A Tale of two Sisters

by Clutus

[Prologue re-written] This is a Naruto fanfiction (slightly AR/AU) based around the two Hyuga sisters. When both were young did Hinata made a bet with Hanabi hoping to help her sister improve. That backfired on her however resulting in her becoming her younger sisters slave. Both are young and clueless to this topic and still family. Who knows what will happen? Rated M to be safe.

32. Chapter 31 - Clash on the Bridge - 3rd

Authors Note: Heya all *waves* yup, I'm still around. It's just that life, work, stress, work, health issues, work... you know, the usual crap *shrugs*

So, without much to say (besides of the usual about this chapter being mostly unchecked and that my english grammar had most likely suffered the last months (sorry)), hope you enjoy that chapter. I also read the previous two chapters again myself and am sure I didn't create any logical loops or holes.
It's the end of the fight on the bridge - and next in planing are some story chapters. Maybe I get to work on them a bit quicker, as I'm more fond of story compared to fights after all.

Oh, btw, I wrote a short bonus chapter at X-Mas. It's located inside my other "story", if you haven't seen it yet.
I mean, if you are intrested and all. Now, on to the chapter.

XXXXX

A Tale of two Sisters - Chapter 31: Clash on the Bridge (Part 3)

"You are looking agitated, uncle." Neji noted clinically while walking together with Hiashi through the streets of Konoha.

And in fact was this a matching observation. One that even a blind person might have been able to make, considering that Hiashi usually wasn't asking his nephew to accompany him. On top of that was his face showing restlesness to no end, something you actually rarely saw on the usually collected and calm head of the Hyuga clan. "Is this about Hinata and Hanabi?"

"How observant of you." he answered without looking at his nephew. "Though I guess our whole clan could tell right now." he let out a quiet sigh, not really caring that he was out in the streets of Konoha, that others might see him in this state. "At first did I think it to be a good thing how Hinata changed. After all, she was pretty useless when she was meek and shy, afraid of everything and herself. I thought that her friends would be a good influence, that I might have to overthink the position of my heir again, to give it back to her..."

Neji was keeping quiet, simply waiting for his uncle to continue. In fact couldn't he care less about his uncle's problems. He didn't like him nor his cousins too much, especially against Hinata was he having a grudge from the very beginning. But he kept quiet out of respect for the position of clan head his uncle was sporting.

"...but what shall I do now? I'm out of ideas. Yes, I'm glad that both my daughters are going to be fine kunoichi, that I'm having two potential heirs, but... Their situation... I just don't know what to do. And they are on the same team, something unheard of. What if something goes wrong on one of their mission, letting me loose both heirs at once? Say Neji, what shall I do? We didn't really seperate on good terms the last time we saw..." he was finally looking at his nephew, the blank expression the boy showed hurting him on the inside. Not only his daughters, but his nephew too. Was he just bad with kids in general or did it only apply to his family?

"You aren't expecting me to comment on that, are you uncle? Because having children is nothing I could say I have, leaving me without experience in this area." he spoke firm. "But you are right in one point. If they fail a mission might our clan loose both heirs. And from what I heard did the Hokage skip D rank missions right away and sent their team on a C rank as their first..."

"What?!" Hiashi interrupted his nephew, a slight tune of disbelief within his voice. "You must be kidding me, they are just out of the Academy. And where did you hear that anyway?" that got his attention. Yes, he knew that his daughters got Kakashi Hatake as sensei, one of the most talented of the younger shinobi within the village of Konoha which even he had to admit. But sending a freshly assigned team on a C-rank right away, even with a talented jonin leading it, was pure madness in his eyes.

"Two assistants of the Hokage were talking about it when my team came back to report a mission. Something about an escort mission to the Land of Waves to guard the construction of a bridge." Neji answered with a small shrug. He really couldn't care less.

Hearing these words was Hiashi paling slightly, not that most could tell considering the normally pale skin of the Hyuga clan in the first place. But he had reasons for that, as he heard from his friend Inoichi that they were currently holding two C rank missing nins at T&I that got captured close to the Land of Waves.

Trying to collect himself was he taking a deep breath. "Thank you for this information, Neji. I wasn't aware of this yet. I managed to made up my mind, thanks to you. You are dismissed." with these words was he walking off towards the Hokage tower. And he indeed made up his mind. Not about his daughters though, but that he should have some serious words with the Hokage about the mission he sent his daughters on.

Neji simply shrugged and changed directions to walk towards the nearest training grounds. Now that he was free could he work a bit more on his skills. What none of them really noticed or cared about at that moment was the random villagers they left behind, that managed to see two rare things this day. The first being the head of the Hyuga clan in the company of his nephew, a sight rare by itself. The second was the head of the Hyuga clan showing emotions, in public nonetheless.

