Two jounin level ninjas were walking side by side into the prison, infamous for its share of rogues. Zabuza with anxious intent was ready to meet the man who revived him. The two made it to the dark figure's chamber.
"It's about damn time. I'm tired of waiting" Zabuza, impatient as ever
"You need a lesson in patience" Malhavoc proclaimed.
"Like you're good enough to teach me ANY lessons" Zabuza was challenging
"I can kill you easily Zabuza, you'll be one of the very few people to die twice" Malhavoc threatened
"I'm begging you, just try it"
The two ninjas readied their blades at one another. But they were both held in place when a massive force of chakra flung the doors of the chamber open, revealing the ominous figure that Malhavoc called master. As soon Zabuza would too. The figure towered over the ninjas with astounding authority, cloaked as to not show his identity.
"Please to make your acquaintance, demon of the hidden mist...I'm pleased Malhavoc, you've carried out your mission to revive Zabuza. Now as for the second part of your mission...?"
"So I take it you're the man I can thank for my living again? Zabuza asked
"Yes, However, your new found life doesn't come without a price" the figure propositioned.
"And that price is?" Zabuza questioned
" Your allegiance. You will ally yourself along with my other subordinates under my rule" the figured demanded
"I'm RULED by nobody" Zabuza scoffed as he began walking out.
The figure clinched his fists hard. It was a technique of his. Nobody that mastered it was alive today. The figured concentrated hard and Zabuza's chakra was being taken away.
"AGGHHGHH...what's happening" Zabuza questioned as he was stopped in his tracks with pain.
"I'm taking back what is mine. If you're not with me, you against me." The figure continued to drain the chakra from Zabuza's corpse.
"ALL RIGHT...I'm with you" Zabuza was submissive, much to his displeasure.
The figure gave off a dominant grin
"You just save your life Zabuza" he halted draining the chakra from Zabuza
Zabuza cursed this man's existence. He gritted his teeth in anger.
"Nobody masters me...I'm the demon of the mist...you will regret this..."Zabuza said in a low voice, inaudible to anyone else. He sat just watching Malhavoc and the cloaked figure with fury evident in his gaze.
"Malhavoc, report" the figure awaited news on the mission he had laid to the two.
"Master, the fox boy's strength is truly immense. To our knowledge, his power comes out in situations of pure desperation.
"I see..."the figure listened will
"Also, it seems that the fox demon power is at it's most ferocious when the pink haired girl, Sakura is in danger.
"Excellent work Malhavoc. " The figure was pleased.
"Master, the boy is powerful, but I think we can groom him...Groom him into become more powerful"
"Hmm...the more powerful he is, the better. What is your plan?"
"Zabuza and I are too powerful to mold the boy's inner demon into the ultimate warrior. He will need someone his equal...a rival if you will. Someone to push him to his maximum" Malhavoc propositioned.
"Interesting, are you saying someone comes to mind?"
"Yes, his teammate, the Uchiha boy, they seem to be equals, each with their own faults and strengths. It is very possible that in the end we can have two unstoppable warriors at our disposal." Malhavoc indeed had a clever plan.
"Malhavoc, Zabuza, prepare yourselves. Your next target is to bring the Uchiha boy here. Let nothing stand in your way. Accomplish this task at any and all costs." The order was given.
"Yes..."Malhavoc said willing on the task ahead of him
"..."Zabuza just nodded. Not accepting being ruled, but ready to do the assigned task.
Malhavoc and Zabuza took their leave and prepared themselves for their next task.
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Meanwhile, team 7 was on its way back home. Back to Konoha. They were battered and bruised for the most part, but at least they were alive. Kakashi took the lead as he normally does. Sasuke, as hurt as he was still didn't want help from anyone was close behind Kakashi. Naruto was walking alone keeping away from everyone. That was until a certain pink hair kunoichi purposely bumped into him to get his attention.
"Whatcha thinking about 'foxy' she said teasingly
"Foxy?" Naruto was confused to say the least. Sakura had never called him anything but his name. That was the kind of thing princess Morrigan did. Not Sakura.
