A/N: Thank you to cutiekyoto, WhisperInTheRain, CookieKrisp and jenjenjojo1012 for your feedback! This chapter is for you! :)
Eien no Shasai
(Edited Version)
Chapter 8;
Kemurito Kagami
Smoke and Mirrors
For our dreams are what drives us forward and motivate us to succeed.
-x-
"Please take care of Naruto," Kakashi said with a bow to Tsunami. "He's pushed his body to the limit, I don't think he'll be able to move today."
"Shouldn't Kari-chan stay behind too?" Tsunami said as she cast a worried eye over the little kunoichi.
"I tried to persuade her," Kakashi said simply.
"You're too soft on her," Sasuke stated and Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"I can't help it," the Jounin chuckled as Kari looked at him puzzled. She had woken up to find she was using her sensei as a chair. He was actually rather comfy.
"Ok, let's super go!" Tazuna declared, leading the way towards the bridge, with Kita in tow.
-x-
"W-what? What is this?" Tazuna cried as dead workers littered the bridge. Kari was immediately on alert, muscles instinctively tensing for attack. The aches of her torso and leg faded into the back of her mind while her sharp eyes glanced around for a clue.
"Kita, stay with Sakura," Kari ordered.
"Hai!" the wolf agreed, jumping quickly to Sakura's side.
"What happened?" Tazuna asked, lifting a worker's head.
"...Bakemono..." the man choked out. "Monster..."
"He's here," Kari murmured, the dull feel of energy tingling her skin. She knew they were her somewhere, but where? As her eyes desperately scanned the area, a familiar mist started to roll in.
"Here they come!" Kakashi warned and a kunai was tight in Kari's grip. She wished she had brought her katana, but she hadn't trained with them yet so she had left them behind.
"Kakashi-sensei, this is his Kiigakure no jutsu, isn't it?" Sakura asked as Sasuke trembled next to her.
"Long time no see Kakashi. I see you're still with those brats. He's shaking again... poor kid."
In seconds Mizu Bunshin erupted all around them and Kari's senses went on overdrive, her muscles contracting in the need to attack.
"I'm shaking... in excitement," Sasuke corrected with a smirk as Kari felt her own smirk appear. Cocky Uchiha, he really was annoying.
"Share, you two," Kakashi said sweetly and at his permission Kari was off like a spring, kunai slashing through the first clone as though it were melted butter. Not to be outdone, Sasuke quickly sprang into action, keeping equal to Kari as they sliced through clones with ease. Both landed neatly back in place before the last of the clones had fully liquidised.
"Hmm, they saw through the Mizu Bunshin. Those brats have grown," Zabuza remarked. "It looks like rivals have appeared, eh Haku?"
"It does indeed," the masked boy replied. Kari's face was blank from the two's brief friendship. They had agreed, once in battle those ties were gone.
"It seems my thinking was right on the mark," Kakashi mused. "That masked one is obviously Zabuza's comrade judging by the way they're standing next to each other and all."
"He should stop hiding under that mask and face us!" Sakura cried angrily as she discovered the deception.
"I'll fight him," Sasuke declared. "Tricking us with that stupid act, I hate bastards like that the most."
"You're so cool, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura gushed and Kakashi sighed at her girly behaviour.
"They're both impressive. Even though the water clones only had a tenth the strength of the original," Haku said.
"We knew the girl was something to watch before," Zabuza said eyeing the sharp eyed kunoichi. "But we have gained the first advantage. G-"
But before Zabuza could send Haku forward to fight, Kari had already shot forward in preparation for battle. Haku wasted no time in heading to meet her, pulling senbon into his hand to whirl at high speed for Kari's injured ribs. He was blocked with a kunai and pressed against it, trying to use his larger weight to push her back. But she stood her ground, eyes fierce. They separated and let metal clash with metal, seeming evenly matched.
"Baka," Sasuke hissed under his breath. She should have let him handle it. She may hide it from herself, but he noticed the strain in each breath and the stiffness of her calf muscle. This was no time to be impulsive.
