Beta-ed by the lovely Jenny-Cat-Miaow. XD
Things as they are
Chapter 5
"And here," Tazuna motioned grandly, "Is my house!"
Sasuke resisted the urge to twitch his eyes and rubbed his head. Lately he had been getting massive headaches, and it often shorted his tolerance. Tazuna's house was surprisingly small for the one whose bridge would ultimately save the Wave Country from both poverty and Gatou. In fact, he had seen storage houses bigger than this. But apparently, the man did not think of his domain as small. Sasuke knew, once again, better than the members of his team, just what it was going to be like living with Tazuna.
"Well, just take any ol' room! The ones upstairs will do!"
Sasuke followed Naruto and Sakura up the stairs. Tomorrow, he thought, We'll train, right? Tree climbing. He snorted, earning a suspicious glance from Naruto and Sakura. That's just a waste of my time and right now, with this damned headache I don't even have the patience to pretend that it is.
He dreaded the next day already.
"You'll all die."
Silence reigned at the dinner table as Inari, Tazuna's grandson, spoke. The three Genin and one Jonin processed the pessimism slowly. Sasuke continued eating his rice, knowing his comment wasn't needed this time. Inari, to him, was a useless, pitiful boy. He had no need to change the boy's views at all. Besides, he wasn't Naruto, no matter the urges he was now feeling to tell the boy off for being such a pessimistic cry baby.
Sakura and Naruto said nothing; Naruto was indifferent to the boy's opinion and Sakura was slightly concerned, but not enough to speak up. Kakashi said nothing; it was hard to determine if the Jonin was pleased or annoyed - after all, most of his face was covered up. Sasuke still had a better idea than most, seeing as he'd spent an entire month with the man, but this Kakashi was different so he supposed he was on the same page as everyone else.
Which reminded Sasuke - why hadn't Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate up and revealed the Sharingan? Did he not have it? Or was Zabuza too weak for him to feel the need to use it? Kakashi had really, almost been toying with the nuke-nin the whole fight. He hadn't ended up in a water prison and he hadn't dropped from exhaustion afterwards. Had the Sharingan always been that taxing? That's something I'll have to ask him later, he decided, In a Naruto-ish way. He already dreaded it.
"It's useless against Gatou." Sasuke sighed. This kid had his priorities skewed if he thought a mere civilian could stand up to a Shinobi. Even a genin could take Gatou down. What made the man any different was his ability to manipulate those around him into doing his bidding with the promise of money.
Inari is annoying, Sasuke thought. He keeps implying that we are not good enough. That we cannot defeat Gatou. That Wave Country is doomed forever. He snorted. At least I want to do something about Itachi. This boy will do nothing. He is nothing, compared to me.
That urge to yell at the kid had grown, so much so that even as he was in his world, he would have reacted to the kid. It didn't help matters that Naruto was so quiet and that Kakashi wasn't even reacting. That headache was also growing and it seemed to be directly related to all the times he ignored the urge to do something Naruto-ish.
He stood up abruptly, slamming his fists onto the table. "So that's it, then. You're just going to give up? Listen, Inari! Nothing will happen if you do nothing!" It was strange. Where did that come from? Why am I doing this? I can't - control - Why - No, don't keep on going - "At least I'll do something! You might as well just keep on crying, Inari. You crybaby!"
He breathed hard from his outburst while the others just stared at him. Sasuke's eyes were wide with confusion and anger, at the same time. Why did I just do that? That's not... me... is it? He dashed out the door, his dropped chopsticks clattering on the bowl.
Inari stared after him, an odd expression of shock on his face. He ran upstairs, not answering the concerned calls his mother, Tsunami, gave.
Kakashi stared at the closed door. So, is this the real Sasuke or not, because, right there, in that moment, he acted more like the genin he should be than the genin he was?
Sasuke ran.
He wanted to get away.
Into the forest, into the safety of the trees. Away from this strange and confusing world. Away from the emo Naruto who never smiled, away from the obsessive Sakura who treated him like nothing, away from the stern Kakashi who was always on time.
Away from the curse. Away from the Kyuubi inside of him.
But you couldn't run from that which ran with you. This world, whatever it was, was it changing him? He was still him, wasn't he? He still hated orange and despised ramen. He still wanted to clobber Naruto … only now, he wanted to do it because he was too quiet, too moody.
Why did I do that? Why did I just lose my emotions like that - How could... I'm not really like that, am I? Is seeing my teammates again affecting my views? Have I really gone insane? He rubbed his temples, confused. His words rang in his mind.
"You're just going to give up?" He swallowed.
"Listen up, Inari! Nothing will happen if you do nothing!" Exclamation points? Since when had he ever used exclamation points? He never showed more emotion that slight annoyance.
No. That wasn't him, was it? That was not Uchiha Sasuke, the one specially trained by Orochimaru. That was the Naruto-ish Sasuke -
Naruto-ish.
That was it. His eyes widened in realization.
Naruto-ish.
He was merging with the Sasuke of this world.
It explained the recent headaches, after all. Their interests were merging and so were their attitudes, thoughts, etcetera.
Wait. Interests.
Orange.
Neon orange.
That was so not fair. Sasuke tried to imagine the colour, and found - much to his horror - that it did not seem as bad a colour as he had originally thought. I am not going to wear orange. Ne, I'll look like a Halloween trick-or-treater. He stopped. Ne. Since when did I start saying 'ne?'
He kicked at a rock on the ground. This was not helping him. How the hell did he stop this? He had to remain true to who he was or else who knew how bad this could get. Were his skills going to deteriorate?
Kick, kick.
"Sasuke."
Kakashi. Someone he really did not want to see right now. That lone eye would be too serious, too blunt. This was not his Kakashi. Sasuke turned his head to look at his sensei, that wasn't his sensei. The Jonin stared back with unblinking eyes and stated, "Quite a show you put on back there."
"Hn."
"You've been acting strangely since you left the Academy."
"And?"
"Iruka-san says you passed the exam with flying colours."
"Do you want me to comment? I did well, so what? Why is this suddenly a problem? Besides, bunshin is a laughable jutsu."
"You asked the Hokage to switch you to my team."
"And? I thought I'd already explained this. You are the Jonin sensei best suited to my skills."
He's being strangely defensive, Kakashi mused. I know of one more question to ask. "You stopped Zabuza's zanbatou with one kunai."
"So? I've been training -"
But he never finished. Sasuke suddenly felt himself slammed against a tree. For a moment, the air was knocked out of him and he couldn't breathe. Kakashi's hand was over his neck and in the Jonin's other hand was a razor-sharp kunai, pressed onto his jugular. "What is it, Kakashi?" Sasuke stated calmly, trying not to lose his cool facade. He had no idea what this Kakashi was capable of. At first, he'd deluded himself into believing that being on Team 7 would be just like before, but it wasn't. This wasn't his world and this wasn't his team.
The Jonin's onyx eye flashed. "Address me as Kakashi-sensei. I am your superior."
Sasuke wanted to snort at the irony - the Kakashi in the other world had allowed him to call him that - but realized it would be useless to resist. Besides, why call the man sensei when he was holding a kunai to his throat? Clearly the man was suspicious about him being his student. However, as much as he hated to admit it, Kakashi - even the lazy one - was stronger than he was… currently. This body was still not where he was previously and he'd only been doing so well because of the little tricks he already knew and his knowledge on chakra control. "Fine, Kakashi-sensei. What is it?"
