This is my first attempt at a fanfic and i am a big fan of Naruto. ALL the rights related to Naruto and Naruto Shippuden belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
So i would like your like your opinion on my work and ANY suggestions that you may have for me.
This includes the fight conclusion with Haku and most of the Zabuza fight.
Flashbacks
Something Jutsu
'Thoughts'
"Speaking"
'BIJU/SUMMON THOUGHTS'
"BIJU/SUMMON SPEAKING"
Chapter 8
Haku stepped into one of the mirrors and his reflection was seen in each of the mirrors
"Your end is near…."
Crystal clear and extremly sharp senbon appeared in Haku's hands, all of the Hakus.
"Know this, I do not want to hurt you. But it is my job as a ninja, as a killer... to take your life, to complete my mission. And right now, my mission is to protect Zabuza-sama and YOU are standing in my way" And with that, he threw the senbon. 'These children are strong, I cannot afford to hold back'.
Every reflection seemed to be able to throw those senbon along with him. All of them real, not mere mirages. And if you would ask our duo, they hurt like hell.
"Owwwieeee"
"Daammmm it!"
They were in a world of pain. Senbons were flying in from every possible direction. Hence, all the speed that they used to overwhelm Haku, didn't account for shit right now. Only the kunai that Naruto had and the chokuto that Sasuke had just unsealed were the only defense that the boys had.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.
"On it" Sasuke replied. " As he chanted "Mugen Yami".
The surroundings inside the dome instantly changed to pure blackness, something he picked up from Shisui. Though Haku could throw needles from seemingly everywhere, keyword being 'seemingly', his needles needed a general direction to go. And not each mirror was able to throw those (due to the fact that those needles needed a constant supply of humidty to able to keep their structure, and Zabuza wasn't here with his kirigakure no jutsu right now).
"What do we do now?" Naruto asked from inside the dome of darkness.
Just as the words left his mouth, a hail of senbon hit him. Or rather the place where he was supposed to be. Sasuke had pulled him aside just in time.
"Shhh" Sasuke spoke in a hushed tone " He can still hear us."
Naruto hmmed in response.
"He uses the hyoton, ice release. NOT a weak style. We need to get out of this dome or else we are done for" Sasuke summed up the situation.
"Yup. And from the kunais I threw while trying to break those, it failed miserably. Not even a scratch. I guess we need something powerfull for that." Naruto suggested.
And Sasuke knew what he was talking about. They both smirked and suddenly the dark dome faded.
The darkness faded to reveal the duo standing, facing right into the mirror in which Haku actually was.
The said person got chills up his spine when he saw them both. The blonde with multiple highly compressed spheres of pure wind chakra hovering over his hands, and the raven-head with puffed cheeks and a small spark from between his lips.
And then they both let loose their respective attacks.
"Wind Style: Vaccum Spheres"
"Fire Style: Pheonix Flower"
The balls of fire and wind attacked the mirror together and blew it apart.
Though Haku was able to escape that blast by ejecting himself from that mirror, he wasn't fast enough in doing so and now hoisted ssevere burns all over his body. The rest of the dome shattered due to the sheer strength of that attack.
When the smoke and mist lifted, Naruto and Sasuke walked out.
"So, you plan on giving up yet?" Naruto asked the slightly shifting Haku.
"Y-you... both... you are quiet formidable opponents. I would have loved to have friends as strong and as close as you. But..." Now his voice became stern "Zabuza -sama needs me right now, and you will not stop me!" And with that battle cry, he charged.
Sasuke easily side-steepped his assault and Naruto restrained him with simple Earth manipulation.
It was then that they saw, a piece of ice was sticking out of Haku's back, just beside the spine.
"Heyy! are you crazy? Why were you trying to move in your condition? Does this man truly means this much to you? Tell me?" Naruto asked.
"Quick Naruto, there is no time. We have to get him to sensie right away if we wanna save his life." Sasuke shouted.
Naruto nodded his head and they both picked Haku up by draping his arms over their shoulders and took off.
Whilst jumping through the trees, Haku spoke to them.
"You wanna know why he is so important to me? I'll explain it. I was born in a small, snowy village in the Land of Water, a land that had suffered from war not long before."
