Aljan Moonfire does not own Naruto, in any way, shape, or form...
"Speaking."
'Thinking.'
"Demonic Speaking."
'Demonic Thinking.'
"Demonic Mental Conversation."
- Flashback and/or Dream -
"Jutsu" (English Translation)
.-. - scene break
Chapter 13 – The Battle on the Bridge
Across the short expanse of misty bridge, the two opposing groups stared each other down, the echo of Haku's words echoing across the bridge.
Kakashi's mouth set into a grim line beneath his mask. "It seems my estimate was right on the mark." He said softly. Despite how quietly he had uttered the statement, it easily reached the ears of the three males closest to him. He continued speaking, slightly louder this time, "That masked one… He's clearly Zabuza's comrade, where he's standing says it all."
"I'll fight him." Sasuke suddenly volunteered, "Trying to trick us with that stupid act…" he trailed off and then shook his head. "I hate bastards like that the most." He finished, adjusting his grip on his kunai until they were held in a backhanded grip and charging forward.
Meanwhile, on the other side on the confrontation, Zabuza and Haku continued their conversation in a quieter tone. "An impressive young man," the younger male commented impassively. "Even though water clones only have a tenth of the strength of the original… Still, very impressive."
"But we gained the first advantage." Zabuza returned, unmoved. "Go."
"Yes." Haku obeyed. Griping a steel senbon in his fingers the boy spun off, disappearing in a swirl of motion. His thick wooden sandals slipping easily along the soaked path before him, Haku rotated with perfect balance, spinning towards his brunette opponent.
Bewildered slightly by his enemy's unorthodox movement, Sasuke barely had time to shift backwards to a more defensive stance before the other boy was upon him. 'What -?'
The weapons swiftly clashed, and Haku continued to spin into another attack as Sasuke was thrown slightly off balance. Just as Haku's senbon came down to cut into Sasuke's neck, it was blocked by the kunai in his other hand. They continued to clash, evenly matched, as their teachers watched on.
'Ah… So he can actually keep up with that speed…' Zabuza thought speculatively.
Kakashi just continued to watch the confrontation, impassive. Then he spoke to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru, guard Tazuna. I'll take care of Momochi." He said. "We'll let Sasuke handle that one." He continued as he moved forward slightly.
"Ah." Replied the remaining genin quietly in confirmation as he raised his hands into a neutral seal before spreading his senses into the mist surrounding them.
Meanwhile, the two boys that had already begun to fight had paused in an apparent deadlock. "I don't want to have to kill you," Haku told his opponent softly, "but you won't stand down, will you." He finished.
"Don't be foolish." Sasuke returned, smirking, even as a small bead of sweat dripped down his cheek.
"I see…" Haku said, expression hidden behind his mask. "But you won't be able to keep up with my speed the next time." He continued; voice soft as ever. "Plus, I've already gained two advantages."
"Two advantages?" Sasuke repeated, eyes narrowing warily.
"The first is the water on the ground," the masked boy kindly explained, "and the second is that I've occupied one of your hands." Sasuke could almost feel the menace creep into his opponent's soft voice as he finished speaking, "From now on, you'll only be able to run from my attacks."
The masked teen slowly raised his free hand in a half ram seal as he finished his last statement. Then he swiftly blurred through multiple seals with that single hand as his opponent watched on with wide eyes. 'With one hand?'
Kakashi, who had caught sight of the feat, was just as surprised. 'I've never seen that before…' he thought grimly.
Finally Haku stopped, back on a half ram seal, and slammed his foot into the water beneath him. "Sensatsu Suisho!" (A Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death) he declared softly as a cage of sharpened water surrounded them on all sides.
'Doesn't want to kill…' Zabuza thought, stoic as ever. 'Is that true...?' he wondered idly as Kakashi's eye widened in surprise.
Sasuke just smirked slightly and narrowed his eyes in concentration. Haku jumped backwards just as the deadly water needles converged on his position, missing the blur that shot upwards as just as the water jutsu collided with a sharp splash.
