. . : Kouseiton'i Kunoichi : . .
Chapter 5 – Life's too Short for Regrets
By twilightotaku
Author's Note: HOLY SHIT! About 4.5k words in this chapter, not including the A/Ns, the before part, and the title! Consider it as my new year's present to you all ^^
Voting will be closed at 2:00 am Jan. 1st of 2009! SO VOTE! Currently:
Neji/Kagome – 23Gaara/Kagome – 21Itachi/Kagome – 18
VOTE SOOOOOOOON! VOTING CLOSES IN 2 HOURS AND 15 MINUTES!'
Thanks to all my reviewers and voters!
After the mission, there will be a little surprise that is totally original!
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT OWN, SORRY!
HAPPY NEW YEARS!
Before:
Transforming her charm sized Tessaiga, she pounced on Zabuza, before neatly cutting him into two, so fast that he didn't even have a chance to pull his sword out. An audible puff of smoke replaced him, and water came pouring out of what use to be Zabuza.
"This is going to be so much fun," Kagome smiled, before sheathing her huge sword. Doing a couple hand signs, she got ready for her next attack.
Now:
The clone now gone, only the true Zabuza remained. One of his hands was held in a hand sign, as the other heaved his huge sword, ready for Kagome's next attack. Jumping from the neighbouring area, Naruto called the group over to him as Zabuza turned to leer at Kakashi.
"Our only chance is to release Kakashi-sensei, or we'll be dead meat!" Naruto's face clenched in anger. "Stupid binding jutsu... How do we release it?" he turned to Sasuke and Kagome, hoping they had an answer.
"That's easy; we have to make his left hand release the jutsu by distracting him enough so that he has to use that hand, releasing his hand sign and the binding jutsu. The only hard thing is how" Kagome answered grimly, unconsciously clenching Tessaiga harder.
"Hn. You guys are forgetting something; Not only do you have me on this team, but there are also three of us that can attack while Sakura guards Tazuna," Sasuke smirked, as if mocking the others' non-existent intelligence. "Kagome has the best chance of attacking directly," he admitted grudgingly, "but dobe (dead last) and I can do the Evil Wind Shuriken: Shadow Windmill Technique right after you step out of the way," Naruto grinned gleefully at this, totally overlooking the fact that he was called 'dobe'. The three nodded at each other, before jumping into position.
"Ne, Zabuza-san. Shall we try out a sword dance?" Kagome asked cockily, interrupting his little mocking session. Raising her sword, she practically flew at him, and just as she was about to hit him, he raised his own sword and blocked. Zabuza's sword flew down to her leg, and just as it was going to cut through her ankle, she jumped out of the way, but a weird piece of metal binding came off. The clash of metal could be heard, and as quickly as it had happened, it stopped.
"Feh, as if a girl like you could defeat me! After all, a water clone only has 1/10 of the original's power!" he replied, and the sword dance began. They moved like blurs, dodging, thrusting, striking, parrying, but it seemed like they were equal on all counts. Suddenly, Kagome teleported behind Sasuke, and Naruto smirked. He threw his rival/friend the huge shuriken, which Sasuke promptly threw at Zabuza. Naruto created a dozen clones of himself, and transformed the original into a shuriken just like the one that was just thrown, and hid in its shadow. Catching the first shuriken, Zabuza merely laughed, and jumped over the second one. As soon as Naruto was cleared, he released his jutsu, and threw a kunai at Zabuza from behind.
Three things happened simultaneously; Zabuza accidentally released his jutsu, causing Kakashi to be free; their sensei leaped out of the water and right in front of Zabuza.
"Good job, guys. Now protect Tazuna, and do not interfere!" he commanded as his Sharingan began spinning wildly.
"Even though those brats have freed you, I can still defeat you with my jutsu!" Zabuza started doing hand signs at such a pace that it looked like a blur to Team Seven. Ox, Monkey, Rabbit, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Bird, Tiger, Dog, Tiger, Snake, Ox, Sheep, Snake, Pig, Sheep, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Dragon, Ox, Horse, Sheep, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Rat, Boar, Monkey, Dragon, Bird, Ox, Horse, Sheep-Zabuza's eyes widened as he saw Kakashi do the exact same thing. Tiger, Snake, Rat, Monkey, Rabbit, Boar, Dragon, Ox, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Rat- he started panicking because it was as if Kakashi was doing it faster than him. Blinking his eyes as he continued, he nearly stopped altogether when he saw himself at the place where Kakashi was. No, it must be a Genjutsu... he thought to himself nervously. Rat, Boar, Bird- just as he was about to call out the name of the jutsu, Kakashi said it.
