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 Seventeen: The Same Hidden Energy: Part One:
Inside a small house double story house in the village Kakashi opened his eyes groaning while he lay on a soft bed made on to the floor. He turned his head and saw an unconscious Azuna sleeping in a bed beside him before he faced the roof again.
"Uh, I think I overdid it with my Sharingan." He muttered tiredly.
A woman with long dark hair named Tsunami stepped into the room and walked until she was standing beside Kakashi. "Waking up huh? Are you alright?" She asked kindly placing her hands on her hips.
"I've been better. It will be a week before I can move normally." Kakashi grunted through the pain as he tried to sit up.
"See, its better if you don't move so just lie down." She ordered in a motherly tone.
"Right." Kakashi sighed lying down again.
Beside him Azuna slowly started to open her eyes too as more footsteps could be heard. From under her blanket her hand moved up and pressed against her forehead. "Man I had the worst dream." Kakashi heard her mutter.
From the door to the room Sakura, Naruto, Tazuna and Sasuke walked in. They all saw Kakashi and Azuna's movement and Naruto grinned. "Look, the Sensei is coming around." He cheered walking further into the room.
"Azuna too, welcome back to the living loser." He snickered smirking. Azuna opened her eyes to see Sasuke come and sit beside her while Sakura sat on the furriest side away from her next to Kakashi and Naruto and Tazuna sit in front of both of them.
"So it wasn't a dream." Kakashi heard her mutter before she smiled at Sasuke.
Sasuke gave her an odd look but she shook her head and sat up slowly letting Sakura talk. "Listen Sensei, your Sharingan is amazing and everything but if it puts that much strain on you maybe it's not worth it."
"Sorry." Kakashi apologised never taking his eyes off the ceiling.
"How are you feeling Azuna?" Tsunami asked giving her a stern look as she sat up.
"I'm feeling ok thank you." Azuna replied lifting up her black sleep shirt someone had changed her into and fingered the bandages wrapped around her stomach.
"Well, you did take down one of the most powerful ninja assassin's so we'll be safe for a while." Tazuna laughed whipping his face with a cloth.
This was news to Azuna and she whipped her head around to stare at Tazuna in shock. "What?" She squeaked, her hand falling to her side.
"They took down Zabuza." Tazuna repeated slowly, only realising what this meant to Azuna when she looked down at the floor.
Pain flashed across her face before she let her hair fall in front of her, blocking her face. "Oh, right. Good to hear." She mumbled.
"Hmm, but you know, the boy in the mask? What about him?" Sakura wondered holding her chin in her hands.
Boy in a mask? Could she be talking about Haku? No, Haku wasn't there when I was there. I would have seen him. She couldn't possibly be talking about him, no way. Azuna panicked in her head.
"He's from the elite tracking unit of the Village Hidden in the Mist. Those masks are only worn by the most elite Shinobi." Kakashi explained.
"What exactly do they do?" Sakura asked.
"The ANBU Black Ops, also known as the Inferno Squad destroy all traces of a rouge ninja's corpse. The Shinobi's body contains many secrets: Ninjutsu, chakra, special medicines used on his body. These are the secrets of his village. If his enemy's find them his people could be in grave danger. For instance if I were to die at the hands of an enemy he would try to analyse my Sharingan. In the worst case, my entire Jutsu could be stolen and used against our home village. It is the sacred duty of the Shinobi Trackers to prevent this, to keep their village secret's safe. If a ninja betrays his village the trackers hunt him down, eliminate him and obliterate every trace of his existence. That's their specialty." Kakashi explained.
Meanwhile, somewhere deep inside the forest the masked boy knelt against Zabuza's still body. He opened up his tool kit and pulled out a set of almost circular green scissors. He spoke to himself as he worked, to relieve the silence. "First I'll cut the bandage and drain some of the blood."
As he moved his hand over towards Zabuza's neck, Zabuza's hand snatched up and caught the boy before he could cut anything. This earned a gasped from the kid and stern deadly look from Zabuza as he tore the bandage away from his mouth revealing sharp teeth.
"That's enough!" Zabuza growled. "I'll do it!"
"So, you've already come back to life." The boy said softly as Zabuza struggled to sit up.
"Dammit, you're brutal Haku." Zabuza barked pulling the needles from his neck.
"You're the one who's Zabuza. If you keep pulling them out like that you really will be finished."
The needles clattered to the ground while Zabuza snarled staring at them. His eyes travelled up to Haku's and he groaned. "How long are you planning to wear that phoney mask? Take it off!"
"I have good memories of this mask and it was quite useful for tricking that ninja." Haku said as he held the mask in his hand and pulled it off. Behind the mask was a boy who had a very feminine appearance. He had warm, kind chocolate brown eyes and pale skin. He wore the Kirigakure headband on his forehead and smiled at Zabuza. His eyelashes were long for a boys and his mouth was turned up in a slight grin.
"If I hadn't intervened, you'd be dead by now." Haku continued as Zabuza spat. "That much is certain."
