Chapter Four: Building Bridges
Author's Note: Like always I'd like to start off by thanking all of the new people who have liked, followed or reviewed this story. Second, I'll say that I've decided on the girl I want from Kumo…
*drum roll*
Mabui!
Now I know some people wanted Samui and/or Yugito, and while I might still include Samui I can't think of a way to include Yugito that makes sense because I don't see a village giving up their Jinchuuriki-except maybe Takigakure-because a Jinchuuriki is a village's deterrent.
As for Konoha, the girls I have in mind-in no particular order- Mitarashi Anko (Will probably be deaged a bit if I choose her), Inuzuka Hana, Yamanaka Ino, Kurama Yakumo, Hyuuga Hinata, Hyuuga Hanabi (Hanabi would be aged up a bit) and some people have suggested a Female Itachi (Not gonna lie, this idea kind of interests me.) I set up a blind poll just to see what other people's thoughts are.
Otherwise I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Bold: Technique Names (English Translation)
Italics: Thoughts
Horizontal line: Flashback
(Scene change): Self-explanatory
Off the coast of Nami no Kuni, a bridge was awash in a maelstrom of blond shadow-clones. All of them being directed by the self-described "Master Bridge Builder" Tazuna:
"Run that wood over there!" Tazuna pointed at a group of six clones carrying stacks of lumber, directing the clones with a flick of his thumb towards the end of the bridge leading towards Hi no Kuni.
"Bring Takeshi some nails!" He hollered at a clone standing near the supply tent.
"Walk underneath the bridge and check for faults!" Ten clones standing near the railings quickly hopped over, stuck their feet to the side and started doing just that.
"Don't you dare write your name in that cement!" Tazuna barked at a clone who had his finger hovering above some drying cement. The clone gave the old man a sheepish grin in response and then walked off to help his clone brothers with the other odd jobs Tazuna had them doing.
Tazuna wiped the sweat off his brow with the towel he kept around his neck as he looked up into the clear blue sky and towards the sun; "Almost noon, we'll break for lunch in another hour." Tazuna looked over his shoulder to see his guard for the past few days, and the source of his increased manpower; "You hear that, brat? We'll break in an hour. You can start dispelling your clones in the next ten minutes."
"I heard you, old man." Naruto waved him off as he kept his eyes trained on the Nami end of the bridge, scanning for long black tresses and a bright pink kimono that never failed to get his heart pumping.
Tazuna, seeing where the boy's attention was, chuckled. "You know, I thought a guard is supposed to be searching for threats, not their girlfriend."
Naruto sputtered, his face turning red, as he turned to yell at the old man; "Haku-chan's not my girlfriend!"
"Really?" Tazuna raised an eyebrow as he raised his right hand and started listing examples; "She brings you lunch everyday, she greets you with a hug and a kiss, she's practically attached to your hip when she's here, you hate to see her leave but you love to watch her go…" Tazuna's eyes widened as if he had just had an epiphany, though in reality he had just seen an opportunity, for the girl in question had just shown up, and she was within earshot. "You're right, brat, she's not your girlfriend; she's your wife!" Tazuna cackled as he saw Naruto turn so red you could fry an egg on his forehead, while Haku was fairing better with only a pink dusting to her cheeks.
Unknown to Tazuna, his words painted an image in Naruto's mind that would make the likes of Kakashi and Jiraiya proud. Naruto was imagining returning to his apartment after a long mission only to open the door to be met by the scent of Haku's tantalizing cooking. He turns the corner into the small kitchenette and sees Haku standing behind a table stacked with mouthwatering dishes. Yet it's not the food that makes Naruto drool, but Haku, who was wearing a smile, an apron and nothing else.
Mesmerized, Naruto watches her glide around the table, a gentle sway to her hips, a slight bounce to her perky breasts, as the soft pattering of her bare feet on the hardwood floor; a smoldering look in her eyes as she draws closer and closer until they are finally chest to chest. "Okaeri, anata," she'd whisper against his lips as she greeted him with a kiss, "Would you like dinner, a bath or me?"
