Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto so don't sue me if you hate this story.

Chapter Seven

Sakura and Naruto yawned as they sat beside each other, watching Kakashi give medical attention to Sai and Sasuke. Sai was busy insulting Sasuke, as usual, and the Uchiha was just glaring at him. 'Someday, his face will be permanently glued like that.' Sakura sighed. There really was nothing to do but watch them argue, and it was really boring. Soon, both of the genins' eyes began to droop from exhaustion. Sakura closed her eyes and fell asleep on Naruto's shoulder, as did he.

Naiteki stared out at the empty space in front of her. Darkness. Everything was darkness. She too was just a figure shrouded in shadow, illuminated by onlya faint silver outline. She looked just like Sakura, except a bit fainter and with more of a wild appearance. Naiteki sighed and pulled her knees close to her chest, resting her chin on them.

A pause followed thereafter. She felt another presence appear behind her.

"…"

"…It's been a while, Kyuubi."

Somewhere, in the more dark recesses of the area, the frame of a male smirked and stepped forward. "It has, Naiteki."

She smiled at him and patted the spot next to her, motioning to him to sit down. He did as she told. "How have you been?"

"Fine," he said while lying down, letting his crimson tresses pool around his face. "What about you?"

The two demons were currently linked in a telepathic connection. Since Naruto's and Sakura's heads were so close together, they were able to establish a temporary link. See, the brain transmits signals while you sleep- along with chakra waves, so with a little manipulation the two demons were able to synchronize their container's minds for a short time. The link would last as long as Sakura and Naruto were asleep and kept their heads close to each other.

"I've been doing well," Naiteki replied, "It's just that sometimes Sakura really stresses me out."

Kyuubi chuckled, "You think you have it bad? I swear Naruto is going to send me to an early grave."

She giggled and cocked her head towards him. Naiteki had to admit, Kyuubi was sure a handsome demon. He had somewhat long, crimson hair that fell about to his shoulders, with bangs that partially covered his face and narrow,golden eyes to die for. Naiteki felt a little heat creep up in her cheeks and buried her head deeper in her knees.

"What's wrong?" he raised a single, perfectly-shaped eyebrow at her.

"Nothing," she squeaked. "Hehe."

His eyebrow rose a little higher but just turned away and hid a small smile that had begun to form on his lips.

"So…" Naiteki traced little circles on the ground, "I noticed you showed yourself today when you healed Naruto's cut."

"Pbfft, I've healed worse. One time he believed he could fly and taped two pieces of feathered cardboard to his arm and then jumped off the top of a tree."

Inner Sakura couldn't help but burst out in a fit of giggles. "He did that? Oh my god, I knew he was silly but I didn't know he was that oblivious." She clutched her stomach as she envisioned Naruto on top of a tree with cardboard taped to him, proclaiming he could "fly." Kyuubi's golden eyes softened at her.

"Yeah," he sat up, "Does Sakura ever cause you any trouble?"

"Eh, not as much as Naruto," Naiteki straightened her hair, "But yeah she does get me frustrated now and then. She always goes out wearing that darned hood and baggy clothes, even if it's like 4,000 degrees outside. She's a really lovely girl and a great person, but she just doesn't want to show it."

"Why does she do that?" asked Kyuubi. Naiteki's mood fell suddenly. The fox demon quirked an eyebrow at her and leaned closer. "Hey, are you okay?"

"It's my fault," Naiteki continued, "Sakura's afraid that if she gets too close to anyone and they find out that I live inside her, they might fear her and hate her. She believes that I might accidentally go on a rampage or something."

"Don't worry about it," Kyuubi replied, "It's just a sign that she cares about people."

"I guess," she sighed. It was hard to believe that the bloodthirsty nine-tailed fox that everyone feared was this same demon- he seemed so kind and gentle now. Being locked inside Naruto and seeing everything through his eyes gave him a new perspective on life, but his old power-hungry self was still in there somewhere and could be brought out by the slightest hint of blood.

Suddenly, Kyuubi perked up. "Hey, remember when everyone was introducing themselves about a month ago?" Naiteki nodded. "What did Sakura mean by 'finding one thing and letting go of another'?"

"Oh," the shadow of Sakura looked away, "…She wants to find her parents, or what happened to them. She was found abandoned at the age of four and Kakashi had taken her in. All her life it's been tormenting her. And the thing she wants to let go of is… me."

