SMASH!

I breathed hard as I looked at the boulder I had just managed to crumble. It had taken a couple of tries, but it worked.

I looked around me, trees were knocked down from their base and boulders were crumbled down to stones. I felt a little better, but my heart was still aching from the image I saw, and I was still burning with rage.

"Look at you," the voice laughed again. "You're nothing but a sorry little victim."

I snarled loudly and turned to smash a tree, but before I hit it with my bleeding fists, my arms were grabbed and stopped.

"Kaya, that's enough," I heard a soft voice. I looked over my shoulder at Sasuke, and then over my other shoulder at Naruto. My body visibly relaxed as I realized that my friends had come to find me to make sure I was okay.

"Save your energy," Naruto added and they both let me go. I turned around to look at them, my head was down.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked.

"I am now," I nearly whispered it. I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around both of my friends, hugging them both tightly. They looked at one another before hugging me back. We stayed like that for a few moments before I pulled back and they let me go.

"We should head back," Naruto muttered.

I shook my head. "Not right now."

"Why not?" Sasuke asked me.

I turned and looked deeper into the woods. "I want to learn what Kakashi-sensei taught you the other day."

Sasuke shook his head. "Not tonight."

"Yeah, you're tired," Naruto agreed.

"Please!" I begged. "I want to learn it now!"

Naruto looked into my eyes and sighed. "Alright."

"Naruto!" Sasuke growled. "She needs rest!"

"Come on, Sasuke," Naruto smiled. "She may be at Jonin level but she might not know how to control her Chakra properly."

Sasuke shook his head. "I know. But that's not up to us to decide. It's for Kakashi to decide."

"He won't teach me," I grumbled, looking at my fists, covered in blood. I was surprised to find that the pain was somehow soothing, it made my mind a little clearer. "Not now."

"If you don't, I'll teach her," Naruto said.

Sasuke growled but sighed, rolling his eyes. "Kakashi's gonna kill us for this."

"YAY!" I smiled. "I know he's gonna kill us but who cares."

Naruto laughed. "We get into trouble all the time anyway."

Sasuke shook his head and we all laughed.

I breathed. "Okay, where do we start?"

I tossed and turned in my sleep, I was tired after training, but I was sure I wasn't finished.

I woke up as I heard that laughing voice again and I looked around, Sakura was sound asleep on the other side of the room.

I got up and left the house, making sure I didn't wake anybody up. When I was outside, I ran through the village towards the forest. I still remembered how much trouble we got into once we got back earlier tonight, Kakashi was really unhappy with us, mainly me, which wasn't surprising.

I reached the forest and found the spot where we had been training and I took a deep breath. I wanted to train a little bit more.

I made a hand-sign, the sign of the Ram, Hitsuji, and I focused my Chakra just as Sasuke and Naruto had told me to do and I directed it to my feet.

I grabbed a kunai out of the kunai pocket on my left thigh and ran at a tree to gain momentum. When I reached the tree, my feet found the trunk and I started running up it.

I found the mark I had left on the trunk a little while ago and I passed it. When I felt I couldn't go any higher, I scratched a line on the tree to show my mark. I did a back flip and left the tree, landing gracefully on the ground in a crouch position.

I looked up at the new mark, I had to pass it this time.

I stood up and focused my Chakra once more, directing it to my feet. I ran at the tree again and was climbing up it in no time. I passed my mark and made another one above it before I came back down.

It was midnight by the time I was able to look out at the village beyond the forest, the ocean and the unfinished bridge. I had reached the top of the tree at last. I was proud of myself that I had finally gained the same training as my teammates did.

I jumped down from the tree and took a step towards Tazuna's house, which was pretty much home for a little while longer until the bridge had been built, but my step turned into a stumble and I fell, rolling onto my back.

I sighed. "Alright, if I can't walk I'll just sleep here for tonight," I yawned and fell asleep almost instantly.

"Man I knew this would happen! Where is she!?"

"Sasuke, calm down," Naruto murmured. "You don't want Kakashi-sensei knowing that she's gone!"

"But I knew if we taught her she wouldn't wait until she was fully recovered to try it again!" Sasuke growled, but he did lower his voice. "Kaya could be anywhere. And why? Because you had to give in to her whining and make me go along with it!"

"Hey, man, you gave in to it as well!" Naruto growled at him. "It's not my fault we're still not used to her being all happy again! It wasn't even a week ago and she was all quiet and didn't care about anything but getting stronger!"

Sasuke growled, clenching his fists. "We have to find her!"

"Well then, let's go," Naruto murmured.