"I'd like you, Haku-chan," Naruto replied dazedly, his eyes glazed over. Naruto was so lost in his fantasy that he didn't even feel the hand shaking his shoulder, or the slight trickle of blood going down his nose.
"Ara," a cool breath caressed the shell of his ear, "Is Naruto-kun having ecchi thoughts about me?"
Naruto stiffened at the question. His blue eyes shifted to his left to be met with the pair of chocolate brown eyes that have starred in his dreams of late. The eyes were twinkling with a glint of mischievousness that was mirrored by the impish smile below them. "N-no, Haku-chan," Naruto was able to stutter out.
Haku playfully pouted, and Naruto had to quell the overwhelming urge to kiss the look off of her lips. "That's too bad," she sighed morosely, as she snaked her arms around his neck and down his chest as she hugged herself to his back. "I wouldn't have minded, A-na-ta," she punctuated her claim with a tiny nibble to his left ear.
Simultaneously, a hundred Naruto-clones went up in smoke alongside their creator's brain. The last thing Naruto remembers is the sound of Haku's giggles and the feel of her soft chest.
Tazuna groaned, "Looks like we're having lunch early today."
Naruto awoke to the feeling of delicate fingers running through his hair. He opened his eyes to see Haku staring off into the distance, looking as if she was lost in thought as she absentmindedly ran her fingers through his hair.
"Haku-chan," Naruto rasped, his voice slightly dry from sleep, "Are you ok?"
The sudden question caused Haku to jump, and nearly dislodged Naruto from her lap-"Wait, her lap?!" Naruto's eyes were in danger of popping out of his skull at that realization. Yet before that could happen, Haku looked down and gave Naruto a gentle look that put him at ease, "Enjoy your nap, Naruto-kun?"
"Yes," Naruto replied. He then repeated his question from earlier; "Are you ok, Haku-chan?"
Haku tilted her head, her long black hair swaying with the movement. "Why do you ask, Naruto-kun?"
"I don't know," Naruto shrugged, or did his best attempt at a shrug-kind of hard to shrug when you're laying down he soon discovered. "It just looked like you were thinking hard about something."
"Oh, I was just thinking about a patient of mine," Haku let out a groan dripping with frustration, "He's proving to be a bit troublesome."
Naruto let out a chuckle at her choice of words.
Haku arched an eyebrow; "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, it's just you reminded me of my friend, Shikamaru; the word 'troublesome' is like his catchphrase, though he thinks everything is 'troublesome." Naruto explained, making air quotations with his hands when he said "troublesome," the second time. "So is your troublesome patient the one we gathered herbs for?" Naruto asked.
"Yes," Haku nodded. "He wants to get up and move, even though I've told him he needs to rest. Honestly, just what am I going to do with him," Haku said with a long-suffering smile.
"Sounds like me," Naruto grinned, "I can't stand being stuck resting."
"Really?" Haku asked as she leaned forward, sliding her fingers from his scalp and cupping Naruto's chin, her long hair curtaining their faces, "So you don't like laying in my lap?" She asked cutely.
Naruto's brain froze; what was the right response? He either says 'yes' and more than likely subject himself to more of Haku's teasing, or he says 'no' and makes himself a liar-because lying in Haku's lap was the most comfortable Naruto can ever remember being-as well as potentially offending her. Haku must have seen the panic and indecision on Naruto's face and decided to pity the poor boy.
"It's ok, Naruto-kun," Haku reassured the boy as she traced his jaw with her thumbs, "If I didn't want you sleeping on my lap, you wouldn't be." When she felt the tension in Naruto's jaw recede, Haku leaned back and decided to continue their previous conversation; "Where were we? Oh yes, my patient. He's getting restless because he's been on bedrest for the past week."