On the bridge, with Naruto and Hinata

"Down!" was all Hinata shouted before pushing Naruto to the ground. Said boy was surprised for a moment, before he realized why Hinata acted like that, when the next thing he saw were senbon dropping to the ground right in front of his face. They were aimed at the location he just stood a moment ago.

She was doing her best to block off the senbon that came flying from every direction, forcing them to stop and to the ground by releasing small portions of chakra in quick succesion. At this moment was she glad that she trained this defensive move, first under surveillance of Kakashi with Hanabi shooting stones, later by herself with the Water Needles. The only real difference to the situation she found herself in right now was the fact, that these thrown senbon were even faster and that she was protecting herself and Naruto at the same time.

Haku had a look of awe on her face, seeing the girl so gracefully dance above of her comrade, blocking and deflecting most, but not all, of her thrown senbon. She had to admit that the girl was pretty brilliant. Hinata was her first opponent ever that could spot her senbon, not even to mention the fact that she had a working defensive against them. But this was no real problem to her. She had an infinitive supply to throw at the two young shinobi and she was certain that they would get tired first. Beside, some senbon already found their targets. It was only a matter of time.

Hinata was groaning, the senbon that made it past her defense sticking out of her body. It wasn't too painful and it wasn't reducing her mobility just yet, but she knew that she couldn't keep it up too long anymore. Not to mention that the blood loss would increase quickly, with all her quick movings. But the simple thought of what might happen once she stopped protecting Naruto and herself was enough to keep her going.

He was totally frustrated. There was nothing he could do to help Hinata out. But simply laying on the ground, letting his friend protecting him, was not sitting too well with Naruto. Looking up at the girl above him was he coming to a conclusion. "Your eyes focused?" he asked aloud, not even sure if Hinata had heard him, her tension visible on her face.

She did hear his question however, but had no idea why he asked her something like that in this situation. Though the question in fact was a bullseye, with her Byakugan focusing on every mirror, keeping track of the thrown senbons this way. Only managing a small nod in reply before deflecting the next set of senbons was enough for Naruto, who realized that small movement as what is was.

Both Haku and Hinata were slightly surprised when suddenly clones of Naruto popped into existence. They appeared around them, most of them gone in an instant, when a thrown senbon hit them. But some managed a small step towards the mirrors before being hit. It wasn't much, but it was enough to let Haku aim some of her senbon at the clones instead of the originals. If she let a close escape out of her mirror created dome could it become a problem to her.

Hinata was thankful for Naruto's idea, which gave her some split seconds to relax, as the amount of senbon she needed to deflect were reduced partially. Their overall situation hadn't change that much however and Hinata was painfully aware of that.

-with Hanabi and Tazuna-

A small smile. That was all Hanabi allowed herself the moment she saw that Naruto had an idea that was helping her sister. Still, she too saw the overall situation the same her sister did, judging it as not looking too good. Thinking about her possibilities and desperate to do something, did she start to make handsigns. Tazuna raised an eyebrow at that, but kept silent. It wasn't like a comment from him would have helped or changed anything at that point and he wasn't in the mood anymore to argue with the girl.

Once finished with her signs Hanabi released the energy of her jutsu. "Earth Style: Throwing Stones." she said quietly, her concentration on all kind of pebble laying around on the bridge. She even found a few pieces of broken stone, sharp splitters of the material used for the construction, and fired all of them at the backside of the ice crystal mirrors closest to her.

If she was honest to herself did she not expect any result from that. It simply was the only thing she could do on that distance and it was better, at least concerning her own feelings, than doing nothing.

Haku stopped for a single second in her attacks, figuring out where the sound of stones hitting on ice might come from, before shaking her head. It didn't matter to her that much. Her mirrors were undamaged and she could continue her attacks. Might have been just her imagination.

Hanabis face sported a pout when she realized that her "attack" had no effect. It wasn't surprising at all, but it left her frustrated. Though she knew that calling that move an "attack" was a joke in the first place. It was pure luck that it, combined with her sisters Water Needles, was able to knock out one of the Demon Brothers. She knew that much, but frustration is a frisky thing one can't control.

"Well, well, now look at that. The little girl is throwing with stones." a deep and low voice coming from the fog mocked her, startling both her and Tazuna the same. Where was it coming from all of a sudden?

Tazuna made a step closer to the young girl, not sure where the voice came from. But he did realize it. He heard it often enough after all, heck, everyone in his village knew the voice of Gato, the guy who supressed them. But where did it come from? And why was he here all of a sudden?

Her eyes moved around, her vision parting from Naruto and her sister, on the search for the source of the voice. She first checked the area towards the beginning of the bridge, thinking that it must have come from there, as it is the only way to them. But all she found there was the still ongoing fight between Kakashi and Zabuza - or so she thought as she still couldn't make out Zabuzas chakra signature with the chakra generated fog covering it up perfectly.