As the water fell to the ground without obstruction, Haku's eyes widened behind his mask with slight surprise. 'He's gone!' Suddenly he jerked with realization, raising his mask to the sky just in time to dodge a quick succession of shuriken.
Then suddenly Sasuke's voice came from behind the masked nin's back. "You're pretty slow," he commented, and, feeling a bit cocky, decided to throw the shinobi's words back at him. "From now on, you will only be able to run from my attacks." He finished, raising a kunai as he did so.
Sasuke swiftly moved forward as soon as he finished speaking, spinning much like the Haku had earlier into an attack. Haku barely managed to block the first strike, and was caught completely off guard by the second, the kunai griped in the boy's hand suddenly flying towards his face.
He ducked down to dodge the kunai and was met by the sight of Sasuke's foot rising to meet his mask with a sharp crack that sent him flying back towards Zabuza. 'What?' said missing-nin thought incredulously. 'Haku lost in speed?'
"It looks like I have the advantage in speed." Sasuke declared somewhat smugly, unknowingly responding to Zabuza's thoughts.
Zabuza didn't respond for a moment. Then he lowered his head slightly, chuckling. "Hehehe…" he laughed softly. "Haku, do you realize?" he asked. Then he answered himself. "At this rate we'll be driven back." He told the boy.
Haku sat up and raised his hand to his mask, checking for any damage. Finding none, he stood, a cold mist rising around him. "Well, we can't have that…" the boy said softly, twisting his hands into a strange seal.
Sasuke suddenly shivered, and frowned. 'What's this chill?' Then his eyes widened in surprise as the water around him suddenly rose into the air, forming large mirrors of ice in a dome around him.
"Hyouton Hijutsu: Makyo Hyosho." (Ice Release Secret Technique: Demonic Crystal Ice Mirrors)
.-.
Ten minutes ago, back at Tazuna's house…
Gato's two mercenary bodyguards exchanged smug grins as the voice of Tsunami came faintly from within the house. They broadened even further as her son replied from further away. Then taller of the two swiftly drew his long samurai sword, smashing carelessly through the flimsy wooden door of the dockside home.
Tsunami spun from the sink across the room as the two men stepped arrogantly into the house. The shorter one gave her a once over and asked, "Are you Tazuna's daughter?" taking her horrified expression as confirmation he continued completely unapologetically, "Sorry, but you're coming with us."
"Kyaa!" Inari heard his mother give a scream from where he was washing his hands in the bathroom. Rushing out of the room, he came to an abrupt stop at the sight that met his eyes. Two mercenaries, the same ones that had participated in the execution of his father, stood over his mother, who had clearly been pushed to the floor.
"Mom!" he yelled, panicked, and inadvertently brought the mercenaries attention down on himself.
"What? A kid?" the taller one sneered.
"Don't come over here!" Tsunami screamed at her son, frantic, "Run away!"
"Should we take him too?" he continued, as if the woman hadn't said anything at all.
"We only need one hostage," the shorter of the two replied, reaching for his sword.
'Hostage?' Inari thought, alarm apparent on his face.
"Should I kill him then?" the tall one asked as he revealed a couple of inches of blade.
"Wait!" Tsunami called out franticly before the other could reply. Grimly setting her mouth with determination, she continued, her voice unbelievably steady. "If you even touch that child, I will bite my tongue and kill myself."
As she said this Inari began to cry, so terrified he couldn't do anything but watch as his mother threatened to sacrifice herself for him. "You want a hostage, right?" she challenged, her face pale with stress as her pupils dilated with fear.
More tears trailed down the boy's cheeks as the two men sheathed their swords. "Heh, thank your mom, kid." Said one as the other complained slightly.
"Damn… I wanted to cut something."
"Give it a rest," the shorter one replied, "You just cut up a bunch of stuff. Let's hurry up and take her back."