"Sakura, step in front of Tazuna-san and don't leave my side. Sasuke, act as back up for Kari," Kakashi told them. Sasuke immediately rushed in and Haku instead attacked him which he hurriedly blocked with a kunai. He felt a shudder as Kari glanced at him, for a moment he had thought she was going to attack him too.
"Let me handle it," Sasuke ordered but she didn't seem to hear him.
"I don't want to kill you, but you won't stand down will you?" Haku asked.
"Don't be foolish," Sasuke sneered and Kari's face tightened, as though she were in pain.
"I see, but you won't be able to keep up with my speed next time. Plus I've already gained two advantages," Haku explained.
"Two advantages?" Sasuke asked.
"The first is the water on the ground, the second is that I've occupied one of your arms. You will now only be able to run from my attacks." With that, Haku's free hand blurred into shapes as he quickly made seals.
"What? With one hand?" Sasuke cried shocked as Kari was unnerved by the water beginning to ripple. She tried to figure out his attack, but she had no idea what he was doing.
"Hi-jutsu; Sensatou Suishou," Haku said slamming his foot on the ground and making the water leap into the air. Kari felt the buzz of energy pass through the water as it changed form, solidifying, freezing with the sudden drop in the temperature around them.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried in alarm.
The Uchiha quickly made a hand seal, closing his eyes and concentrating while Kari used a kunai to push Haku away from them. Huge ice needles shot at them and Sasuke's eyes shot open as he grabbed Kari and leapt into the air before they were impaled from all angles by icy needles.
"They're both gone..." Haku leapt backwards as multiple kunai shot towards him.
"You're pretty slow," Sasuke said from behind him as a smirk slid onto his handsome face. "From now on you will only be able to run from my attacks." Haku spun around to block Sasuke's kunai but was unprepared for the foot that came flying towards his face, sending him hurtling back to Zabuza's feet.
"Looks like I have the advantage in speed," Sasuke said cockily. Kari sighed at his overconfidence.
"I can't have you underestimating my team by calling them brats. Sasuke is Konoha's number one rookie," Kakashi said. "Sakura is the brightest rookie and Naruto is the show-off, hyperactive number one loudest ninja in the village."
Kari felt the odd pang in her chest again. Nobody knew her talents, she had no noticeable characteristics, she hadn't attended the academy and discovered if she was intelligent. It was like she had no existence...
"Aren't you forgetting one?" Zabuza questioned and Kari's pang turned into a searing sting. The feel of not belonging, not existing, having no relevance. It made her head swim and feel like there was a gaping hole where her organs should be.
"Kari-chan, is a mixture of all three," Kakashi said proudly and Kari felt herself perk up a bit. But the gaping hole still ached to be filled. Her sensei was kind enough to pay attention to her, but how much could one learn in three weeks? Her team-members had twelve years of becoming who they were. But she... she didn't even have a real name. She gave herself a good mental shake and kicked those thoughts to the back of her brain. She was in the middle of a fight and whilst fighting her mind went soothingly blank with adrenaline powering her body. In a battle she thought of nothing but her next moves, her opponents moves, her team-mates locations. Irrelevant disheartening would be a hindrance.
"Haku, do you realise? At this rate we'll be driven back," Zabuza said with a dark chuckle.
"Yeah, we can't have that," Haku agreed as his body glowed with Chakra and Kari felt the pull towards it. But this time she ignored it. She felt a chill in the air that made her lungs sting in protest. Her brows furrowed, wondering if she hadn't fully pushed her doubts aside. Her eyes widened as the temperature dropped and rectangles of ice appeared in a dome around her and Sasuke. "Hi-Jutsu Makyo Hyou Shou."
Kari suddenly felt sick. Her heart beat rapidly increased as her eyes darted from each mirror to the next. She was trapped. There was no way out. She was trapped in a cage. Sasuke glanced at her, feeling her core Chakra begin to flare erratically.