Though keeping their pace, Sasuke and Naruto kept their ears open to the story.
Haku continued "In this war, different sides battled each other using ninja, some of whom possessed kekkei genkai. After the war ended, memories of the horrific battles still lingered in the minds of the people. Those with kekkei genkai quickly became feared and hated for their abilities, out of concern that their existence would only bring about more war."
This was understandable, if one would face such extremeties due to a single kind of people, they would develope a kind of hatred and fear for them.
"My father and mother were simple farmers, and we lived a peaceful life. They loved each other, and were caring for me. Unfortunately, this all changed." Now Haku's face took on a serious expression.
"My mother was a wielder of a kekkei genkai: Ice Release. She hid this fact from my father, hoping that the love and peace that was shared in our small family would last forever. But..." Haku suddenly shivered, weakness spreading throughout his body. But he continued.
"But one day, I discovered the ability to manipulate water. Amazed by this, I proudly showed this to my mother, who was horrified by what she saw. She harshly scolded and slapped me for displaying this ability, though she tearfully apologised to me immediately afterwards... It's all a little foggy. I can't remember the exact details but somehow father had seen everything from the shadows. When he discovered that his wife and child possessed a kekkei genkai, he assembled a small mob of villagers." Now Haku began to sob.
"With tears flowing down his eyes, he killed my mom. He then attempted to kill me too. But before he could, I used my Ice Release to create several large ice spikes which accidently killed father and the rest of the mob. I did not mean for them to die. I... I ju-just... was so angry... and hurt. Nd the spikes seemed to understand me, and they went ahead and did their job. And then my father was dead." Haku's voice seemed to get more tired with every moment.
Upon seeing this, Naruto asked him to stop, "Please, that's enough. Conserve your strength. You are injured. We need to get there faster."
But haku wasn't one to stop. He felt this... uncontrollable desire to speak to them. To tell them of his story. And so he did.
"Orphan. That was all that the incident left me to become. I became a child who was wanted by no one and was forced to take to the cold streets and rummage through trash bins for scraps of food, even sometimes having to fight off the wild dogs that roamed the streets."
Naruto noticed the sombre look in his eyes. It was the look of hurt, of someone who knows what it's like to be truly in pain.
"This is where Zabuza-sama comes in. I was confronted by Zabuza-sama, a man who had "the same eyes" as me. He later asked me to become his "weapon," which meant to become a dedicated shinobi for him. And I couldn't find a limit to my happiness. I... was wanted, again. Someone accepted me. And they needed me again, and I wasn't going to let this oppurtunity leave me. So I readily accepted this role." Haku explained, with a slight, hopefull smile towards the end.
"He didn't just took me in, he trained me. And I accepted it all due to the purpose it gave me, and I devoted my life to becoming the ultimate tool for Zabuza-sama to use. He trained me in the ways of the shinobi, as well as every fighting technique that he knew. He... in many ways, was like the father that I always wanted."
Haku suddenly seemed to grow more heavier with each leap. And it was quickly becoming hard for the duo to carry him.
This concerned them, since Haku had not listened to any of their attempts to asking him to stop. He just continued. As he did now.
"So, it doesn't matter how much the world hates me, or how much you hate me, If Zabuza-sama wants my help, I will. No matter how big a crime he commits." And with that, he slumped on their shoulders.
"SHIT! Naruto! We have to put him down Right Now" Sasuke shouted.
They jumped to the ground, and laid him on the ground.
Naruto quickly placed his fingers on Haku's neck: there was still a pulse, albiet a weak one.
Sasuke inquired about his condition "Is he alive?" Although not the best way to ask, but the intention was clean.
"Yup he is alive. Just unconcious." Naruto answered. "Although we need to hurry up, senseis might need our help".
"What do we do with him?" Sasuke asked.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu" Naruto made two clone that lifted Haku and began to move towards the direction of the other battle.
"Remenber what we were tought? Show compassion for the enemy, but not at the cost of one of your own" Naruto reminded Sasuke. The said raven-head had been too quiet throughout the story.
"Yes. You are right. Lest's not waste any more time." Sasuke said with determination and goals set in his eyes.
And with that, they lept off, using shunshin to get there as soon as possible.