Inari barely noticed as the voices of the two men faded out of his hearing. Practically collapsing where he stood, wrapped trembling arms around his legs, drawing them into his chest as he continued to cry. 'Mom… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…' he thought. 'I'm so weak, and I can't protect you…' his tears intensified even more at the thought. 'And I don't want to die… I'm so afraid…'
- "You brat!" -
It was then that he suddenly remembered Noriko's words from a week before, as well, as everything else that had happened in the past year, and the words that they all said, the courage and compassion that they all showed.
- "So it's okay for you to pose as the star of your own tragedy and cry all day?" –
- "She's probably gotten sick and tired of crying." -
- "Just go on crying forever then, you brat!" –
His tears finally beginning to stop, he raised his arms to stare at his trembling hands as if he didn't recognize them. 'Mom…'
- "She knows what it means to be strong, just like your father did." -
Finally, he remembered Kaiza's words from so long ago, the first time they'd met.
- "If it's truly important to you, you gotta protect it with your own two hands, even at the cost of your own life!" -
Finally, he raised his arm to wipe away his tears on the sleeve of his shirt. 'They're all so incredible, so cool, so strong…' he stood clenching his fists, 'Will I…will I also be able to become strong…Dad…?'
He rushed to where the door used to be, chasing after the mercenaries that had captured his mom. "Wait!"
Interrupted in their journey back to Gato, they turned to look at the boy who was no glaring at them. "Huh? It's that kid again."
"Inari!" Tsunami called out in concern.
"Get – get away from my mom!" he screamed. 'I can…!' he gave out a loud battle cry as he charged at the two men holding his mother hostage.
"Geez," one of them scoffed, "What a stupid kid." They both took ahold of their weapons, prepared to draw.
"Cut him."
"Sure,"
"Inari!" the two blades flashed and the child's striped bucket hat floated to the ground, untouched. Three pieces of a generic log soon followed.
The two men's eyes widened as the sound of a distinctly female yawn sounded from behind them, followed by a sigh. "Can't you guys be quieter?" a girl's voice asked. "I was trying to sleep."
Inari looked up at the blonde girl in surprise, "Noriko!" he exclaimed.
"But I suppose this isn't the time to be sleeping," she continued idly. Looking down at the boy she had just saved, his mother unconscious beside him, Noriko gave him a small, bright, smile and said, "You did well though Inari, I'll take it from here."
"Well, well, if it isn't one of those loser ninja Tazuna hired," one of them said scornfully as he eyed the girl dressed only in a white sleeping yukata with no apparent weapons, though she had somehow found the time to tie her hitai-ate around her neck.
"Will you be all right?" Inari asked worriedly.
Suddenly there were two long steel senbon needles gripped delicately between the three middle fingers of each of her hands. "Yeah." She said lightly, not even glancing at the charging mercenaries. "Don't worry about it."
Then she turned her attention back to the incoming men. Her hand moving faster than Inari could see, two of the needles suddenly flew between the two, them instinctively dodging to either side. As they continued to dash forward, swing their swords in ungraceful arcs as they did so, one of them said, "Heh, like that'll work against us."
But then Noriko was suddenly gone, and her voice came from the space she had created between the two. "Idiots." She said, even as she drove her two remaining senbon outwards and deep into the rib cages of each samurai, killing them almost instantly.
As they slumped forward to collapse on the ground, Noriko created a couple Kage Bunshin to handle the clean up. The she turned back to Inari. "You know, you may not be such a brat after all," she commented, her long hair fluttering around her body.
Inari looked up at her with wide eyes, a flush filling his cheeks as she continued, "Actually, you may just be pretty strong." As she said this one of her hands rose to ruffle his hair in a friendly manner.
As she removed her hand from his hair, tears began to fall from his eyes, and he furiously wiped them away. "Damn it…" he said, chocking the words out past the tears. "I decided that I wasn't going to cry anymore!" He said furiously. "Now you're going to call me a crybaby or something…" he trailed off.
"What are you talking about?" Noriko asked.
"Huh?" he returned, surprised, as he looked back up at Noriko.
She gave him a soft smile as she tucked her hands into their opposite sleeves, her eyes curving into happy slits. "It's alright to cry when you're happy."