A gasp escaped her lips when she checked the other direction, finding a large group of bandits inside the fog towards the uncompleted end of the bridge, slowly approaching her position. "How?" she whispered to herself, also gaining the attention of Tazuna. "There's only the uncompleted end of the bridge up there. And there was nobody when we arrived. How is there a small army now?"

She placed herself in front of Tazuna, facing in the direction of the approaching danger. That was a most problematic situation right now, with her body temperature being way to low and her mobility reduced due to the wet and partially frozen clothes she wore. And being faced with that many opponents clearly turned the odds against her. But she had a mission to fulfill...

-with Kakashi-

His fight with Zabuza was not advancing at all with both of them not fighting for real. He might not mind it too much in any other situation, but Zabuza was right that his own genin were also fighting right now and each second lost could bring the kids into bigger problems. "You sure you don't just want to retreat?" he tried another time. "I'm not having any grudge against you. If you just leave will I let you go, like I did the other two."

He dodged under another swing of Zabuzas sword and backfliped out of reach, entering a defensive stance with his kunai in front of him. Zabuza eyed him for a moment before shaking his head. "And then what? Shall I simply leave? Or maybe take out Gato for you? And after that?" he spat out his words. "You know, I'm feared and all. I got a history. Nobody wants to deal with me. So why the hell are you still trying to talk to me?"

"So?" Kakashi shrugged. "I told you before, I too got a bounty, meaning I'm feared and with a history. But my live is decent and I'm not on the run." he put his kunai away and started to make handsigns. "But you are right, this is taking way too long, so... Fire Style: Fireball jutsu!" he finished his signs and launched a fireball at Zabuza.

The missing nin reacted quickly however, going through some handsigns himself. "Bad choice. Don't you know that Water beats Fire? Water Style: Water Dragon jutsu!" Zabuza finished, summoning a dragon made from the surrounding water to clash with Kakashis fireball.

The instant result was the visibility being reduced even more because of the additional steam created by the clash of the two jutsu. Both of them lost sight of the other for this moment...

-with Hinata and Naruto-

Hinata had a smirk on her lips. It was a small one, but it was there. The reason was simple: Haku hadn't landed a single hit for a little while now and said girl noticed this too. Her breath fast was she taking the moment of realization, during which Haku wasn't attacking either, to speak up. "You are out of senbon." she noted matter of factly. It was only a small thing right now, not really improving their situation, but she got at least some seconds to breath, to calm her body down.

Haku pondered the girl in the middle of her ice mirror dome. She could clearly see that some of her senbon had hit, but the amount wasn't nearly as high as she wanted. And it was true that she hadn't landed a single hit once her real senbon ran out. "How can you tell?" she asked curious, tilting her head to the side lightly. She had to admit that Hinata got her interest.

"Easy. Your latest senbon were created using your Ice Style. And these are full of your chakra. I can clearly see them, easy deflect them now." Hinata explained, a little bit proud of being able to withstand these attacks so far. She took some deep breaths, making the best of the time given to her.

"Your eyes are amazing, Hinata-chan!" Naruto cheered for his friend, a big smile on his face. Just to summon yet another shadow clone, trying to exploit the current ceasefire.

The clone actually managed two steps before it was dispelled by yet another senbon. "Nuh-uh, no funny things while tools are talking." Haku chided Naruto, a small frown on her face. An innocent look from Naruto was all she got as reply, something on which she in return replied with rolling her eyes, before focusing back on Hinata. "So, even if you can see them clearly now, I can see that you are nearly exhausted. Your loss will come eventual."

She just knew that this was all the break she would get, no matter how she would reply now. "I'm just curious if you are actually trying to kill us..." she answered quietly. "I may be injured and exhausted, but your senbon aren't really the deadliest of weapons."

This provoked a single senbon to be thrown at her, one she deflected easily. But with her Byakugan was she able to see the route it would have taken and swallowed. Haku simply grinned in reply. "It's just a matter of where I aim, don't you think?"

And with that did the attacks continue, the battle as good as over...

-with Hanabi and Tazuna-

She cursed her bad luck. The only positive thing was that these new bandits underestimated her. They didn't knew what happened to their vanguard and they didn't knew that Hanabi was a shinobi from Konoha. All they saw was a little girl putting herself between the bridge builder and themselfs. Because of that was she able to fell the first three bandits easily.

But that was as far as her luck lasted. With her movements restricted and her body temperature in a real low area was she easily overwhelmed by the sheer amount of bandits. She was struggling and fighting back of course, but she couldn't change the fact that in the end she was quickly subdued, her hands tied together behind her back, her legs tied to each other.

