A/n: Hmmm, because Wave Arc is taking so long, I've decided not to go as extensively into Chuunin Exams as it could be done. As a wonderful reviewer suggested, I think I'll be doing the fights from an outsider's POV, where they then can be very, very impressed. That sits well with everyone, right? Thank you for your input on that section!
Chapter 12- Now or Never
"Who are you?" It was obvious who he was, but Sasuke wanted to stall for time. His confidence had taken a blow during the battle with Baruna, and he wasn't sure if he could take the new enemy on, assuming that Gato would have sent people who were more powerful than his previous employees.
The Grass nin smiled wryly, a note of sarcastic amusement in his eyes, "I think you already know. Then again, genin these days aren't as remarkable as they used to be. Well, you two are Konoha ninja are you not? Konoha produces some scary kids."
That sentence brought something to Sasuke's mind. A story about Grass Country and Aniki's first mission. "You—you were there when the Daimyo was exposed, weren't you? You knew Aniki and Itachi-niichan!"
"Eh? Aniki? Well, Itachi is a name I do recognize, and I'll assume that by 'Aniki' you mean Elric-san?" He peered closely at Sasuke, "Funny, you don't look anything like him."
"We're not blood related," Sasuke replied stiffly.
"Oh, I see." The Grass nin nodded thoughtfully, and then a thought seemed to strike him. His eyes lit, "Hey, aren't you—oh, never mind. It would be careless of me to bring that up."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "Bring what up?"
The Grass nin waved a hand, "Never mind, never mind. Anyhow, I didn't know it would be genin who were here. See, I am a chakra sensor, but I'm not sensitive enough to distinguish between power levels, unlike some. I wouldn't have sent my companions to the other places if I knew they were full of genin. Well, considering the genin team formation, I'm guessing that there's three genin teams here?"
Sasuke's mind was rapidly processing this information. This guy was the sensor? Just like him and Aniki. Actually, considering what the Grass nin said, probably more like Sasuke than Aniki. He wasn't very advanced yet at chakra sensing. Sasuke opened his mouth to ask more questions—And then something the Grass nin said struck him as odd. "Wait, what do you mean, three teams?"
"Yosh!" Lee exclaimed, bobbing his head up and down agreeably and joining in the talk. Sasuke startled slightly; while he had not forgotten that Lee was there, he had seen the perpetually confused expression on the green clad boy and had assumed that Lee wouldn't be joining in this conversation. Now, this whole thing could get a lot more troublesome. "We only have two teams here! Gai-sensei's fantastic team, and Kakashi-sempai's team. There's also El—"
"So why do you think we have three teams?" Sasuke interrupted quickly, not really wanting the Grass nin to know that Edward Elric was here. It might make the Grass nin leave, like it did with the Village of Chaos, but Sasuke doubted it. This situation was different, and he was unwilling to part with the element of surprise. Revealed at the right moment, Aniki's name might provide a much needed reaction.
A look of confusion had settled on the Grass nin's face, "You don't have three teams here? That's odd, I only brought in three other people and myself, but in Wave Country there's currently fifteen noticeable chakra signatures. Two of them just arrived, from that direction. They met up with another two."
He pointed, and Sasuke felt his heart sink. It was the direction in which Kakashi had ran off to. He had no doubt that Aniki was there too. Sasuke wasn't stupid; he knew that Aniki and Kakashi were more powerful than the usual. He also knew that Aniki's sensing abilities had already told him about every single person that had arrived, and that if Aniki hadn't rushed to his rescue right now, it meant Aniki was currently engaged. Sasuke's mouth was dry, "So those two weren't hired by Gato, then?"
If they weren't hired by Gato, but had deliberately came, than that meant that they knew that Kakashi and Aniki were here somehow (because there was no way that Sasuke was going to believe that they had the bad luck of just bumping into them randomly, and immediately starting a fight), but had come nonetheless. They had to be supremely confident in themselves.
The Grass nin shook his head, "No. And are you going to admit who the last member of your party is? I have noticed that you're trying to keep it from me."
"Oh!" Lee exclaimed, turning to Sasuke with shiny eyes, "Are you engaging in espionage, Uchiha-san? Amazing!"
Sasuke tried to ignore Lee. "Does it really matter? It looks like they're engaged now, anyhow."
"I suppose it does not matter. Alright, you look like a smart kid, so I will tell you the situation as follows. I sent one of my companions towards the marketplace—" Sasuke's heart sunk as he pointed towards Sakura's and Tenten's location. The girls would definitely not be able to handle a jounin! "—and I'm sorry to say that she is an insane one, so she might not leave them be just because they are genin. Actually, I normally wouldn't leave you two be either, but since our country owes Konoha something, I dislike killing ninja from there. The other two people who Gato hired aren't under my command, so they did just as they liked. But I'll tell you this, they are 'Demon of the Mist' Zabuza and a hunter-nin who travels with him, so I assure you that they are deadly. They headed for the bridge to kill our main target."
Sasuke sucked in a deep breath, his brain failing. So Naruto was—Naruto was in trouble! He had read about the Demon of the Mist in the bingo book, and the man was known for his power and ruthlessness. He swallowed, "Wh—why are you telling us this?"
"I am hoping that if I tell you the situation, you won't do something foolish like try to fight me. It would just waste both our times. Like I said, I rather like Konoha ninja, so I wish to stop my companions from killing your teammates, if I could."
"Is that really your goal?" Sasuke asked suspiciously. It sounded much too good to be true.
"You don't believe me," the Grass nin replied blandly, and paused, "Well, that is understandable. But do realize this; the longer you stand here arguing with me, the less chance of your teammates being unharmed. I am a jounin; if I wanted to kill you, could I not have already? Why would I waste my time talking?"