'Noriko…' he thought as he began to cry furiously.
.-.
Less than five minutes later found Noriko fully dressed as she spoke to Inari again. "If they've attacked here than the bridge is probably also in danger." She told him seriously. "I'll be leaving a few clones around, just in case, but you can take care of your mother, right?" she asked, glancing at the still unconscious woman.
"Yup." He said proudly, "Leave it to me!"
"I will then," she returned, a bit bemused by the boy's mood swings. "I'll be going now; see ya later!" and she was gone, leaving the boy to stare at the place she had occupied only a second ago, small, fading wisps of smoke marking her departure.
.-.
Back at the bridge…
Kakashi panted harshly, his Sharingan, though half blinded by the chakra filled mist, still spinning hypnotically in its socket. Ever since Zabuza had increased the intensity of his hidden mist technique, he had been able to land less and less hits on the man.
Ever since those mirrors had formed around Sasuke, things had taken a turn for the worse, to say the least. Sasuke was trapped by the last wielder of the Hyouton Kekkai Genkai, and Shikamaru was separated from him in this mist. Noriko was back at the house, probably still asleep, so he couldn't count on back up from there either.
Sensing movement from behind, he just barely dodged another strike from Zabuza's immense blade. Just as quickly as he struck, he vanished back into the mist again, and his Sharingan was unable to track the movement in the charka rich environment.
Standing, he carefully calmed his pulse, panicking in such a situation was the worst thing he could do, and he knew that. It had been a long time since he'd fought someone of this caliber though, and the stakes resting on him surviving, and winning, this fight were just as high.
'Think, Kakashi… What would he be going after?' His eyes widened in realization as he spun around, turning in the direction of his client. 'Oh no…'
.-.
Zabuza slowly melted out of the mist, approaching his trembling target from behind. He took a step closer, and then involuntarily froze, unable to move another inch.
From the other side of Tazuna, a young voice spoke, "Kagemane no Jutsu, success." He found his limbs moving without his permission as the other boy, the one he had written off as even less of a threat than the other two, mirrored his movements.
Just as they stopped moving Kakashi appeared out of the mist, unintentionally catching Zabuza in between them in an involuntary pincer maneuver. Finally recognizing the boy as a member of that shadow wielding clan, he began to spike his chakra, forcing it into his muscles in an attempt to move.
Shikamaru winced as he felt his control of the technique falter. Turning his eyes to his sensei, he said, "Hurry up Kakashi-sensei. I can't hold him like this for much longer." Kakashi immediately responded to the urging, and was beside Zabuza in a blink.
Just as the shadow released the man the jounin-sensei stabbed at the missing-nin with a clean kunai. The force of the blow carried both combatants back into the mist, Zabuza just barely avoiding being gutted by his opponent as his blood splattered over Kakashi's arm.
Judging the distance from his student to be enough, Kakashi finally withdrew, keeping a careful hold on the bloody kunai, an idea brewing in the back of his head.
.-.
Noriko appeared with a soundless puff of smoke in the tree line nearest to the bridge. Quickly finding the most advantageous position to see the expanse of the almost completed structure from, she closed her eye and lifted the limitations she had placed on her senses to scout out the status of the ongoing battle located there.
Like most demons, kitsune, even when holding a human form for an indefinite period of time, have highly advanced senses. Most young kitsune, much like their mortal counterparts, are born almost completely deprived of senses. Over the course of their maturation they slowly become so advanced that just about everything around them is detected with a clarity that would be unbearable to a normal human.
When Noriko had been changed by Arisa, one of the things the fox had not taken into account was how disorientating, and even painful, her new senses would be to her. Eventually the former Kyuubi had just placed barriers in the young girl's mind that protected her against the overwhelming onslaught of information and feelings. Over the course of the past six years Noriko had adjusted to the change, but when she was not fighting or in need of the acute senses, she put limits on them, lowering her senses to the same level as that of a mortal animal.
