A/N: I decided to update once more since it was the holidays. I have to do it now before my family starts running everywhere. :)

Disclaimer: Caitlin and the plot are mine, but Naruto isn't.

Chapter 13: Mist and Fog

"Below the courageous, there is nothing."

~Namikaze Minato~

Shit! Caitlin thought as she ducked the blade that would have taken her head off her shoulders.

Caitlin gulped as she stared at the ninja before them, recognizing him as Momichi Zabuza, from the Bingo Books. She knew that they were nowhere near his level. Sensei would have to take care of this fight. If they could barely hold off the Demon Brothers, this new 'demon' would destroy them in seconds.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Hidden Mist's missing nin, Momichi Zabuza," Kakashi said, appearing to not be fazed, though none of his students could tell through that mask.

Naruto began to dart forward when his sensei's arm came in front of him, stopping him. Oh my goodness, he was about to take Zabuza on his own! Darn it, Naruto!

Caitlin grabbed Naruto and pulled him backwards just as Kakashi said, "Everyone, get back. This one's on a whole new level."

Kakashi's hand started towards his face, "Against him, it will be a little tough," and began to lift up his headband, "unless I do this." His headband was nearly sitting upon his forehead, but none of them could see his eye yet.

"You appear to be Sharigan Kakashi. Sorry, but the old man is mine," snarled the other man. No reaction was made by the genin, who had already been told this by their mentor when they were younger and he had first began to trust them fully.

"Surround and protect Tazuna," Kakashi ordered. "Do not enter the fight. That's the teamwork here."

Caitlin nodded, and stood in front of the client, scythe shining in the dull light as it made a small poof at being taken out of her summoning scroll. Sasuke stood at the right of Caitlin, while Naruto was to the left of the girl.

"First, Zabuza," Kakashi said, finally replying to Zabuza's threat to the bridge builder, "Fight me."

Caitlin watched with baited breath as Zabuza said, "I'm honored. It seems I already get to see that famous eye of yours."

Mist covered the area, blurring her senses as Zabuza used the famous jutsu of the Bloody Mist. I knew I should have went to an eye doctor before this mission...

Caitlin listened to the demon list off ways to kill them, and along with the mist and his killing intent, felt frightened for her life for the first time. She had known that the Demon Brothers wouldn't kill them because sensei could stop them, but she wasn't too sure that Kakashi could defeat Zabuza.

Suddenly, Zabuza was behind the genin, but the clone was quickly taken out by Kakashi. Another one appeared behind their sensei as the other was defeated.

"Behind you!" Naruto shouted, eyes wide with fear for his sensei.

The sword swung towards their sensei, and cut his clone in half. The real Kakashi (or what Caitlin thought was the real Kakashi) appeared behind Zabuza, a kunai to his jugular. "It's over!" Kakashi declared.

Caitlin let out a sigh of relief, vowing to never underestimate her sensei again, when Zabuza laughed.

"You think it's over? You don't get it. You can't defeat me with your monkey-like imitations!" the missing nin declared. "But that was impressive of you."

Caitlin almost had a heart attack as yet another Zabuza came up behind her sensei, a kunai held to his jugular. It seems the tables are turned.

Kakashi stabbed the fake in front of him, and Zabuza swung his sword at Kakashi, who crouched to avoid it, but was then kicked by Zabuza when he wasn't fast enough to dodge, and went flying through the air, straight into the water as Zabuza shunshined there.

As their sensei attempted to get out of the water, Zabuza used the water prison jutsu, trapping the other man in a sphere of water, with Zabuza's arm sticking in it to keep it suspended in the air.

"You may have been trying to escape to the water, but that was a big mistake. Now I have you in my inescapable prison," Zabuza chuckled.

Their situation seemed to be getting worse and worse as the bandaged man created a clone before them. Crap!

The clone disappeared, only to reappear to kick Naruto and send him through the air, his head band landing where he had been before. Caitlin was still in front of Tazuna, realizing that the builder had no one else to protect him.

"You guys, take Tazuna-san and run away!" Kakashi shouted. "As long as he's imprisoning me, he can't move! The clone can't get very far, so run away!"