"Gogyou Ryou Justu!" (Water Dragon Technique) two voices called out at the same time, though to Zabuza it was as if he was one word behind Kakashi. As the name suggested, two huge dragons made completely of water appeared, and were intertwined as they attacked, causing a huge explosion. With the attack annulled, Zabuza attempted to do his ultimate attack; the Water Vortex. As he was about to begin, Kakashi knew that this was his last chance, and was about to throw a kunai at his throat when two senbons (throwing needles) appeared and hit Zabuza's neck. A rustle of leaves from behind the team signified somebody entering, and as they turned, they saw a ninja with a white mask on, two red markings, one from the right cheek curving up to where his nose should have been, and one from the middle of his chin going up to meet the point where the first curved. On his forehead was four curved lines that symbolized Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist.
"Thank you for catching him. I've been after him for a while now," the ninja went to where the body of Zabuza lay, and was about to teleport when Naruto shouted out.
"Hey! Who are you?!"
"I'm a-"
"Naruto, he's a hunter ninja for Kirigakure. It's his job to find and destroy the body of the missing ninja from his village so that their secrets are kept," Kagome's mouth curved slightly at her hyperactive team mate's antics.
"Oh, okay then..." he scratched his head sheepishly, eyes closed.
The Hunter Ninja disappeared, and as they were about to continue on, Kakashi lost consciousness.
"Wow..." Tazuna was staring at Team Seven, shocked at their skill; and that short girl! She could wield a blade at least three times her size!
"Ne, Kagome, I forgot to ask, but are you wearing any weights?" Sakura asked, remembering her sword fight from earlier.
Zabuza's sword flew down to her leg, and just as it was going to cut through her ankle, she jumped out of the way, but a weird piece of metal binding came off.
"Hai, Sakura; they probably saved my life too!" Kagome's eyes went '^', and she cocked her head to the side, as if knowing that she had another question.
"How much?" Sasuke interrupted, black eyes scowling at the distance, not meeting anybody's eyes.
"Eh... Right before the mission started I added 10 lbs, so now it comes out to... around 50 lbs. On each hand, leg, and one around my waist," Sasuke looked at her in disbelief. A total of 250 lbs.?!?
"Total of 250 lbs, but I have to take them off now, because their all totalled, and I have to carry Kakashi-sensei anyways. He's about to pass out in 3...2...1..." true enough, Kakashi lost consciousness, and Kagome picked him up, slinging him around her back. "Lead the way, Tazuna-san," she spoke cheerfully, ignoring the looks of amazement coming from her team and client.
. : 3 Hours Later at the House : .
"Kagome! Sensei is finally awake!" Sakura announced as she saw said person start to move, then open his one visible eye.
"Eh... what happened?" their teacher asked sleepily, his eyes still slightly unfocused.
"You overused your Sharingan, and lost consciousness! Kagome had to carry you here! By the way, we're at Tazuna's house now! Believe it!" Naruto said. Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, came in, passing a bowl of water to Sakura, who held it up to Kakashi's lips. Tsunami then left the room, saying she had to attend to something.
"Tazuna-san," Kakashi began, eyeing the bridge builder. "We need to know something. Why would there be Jounin level ninjas after you? If we had known, this would have been classified at least as a B-class mission."
"Eh..." Tazuna sighed. The cat's out of the bag now... "You've probably heard of the wealthy shipping mogul, Gato; outwardly, he runs a large shipping company, but secretly, he deals with drugs and sells them along with other illegal items. He mainly uses missing ninjas and gangs to help, to take over businesses and countries. Overall, he's one of the most wicked man alive, and he's after me."
"Because of the bridge, right?" Kagome cut in unexpectedly.