Opening her eye once more, the preteen blinked slowly, her vision shifting slowly so that the mist did not inhibit her unduly, the pupil lengthening into a feral slit. Her ears, perking at the abrupt sound of clashing metal, had lengthened into subtle points hidden by her long hair. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, she focused her attention on her jounin-sensei, who currently appeared to be at a disadvantage against Zabuza.
Keeping her attention on the missing-nin, she wasn't too surprised to soon see him going for the bridge-builder instead, completely disregarding the presence of her other teammate. She smirked slightly at his carelessness; that was a mistake.
Sure enough, Shikamaru soon had the other shinobi caught in his shadow, holding him captive even as Kakashi realized what was going on and appeared out of the mist. Even through the mist she could smell his surprise on the wind, but without much prompting from his student the Copy-nin soon had Zabuza away from the client again and bleeding from a large gash in his side.
As they faced off against each other once more, their position apparently reversed, Noriko caught her sensei's movements as he carefully adjusted his grip on the bloody kunai, but didn't make any move to switch weapons or wipe off some of the blood.
She smirked again at this, a notion of what the jounin might be thinking taking root. Confident that the Copy-nin had his battle well in hand, Noriko turned her attention to the final pair of boys and her eyes widened in shock.
Mirrors of ice made a dome of reflections around Sasuke, a familiar masked boy looking down on his opponent from each one. Narrowing her eyes to focus even more, she smiled slightly at the sight of red eyes peering from her teammate's face. It seemed he had finally awakened his Sharingan.
Even as she watched the false hunter-nin moved, the extremities of his body blurring slightly even to her eyes. Senbon shot down at her injured teammate from every angle, and she watched with a wide eye as Sasuke finally went down under the onslaught.
In mere seconds she was at the side of the boy, checking his pulse and removing senbon with care. She sighed with relief as Sasuke began to breathe again, glad that he wasn't dead. She may have had to kill her new friend otherwise.
It was then that she remembered the still standing opponent that now had her surrounded and slowly stood; turning to the mirror she felt the most chakra coming from.
"Hello again, Haku-kun."
.-.
Haku's eyes, cold with resolve, hardened even further as the senbon needles left his hand. He rapidly moved to the others mirrors, repeating the action, the rain of steel becoming almost seamless as he did so. Just as quickly as it had begun the attack ended and he returned to his original position in one the mirrors of the middle level that was directly opposite of his opponent.
Even as he did so his eyes widened in shock as a familiar form practically flew between the spaces in his mirrors to come to an abrupt standstill beside the unmoving body of his younger opponent. He continued to watch as the young girl checked her teammate's pulse and then began to remove the long needles piercing his body in numerous non vital areas.
The silence of the space around them was so complete that he actually heard her breathe a soft sigh of relief as the boy's chest began to rise and fall again. Then her shoulders stiffened almost imperceptibly and she stood, slowly turning to face his actual physical position in the mirrors.
Then she broke the strained silence between them. "Hello again, Haku-kun."
His forced indifference broke at the simple greeting, his eyes, hidden behind the faceless mask, softening in remembrance. Ever since their second meeting, the day after their first conversation, she had always greeted him like that. Landing soundlessly in the small and familiar clearing, as he turned to her she would give that small, true smile and say those exact same words as she tilted her head in slight shyness.
Quickly shifting to a ground level mirror, Haku stepped out of it, his foot landing in a small puddle beneath it. Raising a hand, he gripped one side of the mask and slowly removed it. His eyes looking down, caught between a strange sort of nervousness and shame, he replied, "Hello again, Noriko-chan." His tone much sadder then the last time she had heard those words, no soft smile lighting up his face.
Gazing seriously at her equally blank face, the boy continued, "So you knew all along then." He said quietly.
"Yes," she returned, her face softening at the boy's light and familiar tone. "But I still don't understand… Why do you fight for someone like Zabuza?"
His eyes blanked out for a brief second, as if he were remembering something, then he shook his head and answered, "Can you really not understand? The pain of not having a dream…not being needed by anyone…the pain of simply living?" he asked, staring at Noriko with an emptiness that was frighteningly familiar to the blonde. She could still remember days when the same pain clouded her own eyes.