"What happened to him?" Naruto asked.
"He got into a bit of a scrap about a week ago," Haku answered.
Naruto raised an eyebrow; "A bit of a scrap?' What kind of scrap leaves someone on bedrest for a week? Sounds like more than a simple scrap."
"True," Haku gave a sheepish grin, "But this isn't the first time he's been in a situation like this, so I suppose I don't see it as that big of a deal."
"Really? And what does this man do that gets him into so many scraps?" Naruto asked, as he got up from her lap, a suspicious look on his face.
"Private security," Haku stated.
"And how long have you known this man?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowed. Naruto did not like the idea of his Haku-chan being around someone who liked to get into dangerous situations.
"He's been my guardian for the past eight years, ever since…" Haku trailed off as she clutched her necklace through her kimono, a slight frown on her lips.
Naruto frantically changed the subject, not wanting to see Haku upset; "So what's your guardian like?"
"He's a little rough around the edges but he's got a good heart," Haku said fondly, "In fact, I've told him about you."
"Really, like what?" Naruto asked, sounding curious. Hopefully she didn't mention anything embarrassing, like him fainting.
"I've told him I've met a sweet ninja boy with the brightest blue eyes, one that I'm interested in," Haku admitted, drawing a smile from Naruto. "After I told him that he's just been dying to meet you," Haku clasped her hands in front of her face as she gave Naruto the dreaded puppy-eyes; "Would you please meet with him, please? It would mean the world to me."
"Sure, Haku-chan, anything for you!" Naruto chirped.
Haku was so overjoyed that she couldn't help but give Naruto a big hug as she repeatedly said "Thank you" into his ear. This lasted for a few seconds until Haku pulled back and looked into Naruto's eyes and told him; "Just remember that he wants to meet with you, not hurt you."
Naruto chuckled good naturedly, "I think I can handle a bodyguard, Haku-chan."
"Oi, brat, quit cuddling with your girlfriend and eat your lunch; break's over in ten minutes!" Tazuna yelled.
As if on cue, Naruto's stomach decided to interject with a growl that a bijuu would be proud of. Naruto and Haku both looked at eachother, then proceeded to laugh.
(Scene Change)
Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique); a giant fireball three meters high and two meters tall roared across the sea, boiling the water and leaving a trail of steam in its fiery wake.
"Impressive, Sasuke," Kakashi complimented, as he stood beside the boy on Tazuna's dock and watched the technique sustain its form for a dozen more meters before it started to dissipate into embers. "How do you feel?"
Sasuke smirked; "Good, Kakashi-sensei. I could launch a fireball of that size four more times before I begin to feel strained."
"And before we started tree-walking?" Kakashi asked.
Sasuke frowned, thinking; "Maybe two of that size, and I would be exhausted afterwards."
Kakashi nodded sagely as he began to lecture his student, "And that is why we train in chakra control, for what technique is useful if it leaves us exhausted and vulnerable after one use? Even the most vile people we can imagine may have friends or at the very least, subordinates, waiting in the leaves, poised to strike." Kakashi observed his student tense at the words 'most vile people.' Kakashi suppressed a weary sigh, for he didn't need to be a Yamanaka to know what thought was going through Sasuke's mind at the moment.
"Patience, Sasuke," Kakashi clasped Sasuke's shoulder. "The person you are aiming for had to learn these things the same as you do."
"That 'person," Sasuke hissed, "Was stronger than I am at the same age."
"True," Kakashi acknowledged. "But you have an advantage."
Sasuke's eyebrow raised; "That advantage being?"
"You have a village behind you," Kakashi held up a hand to forestall Sasuke's retort. "I know you might not think it's much, given what they did to one of the more powerful clans…"
"Most powerful," Sasuke interrupted.
