Alrighty! I do not own Naruto at all! All rights and regulations do go to Masashi Kishimoto! Azuna does belong to me however! Ok now to write this fan fiction I did use the episodes and I used all of the actual sentences said from the anime so all of those rights again go to the producers, Madman Entertainment and of course the beautiful voice actors and everyone on the crew. Thanks guys... hope you like it!
Chapter Twelve: A Dangerous Mission! Journey to the Land of Waves: Part Two:
"Now it's your turn." The men laughed evilly as they ran at Naruto.
Naruto turned his head with fear in his eyes. The men swung their chains ready to wrap around him when Sasuke entered the battle. Azuna reached Naruto as Sasuke threw a Shuriken and then a Kunai at their chains pinning them to a tree. Azuna drew out her own Kunai and stood protectively in front of Naruto. "Don't worry Naruto; I've got your back!" Azuna shouted staring at the Demon Brothers.
While the men's chains were pinned to the tree Sasuke dropped from the sky landing on their large metal gloves. Sasuke then held onto the gloves and kicked the men, each foot going into their faces. As they flew back towards Naruto their chains broke and one man took off toward Tazuna and the other ran trying to get to Naruto from a different angle.
"Sasuke help Sakura I'll take this one!" Azuna shouted.
"Got it!" He shouted back before he sprinted off the help Sakura protect Tazuna.
When one the men reached out to get to Naruto while she was talking with Sasuke - he scratched his hand before his eyes moved towards Azuna. "Azuna?" The man asked bewildered that he would be seeing her out here.
Azuna didn't say anything and was preparing for another attack when the man was suddenly gripped by something and torn away. Azuna's eyes followed the movement and found Kakashi appear before Sasuke grabbing the other man around the neck. It was the same way he was holding the other.
"Hi." Kakashi said a little cheekily.
Sakura blushed and gazed at Kakashi in awe. Kakashi Sensei! He's alive! She yipped inside her brain. Show off. Sasuke and Azuna thought simultaneously.
"Huh? But he was?" Naruto stumbled confused as he looked back at Kakashi remains. He was shocked to find little pieces of cut up wood where Kakashi had once been. "Kakashi Sensei used the replacement Jutsu."
Azuna crawled over to Naruto and helped him to his feet. She saw the cut on his hand and almost had a heart attack. Could there be poison in their claws? Where they the ones she was taught by that used poison? Was it them?
"Naruto, sorry I didn't help you right away. I didn't mean for you to get hurt I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that." Kakashi apologised turning away from him.
Oh, they saved me after all. Tazuna sighed inside his head.
"Good job Sasuke, Azuna very smooth, you to Sakura." Kakashi praised.
I was useless! And Sasuke and Azuna were so cool! Like they'd done this a thousand times! Didn't they feel scared at all? They looked so calm. Not a scratch on them. And I was so lame. They had to come up and save me! Ugh, why can't I keep up with them? Naruto said shooting himself down to himself.
"Hey?" Sasuke said a little too sweetly turning toward Naruto.
"Yeah?" Naruto asked a little stunned.
"You're not hurt are you? Scaredy cat!" Sasuke mocked.
"Sasuke don't be so mean!" Azuna shouted.
Naruto however got really mad and clenched his fists. "SASUKE!" Naruto shouted angrily.
"NARUTO!" Kakashi yelled. "Stand still these ninja have poison in their claws, we need to take it out of you quickly. You have to open the wound and remove it. It's in your blood so don't move around. That only spreads the poison. By the way Mr Tazuna."
"Yeah? What?" Tazuna asked a little too quickly.
"We need to talk."
Naruto looked at Sasuke again in a glare and then he turned to Azuna. His eyes still held hatred, but he didn't really hate her. He was just annoyed that he had to be saved, and even more annoyed that he was saved by a girl. "Why did you have to come up and save me? Now Sasuke thinks I'm a complete idiot. I could have handled myself." Naruto spat.
Azuna looked at Naruto in shock. Why would he say such a thing to her? All she did was try to help him and now she was getting into trouble? Azuna couldn't feel mad at him though, she just felt sorry, like it was somehow her fault. She just bowed her head and walked away, standing in front of the Demon Brothers who were tied to a tree with a grim expression on her face.
"They're Chuunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist. Their speciality is relentless attack. They keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice." Kakashi said looking at Azuna as she stared at the men.
"How did you know about our ambush?" The one on the right asked as they too looked at Azuna.
"A puddle, on a clear day, when it hasn't rained in weeks? Although I wasn't the only one to notice this, but I told her to ignore it." Kakashi said looking back at Azuna again.
"In that case why did you leave it for the Genin to do the fighting?" Tazuna asked, slightly annoyed that his life could have been ripped away from him.
"I could have taken them out quickly, but then I'd have learned nothing. I had to know who their target was and what they were after."
"Hmm, what are you getting at?" Tazuna asked in that same quick, gruff voice as Kakashi stared at him.
"This, I wanted to know if they were after us, ninja attacking ninja, or if they were after Azuna, considering that she is from the Village Hidden in the Mist, or if they were after you, the master bridge builder. When you put in your request you asked for standard protection from robbers and highway men. You didn't say there were ninja after you, hunting you down. If we knew this it would be a B rank mission or higher. Our task was simply to get you to your destination and protect you while you finished building your bridge. If we knew we'd be fielding attacks from enemy ninja we would have staffed differently are charged for the cost of a B mission. Apparently you have your reasons but lying to us not acceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission." Kakashi said harshly as Tazuna looked down in shame.