Naruto and Sasuke were about to run out of the house but they were faced with Kakashi at the front door. "Where are you two going?" he asked. "Out to find our missing kunoichi?"

Naruto and Sasuke tried to think up an excuse, but they didn't need to. "If she wants to run off doing her own thing, then let her. When she comes back, Tazuna's daughter will tell her that we're up at the bridge. It needs to get built quickly."

"Is Kaya gonna be in trouble?" Naruto asked.

"Take a wild guess," Kakashi said, they could hear an anger in his tone. "On a mission like this, she shouldn't be running off doing goodness knows what. She should be helping to get this bridge finished."

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a glance. "Kakashi-sensei, it's our fault she's out there," Sasuke sighed. "We're the ones who tried teaching her that tree-climbing technique and so she wanted to keep practicing. It's our fault she's gone off on her own."

"Well you shouldn't have tried teaching her," Kakashi growled. "Now let's get moving."

Tazuna and Sakura appeared and they started heading off towards the bridge.

Naruto and Sasuke sighed and followed quickly, wondering if Kaya was okay.

A boy was walking through the forest, looking around for something. His eyes crossed over something, a person lying down in the grass, a girl.

He looked at her face and recognized the headband she wore, it had a symbol on the front, of a leaf. The girl was asleep, but an anger burned inside of him and he walked over to the girl. He stopped when he stood above her, looking at her left arm. It had a bandage wrapped around it, and there were a few stains of blood covering the bandage. He clenched his fists and crouched down beside her, his pale face looking down at her with fury. His right hand opened and reached for her neck.

"Do you really think Kaya will be alright?" Naruto asked.

"She'll be fine," Kakashi said. "She can handle anything the forest has to offer."

"Too bad if the forest contains Zabuza waiting to attack us and finds her all by herself," Sasuke muttered quietly to himself. "Then she's no better than a dead person."

"But what if she gets hurt?" Naruto went on. "What if she's used up so much Chakra and Zabuza's in the forest and he finds her? What happens then?"

"She'll be fine," Kakashi sighed.

"But, what if she gets hurt?"

"She can take care of herself, you know that," Kakashi said.

"Yeah, she knows how to fight," Sakura smiled. "She'll be fine. No one can hurt her."

The boy reached out for the girl's neck, his muscles tight with fury, he was going to get rid of this girl quickly.

This girl was gonna kill him, he thought. She'll pay with her life!

The girl's eyes flickered and she mumbled something, turning her head and continuing to sleep. Her body showed many signs of exhaustion and pain, she had many scratches, none that wouldn't heal, and her body was shaking, not just from the cold weather.

Suddenly, the boy's hand moved away from her neck as something touched his heart and he no longer felt angry at her, but sudden sympathy had entered his heart.

I murmured a protest as someone nudged me. "You'll catch cold if you sleep here," I heard someone's voice.

My eyes shot open and I sat up quickly, my heart thumping and my body tensed up, ready for a fight.

"Calm down," the voice said and I looked at a boy around my age, wearing a pink kimono. That was really odd.

"Who the heck are you?" I asked.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" I could tell my question wasn't going to be answered, but this boy, he was curious about something, and I wanted to know what.

"I'm training," I murmured, looking up at the sky. "Kakashi-sensei will be mad at me for being out so long." I looked at the boy. "What about you? What are you doing out here?"

"I'm gathering herbs for a friend of mine, he's hurt and I want to help him get better faster," the boy said.

"Herbs?" I thought for a moment. "Do you need any help?"

"That would be kind of you," the boy smiled. His face was so pale, his hair was jet black like mine, and his eyes, they were so brown and calming that it was hard to think of him as anything but kind.

I got up and I followed the boy through the forest until we stopped at a clearing. I saw a lot of plants that looked the same, there was a basket there as well. We sat down near the basket and started picking the herbs, putting them in the basket.

"I noticed that headband you're wearing. You must be a ninja then. And this training that you're doing, is it for something dangerous?" the boy asked me.

I was a little cautious, villager-looking person or not, I had to stay on my guard. "No, I'm just developing my skills so I can get stronger. My sensei is always saying 'Kaya, you're already at Jonin level, so take a break,' but I'm not strong enough yet. But also, in a way, you could say it is for something dangerous."

"What dangerous thing?" the boy asked. "Has it got something to do with the bridge mission ninja have been assigned to help with?"

"No, not really," I sighed. "Long story short, my Clan was wiped out and I'm trying to get stronger to destroy the person who did it."

"Who did it?"

"A man named Orochimaru," I growled the name. "But anyway, I still need to get stronger because of the mission me and my team were assigned to do here."

"But are you doing all this training for yourself?"