Kakashi threw a glare laced with killing-intent towards his Genin to silence him. A few seconds passed before Kakashi continued; "As I was saying, given what was done to one of the more powerful clans in the Elemental Nations, it's unsurprsing that you would be doubtful of the power of our village. But do not forget that Konohagakure no Sato has come out the victor in all three of the Shinobi World Wars, marking us as the strongest of the Big Five. Furthermore, a missing-nin, even a powerful one, will never know rest because of the price on their head. Even more so for missing-nins with bloodlines. Pray you don't become a missing-nin, Sasuke, because there are some villages that will stop at nothing to see the Uchiha bloodline extinguished or under their control."
"And which type is Konoha?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask.
"The latter," Kakashi stated simply. "Though," Kakashi's voice adopted a hard edge as he squeezed Sasuke's shoulder, "There are some members on the council who want Konoha to be the former; don't give them a reason, Sasuke."
Sasuke stared at Kakashi, his eyes focusing on the Sharingan eye that was hidden beneath the Jonin's hiate; "As long as they help me avenge my clan."
"And if they don't?" Kakashi's one visible eye narrowed as he stared down his Genin.
Sasuke opened his mouth to respond when Tsunami yelled, "Lunch is ready! Come and get it while it's hot!"
Kakashi yelled back; "Coming, Tsunami-san." The Jonin then released his student; "Go inside, Sasuke. We'll talk about this later."
Kakashi watched the last loyal Uchiha of Konoha stuff his hands into his shorts and walk into the house. Kakashi looked towards the sky and asked; "Obito, what am I going to do with your clansmen?"
(Scene Change)
An elderly man wearing shabby brown clothes and a straw-hat leaned heavily on his walking stick as he hobbled his way down the dirt road of Nami no Kuni's largest village, and what he saw saddened him greatly.
"What's happened to this place?" the elderly man thought, as he glanced to his right and saw a girl who was no more than seven tugging on passing strangers' pants, begging for food. Sadly, she was not a unique case. In fact, she was the fourth child the elderly man had seen begging for food as he walked towards his destination. Though the signs of poverty didn't stop there; boarded up stores, houses in disrepair, and every person he passed seemed to wear despair like a pair of well worn clothes.
As the elderly man walked into one of the few Grocers who was still open, noting with incredulity at the empty displays, bare shelfs and the high mark ups for staple foods like rice. He stopped in the center aisle as he saw something that nearly made him snap his walking stick in half; the shopkeeper had his face pressed into a countertop by a meaty hand belonging to a man who appeared to be the misbegotten love child of a bear and a pig. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that every shopper was averting their eyes, and refused to do anything.
"Where's your payment?" The bear-pig snorted, as he pressed the shopkeeper's face deeper into the countertop.
The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair, screamed out; "I don't have it!"
"Really?" The bear-pig mimed looking around. "From all these empty shelves business must be booming," the bear-pig chuckled darkly at his own joke.
"Argh, I haven't had anything to sell," the shopkeeper tried to explain, as he squirmed beneath the giant's grip, "Just take everything in the register; there's 3000 ryō!"
"That's eight-hundred short, Kaito," the bear-pig stated as he drew a single-edged tanto from the sheath on his waist, the twelve inch blade looking the size of a toothpick in the bear-pig's giant paw, "And Gatō-sama doesn't like being shorted." The bear-pig wrenched Kaito's head to the side and pressed the blade to Kaito's ear; "Now, which ear do you not want me to take?"
Just before the bear-pig could mutilate Kaito, a thud to his right drew his attention. The brute turned to see two bags of rice, a bottle of soy sauce and a package of dried seaweed placed in a pile near the register with an elderly man standing next to it.
"Excuse me, sonny," the elderly man said, his voice was high pitched and seemed to whistle with every word, probably due to the gap formed from his missing teeth, "But I'd like to buy these from Kaito-san, if you don't mind?"
The bear-pig let out a "hmm," as he thought about what he was going to do. He looked down at Kaito and tapped him on the cheek with the flat of his blade, enjoying how the man flinched; "Oi, how much is the old man buying?"