"You are not Sasuke."
The Uchiha raised an eyebrow mockingly. "What, you're doubting your vision now? Aren't I right in front of you?"
Kakashi spoke and with every accusation, Sasuke added his own mental reply, knowing that verbalising it would only make it worse. "You passed the exam with flying colours. (What was wrong with a little skill? Honestly, you'd think they wanted him to fail?) You asked the Hokage to switch the teams. (And he'd given a perfectly logical explanation for it.) You no longer have a crush on Sakura. (Who would with the way she treated him?) You have not tried to prove yourself to Naruto. (No point, I'm already stronger than him and he knows it.) You mentioned something about the future while talking to my sensei. (Huh? I did? All I asked was to be on your team. Then again you hadn't given the test to your team yet.) You outran the Hokage's personal ANBU.(Again, really wasn't all that hard. Besides they were underestimating me.) You performed a move that should not be possible, in my test. (Well his test wasn't all that special Sasuke thought moodily. Arrogant wasn't he?) You single-handedly blocked Zabuza's zanbanto. (Okay, that one was justified.) I have reasons as to why I think you are not Sasuke, the dead last of the Academy. (Well duh.)"
Still … Darn... How will I explain myself out of this one?
I know it's in here somewhere, Minato rummaged through various objects Sarutobi had gotten over his Hokage years. He pulled out a stuffed fox and stared at it. Huh, didn't know Sarutobi liked foxes…But it sure is cute. He set it aside. Maybe I can give that to Naruto when he comes back – but he doesn't really like foxes… How about Sasuke-kun? That reminds me. I have a job to get done.
He blew some dust bunnies out of the way. I suppose Sarutobi didn't really go through these often. It's really amazing how much he has.
Minato stuck his hand in the huge drawer, sifting around for any spherical item. Mentally, he sighed; he knew he would have to clean his hands and his coat off later. And he had just washed it, too. His fingers brushed against glass.
Aha! I found it…
He pulled out a large transparent ball which was connected to a painted wooden stand. This crystal ball was really quite handy and somewhat scary all things considered. Where the heck had the Sandaime gotten it? Wiping the crystal clean with his sleeve (and mentally sighing again), Minato channelled some chakra into it. That should do it…
Now, show me Naruto.
The ball whirred to life, colours dancing around inside. Then, they stopped. It was a fuzzy picture, and this crystal ball was admittedly not the best one he'd seen, but it was enough. It showed Naruto eating dinner silently, his usual emotionless facade set on his face. Minato felt both relieved and disappointed; Naruto, his son, was safe, but apparently his behaviour had made no change. He had hoped that having Kakashi-kun as his jonin sensei would make him a little happier.
I can meet up with him when he comes back. Now, show me Sakura.
He did not know the pink-haired girl personally, only that she was a rabid fan of his son's, but took some slight interest in her. Minato had heard she was at the top of her grade in the intelligence department, though often her intelligence escaped her around Naruto. Sakura appeared to be in the same room with Naruto, and also sullenly eating her dinner. Why so morbid?
Next, Sasuke-kun. He's been acting strangely; I wonder if he's back to normal now.
The crystal ball seemed to shiver for a moment, then the colours began dancing again. Minato's eyes widened in shock. Sasuke was being pressed against a tree, a hand firmly gripping his neck and a kunai to his throat. He was saying something, but the Yondaime's mind couldn't register the words. That is Kakashi's glove. Kakashi – or someone wearing his glove – is threatening Sasuke-kun.
Show me Kakashi! Now, ball!
Again, the colours whirred; this time, it seemed as if Kakashi was holding someone up by the neck. Minato could see the handle of a kunai in his hand. No… it can't be…
Show me Sasuke-kun and Kakashi. Please, don't let it be so…
The ball's colours shifted. To Minato's horror, Kakashi was holding Sasuke up by the neck and had a kunai pressed against his jugular, confirming what he'd known to be true anyways.
His jugular. It was pressed against his jugular, which could only mean one thing.
Kakashi was prepared to kill at a moment's notice.
No… Kakashi-kun wouldn't do this… He doesn't hate the Kyuubi no Gaki. Does he? I didn't think he was biased against Sasuke-kun due to his Jinchuriki status. Would he really… kill Sasuke-kun?
Enhance hearing. Now.
"… Kakashi. I am your superior."
What could that mean? That tells me nothing!
"Fine, Kakashi-sensei. What is it?"
That is not Sasuke-kun's voice… It is too cruel, impatient, too… well, as much as I hate to admit it, too Naruto-ish.
"You are not Sasuke."
Minato breathed out in relief. So Kakashi-kun was not going to kill the boy because of the Kyuubi; simply, his old student was suspicious. And when his old student was suspicious, he usually got his answers. Meaning, Sasuke would not be killed … at least until Kakashi-kun got his answers.
"… I have my reasons as to why I think you are not Sasuke, the dead last of the Academy."
His ears perked up.
Minato watched the scene in the glass ball with interest and worry. Though he was confident (fine, admittedly fairly confident) that there would be no bloodshed, Kakashi still had his kunai over the boy's jugular vein and was not displaying any intention of removing it anytime soon.
"Hokage-sama?"
"Aahh!"
Surprised, Minato dropped the crystal ball and it crashed into the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces. He and the unfortunate secretary who had just entered the room stared at the pieces on the floor as though suddenly struck stupid and were trying to process the sight of the broken crystal. Such a crucial moment . . . T_T
"Akito-san..." Minato stated in a perfectly even voice.
"... Hokage-sama?"
"Next time... knock... will you?" Would that have even made it better?
"Gomen! Gomen! I didn't mean to, Hokage-sama - aahh!"
Minato spent the rest of the evening chasing one unlucky chuunin. Someone was getting demoted.
Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously, but he suppressed his urge to torture, maim, and kill Kakashi right there and then. He resisted the urge to bite his lip in agitation. "Why don't you put me down first, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi's coal eye narrowed. "You could be a spy, for all I know. How can I trust you?"
Sasuke cocked his head. "I'm not answering until you put me down. Besides, don't you have more faith in your own abilities?"
"And I won't put you down until you answer me." Seemed he wasn't going to answer the question about his abilities. ANBU were a bitch in these types of situations.
Thus began a war of stares.
Onyx eyes bore into a coal black eye, and neither person seemed to relent. Each's eyes were stony hard, glittering with determination and silent fury. The night seemed to chill dramatically; only the echoing howl of the wind filled their ears.
It seemed for a moment that the Sharingan would flash in Sasuke's eyes. A pressure had formed behind his pupils, though he was desperately trying not to let it surface. It wouldn't do to give Kakashi another question to ask. So far he'd managed to keep the Sharingan hidden and he wanted to keep it that way.
He could feel the Jonin's fingers digging into his flesh. The cool nails pressed into his neck, feel the rough almost denim like material against the sensitive skin and felt the urge to claw it off, felt the heat of Kakashi's skin against his own and he suddenly found it hard to breathe. He couldn't swallow, he could barely breathe -
"Fine, I'll tell you." Not everything, though.
Kakashi cocked his head. "Go on." His voice was still as cold as ice, though Sasuke could tell - by the lessening of the lines on the side of his eye - he was pleased. He thought he'd won.
"It all started with the Kyuubi..." No, it didn't, said a voice in Sasuke's head; but he pushed that thought aside.
"... I first heard a voice in my head the day before the Graduating Exam..." It wasn't a voice at all.