Sasuke hesitated. That was true. He opened his mouth and nodded, "Alright then."
The Grass nin smiled, and rose gracefully to his feet. He turned to leave, when suddenly—
A loud cry sounded in Sasuke's ear. A flash of green. The Grass nin stiffened, and a second later he was crouched on his haunches, eyes narrowed. Lee had sailed past him, a kick just barely missing the Grass nin's head.
Sasuke stared in shock as Lee landed below the Grass nin's branch, and turned burning opaque eyes on the Uchiha, "Uchiha-san, I hope that was part of your espionage, and I did not just see you let our enemy go."
Sasuke's mouth was dry, "Lee—Lee—what are you doing?"
The Grass nin's eyes had narrowed, and something akin to annoyance flashed across his face, "This is the pride of the Great Nations. We smaller ninja villages I'm afraid, don't have such sensitivities. If there is ever a choice between our friends and the mission, then it is our friends which come first."
"And that is why Konoha is Konoha, and Grass is still Grass," Lee replied calmly.
The Grass nin's smile turned sardonic, "So I suppose I will have to fight you two after all?"
"No, wait—wait!" Sasuke marched up to Lee, grabbing the green clad by boy the collar, "What are you doing? Why are you stopping him?"
Lee's hand lashed out, and the next thing Sasuke knew, he was being knocked back, his hand slipping from its grip. He let go of Lee's shirt involuntarily, but Lee wasn't quite done with him yet. Sasuke felt a ting at the back of his head, and the next moment his forehead protector had been ripped off, curtsey of Rock Lee.
"It's Konoha's mission to stop him," Lee replied stiffly, holding out Sasuke's forehead protector, "And aren't you a ninja of Konoha?"
Sasuke didn't even glance at the piece of metal. His sole focus was on the protégé of the Green Beast of Konoha. "I am a Konoha ninja, but some things are more important than a mission."
"So you're just going to let him go? Uchiha-san, that is our enemy!"
"He is offering to help us! If we keep him here, he won't be able to convince the others—" Sasuke's throat closed up. He did not even want to think about it. Naruto, with his gut cut open, like—like—his family, on that night many, many years ago. Sasuke took a shuddering breath, his eyes shifting from an obsidian black to blood red, "Lee, let the Grass nin go."
"Never!" Lee exclaimed, turning slightly red, "I will not be intimidated by you!"
"What are you doing?" Sasuke hissed, thoroughly getting frustrated. He chanced a glance at the Grass nin, and saw with annoyance that he was still there. Why wasn't the stupid Grass nin leaving? Did he have to make absolutely sure that Sasuke and Lee wouldn't follow him? "We should let him go. He won't kill anyone but the bridge builder, he'll even save our friends!"
Lee turned burning eyes on Sasuke, and for the first time since he had met the green clad boy, Lee's voice was harsh. "Uchiha-san, are you proposing that we abandon our mission just because we might die? Why are you a ninja then?"
"He's above our level!" Sasuke yelled, throwing up an arm to gesture the largeness of the Grass nin's strength, "We can't beat him!"
Lee's black eyes were glittering with something unfathomable. "So you're proposing that we leave, we run away simply because our chances of winning isn't 100? I have never taken you for a coward, Uchiha-san."
The words struck Sasuke like a blow. He jerked back, as if he had just been slapped. He stumbled, and fell to a crouch, head bowed and eyes wide with confusion. And then, he shook his head, his voice low, "It—it's not like that. If it were just me, I'd… but there's Naruto too! I can't let him be killed by the Demon of the Mist! If I lost somebody else, I'd—I'd—"
"I see…" Lee's eyes were sorrowful, understanding. Sasuke began to feel a glimmer of hope that the green clad boy would abandon his dreams of glory and see that lives were at stake, and then Lee's eyes hardened. "But Uchiha-san, Naruto-kun does not see things like this. I have only known Naruto-kun for a week, but he is a ninja who takes after my own heart. He would hate you for interfering with his fight."
Sasuke clenched his fists, "Better hate than death. Surely you feel the same towards your teammates?"
Lee cocked his head, and then a large grin spread across his face, "I do, but I also know that Tenten-chan and Neji-kun can take care of themselves—I trust them!"
Somehow, these words were even harder to swallow than Lee's previous attack about cowardice. Sasuke felt his throat burn.
"Alright, look Uchiha-san," Lee continued, his tone completely serious, "I am not going to back down. I understand if you want to go check up on your teammates, but I will stay here!"
And with that, Lee put down Sasuke's forehead protector, and leapt towards the Grass nin.
"Heh," Sasuke muttered, closing his eyes. Lee was such an idiot; did he think that if Sasuke went to the battle at the bridge, anything would change? The whole point of Sasuke and Lee letting the Grass nin go peacefully was not to free up the genins' time, but to allow the Grass nin to go and convince his companions not to hurt Konoha. If Lee wanted to fight the Grass nin, then any situation elsewhere would not change.
And yet.
And yet that burning passion, that irreversible determination, that trust… wasn't that what it meant to be ninja? Sasuke felt a smile curl across his lips; maybe he should have become a flower shop keeper instead. Much better insurance.
And then, he stood, tying on his forehead protector in the process. When he opened his eyes again, they were red, with two tomae in each.
"Late?" Kakashi asked, amuse. Maa, maa, how rude. Here Kakashi was, saving Elric with the goodness of his heart, and the blond poked at his faults in return. He got so little gratitude nowadays. But, ah well, he would play along with it. "Well you see—"
A bolt of lightning raced towards them, homing in on the two and forcing them to jump back into the clearing, where the two strangers were both waiting. Kakashi kept an eye on them both, observing them curiously even as he continued with his statement as if there had been no interruption at all. He noted many things about them, not the least of which who them were.
