Sasuke and Haku repeatedly attacked each other, and Akira was relieved to see that her brother was holding his own so far. Still, if Kakashi had suspected for even a second that that boy was ANBU, then she was sure that this wasn't the extent of his abilities. Akira looked past them and at Zabuza, who didn't look concerned at all that his partner was in the middle of a fight. Instead, he was casually leaning against his broadsword, looking at them with a sort of ambivalence that irritated Akira.
"We want the bridge builder, not you," Haku said. Akira looked back at him. "If you back down, I won't have to kill you."
"Save it," Sasuke scoffed as he stopped another attack.
"You're making a mistake. You won't be able to keep up with my speed. I've already gained two key advantages."
"Oh, yeah? What are they?"
"First, we're surrounded by water," Haku said, looking at the puddles of water that came from the clones they destroyed earlier. "And second, you only have one free hand to defend yourself now that I've blocked one."
Just then, Haku began making hand seal with one hand, without having to connect them to the other. Akira, Sakura and Kakashi looked on with surprise—it took an extraordinarily skilled ninja to perform complete hand seals with one hand.
"Secret Jutsu: One Thousand Needles of Death!"
Haka stomped his foot into the water underneath them, and suddenly, the puddle rose into the air, turning itself into a thousand needles made of ice. Sakura whimpered, worried, but Akira simply looked on, confused. No matter how impressive and strange the jutsu was, as long as it didn't hit any vital organs, it wasn't deadly at all. Had Haku told the truth? Did he really not want to cause them any harm?
As the needles came down, Sasuke concentrated chakra to his feet and jumped clear from the ice, but further away from Akira, Haku and the others. As he came back down, Sasuke threw multiple shurikens at Haku, but the boy dodged them all. A split second later, Sasuke was behind Haku, and he kicked him right in the back, sending the boy flying towards Zabuza. When Haku landed, Sasuke returned by Kakashi's side.
"Thought you were quicker, huh?" Sasuke taunted. He scoffed. "My sister is faster than me—imagine that. Now, what else are you wrong about?"
"You made a big mistake insulting these ninjas by calling them brats," Kakashi said proudly. "That's just guaranteed to bring out Sasuke's attitude. Akira will probably just want to beat you to see if she can."
"And I will," Akira said under her breath.
"Sakura here is one of our sharpest minds, and last but not least, our number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja, Naruto Uzumaki."
For a moment, Zabuza looked irked. As Haku stood, Zabuza ushered him back towards Team Seven. Suddenly, azure chakra became visible, like burning flames, surrounding Haku like a barrier. They reached almost a foot around Haku, and it seemed that it was expanding the more it was active.
"I'm sorry it's come to this," Haku said.
There was a sudden drop in temperature, and Akira's long calm breaths became visible. Haku rose his hands into a peculiar seal, his forefingers crossed together, and the water beneath Sasuke's feet rose into columns of ice twice his height, forming some kind of arena of mirror-like panels.
"Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors!"
"Sasuke!" Akira shouted pointlessly, taking a step forward.
"Akira, stay where you are," Kakashi-sensei said sternly.
Akira stopped herself in her tracks and cursed under her breath. She had no idea what those mirrors were, what that jutsu was, and Sasuke was trapped in the middle of it all. Being asked to stay back was like confining a child to a playpen—they ached to go out and play.
"Fine, then I suppose I'll participate from a distance."
Akira's dark blue irises shifted to blood red in a split second, with two tomoe coming to a halt around her pupils.
"The runt has the Sharingan in both eyes!?" Zabuza exclaimed.
Akira's sharp gaze went from Haku to Zabuza in an instant. She could see his chakra flowing through him, she could see his muscles twitch as he thought of grabbing his broadsword, and while the naked eye couldn't tell, Akira could see the blood pumping faster and faster.
"You nervous Zabuza Momochi?" she taunted.
Zabuza growled at her, but he made no move to attack. Akira's eyes shifted from him towards Haku and Sasuke, just as the former entered one of the ice mirrors. Just then, Kakashi stepped forward and dashed towards Sasuke, but Zabuza intercepted him.
"If you enter this fight, you fight me," he said. His eyes flickered over to Akira. "You enter this fight, and the Sharingan kid gets it."