"... and it was the Kyuubi. He told me about the sealing..." You've never met the Kyuubi.
"... and because of this, I started to act differently. I mean there was a strange voice in my head, an angry voice of pure hatred. Who wouldn't act a little different after something like that informed them that their whole life had been a lie." It was never that.
"I never told the Yondaime because I thought he would be angry... I don't even want him to be angry with me. He's one of the only people that actually likes me." Yondaime has never gotten angry at you.
"So I kept it a secret. What else could I do? He already knew about the Kyuubi, everyone did. So it wasn't like I was keeping things to myself."
Sasuke was perfectly aware that this explanation did not match with the one he had given the Yondaime but it appeared that Kakashi had not been informed of his previous explanation. He was also aware this this explanation did not explain an increase in skill, just a change in attitude.
Kakashi's grip did not falter throughout the whole explanation, and for a moment Sasuke thought the Jonin would not release him at all. But he felt the icy grip on his neck loosen and he fell to the ground, weak from the lack of oxygen. "I'll believe your story for now, Sasuke." Kakashi said, "Not a word to the others about this, do you hear?" Sasuke nodded. He wouldn't have told the others, anyway. It's not like it would've made a different to them anyway. He would still be Sasuke the dobe.
"Sensei?"
Sakura stood at the edge of the forest, uncertain as to what was happening. For once, she was concerned about her other teammate. Naruto stood close by her, but not too close. He had his arms crossed over his chest in an obviously displeased way. They had just seen their sensei release Sasuke, and now had their doubts as to whose side their Jonin was on.
Kakashi's expression calmed and Sasuke tilted his head to the side. Did this Kakashi care more than what he let on? Did he actually care about what they thought? "Sakura, it's fine. We were just having a little talk." He glanced at Sasuke, who was still kneeling on the ground.
Naruto snorted. "Sure, and the dobe's gasping for breath just for the fun of it." His sapphire eyes flashed. "What were you two talking about?" Obviously something important for it to end this way...
Sasuke stood up with a scowl. "Nothing. We were talking about nothing. Besides, I let Kakashi-sensei slam me against a tree. Made his ego feel better."
The Jonin glared at Sasuke. A glare that promised great bodily harm yet he did not act out again, at least not with the other two there.
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura hesitated before continuing, "Secrets shouldn't be kept from teammates, right? Why can't you tell us?"
The silver-haired shrugged in what would seem like a careless manner. "It was nothing. S-classed secret. Absolutely nothing..."
"S-classed secret? Nani?" Sakura exclaimed indignantly. "If it's that important, you have to tell us!" Even Naruto looked interested.
Sasuke shook his head. "Baka," he said, "If it's S-classed, it means you have no clearance to hear it."
"But neither do you!"
"Idiots," they glared at the insult and Sasuke felt a twinge of guilt. Here they were, showing some concern for him and he was insulting them, "Didn't you think it might include me?"
Sakura frowned, turning to their sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, why would an S-classed secret include him?" Her nose wrinkled in disgust. Ah, there was the reason he shouldn't feel guilty for insulting them. Naruto narrowed his eyes, clearly echoing the same views.
"It doesn't matter, and anyway, we should head back to Tazuna-san's house. We're supposed to be protecting him and out here we're doing a rather poor job of it." Kakashi's statement left no room for arguments, and Team 7 walked back to the house, though Sakura and Naruto kept on giving Sasuke strange glances.
Sasuke was in a foul mood; he had just had an argument with all three of his teammates. How was he supposed to make bonds, again? This new Kakashi was also a fricken headache. He was too much like Sasuke. People said opposites attract and if that was the case they had three fricken negatives on the same team, all of them repelling the other. This wasn't going to work out unless one of them became the positive that attracted the negative.
But that had always been Naruto, not Sasuke. He had to make a choice here. Keep this up and possibly lose his team, again, or make the conscious effort to keep them around. But that just wasn't him. He wasn't Naruto. He was just as much of a negative as they were. So where did that leave him?
-the next day-
"We're going to learn how to do tree climbing." Kakashi's voice rang over the clearing, the only background sounds bird calls and rustling leaves.
"But sensei," Sakura protested, "We already know how to climb trees!"
Naruto nodded. "We can already climb trees."
"That may be so," Kakashi shrugged, "but do you know how to without using your hands?"
Sasuke snorted, rolling his eyes. Kakashi took notice of this, and, irritation getting the better of him, asked, "Well, since Sasuke here already knows how to do this exercise, let's watch him climb the tree."
Naruto and Sakura were glowering at Sasuke, and he smirked. "Hai." And with that, he began to walk up the tree with ease.
This is great, Sasuke thought. I don't have to hide my abilities anymore - excluding the Hebi's own jutsu - because I can blame it on the fox. He smirked. I guess that was good for something. Still, anyone smarter or more knowledgeable about bijus would know that they don't give sudden boosts in skill, not like my supposed ones at any rate.
"Nani!" Sakura pointed indignantly at the Uchiha. "How can you possibly know that?! You are the dead last of the Academy! How do you know that?!"
"Yeah, dobe," Naruto narrowed his eyes, "How do you know that exercise already?" Naruto especially had taken to watching him very closely since the previous night, as though with enough observation he could learn what Sasuke's S-class secret was.
Sasuke smirked. "Be careful of who you call dobe, teme," he reached the highest sturdy branch, " 'Cause unless you improve drastically, I'll have to start calling you that." He swung, upside down, on the branch, enjoying the looks the other two Genin were giving him.
Kakashi crossed his arms. "Since Sasuke already knows it, I'll have to move him onto a different exercise. Meanwhile, you two try it. Focus chakra onto the soles of your feet to stick onto the tree. Use a kunai to mark your progress. Too much chakra and you'll only be repelled off of the tree, too little and it won't stick." He glanced at the upside down Uchiha. "And you, Sasuke, follow me."
Sasuke ran down the tree with ease; it was much easier to go with gravity than to go against. "Hai, Kakashi-sensei." Every time he addressed the Jonin after that little conversation the night before, he added a special emphasise to the sensei part, giving the impression that he was silently mocking the Jonin. The two Shinobi left the clearing and the two Genin with Kakashi giving Sasuke a glare.
"So," Sakura started, "I guess it's just you and me, Naruto-kun?" She smiled sweetly.
Naruto's expression darkened, and he turned to a tree. Focusing his chakra to the soles of his feet, like his sensei had said, he ran towards the tree. Twenty feet or so up the tree, he gave it a slash with his kunai and back flipped off of it, realizing his feet were quickly losing hold on the tree. I will not be second to that loser! He thought angrily. How come he is so advanced already? I'm supposed to be better than him!
"Hey, Naruto-kun!"
He turned around, eyes widening at the sight. Sakura sat on the highest branch in her tree already. She waved to him. "I already got to the top! How about you?"
He did not reply, instead turning his back to her and smashing his fist against his tree, muttering every profanity he could possibly think of.
"So, Sasuke," Kakashi started, turning around to face the boy when they had gotten to a pond. "I take it then, you already know this exercise, too?"
"Water walking?" Sasuke asked. He smirked. "Of course."
Kakashi narrowed his eye. "I see," he muttered. "Well then," he took out a kunai and tossed it up and down. "I have to re-evaluate you." He caught the kunai and slid into an offensive stance. "Fight me."