"Huh? What the heck do you mean?"

"You see, when there's someone special you want to protect, then you become amazingly strong," the boy murmured. "The person I'm gathering these herbs for, I've been with him for many years, I fight to protect him, and I would give up my life for him. That is what makes me strong."

Images flashed in my head. "Naruto! MOVE!" "Bridge builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with every last scrap of energy I've got."

I nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"But still. Are you doing all this training for your own benefits? Just to protect yourself?"

The boy was looking at me, waiting for an answer. My mind went straight to one place, and as much as I tried to shake it off, I couldn't.

"I don't want to lose anyone else," my body was shaking and tears threatened to fall. My fists clenched up and I dropped my head, trying to hide my face. "I couldn't save them all those years ago. I don't want that to happen again!"

"It's okay," the boy was a little panicked. I settled down after a few moments and my tears dried up, but my body still shook and my fists never relaxed.

"I won't allow anyone else to die," my voice was stronger now, but shaky. "That's why I have to get stronger. Not just to kill Orochimaru, but to stop anyone close to me getting killed."

The boy smiled. "It's good to know that you fight to protect your friends. Because of that, you will be strong."

I nodded. "I should go. I've been out here way too long. And the sooner this bridge gets built, the better."

I felt anger burning within the boy, but I was too shocked to mention it. "Why are you here to help this country anyway?"

I looked at the boy as I stood up. "Because we were asked to do it. I swore that I would protect Tazuna and get the bridge built no matter what. I never go back on my word. If Zabuza comes to kill Tazuna, I'll take him on. I won't let that creep kill him!"

Fury churned up now, I was a little wary. Who was this guy? And why was he so mad?

I shrugged and turned. "See ya around, maybe."

"Wait-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Both of us were alert as we heard the scream. I recognized the voice and I growled. "Tsunami's in trouble!"

I no longer cared who the heck that guy was, I cared about the safety of the people I was supposed to protect. In a heartbeat, I was tearing through the forest, kicking up dirt as I ran. I found the kunai I left on the ground where the boy found me asleep and I picked it up, not bothering to slow down.

Every heartbeat I was getting more and more nervous. I pulled to a skidding stop at the end of the forest and I looked out onto the planks near Tazuna's house. Two men were dragging Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami away from the house, she was all tied up.

I thought for a moment. If I rushed in and tried to save her, those guys could kill her with the samurai swords they had. I tried to think of a way that I could get her out of their hands. If I used my Lightning Speed, I could easily get her away from them, but I could risk accidentally dropping her or the planks would hurt her. I had to find a way to avoid hurting her.

"STOP!"

I looked over to a kid standing at the front of Tazuna's house, the men turned and looked at him. "Give my mother back!"

"Inari, no!" Tsunami yelled.

"Shut up," one of the men yelled and hit her over the back of the head, she fell to the ground, unconscious. Both men grabbed their swords. "Let's waste this kid."

The men ran at Inari, pulling out their swords. Inari was suddenly terrified.

I saw my chance and I made my move.

SLAM!!!!!

The men laughed and put their swords away, but Inari turned into a log. "What!?"

They turned around and looked at me, putting Inari down beside me.

"Who the heck is that girl?" one of the men growled to the other.

"I don't know Zori, but let's waste her too," the other guy growled.

"When did you get here?" Inari asked me.

"I'll explain in a minute," I murmured as the men ran at us. I pulled out two shuriken and thew them.

The men pulled out their swords and smacked the shuriken away and put the swords back in their sheaths. "Try something else, girly!" the guy named Zori said.

I smiled. "I just did."

The guys still ran at me, not realizing that the two shuriken behind them, were about to kick them in the backs of their heads.

Inari's eyes widened as two clones of me hit the men and they fell to the ground. The clones disappeared.

I walked over to the men with the rope I untied from Tsunami and I tied them up with it. I then went back to Inari.

"So.. how did you do that?" Inari asked me.

"I'm a ninja," I murmured. "I quickly made a clone of me and made it look like you. With my Lightning Speed, I was able to make the switch without anyone being able to notice. I used more Ninjutsu and made my clones turn into shuriken, knowing these guys would knock them away, and then they appeared behind them and took em down."

"That was so excellent!" Inari smiled. I was surprised to see a smile on the kid's face, I smiled in return.

"I can count on you to take care of things now, right?" I asked him.

"Of course," he looked at me.

"Where are the others?"

"At the bridge with grandfather," Inari said.

"Thanks," I turned and ran off at normal speed. "It's not easy being a hero. Sometimes even heroes fall. But you just gotta keep trying and give it your best."