"What are you trying to say?" she asked, almost afraid, but not quite understanding.
Letting the hand holding his pristine white mask drop to his side, Haku tilted is head slightly and elaborated. "A very long time ago, I had other people who were very dear to me. My parents… I was born in a small, snowy village in Mizu no Kuni." He began, his eyes clouding with memories. "I was happy; my parents were very kind people. But as I grew up, and began to learn the ways of this world, something happened."
"Something…" Noriko repeated softly. "What?"
Raising a trembling hand before himself, Haku continued, "This blood of mine…" but soon trailed off.
"Blood?" Noriko said, repeating Haku's words once more. Then she shook her head, beginning to get frustrated. "So what happened?"
"My father killed my mother, and then he tried to kill me." He said starkly, eyes blank with remembered pain as he lowered his hand once more.
Noriko's eyes widened and a startled "What…" emerged breathlessly from her throat.
"The country of Water was ruled by endless civil wars, and eventually those with 'Advanced Blood' came to be hated. Bloodlines with special abilities, such as mine, became feared," He explained. "Because of those same abilities, clans with such special bloodlines were used as weapons in countless battles. As a result, those clans were then blamed for bringing misfortune and war to the country. After the major wars ended clans had to hide the truth of their own blood, and for those who were discovered, only death awaited."
Haku cast his eyes downward as he continued, the many ice mirrors surrounding them beginning to break apart as Haku's emotions unsettled his control of the technique. "My mother was from one of those bloodlines, but before I realized what I had done, I had killed him. My own father..!"
His face twisted with the remembrance of old pain, the technique surrounding them finally broke down as he began to speak again. "It was then, when I was alone, that I realized the most painful thing. That in this world I was a person who was unwanted."
At these words Noriko's eye widen in shock and only one thought raced through her head, 'He… He's the same as me.'
Raising his gaze to meet Noriko's shocked one, he tried to make Noriko understand, "You said that you wanted to become the leader of your village and have everyone acknowledge you. If someone who acknowledged you to the bottom of their heart appeared, wouldn't they become the most important person to you?" he asked.
Noriko's eye softened in agreement, the faces of those who had acknowledged her racing through her mind. 'Arisa-kaa-san, Iruka-sensei, Saru-jiji…'
"Zabuza-sama took me in, knowing that I was of an advanced bloodline. This blood that everyone hated, he desired it…" he said, a smile crossing his face as he did so.
- "From today on, your blood is mine. Follow me!" -
"I was so happy…" he trailed off, a single tear trailing from his eyes before he wiped it away.
- "Haku, unfortunately, I am abandoning this country. But one day I shall return, and take control of this land! What I need now isn't consolation or encouragement. What I really need is…"
"I know. Please don't worry, I am Zabuza-sama's weapon; please keep me by your side as your tool."
"Heh… Good kid…" –
Silence filled the space between the two, Haku words surrounding them with a strained silence that neither was all that eager to break as both reflected on their pasts. At last, it was Noriko who broke the silence. "You and I…" she said softly, raising her cloth covered hand before her and immediately snagging Haku's attention. "We're even more alike than I had originally thought."
Raising her visible eye the meet Haku's the girl continued, "I noticed it on the day we first met. That kind of pain scars you, and anyone who has been through the same kind of thing can recognize it, if they look. It was part of why I came back to that clearing every day."
Haku's eyes widened at her words but he couldn't help but agree. The reason he had come back, the reason he hadn't told Zabuza-sama of their meetings; wasn't it because he had found something familiar in the small blonde girl's gaze?
Slowly pulling back her sleeve, the girl continued to speak, "On the day I was born, something terrible happened to my village. Though I was a part of the solution to the problem, all of the hate the villagers held for the… 'problem' was reflected on me. And I didn't, no, couldn't understand. By the time I was four I had realized it though. I was different, and my existence… it was unneeded, and unwanted."