"Putting me in a temporary death state is fine but not through the pressure points in my neck!" Zabuza hollered pulling the bandage up around his mouth again. "Cruel as usual. I think you enjoy it!"
"It was the only sure way and I wouldn't want to mark up your flawless body you'd complain about that even more." Haku gushed. "The neck is more vulnerable, there's no layer of muscle, so I could go straight into the pressure points."
Zabuza tried to shift his position but he found this impossible. Haku just grinned at him and continued on further. "There's no point trying to move you'll be numb for a week. Although if you are as stubborn as usual you'll probably be moving in half the time."
"You're so innocent and you're clever at the same time. Rare combination – that's why I keep you around."
"I'm still a kid what else do you expect?" Haku laughed blushing as he stood up. "The mist is cleared. Next time, will you be alright?"
"Next time I'll see right through his Sharingan!"
"And next time, what are you going to do about Azuna?" Haku asked softly. "She looked pretty bad, that wound could cause her trouble."
"Azuna's special power is back. Nozomi's death caused the fraction of the seal that he held to break. Even if I was to hurt her she would be fine."
"I'll go with you next time. I'll do something that will keep her from the fight. Put her to sleep or something."
"I keep forgetting that you love my daughter. It would kill you to have to fight against her." Zabuza smirked.
"Kill me it would." Haku said barely above a whisper as he stared out towards the ocean.
Back at the house Kakashi had managed to sit up and was now holding his hand against his head. He was in deep thought and he shut his eyes trying to concentrate. What is this? He mumbled. If Zabuza is finished why do I feel this way? Something's wrong. It's like I missed something.
"Hey are you ok? Sensei?" Naruto asked worried while he watched Kakashi space out.
Kakashi head snapped up and he reddened slightly under his mask. "Hm? Oh yeah, to finish what I was saying. Tracker ninja deal with the body immediately, on the spot so there is no room for error."
"Is that really important?" Sakura asked glancing at Azuna as she hid under her hair.
"Think about it. Do you know what that tracker did with Zabuza's body?" Kakashi asked.
At the word 'body' Azuna flinched. As much as she wanted her father dead for what he did to Nozomi Azuna couldn't help but feel sad. He was her father after all. And even though he was a rouge ninja he stopped in covertly once a month to check on her and Nozomi. Brought them news on enemies and in return his children told them news of what was going on inside the village. They loved him and they knew that he loved them. So Azuna couldn't wrap her mind around why her father killed him and she couldn't fully grasp that he was dead either.
"We don't know what he did." Sakura said hesitating. "I mean, I guess he took it away somewhere."
"Exactly, but why?" Kakashi questioned. "He should have worked on Zabuza right there – as quickly as possible. Think of the weapons he used for the take-down. Do you remember what they were?"
"Throwing needles." Sasuke said after thinking for a moment. His eyes widened as he realised what had happened and he looked up shocked. "No way!"
"Exactly, none of it adds up." Kakashi said pressing a hand to his forehead again.
"What are you all jabbering about? You demolished that assassin." Tazuna said raising his voice slightly
Kakashi sighed silently and looked up a little annoyed. "Here's the truth: Zabuza's still alive."
Azuna lifted her head and looked at Kakashi with wide as. Tazuna's, Sakura's and Naruto's mouths all dropped open with shock and Tsunami's eyes widened slightly. I don't know whether to be sad or happy that he is still alive. Azuna thought as her eyes shook. I don't know what to feel anymore.
"WHAT? But he saw his body BELIEVE IT!" Naruto shouted.
"But Kakashi Sensei you checked him yourself you said that his heart stopped!" Sakura whined.
"His heart did stop, but, that was just a temporary state, to simulate death." Kakashi said peering down. "The weapons that tracker used are called Senbon. They can pierce deeply but rarely kill unless they hit a vital organ – not in the neck. They're modified for needles used for medical treatment like acupuncture. Trackers are trained to know every detail of the human body. Causing the heart to stop temporarily while keeping the body alive is an easy matter for them. First, he carried Zabuza's body away even though it's much heavier than he is. Second, he used Senbon which have precise effect but are rarely fatal. From these two factors we can conclude that the tracker wasn't trying to destroy Zabuza, he was trying to save him!" Kakashi explained.
"Come on! You're over thinking this aren't you?" Tazuna said in a gruff voice.
"Encountering suspicion the ninja prepares quickly – hesitation leads to disaster. Every Shinobi knows this saying."
Naruto grinned and clenched his hands into fists. He was shaking with excitement. His eyes were lit up like fireworks and his grin was clear. Hm, he's actually pleased to hear Zabuza's alive. Now Naruto's got another shot at him. Kakashi thought in amusement.
"Sensei, you said 'prepare quickly'. But how can we do that when you can barely move?" Sakura asked.
Kakashi laughed and gave her a closed eyed smile. "I can still train you."
"Hold on! A little last minute training won't make us strong enough to fight Zabuza! You could barely defeat him even with your Sharingan! We have to be reasonable about this!" Sakura shouted. ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED? CHA! Sakura's inner voice screamed.
"Sakura, why was I able to stop Zabuza? Because, you all helped me." Kakashi said narrowing his eyes a little. "You've grown. Naruto!"