"Right!" Inari smiled and I finally used my Lightning Speed to tear through the village towards the bridge, although I had no idea where I was going.

I stopped in front of an old man. "Excuse me. Do you know where the bridge is?"

The man was shocked, I wasn't surprised why. He shakily pointed in the direction of the bridge and I nodded my thanks before using my Lightning Speed to take off again, kicking up dirt as I ran.

"This bridge is so cool!"

"It should only take a few more days and it will be built," Tazuna said.

"That's good. Let's just hope we don't run into Zabuza before then," Sasuke murmured.

"I'm still worried about Kaya though," Naruto sighed. "I hope she's alright."

"You should be more worried about yourself," came a voice and the mist around the bridge got thicker and thicker, soon enough, they couldn't the end of the bridge.

"So, you still got the kids with you, eh Kakashi?" the voice laughed. "But what about the other one? The Jonin-leveled girl?"

"She's been out training all night so she's resting today," Kakashi growled and the four ninja got kunai's ready.

They heard the laugh again and they turned to see Zabuza, finally with a shirt on, a black one, and the tracker kid beside him.

"Haku, you can take out the blond-haired boy," Zabuza smiled.

"Yes," the tracker said.

"So, you're not a tracker?" Naruto took a step forward, in front of the group now.

"I was. But this mask is merely a disguise now," Haku murmured. "I work for Zabuza."

"So you really were trying to save him.." Sakura muttered.

"No," Haku replied.

"Haku, go now," Zabuza said. "The sooner we finish this, the better."

"Yes," Haku said and ran forward at Naruto.

"Such speed!" Kakashi exclaimed and was about to run forward to help Naruto, who was as stunned as a rabbit and couldn't move.

SLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Haku was thrown back and landed at Zabuza's feet.

"What!?" Zabuza growled and looked up at the person that saved Naruto.

Naruto fell back and looked up at his rescuer. "It's not the first time I've saved you."

I breathed as I looked over my shoulder at Naruto, who was happy and scared at the same time. "Kaya, you are so cool!!!! That was an awesome entrance saving me like that!"

"Save it for later," I murmured. "First we have to take out these guys."

"You are very fast," I heard the tracker kid murmur. Somehow, I thought I recognized the voice, but I shrugged it off.

"It's called Lightning Speed," I shrugged again. "Which means I'm faster than you are. So if I were you, I'd turn-tail and run before I wipe the floor with you."

"Such big talk for a runt," Zabuza laughed.

"I'll show you who's the runt!" I growled.

"Kaya, where have you been!?" Kakashi growled at me.

I cringed and looked over my shoulder at him. "Training," I smiled innocently.

"Then you should be resting!"

I growled back at him. "You sound like a father scolding his kid!" Then I was struck by my own words. Did I just say that? I thought to myself. I was as shocked as Kakashi was. My eyes hardened and I turned back to face our enemies., my head dropped.

"Didn't you just threaten to wipe the floor with me?" the tracker asked in a calm voice.

A feeling came to my heart, one that I remembered better than anything, and it burned me up. My fists clenched and my body tensed up more than it ever had. I lifted my head and growled, my eyes were dark with pure hatred. "You've come here to harm the bridge builder... I won't let you! So yeah, I'm gonna wipe the floor with ya!"

"Why do you want to protect him so much?" the young boy asked me.

"Because he's a brave man with a noble dream," I growled. "What he's doing is for the benefit of this entire land. He wants to save these people from the loser you work for! You're like a disease; by attacking one, you infect all! I won't allow it!"

"Haku," Zabuza growled. "You take out the others. The girl is mine!"

Haku nodded and in a second, he was running towards us with his full speed, intending to attack my comrades. I went to stop him but Zabuza was in my way.

"Back off!" I growled and threw a kick at him. He grabbed my leg and reached for his sword with his other hand.

I wouldn't let him strike me down with his huge blade. I turned a little and put my hands on the ground, lifting my weight onto my hands and kicked my other leg up, hitting Zabuza in the chin, sending him flying upwards.

I stood up properly and looked to see what happened to my friends, Sasuke was holding Haku back by fighting him. Sakura and Naruto were protecting Tazuna. Kakashi was at my side.

"Help Sasuke. I'll fight Tazuna," Kakashi said to me.

I nodded. "Got it."

Kakashi ran towards Zabuza and I used my Lightning Speed to stand beside Sasuke. "You alright?" I asked him.

"I am now," Sasuke breathed. "This guy's tough."

"We can take him on," I growled and looked at the boy, but I was suddenly kicked and thrown away from the group, Sasuke was the same and landed beside me.