"—a group of ducklings wandered across my path, and I had to wait for them to pass by. I didn't want to get bitten, you see."
Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Elric's graver wounds knit themselves back together, and he instantly understood what the blond was doing. He hid a grin, though really, he didn't need to, since the mask prevented anyone from seeing it anyway.
The two missing nins weren't attacking, and Elric was using this time to heal. With his medical knowledge, Kakashi wasn't surprised that Elric could do it without handseals, and thus, hopefully escaping the attention of the two missing nins.
Well then, Kakashi would have to try his best to stall for as much time as possible.
One of the missing nins, the one with the half metal mask covering his face (and Kakashi did very much resent the copyright issues!), smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile, "Well, well, what do you know? If it isn't 'Copy-nin Kakashi'. It really is my lucky day."
"Ah, well," Kakashi smiled lopsidedly, giving a one-shoulder shrug, "I do try my best. But I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage here. Your partner I do recognize as the illustrious 'Homing Tanto', known for his sensor abilities mixed with his sword and lightning affinities. You however, I'm afraid I've never heard of, though those masks on your back should be a definite marker."
"Oh, so you've noticed those, have you?" The Waterfall ninja commented neutrally.
It was honestly hard not to notice them, but noticing them didn't do Kakashi any good. There were too many things that the masks on the Waterfall ninja's back could have been; ranging from tattoos that signaled his rebellion to secret bloodline techniques. Kakashi had decided to leave it alone for now; as a scientist he knew that speculation could lead to death, and he had decided to wait and see what the masks were before he tried to deal with them.
It was the reason that he had posed the question. Although the metal masked nin was unlikely to answer, it was at least worth a try.
Edward stopped the flow of chakra to his body; he had finished healing the injuries that might hinder him in battle, and that was all he could afford to expend his energy on.
"Well…" the Waterfall nin seemed to think for a moment, and then his grin turned primal, "All you really need to know is that that one who will kill you is named Kakazu, and as for the rest… It's really none of your business, is it?"
And before Elric or Kakashi could even blink, the metal masked nin shot forward. Thankfully, Elric and Kakshi didn't need to blink in able to dodge. Elric flew to the left, Kakashi to the right.
Kakazu leaped after Kakashi, aiming a roundabout kick at his head. Kakashi collapsed one knee, just barely dodging the kick as he thrust up an arm, fist clenched in a powerful punch. The Waterfall ninja twisted, allowing the fist to skim his side as his own hand shot out, grasping onto Kakashi's exposed arm. Kakashi used Kakazu as a pole, flipping his body upwards around the place where Kakazu had grasped onto his body, and aiming a deadly kick at Kakazu's head.
The Waterfall nin's eyes widened as he realized what Kakashi was about to do, and the next instant Kakashi felt a cool breeze on his arm as the missing nin quickly let go of him, jumping back to avoid Kakashi's kick.
Kakashi's leg connected with only empty air, but he wasn't fazed. The battle had barely begun after all. He landed softly, catching glimpse of Elric fighting of Tanto's sword with a kunai, before turning around to meet the Waterfall ninja's crazy grin.
"You're more fun than I thought," Kakazu said, his voice vicious. And then, his hand went through familiar seals, and it was Kakashi's turn for his eyes to widen.
Kakashi slammed his hands together, going through seals as quickly as he could, although he knew already that it would be too late to counter Kakazu's jutsu. He bent his leg just as the last stretch of the seals came through, and Kakazu unleashed his A-class fire jutsu.
The son of White Fang leapt to the side, but to his surprise the jet of fire didn't come flying towards him. It went towards the back of Homing Tanto, who suddenly leapt upwards, avoiding the hungry flames and revealing the shocked face of Elric.
Elric hurriedly slammed the palms that were already clapped together into the ground, quickly erecting a huge shield of earth in front of him.
Kakashi quickly changed the seals of his jutsu, going from a lightning one to a Replacement. While he inwardly mourned the chance lost at landing a decisive hit on Kakazu, because for a split second the metal masked nin was vulnerable while he was finishing up with his jutsu and that was what Kakashi had been waiting for initially, he could not let Elric get hit by his mistake.
Elric's shield was melting quickly, and Kakashi knew that it would not hold for much longer. The flames that were spewing past Elric's dissolving block would prevent the blond from escaping by any other way. It really was well planned.
Kakashi's form disappeared as he replaced himself with a log, landing in the woods again as he quickly made another set of seals. Elric's body popped up next to him just as Tanto unleashed his jutsu as well, frying the area that Elric had been just moments before with a tower of lightning.
"I'm sorry," Kakashi murmured, "I had thought that the Waterfall nin was aiming for me with that fire jutsu, but he turned it the last instant."
And that, in turn, allowed Tanto enough time to create a lightning jutsu, and send it towards Elric while the blond was distracted. The fire jutsu had never been the thing that was supposed to finish him off, despite the fact that it was so well coordinated too. With Tanto's body blocking the jutsu, Elric wouldn't have noticed it until it was almost too late. With his mad scramble to survive Kakazu's ninjutsu, Elric of course had failed to notice the gathering energy from Tanto. If Kakashi had taken the chance to hurt Kakazu with his jutsu instead of helping out Elric, Elric might very well have died.
It really was a shame that Obito's words rang in Kakashi's head every day, and Kakashi was the last person who would abandon a comrade.
"It's fine," Elric grumbled, brushing off his cloak. He looked warily at the two missing nins, who were moving towards each other again, though the two hadn't taken their eyes of the Konoha nin. "Thanks."