"I see," Kyuubi sighed, "Yeah, I understand that. Naruto would be better off if I left him too. But sadly, we can't leave our containers without killing them."

"I know."

The two demons sighed and just sat there next to each other for a while. Kyuubi felt more at ease than he did in a long time. It was nice talking to someone else other than Naruto for once. Sure Kyuubi and Naiteki had crossed paths before since they were both very powerful demons; however, they never really had time to just sit down and chat like they did now. Usually, they would battle. After a few moments, the fox demon sat up.

"I'd better get going now," he said, "And you should too."

Naiteki nodded; a hint of sadness in her eyes. "We'll get to talk again soon, right?"

His face softened at her. "Yeah,I promise." She smiled at him. "Well, take care," Kyuubi said. His golden eyes darted about awkwardly as he stood in front of the demon girl. Then, he quickly bent down and brushed his lips against hers.

Naiteki's eyes widened. "K-Kyuubi?" She felt an immense amount of heat begin to crawl up her neck and cheeks.

"I'll see you later," he called as he disappeared in the shadows. As soon as he left, Inner Sakura dropped to her feet and stared at the spot where he once stood, a hand reaching out to touch her lips.

"H-He… kissed me?"

"…"

"HELL YES! HAHAHAHA!" Naiteki punched the air and pranced around in joy. "CHA!"

"Ow," Sakura grumbled as she bolted upright from her sleep. She hissed and grabbed her head. As she did so, her hand accidentally slapped Naruto in the face. He yelped and fell off the log.

"Nani?" he sat up bewilderedly, "I didn't do anything!" Kakashi, Sai, Sasuke, and Tazuna looked up at them.

"Ow," Sakura massaged her temples, "Naiteki, what are doing up there? Throwing a party?"

"Sakura?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her, "Are you… talking to yourself?"

"Err, no." She quickly pushed Naiteki to the back of her mind. It took a bit of effort since Inner Sakura had somehow managed to conjure up an imaginary conga line. As she did so, Sakura's face contorted a bit as she concentrated. Unfortunately, this didn't pass unnoticed by Sai.

"Hey ugly,"he called, "Are you constipated?" He was silenced when a rock flew in his direction.

Kakashi sat stoking the fire as he read his precious Icha Icha Paradise. Tazuna merely stared at him in disgust. How could a teacher be reading that… stuff so publicly?

"Tazuna-san," the copy ninja said, not once taking his eyes off the book, "Why were those chuunin after you?"

The elderly man's breath caught in his throat.

"Our original mission was a C-class one, and in it we were told that we were to protect you from robbers or muggers, not ninja. If that were the case, we would have ranked this mission B or higher." He looked over the book at the now trembling Tazuna. "What's really going on here? If you don't tell, I'm afraid we'll have to abort this mission right here."

He sighed. "Fine. I'll spill. See, back in my country, we're trying to build a bridge that will connect us to the mainland. Do you know who Gato is?"

"Gato? Yes I've heard of him. The great shipping mogul."

"That whole shipping business is just a cover up for something more terrible. Gato is actually the head of an underground syndicate that consorts in things such as drugs and illegal imports. He controls all the waterways outside my village, and has created a monopoly by isolating our village, which in turn has turned us into a sickly, impoverished nation. If that bridge is built, the monopoly will be ruined and he'll lose everything."

"I see," Kakashi said. "So he wants to get you, head bridge builder, out of the picture so the bridge construction will stop."

"Exactly. Coming from a poor nation, I didn't have much money to pay for a B-class or higher mission so I had to resort to making it a C-classed one."

"Well, that wasn't so hard, was it?" the silver haired jounin sighed as he continued reading his book. "All you had to do was tell what was going on."

"You're still going to help me?" Tazuna looked at him incredulously, "Even after I lied to you?"

"A mission's a mission," Kakashi said, "Even if it's out of the required fields."

The party walked through the forest, the thickets of which seemed to get denser and denser. They could hear a river nearby, and a few birds chirping as they flew from tree to tree. Sakura looked a bit worried. Ever since last night Naiteki had sort of been in a daze, like she was daydreaming about something. 'Hey, Naiteki? Are you in there? Heelloooo?'

suddenly, Kakashi froze in his steps. 'Something's coming.' A faint whizzing sound reached his ears. His eyes widened. "EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" he yelled. Instantly, all six of them ducked and heard a loud, thump above them, like something large had lodged itself inside a tree.