Confused, Kaito began to ramble out, "Two bags of rice, a bottle of…" Kaito was cut off by the tip of the tanto blade digging into his cheek. He tried to squirm away but the brute had a vice grip on his head.
"I can see what he's buying," the bear-pig said as he ignored Kaito's scream of pain, "I want to know how much it's worth?"
"N-nine-hundred and fifty-seven ryō!" Kaito quickly replied.
"Looks like it's your lucky day, Kaito," the bear-pig removed his knife from Kaito's cheek and flicked the blade, spattering the floor with Kaito's blood. "Ring him up," the bear-pig ordered as he released the shopkeeper.
Kaito quickly scurried behind the register and began ringing up the elderly man who just stood there watching the events with a placid smile on his face, as if watching a shopkeeper get shaken down and nearly maimed was an everyday occurrence. "Y-your total is nine-hundred and fifty-seven ryō. Would you like a bag?"
"As sure as a toad croaks, sonny," the elderly man smiled as he stretched his liver-spotted hand over the counter to give Kaito his payment. Kaito's eyes slightly widened at the man's choice of words.
"I'll be taking that," the bear-pig interjected, as he thrust his big mitt underneath the elderly man's hand. "And I think a hundred and fifty-seven ryō service fee is warranted." The bear-pig threw a look at Kaito, a look that was begging the shopkeeper to argue with him just so he'd have an excuse. Yet Kaito simply nodded his head. "Tch," the bear-pig spun on his heel and lumbered out of the shop, yelling over his shoulder, "See you next week, Kaito."
As soon as the brute left it was as if a great pressure was lifted off of the store, a couple of the shoppers sending the elderly man grateful looks, while all of them refused to look Kaito in the eye. Something that Kaito didn't register because his eyes were still trained on the door that Gatō's brute had left from. He had been so close to being maimed, maybe even killed. But before his mind could travel down that dark path he felt something soft being pressed into his right cheek; a hankerchief, one that was slowly being stained red with blood.
"Kaito-kun," the elderly man said in a deep voice rumbling with power, "Explain."
Unbidden, tears started streaming down the shopkeeper's face; the handkerchief now soaked with his blood and tears; "Jiraiya-sama…"
(Scene Change)
"So your boyfriend's coming to visit tomorrow, should I put out the good china and put on my best neck bandages?" Zabuza joked as he ran through some katas with Kubikiribōchō, all under the watchful eye of Haku; she had told him he could get up and get some exercise, but that he was not allowed to channel any chakra until the day after tomorrow lest he risk damaging his tenketsu and chakra network.
Haku rolled her eyes, as she felt her bangs flutter from the force of Kubikiribōchō as it cut through the air. "Yes, Zabuza-sama, Naruto-kun is coming over here tomorrow. And you will not threaten him!"
Zabuza paused before his next swing and turned towards his apprentice who was sitting on a recently created stump; even without chakra, Zabuza could cut through the thick trees around their hideout, it just took more swings than usual. "You really like this boy," Zabuza observed.
Even in the dying light of the setting sun, which stretched the shadows of the trees and cast the clearing in shadows, Zabuza could see the soft smile on his apprentice's face; "He has eyes like mine, Zabuza-sama," she said gently. "When I look into them, I feel like I've found someone who can understand me."
"And do you think he'll understand? You haven't been entirely truthful, Haku," Zabuza warned her, not wanting to see his precious apprentice get her heart broken.
Haku nodded her head, "He'll understand, he might not be happy, but he'll understand. Because I like him. A lot. And I believe he feels the same way." Haku then gave Zabuza a bright smile that could light the darkest caves; "You should have more faith, Zabuza-sama, it's your plan after all."