Following that did they also overwhelm Tazuna, pushing him to his knees and also tying his hands together. He thought about running away for a short moment, but he didn't really saw the point in that. If he would run into the fog alone might he be as dead as he would be now. After all were both the Demon and his slave still out there, occupied with their fights maybe, but he would be an easy target for them. Plus, even if he would never admit that to anybody, he just couldn't abadon Hanabi, the girl that risked her life to protect him, the girl that somehow reminded him at his nephew Inari.

"Well, that was way easier than I thought..." Gato said with slight annoyance while stepping forward to look at the now subdued bridge builder and the girl that was protecting him. "To think that you gave me that much trouble... and then did we manage to overwhelm you that easily..." he shook his head. "I really don't get how you managed to annoy me for that long. But that's over now. Any last words?"

He thought about his next words carefully, but in the end simply shrugged. If he had to die could he at least try to find out how big of an asshole Gato actually is. Turning his head slightly did he nod towards the fog, towards the beginning of the bridge. "Don't you care about your men?"

Letting out a loud laugh was Gato waving that question away. "Disposeable scum. Judging by the sounds are they currently getting rid of the Demon for me. Two annoyances less within one day, what else could I ask for?" he grinned at Tazuna before his eyes fell on Hanabi. "It was nice from you to bring me a present though. Where did you find that girl? I'm sure she'll catch a good price. Or maybe I'll keep her to myself." there was a lecherous look in his eyes.

Hanabi noticed that look and it sent her into yet another rage filled outburst. "What the hell is wrong with all of you? I'm so sick of every men I encounter wanting to enslave me!" she increased her struggles, but it was futile. The few moments she was tied up and on the ground were enough to drop her body temperature low enough to stop the body from following the orders given out by her brain. "I'm so going to make your lives hell if you lay just one finger on me!"

The grin on Gatos face widened even more. "A feisty one, huh? It will be so much fun to break her in. Anyway..." his eyes turned back on Tazuna. "What to do with you now? Should I get rid of you right away, or maybe imprison you to let you suffer for a long time? But with you gone am I the unchallenged ruler of this area now! There will be nobody left to give me any trouble."

Being sure that he had won, and with so little effort by himself - the thugs being killed by the Demon were exchangeable to him anyway - was he about to signal his men to pick the prisoners up and leave. He didn't care who might still be on the bridge fighting. He achieved his goal and only had to leave the same way he appeared, with the boats tied to the pillars at the end of the construction site. It was all so simple. Or so he thought.

It was that moment that yet another person reached the bridge, coming from the landside. The sounds of fighting he heard and the fog he saw was all he needed to know that both the Konoha shinobi he learned about and the Demon of the Mist were currently on the bridge. And whether or not Gato was there would he soon find out too. A smirk crossed his lips and he quickly went through a set of handsigns, bringing them down to the bridge once he finished. "Earth Style: Earthern Spikes!" he shouted out loud, alarming anyone who might be in hearing range.

Being the closest to the beginning of the bridge were Kakashi and Zabuza, both clearly hearing the voice and sensing the incoming danger. It was only a delay of a single second before the spikes, covering the whole width of the bridge, reached the two combatants with alarming speed. Kakashi jumped up in the air, avoiding the spikes easily and landed standing on top of a single one, his eyes scanning for the source of the attack. Zabuza on the other side decided against dodging and shattered the spikes aiming for him with his sword, an annoyed expression on his face.

The force and speed of the spikes were enough to also blow away the steam created by their attacks and most of the fog, giving both of them a clear view at the beginning on the bridge and the new arrival. And both of them remembered that kind of full body ninja suit quite well...

The voice was also loud enough to echo further down the bridge, reaching Hinata, Naruto and Haku. None of them paid the voice too much attention though and they also ignored the rumbling of the incoming attack. All together had they a few seconds longer than Kakashi and Zabuza and it was Hinata with her Byakugan who noticed the spikes first. "Damned, DODGE!" she shouted out loud, getting the attention of both her friend and opponent - but in the same moment also lost focus long enough to get hit by yet another senbon.

Naruto jumped up from the ground, orienting himself for a moment. It was then that he noticed the incoming spikes and quickly grabbed Hinata to jump away from the attack. Hinata let out a painful groan in return as several of the senbon still sticking out of her body were pushed around and moved due to the sudden contact and movement from Naruto. It was better than being pierced by the spikes, but the pain paired with her exhaustion nearly robbed her of all her strength. Naruto too let out a painful grunt when he wasn't quick enough, a spike piercing his lower leg. It was pure luck that neither of them hit another spike when they fell back down to the bridge as a result of that.