"Baka, calm down," Sasuke hissed. "What are you freaking out about?" She suddenly lurched forward sprinting at the mirror in front of her. "Matte! What-?" Sasuke paused when she started pounding on the mirror, her fists slamming into the ice making it tremble with the force, but not crack.
"Let me out..." she whimpered. "Let me out... let me out...!"
It suddenly hit Sasuke. She was scared of being trapped. She didn't like not having a way out. She didn't like being a prisoner. Her knuckles were starting to bleed now and all she'd managed was a pitiful scratch on the surface.
"Huh?" Sakura cried in confusion as Haku stepped into the mirrors, his reflection appearing in each one on the inside. Haku's hands came out the other side, reaching out of the mirror to grab Kari's wrists, before attempting to pull her into the mirror with him.
"K'so!" Kakashi cried rushing forward as he sensed Kari's panic.
"Hey," Zabuza said blocking the way. "Your opponent is me. Against that jutsu they're finished."
"Ugh!" Sasuke cried as he struggled to hold onto Kari. Haku had already pulled half of her into the mirror and the Uchiha was fighting furiously to hold on. He had a firm hold around her stomach, though her arms, head and shoulders had been sucked inside. "K'so, fight him baka!" Suddenly Haku let go and the Uchiha fell back, pulling her back into the middle. "Can you hear me? Oi?"
Her lips were blue, her skin with an unhealthy purple tinge against flushed cheeks. She was shivering violently and when Sasuke touched her she was deathly cold.
"Well, shall I begin?" Haku asked as Sasuke rubbed her arm, trying to use friction to warm her.
"What are these mirrors?" Sasuke said in frustration as he glanced up at them. His team-mate was currently in no state to fight and he was in a situation where he had no knowledge. "Get up, come on!" By a miracle she managed to drag herself into a standing position, trembling as her body tried to create heat.
"I'll show you my real speed," Haku said raising a senbon. Sasuke winced as it scraped his shoulder and then cried out in alarm when needles rained down on them from all sides.
"Sasuke! Kari!" Kakashi cried in alarm as he caught sight between the small gaps of the glass.
"If you get by me, I'll kill those two," Zabuza promised, motioning towards Sakura and Zabuza.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried desperately as Kita let out a worried "Okaasan!"
Kari pulled Sasuke into her stomach, trying to shield him with her own body, but the needles found each gap and kept striking him too.
"Tazuna-san, gomen but I'm going to leave you for a moment," Sakura said.
"Yeah, go!" Tazuna agreed and Kita shifted from paw to paw, unsure of what to do. She decided to stay with the old man so she wouldn't be in the way.
"Sasuke-kun! Kari-chan!" Sakura yelled as she flung the kunai at a mirror. But Haku reached out and caught it with ease. He was caught off guard however, when a shuriken struck his mask, knocking him out of the mirror. A huge explosion of smoke appeared next to the mirror and Kari immediately knew who it was. A weak smile crossed her cracked lips, she knew he'd come.
"Uzumaki Naruto! Has finally arrived!" Naruto declared excitedly as the rest of the smoke dissipated. "Now that I'm here, everything will be fine! Dattebayou! The main character of a story usually shows up in these situations and immediately... kicks the enemy's ass!"
"Geez, that idiot... What kind of loud entrance was that? And you call yourself a ninja..." Kakashi thought, appalled at Naruto's level of stealth.
"You talk too much..." Sasuke grumbled.
"Naru-kun," Kari said warmly as her smile widened.
"Bah, that brat..." Zabuza grumbled and quickly flung some shuriken to rid himself of the nuisance.
"No... no, no, no, onegai..." Kari begged but her legs simply shook. The needles had embedded themselves in her muscles and they spasmed in protest when she tried to move. She felt her eyes sting and burn as she felt a tear break free. "Naruto!"
The shuriken were halted as senbon knocked them out of the air, falling harmlessly to the ground.
"Haku? What is this?" Zabuza demanded.