Sasuke snorted. "A Jonin against a Genin? How unfair." But he slid into an offensive stance as well - not the Dance of the Snake, though. That stance was practically outlawed in Konoha, because of its infamous creator. He may agree to show Kakashi some of his skill, but he wouldn't show all of it. Besides, half of his arsenal of tricks would garner far too many questions.
"Perhaps so," Kakashi said lightly, "but we are not going for blood. I'm only evaluating you."
"Sometimes there is no difference between the two."
"To some people, but I am not one of those people." Yeah right. Sasuke had steadily been pissing the man off ever since he'd passed them and made them his genin team. This was going to be an official way of taking out those frustrations on the genin.
Sasuke had no answer for this, so he took out a kunai as well. His feet were far apart, and his knees were roughly on the same level, though he had his weight on the front one for offensive purposes. One of his hands was in front of him, palm down, while the other was in front of his chest, vertical.
Kakashi narrowed his eye; that stance... where had he seen that stance before? He couldn't remember. Kakashi shrugged it off; that stance, whatever it was, would do no good against his stance. His stance was almost like the Hyuuga's Jyuuken stance. He could quickly strike unprotected places, causing the opponent to lose their balance. That stance was only good for blocking fists and kicks. Though... when he had seen that stance before, the forward hand was also vertical like the hand in front of the chest. Sasuke's forward hand was palm down, a variation which Kakashi had not seen before.
But the last thing he would do was underestimate his opponent.
Sasuke cocked his head confidently. "Let's begin."
So they did.
Kakashi's and Sasuke's bodies blurred. Kakashi quickly threw some jabs with his hands, trying to catch Sasuke off balance, but found it was harder than he had imagined. Sasuke began to block the short thrusts with his open hand, and with his palm-down hand he began to push away the attacks. Then, Sasuke grabbed Kakashi's wrist with his left hand and dealt an open-handed blow to Kakashi's chest, though it did not do as much damage as it would have; the Chunin vest was too thick for the blow to actually hurt the Jonin.
But the fact remained, Sasuke had managed to land a blow.
Startled for a moment, Kakashi stumbled back, and Sasuke left no time for him to recover. The Uchiha roundhouse kicked at Kakashi's face, but the Jonin caught his oncoming ankle and used the momentum to throw Sasuke into the pond.
Kakashi was starting to see where Obito's observations were coming from. That kick had been a sloppy attempt at the Uchiha style while the blow he'd landed previously had been somewhat what Kakashi would have done. He also seemed to almost be aware of Kakashi's fighting style already, blocking and countering moves almost on instinct.
Having no time to focus chakra to his body, Sasuke plunged underneath the icy water. Kakashi watched a few bubbles float to the surface and grinned mentally. This boy was actually a challenge to him. Interesting.
But this was only taijutsu, and the silver-haired Shinobi wondered how Sasuke would deal with ninjutsu.
Suddenly, Kakashi heard a roar, and was on his toes in an instant. A huge dragon leaped out of the water, twisting and roaring as if actually alive. It reached a height of roughly fifty feet before descending. Kakashi managed to jump out of the way before it crashed into the ground, flooding the clearing around the pond. He covered his eye with his hand, shielding it from the stinging water.
Sasuke surfaced the pond, gasping for breath. He climbed onto the surface of the water and smirked. Kakashi squinted; there was something in his hand. No, wrapped... wrapped? Wire! Chakra wire... leading to... where the dragon had struck?
Kakashi's eye widened. There had been weapons in hidden in the dragon's body, and those weapons had chakra wire attached to them! He leaped away, jumping into a tree.
Sasuke pulled on the chakra wire and saw the weapons move. Now, if I could only get this to work... He began to swing the attached weapons around using the wire, much like one would swing a slingshot.
Kakashi narrowed his eye; He needed to get that "slingshot" out of Sasuke's hands. It seemed as if the boy was capable enough of using the chakra wire to actually hurt him. He leaped out of the tree, high enough so that Sasuke could not reach him with the weapons, and crashed... right onto Sasuke.
Expect the unexpected, Sasuke.
"Itai!" Sasuke grunted as Kakashi brought his full weight onto him. Grasping the chakra wire, Kakashi pulled it out of the Uchiha's hands, and threw it a good twenty feet away.
Then, launching into taijutsu, Kakashi began to mercilessly attack the boy. Sasuke had no time to act; he had to get into his stance, but the Jonin obviously had no intention of ever letting him do so. Sasuke could have easily defended with the Dance of the Snake taijutsu but that was something he could not do if he wished to continue breathing. So this fight was taking far more concentration on his part than what it should've, considering he had to make a conscious effort to not use moves that were ingrained into his automatic responses. Which was why his Uchiha style was so damn sloppy.
Finally, a hard, direct upper kick to the jaw sent Sasuke flying. The boy crash landed onto the shore, and Kakashi walked to his side. He was unconscious. Well that was unexpected. Sasuke hadn't been in this fight physically, like he was thinking too much. Kakashi sighed in frustration, having hoped to push the boy into revealing his true strength but had had no such luck.
Kakashi allowed himself a small smile as he picked the boy up however, noticing how wet Sasuke was from landing in the pond earlier. This boy was interesting... He would have to ask Minato-sensei about it later. And was definitely more skilled then what he wanted them to believe, even taking into account all his little slip ups.
"Aaargh!" Naruto kicked at the tree, clearly frustrated. It was already dark! Why couldn't he get this exercise? He had made little to no progress at all.
Sakura tried to calm him down. "Naruto-kun," she started, "maybe if you would let me help..."
Naruto sighed. He hated this! He hated this stupid exercise and that arrogant dobe! But, he would never get done unless he asked for Sakura's help... "Fine. What do I need to do?"
Sakura grinned. Her love was asking her for help! It was a dream come true! Wait until Ino-pig hears about this, she thought. "Well, first you need to concentrate. Is there anything irrelevant to this exercise that you're thinking of right now?"
"Kakashi. The dobe."
"Maybe if you stopped thinking about them, it would help..."
He snorted, but accepted her advice. After all, he didn't have anyone else's advice to follow. A small voice reminded him that he actually didn't know how long it had taken the dobe to learn this, but then again, that was irrelevant, the dobe knew it already and that was all that mattered. Don't think about them, don't think about them...
He started running again, focusing his chakra to the soles of his feet, and began his ascent. Almost there, almost there, almost there - no, his feet were losing their stick - he couldn't - he was - falling –
"AARRGGHH!"
"Here you go," Tsunami smiled gently and placed a bowl of rice and a variety of vegetables in front of Sasuke. "I know it's not much, but please enjoy anyway." Sasuke, before coming here, had debated the merits of actually bringing his own food, knowing just how little they had. But there were some cases were helping was only making things worse. Tazuna and his daughter would have been offended if he'd done that, so he hadn't.
"It doesn't matter," he shrugged, picking up his chopsticks. The bowl of food wasn't much, but he was used to hunger from Orochimaru's hideout. Besides, after waking up from unconsciousness after a fight with a Jonin, anything would be fine. He nibbled at the rice experimentally, then began to hungrily shove food into his mouth.
Kakashi watched him with mild amusement, though he supposed the boy deserved it. After all, he had held his ground in their spar and it had only been Kakashi's relentlessness that had prevented him from actually getting any to any sort of effective defensive stance. Who know where that spar would've gone if not for that. The Jonin's eyes narrowed. He would have to keep a closer eye on his student...