Zabuza's foot was on Naruto's head band, which caused Caitlin's fist to clench at the missing-nin's disrespect for her teammate. Naruto seemed to have come to a decision about Kakashi's words and was now rushing at the clone.

"No! Stop!" Kakashi shouted from inside the water prison, horrified.

Naruto... Caitlin thought, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood in her worry.

"Idiot," Zabuza snarled as he sent Naruto tumbling back towards them.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Caitlin demanded, kneeling in front of him just as he started to stand up, forehead protector in hand.

Naruto faced Zabuza, and muttered, "Hey, you eyebrow less freak. Put this in your handbook. The man that will be Hokage," and put on his head band, "the leaf ninja, Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto glanced behind his shoulder. "Caitlin, Sasuke, lend me your ears. I have a plan." He smirked. "Let's get wild."

"That's not really a plan, Naruto..." Caitlin murmured, trying to figure out ways out of it too. We need to get Bakashi-sensei free... But how are we supposed to get Zabuza away? We could use projectiles, since engaging Zabuza in close combat is practically suicide for inexperienced genin... We need to drive both him and the clone away from the water, so we have at least a little less of a disadvantage. A distraction...

Caitlin was broken out of her thoughts as the clone suddenly punched Sasuke into the ground while sending out a fresh wave of killing intent. Blood flew from Sasuke's mouth as Caitlin realized that they needed a plan and quick.

Thousands of clones surrounded Zabuza as Naruto used his shadow clone jutsu, each of the clones holding a kunai, which they all used to suddenly try and get under the ninja's guard by swarming him.

This is my chance! Caitlin realized as she threw several shuriken and kunai at the missing-nin, realizing that Naruto was implementing his plan. Sasuke was thrown a shuriken after the clones had all dispersed, and now threw it along with Caitlin's projectiles.

The demon shuriken flew past the clone, and then the real Zabuza caught it, easily. What he wasn't expecting was that there was another one, which he jumped over, all while blocking Caitlin's shuriken and kunai with his blade.

The shuriken that had flown past him turned into Naruto, who held a kunai in his hand. As Zabuza turned, Naruto threw it. Zabuza dodged, just as the kunai Naruto had thrown exploded, along with the ones Caitlin had thrown, flinging Kakashi out of the prison. Caitlin and Sasuke quickly caught their sensei before he could hit the ground.

Zabuza had jumped into the air to dodge the explosion, and looked pissed. Blood dripped down his face from the wound caused by the triumphant Naruto. The angry man, still in the air, threw the shuriken, hitting the Naruto clone, and destroying him.

Thank goodness I made him use a clone instead of himself... Caitlin thought.

Kakashi stood up. As soon as Zabuza began making hand signs, he started too, and soon, the two monstrous water dragon jutsus collided.

Caitlin stuck the blade of her scythe in the ground to hold herself in place as she stood in front of Tazuna, the giant splash hitting even them, who were on the shore.

Zabuza and Kakashi were locked together, kunai against sword. They both jumped back, reassessing their options.

Kakashi continued to copy Zabuza's movements, until finally Zabuza seemed to snap, and made many hand signs, forming a clone. Zabuza couldn't seem to keep up with Kakashi's fingers, and his own jutsu, water explosion, was used to throw him backwards.

Like the water dragons, the wave came crashing down on the genin also. When the water cleared, Caitlin saw Zabuza, back to a tree and kunais in his arm and leg. "It's over," Kakashi stated from his perch on the branch of Zabuza's tree.

"How?" the missing-nin commanded. "Can you see the future?"

"Yeah, and you're going to die," Kakashi replied.

Two senbon pierced Zabuza's neck, causing him to fall to the ground. He didn't get up. Caitlin traced the projectiles' pattern to a different tree, where a masked hunter-nin stood.

The ninja laughed. "You're right. He's dead."

x~x~x

Caitlin stared at her reflection in the water. Caitlin had learned how to walk up a tree before she started to learn seals. Now, she was attempting to learn how to walk on water. So far, she wasn't succeeding, and was taking a break.

Walking up a tree was pretty hard, too...

x~x~x

Flash Back

Awe filled eyes stared at Itachi, completely ignoring Gai. Sasuke hadn't even noticed that his brother was there to pick him up, totally focused on hitting all the targets with his kunai.

