18: Fire & Ice

Naruto strapped his greaves onto his shins, and pulled on his gauntlets, flexing his fingers inside the claws. This was it. Today was the day everything would go down.

He hadn't seen Temari since their shared night at the river, having stayed with each other until morning came, prompting a very worried search for both of them. Thankfully, in Naruto's point of view, neither of them had been found by their teammates, but it had been dangerously close. Haku, Zabuza's masked Hunter, had come looking for Temari instead of her brothers, or sensei, who were frantic over the girl.

Kakashi, much to Naruto's annoyance, had sent out his Ninken(Shinobi Hounds), and had nearly caught them had Naruto not scented them first. The two had dressed quickly, and high-tailed it toward their respective bases.

Now, over four days later, things had been extremely quiet. His training with his team had moved along steadily, and he was happy with his improvements with his new element. The area around their designated training field was now a desecrated grove of trees and ashes. Naruto found that the stronger his emotions were, as Pakura had warned him, the stronger, and more out of control his Jutsu became. If he was angry, the flames of his Shakuton were larger, and wilder, and would deviate from their intended target.

Controlling those emotions had helped him, however...when he thought of Temari, his flames changed from the red-white that Pakura and himself were used to, to something the woman had never seen. The red became blue, and the white became an almost silvery hue. And they were strong. Strong enough to reduce an entire tree to ashes with a single attack.

Sasuke and Sakura had improved as well, all three of them having learned a new Jutsu, as promised, from Kakashi. To Naruto, he had taught him something that was supposed to be done by Jiraiya. It had taken several hours, and several hundred Shadow Clones to do it, but Naruto had a good grasp on his Jutsu, while Sasuke now had two Lightning Jutsu under his belt.

Sakura, as promised, was taught the Water Dragon Bullet, and the Mud Wall for defense.

Pakura had been honing Naruto's skills in turning his Fire based Ninjutsu into Scorch techniques. It was slow, but he had a few of them down. Mostly it was Pakura's Taijutsu based Shakuton skills such as he Scorch Fist, and her Dragon Kick, which were less damaging than Naruto's Raising Dragon.

Kakashi came into the room then, watching Naruto tighten the straps holding his gauntlets on, "Naruto, are you gonna be able to do this?" He asked, "You know Temari's going to be there?"

"I know," the blond growled, gritting his teeth, "That doesn't change anything."

Kakashi shook his head, "The hell it doesn't," he sighed, "Naruto, take my advice. If you can, take her off the battlefield if you get the chance, because you and I both know that this is going to be a total cluster fuck."

Naruto gave his sensei a startled look, "You're telling me to run off with her?"

"No, what I'm saying is that you need to take her out of the equation," he clarified, sighing, "Listen, I know that you were with her a few days ago - "

Naruto sweated, "Uh, yeah, about that - "

"Take it easy," Kakashi waved his fears off, "If I had been able to see the person I cared for the most after so long, I'd have taken that chance as well." He said sadly, "But, unfortunately, I won't be able to see her until the day I leave this world...but you can avoid that fate if you at least knock her unconscious and get her out of there before the fighting gets too heavy."

Naruto thought about that for a moment. Getting Temari clear of the danger zone was ideal to him, but the fact of the matter was she probably wouldn't let him get anywhere near her. Then there were her brothers.

Gaara alone would be a problem. His sand could shield him against most attacks unless soaked clean through. Naruto thought that he could take him in a head to head fight if things came down to it. But he also had to worry about Haku, who was an unknown to him. Temari wouldn't tell him anything about her save for her name, and the fact that she was a kind person.

Kankuro would be easily dealt with since he wasn't physically strong, whoever fought him just had to avoid his puppets. Naruto could take him down easily if he got within range.