"Zabuza-san, these kids... Please let me fight them my way," Haku requested.
"So you don't want me to interfere? You're soft as always..."
"Soft?" Sasuke echoed. He's right. Attacking with needles but not aiming them at high damage areas, is he trying not to kill us? But what's this jutsu? Having clones in the mirrors all throwing needles? No, it's too fast for that, I can't even see where they're coming from. Also, if it was just Bunshin no Jutsu, then why the mirrors? These mirrors serve some kind of purpose in his attack. Well, if me and Kari attack from the inside and Naruto attacks from outside...
"Hey! I came to save you!" Naruto declared popping up in front of Sasuke and Kari suddenly.
"WAA!" Kari cried in alarm jumping onto the unimpressed Uchiha who promptly dropped her, pushing nasty needles even further into her muscle. Sasuke didn't seem to care as he exploded into a rant at Naruto.
"You complete moron! If you're a shinobi then use your head! Why did you come inside the mirrors? Damn it! I don't care any-more! You're an idiot!"
"Sasuke..."
"Nan da to? I came here to save you and this is what I get? And look at Kari-chan! You moan at me for not being 'shinobi-like' why didn't you protect her! She's covered in cuts and she's bleeding everywhere! She's a girl she's not meant to be cut up!" Naruto retorted.
"Naru..."
"I didn't ask her to protect me! She did it herself because she's an idiot like you!"
"URUSAI!" Kari shouted grabbing a fistful of hair and slamming the boys heads together. Haku climbed back into the mirror as Kari finished the argument.
"Okay, so there's the real one," Sasuke murmured, eyes fixed on Haku.
"Over here," Haku taunted, appearing behind them.
"What's going on here?" Naruto cried, frustrated nothing was being explained.
"Katon..." Sasuke began as he made a tiger seal. "Goukakkyou no jutsu!" And a huge ball of flame erupted from his mouth between two fingers. Kari was delighted at the sudden warmth and extended her fingers and toes towards the flame.
"It didn't do anything!" Naruto accused as the mirrors stood strong.
"You can't melt this ice with that level of fire," Haku stated. Kari's delight with the fire was promptly extinguished when needles started to rain down on them again. She curled up, unsure of where Sasuke or Naruto was in the haze of sharp metal, eyes screwed shut in an attempt to protect herself from being blind. She could hear each throw, but the sounds were everywhere around her and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pinpoint his location.
"Where's the real one?" Naruto cried as the needles momentarily stopped.
"Trying to follow with your eyes is impossible," Haku said. "You will never be able to catch me."
"Gah! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto cried. "I'll find the real one by crushing them all!" But Haku was too quick, and the clones were easily destroyed.
"This jutsu uses the mirrors reflection to transport me. From my point of view, you appear to be moving in slow motion," Haku explained.
"For a kid to master a jutsu like that," Kakashi murmured. "Kekkei genkai. A deep blood lineage, superior genealogy, it's a jutsu passed down by your ancestors. You could compare it to my Sharingan. Even I couldn't copy it. It's impossible to defeat..."
"K'so!" Naruto growled as Kari helped him sit up. "So what? I can't die here, I have a dream I must fulfil!"
"Dreams..." Haku murmured. "Becoming a true Shinobi is difficult for me... If possible I don't want to kill you nor have you kill me. But if you come at me, I can destroy my kind heart with a blade and become a true Shinobi. This bridge is the place where we fight, to connect our dreams. Me for my dream, you for your dream. Please don't hate me. I want to protect someone precious to me. To work for that person. To fight for that person. To make that person's dreams come true. That is my dream. For that I can become a Shinobi, I can kill you."
There was a moment of understanding between them, but then Kari stood.
"Sasuke-kun! Kari-chan! Naruto! Don't lose to that guy!" Sakura shouted from the outside.
"No, Sakura don't egg them on," Kakashi said grimly. "Even if they could defeat that technique, they cannot defeat that boy. They don't yet have the strength to kill their hearts and kill another person. That young man knows the true pain of being a Shinobi."