"Yes, because upon the bridge's completion, his control over our small island would be diminished. Almost a year ago, he set his eyes on our home country, and through blasphemous ways he took control of the shipping company here. He now has the entire monopoly on all business interchanges in our country. Even now our nobles aren't any richer than a merchant in other lands, so we would not be able to pay the fee of an expensive B-class mission." He proceeded to tell them about how his adopted son became the hero of the Land of the Waves, and how he was killed, causing his grandson to lose hope, and the land to deteriorate as nobody wanted to stand up to him.
"So since you're building the bridge, you're in the way," Kakashi speculated. "Well, we do have a reason to abandon the mission without any repercussions should we choose to. But-"
"No way I'm abandoning this mission!" Naruto butted in. "This is the first mission we've had that isn't boring! If we abandon it, what will happen to all our other missions? I say we stay," there were a couple nods of agreement, but Sakura looked slightly nervous, before steeling herself by saying if she stayed, her 'Sasuke-kun' would be impressed. There was a brief silence before Kagome changed the topic completely.
"Kakashi-sensei; I'm pretty sure Zabuza is still alive," Kagome grimaced at her colleague's surprise. Even Sasuke's face was colored in incredulity.
"WHAT?!" Naruto shouted, furious; Kakashi sighed.
"I thought as much... But how did you know?" he asked inquisitively, staring at Kagome with thinly veiled curiosity.
"First, Hunter Ninjas are suppose to dispose of the bodies on site, so that no mistakes are made. Second, the weapon he used to 'kill' Zabuza was Senbons, which are only deadly when they hit a vital organ; there are no vital organs in the neck, and there's a special spot where if hit accurately, it puts the person in a temporary state of death," Kagome explained, ignoring the looks from everybody else.
"Hn..." came Sasuke's single word reply.
"Mou, mou, how troublesome..." Kakashi sighed.
"Ano, what do we do now, sensei?" Sakura questioned, while glaring at Kagome for impressing 'her' Sasuke-kun.
"We train," his reply was short, sweet, and to the point.
"NANI (what) ?!?!!" Naruto screamed.
"We only have a few days until the bridge is complete, and Zabuza is bound to show up in the future, but not too soon as he was injured, so the only thing we can do is train," he clarified slowly, as if speaking to an idiot. "Since I can't move much, we'll be working on chakra control. Meet me in the forest in 10 minutes," he instructed. Taking a crutch from beside him, he slowly stood up, and left to do whatever it is perverted Jounin instructors do in their free time.
. : 10 minutes later in the forest : .
"So what's our assignment?" Naruto asked excitedly, practically bouncing off the trees, his eys shining with anticipation.
"We are going to... be climbing trees!" his eyes crinkled and went '^' shaped as he saw three of his students fall down anime style.
"Climbing trees?!" Sakura asked in disbelief.
"Yes, climbing trees, except without using your hands. Watch," and without further ado, the Jounin limped to one of the trees nearby, and walked up the tree as if he were walking on ground.
"Hmm..." Kagome pondered how he could do it, and concluded that he was sending chakra to the soles of his feet, making them act like mini vacuums. Her sapphire eyes lighting in understanding, she ran to the nearest tree, and was about to try it out when four kunais landed in front of each member of their team.
"You focus your chakra to your feet, and try to walk up the tree. Mark the highest you're able to go until you're able to reach the top." The chibi-Kagome in her mind cheered as she got it right.
"Ano...what's chakra?" Naruto asked awkwardly. Four people fell over, shocked.
"You're a genin and you don't know what chakra is?!" Sakura asked in disbelief.
Shaking his head, Kakashi explained it as the energy they used to create their jutsus. Understanding, Naruto shouted that he would be able to do it easy, because he was to be the next Hokage, and was proved wrong.
As both boys struggled, Kagome cast a critical glance towards them. Naruto was displaying to little chakra, causing him to fall flat on his face, but Sasuke was displaying too much, causing cracks to form in the tree. So that's why he's training us with this. You need an exact amount of chakra; too little and you end up as Naruto, and too much as Sasuke. It will help with your chakra control, making our Ninjutsu attacks stronger... she mused to herself, before gripping the kunai tightly.