Kakashi had noticed where Caitlin's focus had gone, and cleared his throat. "Gai, how about you stop chattering about your last mission and teach the girl how to walk on a tree."

"Yosh! Such a brilliant idea you had, my eternal rival. I shall fan Caitlin-chan's fire of youth by teaching her tree walking!" Gai declared.

A bright smile appeared on the girl's face as she lunged at Gai, hugging him fiercely. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," the tiny girl squealed.

Kakashi laughed. "You'll have to stop hugging Gai to be able to walk up a tree, you know."

Caitlin let go of Gai, but was still grinning like a maniac. Sasuke had finally noticed the commotion, and obviously wanted to learn, but his brother was already pulling him away.

"Mother wants you at dinner, Otouto. You can learn tree walking another day," Itachi said, a small smile on his face as his brother tried to tug away.

"Ahh, but Aniki," Sasuke started.

"I will teach you tomorrow, Otouto. Okay?" Itachi asked.

"Hai!" Sasuke shouted happily.

End Flash Back

x~x~x

Hmm... Itachi never taught Sasuke how to walk up a tree. I wonder where he's at now... if he regrets it... Caitlin shook her head. No use thinking about it now. I have bigger things to worry about, like Zabuza and his accomplice.

Caitlin put a foot on the water, deciding to try again. That foot is stable, now, for the other foot...

As soon as her other foot lifted from the ground so she could put it on the water, she fell through. Now, soaking wet yet again, she dragged herself out of the water.

She pulled her long braid out of her face. I really do need to cut it. It's really impractical to be a ninja with long hair... Naruto keeps on finding ways to stop me from cutting it. Idiot, she thought fondly.

She glared at the water, thinking about how to go about it. Maybe the problem is I'm only supporting my foot on the surface of the water. Maybe I need chakra under the water too...

This time, she managed to get both of her feet on the water, right before she fell in again. Yes! It worked. The added weight from pulling my foot up caused me to fall in the water! Now all I have to do is practice.

Caitlin practiced through the night, and finally, fell asleep there beside the water, still soaking wet.

Unknown to her, an older girl that look much like her stepped out of the shadows. "Silly Kk, you're going to get a cold like that," she scolded quietly, but there wasn't much bite in her words as she covered the younger girl with her cloak.

The girl glanced quietly towards the shadows. "I know you're there, kid, so come out."

Sasuke stepped out of the shadow of the tree. "Who are you?" the boy demanded, obviously surprised to see this new comer when he had went to check on his teammate.

The green eyed girl smiled. "It doesn't matter who I am. Besides, asking 'who are you' means so many things that you really should specify. Do you want to know my name, my personality, or something else?"

"Name," snapped the frustrated boy. His eyes widened when suddenly the woman disappeared.

"You know, you really should learn to be more polite. And now, I leave you with this gift for your rudeness," the blonde nameless girl said, as her hands flew through hand signs, and finally made contact with his back, forming a seal, and causing his hair to turn pink.

"It'll fade in a couple of hours. See ya!" she called as she shunshined away.

Sasuke stared with horror at his bright pink hair, and then he ran off, deciding that he didn't want anyone to see him like that.

"Oops, I left this behind," said the girl as she reappeared and took her cloak back, and then shunshined away yet again.

x~x~x

"Here they come!"

Mist surrounded them, seeming to consume everything around them until it seemed that the whole world was white. The powerful killing intent seemed to surge through the mist only moments later, causing Caitlin's knees to almost buckle and Sasuke to tremble.

A rough voice came from the mist. "Long time no see, Kakashi. I see you're still with those brats. He's shaking again. Poor kid."

A poof came from beside them, and suddenly, they were surrounded by Zabuza clones.

Out of the corner of her eye, Caitlin saw Sasuke smirk. "I'm shaking from excitement," he declared, even though most of them knew it was only a brave front.

"Do it, Sasuke," Kakashi demanded, causing Sasuke to move, and slice all of the clones with his blades.

"So, the fake hunter nin is truly Zabuza's comrade," Caitlin murmured, watching through narrow green eyes.

"I'll fight him," Sasuke declared.

"Give me at least a little of the action, Duck Butt," Caitlin complained, though she smiled at her teammate.