Haku had a similiar problem. Currently using her mirror jutsu was she able to change between the different mirrors in nearly an instant, but to get away to another place would she need to get out of the mirrors. The time needed for that was something she didn't have and she let out a loud and painful yelp when the spikes easily shattered her jutsu, throwing her out of it by sheer force. Unable to avoid the initial impact was she at least quick enough to freeze the area she was falling towards, to stop spikes from forming there, avoiding worse injuries.

Once the fog at this location was gone by the force of it was the only thing one saw the remainings of some ice mirrors currently dissipating into fine ice crystals. Neither of the combatants could be seen, as all three of them lay between the spikes.

The attack lost some of it's force slowly and wasn't covering the whole width of the bridge anymore when it reached the point at which Gato and his men were located. But none of them were shinobi and the reduced amount of spikes that reached them, plus the fact that it was a large group of thugs, was enough to throw them into chaos the moment a good third of them, including one of the thugs standing right next to the prisoners, were pierced by the spikes.

It was a nasty image and Hanabi couldn't help but finally being hit by the events of the day. She killed at least a good dozen of bandits and thugs herself and now witnessed this... rather messy massacre of way more. It was too much for her to handle. And since her control of her own body was nearly non-existent at this point anyway was she unable to suppress the next thing happening: she threw up.

That was something Gato, if he had actually seen it, would have laughed about. But he was too focused on the sudden chaos with a third of his men death in an instant and another third fleeing in panic, getting back to the boats to just get away from that cursed place.
This wasn't going as he had planned it and it was a real bother to him.

With the fog being blown away by the attack was everyone now able to oversee all parts of the bridge and the reactions were quite different from person to person.

-J from the Organization-

Thanks to his face being covered by his full body suit did none see the grin on it. If they could, would they most likely shiver in fear as the grin was one of a madman who just hit the jackpot. He couldn't believe his luck that the Konoha shinobi present was none else than the Copycat he faced those years ago. In addition to that was Zabuza present too, which by extention meant that his slave must be close as well. That made two bounties and one useful merchandise.
And farthest away from him, but basicly sitting inside a trap, was the man he came here for: Gato.

They wouldn't allow him to continue doing his business here. It was one thing that he was active on the black market. They might be able to tolerate that. But they couldn't tolerate competition in the slave trading business and for that was Gato and his group to be eliminated. How he was going to enjoy what was about to happen here.

-Kakashi and Zabuza-

He took a short moment to look around before focusing back on the newly arrived threat. That he wasn't able to see any of his genin nor Tazuna worried Kakashi, but there was not much he could do about that right now. The man leading the group of thugs, most likely Gato, being at the location at which Hanabi and Tazuna should be wasn't helping to ease his worries. But with Zabuza still in close range and now with J as additional opponent - he just couldn't check on his team if he wanted to stay alive himself. A real bothersome situation.

Zabuza made the same observations as Kakashi, but he wasn't concerned about Haku's whereabouts. If at all was he worried about his second encounter with one of the Organization within a short period of time. Especially since J was the guy that tried to capture his tool and sell her back when he worked for them. He wasn't trusting that guy at all. With C he could at least talk and argue and he never tried to trick him and forcefully take Haku away, but J was another topic. It was no surprise that his mood wasn't the best now.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked with a cold tune, his eyes narrowing into slits as he watched the newcomer warily.

"Oh, you see..." there was a shrug in reply. "This and that. In fact am I here for Gato." he pointed towards the end of the bridge, before adding in his thoughts 'But after I'm done with him do I have time for you two.'

Watching from Zabuza to J and back to Zabuza was Kakashi pondering about his options before he spoke quietly, that only Zabuza could hear him. "I'll say it again, none of us has to die here today. I'm sure we can come to an agreement that we both benefit from."

Not reacting to that proposal was he adressing J again. "He said that you guys aren't here for me or my tool, but I swear that I'll cut you down if you get close to one of us."

"He?" the unseeable grin on his face was getting even bigger. "Good to know that C is around too, makes things way easier for me!" and with that spoken was he doing a quick set of handsigns. After they were finished was he gone, only one of his earth spikes in his place.

"This isn't going to end well. Listen, none of us is save from him. I'll trust that you'll make a good decision.". Kakashi wasn't even looking at Zabuza while he spoke, turning around to make a headstart towards the back of the bridge. He had a good idea that J just substituted himself with his own jutsu to quickly finish off Gato. And Hanabi with Tazuna should still be somewhere at that location too...

-Gato, Hanabi and Tazuna-

Unable to comprehend what just happened, Gato could only stare at the now completely destroyed surface of the bridge. There was no sign of his vanguard anywhere and he just lost a good amount of thugs to... whatever just happened there. And with the fog gone was his confusion increasing even more now. He could see Zabuza standing inside this sea of spikes and next to him... an unknown shinobi. And they were talking to yet another unknown figure standing at the beginning of the bridge. He wasn't able to make out details on this distance, but it was still enough for realization to dawn upon him.