"Not a problem," Kakashi said mildly, sliding his headband up and revealing Obito's spinning Sharingan. It was obvious now that the two weren't to be taken lightly. "Up for a round two?"
"Of course," Elric replied with a savage grin, crackling his knuckles, "It's time for payback."
The two darted forwards again, disappearing into the trees. This time, it was Elric who engaged Kakazu and Kakashi who fought Tanto.
Kakashi was just about to deliver a powerful axel kick to Tanto's side when suddenly, somehow Elric appeared in front of him, making his eyes widen as he was forced to quickly spin in mid-air to avoid hitting the blond.
"You are," Kakashi said lightly as he landed in a crouch, "disrupting my jutsus."
Edward grinned, showing all teeth, "Really? I think it's more like you're stopping my attacks."
They separated again as a fireball lit the air, roasting the place where they had been moments before. Kakashi flashed through handseals, and called up a ball of fire. He directed it towards Kakazu, but then a water serpent seemed to appear out of nowhere, turning Kakashi's jutsu into nothing but steam. He traced the source, and was surprised to find that it came not from Tanto or Kakazu, but from Elric.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes.
The enemies were S-class ninja, but Kakashi could have coped with that. What he couldn't cope with, was how they always seem to be there for the other whenever a particular weakness was exposed. Kakashi couldn't get a shot in, even with Elric there. Thankfully, Elric seemed to have realized the same thing.
Fighting these people had been… annoying, to say in the least. Kakashi had a great many enemies in his life, but when he had not gained fame for nothing. As he was now, there were not a lot of people who could stand up to him. Even Gai, self-deemed his 'Eternal Rival', could not defeat him in a serious battle.
And so, it had been a long time since Kakashi had felt as pressed as this. The missing nins were actually forcing him to use specific jutsu—him. When Tanto had sent that wind jutsu his way, Kakashi had no choice but to counter with fire. And that had gone so well. He hadn't noticed that Elric had used a water attack—no, it was more like the missing nin duo had prevented him from noticing.
He was tired, chakra-exhausted, and slightly burned from the lightning jutsu Tanto had used on him just a few seconds earlier. The only reason he had even survived that was because he knew how to work lightning and was able to reduce its effects before it could burn his heart. Still, he knew he couldn't keep it up forever.
"It looks like," Elric said grimly as he passed by Kakashi again, "going at this individually won't work."
"Then that means," Kakashi mused, "that we'll have to work together?"
While Kakashi was not averse to working as a team (now, anyhow, for he had to admit that when he was younger he wasn't quite as forgiving), very rarely did teamwork allow him to use his abilities one hundred percent. It was only with Gai, whom he had fought countless times, that Kakashi could formulate his best plans and expect them to be followed to the tee.
With others… well, they were not stupid, by any means. Still, Kakashi often had to find himself revising his plans and using less effective ones to accommodate the abilities of the ninja he was working with. If his planning got too complicated, they could not instinctively understand what he was trying to do.
He briefly wondered what type Elric would be. He had heard that the blond was a genius, yes (and if he were a special jounin at that age, then he was quite possibly a genius to rival Kakashi himself) but geniuses tended to have the very real problem of knowing that they were geniuses. Kakashi had learned the hard way not to overestimate himself.
Before Kakashi could act though, as doubt-ridden as he was about what level of expertise he should expect from the one nicknamed for his medical skills, Elric acted.
"Cover me!" Elric yelled as he raced straight towards Kakazu, his palms clapped together in a mock version of a prayer. Kakashi instantly recognized the motion for what it was. It was Elric's bloodline ability or something similar. Kakashi had seen that move earlier. He quickly deduced that Elric needed time to complete whatever it was and time Kakashi could give.
The question was, what did Elric plan to do…?
He didn't have time to dwell on it though, because whatever it was, Tanto and Kakazu obviously weren't going to let Elric complete it.
Kakashi's Sharingan caught the familiar flashes of hand gestures that signaled an upcoming jutsu from both Kakazu and Tanto, but he was not named the copier of over a thousand jutsus for nothing. He instantly recognized exactly what techniques the two were going to use.
Maa, Elric would have to pay him back for this.
Gathering a large amount of chakra, Kakashi went through the seals as fast as he could, flitting through his considerable jutsu arsenal and trying to pick the ones most appropriate. When fire and lightning came from Kakazu and Tanto, Kakashi sent a huge water jet.
"Elric, left!" He called out as soon as his jutsu to counter Kakazu's was done. There was no way he could counter both, but lighting was much easier to dodge than fire. Even as he shouted, Kakashi took out a handful of shuriken and attached explosive tags before flinging them towards where Tanto would be, hoping to delay the Iwa nin long enough for whatever Elric was planning.
Never taking his eyes off Kakazu, Elric leaned left, just barely avoiding the bolt of lightning. In the same motion he rolled the floor, finally splitting his hands apart. Blue lightning crackled, and Kakashi noticed Elric briefly touching the ground before rolling back to his feet. The effect was instantaneous.
Spike jutted out from the ground which Elric touched, tunneling at an amazing speed towards Kakazu. The Waterfall ninja swore and jumped backwards, and it was just then that Elric's form blurred in a distinctive pattern.
Kakazu's eyes widened as realization hit him, but by then it was too late. Elric appeared behind him, a kunai in hand. The Elric that had been racing towards him disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakazu barely had time to move his body, but he was able to prevent a fatal blow.
The missing nin's leg was slashed open instead, which would have been a debilitating wound in any other fight except…
Kakashi's eyes widened as black, spiderthread-like tendrils erupted from Kakazu's leg wound, exploding outwards at Elric. Elric didn't have time to do anything.