"We are only Genin this is to advance for our level of training. We should go back. And I really think we need to treat Naruto's wound and get the poison out as soon as possible. Back in our village we can take him to a doctor." Sakura said quietly looking from Naruto to Kakashi.
"Hmm, Naruto's hand could become a problem. Well, I guess we should go back." Kakashi sighed.
Naruto gritted his teeth in anger and growled under his breath. Quickly he pulled out a Kunai knife and rammed it into the back of his hand. The pain was clear on his face as he turned around. Everyone's faces were shocked and Azuna wanted to say something but kept her mouth shut as she remembered what Naruto had told her.
"Why am I so different? Why am I always, argh!" Naruto shouted clearly frustrated.
"Naruto stop that what are you doing?" Sakura almost screamed running forward a bit.
"I worked so hard to get here! Pushing myself until it hurt! Training alone for hours! Anything to get stronger! To reach my dream! I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away, and I will not lose to Sasuke. Upon this wound I make this pledge, believe it. Bridge Builder, I will complete this mission and protect you with this Kunai knife." Naruto shouted turning around again. He somehow smiled through the pain even though he was shaking. "Don't worry I'll be fine!"
"Naruto that was uh, really cool how you took the poison out and all, but, if you lose any more blood. You're going to die." Kakashi muttered awkwardly. "Good idea to stop the bleeding now, seriously." He said with a closed eyed smile.
This news made Naruto sweat like crazy and begin to jump around. He was shouting and screaming, flailing his arms about. Azuna rolled her eyes at him and looked back at the Demon Brothers who were still tied to that tree.
"So this is where you ran to?" The one on the right Gozu asked Azuna looking at her group briefly. "To these idiots?"
"We really expected more from you Azuna." The one on the left Meizu said quietly. "We never would have thought you'd have run away."
"What was I supposed to do?" She asked helplessly falling to her knees. "I didn't have anywhere to go and I couldn't stay there. I couldn't breathe with that air anymore, not with Nozomi being – oh there was so much blood."
Azuna stared at her hands in her lap, as the Demon Brothers looked at her with sympathy. If either of them lost the other they would be distraught to. Azuna was too soft and to kind to become mad though, like they would have. She can't foster the hatred in her heart for too long. She just breaks and that hatred turns to sadness. She had always been like this. Azuna was the sweet little girl who could kill any of them three seconds flat if she wanted to, but she could never find the strength in her heart to kill anyone who didn't deserve it.
"Look, Azuna, Nozomi's–" Gozu started to say before Azuna cut him off.
"If you say it out loud it will really be true and it wouldn't just be my imagination. If you say it now he will really be –" Azuna started to say before her throat swelled up. "Then he will really be gone and he won't just be on another mission."
"Look at you. What would your father say if he saw you like this?" Meizu said trying to cheer her up. He always used to do this when they were training and Nozomi was away. It made her think about her loved ones and grow stronger. He only realised what he had said when she clenched her fists.
"I don't really care what he thinks of me because the next time I see him." Azuna said darkly looking up. "I'll kill him."
"Azuna you're crazy if you think you're going to be able to do that!" Gozu shrieked.
"You'll get yourself killed!" Meizu continued on from his brother's statement.
"And so what if I do?" Azuna almost shouted. "What do I have to live for? The only thing that meant the world to me was ripped away. It was cruelly taken from me by the other that I love! I have nothing to lose Demon Sensei's. I have nothing left to be taken from me."
"Don't be stupid and get yourself killed Azuna!" Gozu shouted as she stood up.
"He'll kill you!" Meizu yelled.
Azuna gave them a closed eyed smile and bent down in front of them. She kissed their masked cheeks before she stood up again and stepped away. "Let him try." She whispered to them before she joined the squad back on the road.
Sasuke looked at her and then towards the Demon Brothers and back again. She gave him a small smile as she watched Kakashi wrap a bandage around Naruto's hand. "What were you talking to them about?" Sasuke wondered out loud raising his eyebrows.
"They are two of my old Sensei's." Azuna said simply. "We were just catching up."
"You were taught by those goons?" Sasuke almost shouted.
"Relax Sasuke." Azuna grinned. "I won't try and kill you in your sleep."
Sasuke knew that she was only joking but he couldn't shake the feeling that if she wanted to Azuna could kill them all. He had no idea why that was what he was feeling, it just was. How in the world was she taught by ninja like that and still be the sweet, beautiful girl standing in front of me? Wait a second Sasuke. Sweet? Beautiful? Did you really just think that man? What am I turning into?
Somewhere from deep inside a forest, where the sunlight shines through at a dull blue and purple, ninja were gathering in a house joined by the trees. Strange birds chirped and flew as far away from the house as possible. It was if they could sense the danger from inside it. "You failed? YOU FAILED?" A short man with spikey brown hair wearing rounded glasses shouted. "What is this I hear of amateur ninja? I put out big money for you! I thought you were supposed to be hot shot assassins!"
The ninja that he was shouting at was sitting lazily on a purple couch. He looked up at the man annoyed by the sound of his voice and reached for his huge blade. "Stop whining." The ninja growled in a deep gruff voice. The ninja swung his blade and held it so it was only a few inches away from the short man's neck. The ninja was sitting a good three or four metres away from this man, so his blade was huge. It only made him look tougher, the way he held it.
"This time I'll go personally and this sword will be the last thing he ever sees." The ninja threatened darkly.
"Uh, well, are you sure about that? Apparently Tazuna has a high level ninja guarding him. And since your first attempt failed they will be expecting you back. They'll be waiting, watching. It will take someone with very advanced skills." The short man said nervously.
"Who do think you're dealing with? I am Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist."