Merry Christmas and Happy New Years everyone! Oh and happy holidays for those who celebrate Kwanzaa or Hanukkah. Hope the new year brings good times and good food for everyone! Also fair warning, this chapter will contain some gruesome scenes so for anyone who hates blood, be warned!

...

Naruko-ナルコ-

Chapter 13

Battle on the Bridge

...

Naruko looked at her surroundings and thought of strategies that could knock these goons out. Twelve against one...seemed a little unfair but she was in no position to complain. Its not like that would change anything.

...If I could knock some of these guys off the bridge then I'll have an easier time handling them. Naruko was just hoping these guys were just regular crooks instead of shinobi like those two ninjas back from the beginning of their mission...That is, until she noticed when she noticed something was off. Though it was faint, she could sense chakra emitting from the group. Immediately she put her guard up.

"Well come on now! Lets go collect our bounty!" One of the men shouted. Then as if on cue, they all charged at Naruko.

"Spread out!" Naruko commanded most of the clones "You! Stand by and protect the bridge builder."

"Right!" obeyed the one clone.

As the clones all ran in different directions, Gato's men came charging in with their weapons.

"Arrrgh!" shouted a brute man with an axe.

"Too slow," Naruko whispered as she re-appeared behind him. Like a hacky sack, she kicked him far and towards the edge of the bridge.

"What the-?!" gasped a clone.

"Hes coming for the bridge builder!" shouted another one of Naruko's clone.

"Stay behind me!" Sakura warned Tazuna.

Glancing at the man running towards Tazuna Naruko immediately focused her attention towards him. Once he separated himself from the group she was able to deduce that he was the one emitting chakra.

"I wouldn't get too distracted if I were you," suddenly her clones dwindled down from six to three.

What the-?! Barley dodging one of the men's swords she then counters it by knocking the sword out of his hand.

"I'm the one you should be most concerned about," Naruko couldn't help but get this familiar feeling from him. But where? She didn't recall ever meeting this stranger before...

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"

"Wait don't!" Before Naruko's voice could reach her clone fire quickly accumulated and blasted towards one of the men, engulfing them in flames.

"Arrrgh!" The man dropped his weapon almost immediately and began rolling on the ground to attempt to get the fire off of him.

"Ahh!" Sakura gasped at the gruesome sight.

"Tell me," the man began. "How many?"

"How many what?" Naruko asked, looking at the man who sounded very amused.

"How many people have you killed?" the question had gotten everyone's attention, especially Zabuza's. In fact, he started to chuckled under his mask.

"What an interesting kid you got there Kakashi," he chuckled. "It would've been nice to see her go toe to toe with Haku instead of that Uchiha brat."

"I wouldn't doubt Sasuke if I were you. He's one of Konoha's best young shinobis." Though he'd never admit it out loud in this situation, Kakashi was still very worried about Naruko fighting. Leaving a young girl to fight off a group of older men made him feel ashamed as a teacher that he couldn't help.

I need to take care of Zabuza first. That was a fact. If he could take him down quick, then he'd be able to go to the aid of his students...however, that was easier said than done.

"There's no point denying it," the man smirked. "The look on your face says it all."

"...Killing is a last resort for me. However, if I must then I shall," Naruko replied, ignoring the man burning to death. She was almost unfazed of the sight.

"Naruko..."Sakura whispered.

"Are you afraid?" the clone closest to her asked. "Its true, I've killed before...I didn't tell you this earlier, but during my time with the Akatsuki I was used for the 'easier' missions...mostly assassinations of people who knew too much, many of which had little to no shinobi skills...and people who were at the wrong place at the wrong time..."

"Thats innocent lives!" Sakura shouted "How can you talk so calmly about murdering?!"

"Because...I'm a selfish person." Back then, it was kill or be killed. Something she never expected the pink-haired kunoichi to understand. She knew and accepted the full consequences of killing with little hesitation. She WANTED to come home. She WANTED to reunite with her brother and friends. And to her, that mattered more than the life of someone she knew nothing of. Even if they were innocent. No matter how guilty she would feel later.

"You never answered my question," the man spoke. "I'm quite intrigued to hear."

"...You really think I keep track of that?" Naruko asked as she watched one of Gato's men burn to death.

I'm getting too sloppy, Naruko thought to herself as she watched the man take his last breath.

"Who are you anyway?" Naruko asked the mysterious man.

"You remember Gozu and Meizu right? The demon brothers that you and your team had gotten arrested?"

"Yeah what of it?"

The man then smirked "Well it just so happens there was one more brother. I am Kaizu, the eldest of the Demon brothers."

"Another one huh, well thats interesting I guess."

"You dare belittle my brothers? You got some nerve kid."

If hes as strong as his siblings were this should be easy, Naruko mentally sighed.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted. Without thinking Naruko twisted her head to see Sasuke trapped and surrounded by what looked to be ice mirrors. Immediately her heart dropped.

I gotta take care of these guys quick!

"Please, lets end this. I don't want to fight," Naruko spoke with a worried tone. Being outnumbered wasn't what worry her. No, surprisingly to her, scaring Sakura for life was. As much as she annoyed her, Naruko didn't think someone like Sakura deserved to see another murder occur in front of her.

I wonder...why did she become a ninja?

"Hahahahaha!" Laughed one of Gato's men "Now that is funny."

"Alright...enough talk, lets wrap things up quickly now," spoke Kaizu. Naruko's stomach almost dropped. She should've figured that pleading with the enemy wouldn't worked. But she was growing impatient, and her options were becoming more limited. Sasuke was in danger, Kakashi was in danger, and especially Tazuna and Sakura... She had no choice. Naruko didn't want to deal with these guys any longer.