"Hey, this is pretty easy!" Sakura hollered from 2/3 up her tree. Standing there, she beamed triumphantly before letting her fingers form a peace sign, glancing not so discreetly at Sasuke, who just 'Hn-ed'. Disappointed, she ignored Naruto when he declared how 'cool' she was.
So much drama... Kagome thought, amused. Holding onto her own kunai, she closed her eyes, and concentrated. Seeing the familiar cerulean blue that was her chakra, she focused it onto her feet, then started up the tree, hoping she could do it in one try.
"Argh! This is so stupid!" Naruto growled down below, glaring at his tree. He turned and saw Sasuke panting on the ground beside him, and saw Sakura still on her perch in the tree. "Hey, where's Kagome?" he asked, looking around.
Kakashi looked up from his brand new Icha Icha Paradise book that was just taken out of his secret stash in his Jounin vest. "Somewhere..." he replied uninterestedly, before giggling from something he read. Shaking his head in disgust, inner-Sakura was hoping that Kagome was dead in a ditch somewhere, but to no avail.
"Up here guys!" a soft voice called from above. Looking up, Team Seven and the perverted Jounin saw Kagome, balancing on one foot on the very tip of her designated tree. "I've done this before!" she called out after seeing the shocked looks from the boys and the teacher, and ignoring the jealous scowl coming from pinkie.
"Ehh..." Kakashi pondered what she could do now. "I guess you have a free day then. Go practice whatever technique you want. Sakura, Kagome, you will be guarding Tazuna tomorrow, while the boys keep practicing.
Nodding, Kagome jumped of the tree head first, her hair whipping around her, before doing a graceful flip and landing feet first. "I'll be over there if you need anything," she nodded towards a clearing that stood half covered by a bunch of bushes.
"I'm going back to the house..." Sakura started, but was pouted when she saw nobody paying attention to her.
A couple hours passed, and Kakashi had already returned to the house, claiming his leg was hurting, but limping on his not injured leg, which caused many raised brows.
"Where are you going, dobe?" Sasuke asked gruffly as he saw Naruto walk in the opposite direction of the house.
"Huh? I'm going to ask Kagome for help, of course!" he stuck his tongue out at his rival, and left with Sasuke's eyes watching him. Hiding in the bushes, he whispered a soft 'Sugoi!', which caused Sasuke to come over and investigate.
Inside the sheltered clearing, Kagome stood there, a huge ball of each element floating in a loose circle around her. Fire, water, earth, lightning, air, and a ball of something that was pure cerulean blue that was unlike the regular pale dull blue. Muttering a few choice words, Kagome did a couple hand signs that were completely unknown to the two boys, and each ball turned into a creature; the fire turned into a phoenix, the water into a seahorse type serpent, the earth into a giant wolf, air into a winged horse, lightning into a dragon, and the pure blue into an owl that probably represented wisdom. Creating a couple shadow clones, she waved her hand, as if ordering her 'summons' to attack, and not 10 seconds later, all of the clones were annihilated.
"SUGOI!" Naruto couldn't hold it in anymore. He had to know what that was to become the greatest Hokage of Konohagarue!
"What are you doing here?" Kagome asked, steel in her voice, as she dismissed her summons, who bowed to her before disappearing in a whisk of light.
"Eh...I wanted to ask you how you did the tree climbing thing," he scratched his head sheepishly, before turning to Sasuke. "What were you doing here?" he leered at his rival.
"Hn," before going back to practice. Rolling her eyes, she turned to Naruto.
"It's really easy, come on, I'll show you," taking his hand, they raced to his tree, where Kagome was impressed by the numerous cuts he performed.
"Ok, first, close your eyes, and relax. It won't work if you're stressed or frustrated," she started quietly, as to not bother Sasuke, who was nearby and straining his ears discreetly, and to the amusement of Kagome, who lowered her voice even more. "Focus your chakra into your feet, imagine it's like a liquid pouring into a cup, too much and it will overflow, too little and it will be not enough. Race up the tree with the same serene feeling from before," she explained.
Naruto took a deep breath, and closed his eyes to focus. Before long, he was about 2/3 there before he fell. "Good job, Naru-kun!" she embraced him, much to Sasuke's jealousy. "One more try, and you should get it!"