They looked up and saw a large blade, probably as wide as the tree itself, lodged dangerously close to them. They grew more horrified when they saw a person materialize on the sword. He glared at them, face partially hidden by a cloth mask. His forehead protector had a slash through it, signifying he was as missing nin from the Village hidden in the Mist. He smirked when he saw Kakashi.

"Well, well, if it isn't the great copy ninja Hatake Kakashi himself. Hand over the old man."

"Zabuza Momochi," Kakashi growled, "Sakura, Sasuke, Sai, Naruto, watch Tazuna!"

"Hai!" they said as they surrounded the old man in a square formation. A dense mist began to surround them. "Where did this come from?"

"I'll need this," Kakashi said as he pulled up his forehead protector, revealing a crimson eye with three coma-like marks in the iris. Sasuke's eyes widened. T-That was… the Sharingan! But only members of the Uchiha clan possessed that trait. Could Kakashi be…?

Zabuza smirked at them and dislodged his sword. "Should have listened to me."

He then unleashed a war cry and rushed towards Kakashi. The copy ninja swiftly performed a few hand seals and appeared behind Zabuza, a kunai at his throat. "Don't move."

"Listen to your own advice," a voice smirked form behind him. Kakashi gasped and watched as the Zabuza in front of him melted into a puddle of water. A clone. Behind him was the real Zabuza, his enormous sword touching his neck.

Kakashi ducked and kneed the missing nin in the gut. Zabuza and he fought, leaping from tree to tree, fighting so fast it was all just a blur. The remainder watched with anticipation and was horrified when the battleground cleared and revealed that their sensei had been locked in a water prison.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled as he ran forward to save his teacher.

"No!" the jounin roared, "Naruto, stay back! Get back into your position!" But it was too late.

Another Zabuza clone had appeared behind Naruto. "Surprise."

The kitsune had no time to react as he was punched to the floor. The clone reached down and lifted the boy up again for another round of beating. Sasuke stepped forward and threw a handful of kunai at him. Zabuza smirked and caught all four of them without even looking. He then whirled around and threw them back at the Uchiha. As Sasuke blocked them, the clone reappeared behind him and kicked him to the ground.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled. Tazuna was stricken as he clutched his heart. Sai narrowed his eyes. Though his teammates were in trouble, he had to remain in his position and keep guard over Tazuna.

"Idiot," he snarled, "You think you're a ninja? All of you are nothing but worthless pieces of shit." He stomped on Sasuke, causing him to cry out and cough up a few drops of blood. Naruto shakily pulled himself up and aimed a kunai in front of him. Zabuza rolled his eyes and walked toward the blonde. He then bent down and ripped the forehead protector form the blonde's head and threw it to the ground, stomping on it with his foot. It began to crack. "Worthless. All of you will never know the true meaning of ninja."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw Zabuza perform another hand seal. He realized what jutsu was performing, and what he was going to use it for. "Sakura, Sai!" Kakashi hollered, "Watch out behind you!"

Another Zabuza clone reappeared in the center of the Sakura, Sai, and Tazuna trio. Their breathing hitched and they watched in mute horror as he prepared to slice them. "Sai, DUCK!" Sakura pushed both her teammate and her client to the ground, but she was a bit too slow in saving herself. All their eyes widened as they saw the sword graze her and heard the sound of something ripping and Sakura's scream. What happened? Did Zabuza manage to cut Sakura in half?

There was a pause as they watched the hooded nin fall to the ground. Sakura gripped the grass as her heart raced, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Suddenly, she felt herself become more panicky and her mind began to fog over in darkness. All of a sudden she stopped squirming.

"S-Sakura?"

There was a pause.

Her fingers twitched.

She rose steadily, her body pulling itself up with such grace. The Zabuza clone raised an eyebrow at her. Her chakra levels had suddenly skyrocketed. 'Interesting…'

As soon as she reached her full height, Sakura started giggling. Giggling? What the hell? Did that blow give her brain damage or something? She slowly raised her head. As she did so, her hood fell off in two clean-cut pieces. It pooled around her legs like a gray puddle. So the sword only grazed her hood, cutting it in half.