The door swung open with a bang, revealing a battered Naruto and exhausted Sakura. The pink-haired girl was leaning on the blond, much to his discomfort. Both of them trudged to the table, sitting down in the only two empty chairs left.
Sasuke stared at Naruto impassively, and the blond stared back just as impassively. A smirk crept up the Uchiha's face. He knew what was going to happen here and for some reason, he did not want to avoid it in the slightest. Sakura and Kakashi watched the two boys carefully, unsure as to if they should act or not.
Suddenly, both boys took up their chopsticks and began to hungrily shove food into their mouths. Sakura was disgusted, while Kakashi was amused. Boys, they both thought.
Abruptly the two boys stopped eating, each turning a shade of pale green. Both of them leaned over the side and emptied the contents of their stomach out.
Some things never change, Sasuke thought dryly as he vomited, mentally cringing at the amount of work he had to do now before he could go to bed.
As soon as Sasuke stepped foot onto the unfinished bridge, he knew - and was fairly sure Kakashi-sensei knew as well - that something was wrong. It was a sort of sixth sense among experienced Shinobi: the ability to more or less be able to tell if something was wrong. And at the moment, he could almost imagine red lights blaring all over the place.
He sniffed the air; what was that smell? It was familiar, definitely. In fact, it reminded him of Orochimaru's lab, but that room had held only strange liquids, various metal instruments, and dead bodies.
Sasuke froze. Dead bodies?
That was right. It fit in with his list of "Wave Country memories." Last time, he, Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei (he noted mentally how addressing the Jonin as that seemed oddly fitting, and he didn't seem to be placing as much emphasis on the word, but shrugged it off as an influence from the Naruto-ish Sasuke) had arrived to see Tazuna's workers dead. After that, the fight against Zabuza and - Heiko? Hako? What was the boy's name again?
He frowned. That boy - whatever his name was - had beaten him, no doubt. Sasuke had awakened the Sharingan, yes, but other than that, he had been utterly humiliated; the dobe had beaten the boy instead.
It was not one of his proudest memories.
But this time he could change it, because he knew what was going to happen.
The oh-so familiar mist began shrouding the bridge and the dead workers. Tazuna gave an exclamation of terror, immediately cowering behind his hired Shinobi, and said Shinobi rolled their eyes. Kakashi stood boldly, staring into the mist. Sakura seemed unsure of herself; she had had only a little time to sharpen her kunoichi skills. Naruto was still at Tazuna's house; they had not been able to wake him up, so they had left him and he was going to be pissed for it.
Now Sasuke had begun to regret leaving him, this he could handle, but a pissed off dobe was not something he really wanted to deal with.
He gritted his teeth; this tense silence was beginning to get on his nerves. Kakashi-sensei was doing nothing but standing there, and Sakura was shivering with fright and cold.
"So, the Second White Fang has arrived... Shall we play, Kakashi?" Zabuza's voice rang out from every direction.
Sakura froze, and glanced at her teacher, who seemed calm at the voice. I thought the man was dead! What - why -
"Indeed," Kakashi's eyes flashed with the prospect of a challenge. He unsheathed his chakra blade.
As soon as he had done that, eight Zabuza clones had appeared and surrounded the group. Tazuna shrieked, terrified, but Kakashi looked unfazed. The Jonin's eye flashed. "Sasuke," he said, addressing the boy. He spoke only one command: "Go wild."
Sasuke's onyx eyes flashed red, with three tomoes spinning wildly, but Kakashi wasn't looking at him to see. He grinned maniacally, and in a split second, all of the Zabuza mizu clones had collapsed into water. Sakura gaped openly; it seemed as if Sasuke had not moved at all. She took a quick glance at the supposed "dead last" and was shocked to see that he did not look tired at all. Just who is Sasuke, anyway? she wondered, confused.
Impressive, thought Zabuza, but he will never be a match for Haku. "Haku."
So that was the boy's name, Sasuke remembered. It seemed to fit with his other bridge memories, not that it mattered.
"Hai, Zabuza-sama?" A masked boy appeared next to his master.
Through the mist, Sakura and the others could see a faint outline of Zabuza and the hunter-nin who had appeared at their last encounter. Her eyes widened. "Isn't that the Shinobi who was supposed to kill Zabuza?" Sometimes, Sasuke found himself wondering why Sakura was the smartest in their year if this was how she reacted to these types of situations. He wondered if she'd gotten better over the years. But she was still a far cry better than Naruto had ever been, is Naruto anyway, the way he himself was supposed to be in this world.
It was not Kakashi but Sasuke who answered. "The hunter-nin has been on Zabuza's side the whole time."
Sakura turned towards her teacher, a silent doubt in her eyes, but he answered, "Sasuke's right, Sakura. The masked boy has always been on Zabuza's side."
She turned back to Zabuza and the other Shinobi - whatever his name was - with her eyes slightly widened. It would be her first real fight, and quite honestly, she wasn't particularly eager to engage in battle. Sakura gulped, a feeling of great dread in her stomach.
"Why did we let them go then?" Sakura squeaked out.
"At the time it had only been a hunch and I was nearing chakra exhaustion. A Shinobi who poses as a hunter-nin should have a hunter-nin's skills." Kakashi replied, eyes taking in Haku and remembering the speed with which he dodged the attack.
Sasuke smirked.
Sakura glared at her teammate. How could he be so calm at a time like this? Two missing-nin were facing them, one infamous in the Shinobi world and the other a hunter-nin! And he was smirking?!
Sasuke ignored his pink-haired teammate, his Sharingan eyes instead focused on Haku. The masked boy made no implication that he had noticed the Uchiha, but with the mask on it was impossible to tell. His voice was young, though hollow. "Zabuza-san... I will be quick with this one."
Immediately Sasuke and Haku rushed forward, engaging in a battle of quick taijutsu. It was hardly a real battle; the two opponents were only gauging their enemy's skill. Neither seemed to be getting the advantage.
Suddenly, Haku thrust his hand forward, and the puddle they were fighting on began to quiver. Sasuke jumped back, his feet no longer touching the puddle - he remembered the other's kekkei genkai; ice manipulation.
A split second after Sasuke had retreated, icy spikes flew out of the water, aimed for him, but he dodged easily. They don't seem as fast as I remember, he thought, but then again, one of his trademark smirks came over his face, I'm not as slow as I was.
He expertly caught the three senbon Haku threw in between his fingers, twisting his hand around and then tossing them aside. Neither of them attacked for the next few moments. Sasuke gritted his teeth, thinking, I wish I had had more time to branch out on opponents at the Hebi's. There are little to no ice-type Shinobi in Sound because this boy had been the last one with this much skill. Orochimaru is only interested in skill. I can only rely on my memory, and yet I can't, because things may be different here -
His thoughts were cut off by a cascade of more senbon, but this time aimed for his feet to lower his speed. Sasuke jumped back, and the needles landed in perfect symmetry at his feet, lined up neatly in a long row. He ignored the queasy feeling in his stomach, and ran towards Haku with all of his speed. The masked boy seemed surprised, by his movements - or lack thereof. It seemed as if the hunter-nin had not expected the Uchiha to resort to close-range attacks.
Sasuke slammed his foot into Haku's stomach, and the shocked boy stumbled back a few feet. Giving him no time to recover, the Uchiha appeared behind Haku and kicked again, this time at the upper back. Haku crumpled to the ground as a result of the combination of attacks. That taijutsu... he thought. It was stronger than usual. Those blows... had chakra in them? He's supposed to be a genin! Then again he had stopped Zabuza-sama's blade…
Forgive me, Zabuza-sama... I will have to use that jutsu early.