Akira focused on the strange jutsu that Haku was using. It was nothing like she'd ever seen. There was chakra all over the place, chakra she could barely identify, and Haku was moving so fast that Akira's Sharingan had trouble keeping up with him. Needles were flying out of the mirrors at incredible speed, and they were continually grazing Sasuke as if Haku was playing with him. But Sasuke couldn't dodge them. If he did, he risked getting seriously hurt.
Sasuke haphazardly attempted to fight back, but the needles were coming at him in impossible quantities, and they knocked the kunai out of his hand. It flew off and landed at Sakura's feet. Akira watched as Haku moved around, throwing needles endlessly until Sasuke couldn't even defend himself. He was shielding himself with his arms, hoping that they would prevent any internal organs from getting hit.
Akira saw Kakashi shift his position. As he tried to move, Zabuza blocked his path again, smiling maliciously.
"Just try to stop him, and I'll kill the other three in a heartbeat," Zabuza said, looking behind Kakashi at Sakura and Tazuna.
Akira's gaze was suddenly grabbed by Sakura. She ran forward, and as she did, Akira reached out, grabbed her, turning Sakura so that her green eyes stared, frightened, into Akira's red ones. Akira didn't need to look down at her hands to know that Sakura was holding Sasuke's kunai, dead set on defending him. Akira gently grasped Sakura by the shoulders and, after what looked like a silent conversation, Akira took Sasuke's kunai.
In a split second, Akira ran past Kakashi and Zabuza, then threw Sasuke's kunai back at him. Half of Haku's body came out of a mirror, and he caught the weapon easily, but he hadn't noticed the shuriken Akira threw with it, so it hit him straight in the face, sending Haku toppling out of his mirror. The needles stopped coming and, just as Haku fell to the ground, a smoke bomb exploded in the centre of the mirror arena. Akira backed up and returned by Sakura's side. Even through the mist, Akira knew it was Naruto—she didn't expect him to stay out of the fight for very long.
"Naruto Uzumaki is here! Yeah, believe it!" Naruto cheered, a determined look on his face. "Ha! Now that I'm here, everything will be all right!"
"Naruto!" Sakura said happily.
"You know, in the stories, the hero usually arrives late and then kicks butt? Well, that's what I'm gonna do right now, believe it!"
Akira was slightly disappointed that Naruto didn't stay hidden to help from afar, but it was Naruto after all. At this point, she was just happy that there was another one of her teammates around to help them fight Zabuza and Haku.
"All right! You're history!" he said, crossing his index fingers in front of him. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Akira sighed, this time disappointed that he was so overt with his jutsu, but it seemed that the clones scared Zabuza enough for him to shoot a handful of shuriken in his direction. Akira followed them with her Sharingan and, much to everyone's surprise, Haku shot needles at the shuriken, effectively knocking them to the ground.
"Their weapons cancelled each other out," Sakura said, amazed.
"What're you doing Naruto, are you crazy!?" Akira yelled, her red eyes focused on the yellow-haired boy. "This is a battle, not a talent show! Don't let your opponent see your jutsu!"
"Ah! Akira what's up with—"
"Shut up!" Sasuke said, hitting Naruto over the head.
"A shinobi's art is deception!" Kakashi shouted. "Always keep the enemy guessing. Even when executing a single jutsu, one must distract their opponent's attention, catch them off-balance and out-manoeuvre them. You just turn yourself into a human target when you enter a battle like that!"
"Ah! I'm sorry!" Naruto yelled. "I was just trying to rescue everybody!"
Akira's gaze turned from Naruto to Haku, who was staring at him through the mask.
"Haku, what're you doing?" Zabuza asked.
"Zabuza, this boy, let me fight him my own way," Haku asked. "Please."
"Bring it on!" Naruto called, seemingly not intimidated.
"So you want me to leave this to you? Is that it, Haku?" Zabuza scoffed. "As usual, you're too soft."
"Forgive me."
Zabuza wasn't wrong. Haku's jutsu had the potential to be fatal and far more dangerous than it actually was. Through all that moving and all those needles, Sasuke had come out relatively unharmed. His entire body was scratched up, but Sasuke was in good condition to fight aside from the pain. Surely, Haku wasn't soft, but he had proven to be at least far less cruel than Zabuza, that was certain.
"I'm warning you! One way or another, I'm going to rip that mask off and take you apart!" Naruto yelled, pointing accusingly at Haku.