Then there were the two Jonins to worry about. Naruto sighed, "We're outnumbered, Sensei. I can't just start thinking about - "

"I killed to woman I loved, Naruto," the one-eyed Jonin said, startling the blond into silence as he looked at him sharply just as he lifted the Hitai-ate from his Sharingan, "During the war, I was made the lead Jonin of my squad at a very young age. I thought I could lead them just like Minato-sensei did for us, but, in the end, I lost my best friend, who saved my life in exchange for his own. Before his death, he gifted me with this Sharingan eye," he said, before the three Tomoe joined together in a shuriken-like shape. "This is the Mangekyou Sharingan, Naruto-kun, a Doujutsu that is only surpassed by the Rinnegan of legend. With this eye, the most powerful of all Genjutsu is able to be cast...but the price I had to pay for this power...was driving my own attack through the heart of the woman I held closest to my heart."

Naruto was more than horrified by what he was told. If gaining the Mangekyou Sharingan held such a heavy price, would Sasuke try it? No, he thought, Sasuke wouldn't dare... "Why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked, "Shouldn't you be telling me to fight with everything I have out there, and not give her an inch?"

Kakashi nodded, "Normally, I would, but I think you've already lost enough," he said, sighing, "Fact of the matter is, I'd rather you swept the girl off her feet and back to Konoha if you could. But I know that she's engaged to the Wind Daimyo's son - "

"How'd you - ?"

"I have my sources just like the Hokage does, Naruto-kun." Kakashi said, "And I can tell you without a doubt that that man is harsh, and always manages to get what he wants from anyone, save for our own Daimyo. His son is more or less a bumbling idiot, which is why he hopes to produce an heir long before his passing. Temari-chan would be a choice bride for any house, given that she's part of the Kazekage clan, which is rumored to house a Magnet Release, something almost as rare as your Scorch Release."

Naruto sighed and sat at the table, "I've been trying to think of ways to get her out of it," the blond sighed as he ran his hand through his unruly hair, "A bribe is out for so many reasons. It'd feel too much like I was buying Temari like some kind of toy!"

Kakashi shrugged, "Honestly, as far as legal moves, there's not much you can do. Even if you stated that she was vital in restoring your clan, Temari would still be given to the Daimyo." He moved toward the door, gesturing for him to follow, "Come on, we need to meet up with the others. Inari and Tsunami-san have already been taken to a secure location in the village."

Naruto nodded, and trailed after him, "Is there a chance someone might come by here?"

"There's every chance something like that would happen," Kakashi nodded, "Gato would probably feel pretty desperate about now, and more than willing to try to take someone hostage."

Naruto smirked maliciously, "Good, because I set up a few traps just in case something like that happened."

Kakashi chuckled, "You are one scary kid, you know that, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto just grinned at him in pride, then frowned, "Kakashi-sensei, is there really nothing I can do legally to help Temari-chan?"

"Barely, and all are impossible for a simple Genin such as yourself," the one-eyed Jonin sighed, "You could appeal to the Daimyo's mercy, and beg him for Temari's freedom, but that is unlikely, given how desperate the man is to gain a proper heir. There's also challenging him to a dual, but your Bojutsu aside, your Kenjutsu is something to be desired. You would undoubtedly lose as the Daimyo are all masters of the blade." He sighed, and scratched the back of his head, "And, as I said, you could offer the Kazekage a larger amount of money as a bridal fee. But you've already said you don't want to feel like you've bought her."

Naruto thought for a moment, tapping his chin, "So I could fight for her...could I use my staff?" He asked, reaching for the weapon at his back.

Kakashi nodded, "You could do that, indeed, but you would have to abstain from using any Nin, or Genjutsu. Strictly Bikujutsu, or, in your case, Bojutsu." He said, and shook his head, "But I wouldn't recommend it. As I said, the Daimyo are all masters of the sword, and he would be aiming for a kill strike with his sword. To my knowledge, the only experience you have against fighting a blade wielder is running from Yugoa-chan."

Naruto nodded, slightly embarrassed as Yugoa tended to thrash him at every turn when they sparred. Not because of his early pranks, though that helped, but because Naruto was too good with his Bo for the woman to take him lightly.

The young blond looked up to his sensei, "What would you do?"

Kakashi halted for a moment and looked down at his student, "If it were me, Naruto-kun, I'd fight for her, with everything I had."