They reached there not before long. But the sight that greeted them was just... not good.
Kakashi looked battered and worn. Zabuza was in a simmilar condition. But the one which sought most of their attention was,
"Shisui!" They both exclaimed at once.
The said person was trapped in a ball of water, and was looking almost out of breath. Only chakra coating his lungs sustained him for this long.
"Wh-what happened while we were gone?" Sasuke blurted out.
"Ohh good to see you both back so soon. As you can see we are in a tight spot right now and we need your help." Kakashi answered him with an intended cool statement but his condition betrayed him.
"But you two are like both A-rank each. How did you get into this condition?" This time Naruto asked.
Just as the last word escaped his mouth, a barrage of kunais and shurikens were shot out of a bush nearby and a tree beside it.
"You know you don't have the luxury to talk." Zabuza's cold and almost demonic voice came from the other side of the fog.
Kakashi's only response to his students was "Because the bastard was prepared..."
FLASHBACK
"Let's just end it before it starts Zabuza. We all know that you cannot win against the two of us." Shisui spoke with the traditional Uchiha superiority complex voice.
"Carefull, we shouldn't underestimate him. He IS one of the most dangerous criminals in the world." Kakashi adviced. Though his voice betrayed his words of caution.
"You should listen to him kid. Kakashi is more experienced than you." Zabuza spoke, his voice dripping with excitement.
'Interesting, so he called me a kid. That means he knows litle to nothing of my abilities. This should prove beneficial.' Shisui thought.
Kakashi on the other hand was having simmilar thoughts.
They both nodded at each other and leapt, intent on finishing this fast.
Zabuza smirked and moved his index finger. And suddenly, an entire barrage of shurikens hit the duo. But, they both turned into logs.
Zabuza grimaced 'Damm, they used substitution. Now i've lost the element of surprise'.
Kakashi and Shisui landed some distance away from Zabuza. "Well well well look'e here. Didn't expect the 'Demon of the Hidden Mist' to use something as lowly as an ambush. Did we Kakashi?" Shisui mocked. Kakashi merely made a 'no' gesture.
"Yes neither did I. But when facing of against someone stronger, one has to do all that he can. Besides..." Zabuza spoke with a quiet tone at the end and made a handsign to conjure up the mist that he had been gathering around the area. "There's no fun in killing, unless I can taste your FEAR!".
Now the entire area was covered in smoke, the surroundings were completely white. And in that moment of confusion, Zabuza used the chakra covered mist to surround Shisui and trap him in a
"Water Style: Water Prison" Zabuza shouted and suddenly Shisui was trapped in a water prison. He then swug his Executioner's blade at Kakashi who was forced to dodge by jumping back.
"Did you think I didn't know about your abilities, Shisui of the Shunshin?" Zabuza spoke with a demonic face and let out a chuckle. "Hehehehehehe. Did you honestly think that I would fight both of you together? Ha! I know that your experience exeeds his, Kakashi, but his prowess with the sharingan and it's Mangekyo form is almost unmatched. He can put me under a genjutsu with those troublesome eyes of his' and I'll be done for."
"So you planned to take him out first?" Kakashi spoke in a serious tone. Shisui was in grave danger. If he didn't free him in time then it just might be the end for Shisui Uchiha.
"Remember Zabuza, you bought this on yourself." Kakashi said while revealing his sharingan. And then the duo began fighting.
"You were too ignorant Zabuza, even I have some degree of efficiency in the sharingan genjutsu areas."
As Kakashi was sticking near Shisui, dodging the occasional hail of incoming weapons, Zabuza struck, revealing to Kakashi that he was now fighting with his eyes closed making the sharingans genjutsu useless.
"You seem surprised Kakashi. It is, after all, my speciality to kill people based purely on sound" Zabuza revealed as he ducked under a kunai trust from Kakashi and swung his blade in an attempt to rob him os his legs.
Kakashi was overwhelmed. First of all the mist was proving too much for the jonin to handle as he lost his advantage of sharingan. Secondly, Zabuza was not fighting with his eyes open, so the brief moments for which he was visible, Kakashi's genjutsu arsenal was proving to be useless. And thirdly, not only did he have to protect himself, but Shisui as well from the attacks. As for the water prison holder, Zabuza had resorted to using a clone for that purpose, stationed some distance apart.