"Hijutsu: Makyou Hyoushou!"
Sakura watched in horror as a ring of large, reflective ice mirrors formed around Sasuke. She was not particularly close to the boy, but he was her teammate, and she could only feel the fear that was edging in on her. "Sasuke! Get out of there!" she yelled, but both of the Genin knew it was hopeless. The mirrors had already surrounded Sasuke completely, leaving no room for escape.
Sakura could only stare, terrified of what could happen next. But for some reason, Sasuke hadn't really seemed as concerned about his fate as he should've been.
Sasuke gritted his teeth. How could he have forgotten about Haku's Demonic Ice Mirrors? That was the central part of the fight! He shouldn't have let that boy get the chance to perform this move.
Now, the chances of him winning were lessening with each passing moment.
"I am sorry, but I will kill my heart if I must." Haku's voice echoed, seeming less human than before.
That voice. Those words. It was as if they had come out of his dreams, or memories. Sasuke didn't remember exactly, but - somehow, they seemed familiar. He ignored the growing butterflies in his stomach, surprising Haku with one of his trademark smirks. "That's okay, it won't matter either way."
Haku smiled behind his mask. This one... he is strong. "I will regret killing you."
Sasuke's confident smirk did not falter. "That is, if you can."
The masked boy did not reply, but instead took one step backwards into a large ice mirror. Now, he was simply an image in a mirror. He stared at the other, who showed no change in expression. Strange...
Sasuke closed his eyes, then opened them, revealing the crimson red Sharingan, that he had deactivated during the spar seeing as Kakashi's attention had been focused on them.
So... he is of that clan, Haku thought. He began to leap from mirror to mirror, in hopes that this would confuse his opponent - though he knew it was a vain attempt at trying to confuse a Sharingan user with speed.
Sasuke's smirk disappeared as he focused in on the blur that was Haku. It wasn't as difficult as some of the opponents he had fought, that was for sure. But he needed to defeat Haku in a way that seemed accidental, just in case Kakashi was watching. After all... I don't need him on my case for this, now do I?
Suddenly, Sasuke felt a sharp pain in his right forearm. It had been struck with a few senbon. Immediately he felt stupid, and mentally berated himself for not paying attention.
He swore. Those senbon were so annoying. Only this time, he was faster than last then when he had to fight against them before.
"Where are the others?" Naruto asked Tsunami, who was washing some dishes. She stopped humming.
"Oh, they left for the bridge already." she replied with a smile. "Kakashi-san wanted you to have some rest today; after all, you were training very hard yesterday."
Naruto scowled. It was always him. Always the one left out, always the one idolized but never known, always known as his son. It must have been Kakashi's and that Sasuke's work. They were always scheming, sharing looks that said they knew something the others did not. He knew there was another reason Sasuke was on this team and it wasn't because he had a crush on Sakura or that he wanted Kakashi as a sensei. Kakashi's reputation as the Jonin with the most failed teams under his belt had not gone unnoticed by him and if Sasuke was half as good as Naruto thought he was, Sasuke knew this as well. There was something much deeper going on here. "So, they're on the bridge."
"Mm-hm." Tsunami nodded in assent.
He walked out the door. "I'll be back later." As soon as he had exited the house, he began to sprint as fast as he could towards the bridge.
That dobe's not going to get all of the glory!
Kakashi frowned as large ice mirrors rose out of the water and surrounded his student. He was concerned; that jutsu was very dangerous, by what he could tell, and would be too difficult for a Genin to defeat. But, he smiled to himself, Sasuke is no ordinary Genin, by what he did against me in our little spar. So he was only concerned, and not overly worried. He just prayed that he would not come to regret this.
He turned to Zabuza, who was also watching his subordinate fight.
The silver-haired Jonin wanted to attack his opponent right away, without warning, but that would be so ungentlemanly, a voice tried to convince him.
Screw consciences and manners.
He drew his sword and lunged at Zabuza, who seemed to not have taken notice of this action. Kakashi was getting closer, and closer -
Until a large zanbatou obscured his view of Zabuza. The two blades clashed and Kakashi and Zabuza faced off in a battle of strengths: who could keep their blade from losing ground?
"I see. You're not going to make it easy for me to kill you, are you?" Zabuza tried to keep his voice even so as not to display weakness, but was surprised to find that it was harder than he had anticipated.
"I am not a fool, Zabuza," Kakashi replied just as evenly. "Besides, I try not to make a habit of being dead."
Zabuza smirked, and at the same moment, both of them jumped back. The two surveyed their opponents; it would be an interesting fight, they both surmised.
And, suddenly, both of them lunged at each other in the most furious of attacks. It was mostly blade-to-blade attacks, though with an occasional chakra thrust here and there. Kakashi held his chakra blade in one hand and used a kunai in the other, while Zabuza held his zanbatou with two hands, putting his full weight behind his attacks.
Zabuza was beginning to get very frustrated; Kakashi was not defending himself from the huge blade but was instead dodging it. On the whole, Zabuza was using far more energy than Kakashi was, not to mention the loss of balance. Having a blade that big was one thing, it was another thing entirely to control the direction of the swings.
Hmph, he thought, this fight is already pointless by kenjutsu. He jumped back and raised one hand in the air, and put another hand to the bandages on his face.
"Kirigakure no Jutsu!"
Kakashi had a sinking feeling as his vision suddenly became obscured by mist. What was it with those Mist morons and all their fricken water? Personally, Kakashi liked staying nice and dry but this was not to be as the mist rose up around them and clung to the clothing's fabric, sinking in and making the jonin shiver slight.
Ah hell.
Naruto was jumping through the trees as fast as he could when he saw something strange. He stopped abruptly, and landed in a small clearing.
There was a boar on the ground, mercilessly slaughtered. It was obvious this had been done not by an animal but by a swordsman.
But why...
Naruto saw a few more slashes on the trees, each leading closer and closer to -
Oh.
Tazuna's house.
Naruto blinked for a few moments, then disappeared in a flash, traveling the way he had just come.
Geez, they'd better have some pretty skilled enemies. Or it'd be just a waste, coming all this way and turning back...
Sasuke breathed heavily. His cold breath chilled his lips, and he closed them immediately, licking his lips in a feeble attempt to warm them up. But he stopped abruptly, choosing instead to put his full concentration on dodging the almost-invisible senbon that were constantly being fired.
He swore silently as he had to dodge another line of senbon. How many does Haku have, anyway? Maybe he makes them out of ice just to be a jackass about it.
Though he was fairly sure that he could evade Haku's senbon until the boy ran out, Sasuke was certain things would go exactly the way they had been the last time - which he did not want, considering the fact that Naruto had too much of an ego already - and one of his teammates might be seriously injured. So, that idea was crossed off. He may be faster than he was last time, but he still didn't know how to break the mirrors. He'd been unconscious when Naruto had done it.
Next plan. Direct attack? No, the ice mirrors would reflect any physical attacks done.
I wonder...
Sasuke landed in front of the mirror Haku was on, startling the masked boy. Obviously he had not expected Sasuke to stop directly in front of him. Sasuke smirked, and widened his Sharingan eyes, the three tomoe spinning rapidly.
Haku made the deadly mistake of making eye contact.