I looked up at the boy, he made a really weird hand-sign. "Secret Jutsu," he said. "Crystal Ice Mirrors!"

Before Sasuke and I had the chance to get up, doors of ice were all around us and Haku, in a circle and they came up above us in a sort of point, like a roof, and there was one directly above us.

"Now, we'll begin," Haku said. "And you'll find out what speed, really means."

"Oh yeah?" I growled and jumped to my feet, Sasuke got up too. But my eyes widened when I realized that the masked boy was sinking into one of the ice doors, or walls, or whatever they were. He looked just like a reflection in a mirror.

"What the?" Sasuke murmured. "What is this?"

"Who cares?" I growled. "We just have to get out of here!"

"There's no escape," Haku said. "In my house of mirrors, your chance of escape, is zero."

"Fine, we'll just he to take you out!" Sasuke growled, clenching his fists. "You ready, Kaya?"

"You bet," I smiled and we were back to back in a heartbeat.

The mirrors shined white and when it dimmed, every mirror had Haku in it.

"Which one is the real one?" I grumbled.

"Look in each mirror as hard as you like," Haku said. "You will never discover the secret."

Needles suddenly rained down on us and we were struck by every one of them, scratching over our arms, legs and shoulders, but no vital spots.

I looked down at my left arm and breathed, the needles hadn't struck it. "Okay, new plan," I growled and started making hand-signs. Uma, Tori, Inu, I! "Fire style! Twin Fire Dragon Jutsu!"

Fire escaped my mouth and took the shape of a dragon, and then, because I had to make a few adjustments, another one came out.

The two dragon looking streams of fire attacked each mirror, going back and forth, slamming into every one.

"They'll have to find the real one sooner or later!" I smirked.

"Look out!" Sasuke yelled as more needles were thrown down. They first cut through my fire dragons, and then they stabbed into me. One of them went through the bandage on my left arm and hit the wound that still needed to heal, the stitches that Tsunami put on it while I was sleeping wouldn't hold it together if this kept up.

My arm started burning up and blood soaked the bandage. It became too much for the bandage to hold and the blood started running down my arm, dripping from my fingers and staining my skin. The warm, sticky moisture reached my palm and I shook it off.

"Kaya! Your arm!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Are you gonna be okay!?"

"Worry about yourself, Sasuke," I said to him.

Sasuke sighed. "I'll try a fireball Jutsu."

My mind was running through possible ideas of how this Jutsu worked. Haku said they were mirrors, so it proved that only one of them was real and the others were merely a reflection, not clones at all. Then I realized something that I missed, a flash of movement.

I scanned it over and over in my head, which was all happening in a matter of mili-seconds. A flash from one mirror to another. I scanned it one more time and I made out the image, it was Haku, jumping out of one mirror and moving on to another.

"I understand now," I murmured. "I know how he does it."

"How?" Sasuke asked, right before he started making a hand-sign.

"He has a high speed, which helps him move from one mirror to the next, and so on and so on. With this speed and reflections in every mirror, you think that he's attacking from every direction, but he's not."

"So he moves so fast that you never notice," Sasuke breathed. "Now I get it."

I nodded. "We have to use this to our advantage. But we just have to find a way to do that- AH!"

"Kaya-"

Both of us fell to our knees as the needles stabbed into our legs. I recognized them as senbon needles.

"You can't defeat me," Haku said. "But if you surrender now, I won't have to kill you."

"We never give up," Sasuke said and looked at me. I looked back and we both nodded, standing up and going back to back again. "We know the secret of this Jutsu, and now we're going to do something about it."

"But, how?" Haku was clearly surprised. "Kaya, you may have Lightning Speed, and perhaps sharp eyes, you too," he added to Sasuke. "But no one can uncover the secret."

I sighed. "I explain a lot of things," I complained. "But I guess it won't hurt me to tell you."

Haku didn't move an inch.

I looked around at every mirror. "You see, people with Lightning Speed can run around as fast as lightning can strike, seeing nothing but blurs, but...." a smirk crossed my face. "The mind is specially adapted to seeing a blur and making it a perfect image in matters of mili-seconds. That's how we don't crash into anything."

"So, what does that have to do with the secret of my Jutsu?" Haku asked.

"Because it's the same," I replied. "My sharp eyes picked up the blur of you shooting out of a mirror and shooting into another one. Because you were a blur, that doesn't mean my mind wasn't able to scan it and make out the proper image of you. That's how I know the secret."

Haku raised eight senbon needles, four in each hand. "Oh well. That just means I'll have to kill you now!" He threw the senbon at us.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto, don't worry about me" Kakashi said, getting up off the ground. "Zabuza is getting strong, I admit it. But I can handle him."