"Hn," was all Sasuke replied.

"Meanie," Caitlin muttered, just as the new comer spun into action, coming at Sasuke with a senbon held like a kunai. The weapons clashed, causing a sharp clicking sound.

"Caitlin!" Kakashi said.

"Yeah?" Caitlin asked, waiting for orders.

"Stay in front of Tazuna and don't leave his side," Kakashi demanded. "We'll let Sasuke handle him."

Caitlin nodded. "Understood!" She stepped in front of the bridge builder, her scythe having been summoned long before this.

Horror washed over Caitlin like the rain when she saw that Sasuke was locked with the boy, while the enemy was creating some sort of jutsu with only one hand. Water leapt up around the two, forming needles that lunged towards him as he focused his chakra.

The enemy jumped out, needles hitting the area where Sasuke had been, but had disappeared from. Shuriken were thrown at the boy, who leapt from place to place to get away from them.

Appearing behind him with a kunai in hand, Sasuke repeated his words back to him. "You're pretty slow... From now on, you will only be able to run from my attacks."

Don't get too cocky, Sasuke. Caitlin thought as she watched. Never underestimate an enemy. You'll quickly be killed that way.

Sasuke attacked with his kunai, but the other boy blocked the attack with his arm. Ducking, the pretty boy avoided the kunai that Sasuke had casually flicked at his head. While the enemy was on the ground, Sasuke kicked him straight to the face, sending him flying through the rain.

"Haku, do you realize? At this rate, we'll be driven back," Zabuza said.

"Yeah, and we can't have that," Haku replied, who began to form hand signs, causing water to stretch behind Sasuke and create a prison of mirrors that surrounded him. Haku walked forward, until his body was completely immersed in the mirror. I have a bad feeling about this...

"Damn it," Kakashi snarled as he jumped forward, only to be intercepted by Zabuza.

What do I do? Protect Tazuna, or save Sasuke? Well, sensei always did say that people who don't protect their teammates are lower than trash, so...

"Sorry, Tazuna," Caitlin whispered, almost inaudible, and ran forward. She passed Kakashi and Zabuza, and completely ignored whatever they were doing. Sasuke needed the help, not her sensei.

Just as she threw a kunai at one of the mirrors, Haku came out and caught it, only to be hit on the mask and thrown out of the mirror by Naruto's shuriken.

Shuriken from Zabuza swished through the air as the senbon of Haku flew towards Naruto also. Naruto's grip on his kunai became white knuckled, and then the senbon knocked the shuriken out of the air.

"Zabuza-san, please let me fight them my way," Haku pleaded, as Caitlin decided that it would be better to protect Tazuna, since it seemed Naruto had no intentions of doing so. Besides, I have faith in him. If anyone can save Sasuke, it's him.

"So you don't want me to interfere, Haku?" Zabuza asked. "You're soft as always.

Naruto seemed to have gotten into the mirrors, and Caitlin could hear the two boys arguing. "You total moron! If you're a shinobi then use your head! Why did you come inside the mirrors? Damn it! I don't care anymore! You're an idiot," Sasuke shouted.

"Sensei, do you want me to try and help them?" Caitlin asked.

"See what you can do," Kakashi replied, focusing on Zabuza.

Caitlin nodded to Tazuna, and then took off towards the mirrors, sliding through the gaps to get in.

"Now you too! What is wrong with you idiots?" Sasuke demanded.

Caitlin grinned. "All the right things are wrong with us. Besides, you looked like you needed the help."

"I don't need the help!" he snapped as Haku threw several needles at them. They were all hit by at least one.

"Are these poisoned?" Caitlin asked.

"No," Haku replied. "Why?"

"Because I left all my antidotes and herbs at Tazuna's house," Caitlin muttered, embarrassed.

"Seriously?" Sasuke said, as his hand flew through signs. "Grand Fireball no Jutsu!" he shouted as he blew fire at the mirrors.

"Nothing happened," Caitlin muttered as they saw the mirrors through the fire.

"You can't melt this ice with that level of fire," Haku simply stated, causing Sasuke to fume angrily.

Haku threw more senbon, causing Caitlin to clutch her leg as the boy hit a particularly sore spot.

"You know, I could have sworn that acupuncture is supposed to be pleasant," Caitlin muttered.