The Konoha jounin quickly slammed his hands together, going through the seals as if his life depended on it. The black tendrils closed around Elric's foot, just as a white puff of smoke concealed Elric's figure.
A moment later the puff of smoke disappeared, leaving a small log in its place. Elric dropped down beside Kakashi, looking winded.
"That was seriously freaky," was the first thing he said.
Kakashi had to admit, Elric's plan wasn't bad.
Elric had made a shadow clone sometime during the duration of their conversation, before he yelled out 'cover me' and drew attention to himself. Then, while Elric was racing towards Kakazu and Tanto, using Kakashi to hold their attention, the shadow clone sneaked up behind Kakazu.
Using the Replacement technique, the shadow clone switched places with Elric, which allowed him to drive a deadly blow to Kakazu. Honestly that should have given Elric the advantage, since he was supposed to be very good in close combat, but the black threads were unexpected.
Nevertheless…
"That was stupid," Kakashi growled, a little annoyed. What did the blond hope to accomplish with a stunt like that? Although the black threads couldn't have been predicted, it could have been predicted that Kakazu would have some sort of ace up his sleeve. Nins of Kakazu's and Tanto's caliber rarely did have a completely 'normal' arsenal. Elric should have realized that before risking close combat, which very nearly took his life.
This just proved to Kakashi that Elric was still a little too young, a little too inexperienced to be taking on S-class ninja. A part of Kakashi felt disappointed by this fact. He hadn't really expected anything more, but still…
Elric turned and shot a grin at him, not a trace of guilt on his face. "I knew you'd follow through."
For a millisecond Kakashi froze, hardly able to believe what he was hearing, before another jutsu came their way and forced them apart. Even as he leapt away though, Kakashi's mind couldn't help but race. Had… had Elric planned that all out, even Kakashi's follow through? That spoke of a huge level of trust and confidence in Kakashi's skills. A cat-like grin spread across the Hatake's face; well then, it wouldn't be fair for him not to reciprocate that trust, would it?
Kakashi landed lightly, and immediately started racing towards Kakazu.
Elric had a sensing ability, right? A plan slowly forming in his head –though this all depended on Elric really— Kakashi started gathering up his chakra, even as he ran. Elric briefly locked gazes with him as he shot past, so brief in fact that Kakashi wasn't even sure if Elric had done that on purpose. He would have to believe that Elric did, however. If not… well, then they were screwed. But with opponents like these, one had to take some chances.
Tanto came flying down towards him, spinning a kick. Kakashi twisted his upper body downwards, bending his waist at just the right angle for Tanto's kick to sail over him. Still running, Kakashi lost no momentum, noticing out of the corner of his eye, Elric darting around Kakazu.
Elric was not letting Kakazu get any quarter, and Kakashi felt that if they continued like this, then they might win. Both their taijutsus were not bad after all, especially if the rumours Kakashi had heard about Elric was true.
He started gathering up chakra in his hand, not caring about his tunnel vision or Tanto. Elric shot a B-class slicing wind jutsu at him, but Kakashi gave it no heed. The edges of the jutsu sliced his cheeks, but it was worth it for the quick back tracking Kakashi heard behind him. Tanto had been following him, but had now fallen behind trying to deal with the jutsu, and he would not make it back to Kakashi's side in time.
Kakazu whipped around, noting instantly that the origin of the jutsu had been from behind him. Elric was on him in a second, and they started exchanging a series of lightning fast taijutsu. Kakashi narrowed his eyes, and allowed the chakra on his hand to ignite.
"Raikiri!" He yelled as he plunged his right hand towards Kakazu's chest. He mentally apologized to Edward as he did so, but this was the only way to end the battle quickly and decisively.
Edward had foreseen that, of course, which was why in the split second that Kakashi had wrapped the lightning around his hand, Edward had changed his taijutsu style completely and instead of engaging Kakazu, had wrapped his arms around him and held the missing-nin still.
The perfected version of the Chidori ripped through the man's chest, all the way to the front of Edward's body. The momentum that Kakashi had built up was too much for him to pull back on. Edward grinned, though Kakashi noted with a small amount of guilt that it was a pained grin, and flipped the three of them to the ground. They hit with a thud, barely avoiding the streak of lightning jutsu that zipped by overhead, frying the space that their heads had previously occupied.
Kakashi instantly tugged his arm back, rolling away as his fingers sped through a series of handseals. There was still Tanto to deal with, whom was the one who shot the lightning jutsu at the three of them. Kakashi had hoped that Edward would also watch out for that one, and Edward had met with all his expectations.
Feeling a grin on his face, Kakashi rolled to a stop, landing on his side as he put up one hand to his mouth, and blew out a plume of fire in the direction of Tanto. He would have to engage Tanto one on one at the moment, to give Edward time to heal the injury that Kakashi had dealt him.
It was just then, that he heard Edward give a loud cry of pain and surprise.
Kakashi jumped to his feet and whipped around despite himself, shocked. With Kakazu down and Tanto avoiding Kakashi's flames, Edward should be fine. Had Kakazu somehow managed to survive Kakashi's best attack? How?
Sure enough, Edward was standing a distance from Kakazu's body, face twisted in a grimace of pain as he clutched his one arm. There was blood trickling down it, and Kakashi instantly realized that Edward must have just avoided a fatal attack by the newly revived Kakazu.
And Kakazu was newly arrived. Somehow, even with the hole in his chest that Kakashi could still see clearly from here, Kakazu was standing. There wasn't even blood dripping.
