Chapter 12
Ayumi woke in the room she'd been sharing with Sakura, and smiled when she felt Hara wiggling under the covers. She felt completely refreshed, and looked across the room. Sakura's bed was empty and made, and she sat up slowly, realizing she was still in the clothes she'd been wearing before. No one had bothered to change her into her pajamas, but she didn't care. Hara jumped onto her lap, circled three times, and lay down. She smiled brightly, and looked at the dresser, seeing her headband and blades lying on top. She listened to the birds chirping outside the window, but the silence was shattered…by the terrified scream of a little boy… "Inari!"
She put Hara on the ground before grabbing all of her weaponry and putting it on, along with her headband around her neck. She silently ran down the stairs, quieting an angry Hara, and saw two men take Tazuna's daughter. Inari was crying, and Ayumi wanted to comfort him, but to show herself now would make it more difficult to save his mother. She followed the men, as silent as a shadow, and saw Naruto save Tazuna's daughter and defeat them. They obviously worked for Gato, and Ayumi felt that something bad was happening at the bridge, and the feeling never let her down before.
She quickly ran towards the bridge, hoping she wasn't too late, when she heard Kakashi say, "Sakura is the smartest student to come out of the Academy, Sasuke is the best fighter, Naruto is the number one hyperactive, knuckleheaded ninja, and Ayumi is the most determined, trustworthy," he looked in her direction a moment, knowing she was there, "And loyal shinobi in the whole village." She beamed, taking out her blades, and did her hand signs silently. She saw the tracker ninja, and aimed for him. "Wind Release: Wind Blade jutsu!" She jumped out of her hiding place, slashing at the tracker Nin, and cutting his mask, forcing him back.
She kicked the ninja in the stomach, back flipping away before Zabuza could cut her in half. She took a defensive stance, saying, "I see you guys started the party without me…" She smiled at her team, "You know I don't like that." Zabuza said, "Haku, you take her." "Haku?" Ayumi's eyes widened, then her anger flared. She did some hand signs, saying, "Twin Technique: Wolf Fang jutsu!" Her foot glowed with chakra as she ran at Haku almost too fast to see, and Hara came at him from behind. He dodged Ayumi's foot, but not Hara's tail. Ayumi then used her hand as leverage to kick him in the side, and he slid away.
Hara snarled at him, and Ayumi took her blades, and threw one with deadly accuracy. It missed him through, embedding itself in the bridge, and she blocked his needles before grabbing her blade, wrenching it from the bridge, and did a spinning kick, hitting him away. "Not going to use your special eyes, girl?" Zabuza questioned calmly. "What are you talking about?" She asked warily, not wanting him to know about the Ayaka Sharingan. "Don't play dumb with me. You have the Ayaka Sharingan. Why not use it?" She flinched, and Haku ran at her again. He stabbed one of her arms with a needle, but she cut his mask again, kicking him in the chest.
She breathed deeply, trying to ignore any distractions, and ran at him. He blocked, and they were caught in a death lock. He did a one-handed hand sign, and her eyes widened. Sasuke ran over, but he was caught in the jutsu, too. Mirrors made of ice rose, and Ayumi saw Haku break away and melt into one of the mirrors. He appeared in all of the mirrors, and threw hundreds of needles. Her body moved on its own, and she took most of the needles, shielding Sasuke. She smiled, saying, "Well…better me than you…" "Nii-chan!" She fell to her knees, and he caught her before she hit the ground.
That's when Naruto came, and got himself caught in the ice mirrors. They fought hard, but Naruto wasn't doing too good. Soon, only Sasuke could fight. Haku was about to kill Naruto, and Ayumi was on her feet in a moment, running to defend him. Sasuke got there first, and a few hit him, but Ayumi pushed him out of the way, getting one in the chest and two in each shoulder. "AYUMI-CHAN!!" she fell back into Naruto's arms, and she smiled, saying, "I'm happy…that you're alright…Naruto-kun…you're too precious to me…for me to let you die…" "Ayumi-chan, you're going to be alright! Please…don't leave me…" "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun…" "AYUMI-CHAN!!"
But her eyes fluttered close, and he thought that she'd died. "Ayumi-chan…" he looked to his side, to see Sasuke wasn't moving either. He glared at Haku, saying, "How could you?! Why'd you have to take HER life?! …I loved her, and you took her away from me!!!" Red chakra began to spiral around him, and he said, "I'm going to kill you!!!"