"Geez, you don't have to act so surprised. I didn't think that calling you cute names was exclusive to the Princess." Sakura looked away, feeling a hint of jealousy
"No, no Sakura-chan, it's just that...you've never called me anything outside of my name before."
"Well friends have a connection like that right? You know, little names that are particular and have meaning only to them"
"You mean like boyfriends and girlfriends do?" Naruto said with a devilish grin looking at Sakura
"Don't get ahead of yourself" Sakura replied blushing as she pinched him pretty hard for embarrassing her.
The team trekked a long way but they've finally made it home. It was the middle of the day. Kakashi dismissed his team as he himself was planning on heading to the Hokage's office.
"Okay everyone, good job. You all have some time off until you hear otherwise. I'm proud of each of you. We came up against enemies that were equal to my strength and you all held your own. Enjoy your well-deserved time off." Kakashi vanished as he left his young team to their own devices.
"Well, guess I'll go home. Not that I have anything better to do" the boy said as he turned to walk toward his apartment.
Sakura took his hand and made him pause. He turned around to see Sakura smiling at him.
"Hey...if you want...we can hang out later tonight. Maybe you can come to my place to get me around 9 tonight. I wouldn't want you to be bored you know" Sakura was actually offering to hang out with Naruto.
"Hmm...is Sakura-chan asking me out on a date?" Naruto's eyes bulged at the thought of going out on a date with the girl that had his affections so completely.
She punched him in his stomach hard enough to make him lean downward. Inflicted pain on him in some way was her way of showing she cared while at the same time hide her embarrassment.
"Don't take it the wrong way idiot. I just don't want you to be bored." Sakura said with her eyes closed and nose stuck up.
Sakura began walking to her house. But the voice of her other teammate called out to her.
"Wait Sakura. We're going down the same way. Mind if I walked with you?" Sasuke asked, surprising Sakura
Inner Sakura
"Sasuke-kun is asking to walk...with me?...the world must be coming to an end. But hey I'll take what I can get"
Sakura and Sasuke began walking. But something made Sakura stop. She turned her head, looking at the blond teammate she had just inflicted pain upon.
"Please wait here Sasuke-kun" She asked as he shook is head to reply yes
She slowly walked back up to Naruto and leant to equal her head with his. She placed her fingers under his chin and rose his face to have eye contact. She then whispered in his ear.
"Don't be late..." she whispered as she kissed him on his cheek. Which in turn took his pain away. It was replaced with enthusiasm and a smile
She then left her heavily grinning friend and made her way back toward Sasuke
Naruto, who was once in pain, now in bliss was walking back home with his head held high. The villagers were mocking and cursing him, but he was too caught up in his blissful thoughts of Sakura to notice.
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Kakashi had just made it to the Hokage's office. Just as he was about to knock on the door. He heard arguing.
"SHIZUNE STOP BADGERING ME. THE WORK WILL GET DONE" Tsunade yelled behind the massive stacks of paperwork
"IT WON'T IF YOU KEEP SLEEPING ON THE JOB" Shizune screamed back to the Hokage.
Kakashi opted for just opening the door rather than knocking sensing something was wrong. The yelling immediately stopped when Kakashi walked in.
"You could have knocked Kakashi." Tsunade said as she saw the copy ninja's figure
"Kakashi..."Shizune froze at the mention of his name. She turned around with surprise in her face to stare at him
"Hi!" the ninja smiled through his mask
"KAKASHI!" Shizune ran to the ninja with a great smile and open arms. This time her yell wasn't out of retaliation or anger. Now it was just her being happy.
"I missed you too Shizune!"
"You two can get cozy on your own time. Right now however, I need to speak with Kakashi" Tsunade said, breaking up the moment.
Shizune had a crest fallen look on her face as she began walking out.
"I hope you don't have plans tonight, because I'll be waiting..." Shizune whispered to Kakashi as she licked him on his neck before she walked out.
"Sigh...love is in the air. Right copy ninja" she said teasingly
"UH umm yeah. Now about my report" Kakashi still flustered by Shizune.