Kakazu snarled, and then his body seemed to split apart. Kakashi watched in horrid fascination as the four white masks on his back twisted and jumped out from his body, still connected to him by massive black threads. They formed figures taller than even Kakazu, the single white masks making each look as if it were some terrifying wraith come out of a nightmare. Kakashi had seen plenty of disgusting transformations in his time, but this was…
Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi noted that Tanto had paled.
"Oh no, now you've done it," the Iwa nin whispered, "Kakazu is going to rip you two apart."
And then, one of the wraiths fell to the ground, puttering piteously as its mask cracked, then broke off completely.
Kakashi blinked, and stole a quick glance at Edward. The other nin caught his eye, and nodded in agreement; they had both come up with the same conclusion then. These wraiths could be killed, and Kakashi had already killed one.
They sprang into action.
Once again, Edward clapped his hands together, and this time, Kakashi knew what was coming. He quickly positioned himself in front of the blond, kunai in hand and ready to knock back anything that would come their way.
"I won't give you time for that," Kakazu snarled, and lunged towards them. Or rather, the wraiths did.
Kakashi wasn't sure what would happen if the black things touched him, but he wasn't going to find out. The Konoha nin jumped sideways, revealing the blond, a large grin on his face.
"Fire Release: Blast Burn," Edward whispered.
The hand clap that signaled the use of Edward's bloodline technique was only a feint, after all.
The fire came streaming out from the point made by the intersection of Edward's forefinger and thumb, rushing towards the wraiths. They, who had already made the point to capture Kakashi, didn't have time to avoid.
However, Kakazu was not stupid by any means. One of his wraiths quickly leapt in front of the other, taking the brunt of the burn. It screeched in agony, sounding very human at the moment. Out of the corner of his eyes, Kakashi noticed Edward wince.
When the fire stopped, Kakazu pulled the wraiths back to his body, now one short.
"You," Kakazu gasped, his eyes nearly bulging out of his goggles, "how dare you…!"
But Kakashi and Edward were nowhere in sight.
Kakazu narrowed his eyes, having no doubt figured out that Kakashi and Edward had used the fire as cover for them to hide. He whipped towards Tanto, "Where are they?"
In a nearby tree, Kakashi tensed. This was what he had Edward were waiting for. As soon as Tanto completed his sentence, they would commence their plan and strike.
"They're—" Tanto started, only to stop mid-sentence as his eyes widened in shock. He glanced down. Sticking out of his chest was a long, thick and bloody black cord, wrapped in writhing but smaller cords.
"You know what?" Kakazu growled, "on second thought, it would be faster for me to find out myself."
Tanto could only stare in shock as Kakazu pulled his wraith back to him, this time, with Tanto's heart in its possession. Tanto's body dropped to the floor, dead.
In the mess of Kakazu's cords, Tanto's heart pulsed erratically. And then, unbelievably, it mutated and grew. The surface stretched out, becoming long and thin, just like the masks that accompanied Kakazu's wraiths. From behind the mask black strings rippled out, and then grew thicker and thicker until one would have never known that the thing didn't belong to the Waterfall nin if it wasn't for what they just had witnessed.
"Ah," Kakazu said with a grin, his head turning like an owl to Kakashi's position, "there you are."
Kakashi grimaced. He thought it cold even for a missing nin to kill a companion just like that.
A tree a few meters from Kakashi ruffled, and Edward dropped down.
"You killed him," Edward whispered. "You killed your own comrade…"
"So what?" Kakuzu sneered.
Edward's eyes hardened, "That was your biggest mistake."
"Mistake?' Kakuzu jeered, "What, are you one of those moralists who think that if you kill the trash beside you, you'll be forever damned? I should have known. Konoha nins."
Kakashi eye-smiled, and likewise jumped down from his tree. "Um… that's not what he's talking about. What Edward is saying is… now that you've effectively taken out your partner… well, you have no chance."
Sakura took a step back, her mind awhirl. Missing Nin! Beside her, Tenten had already taken out a kunai, face set in a sort of determined calm as she shifted into a stance.
"Who are you?" Tenten demanded.
The woman smiled like a canary, and leaned forwards from her perch, "My, my, getting ahead of yourselves, aren't we? Before I was booted out of my village, I was on the road to promotion to a jounin. These last few years on the road have taught me quite a few things as well. Quite frankly… you two don't stand a tail of a chance against me. So if you're wise, ask nicely."
Tenten narrowed her eyes, and didn't look like she was going to comply. Sakura gulped; she knew about the levels that jounin fought at. Even Sasuke and Naruto together hadn't been able to beat Baruna, whom she had been told was a low level jounin after the fight. What chance did she and Tenten have?
"Can you please tell us who you are?" Sakura asked hastily, before Tenten could. "And why you're here?"
Tenten shot her a Look, but didn't say anything. Sakura's attention was on the missing nin. Her brain was working rapidly. It was obvious why the Iwa nin was here, but the question remained, why was the Iwa nin after them? Surely it made more sense if any ninja that Gato hired attacked Tazuna rather than two little girls.
The Iwa nin smiled, "Oh? It looks like someone knows their manners around here. Very well, since you were so polite, I'll answer you. I am Fugimoto Miwaki, previously from Iwagakure. The reason I am here is to have some fun."
Huh?
Tenten looked equally as confused.
"You see," the woman continued, her smile suddenly getting sharper, "I came with a fellow company of three other ninja. But I… I did not go with them see, because I was afraid that they'd ruin my fun. Do entertain me."
And at that moment she moved. One instant she was sitting on the roof, and in another instant she had appeared in front of them, and they were flying into a wall. People screamed, and scrambled away from the area.
Sakura's back hit the stone building with a sickening crack, a jolt of pain racing through her body. She slid down to the ground, and slumped, groaning in pain. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tenten do the same.