Grabbing the bound and by now pretty much unresponsive girl on the ground was he turning her around and paling slightly. They must have overseen it when they arrived. Not to mention the fog that was reducing sight even more. But it made all sense now. The fact that this girl managed to take out a few of his men despite the condition of her clothes. The Konoha headband, worn as a kind of belt, was clearly visible to him now.

"Don't say you hired Konoha shinobi to protect you?" he spat out angry, his eyes fixed on Tazuna now. "You piece of crap... I'll make you suffer for that. Do you have any idea how much it will cost to hire new personal?"

Tazuna looked back at Gato and started to laugh quietly. "Honestly? I wouldn't be worried about the Konoha shinobi. From what I learned from them... are they the lesser threat for you."

Confusion was written over his face, this information not making any sense to him. His eyes darted from Tazuna back to the girl before over to his remaining men. At least half of them was still there he guessed. More than enough to fight for him, even against shinobi.

It was then that a new voice interrupted his thoughts, claiming the attention of everyone present. "You must be Gato? I've heard some stories... and I don't like them at all."

Between the spikes stood the masked shinobi he had seen at the beginning of the bridge. Trying to confirm this, his eyes scanning the area around Zabuza again just to realize that indeed one person was missing, he gulped. He too heard stories. About an underground organization that could be considered the mightiest among the criminals. Not much was known, just that their operatives were usually dressed with full body suits. Just like the guy standing in front of him right now...

"So what? You think that you can simply invade my territory and get away with it? I don't know who you are and I don't care. Men, kill him!" he ordered his remaining thugs.

Without missing a beat came the reply from the strange figure. "By order of 'Her' is your little business hereby closed now." that was enough to start whispering between some of the thugs. Some had heard rumours about 'Her' and they quickly told the others. "Everyone that is willing to cooperate..." his eyes mustered the thugs for a moment "...will earn a slight reward. Everyone who will oppose us will die."

It was then that he took notice of Hanabi and Tazuna, the first he still recognized as the merchandise they lost by C's failure, the second he could easily guess was the bridge builder. "And whoever supplies us with additional merchandise might even qualify for a small bonus." he ended his speech, not even caring to wait for an answer.

"Who do you think you are?" Gato was fuming now. "Coming here, threatening me, trying to bribe my men? You are the one that will be taken care of here and now!"

Taking of the piece covering his head was his grin sending shivers down the spine of most thugs. "Name's J, right hand of 'Her', leader of the Organization. And we don't tolerate competition. Now die." he spoke calmly knowing that he could in his position.

What Gato failed to realize was the fact, that this person made a big impression on his men. He didn't hear that some were killed by the others. And he clearly didn't see that most of his remaining men turned against him. The one thing he did realize, in fact the last thing he would ever realize, were the sword and spear that pierced him, ending his life right there...

-Hinata, Naruto and Haku-

"Are you okay, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, lifting himself off Hinatas body, ignoring the pain in his leg for now. He was totally worried about her, hoping he that the spikes hadn't injured her even more.

She let out a long groan, before slowly shaking her head. "I don't think... I can keep on fighting... Naruto-kun." she spoke under heavy breaths. "What... happened?"

All he could see around them were lots of earthern spikes. He shook his head. "I'm not sure. Someone attacked, but I don't know who."

"What about Hanabi-sama?" she asked worried. "And Spooky? Tazuna?"

He shruged somewhat helpless. "I really don't know. But we need to get going, before Haku or whoever is responsible for this is showing up here."

Nodding her head slightly Hinata tried to get off the ground, but let out yet another groan. All the pain, paired with the senbon still stuck in her body and the blood she lost, kept her on the ground. "I... don't think I can, Naruto-kun." she said quietly, avoiding to look at him. She just couldn't help but feeling useless right now.

"Annoying, isn't it?" the voice of Haku could be heard by them, slowly coming closer. "To be interrupted like that. But I can hear you. I'm still able to finish it, to satisfy my master."

Both of them looked in the direction the voice was coming from, not daring to speak another word or move, hoping that Haku wouldn't find them right now, covered by the spikes surrounding them.

But it was no use. Just moments later could they see Haku appearing between the spikes. Her form slightly bent over, one hand holding her flank which sported a nasty cut where the spike hit her when she was forced out of her jutsu. But it wouldn't be enough to stop her from fulfilling her mission. "You fought real good, I'll admit that much. It's a shame I've to kill you two now." a sad smile entered her face.

Naruto moved to position himself between Haku and Hinata, to cover her from any more damage. The grip around his staff firm, determination visible within his eyes. He wouldn't let his friend suffer any more, he wouldn't let Hinata down. Then would he look after Tazuna and Hanabi and finish the mission. He would protect them all.