"A real Shinobi can't be created in a village like yours, because you can't gain the most important thing, experience in killing," Zabuza said.
"Then what can we do sensei?" Sakura asked desperately.
"Sorry, but I'm going to end this instantly," Kakashi said reaching for his hitai-ate.
"Ha, the Sharingan. Is that the only thing you can do?" Zabuza asked as he rushed forwards to attack before Kakashi could reveal his hidden eye. Kakashi only had time to block and the blade pierced his palm, stopping at his knuckle guard.
"You asked if it's all I can do, but you're afraid of the Sharingan Zabuza," Kakashi said.
"Heh, a Shinobi's supreme technique, is not something that should be shown to the opponent over and over," Zabuza stated.
"You should be honoured, you're the only one to see it twice, and there won't be a third time," Kakashi promised.
"Heh, even if you defeat me, you can't win against Haku," Zabuza said smugly. "Ever since he was a little kid I taught him all kinds of fighting skills. Even facing the greatest adversary he has succeeded, without heart nor fear of death. A fighting machine known as a Shinobi. And his jutsu surpass even mine. The terrifying ability of a kekkei genkai... I gained a high quality tool for myself, unlike the scrap that follow you around. One of them even has a little potential, but that potential will never be realised."
"There's nothing as boring as a man's bragging," Kakashi said lifting his mask to reveal his eye. "Let's get this started!"
"Hold on, I'll use your own words and brag about one more thing. The last time you said this to me... Heh, I've been waiting for a chance to use this line 'I'll tell you this, the same jutsu won't work on me twice on me'," Zabuza said. "Wasn't it?" His hands formed a seal. "I have already seen through the trivial system of that eye. In the previous fight, I wasn't just getting beat like an idiot, I had Haku in the background examining every aspect. Haku is very bright, by seeing a technique once, he can come up with a way to defeat it. Ninpou: Kirigakure no jutsu."
-x-
"Let the boys go, I'll stay," Kari said looking up into Haku's mask.
"Kari-chan! We're not going to leave you to face him alone!" Naruto cried shocked.
"It doesn't matter," she said.
"What?" Sasuke whispered.
"You have dreams, something to live for," she said and she smiled a sad smile. "I have no dream. I have no meaning. Your lives are far more valuable than mine."
"Kari-chan!" Naruto shouted.
"You have precious people, people whom you couldn't live without, where your world would be torn to pieces without them. If I was to disappear, it would leave little impact."
"Na-"
"You might miss me Naruto. But it's only been three weeks. I'm just an unwelcome visitor," she said and now open, her doubts and fears poured out. "No family came to look for me, no village came to claim me."
"Kari-"
"I have no dream, no purpose," she stated. "That makes for a pointless existence."
"Kari-chan!" Naruto half screamed.
"If I could give my life for yours, at least my death would have meaning, ne?" she asked looking back at them. "Maybe my answers lie in the next world."
"IIE!"
"Naruto," her voice was warm like honey. "Iruka-sensei will look after you, Sasuke will continue to be your rival, you can continue chasing Sakura or fall in love with an even prettier girl, you'll reach Hokage and run the village with more passion than any Hokage before you."
"I won't let them go, just for you," Haku said, he sounded remorseful, sad for what he knew he must do.
"I thought so," Kari said but her eyes were oddly hollow.
"Kari-chan! I felt like that before! I did! And I overcame it! I found my dream and my precious people!" his voice was thick and she could hear the tears in his voice.
"Baka! How dare you give up on life!" Sasuke snarled. "You're a coward!"
"I don't know what fear feels like," Kari admitted. "Or love, or hate. I just feel vague emotions. I don't know who I am. I want to be of use, even if it's just for a moment."
"Kari-chan!"
She ran at the mirror despite both boys shouting and slammed her kunai into the ice. When it sank through she was unprepared and her body fell with it, into the icy depths of the mirror where the reflections disappeared and they all became blank.
"KARI-CHAN!"
-x-
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