A dozen meters in front of them, Fugimoto giggled, "Well, how was that?"
Tenten shakily stood to her feet, her hands in her pouch and a determined look on her face. "My teammates have done worse."
"Oh?" Fugimoto sounded practically gleeful, "Alright then, I'll step it up a notch."
And it was then, that Tenten's hand came out of her pouch, and something exploded. Smoke erupted, covering as far as the eye could see. Sakura coughed, then squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting the offending smoke to get into her eyes. Just then, she felt a hand wrap around her own, and automatically lashed out.
"Hush, Sakura," came Tenten's quiet voice, barely a whisper, "It's me."
Sakura stopped struggling, abashed, and allowed Tenten tug her to a standing position. Of course it was Tenten! Tenten was a superb ninja, and as soon as she head that Fugimoto was a ninja, Tenten had probably already started planning for this. Escape under the cover of smoke. Together they ran, even as they heard the mad laughter that followed them.
"So, playing a game of cat and mouse, are we?" The woman cackled, her voice fading as they ran further and further away, "Very well, I'll oblige you. I'll hunt you two down myself!"
And then her voice couldn't be heard at all.
They had raced out of the perimeter of smoke, and their very next move was to duck behind a series of alleyways.
"Why are we stopping?" Sakura asked, wondering why they weren't just making a run for it to Tazuna's house. They were not so far away, now. If they ran for ten more minutes, they could make it.
Tenten turned to her, confused, "What do you mean, why are we stopping?"
"I mean," Sakura said, feeling a slight sense of agitation, "We're almost at Tazuna's house. Wasn't your smoke bomb for us to escape?"
Comprehension dawned in Tenten's eyes. Slowly, she shook her head, "No, that is not why I employed the smoke bomb. I just wanted some time—I wanted to pick the battlefield. My specialty is weapons and traps, and I was at a disadvantage there. Sakura, you weren't seriously thinking of abandoning the battle, were you?"
Sakura felt horror well up inside her, "Bu—but, you must be crazy! We're not match for her!"
Fugimoto had been too fast for Sakura's eyes to see. Maybe if she had Sasuke's Sharingan she could stand a chance, but as it was, Fugimoto completely and utterly outmatched them.
"Maybe not," Tenten said grimly, looking back in the direction of Fugimoto, "But we can't let her pass us."
"Why not?"
"Why? Sakura-chan you dummy, can't you see why?" Tenten's voice was almost amused, teasing. "And here I thought you were the smartest girl of the year. Well here's why; Fugimoto has told us that she has three others in her company which have gone off to assassinate Tazuna. If we go to Gai-sensei and the others, she will follow. We don't know how good her teamwork is with the others, so we can't afford to let her meet up with them."
"How can you be so nonchalant about this!" Sakura cried. She had of course, thought of those points herself, but she hadn't wanted to acknowledge it. Acknowledging meant that she couldn't just trust in the authority of her sensei and teammates, and that she couldn't just find them and be safe.
Tenten's grip tightened on her kunai (when had she gotten out a kunai?). "I've been on more missions than you Sakura, C-class ones. Although this one is probably turning out to be the most dangerous mission we've ever been on, some lessons you don't forget. You must keep your cool, or else you will lose it all. You have smarts Sakura-chan, so use them."
Sakura stayed silent, then—"But we're still no match for her."
Tenten sighed, "Then what do you propose we do, Sakura-chan?"
"Maybe," Sakura said tentatively, thinking back to Naruto and Sasuke's almost careless manner of handing Baruna—a jounin. "Maybe we should let our teammates take care of her. No listen—I know what you've said about the others already attacking them, but that should just be Kakashi-sensei, Edward-san, and Gai-san, right? For Fugimoto, we wouldn't even have to bother our senseis, but we don't necessarily have to be the ones who fight her. From what you said, Neji-san and Lee seem to be super strong ninja, and I know that Sasuke-kun and Naruto are—"
Now, Tenten actually took her eyes off the direction of the enemy. She had whirled around to face Sakura, the look of disbelief on her face making the pinkette pause. Then, the look of disgust. "Sakura, you can't be serious."
She had said it a second time. The phrase which meant that she didn't quite believe what Sakura was saying.
"Wh-why not?" Sakura stuttered.
"You're suggesting," Tenten said slowly, "That we allow this woman to go find our teammates without a word of warning to them, because what—because you think we're incapable of defeating her? You're allowing our teammates the risk of them dying because you're too afraid of fighting her? I judged you wrongly, Sakura."
"Th-that's not—I mean, this isn't the time to be prideful Tenten, we can't beat her!"
"Maybe you can't," Tenten said in disgust as she turned away to look around the corner, "But I'll give it my all."
"It won't be helpful to Sasuke-kun and the others if we die here," Sakura cried out, "We need to let them know that there's a missing nin who can track their chakra signatures."
Tenten let out a sigh, and turned around again. This time, her eyes were surprisingly soft, "Sakura-chan, you aren't cut out to be a ninja. I suspected it the first day we did training together, but I ignored it because I desperately wanted to find a girl who was serious about ninja work. It's so hard you know, and sometimes it gets lonely being the only girl in a pack of guys. Do I ever even get treated like a female anymore? I had tricked myself. Sakura-chan, you're not cut out to be a ninja."
Sakura opened her mouth, then closed it, feeling surprisingly hurt by the revelation.
"I don't mean that in a bad way," Tenten quickly amended, probably guessing Sakura's thoughts, "It was my own fault, really. What I mean is, you don't deserve to die here. When you go back, you should hang up your forehead protector and become a gentlewoman; a woman of books and words—I think that would make you happier. You don't like training, and you don't like violence; that's okay. I'm not looking down on you. All I'm saying Sakura-chan, is that you should give up on Sasuke, a guy who's probably not even worth it. Do what you really want to do."