"...Sorry Sakura," Naruko apologized in advanced. Before Sakura could reply, the blonde shinobi disappeared from her vision.

"Hey! Where'd she go?"

"I'm right here," Naruko replied as she reappeared and slit one of the guy's throat. Immediately after thrusting her kunai into the man's throat blood began to spatter out messily, staining Naruko's coat.

"Oh shit-!" Before any of the other men could move a muscle, Naruko jumped onto the closest men and twisted his neck, immediately killing him. She couldn't even imagine what Sakura was thinking, let alone Tazuna.

"Arrrrgh!" charged one of the other guys. Without batting an eye, Naruko sliced this man's hands off and then use his own sword and plunged it into his chest.

"N-naruko...is that really you?" Sakura said almost in a whisper as she watched her comrade kill with ease.

"Now then," Naruko started as she caught her breathe. "Whos next?"

"Now I can see why the bounty for you is so high. You seem to possess advance shinobi skills for someone so young," Kaizu noticed. "But don't get too cocky. Once I take care of you and claim your bounty I'm going to bust my brothers out of jail."

Glancing to her left, Naruko noticed the rest of Gato's men crowd near each other. From the looks of it they were second guessing themselves, wondering if this was really worth it.

"S-she just killed Daichi and Zuko like they were nothing..." stuttered one of the men.

"Yeah, Kaizu is right. No wonder the bounty on her is so high..." replied another of the guys.

Naruko began to think of all of the nasty and rude comments the villagers used to say to her and wondered if they actually held some truth. She almost felt ashamed and embarrassed, that a girl like her was able to instill fear in the hearts of these fully grown men. Naruko then turned her head to Tazuna and Sakura. The looks on their faces spoke clearly, they were shocked and terrified.

What would Naruto or Sasuke think if they were watching...This was why she hated killing so much. It wasn't the fact she ended someone's life, but the repercussions and stigma that came with it was what made her upset. She didn't want the people she cared about to view her as some kind of monster.

"No way. Sorry, but I'm not risking my life just to kidnap this brat. I have a wife and kids I have to return to, I'm not letting this monster take that away from me!"

"Yeah, this just isn't worth it. Plus, if we were to take her we'd have to worry about that Sharingan guy Kakashi coming after us. And I've heard scary stuff about him."

"Take this!"

"Huh?" Everyone's eyes were immediately everyone's eyes were drawing towards the crystal ice mirrors. "Never fear, Naruto Uzumaki is here!"

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted in relief.

"You idiot! What do you think you're doing giving away your location like that! You've turned yourself into a human target!" Kakashi scolded him.

"Ah? Ahhh! I'm sorry I didn't know, honest!" Naruto cried.

When did he get here? Naruko wondered, she was hoping he hadn't seen what happened earlier. But she was relieved to see her brother safe and sound. And now that he was here he could help Sasuke out.

"Don't worry Zabuza, I'll take care of this kid." Haku stated.

"Naruko look out!" The shout and panic in Tazuna's voice caught her attention all too late. Though she was barley able to dodge the incoming attack, Kaizu had sliced his sword through Naruko's left arm. Severely injuring it. Blood immediately stained more of Naruko's jacket.

"Didn't your sensei teach you to never take your eyes off the enemy?" he asked with a smirk on his face. Naruko gasped at the scene behind Kaizu, the two men who were just alive talking just mere minuets ago layed dead in a pool of their own blood, while the rest of the men took off, fearing for their lives.

They're dead!...But I didn't-

"In case you're wondering, it was me who killed those two guys. Since they were incapable of doing the job I decided that it'd be easier to kill them off, especially since they were beginning to become annoying."

It almost scared Naruko that Kaizu was able to read her thoughts so clearly. She was starting to become more worried.

"And now. The battle is over."

"What do you mean?" Naruko asked, though he had managed to strike and injure her she was still capable of fighting.

"I doused my sword with a paralysis poison that freezes the muscles of whoever the sword strikes. And with the poison beginning to circulate through your blood stream, it won't take long for your whole body to become paralyzed."

No...No! Naruko frantically attempted to move her left arm but it was becoming more and more difficult. And her body wasn't able to move as quick either. Fighting wouldn't do any good.

"Oh don't worry. Its not fatal. After all, Gato did request I return you alive. The poison usually keeps people paralyzed for about five to six hours."

"No...no...Its not over yet!" Naruko shouted. "I'm not going to lose everything again! I'm not leaving my friends and family again!"

Dammit!...what do I do?

"Eat this!" Naruko's head dashed up to see a kunai knife throwing straight at Kaizu. If he had dodged it a second later it would've been a fatal hit.

"If you want Naruko then you're going to have to go through me!"

"S-sakura?" It was the last person Naruko expected to see fighting.

"Oh great! Another brat." Kaizu complained.

Another brat?...Another...another..another...

"I got it!" Naruko exclaimed "Sakura you're the best!"

"Huh?" Though the compliment was completely unexpected, Sakura appreciated it.

"You just gave me great idea!"

"I did?" She looked at Naruko with a curious expression as to what she had even did that was so brilliant. To her, she was just doing her duty as a shinobi...and maybe friend. But she'd have to think that last part over.

I only have time to use one more jutsu before the paralysis completely numbs my body.

"Here it goes! Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!"

Next time:

Naruko-ナルコ-

Chapter 14

Resolve

*Gasp* Did Sakura really do something nice or useful? Though she was annoying in the anime I do think she had potential to be a more likable character. (*cough* Hinata is still best girl though *cough*). Anyways, thanks for waiting for me to update, and please leave reviews and let me know what you guys think!