"I know," Zabuza acknowledged as he retook his stance, his feet shoulder width apart with his left foot forward and his right foot back; Kubikiribōchō held level with his waist. He took a step forward with his right foot as he slashed horizontally from right to left with a cut that would split a man's hips from his torso, but Zabuza didn't stop there, for with strength honed from years of using the mighty blade, Zabuza halted the blades momentum, twisted his hips and executed a slash from left to right; the equivalent of a one-two combination with Kubikiribōchō; the two slashes occurred in less than a second.
"Tomorrow," Zabuza stated as he reset his stance and prepared to strike again, "Everything will change."
(Scene Change)
It was a moonless night with the skies covered by clouds as Gatō, flanked by his bodyguards Zōri and Waraji, stood on his private dock, waiting for the Mizukage's agent.
"Boss, do we really need this Kiri-nin? Us," Waraji pointed to himself and jabbed a thumb towards his partner, "And some of the boys are more than enough to merc Zabuza and those Konoha-nin." None of them noticed a subtle mist start to rise up from below the dock.
"Yeah," Zōri agreed, "Have you seen the reports from our boys in town? Other than Hatake, the other ninja are brats." Zori then chuckled, "Though I hear the Mizukage's a brat too." The mist had surrounded their ankles, though for Gatō it was more around his shins, and it was he who first noticed something was wrong.
"Boys," Gatō focused on the swirling mist as it snaked around him, and he swore that he could feel the mist tightening around his ankles.
Waraji snorted. "If the Mizukage's a brat then it explains why Zabuza's so weak!"
Zōri covered his mouth and nose with the collar of his jacket as he lowered his voice to a rasp; "I'm Momochi Zabuza, member of the overcompensating swordsmen of the mist!"
Waraji clutched his gut and burst out laughing. "Oh, that's good! Do…do you think they all got big swords like Zabuza to hide their tiny dicks?!" Neither man noticed the mist thicken, but their boss did.
"Boys!" Gatō yelled as he felt the mist constrict around his legs, slicing into his skin.
"Boss/boss?" They asked as they looked down only for their eyes to bulge at the mist that had surrounded them. Acting on instinct, they reached for their swords as Waraji went to guard Gatō's front, while Zōri went to guard his boss's back. Though both found themselves rooted to the spot.
"What the hell?!" Waraji yelled as he tried to lift his feet only to roar out in pain as something in the mist was cutting into his ankles.
Zōri, not wanting to suffer the same fate, probed near his feet with the tip of his blade and had it catch on something; "Guys, there's something around our feet!" Bending down, he felt along his feet and felt something smooth, thin and razor sharp; Zōri's eyes widened; "It's wire!"
A maniacal laugh broke out. "They say you can tell a lot about a man by the size of their feet," a high pitched voice cackled, "I wonder, what will yours say?"
Before the voice's words could even register in their minds, Zōri and Waraji screamed out in anguish as they toppled to the docks like felled trees; the mist stained red with blood.
Gatō looked down towards his two most loyal subordinates, and promptly vomited; their feet were gone. Sliced away from them, leaving only bloody stubs with strips of flesh still clinging to their exposed bones. Gatō was paralyzed. So shocked was he by the horrific scene that he didn't even register the screams of his bodyguards as they bled out. It wasn't until he felt something plopped on his head that he was broken out of his stupor; he could feel that whatever it was, it was wet and was starting to leak into his hair.
"Looks like both of your men might have been projecting, Gatō-san," the high pitched voice said with glee. Gatō heard footsteps as the owner of the voice walked to stand in front of Gatō; the voice's owner was a tall, slim man with long, shaggy, straw-blonde hair wearing a white anbu mask, a sleeveless black shirt, matching pants, and Kirigakure's striped wrist and arm guards. The man was nearly seven feet tall, dwarfing Gatō's 5'3.
The man introduced himself; "I am Kuriarare Kushimaru, Mizukage-sama's agent." Kushimaru bent down so that the forehead of his mask was resting against Gatō's; "Now, where is Zabu-chan?"