Kakashi was a fair few metres away, and blood dripped from many wounds.

Zabuza laughed and made a hand-sign. "Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

The mist got even thicker from Zabuza's Jutsu and it was impossible to see anything.

An enemy you can't see and can't hear, Kakashi thought with his eyes closed. It's been a while since I faced anyone this tough.... Relax, think. Where will he strike?

After a few moments, Kakashi's eyes snapped open and he turned around. "The Bridge Builder!"

Kakashi ran back towards his comrades.

Zabuza ran at Tazuna from behind and everyone turned around to stare in horror. Kakashi appeared in front of Tazuna with his arms out to protect him.

"Too late, Kakashi!" Zabuza laughed and grabbed his sword, pulling it in front of him and slashing it down.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"That was Sakura's voice," I murmured, struggling to pick myself up off the ground.

"What's happening to her?" Sasuke was the same. "Where's Kakashi?"

"No idea," I managed to sit up. "But we have to worry about ourselves at the moment."

We had injuries all over us, none were very deep, but with any more blood loss, they could possibly become fatal.

I looked at my left arm, blood as all over it, all because a few needles broke through the bandage and hit the wound.

"You have no chance against me," Haku said. "Why don't you just surrender and give up on this silly mission of yours. You will never stop us from killing the Bridge Builder."

I growled. "Oh yeah? We'll just see about that!" I got up and stood my ground. "We'll die to protect the Bridge Builder!"

"Very well," Haku gave a little laugh. "Then I'll kill you now."

Watched as more senbon needles came down at us. Sasuke and I were thrown away from each other and more needles stabbed into our bodies. Two struck the wound on my left arm and the pain only got worse.

I struggled to sit up. "No way," I murmured, my voice shaky. "I'm not going to die here. So that means you won't be able to kill Tazuna!"

"Kaya! Watch out!"

I looked over to Sasuke and then up at the blur flying straight for me. My mind scanned it and I knew it was Haku coming at me. I tried to get up, but my body was in so much pain, it was hard for my brain to figure out which muscles I wanted to move.

"Kaya, no!"

I looked over to Sasuke, he had gotten up and he was running towards us, to protect me.

"Sasuke, get back!" I growled. "He'll kill you!"

"I'm killing you first!" Haku growled.

"Oh no you don't!"

I stared up at Haku, who was just hit by something invisible, and sparks flew everywhere above me.

"What!? A barrier!? But, how!?" Haku exclaimed.

A barrier? I thought. But I can't put up any barriers!

"Kaya, you can't give up," I heard a voice in my head. My eyes widened as I recognized it, better than I recognized anything in the world! "You're a ninja now. You can't give up on your dreams. This is only a one time thing, I won't protect you again. But don't let anybody throw you aside. You're stronger than that. You know what you have to do, my daughter."

A smirk crossed over my face. "Yes, father. I understand."

"What?" Haku and Sasuke exclaimed.

"Sasuke, get behind me and whatever you do, stay behind me," I told him. "This is going to be worse than my Tiger's Roar."

Sasuke looked at me for a few moments before nodding and running to stand behind me.

"Okay," I growled. "It's time to end this!" I put my palms together, allowing the blood from my left arm to smear onto my right hand, this was for a special Jutsu.

My mind trailed back to many years ago, when I was taught this Jutsu. I was three years old...

"Hello, Kaya."

"Hello, father," I smiled as I looked up from my toy blocks and dolls.

"What are you building there?" he asked, sitting down beside me, looking at what I was doing with my blocks.

"I'm building our house," I told him. I held up two dolls, a man and a woman. "These dolls are you and mummy."

My father smiled at me. "Okay, but what about this one?" he picked up my other doll.

"That one is me," I said. "It's our family, just the three of us living in our house."

My father laughed. "You know, Kaya? It's not just the three of us that is our family. There are more."

"More people in our family?" I echoed. "Who are they? How come I've never seen them?"

"You have," my father said and put the doll down with the other two. "Our last name is Haruta, which means balanced peace. It's another name for the Yin Yang. We are gentle and kind, but once tempered, we have a destructive side."

"Wow," I said, my eyes shining. "But, what about the rest of our family?"

"There are more Haruta's in this village. It's called the Haruta Clan."

"The..... Haruta.... Clan?"

"That's right. Every member of the Haruta Clan I like a family. We are all joined together, not related by blood, but by heart."

"By heart?"

"Yes. We're all the same. Most of us are too kind and do no like our destructive side, and others are opposite. But once we're all together, we're balanced out."

"Wow.... so what about Sasuke and Naruto? Are they Haruta's too? Are they like our family?"