Nothing proved to be usefull right now.
Just as he was distracted by a sound of muffled bubles bursting from the water prison (Possibly due to Shisui starting to loose his breath) Zabuza attempted to drive his blade straight through the heart of the said prisoner. But this attempt was thwarted by Kakashi who blocked it with the metal plating at the back of his glove.
Though Kakashi had used lightning chakra to enhance it, the water chakra laced Neck Cleaver was too strong and it broke under pressure.
Kakashi, having been succesfull in saving Shisui's life, was blown back, and another barrage of those hidden shurikens attacked him. It was getting very annoying very quickly.
Zabuza's voice came from everywhere again, "So is that all the famed copycat can do?" He mocked.
Suddenly, he was attacked by a number of kunais, attached with wires. He jumped over them and was now attacked by Kakashi.
This confused him.
"How did you find me?" Zabuza asked.
"I didn't" Kakashi replied and suddenly dissipated into lightning, shocking Zabuza. Literally. Revealing that it was a clone.
The real Kakashi ran towards the water prison and was just about to free Shisui when a Water Dragon errupted from it and blew Kakashi away.
"Not... So... Fast" A charred Zabuza said from a little distance away.
Kakashi grunted, extremely annoyed.
FLASHBACK END
"Looks like you two got cocky" Naruto remarked.
"But how do we get him before he drowns Shisui?" Sasuke asked, worried about his brother.
At that moment, a greenish glow appeared from the prison which held Shisui and the water began to shake.
All those present felt the giant aura emenating from that sphere.
"Seems like Shisui was bored" Kakashi remarked, followed by the glow getting stronger and the ground shaking slightly "And he decided to join the fight" Kakashi finished, surprising everyone.
Zabuza's, and practically everyone's (except Kakashi) for that mater, eyes widened at what the saw.
When the glow subsided, the prison broke, and Shisui was safe, but inside a giant...
And that was it for this time.
Any guesses as to what is up with Shisui? Comment your guesses. Though it is a bit obvious.
I'm so sorry for the two week wait. But I had a couple of exams the last week. It was crazy. But this is not the end. I probably wont be able to update at the end of this week. But rest assured, I will do by the next wednesday.
I think that there was some misunderstanding on my part where I responded to the reviews. Sorry, i thought those were about the team distribution. Hehehehehe, it was about 2 in morning and I was more than half asleep while posting. The pairings are canon. That's a fix. Sorry again.
And onto the review responses
Duesal Bladesinger: Thanx! keep on reading and reviewing.
Yuzukikuran476: Thank you for the continued support. And I will try my best to update but I'm being pressured into giving all those entrance exams by my parents and all that including the Unit tests at school. it's all a bit hectic. This is sure to reduce my update frequency. Sorry for that. But I will try my best to keep you all entertained.
wahyubison: Sorry dude but like I already said, the pairings are canon. Though i might include elements from those pairings and might make one in the future, but the pairings are final.
bankai777: You are really exited about the chunin exams huh? Well keep reading, i will decide most of the fights instinctually. BUT... I'm always open to suggeestions. Thanks for reading and reviewing.
frozem1: Thanx for reading and reviewing. As for your guesses, they are awesome. But you've gotta read on to find out.
Guest: Thanx for the review. Well you make a valid argument. But read on, you might be surprised.
Reading Pixie: Thanx! keep on reading.
Alexxe: Thanks for reading and reviewing. And I'm glad that you found it hilarious, well, it was intended to be.
NaruHina Legends: Your wish has been granted, my reader. They were a pair from the start, but now they are in the same team too. ofcourse by the vote of the public. Thanx for reading and reviewing.
NemesisDrive: Thanx for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you liked it. Besides, I know that feeling, typing while half asleep.
goldennarmyman: Thanx! I will do my best to keep it upto your expectations.
NecorexSparda Juubi-No-Kishin: That... is a mouthfull name. No offence. But I'm glad that you liked it. Thanx for reading and reviewing.
Jyuubi no Naruto: Thank you! I will do my best to keep you entertained.