...
Hayate ordered, "Shioon stay back."
Was he serious? If this was Zabuza then he would need all the help he could get. Looking at the jonin he saw the way his shoulders tightened. Tightened shoulders, his hands clenched on the hilt of his sword, and eyes searching the fog. Reluctantly Shioon jumped back putting himself in front of the bridge builder. He drew his sword and held it at the ready.
A chilling voice laughed, "You thought that you got rid of me. And this time you don't have any backup or surprises that I can't account for."
Hayate growled, "I should have known that you weren't dead. I assume that hunter ninja was one of yours. Are you here to try and finish the job?"
"Of course," growled the murderer, "I owe you and your friend a little payback for what you did."
Shioon felt the briefest shift of ki and chakra in the air. He stepped back and brought his sword into a block. Just in time for the attack that would have removed his head from his shoulders. From the force of the attack Shioon's arms shook. He clenched his teeth and dug his feet into the ground beneath his feet.
"Shioon," cried Hayate but he was waylaid by the masked ninja.
The mist grew heavy around them blocking out the others. Hayate swore but Shioon couldn't see him. The two were on their own.
He took a breath and steadied himself. Then he pushed back against the man's blade with all his might. It was enough to disengage their blades and put space between him and Zabuza. It only lasted a few seconds before the man lunged at him again.
Shioon parried before using Lighting Steps Hweh to evade. There was a growl of frustration from Zabuza but he did not stop going after Shioon. He continued to parry and evade. He watched for an opening knowing that when frustration built up it would cause mistakes to happen.
There was a shift of the man's front foot just enough. Shioon took advantage and used Jin to bring him close and slashed him deep into Zabuza's chest. The man let out a snarl of fury and came at him with wild slashes. Expertly Shioon evaded around them using Hweh in its final form. Ghost steps.
Ghost steps were the final form of the Walking Foot technique. It didn't work in the same ways as Lightning Steps and used up more ki than he preferred. So he used them sparingly.
Moving in nothing more than a blur to the naked eye Shioon parried the large blade. Before the man could react he drew in close and stabbed him through the chest with his blade. Right through where the heart was.
Only for the body of the ninja to explode into smoke. Fuck! Substitution jutsu. He stumbled back eyes darting from side to side trying to find the man. The large sword appeared out of the mist. It tore through his shoulder and blood exploded out.
"Shioon!"
Shioon didn't answer instead he put space between him and Zabuza. Pain radiated through him as he clutched at the wound with his free hand. Damn it. He had gotten too complacent with this fight.
The metallic scent carried in the air. In the Wizarding World blood was power. There were ancient magics that required blood to be split. Once upon a time there had been a spell combined with ki.
Should he try to activate that here? Any magic combined with ki was a dangerous idea. His thoughts trailed to the previous fight. He could lose control again and he still didn't understand that power.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Came a familiar cry.
Naruto. Thank Merlin his friend had arrived and he would be able to help Hayate. Still Shioon needed to figure out how to deal with Zabuza. Lightning sparked across his body illuminating him in the fog. He could taste the ozone in the air from it.
"Your friend seems to have arrived," growled Zabuza, "Don't think that will save you this time."
Shioon snapped back, "I think you forgot who won our last fight, Zabuza. Will you really risk a round two?"
He was hoping to bluff his way out of this but it was a stupid venture. They both knew that Shioon wasn't in the right state for it. Last time had been activated by the presumed loss of Hayate. It was why he had been separated from the older man almost immediately.
Shioon pulled at the ki from his center and pushed it through filtering as much as he could. The lightning running over his body intensified more and more. He would try to use one of the Tiger's signature attacks.
"Do you think you can beat me? You're just a snivelling brat. Last time was a fluke."
He ignored the taunt. Instead of he focused on feeling the ki in the air. His breathing slowed with the focus and calm. There he could sense the smallest points of voids. The lightning element sparked across each points of ki. Occasionally arching through the void.
Gathering the lightning ki close to him going up and down his arm. In the background he could feel the way Zabuza moved between ki points. And Shioon waited until he was too close to dodge. Then he thrust out his closed breaking through the void.
A wall of lightning was thrown through the distance between him and Zabuza. He caught the widening of the man's eyes as he tried to escape. It was too late. Lightning ki hit him like a brick wall causing his muscle to spasm. Zabuza dropped to the ground no longer able to control his body.