As the shouting went on, Akira looked around at the ice mirrors and the chakra flowing through Haku and then, just like that, it clicked. Every little bit of information fit together like a perfect puzzle.
"Sensei—It's a kekkei genkai!"
"Kekkei genkai?" Sakura said, confused. "What's that?"
"It's like mine and Akira's Sharingan," Kakashi said. "You can't learn it. It has to be in your blood, in your genetic code, passed down from generation to generation in a single clan."
"But that means..."
"Yeah. Neither of us can copy that jutsu," Akira said. "Unless Haku is stopped, there's no way to put an end to that jutsu."
Akira was definitely worried now. She wished that she was within the confines of the ice mirror jutsu to lend Sasuke and Naruto an extra pair of eyes, especially now that the needles had resumed flying around at top speed. Seeing everything happening around her and not being able to do anything was beginning to get to her, and Akira's knuckles grew white as she clung onto her tachi even harder. She was getting angrier by the second, silently cursing the two rogue ninjas for hurting her only family, for hurting her comrades. However, unlike the rage that consumed Akira the night prior, this was a wave of controllable anger, calm and steady. It was the anger that Akira poured into her training. But Sakura was worried, as was Kakashi, for the anger that shone in her eyes was the anger that rose out of someone who wanted to destroy.
"Naruto! Sasuke!" Sakura shouted. "Take this guy out, you can do it!"
"Don't Sakura," Kakashi said sternly. "Don't push them. Even if they somehow found a way to overcome the mirror jutsu, they still couldn't defeat this
"How can you be so sure!?"
"They have the desire to win. But they don't have the instinct to kill. Even Akira, as angry as she is right now... I doubt she'd follow through."
"You wanna test me, Sensei?" Akira said, sounding dangerously calm.
"That boy is a whole other breed, Akira," Kakashi said. "He lives for pain. He thrives on it."
"He could die for it too, if he wanted," Akira added, her blades twitching in her hands.
Kakashi sighed, weighing his options as he gazed between Sasuke and Naruto, and Sakura and Akira. After a moment, Kakashi's hand went to the bandanna covering his left eye. Zabuza laughed and, anticipating his movement, dashed forward clutching a kunai before Kakashi could reveal his Sharingan. But his actions were interrupted as two swords suddenly came slashing down on his arm, successfully disarming him. Akira was standing before him, eyes red as blood and cold as ice, jaw set in anger.
"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei—" Akira brought her swords back up—"I'll kill you!"
Zabuza moved back as Akira slashed at his face. When he was at a safer distance, a cut suddenly appeared on his face.
"And I thought the other one had an attitude," Zabuza chuckled. Then, as if somehow just feeling the pain, he noticed the cut on his face. "You little runt, I'll—"
"You know, Zabuza, if my Sharingan is just an old trick, why did you stop me?" Kakashi interrupted.
"Let your opponent see your jutsu too many times, and he'll find a way to use it against you."
"Then count yourself lucky. You're the only man alive who's seen my Sharingan twice. So, show's over—there won't be a third time."
"Even if you did defeat me, you have no chance against Haku," Zabuza said. "When I found him, he was just a street kid. But I trained him in the most advanced ninja techniques; eventually, his power even surpassed my own. His bloodline trait, the kekkei genkai, cannot be defeated by anyone. I've created a tool that can destroy anything that stands in my way, unlike the useless punks that follow you around. You think your genin punks together can beat Haku? He's the ultimate! A battle tool of destruction!"
"Are you finished bragging yet? You're starting to put me to sleep," Kakashi said, annoyed, as he revealed his Sharingan. "Let's finish this now!"
"Fine. But there's one more thing you should know. A little more bragging, as you say. Did you really think our last battle was just win or lose? That I took your attacks like some rank genin?" Zabuza asked. "Haku was there, hiding, watching every move you made. Studying your Sharingan. Haku can see a jutsu once and immediately devise a lethal counterattack. It's one of his... gifts. I've been waiting to see the look on your face when you realise that your Sharingan has become useless."
"Every Sharingan is unique, Zabuza," Akira said sternly. "Just because you've analysed Kakashi-sensei's, doesn't mean you know mine."