She created another set of ice senbon in her free hand, but was stopped by a firm voice. "Haku, that's enough."

Her head perked up upon hearing the voice. "As you wish, Zabuza-sama. But why?" she looked in the direction she could sense her master.

There was a small gathering of fog from which Zabuza appeared, looking at the two Konoha genin before his eyes shifted over to his tool. "Because the time has come." he explained vaguely. "That, and 'they' are here. This is no longer of any concern to me."

Understanding what her master was telling her did she nod. "Are we leaving?"

He kept silent for a while, pondering this question. He looked at Hinata and Naruto, the latter still shielding his injured teammate. He then looked towards the end of the bridge, watching how Gato was killed by his own men. He had a good guess what happened there, that J took over control of the thugs. Yes, they could simply leave. But he wasn't trusting J at all, the same as with Gato. And considering the events from the past, that J tried to get his hands on Haku, to sell that 'rare merchandise' as he called her...

"No..." he answered quietly. "I've made an... agreement with Kakashi."

"What?" Naruto asked surprised. "Spooky did what?"

"Spooky?" Zabuza raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, you kids are... strange. Whatever..." he took a long breath and shook his head. "Just keep your heads down here. Haku, let's go."

With that did he disappear in a blur of fog again, leaving the three kids behind. Dispersing the ice senbon Haku smiled at her former opponents. "I'm glad for you two." she said before, while biting on her lower lip in slight pain, lifting herself back up to follow her master. If he ordered her to fight the Organization would she gladly follow. They treated her badly when they worked for them and there were some scores to settle after all.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata spoke up quietly. "Do you have any idea what just happened?"

"Not a clue, Hinata-chan. Not a clue..." he shook his head. However, thankful for this opportunity did he turn around to face Hinata again and carefully started to pull the senbon out from her body. Taking out some bandages from a pocket was he going down to work on her wounds. It wasn't much, but it should be better than letting the senbon stick in her body.

-further down the bridge-

The scene to which Kakashi arrived wasn't sitting well with him. It wasn't the thugs that were pierced by the spikes that bothered him. If anything did this make his job somewhat easier. He also noticed the dead body of whom he assumed was Gato, something that was fine with him. But J ordering the remaining thugs around with a grin... no, that wasn't sitting well with him.

Being completely honest, he expected it. They did get a warning from C after all, that the Organization would most likely bribe or threaten the thugs to switch sides. But that they were just about to lift up Hanabi and Tazuna, to haul them away towards the back of the bridge, that was another story again.

"Funny, isn't it?" J spoke up, grinning at Kakashi. "How we run into each other again, with you leading a team containing one of the merchandise you took away from us. That I can now claim your and the demons bounty in the end, also finally being able to get my hands on his slave too... Luck really does like me."

"You are an Earth Style user, that much is clear. It will be no problem for me to take you out and clear this situation. And you won't be taking any prisoners here today." he said with a calm voice, slowly shifting his body to make a move to rescue Hanabi and Tazuna.

There wasn't even any time for him to react however, when the bridge suddenly shifted and a wall made from the used stones suddenly blocked his route. "Oh, really now, infamous Copycat of Konoha? Cause from my point of view are you at a clear disadvantage here this time."

"You see... that's why I brought some allies with me, unlike you." the smile could be heard within his voice.

He let out a loud laugh. "What? You think that C is able to help you? Yeah, I know about it. It was easy to piece it together, that he betrayed us and is now working for you. But all he's good as is spying and deceiving others. He's no fighter and no match for me at all." J explained to Kakashi, hoping to buy some time this way to get the girl and old man away from here. That Hyuga kid alone would fetch a good price, that much he knew.

"Oh, you see..." Kakashi now openly smiles at J, as much as it was tellable below his mask. "...I recently made new friends."

A scream interrupted his thoughts and he turned around, just to see a figure between the thugs who cut down the ones carrying the prisoners. "What the...? The Demon?" he let out in surprise, just to dodge a set of ice senbon.

"Have you forgotten about me already, 'employer-san'?" Haku asked in a sweet voice, suddenly standing next to Kakashi. "I haven't forgotten about you. And my master decided that I'm allowed to pay you back for what you did."

"What about...?" Kakashi asked quietly, that only Haku could here him.

"They did good..." Haku answered as quiet and smiled at him before adding a single word. "...Spooky." her smile shifted into a grin.

"Well... shit." J grumbled to himself. He could take on the Copycat and the Demon together, that much he was sure about. But it would take time, time he didn't really have right now as his newly aquired pawns were already decimated by the Demon. Not with the information he learned about C. Information 'She' would love to know. And he did take care of Gato's business already.