"No," my father laughed. "Sasuke is from his own Clan, Naruto is from another family. They are not Haruta's."

"Does that mean that Haruta's are special to the Leaf Village?" I was really curious about this new knowledge, I wanted to know more.

"In a way, yes," my father put a hand on my head. "But everyone in this village is special in their own way, from the youngest baby, to the oldest elder. Even you, my dear."
"I'm special?"

"Very special,"my father nodded.

"I didn't know I was special... I knew I had Chakra and all that stuff like you and mummy, but I didn't know I was special."

My father thought for a moment, I could tell he was thinking deeply. "Kaya, I'm going to show you something, but you have to promise me not to use it unless your life is on the line or you have to use it to protect someone very important to you."

I thought and then nodded solemnly. "I promise. What is it?"

My father looked around the room before looking back at me. "It's a Jutsu that not many people in the Haruta Clan can do. It was created by your great grandfather, who also created this Clan. His name was Daisuke Haruta, one of the greatest ninja in the world. And he called his creation, the Lightning Flame. Only those Daisuke thought worthy of teaching knows this Jutsu, he even taught my father, Daitaro Haruta. But it can come at a price." The whole time, he was whispering. "Shiori told me not to teach you this, but I think you are capable of it."

I was excited, I wanted to know what it was. "What price does it come at?"

"Most people do not know how to fully control this Jutsu, making their Chakra too weak or too powerful for it. In the end, most of them were killed by their own Jutsu."

My eyes widened, now I was a little bit scared. "Can you do it? How many people are able to do it now?"

My father sighed. "I am the only Haruta member able to perform the Lightning Flame, the others all died. Maybe it's because my grandfather was the one who created it and I have a better knowledge of controlling it."

"Can you show me how it works?" I asked.

"I'm afraid that I can't. It's too loud to perform without being caught out," my father shook his head. "But I'll teach you the hand-signs."

I nodded. "Okay, teach me"

My father smiled. "Firstly, you need to have your own blood on both palms of your hands. If you do this right at the start of a battle, you won't have any blood on you to put on your palms, so you'll have to either grab a kunai or dig your nails into your palms until they bleed. Next, the hand-signs."

I took in everything he was showing me. "Why do you need the blood?"

"Otherwise, it won't work and it will kill you for forcing it. The Jutsu can only be created by your blood."

I was extremely curious. "What if someone got my blood on their hands and performed the Jutsu? What would happen to them?"

"Depending who they were," my father answered. "If they were strong enough, they might be capable of the Jutsu, if they weren't, they would die. Haruta or not."

I nodded. "So, what are the hand-signs?"

I watched closely as my father showed me the hand-signs, and I took it all in carefully.

"When I leave this world, you will be the last one to carry on the Lightning Flame," he told me. "So be careful how and when you use it."

"I understand."

I growled and looked up at the reflections of Haku. "I'll show you my true power," I hissed and dug my nails into my palms, just to make sure. I felt the pain as my nails dug deep, and more warm, sticky liquid came from my body. I put my hands together, making the first hand-sign, and then came the others. Ushi, Ne, Tora, Tatsu, Mi, Saru, U, Hitsuji, Inu, I!

My eyes glittered as an evil smirk crossed my face. "Time to see what this Jutsu really does."

I held my left palm out in front of me, facing up, with my right hand over my left wrist. I felt my Chakra going down my left arm, and it was painful as it passed my wound. When it reached my palm, I felt more power than I ever could have.

"What is this!?" Haku growled as I felt my Chakra escaping my body and flowing all over the place. "This new energy. It's impossible!"

Sasuke looked at me with confusion in his eyes.

Suddenly, a white and blue ball of Chakra became visible on my left palm, and bolts of electricity flowed off of it, striking the ground and ripping it up. It was everywhere, and the sound of booming thunder echoed around the house of mirrors, making it louder than it probably should have been.

"Lightning Flame!" I growled.

"Is that really.... Kaya?" Sasuke murmured to himself.

Once I thought I'd built up enough energy for my Jutsu, I looked up at the mirrors again. "Alright. Let's end this here and now!"

I jumped up at a mirror and threw my arm forward. The attack hit the mirror and shattered it to pieces.

I touched the ground and turned. "Okay, one down, the rest to go- SASUKE BEHIND YOU!" I screamed, realizing I had made a horrible mistake.

Sasuke turned around and his eyes widened with fear as he saw ten needles coming at him.

I let my Jutsu fail and I begun another Jutsu. "AH!" needles stabbed into my arms.