"We'll see about that. Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
Akira stared at Zabuza as he performed his jutsu until he suddenly vanished into the heavy mist. Akira glanced over her shoulder at Tazuna and Sakura then over to Naruto and Sasuke. Soon, even Akira's Sharingan couldn't see through the fog, and all her comrades had vanished within it. With a frown, Akira turned around completely so that she was back-to-back with Kakashi. Her eyes scanned the mist for any sort of movement that appeared in thinner parts of the mist, but for a while, there was nothing, until Akira spotted glimmering shuriken coming straight for her and Kakashi. He had spotted them too, and they both stopped the shuriken in their tracks.
"Very skilful, as I'd expect from Kakashi... but not this brat."
Just then, both Kakashi and Akira's Sharingan picked up movement within the mist, and Zabuza appeared before them, eyes closed. Akira positioned her swords to defend herself, but Zabuza disappeared just as fast as he'd appeared. Akira sighed, annoyed. He was fighting in a mist that was already too thick for him to see in, and he was aiming perfectly with his eyes closed; Zabuza was a far greater opponent than Akira had expected. For a moment, Akira wondered where he'd appear next. Would he try to take her and Kakashi out again, or would he not test his luck against two Sharingan wielders. No. Zabuza's target was the bridge builder.
It seemed like Akira and Kakashi had the same idea. Just as Akira nudged Kakashi, he turned around, and they shared a knowing look before dashing forward and into the mist. By the time they'd reached Sakura and Tzuna, Zabuza was already launching himself at them. Kakashi sped forward and got in between them and Zabuza, but he was too slow to avoid the Demon's broadsword. It slashed at Kakashi's chest, going straight through his thin armour. As Sakura screamed and Zabuza cackled about having laid a hand on Akira's sensei, Akira slid in front of Kakashi and swiped one of her tachi at Zabuza with ferocity. Much like Kakashi, Zabuza wasn't fast enough to evade the girl's attack, and the tachi connected in the same spot his broadsword hit Kakashi.
"You little punk!" Zabuza growled.
Akira wasted no time in slashing her other sword at him as the other came back into its original position. Zabuza blocked it with his broadsword, but Akira slashed her second tachi at his legs, creating a large gash across Zabuza's thighs.
"I told you," Akira stated. "You lay a hand on my sensei, and you're a dead man."
"You might have guts, kid, but I can't say the same for the ones fighting Haku," Zabuza said, slowly retreating back into the mist. "They've got no chance at all."
Zabuza disappeared into the mist again, and Akira tried her best to keep her calm as the anger in her stomach threatened to bubble up again. Kakashi was wounded, Sakura and Tazuna were scared out of their minds, and Akira couldn't even tell whether Sasuke and Naruto were still alive. It wasn't the time to get angry—she had to keep a level head. But it was growing increasingly challenging as the battle went on. Kakashi's overuse of his Sharingan was taking a toll on him, and while Akira's was fine, she was growing tired of running around and attacking Zabuza. A real fight was nothing like training, it was much harder on the body, and Akira momentarily regretted not sparring with Kiba more heavily.
"You know, Zabuza," Akira called out into the mist. A sudden burst of confidence rose up from the anger in her chest. "I have faith in Naruto and Sasuke! And if anyone tried to take them away, they'll pay!"
"Exactly," Kakashi agreed. "I believe in their abilities. I have faith in them, in Naruto, our number one knucklehead ninja; and Sasuke, the second of the two heirs to the most powerful clan in the Hidden Leaf Village!"
"You mean—" Zabuza began from somewhere in the mist.
"Yes. His full name is Sasuke Uchiha, and this punk right here is his sister, Akira Uchiha. The unique powers of the Uchiha bloodline run through their veins—the kekkei genkai is their birthright!"
"I'd heard that two young ninjas had survived the tragedy of the Uchiha clan. No wonder they advance so quickly. But so does Haku—no one can match him!"
A small, humourless laugh rose from the mist.
"If we're no match for Haku," Akira said lowly. "Then what does that say about you, Zabuza Momochi? I've already got two hits on you, and I wasn't even trying that hard."
As Zabuza began to protest, Kakashi and Akira dashed into the mist once again, but they stopped dead when they'd only moved a few feet away. They were sensing something big, chakra that was almost tangible. Akira could feel the wrath, the bloodlust—this wasn't Haku or Zabuza. It was something bigger, something exponentially more dangerous than Akira was prepared for.