Naruto nodded, "Then that's what I'll do." He said, smiling, "The Daimyo won't be in Konoha until the finals, so that should give me over a month to prepare if the other exams are anything to go on."

"That's true," Kakashi sighed, "But you'll have to hone your Bo skills to their max, you know that right?"

Naruto nodded as they neared the bridge, a heavy mist beginning to cover the area, making Naruto tighten his fists, "I know that she's worth more than any amount of gold that could ever be given."

The silver-haired Jonin chuckled at such a sappy line, "Text book Icha Icha if you ask me."

Naruto shivered, looking appalled at his sensei, "Don't lump me in with one of those nasty sex books of yours, Sensei!"

Kakashi burst out laughing, "Nasty they may be, but the tricks actually work!"

"Really?" Naruto asked before the man passed him a copy of his favorite volume, "H-Hey, I don't want this!"

Kakashi just jogged on ahead, laughing, "Trust me, it'll come in handy one of these days, Naru-chan!"

"Don't call me Naru-chan!"

~ZING~

Temari sighed to herself as her team got ready for the offensive. Zabuza's mist already covered the bridge in its entirety, and most of the workers had been taken out or knocked unconscious. The plan was a simple one. Zabuza and Haku would take the frontal assault, with Baki and his team waiting in the wings in case things started going South. Which Temari knew would happen with Naruto in the mix.

The blond had a tendency to be unpredictable, and therefore a wild card in any sort of situation. But she knew things would be worse off when Pakura started in. Her power was on par with her father, but the former Suna kunoichi was far more ruthless than her father was in battle. Set an enemy in front of her, and nothing stopped her from desecrating them into nothing more than corpses.

A light touch at her shoulder brought her out of her musings as Gaara looked at his sibling. "Sister, will you be alright fighting?"

Temari nodded and patted her little brother on his head, "I know what I need to do, Gaara-kun," she said, as the boy pouted and removed her hand from his hair, "Don't worry about me. You just watch yourself out there, and don't let your sand get soaked. That pink-haired girl looked like she was fairly good with Water Styles."

"As long as Zabuza does his job right, then I will not have to hurt her," Gaara mumbled, "I do not wish to fight Naruto-kun or his team."

Temari sighed, looking on ahead as the mist became thicker, blocking off all line of sight. She didn't want to fight either, but what more could she do? Trust Naruto, that's what. She told herself. He had promised her that it would be alright, and she believed him. Blind faith it may have been, but it was much better than nothing at all.

"It's starting," Kankuro sighed, his arms crossed, "I can hear foot steps on the bridge."

Indeed, it was about to begin as the five shinobi came to the bridge, and found Tazuna's men all knocked out. Tazuna almost went for them, but a raised hand from Kakashi stopped him. "If you want to live, then stay put." The one-eyed Jonin growled, lifting his Hitai-ate from his left eye, "I won't make the same mistakes with you as before, Zabuza," he called out loudly, "We're ready for you, and that little partner of yours."

Naruto got into a defensive position alongside Sasuke while Sakura stepped in front of Tazuna, her hands ready to cast a jutsu at the slightest hint of attack.

A chuckle came from deep in the mist as the sounds of feet against the wooden planks reached their ears. Zabuza, his sword swung over his shoulder, came forward almost lazily, the masked Hunter-nin at his side.

Pakura stood next to the younger Jonin, and looked down at the two boys, "Naruto, Sasuke, we'll handle Zabuza. I want you two to focus on the other one." She said, gesturing with her head, "Don't underestimate her, though, just because she only uses senbon doesn't me she doesn't have other skills."

"Right," Sasuke nodded, looking at his teammate. "You ready, Dork?"

Naruto just smiled grimly, his gauntlets clinking as he clenched his fists, "Any time, jackass."

Zabuza chuckled again, "Well, at least those kids of yours have some balls, Kakashi." He said, gaining a growl from three Genin, "I must say, something must have changed this passed week, because even that little pinky looks like a real shinobi now."