"Hey, that was a good one," Naruto growled as he tried to stand up. "Hey, where's the real one of you?"

"Trying to follow with your eyes is impossible. You will never be able to catch me," Haku declared.

"Bah," Naruto snorted. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

"Don't," Sasuke weakly said.

"Then I'll find the real one by crushing them all," Naruto declared as the clones lunged at each of the mirrors, causing Haku to come out of his mirror and rush past Naruto. The pretty boy jumped from mirror to mirror, until finally, all of Naruto's clones were destroyed by his senbon.

Naruto fell to the ground, and Caitlin quickly took his pulse. It's not looking too good for us...

"The jutsu uses the mirror's reflection to transport me," Haku explained. "From my point of view, you seem to be moving in slow motion."

"Damn it," Naruto snarled, slowly sitting up. "I can't die here! I have a dream I must fulfill!"

Haku paused. "Becoming a true shinobi is difficult for me... If possible, I don't want to have to kill you. Nor want you to have to 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, and you for your dreams. 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 true shinobi. I can kill you," Haku declared.

Caitlin couldn't see anything outside, but she was almost certain that Kakashi and Zabuza were fighting now.

"Damn! Hey Sasuke, all we're doing is running around!" Naruto complained.

Sasuke glared at him. "We're gonna be hit. Just try and avoid a serious wound. There must be a limit to his chakra. He's already slowing..."

"You know, I have a bad feeling you just jinxed us by saying that and now he's never going to stop," Caitlin muttered.

"Stop being such a pessimist, Caitlin-chan," Naruto said. "You only make Sasuke even more emoish when you get like this."

Haku threw a senbon just then, which pierced right through Sasuke's knee. Naruto didn't get up this time, senbon littering his body. Caitlin couldn't stand herself, her left leg refusing to work.

Naruto was now trying to get up, when Haku told Sasuke, "You move well. But this time, I'll stop you."

Sasuke seemed to be focusing intensely, and when the attack came, he grabbed Caitlin and Naruto, pulling them out of the way of the attack.

"Thanks, Duck Butt," Caitlin muttered tiredly.

"You are! I see, you also have a Kekkei Genkei," Haku muttered, seeing the boys eyes.

"You finally... did it...teme..." Naruto murmured, attempting to congratulate his friend.

"Thanks, dobe. It's just a little bit, but I can see!" Sasuke said.

"Then I can't do this much longer. My jutsu uses up a lot of chakra, so there's a limit to how long I can go at this speed," Haku stated. "Most likely the longer this fight goes on, the better you will be able to read my movements. If your eyes are starting to catch me..."

Haku lunged out of the mirror. "This is the end!"

"Naruto!" Caitlin shouted, using her good leg to throw herself at the blonde boy while Sasuke did the same, though with less of a handicap than the girl.

Haku was sent spiraling through the air as Sasuke punched the boy, senbon piercing him and Caitlin.

"Sasuke... Caitlin... you- Why?" Naruto sputtered with shock. Why does he always seem so surprised when someone does something for him?

"You're... our f-friend," Caitlin managed said, grimacing at the pain from the needles.

"But... but why me?" Naruto demanded. "I never asked for your help!"

"Dobe, didn't Caitlin just explain why? Stop asking inane questions," Sasuke said, just as he fell backwards. Naruto and Caitlin caught him, though Caitlin's knees buckled under his weight.

"That man... Itachi... I told myself I wouldn't die until I found out the truth about that day..." Sasuke murmured.

"You're not gonna die," Caitlin whispered. "We won't let you. If you ever do, I'll travel to the afterlife and bring you back to life and then beat your ass."

"Yeah, what she said," Naruto said, a tiny smile on his face.

Sasuke stopped moving, and it seemed to Caitlin that the world froze.

"He landed a blow on me without flinching, and died to protect you. To protect a precious person, knowing it was just a trap, he was able to jump in too. He is a shinobi that deserves respect," Haku muttered, trying to stand up. "Is this your first death of a friend? This is the way of the shinobi."

Immersed in the mirror, Haku watched, as Naruto said, "Shut up."

Caitlin cried, loud sobs shaking her shoulders.