"Of course" Tsunade readied to listen to what Kakashi had to say
Kakashi indeed had plenty to report. The fact that the princess's captor was Malhavoc, the revival of Zabuza, the compromising of his students, and the effects of the Malhavoc's jutsu on Naruto.
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Naruto was walking happily, merrily home. But he noticed he was being watched. It was a young female ninja. She was about his age. Before she knew it, he was out of her range of vision
"What? Where did he..." the female kunoichi looked left and right, searching for Naruto
"HI HINITA!" Naruto was right behind Hinita
"AGGHH...I...hi Naruto-kun..." Hinita was shocked and timid at the same time
"Why are you spying on me like that"? Naruto questioned
"Naruto-kun...I...I was uh saw that you had returned...and..." She was nervous. The boy she had a crush on was questioning her
"You know, you can just say hello next time. I won't bite ya." Naruto said with a grin
Hinita blushed uncontrollably.
"Thank you...Naruto-kun" Hinita replied
"I was on my way home, but we can catch up sometime if you'd like"
"Yes...I'd like that..." Hinita was happy
Naruto continued on his way home as Hinita looked on. Naruto was very tired. But the thought of meeting with Sakura later kept him rejuvenated. He went into his apartment and took himself a quick shower. After, he plopped his tired frame onto his nice warm bed. He fell asleep almost instantly.
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Sakura and Sasuke continued walking until they made it to Sasuke's house, is place was closer.
"Thanks a lot Sakura" he actually thanked her
"Your welcome Sasuke-kun. It was fun walking with you" Sakura blushed a bit.
Sasuke went inside as Sakura continued on her way. Sasuke was happy to be home. Now he could heal in peace.
Inner Sakura
"Did he...THANK me?...after all this time, I'm finally melting that cold exterior"
Sakura continued on her way till she reached her house.
" MOM!" she saw her mother as she went through the door.
Ms. Haruno was truly happy to see her daughter. The two sat down and talked about many things. Naruto's name had even popped up quite a few times.
"You must really care about Naruto, don't you" her mother asked with a smile
"NO mom! I love Sasuke-kun. Naruto-kun...he's...he's a good friend" Sakura said with authority while trying to defend herself
"Still harboring that crush like all the other young girls I see" her mom smiled
"It's not a crush mom, it's love" Sakura smiled
"Is that right? Then what's with Naruto-Kuuuuun...?" Her mom was teasing her
"MOM STOP IT. I just consider him a dear friend. That's all! I'm going to take a nap." Sakura, a tad annoyed went to her room
Her mother just watched her daughter with a smile as she went up the stairs. Her little girl was growing up. And whether she realized it or not, she was realizing her true love and slowly letting go of her crush. And that made her happy. She didn't want her daughter to make the same mistake she had many years ago.
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Tsunade and Kakashi were concluding the report. Kakashi had much to tell her. And much planning had to be made.
"Malhavoc... That name bring back memories. I wish he'd never left the village when he did...the way he did..." Tsunade said, remembering Konoha's old comrade
"Yeah...he was a true friend..." Kakashi remembered as well, regretting the past
"Not that I've ever met Zabuza, but from the tales I used to hear, he's one of the most powerful ninja outside of being a hokage or sannin." Tsunade was concerned
"I've tangoed with him before ma'am. And whatever stories you heard are dead on. He's nothing to joke around with It's just..." Kakashi hesitated, an uncommon trait for him.
"Yes?..." Tsunade urged Kakashi to speak his words
"Well, last we met Zabuza, he wasn't like that at all. Both he and Haku were at peace. But now, he's come back as the legendary demon of the mist he was when he was in the village of the hidden mist." Kakashi noted
"That's a fairly dangerous development Kakashi. I will have that looked into. Anyways, thank you for your report Kakashi. You can leave now. Oh...and there is someone waiting for you outside the door" Tsunade's instincts were right
Kakashi walked out the door to see Shizune hiding behind it.