Sakura cracked her knuckles menacingly, "Come over her and find out, ya browless freak!"

Haku winced inwardly at that. Zabuza wouldn't admit it, but he was a little on the sensitive side when it came to his eyebrows, or lack there of. Which was possibly the reason his eyes were cast over with shadow at the moment.

"Haku."

The girl nodded as she produced three senbon from her sleeve.

"Boys, go!" Kakashi roared, and dashed off toward Zabuza, "Sakura, don't let anything happen to Tazuna!"

The senbon flew from her fingers, whizzing through the air toward the two charging boys. Naruto saw them coming, immediately taking the lead in front of Sasuke to deflect the darts with his gauntlets raised in a cross guard. Sasuke followed up by running through a set of hand seals, "Better hope this works," eh muttered, "Raiton: Violet Bolt!" Naruto back flipped over the Uchiha as he thrust out his left arm, a wave of purple lightning bolts shooting from his finger tips.

Haku surprised them both by raising a single hand and running through a set of her own seals, "Futon: Gale Palm!" The wave of wind that erupted from her palm sped forth and disrupted the Lightning attack.

Naruto and Sasuke lept apart as the wave whipped by them, both of them grinning, "She's a Wind user!" Naruto grinned, looking at his friend, "Let'er have it, Sasuke!" He yelled, and both of them held up their hands in the Tiger seal.

"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Haku barely had time to stop them as they unleashed their combined attacks. Two enormous Fireballs spewing from their mouths, speeding toward her. "Seems that I have no choice." She said, as she held up her hand once more, "Forgive me, Temari-chan. Hyoton: Ice Rock Dome of Magnificent Nothingness!"

The Fireballs exploded against what the boys thought was their opponent, but the two didn't relax as the smoke began to clear. "Did we get her?" Sasuke asked as he pulled a kunai from his holster.

Naruto shook his head, "Dunno, but I honestly thought she'd be tougher than that?"

Sasuke nodded, before he spotted something in the smoke, "I think you're right," he pointed to the center of the explosion, "Look there."

Naruto squinted, seeing something shimmering behind the screen, "You gotta be kidding me!"

"Nope," Sasuke grumbled, "Looks like you two are polar opposites."

Naruto chuckled as the dome of Ice became clearer, "How much bad luck can we have?" He asked, "An Ice user? Really?"

Haku's dome began to melt away into smaller blocks of ice around her, "Welcome to the world of true Shinobi," the girl said, "Now, would you mind lowering your arms? I really don't wish to hurt you."

Naruto ground his teeth, "Sasuke, you go back to Tazuna and Sakura," the blond said, "I'll handle her."

Sasuke glared at him, "The hell with that!" He snapped, "I'm not gonna - "

"Look!" Naruto snapped back, "I don't have time to make a lot of sense out of this, but I'm the only one that can take her since I've got my Shakuton, but you've only got Katon, and she's a Water user as well as a Wind user, so she's not going to be dumb enough to use any Wind based Ninjutsu against use now that she's seen we can use it."

"Don't get so full of yourself," Sasuke sneered, "Just because both of you have sub elemental Kekkei Genkai doesn't mean you can go toe to toe with her!"

Haku, having heard the conversation, nodded, "You should listen to your friend, Naruto-kun," she said, making the boy's eye twitch, "It would be best if you both surrendered. I wouldn't want Temari-chan upset with me because I was forced to kill you."

Sasuke sneered at the girl, "We won't go down so easily, Hunter!" He made to step forward, but was stopped by Naruto. "What now?!"

"Look, you idiot, the only reason I'm telling you to scram is because I can't fight at full throttle with you here!" Naruto growled, holding up his hands, "Mom taught me how to use my Shakuton, but the attacks are devastating. I don't want you getting caught by them!"

A clash of metal reached the pair's ears, as well as a massive wave of heat, signifying that Pakura was letting loose. Naruto and Sasuke both knew that if she got a clear shot at the Kiri rogue the battle would be over in a moment, but she was obviously using normal Fire Release in order not to catch Kakashi in the crossfire.

