up at his tormentor, seeing the same grin widening, the canines appearing to grow an even brighter white.
"Yes!" the boy practically yelled as he brought his hand to Obutsu's jaw, forcing him to look him in his midnight eyes, "Yes! Scream. Please scream. Yours aren't like the last ones, but I had my eyes open then, so these will do. Now scream louder!"
Cowed by the words, Obutsu could only tremble as he asked, "What kind of demon are you?" The smile disappeared from his opponent's face immediately and was replaced by a look of confusion. Another, somehow more sinister smirk curled the boy's lips, revealing just the tips of his "fangs". Leaning forward, the boy brought his head even with Obutsu's, his mouth just inches from his ear.
The rogue nin felt the boy's warm breathe whisper in his ear as he answered in a bemused tone, "Demon? Demon sir? I'm no demon. I fear I'm far too man-made a monster for that."
Pulling his head back, the feral smile returned as he spoke again, waving his hand at Obutsu's impaled limbs, "Now, seeing as my weapons are otherwise occupied, you'll forgive me for taking a more "hands on" approach." Pulling his arm back, the child suddenly brought it forward again, slamming his fist against his victim's face. Obutsu cried out at the strike, partly from the blow to his face, and partly from the stress the attack made on his palms. Another blow came from the opposite direction, and the rogue nin's nose sprayed a gout of blood as it was broken. The next fist collided with the same spot, sending a second spray of crimson to the other side of Obutsu's face. The blows continued to rain down, the only sounds in the mists being the meaty collisions of knuckle and skull, and the cries of anguish from the skull's owner.
Faster. He had to move faster. Forcing more chakra into his legs, Kakashi powered forward. He knew his injured ankle probably couldn't take it, but this wasn't the time for caution. He'd felt his heart nearly stop when an exhausted Sasuke had arrived at the bridge, calling in alarm to his teacher. The Jouniin had thought Zabuza too weakened to return so soon, but the traitor nin's ally's presence had weighed on his mind. It had been a gamble to split his forces between training and guard duty, and Kakashi had lost. He felt the bark beneath his feet crack each time he landed, evidence that he was pushing his luck with his current speed.
Sasuke had managed to follow after him, barely keeping up with his sensei's staggered pace, the Jouniin's speed slowed by his injuries. By the time they had come upon Naruto and Sakura's unconscious forms, the Genin had reached his limits. Eyes widening at their conditions, Kakashi had left Sasuke to guard the pair while he went to find Arata. He had only a fleeting thought as to why their wounds were already hastily bandaged before he was off towards where Sasuke had said the sounds came from. His fears confirmed in his mind, Kakashi charged forward.
"Please," Kakashi's mind raced, "Don't be dead. Not another. I can't take failing another." Reaching up, he pulled his headband back and opened his left eye, feeling it ache at being reactivated so soon. His stomach flipped as he made out the approaching fog. Zabuza couldn't… no, but he had the sinking feeling that he'd still find Arata in those mists. Without hesitation, Kakashi leapt into the haze and onto the field, activating his Sharingan and searching desperately for his pupil's chakra signature.
Blood was beginning to leak from Obutsu's mouth now, spilling over his lips with each strike. He made no noise now, but this only made the boy strike harder, as if certain he could bring the screams back with more effort. The cries of pain had been replaced with exuberant grunts of effort from the child with each blow he landed. Pulling his arm back to strike again, the Genin suddenly felt resistance. His head flying back, his eyes saw a strong hand now holding his arm firmly in place.
Kakashi had had no idea what to think of this. He'd barely recognized the mud-spattered creature lying atop the bloodied man as his own pupil, and the recognition shocked him. There were few things left in the world, Kakashi felt, that could surprise him, but the sight of a child astride a full grown nin, designated by the scarred headband strapped to his shoulder, beating him bloody with his bare hands was one of them. Getting closer, Kakashi saw the knives imbedded in the man's palms and shuddered. What had Arata done to this man? More importantly, how?
As he hurried over to the boy, Kakashi's Sharingan added another oddity. The boy's body was alight with chakra. The Jouniin had watched the boy and never seen this kind of ability. Rather, he'd chalked him up as having below average reserves, preparing to implement a special regiment to improve them. Now, Arata's entire frame reverberated with the energy. Kakashi didn't know what was happening, but he was going to find out. Making his way across the bog, Arata giving no signs as to even noticing him, the Jouniin shot his hand forward and caught the boy's arm to get his attention.
The Genin's head flying back to find out who had interrupted him, the instructor finally saw the boy's eyes. Staring into the black orbs, Kakashi saw the chakra patterns dancing across them and realized that they were the focus of the energy. The look in the eyes was almost more shocking. A predator stared back at Kakashi, flecks of foam in the corners of his mouth. Breathing heavy, Arata looked ready to turn his attention to his sensei for stopping him.
"Arata," Kakashi said sternly, shaking his arm, "Arata, stop this! What's gotten into you?"
The eye's kept their menacing glare for a moment, the boy's chest rising and falling as he panted. Then they seemed to falter, softening for an instant as Arata's face went slack.
"Ka…ka…shi?" he breathed before falling forward into his surprised sensei's arms. Cradling the boy's now limp frame, Kakashi walked across the surface of the mire and laid him out on dry land. Giving up on making sense of anything for the time being, the Jouniin turned and drew a weapon. He wasn't about to let another enemy get away. Approaching the man, Kakashi finally recognized him. The Jouniin was one of the few to ever see a picture of the elusive Obutsu without his mask, but Kakashi identified the mangled face all the same. One of the most wanted criminals of the Country of Earth now lay before Kakashi a beaten man in a disturbingly literal fashion. He made ready to strike the killing blow to the nin pinned to the sinking log but halted.
Obutsu was already dead.
Sighing a final time, Kakashi retrieved the dagger he recognized as belonging to Arata from the nin's palm, the blade leaving behind a sucking noise as it was pulled free. Securing the knife, Kakashi turned and made his way to his student's body. Picking him up, the Jouniin began to hurry through the thinning fog towards the house, leaving Obutsu's body to sink beneath the slowly hardening swamp and be forgotten.
1 please note that any comments made by Obutsu do not reflect the beliefs of the writer but rather were meant to further establish him as a dislikable villian.
2 A Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death (man the Japanese can fit a lot into two words :))
3 (literally) Earth Travel Jutsu
4Swamp Trap Justu (Okay, Sakura never used this jutsu, but I feel it fits her usually-more-tactical-than-offensive style, and its small size makes sense for a Genin rather than the huge bog usually created by pervy-sage)
Hmmm, I think I've explained all that needed to be explained and nothing I'm sure my readers want explained, so my work here is done. Clearly, Arata gots' issues, the nature of which you will just have to wait to discover. I did my best to make said issues genuinely scary or at least creepy, but I've never written a character like that so please tell me what I did right or wrong and what, in general you want more/less of. I've also never had to think through a full fight scene before, so any advice or fanatical praise would be great too. Special thanks to top for offering support during this chapter and continuing thanks to all who continue to read.