"One day though, on the anniversary of that tragedy, their hatred exploded, and they took it all out on me." Pinching the finger of one of her gloves the girl slipped her slim black glove from her hand and extended the limb for Haku to see. "Unlike you though, it took me awhile to get around to killing them."
Haku's eyes widened even further at the sight of the pale, but entirely vicious scar driven through her hand. "That..!"
"Ah." She made a small sound of confirmation, cutting off the boy almost before he could speak and pulling the glove back on as she did so. "Despite what you might think, that attack led to quite a few improvements in my life, but some things… They leave behind scars that last forever."
Just as Haku was about to reply, most likely to agree with the statement, the static of potent electricity exploded through the mist. Haku's eyes widened at the sight of the mist clearing, and they both turned in the direction of the sound of a thousand screeching birds.
Today's New Jutsu:
Sensatsu Suisho
A Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death
In order to utilize this technique, the user gathers water from the air and surrounding environment into a thousand long needles, forming them in a sort of cage around the target. The user then directs them at the target at high speeds, leaping backwards before impact so they won't get caught in the crossfire. While the needles do surround a target from all sides, they don't appear directly above the target, creating an escape route.
Haku is able to perform this jutsu with one-handed seals, allowing him to pin an opponent's arm and attack while they cannot use any techniques themselves.
A low B-class technique.
Hyouton Hijutsu: Makyo Hyosho
Ice Release Secret Technique: Demonic Crystal Ice Mirrors
A Hijutsu (or secret technique) of the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, it creates a dome of twenty-one mirrors made out of ice to entrap an opponent. Twelve remain at ground level, eight are placed above the first twelve and angled toward the ground, and the final mirror is above the rest and facing the ground. The user can then enter one of the mirrors and instantly transport to any of the other mirrors. While moving about they can bombard the opponent with attacks at very high speeds, such that the rest of the world appears to be moving in slow motion in comparison. Also, all the mirrors show a reflection of the user, so it is very difficult for the opponent to discern which mirror they are in.
If the mirror the user is in happens to be broken, they can leap out of one of the fragments to continue their attack or move to another mirror. The technique requires a large amount of chakra to utilize, so the user's movements are likely to become progressively slower the longer the jutsu is maintained. Though they are made from ice, the mirrors are resistant to fire techniques and the cold which emanates from them is enough to even cause snow to fall.
The only known user of this bloodline is Haku and as such this attack is currently limited to him and him alone.
A high A to low S-ranked technique when utilized to its fullest extent.
~ Author's Note ~
Chapter 13….was a pain in the ass. I'm sorry, but between a combination of writer's block and procrastination, this is coming out a lot later than I had originally intended. It turned out better than I had expected, considering the completely avoidable delays, but I still feel a bit iffy about the final result.
On a completely unrelated note though (in other words: Spoiler Alert) have you people read the most recent chapter of Naruto yet? I finally got around to doing so and the entire thing was taken up by the introduction of the previous Seven Swordsmen (as introduced by Suigetsu! What the hell is the point in that again?). I mean honestly, half of the things they were throwing around didn't even seem like real swords; either that or they didn't seem to have one at all! (The only part that might have salvaged it was the now known effect of Zabuza's blade, because a sword that repairs itself using the blood of your enemies is just plain badass.)
Added on top of that is the plain fact that They! Are! Dead! Kishimoto's recent obsession with bringing the dead back to life is really starting to creep me out! It's almost kind of sad really. About every time I read one of the most recent chapters I feel like crying at what Kishimoto is doing to the series, but I just can't stop hoping that he'll fix it somehow! *inset mournful sigh here*
On yet another note, Bleach seems to be looking up though… (End Spoiler Alert)
*another sigh*…Sorry 'bout long rant but I really needed to get that off my chest. Back to the original point; I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and reviews are a bit more than just welcome. Also, I'll try to finish up the Wave arc in the next couple of chaps, and I hope to have the next chapter posted before Tuesday.
'Till the next Author's Note then…
~ Aljan Moonfire ~