Sasuke, Sai, and Naruto stared with their mouths agape. Her hood was finally off! And there before them stood a girl with cropped, pink tresses, and striking rose colored eyes. A few chakra strings were visible as she started giggling again.

"Well, that gave me quite a scare," she smirked at Zabuza.

Kakashi's eyes widened. That wasn't Sakura's normal voice. It sounded like two voices were talking, one was her regular voice and the other was something darker and more devious. And what was wrong with her eyes? They were…pink.

Sai narrowed his eyes. He knew what was happening.

Naiteki had taken over.

"Let's get this party started, shall we?" Sakura said. Without wasting a single second, she advanced toward the missing nin and landed a kick on his chest. He grabbed her by her ankle and twisted it, expecting to hear some kind of cry of pain. She merely smiled and used her other leg to snap kick him in the jaw. He growled and was pushed back a few feet. She pumped more chakra into her fists and ran towards him. Zabuza quickly rolled away right as she punched the spot where he used to be, leaving a decent sized crater.

She pouted. "Why'd you move? It would've been funner if you stayed in place."

"Bitch," he growled and reached behind his back for his Kubikiri Houcho. He swung it with great force and she just stood there.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto screamed, "Watch out!"

But she continued to stand glued to her spot. Chakra flowed into two of her fingers as she lifted them and used it to block the gigantic sword. Zabuza's eyes widened. "What the hell!"

'Amazing,' Sasuke stared, 'She's blocking his Kubikiri Houcho with just two fingers and chakra.'

"My turn." She used his temporarily stunned disposition to grab his sword. She didn't even wince as the sharp side of the blade cut into her hand. Sakura then pumped chakra into her arms and used it to swing the gigantic sword around and slam Zabuza into a tree. Sakura pulled out a kunai and reappeared before him. With a smirk, she stabbed the shocked jounin. He cried out for a split second before melting into another puddle of water.

'So the Naiteki is a powerful demon. No wonder Orochimaru desires her so.' Sai thought grimly.

Another chakra presence began to materialize in a treetop. This newcomer had a mask on and had the symbol for Village Hidden in the Mist engraved on the forehead section. He frowned as he saw Sakura finish off the Zabuza clone. 'That girl's too powerful. Zabuza's already depleted enough chakra fighting Kakashi, using the water prison, and conjuring the clones. We'll have to finish this later.' Quietly, he pulled out two senbon needles.

"Agh," she wiped her hands, "So much trouble for just one clone. And now, to take care of the real one." She grinned madly at the real Zabuza.

"Bitch!" he yelled, "I'll kill you!" Suddenly, two senbon shot out of nowhere and pierced his neck. A strangled sound emitted from his throat as his eyes closed. The jounin fell to the ground, exterminating the water prison jutsu. Kakashi gasped as he fell into the river, along with Zabuza. The copy ninja dove down and dragged the missing nin up. He then swam to the shore where the others were waiting for them.

"Are you guys okay?" Naruto ran up to them. Sasuke, Sai, and Tazuna followed too.

"I'll take that," a boy with a mask stepped out from the shadows. He reached down and relieved the jounin of his heavy burden.

"Who are you?" Sasuke grew defensive.

Kakashi panted and looked up. "…A hunter nin."

"That's correct," the boy said, "My name is Haku. We've been searching for Zabuza Momochi for a while now, and we thank you for bringing him down for us. Well, I need to bring this body back to our village now, lest it expose some secrets. I do hope we meet again." Haku bowed deeply before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

They stared at the ground where the hunter nin stood. A sudden cough knocked them from their trance-like state.

Sakura coughed and doubled over. "I don't feel so good…" Her vision began to falter as her legs became weak. Sasuke caught her as she fell to the ground.

"Come," Kakashi said weakly, "We need to keep going. The Wave Village is only…a few…hours…" his voice trailed off as he too fell to the ground unconscious. Sai and Naruto ran up and lifted their teacher up.

"Teme," Naruto shook, "What happened to Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan?"

"They're just tired," Tazuna answered, "The battle took a lot out of them. We need to get them to my village so they can rest and have your wounds treated." The boys nodded and followed the bridge builder as they continued on. Sasuke hefted Sakura onto his back and felt her snuggle into his hair. His face softened. Maybe there was more to this girl than he thought…