"Huh?" Naruto asked tunning into the conversation.
"You've grown the most!" Kakashi laughed smiling at him.
Naruto laughed and smiled. He does seem stronger and more confident but. Sakura wondered. "So you noticed Kakashi-Sensei? Now things are going to get better believe it!" He laughed.
Kakashi turned to face Azuna as she stared at the floor. He thought back to when they were in the forest and narrowed his eyes at her in confusion. "While we are on this topic." Kakashi said, drawing Azuna's attention. "Why don't you tell us about your father and your brother,and the whole situation with your village Lady Azuna?"
Kakashi already knew that answer but he needed to know if she knew just exactly what she meant to her village.
Azuna's head snapped up as she stared at Kakashi. He had called her by her formal name. No one had called her 'Lady Azuna' since she left Kirigakure. Azuna didn't really know why they called her that. Something to do with her family and the fact that she was destined to be the greatest Mizukage the world has ever seen. She didn't really believe it though, as she believed that her brother was the top Water Shinobi. She always had. "How do you know of my formal name?"
Huh? Formal name? Tazuna and Sakura thought in unison. How important is she to her village? Sasuke wondered staring at her as she looked scared.
"Don't worry Azuna you can tell us anything! I'm an ace ninja so everything will be fine. Believe it!" Naruto smiled giving her a thumbs up.
"No I don't believe it and nothing will be fine!" A small boy's voice shouted.
Everyone turned around the see a small boy wearing green overalls, a white bucket hat and brown sandals. He had a look of anger and disgust on his face as he looked at the ninja and less painful look as he looked at Tazuna.
"WHO ARE YOU?" Naruto shouted pointing a finger at the boy.
"Ah! Inari where ya been?" Tazuna laughed holding his arms out.
"Welcome back Grandpa!" The boy shouted as he ran into Tazuna's arms in a hug.
"Inari that was very rude!" Tsunami scolded. "These ninja help your Grandpa and brought him here safely!"
"It's ok, its ok I'm rude to them too!" Tazuna said chuckling as he patted Inari's head.
"Mum don't you see these people are going to die!" Inari shouted at his mother. "Gato and his men will come back and find them and wipe them out!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY BRAT?" Naruto yelled leaping up from his position on the floor. "Listen up! Do you know what a Super Ninja is? Well that's me only a lot better! I'm gonna be Hokage! This Gato or Blato or whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me!"
"Ha, there's no such thing as heroes. You're just full of stupid ideas!" Inari said coldly.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Naruto shouted again stomping over to Inari ready to punch his lights out. Sakura jumped up and held him back though despite his struggling.
"Naruto!" She cried. "Calm down!"
"If you wanna stay alive you should go back where you came from." Inari spat angrily before he started to walk towards the door.
"Inari, wait. Where are you going?" Tazuna asked.
"To look out at the ocean! I want to be alone!"
As Inari left the room Tazuna turned to the ninja with a sorry expression. "Sorry about that."
Naruto left the room after Inari ready to put him in his place. He stomped up the stairs and went to go find Inari's room. As he searched her heard the faint sounds of crying and he walked towards it. All of Naruto's anger faded as he saw Inari crying over a photo and sometimes shouting out to his father.
Somewhere far away…
Water. The cool flow that somehow burned my skin. The wave of power and energy so intense that it caused me to sweat in my sleep. And all I could think was: I have felt this before. Do you know that feeling? That feeling that you instantly recognise something even if you haven't seen, felt or heard of it for a long time? Well, that was happening to me right now.
My dreams had been invaded by this energy. And even though it wasn't complete. Even though all the energy wasn't there it still felt the same. It still felt like water was being tipped down my spine. And I could see it to. Large waves rising up and crashing over rocks. The sea in the middle of a storm and the full depths of the ocean under the moonlight.
There was something else to. In the midst of the waves there was a flash of blue. Something that wasn't water or the sky. It was like thin blue strands. These strands were long and they thrashed around something pale, something that I recognised as skin. The strands were strands of hair. All I could see was the neck and chin, and a fraction of the cheek and mouth but it was enough for me to realise that this was a girl.
I narrowed my eyes in my sleep and tried to focus on the girl. I remember her. Years ago, six to be exact, I remember seeing her long blue hair trashing around her face. She was young then and I could only see her for a few days before her power was cut off. Before it suddenly disappeared. But as soon as I saw the eyes of the girl in my dreams now I knew that she was the same one.
Her eyes were round and innocent, but they had a sad shadow. Her eyelashes were thick and dark and when she blinked they casted long shadows down the parts of her face that I could see. But what caught me the most about her eyes were the colour. The deep ocean blue that was the same shade as her long, beautiful hair. But even then, what made me notice the colour was what was dancing inside her eyes. Dark, angry waves crashed through her eyes making them feel ghostly and full of longing and pain. It was the waves that echoed in her eyes that made her who she was. That made her like me. It caused her to make me not to be the only one of us out there. It was now confirmed. I need to find this girl. And I need to find her now.