"Shizune? Why are you here?" Kakashi was curious
" Did you honestly think I was going to leave you alone in a room with another woman without being curious?" She said with a seductive smile
"Oh please, there's only one woman for me" Kakashi smiled as he wrap his arm around Shizune
"Lucky for you, I can poison you with a kiss if you ever deviate from that" Shizune still flirting his way
"Would you do that to me?" Kakashi asked
"Make me jealous and find out" Shizune winked
The two made their way out of the Hokage's office
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It was now 7pm. Naruto had woken up and began getting ready. He went to his mirror and started admiring himself, fully confident that he was going to see Sakura.
"Yeah now THAT is what I'm talking about. I'm hanging out with Sakura tonight. I AM THE MAN!" Naruto was surely high on himself.
He continued on getting ready. I was not going to allow himself to be nothing less than perfect.
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Sasuke was just watching the time flow. He was bored. The fact that he was still injured and in disrepair left him with little options however. He figured he'd call Sakura and catch her before she left to meet Naruto.
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Sakura was getting herself prepared to meet Naruto. She kept telling herself it wasn't a date. To her, she was just hanging out with a friend. She hoped into the shower. Without warning, she was thinking about the blond ninja she was going to meet soon.
Inner Sakura
"I can't believe I asked Naruto-kun on a date...no, to hangout...At least now I have a chance to get to know him better like I wanted, especially now that Morrigan isn't all over him..."
Even in thought she was starting to see Naruto as more than simply a friend. Even though she denied it, he was beginning to win her heart. Even without him knowing it. The phone rang and broke her train of thought.
"Sakura, Sasuke's on the phone for you" Her mother yelled out, getting her daughter's attention.
Sakura finished up and came to the phone. Sasuke had asked her to hang out with him before she left to meet Naruto. It shocked her, but she complied nonetheless.
Inner Sakura
"Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to check on him. I do still have a little time before I have to see Naruto"
Sakura went over to Sasuke's house to check on how he was doing. It was around 8 on the nose.
"How are you doing Sasuke-kun?
"I'm fine, I was just a little bored" Sasuke replied
"Well, what is it that you want to do, is there anything I can do for you Sasuke-kun?" Sakura thoughtfully questioned.
"Nothing much, I just wanted company to relieve this boredom" Sasuke gestured
The two sat around until it was a quarter to 9. Sakura was getting ready to leave. She didn't want to keep Naruto waiting around. And she would definitely kill him if he was late.
"Well Sasuke-kun, I have to get going. I need to get back home to catch Naruto." She said as she began to head out the door. She opened the door just to feel it stop.
She turned around and Sasuke was holding the door and staring her in the eyes. Sakura was frozen. He slowly closed the door and moved closer to Sakura.
Inner Sakura
" ...Sasuke-kun..."
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Naruto was already at Sakura's house. We was right on time.
"Good evening Ms Haruno" Naruto greeted the lady of the house
"Come in dear" Ms. Haruno was happy to see the boy
Ms. Haruno gave Naruto some tea while he waited. She decided to get to know him as he was going to be taking her daughter out.
"So, you're a teammate of Sakura's I hear."
"Yeah ma'am. Your daughter is amazing. Not to mention she's the smartest person I know." He was complimenting her daughter
Ms. Haruno decided to see how he felt about her daughter
" Naruto, what do you think about Sakura" she asked bluntly
"Uh...she's nice..." Naruto, not wanting to give his feelings away
"Oh come on boy, you KNOW what I meant" Ms. Haruno stated even more directly than the previous question.
"Ms. Haruno...honestly, I've been in love with your daughter for as long as I can remember. But...I don't have any hope thought. She told me that her love is for Sasuke..." He said looking away from Sakura's mother.
"Oh..."that was all Ms. Haruno could say. She knew her daughter had feelings totally opposite of what she had told Naruto.
Inner Ms. Haruno
"Sakura...my daughter...don't make the same mistake I made. Don't be like me
It was then that she remembered that Sasuke called.
Inner Ms. Haruno
"Sakura...no..."
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Back at the prison, Zabuza and Malhavoc made themselves ready. They were given two squads of renegade ninjas by their master. They were in command of two bands of vicious, cutthroat villains of the lowest caliber. They began on their long trek toward Konoha. With Sasuke as the objective, any who stood in their way was to be killed on spot. Step to was underway...
To be continued...