Sasuke grabbed a kunai from his kunai pocket and was prepared to defend himself, but his reflexes weren't quick enough.

"Sasuke!" I yelled and ignored my pain, making hand-signs. Saru, U, Mi Tora, Ne! I slammed my hands into the ground "Fire style, Fire Prison Jutsu!"

I heard the rumble in the ground and fire came up all around Sasuke, forming a cage. Haku, who was flying at him to attack him, ran into the cage and was burned.

I breathed heavily. This was taking up a lot of my Chakra. And only using Taijutsu would fail. Even with my speed, the directions he flew to to go to another mirror would confuse me, I wouldn't keep up.

I heard splintering ice and I looked over my shoulder to see the mirror I shattered, growing back and looking brand new!

The only way to bring this down is by attacking Haku directly, I thought.

"My eyes took a while to adjust," Sasuke said. "But they've finally adjusted."

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, bringing the prison down and running to his side.

Sasuke was looking at the ground.

"Sasuke?" I murmured.

Sasuke finally lifted his head and blinked. There was not only determination in his eyes now, but his eyes were no longer black. They were crimson red, with a black ring around the pupil with only one little symbol on it like half of the Yin Yang sign.

My eyes widened. "The Sharingan!"

"It's not complete, but it'll have to do," Sasuke smiled.

Haku growled. "I'm getting impatient with the two of you!" He grabbed more needles and threw them at us.

We picked up a senbon needle each and we easily diverted the oncoming needles. Now that Sasuke had the Sharingan, he would be able to interpret Haku's moves, and I would be able to see them coming at us.

I'm aiming at their vital spots now, Haku thought. But I can't get a direct hit. And with Kaya's sharp eyes, she'll know which mirror I move to. With the Sharingan and her abilities, they're at a better advantage. They might be able to beat me. No matter, I'll just have to catch them off guard! Starting with Kaya!

Haku moved to a new mirror, my eyes picked it up. "Turn around!" I said and Sasuke did. I knew where Haku went, and we were ready for him.

"I'm afraid you've made a mistake," Haku said. "A fatal mistake."

I was trying to interpret what it was he meant, but I couldn't figure it out.

SLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"AHHH!!!!!"

"K-K-Kaya!!!!!!!" Sasuke exclaimed.

I stood there, my eyes shaking, my whole body shaking. A huge pain in my back, next to my spine. I looked over my shoulder and my eyes widened as I saw Haku standing there, with Sasuke's kunai in his hand, stabbing it into my back. "I told you," he said.

"Kaya, no!" Sasuke yelled and kicked Haku away from me. It hurt when the kunai came out of my back, and I collapsed to my knees.

"Kaya, are you okay? Come on, we have to take him out! What did he do anyway?"

"A clone," I murmured, my voice tight with pain. "Sasuke, listen to me. You have to get out of here. We're no match for him."

"No, Kaya we can't give up!" Sasuke said.

"It's no use," Haku said.

Sasuke looked up and was thrown away from me as Haku struck him with a punch to the gut.

Now, I'll take out Kaya, Haku thought. She's dead!

I looked up at Haku in the mirror, he was the only one. He jumped out of the mirror and came down at me.

I've got to stop him!

I can't move, I thought. Too much pain. I'm afraid, this must be it.

"Kaya!"

I looked up. "Sasuke!"

My eyes shut tight as the pain in my back increased.

SLAM!!!!!

I opened my eyes and saw Sasuke standing protectively in front of me, senbon needles stabbed into him, and Haku, lying on the ground a few metres away from us.

"Sasuke, you beat him!" I exclaimed and looked up at him. But when he looked at me over his shoulder, my eyes widened. "No....."

"You should see the look on your face," Sasuke murmured, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. His eyes were black again, and blood dripped from his mouth.

"Why did you do it!?" I asked. "Why did you save me!?"

"Because you saved me," Sasuke replied calmly. "Thank you, Kaya."

Sasuke started falling back and I stood up, ran the short distance between us, caught him and fell to my knees again. "Sasuke!!!!!"

"Kaya, you have an important destiny to fulfill," Sasuke said. He raised a hand, shakily, and reached up to my cheek. "Promise me, Kaya. Don't let, your dream die...."

His hand never reached my cheek, it fell back down and Sasuke's eyes closed. He gave one final breath and I couldn't feel any more breathing from him. No emotions, no movements, nothing.

"Sasuke........." tears filled my eyes.

"He was a true ninja, worthy of honor," Haku said as he got up. "Risking his life to save his friends. It's too bad he had to die."

Tears streamed down my face as I knew that Sasuke wasn't coming back. He was dead, all because he risked his life to save me! "SASUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.