"Of course I got it! After all, I'm going to be Konoha's next Hokage!" he boasted happily, before trying again. Sitting down, Kagome watched him try, and was happy for him when he finally reached the top.
"I'll be right back," she promised, before running off towards the house for Kami (God) knows what.
After like a minute of a tensed silence, Naruto noticed his 'companion's' twitching eyebrows. Ignoring it, he looked up to the sky, staring awed at the stars.
"What did she say to you?" the Uchiha finally sucked up his pride and asked.
"Huh?" was Naruto's intelligent reply.
"Kagome; what did she say when you asked her?" his eyebrow twitching like crazy now, more than annoyed at the fact that he had to ask Uzamaki Naruto of all people.
"Eh..." he burst out laughing, causing Sasuke to continue his eyebrow twitching and creating an anger tick mark on his head. "You should have asked her for help too! I'll never tell you!" Naruto claimed gleefully.
"I'm back!" came an unexpected voice. "Tsunami-san says it's time for dinner, so we have to go back, but you can practice again tomorrow!" Kagome went to Naruto's side, linked arms with him, and started towards the house, leaving a fuming and jealous Sasuke behind.
Back at the house, everybody was seated for dinner, and Team Seven met Inari, who was Tazuna's grandson. He was quiet most of the meal, and would stare at the photo frame that had a tear on the top left corner, ignoring the noise around him, along with the two boys; one blonde the other dark haired, eating as if there were no tomorrow.
"I have to keep eating..." Sasuke started, though how he said that while eating madly was beyond Kagome's comprehension.
"...to beat him!" Naruto continued, eating as Sasuke, causing many sweat drops to appear among the heads of the others.
"Baka... you guys shouldn't eat so much! Yes, you have to eat, but if you eat too much, you'll end up sick!" Kagome eyed the two, her eyes clearly stating her disgust. Kakashi just nodded, and Sakura called Naruto disgusting while watching Sasuke with hearts in her eyes, totally neglecting to see Sasuke was eating the same way Naruto was.
"You're all going to die! Why don't you mind your own business and leave!? There's no way you can defeat Gato" Inari blurted out, angry.
"Inari!" Tsunami, his mother reprimanded sharply.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU LITTLE GAKI (brat)?!?" Naruto shouted, anger and disbelief radiating off his person.
"There's no way you'll win. You'll all just die."
"WHY YOU LITTLE-"
"Naruto, calm down," Kagome stroked his arm soothingly, hoping she would shut her friend up before any further argument would erupt.
"Baka, you're fighting with a child!" Sakura said snootily.
"Listen up, Inari! I'm a super cool ninja that will one day become the strongest Hokage in the history of Hokages! I don't know anything about this Gato guy, but one thing's for sure, he will never be able to beat me! I'll be a hero to thousands of people!" Naruto puffed out his chest proudly.
"Feh, there's no such thing as heroes! If you consider your life precious, then you should leave now and mind your own business!" Inari screeched as he opened the door, about to leave.
"Where are you going, Inari?" Tsunami asked worriedly.
"To look at the ocean from my room" he replied, not even looking at his mother.
Kagome sighed, and raised her eyebrow at the looks she was getting. "What? He probably lost somebody close to him when he was younger...That's why he's acting like this" glancing at the surprised faces of Tsunami and Tazuna, she knew she was correct. Of course she was; after all, practically the same thing happened to her. Excusing herself, she left through the same door that was just used.
"Where are you going, Kagome?" Naruto asked after he paused in his frantic eating.
"To check on Inari," she replied softly, before padding up the stairs to Inari's room. Thinking back on her past, she shook her head, as if it would dispel her thoughts. Sighing again, she knocked on the door, but nobody answered. She assumed he couldn't hear her, so she proceeded to go into the balcony, where he stood leaning on the railing, staring at the ocean.
"What are you doing here?" Inari asked.