To her left, Kakashi was staring off in the same direction she was, deep in thought. As she turned to look at him, Kakashi pulled out a scroll from his jacket and opened it with one hand. He swiped some blood off of his wound and ran it across the scroll.
"Zabuza, I don't mean to spoil your fun. I know how you like to stretch things out and play with your food," Kakashi said, rolling up the scroll. He placed his hands in a seal, the scroll resting atop them. "But how about we put an end to this now? Come on, what do you say? We're all busy people."
"Hm, tempting," Zabuza said slowly. "I'm curious to see how you intend to back up such brave words—show me, Kakashi!"
Kakashi performed a few more hand signs, the scroll still in his hands somehow, and then slammed it to the ground. Suddenly, there was a rumble beneath Akira, and she looked into the mist, confused when she heard barking.
"A pack of dogs?" Akira whispered.
"I realised that if I couldn't see you, I'd have to smell you out."
Suddenly, the mist cleared a little and, with the Sharingan, Akira and Kakashi were able to see Zabuza up ahead. Half a dozen dogs were latched onto various part of his body, each wearing a scarf with a different symbol. Akira smiled. Kakashi had let Zabuza cut him in order for his ninken to track the enemy.
"See? I let you cut me. It was the scent of my blood on your blade that lead them to you," Kakashi said. "And with Akira attacking you, it made it look far less deliberate. Good job with that, by the way."
"Oh, uh, thanks?"
"Looks like I wasn't the only one who was blind. Falling right into my trap? You disappoint me, Zabuza."
"Sensei, the mist is starting to clear," Akira said, seeing the mist retreating from her field of vision.
"Yes, it is. And do you know what I see, Akira?" The girl shook her head. "His death."
"Talk, talk," Zabuza scoffed. "Do you mean to talk me to death?"
"No, there's been enough talk. Time to finish it." Kakashi said sternly. Though he somehow still managed to sound like his usual aloof self. "And I think I'll introduce you to my own jutsu this time."
Kakashi rapidly interlocked his fingers into numerous seals, some of which Akira didn't recognise, though her Sharingan was sure to remember them. As he finished the last seal, Kakashi took hold of his wrist, right hand cupped as if he was holding something. Suddenly, bright blue chakra became visible in a circle around Kakashi's feet, and it began to pool in his hand, forming a ball of hyper-concentrated and visible chakra. There was so much chakra, in fact, that as it moved around in his hand, it chirped like a thousand birds. Akira's eyes widened in awe.
"I won't allow you to kill, Tazuna. He's a brave man with a noble dream. The bridge he's building is the hope of this land and all its people. You're like a disease; by attacking one, you infect all—and you don't care. That's not the way of the Shinobi!"
"You're right, I don't care," Zabuza said. "These useless little people and their petty little dreams—why should they matter to me? I have a dream of my own. And your little runts are gonna get it Kakashi. When I get out of this, I'm going to watch all of them die real nice and slowly."
Akira's jaw was set in anger. She planted her swords into the concrete under her feet and made a series of hand signs as well. When she grasped her tachi again, the familiar sensation of electricity burned at her skin and spread to her blades. Kakashi looked down at her, concern growing in his eyes.
"Don't look at me like that," Akira said calmly.
"Akira—"
"I know what I'm doing. I've stared death in the face before, Sensei."
Kakashi frowned, but he didn't stop Akira from charging at Zabuza alongside him. Their electric attacks lit up the remaining mist, but slowly it left, letting Kakashi and Akira see Zabuza more clearly. As Akira approached Zabuza, her heart began to pound faster and faster. The seriousness of her claims and of her actions started to dawn on her, as her anger slowly lifted from her chest. She was about to kill someone. Barely a teenager and the girl had her sights set on killing an enemy. Akira didn't stop, though. She couldn't even if she wanted to; Akira was running too fast to stop herself in time before her blades went through Zabuza.
As Akira counted the last steps before reaching him, Kakashi's and Akira's Sharingans picked up movement. But it was too late to move, to late to react. Kakashi's palm hit, Akira's blades pierced, and while their attacks were successful, they didn't hit the right person.
Akira's eyes widened, and her breath hitched in her throat. Blood from the inflicted wounds splashed onto her face and clothes, littering the girl's shocked expression with drops of red. Her fearful eyes looked straight into the person she'd hit, and with barely a whisper, Akira managed to mutter his name.
"Haku..."