He suddenly dissolved into dust when Kakashi appeared out of nowhere, a Chidori passing the spot his heart was just a moment ago. Only to block a set of ice senbon with his arm, that aimed at the spot he was appearing again, the senbon falling down to the ground without doing any harm after hitting his hardened limb.

Looking back towards the thugs that were still being decimated by Zabuza did he made a decision. It only took him a split second to go through a complicated set of hand signs before shouting out "Earth Style: Fissure!"

The ground rumbled and split apart down within the water. The gap was big enough to swallow one of the pillars supporting the bridge, the one supporting the parts the fighting parties were on.

The events following happened all quickly.

Zabuza, sensing the danger, let off from the thugs he was fighting and moved to pick up the bridge builder and the kid, before disappearing in another blur of fog. A big part of the end of the construction broke and fell down into the water, taking several thugs with it. Only the ones that were close to the last pillar of the bridge, at which their boats were located, got lucky.

Kakashi and Haku, being right in the middle of the jutsu, quickly jumped away, back towards the beginning of the bridge. He was sure that Hinata and Naruto should be safe from that jutsu, having fought atop another pillar. But the thought that the Organization wasn't caring about potential colletaral damage was bothering him.

And J took the distraction he created to disappear from the bridge. It was only a minor drawback that he hadn't got his hands on any bounty. His main goal, to get rid of Gato, was fulfilled. That and he had two captives he could bring back. He just wasn't sure of the value the mother and her son would have. Of highest value however clearly was the information that C was still alive and now working with Konoha. That one he really needed to bring back to 'Her' and he would.

Once the dust settled stood the group of makeshift allies back on the shore, in front of the remainings of the bridge in construction, looking at the results.

"Say, do you always hold yourself back during a fight?" Zabuza started the conversation, his eyes resting on Kakashi.

"Only if I believe that talking is a better option." came the reply, accompanied by a shrug.

Looking over to the two from the place where he sat next to Hinata on the ground Naruto eyed the two in thought, before he spoke up. "Well... I believe you are simply lazy, Spooky." he concluded after a short time of thinking, Hinata giving a small nod in agreement.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Kakashi asked with a hurt expression.

Without missing a beat did Hinata start. "You spared C back then."

"But that was after the fi-..."

He was interrupted by Naruto. "You let the mercenaries go, without having fought for real."

"But they were doub-..."

Haku giggled and couldn't help but to add to that exchange. "You avoided fighting Zabuza-sama and assaulted him with words until he gave in."

Letting his shoulders hang in defeat he shrugged again. "Okay, fine, maybe I am lazy. Happy now?" and with that was he ending that argument, ignoring his genin for the moment.

"Seems like you gotta need to start all over, huh?" Zabuza noted dryly in the direction of Tazuna. And right he was, with the bridge partially destroyed and the still standing parts covered with the Earth Spikes, making them useless as well. "I mean, I doubt that Gato would have went with such methods."

Having shaken away the words from the kids was Kakashi now back to his professional self. "But primary because he lacked the possibilities I believe. Besides, ambushing and killing the workers is just as awful a method as the complete destruction of the bridge."

"True." it was a simple admission from Zabuza and he shrugged. He had his disagreements with Gato after all and didn't take part in the slaughtering. His eyes shifted over to where Haku was currently treating the wounds of Hinata with some herbal medicine. "So, how bad did you mess them up?"

"Not bad enough it seems, Zabuza-sama." Haku replied thruthfully. "I wasn't able to win within a proper time..." she tilted her head to the side and a smile entered her lips. "...though I'm kinda happy about that now. With the new orders you gave me do we now not need to explain two dead genin to Konoha, right?"

"There was nothing I could do..." Naruto grumbled quietly. "I was no help at all to Hinata-chan. Hey, Spooky, can you teach me some tricks for ranged fighting?"

Hinata smiled at her teammate, despite the pain she felt within her whole body. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun. You did help me with your Shadow Clones. But..." her sight shifted onto Hanabi who lay on the ground with two blankets covering her cooled down body. "I'm worried about Hanabi-sama. We need to get her out of the clothes and warm her up, or she'll die..."

"We should go to my place." Tazuna offered up, turning away from the bridge. "No point in discussing everything out here, right? And there we can warm Hanabi up too."

In silent agreement the group started to move away. Kakashi picked up Hanabi, Naruto and Haku supported Hinata. There was a lot to talk about, that much was clear to them all. Too much happened this day...

XXXXX

AN: Ayup, yet again a cliffhangar. For the next chapter I thought about multiple scenes, split over the different characters and the days/weeks to come after the fight. Kinda giving everyone a bit of time, filling the plot with the after results of the fight. Stay tuned (for whenever I get to write it).