"I won't forgive you! I'll kill you!" Naruto declared, red chakra slowly began swirling around the boy. Caitlin backed away from the corrosive chakra, slightly afraid. It's Naruto, though. He wouldn't hurt me.

Would he?

"He's healing himself..." Caitlin said, surprised. And growing claws. Meep!

"Naruto, you need to calm down. This won't bring Sasuke back," Caitlin stated, in an attempt to calm Naruto down.

"SHUT UP!" the boy roared, not wanting to believe that his friend, one of the first people to acknowledge him, was dead.

Naruto ran at Haku, on all fours. He's acting like an animal! This is the fox's influence, though...

Haku threw senbon at him, which he deflected with pure chakra. How is that possible?

The pretty boy lunged at Naruto, coming out of a mirror, senbon in hand. Naruto dodged the attack easily. Haku, in an attempt to get back to the mirrors, was caught by the arm. A pulse of chakra was sent out by Naruto, which almost seemed to destroy the mirrors. Haku whimpered with pain from Naruto's vice-like grip.

A punch from Naruto sent Haku flying through the prison, pieces of his mirrors scattering everywhere. Cracks formed on the mask, and Haku slowly stood up. Blood dripped from the cracks, as the mask fell in pieces from his face.

Naruto jumped towards the boy, as the other one just stood there, almost resigned to his death, and accepting it. Naruto aimed a fist at him, and stopped, several inches away.

His voice was rough, the chakra somehow affecting it, "You... you're from that time..."

"Why did you stop?" asked the young boy. "I killed your precious friend, yet you can't seem to kill me."

"Damn it!" Naruto snarled as he finished his punch, sending the dark haired boy flying.

Landing, he coughed up blood. "What happened to your intensity? You can't kill me with that...There are people that make this mistake, not killing their enemies because of pity. Letting them leave with just their lives...not having a dream, not being needed by anyone. The pain of just simply living."

"What are you saying?" Naruto demanded.

Haku smiled sadly. "Zabuza has no need for a weak shinobi. You have taken away my reason for living."

Naruto's brow furrowed. "Why for a guy like that? He's a bad guy that takes money from a criminal! Is that eyebrow less freak the only important person to you?"

Haku didn't reply for a very long time. "I had people very dear to me once... a long time ago...my parents. I was born in a small snowy village in the country of Mist. I was happy. My parents were very kind people. But... When I grew up and began to learn the ways of the world, something happened."

"What happened?" Caitlin asked gently, coming out of the prison of mirrors.

"This blood..." Haku murmured as he wiped it away.

"So, what happened?" Naruto demanded. Caitlin already had a guess. The Mizukage started a war to try to destroy all the bloodlines in his country... so most likely he and his parents were targeted...

Haku finally answered. "My father killed my mother. And then, he tried to kill me."

"What?" Naruto breathed with horror. It just wasn't something that he could picture, seeing so many loving families in Konoha.

"Mist country had endless civil wars, and those with Kekkei Genkei began to be hated," Haku explained.

"What?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Bloodlines with special abilities, like mine," Haku explained. "Because of these abilities, clans with such special bloodlines were used as weapons in countless battles. As a result, these blood clans were blamed for bringing misfortune and war to the country. After the wars, these clans had to hide the own truth about their own blood. For those whose secret was discovered, only death awaited. That young man must also have experienced much hardship. Those with special abilities are often feared.

"My mother was from one of these bloodlines. My father discovered this... When I realized what I had done, I had killed him... my own father! And at that time, I thought of myself as...No, I had no choice but to think that and I realized the most painful thing..."

"The most painful thing?" Naruto asked, while Caitlin silently watched and listened.

"That in this world, I am an unwanted person... You said to me that you wanted to become the best ninja in your village and have everyone acknowledge you... Now if someone acknowledged you from the bottom of their heart appeared wouldn't that person become the most important person to you?" Haku asked.

Naruto was silent, so Haku continued. "Zabuza-san took me in know I had a Kekkei Genkei. This blood that everyone hated, he desired it. I was so happy," Haku cried tears slowly streaming down his face.

"Naruto-kun, please, kill me," Haku pleaded.

Question: Who's your favorite villain?

My answer: My favorite villain is either Tom Riddle, Obito, or Madara.