Inari watched helplessly as two men threatened his mother. He had never felt more useless in his life. He sniffled, catching the attention of the two Shinobi. Immediately he realized his mistake, and cowered behind the edge of the wall.
One of them laughed. "I spy a little rat." He began to walk towards Inari.
"Don't! If you do, I'll bite my tongue and die!" Tsunami's clearly terrified voice rang out.
The man walking towards Inari froze and turned around to glare at Tsunami, but the other stopped him, saying, "We only need one hostage. Let's go."
"Aww, I wanted to have some blood."
"Leave him."
The man frowned, but left Inari as his peer had told him. The three left the house, walking slowly to torture the boy even more.
Inari watched in silent shock, unsure of what to do or how to respond. He wasn't strong. He wasn't brave. He was a nobody who would only die if he stood up to Gatou and his men.
"So that's it, then. You're just going to give up? Listen, Inari! Nothing will happen if you do nothing! At least I'll do something! You might as well just keep on crying, Inari. You crybaby!"
The Uchiha's words rang loudly in his mind and the boy made a decision.
Inari had to do something. He wasn't going to be useless anymore! He was going to be a hero, like his father!
Dashing to his feet and after the men, Inari opened his mouth and yelled.
"Stop!"
Suddenly, Haku found himself in a black-and-white world; there were no in between colours, no shades of grey. Simply black or white making everything appear flat, bizarre. It was strange - Haku could not feel his fingers, or the comforting cold of his ice. He could feel nothing in this world except a sense of foreboding. Something was going to happen and there was nothing he could do to defend himself here.
It took him a few moments to fully realize his situation. He was bound to a tall, rough cross about fifteen feet high or so, but he was not sure; it was so hard to tell in this two-coloured world, a world that looked better suited for a cartoon.
For miles and miles in every direction he could twist his head there was nothing in sight. Not a mountain, a river, or even a single blade of grass, just lots and lots of nothing.
Haku glanced down at his body and squinted. What was its colour? It kept on shifting, from black to white to black again and seemingly - yet not seemingly - to every colour in between.
It was all so surreal.
And for the first time in a long time, Haku was scared.
Really scared.
This "Genin," Sasuke, was certainly no Genin at all. He had had his doubts about the status of the boy earlier, when his opponent had dodged his senbon with ease, but now there was no mistake. Frankly, it terrified him to know that this mere twelve-year-old boy was able to fully use an at least Jonin-level genjutsu. He had known of the Sharingan long before he knew of his own Kekkei Genkai, but he did not know the Uchiha clan trained the doujutsu to be so powerful at such a young age. Already there were three black tomoes rapidly swirling in those eyes.
Sasuke, that Genin, appeared in front of him. Or so it appeared; again, the rapidly shifting colours made it hard for Haku to define his surroundings confidentially. The Genin could've been standing there this whole time without Haku realizing it. Perhaps if he spoke, the Haku would finally have a clear understanding of what was going on around him. But there was nothing but those blood red eyes, promising nothing but pain.
Two unblinking crimson orbs, the only colour in the blank world, locked in with Haku's masked brown ones. Neither spoke for some time, until Haku could finally summon enough courage to speak to his captor. "What is this?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"Genjutsu." Apparently the other had little intention of revealing its name. Or a sense of humour in leaving the answer vague and somewhat stating the obvious. But it was nice to have it confirmed.
"It can't be. Genjutsu is broken by stopping the chakra flow -"
"Unless the caster is more powerful than the victim."
It took Haku a few seconds to fully comprehend this. A caster more powerful than himself. His fullest ability was Jonin, Zabuza had often commented. Was he not trying his fullest to get out of this? Was he not trying to escape this nightmare, and help his master? A mere boy, with minimum experience, he was sure, was defeating him in genjutsu. The boy was an Uchiha, certainly, but could such a young boy fully utilize a powerful genjutu?
Well, all the hunter-nin need do was look around him and he'd have his answers.
Apparently so.
"What are you going to do with me, now that I'm in your power?" Play along and hope he's not as powerful as he seems, Haku told himself, ignoring the fact that he'd had the ball in his court for quite some time and had been messing with the supposed genin until he'd locked Haku in this genjutsu world.
The other boy gave a smirk which made chills run up and down Haku's spine, the hair on the back of his neck rising in alarm as well. "We'll see how long you can last in this genjutsu of mine."
Haku's eyes widened as he was instantly overcome with pain.
Inari cowered in fear. His conscience was urging him to run away, screaming as it had never done before. Run! it said, Run! Your tou-san could not resist Gatou's men. What makes you think you can?
But his kaa-san needed saving, and he, Inari, small as he was, would not run from those two Shinobi. It was high time he did something, anything!
"Leave her alone," he choked, unable to say any more.
One of them laughed. "Really? And what will you do if we don't?"
"Please don't!" Tsunami begged her captors. "If you do, I'll bite my tongue and - "
She was cut off abruptly as one of the Shinobi, clearly annoyed with her threats, struck her on the back of the neck with a swift motion of his hand. He laughed cruelly, earning a shiver from the terrified Inari. "She was becoming a nuisance," he smirked.
Inari stared at them. Now he had no protection. There was no guarantee that the Shinobi would not take him as well, or worse. He started to back up, slowly, but the Shinobi advanced.
Really what had he been thinking? What did he, of all people, think he could ever achieve against men like these?
"You two should really learn to pick on people your own size." A voice suddenly broke the atmosphere, and they turned to see a blond Genin behind them.
"Cocky brat," one of them growled, but the other put a hand on his shoulder. With the other hand he gripped the handle of his wakizashi.
"Leave it. I'll handle the brat. Just take the woman and the boy." He started to advance onto Naruto.
Naruto smirked. "You're too slow." He vanished, shocking the two Shinobi.
Suddenly, they felt the points of kunai at their backs. Both froze.
That Genin's voice was filled with contempt. "Inari, help me bind these two up."
Kakashi watched the ice mirrors warily as the former sound of senbon hitting ice diminished. He had no idea what happened, but the pit in his stomach was slowly worsening. Pessimistic thoughts crowded his mind, and he tried to push them away, but it was in vain. They're going to die, was the mantra in his head, they're going to die - their first C-ranked mission, and they're going to die -
Can't think of that. Too much of a distraction.
He turned towards his opponent, who seemed not to be afraid for his subordinate. Kakashi narrowed his eye - his strategically mind was already running through the possible fates Sasuke could've had and how to defeat Zabuza now.
How was he going to explain this one to Minato-sensei? Obito was never going to let him live it down. Oh Kami. Another person popped into Kakashi's mind and he didn't know whether to abandon his fight with Zabuza and assist Sasuke right there and then or risk it and then face that person's wrath.
A cold laugh echoed in the air, muffled slightly as mist began to fill the bridge again. "It seems as if your subordinate has died, Kakashi. Ah well, no Genin of yours could stand against Haku."
There was no reply; Kakashi had chosen to form a few seals and whisper a jutsu name. Zabuza could see no immediate change in the landscape, and stiffened; it was easy to dodge an attack that he could see, but one that was invisible was doubly dangerous.
Or, had Kakashi pulled a fake and formed random seals while whispering nonsense?
That tricky bastard, Zabuza mentally prepared for an attack. He could do either. Anything can be expected.
It was at that point Kakashi chose to disappear from sight.
And it was just that; he vanished without a trace. No smoke, no sound, no trace left.