"To talk to you. I apologize for Naruto's behaviour, but sometimes he just doesn't think his actions or words through. Your grandfather told us about your father; like you, Naruto grew up without a father; heck, he didn't even have his mother. The villagers abhorred Naruto, and tried to kill him discreetly various times, but he never complained. His dream, to become Hokage, was also to hope people would acknowledge him, and not hate him. For that dream, he would give away his life gladly, if only for the one person who accepted him." Kagome smiled softly at the child. "I bet that he's so sick of moaning and crying; he understands what it is to be truly strong, like your father. Out of everybody here, Naruto probably understands you way more than you think."
"Eh?" was Inari's smart reply.
"Deep down, I bet that he wants you to be free and happy, instead of sad and bawling" she explained.
"But, how? I run away so much; I'm a coward!" he sobbed.
"No, you're not," Kagome started firmly. "Your grandfather use to be a coward, but now he's standing up for what he believes in just by building that bridge! Start by supporting your grandfather, and don't go on about all that 'you're gonna die' crap. Start training to become stronger both spiritually and mentally. Starts hoping, living, don't regret anything you do. Life's too short for regrets!" Kagome hugged him, giving him warmth and comfort.
"Domo Arigato (Thank you very much), Kagome-nee-chan!" Inari returned the hug, before running off to speak with his granddad. Kagome smiled wistfully before returning to the room she would be sharing with Sakura.
"Hm... She stole the words right out of my mouth!" Kakashi said, hiding on the roof, smiling.
. : Two Days Later : .
After a day of gruelling training, the boys had finally accomplished their 'task', and the entire Team Seven walked proudly on their way to the bridge. Inari had lightened up, and would hug each of them and wish them luck every time they left. Kakashi's body was back to normal, though he was slightly depressed when he found 39 of his hidden copies of his Icha Icha Paradise 'books' tortured in different ways on his bed the second night. For example, one was so washed out with water that the ink was gone, another looked like it rolled in mud, etc.
"Eh, I forgot my hitai-ate!" Kagome said quietly. "I'll be right back, k?" she looked towards the group, who only nodded, before disappearing back to the house.
The scene that greeted them on the bridge was appalling. The workers lay on the ground, not dead, but some severely injured, and the mist hung thickly in the air so that it was hard to see. Kakashi immediately pulled out his Sharingan and a kunai, his grip tightening.
"Here they come," he spoke softly, before turning his head slightly to Sakura. "Protect Tazuna at all costs."
"Long time, no see, Kakashi," a voice mocked from the mist. "It looks like you haven't managed to ditch the gakis (brats) yet! Oh, but what's this? The short girl is missing. I wonder where she is... maybe... she's too scared to be a ninja?" the dangerous voice continued.
"Why you-"Naruto was interrupted as Kakashi smothered his mouth with his hand.
About a dozen Zabuzas surrounded the Konoha ninjas, each formidable in his own right. Nodding to his two male students, Kakashi allowed them what they were aching to do. They both took out various shuriken and kunais from their weapons pouch, and charged them with their chakra. Whipping them towards the Zabuzas, they stood know chance. 12 simultaneous 'poofs' could be heard as all the clones were destroyed.
"Hmm... so you have improved. Haku, it looks like you have two new challengers, ne?" Zabuza's voice leered from the mist.
"Hai," a voice responded.
"It seems Kagome's hypothesis was correct," Kakashi said out loud, stalling for time. "The masked one, from earlier, has been Zabuza's comrade the entire time. Methinks he should stop hiding under his mask, and face us now!" he thundered.
"Hn. I hate conniving bastards like him; always hiding behind a mask. I'll battle him myself," Sasuke growled out.
"Sasuke-kun! You're so cool!" Sakura squealed sickeningly, causing all the men to wince. The mist dispersed to reveal two men, the first, the familiar figure of Zabuza, and the second that of the Hunter Ninja from their first encounter.
"Notable, although the clones you've just eradicated only have 1/10th of the power of the original," Haku alleged. "Still notable, I guess..."
After given the signal from Zabuza, Haku appeared before Sasuke in a whirlwind of water. "Get ready..." was the only thing said before he attacked.
A/N : There you have it folks! Hope you enjoyed it, please read and review and vote! Remember, VOTING CLOSES AT 2 AM! 2 HOURS AND 15 MINUTES AND COUNTING! THE RESULTS WILL BE POSTED TOMORROW MORNING!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
THANKS FOR READING!
Cheers^^
twilightlotaku