Then there came a feminine yelp, and Sasuke whipped around in that direction. "Sakura!"

"Get going!" Naruto roared, giving his friend a shove, "Against someone like Zabuza, she won't stand a chance!"

Sasuke looked toward the battle behind them, and to his friend, grinding his teeth, "Don't you dare die on me, dumbass!" Sasuke growled, and tore off toward the fight with Zabuza.

Naruto chuckled and released his fingers from the claws on his gauntlets, "Don't you worry about that, Jackass, I've got too much to live for to die right now."

Haku watched the young Uchiha go, and regarded the young blond with interest, "You have a kind heart."

"I get that a lot," Naruto sighed, dropping into his Goken stance, "Now, let me warn you, back off or I won't hold back."

"Holding back is a good way to get yourself killed," Haku put in as she held up her hand, the other holding a trio of senbon. "This is something all Shinobi know, yet you held back until now because you did not wish to harm your friend with your own attacks."

Naruto shrugged, "Those that break the rules are scum, but those that abandon their friends are worse than scum." He said, quoting his sensei, "It was the first real lesson I ever learned as a Shinobi." His chakra flared to life as blue/white flames appeared on his fists, "Now, let's see which of us is stronger."

Haku nodded grimly, "I am sorry." She said once more, "Hyoton: White Dragon Blizzard!" She thrust out her palm as ice formed around it, sending forth a massive stream of ice in the form of a red-eyed dragon, its mouth agape.

Naruto quickly went through his own seals, "Shakuton: Infernal Dragon Fire Bullet!" From his mouth gushed a stream of flames, shooting forward in the shape of a dragon not unlike Haku's, barreling toward its opposite. The two dragons clashed in an explosion that rocked the bridge, sending out a cloud of steam around the two combatants.

Naruto rushed into the cloud, his eyes closes, and his ears charged with chakra. No longer did he need to see his opponent to get a bead on them. His heightened senses would lead him right to her.

"Swallow Snow Storm!" Haku's voice yelled out. Not seeing the attack coming, Naruto crossed his arms in front of him, and was bombarded with frozen bird-like projectiles. He was thrown across the bridge from the forces of the attack but rolled back to his feet.

"Long range attacks, so close range is best to deal with her, huh?" Naruto said, smiling, "My specialty." He channeled chakra into his legs and shot forward at blinding speeds.

"Ice Prison Jutsu!" Haku roared as she saw the blond roaring toward her. Naruto grinned, knowing he was going too fast to be caught...or so he thought. His foot slipped on the boards, and found that they were covered in ice, ice that was creeping up his legs. "This is your end, Uzumaki Naruto," Haku said as the the ice began to cover him while he tried to form a hand seal to stop it.

"C-Clone Great Explosion!" Naruto growled.

Haku stiffened, "WHAT!?"

Naruto glowed brightly for a moment before his body exploded, leaving a gaping hole in the bridge, and sending Haku sprawling. It was then that she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Her eyes flew open as she saw the bright blue eyes of the blond above her, and the clawed tips of his gauntlets driven into her stomach.

"These claws," he began somberly, "are coated in a special poison." Haku's heart froze in her chest, "There won't be any pain...you'll just fall asleep..." He retracted his claws as a numbing sensation began spreading through the girl's body. She began to shake as the reality of what was happening washed over her.

She was dying. She had allowed herself to be killed by this Genin! She was no longer of any use to Zabuza!

She tried to reach for her medical pouch, but her arms had already gone numb, and were no longer able to move. Haku felt her mask being lifted from her face, Naruto looking down at her, "I'm sorry. It won't take long...I'll stay with you until then."

Tears flowed from her eyes as the blond reached down and gripped her hand, "Z-Zabuza..." her vision began to darken, "Tell him I..." She went limp, her eyes closing.

"I'll tell him," Naruto promised, rising. "Sleep well, Haku."

Well, I'm back, but I can only hope that this chapter was up to scratch with my others. I haven't got much to say, so just let me know what you think of it. Ciao!