Zabuza blinked twice in surprise, and then laughed. "You are definitely worthy of the title of the Second White Fang, Kakashi. I see; the hand seals were a distraction, weren't they?" He turned to the right, and then the left, up, down. ANBU. Kakashi was rumoured to be ex-ANBU and those guys were nothing short of manic psychopaths. Or so Zabuza had heard. He'd never stuck around long enough to find out for himself. Finally, he turned around.
His eyes widened in horror as he saw Kakashi's face six inches from his face. His sword meant nothing with Kakashi this close. He had no time to act -
Zabuza saw crimson red.
Sakura stifled a terrified scream as someone tapped her on the shoulder. That is, she would've if she could've. A hand had already clamped over her lips and pulled her backwards. To her surprise and girlish delight, it was Naruto who had pulled her back.
"Naruto-kun!" she gasped, blushing. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to rest!"
Naruto looked at her disdainfully. She was thinking about his rest when there was danger on the bridge? How shallow was this girl? He turned away from her. "Whatever. Watch Tazuna. I'm going to fight that ice nin."
She grasped his wrist before he could leave. "Why don't you stay here with me? Sasuke's already fighting him!" Her green eyes begged him, but his aquamarine eyes hardened.
"Exactly."
Haku let out a scream or pure terror and utter excruciating pain as he was released from the genjutsu. He fell limply from the ice mirror like a puppet having it's chakra strings cut one by one, and slowly, all of the mirrors began to crack. Suddenly, they shattered … the sound deafening in the silence that had dominated the air till now. Still, that sound was muffled by the mist that was gradually beginning to fade as well. The masked boy lay motionless on the ground, the only sign of life his uneven, shallow breathing.
Sasuke closed his eyes; that untested genjutsu had taken a large toll on him. Granted, it had not been the best choice at the time, but there was no one he could test it on in this world without having them blab out to the Hokage about his skill. And that was the last thing he needed.
"So that pitiful jutsu was your secret weapon?" he couldn't help stabbing at the hyouton's pride. Huh... it must be an Uchiha thing, he thought. "I've seen Academy students do better." Well, not really, but considering this is a fight... I can lie, can't I?
Haku pushed himself up with difficulty, gasping for breath. "You... You are strong... but - "
"Dobe, what are you doing?" Both turned to see a familiar blond Genin. Naruto's question was phrased casually, but Sasuke could see his sapphire eyes hardening and flashing with anger. And he knew exactly what had caused that anger. Naruto had rushed over here, so that he could take part in the fight, having been out shone the whole mission by Sasuke, only to get here in time to see Sasuke defeat the hunter-nin. His pride was stinging. Sasuke had a better idea than anyone ever would.
But what was he supposed to do? Stand by and wait to be rescued, letting Haku use him as a pincushion like he had the first time around? Naruto's pride would survive if Sasuke stopped showing his actual skill, and sat back quietly and let the blond have all the glory. He supposed he could live with that till the chunin exams. But then the whole cycle would flare up again. What would satisfy Naruto?
More power. Sasuke could offer it to him, but would the blond take it?
He was bleeding.
Zabuza stared emotionlessly at Kakashi, blood leaking out of his mouth. His body was horribly mutilated; there was hardly a place where there had not been slash marks. He hadn't even been aware that it was even possible to move that fast but this was the student of Konoha's Yellow Flash. He should have known better.
Kakashi's chakra blade was piercing his chest.
He smiled - a sad sort of smile. The type when one knows they're going to die, and they can do nothing about it. It was exactly that. "... I see... So ends my life... The Demon of the Mist..." Then he paused, seemingly remembering something. "You... take care... of Haku..."
The silver-haired Jonin returned the request with blank onyx eyes. Apparently the so-called Demon isn't so heartless after all, he thought.
He stared at the nuke-nin, the ninja's story playing in his mind. A man who was trying to free his village from an oppressive reign. A mission he'd failed and now a mission he'd never get to complete. Kakashi actually felt that this whole fight had been such a waste, so utterly pointless.
But he would not show pity for the Shinobi. He would not humiliate him like that.
Zabuza let out one last shallow breath, and his eyes dulled. Kakashi jerked his chakra blade out of the body's chest; Zabuza's body fell onto the ground with a thud. The noise seemed to echo on the bridge, and for a moment all was quiet.
Haku stared in horror as he watched his master's body fall back from the outstretched sword that Jonin was holding. This was it. His master was dead, and he no longer cared to live. His lips split, as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.
Sasuke stared at Haku blankly. He was so close to Zabuza, he thought, and yet... He swallowed, finding it surprisingly hard to do. Is this what it feels like? he blinked twice, forcing the tears back. To know someone you love has died? It's been so long since the massacre... But... why do I feel sad? It's not as if it was my master who has died.
Then again, didn't Naruto cry for Haku that first time around?
"So the old man finally died, huh?" Naruto's voice was filled with nothing but pure smirk.
Sasuke's eyes darted over to Haku. They widened slightly as Haku stood up, shaking with fury. The shadow over the hyouton's face suddenly lifted, and two furious ice-blue eyes glared at Naruto. "Don't you dare..." his voice shook with anger, "call Zabuza-san an old man!" Haku leaped at Naruto with surprising speed, considering he had just broken out of that Genjutsu. But as Haku had taught Naruto, you're only truly strong when fighting for someone precious to you.
That dobe is so incredibly stupid at times -
Still, stupid or not this was Naruto. This was his dobe and his reason for fighting and Haku was aiming to kill him. Sasuke would not stand for that. A rage he had never managed to muster himself into ever before sparked to life within him and he acted without thinking.
In a flash, it was all over. Sasuke gritted his teeth as he tried to ignore the increasing pain in his right arm. He was in front of Naruto with his arm outstretched and Haku had his hand on the senbon that were meant for the blond but were instead in Sasuke's arm. Haku hadn't even bothered to throw it.
"Don't you dare," Sasuke's Sharingan eyes seemed to gleam with a red that was completely inhuman, verging on the point of insanity, "touch my precious person!"
Suddenly, Haku was hit by a blast of pure chakra. Red chakra. Evil - unwholesome - dirty - chakra. He had never felt this type of chakra before, and it felt as if it were on a completely different level. He couldn't resist -
He flew back, off of the edge of the bridge, and dropped into the water.
Sasuke grit his teeth as he focused on reigning in toxic chakra of the Kyuubi. That had been far too easy to call upon. If he remembered correctly, Naruto had only managed to crack the seal now, in Wave. Sasuke, it appeared, had managed it sooner.
Sasuke panted heavily, and it seemed as if that had taken all of his energy. He found new respect for the Naruto of his world because the blond had to deal with this all the time, this anger and pain, this urge to maim anything that so much as moved.
Then, he turned around to face Naruto. The blonde's sapphire eyes widened in terror. Sasuke's whole face had changed. There were semi-dark lines across his cheeks, oddly like whisker marks, and his eyes were not of the Sharingan but burning red. Lights danced furiously inside of those blood red pupils.
But the red chakra was receding, those eyes softening from the furious, wild, hatred to something more like a Sasuke-ish glare. Which was still pretty darn intimidating.
But what scared Naruto the most was Sasuke's expression. It was of anger, but also insanity, a mask of pure unreasonable rage. It reminded the blond of a wild animal.
"Don't ever," Sasuke's voice was rough, a growl of warning, "ever insult someone's precious person."
And for perhaps the first time in his life, Naruto couldn't speak.