"Tenten, this—why—" her mouth was dry. She didn't quite know what to say. For once, words were abandoning her.
"I'm telling you this because I want you to go back," Tenten said quietly. "You're right, I was getting too ahead of myself. We need to warn the others above all else. But, this woman won't make it easy for us. You… go back and warn the others, then find a safe place to stay until all this is over. I'll… go and distract Fugimoto."
"Bu-but you'll die!" Sakura protested, "Fugimoto is a chuunin, and without teamwork you'll—"
"Even if you were there," Tenten smiled tiredly, "I'm not sure we could work well together. No, the important thing right now is warning the others. I'll do better alone."
That hurt more than Sakura would have liked to admit.
"So…" Tenten hesitated, "You okay with this, Sakura?"
Numbly, Sakura nodded. There was nothing else she could say, that much she knew. The weapons mistress had made up her mind, and there was nothing Sakura could do short of knocking her out to change it. And Sakura had no confidence in knocking Tenten out.
Tenten smiled at her one last time, then turned around and ran back towards the direction of the smoke. Sakura turned as well, towards Tazuna's house, towards her teammates, towards safety. She started to run.
Without the smoke impeding her vision, she could see flashes of torn down houses and shrivelling plants as she passed them at her top speed. She even saw a warehouse. The people had blurred into peachy outlines, and they were no longer reaching out to her. Whether it be her speed or some strange type of telepathy, they had known that reaching out to her would bring them no luck.
Sakura squeezed her eyes shut.
Yes, she could not help them, just as she could not help Tenten.
Tenten was going to die, even she knew that. The words she wanted Sakura to tell her team was proof of that. She had given herself a suicide mission, all for the sake of Sakura getting back to the others and warning them. Helping them. Ha, what help could Sakura give them anyway? She was just as useless as ever. A messenger, that's what she'd always be. A useless bird that could get shot down by anyone if they weren't protected.
She was no help during the battle with Baruna, and no help now. She couldn't help. She had no special abilities like Sasuke and Naruto, she was not a genius like Elric-san and Kakashi-sensei. She was useless. The best thing she could do for Tenten was grant the girl her last wish. And yet…
She remembered their week of training together, where she and Tenten had shared many laughs and just as many beauty tips. She remembered the day that she, Tenten, and Tsunami-san had simply sat by the ocean, watching the sun dip behind the waves. She remembered earlier that morning, Tenten comforting her and giving her advice on Sasuke…
"Those who abandon their comrades are lower than trash."
Sakura paused in mid-step, her fist clenching. Then, she turned her heel, and started racing back towards Tenten.
"I hadn't planned on going all out on you," The masked boy said softly, a wistful tone in his voice, "But your skills are too high. If I'm not serious, I'm afraid I won't be of any help to Zabuza-sama. I have not been honest with you; this is not my real speed- I was planning to save my real speed to surprise the jounins, but it looks like I'll need it now. And I will also be aiming for fatal places now. Prepare yourselves."
And then, the masked boy moved.
Neji's eyes widened as the masked boy disappeared from sight. Even with his Byakugan's range of radius of thirty meters, he could no longer see where the boy was. Before, Neji had at least been able to keep up with the masked boy's movements because he could always see where the boy potentially was, but now Neji saw not even a flicker of a shadow in any of the twenty ice mirrors.
The Hyuuga clenched his fists. That boy… had been toying with them.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a rain of senbon, and barely managed to jump to the right. The company of ten still managed to graze him though, paralyzing his right arm. Neji was a Hyuuga, and as such, deeply sensitive to the nerves and workings of the human body. He knew that his right arm would be out of commission for weeks, and he did not currently have that time to recover.
He gritted his teeth, going back to trying to think of a new way out of this, only with new variables. He had already tried everything previously, but that was with only himself in the equation. Thoughts flashed through his mind at a speed only true geniuses could achieve; strategies being picked up and discarded almost as soon as they were formed. He had Uzumaki's insane jutsu strength now as well as his own precision, but his arm would be a hindrance. Masked ninja had showed his ace, so it could be assumed that the evaluation of the Kiri nin could be done with. Ice mirrors were a bloodline, but possibly consumed a lot of chakra…?
"Uzumaki!" Neji called out, shifting to the half-stand, half-crouching position. "Do you know any fire jutsu?"
"Plenty!" Uzumaki called back, just barely avoiding a shower of senbon, "Why do ya wanna know, bastard?"
Neji gritted his teeth, and told himself to bear the insult. This was not the time to get into an argument; there would be plenty of time to teach Uzumaki a lesson after they defeated the Kiri nin. "You must fire some at the ice mirrors, because—"
A slew of senbon needles came his way. Neji smiled grimly; it seemed then, that his guess was right. Otherwise, why would the masked ninja bother trying to shut him up? Neji dug his heel into the ground, and spun. Finally, he came to a stop, when no more senbon needles were raining down on him. Neji stood, breathing heavily, eyes darting around in preparation for another attack.
Uzumaki was just standing there, gaping at him for a second, but then another shower of senbon went flying towards him and he was too busy trying to avoid them to goggle at Neji.
Neji felt a grim smile spread across his face; well, was that all? He had done it. He had just performed Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin after all, and successfully too, so he thought he might deserve a bit of reprieve. He still couldn't believe that he had done it. Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin was the Hyuuga clan's pride and secret, and Neji had just recently seen it. He hadn't mastered it yet, and he was leery of using an untested technique in battle, but it had been the only potential way to stop those senbon. And he had succeeded.
The pride and joy of the main Hyuuga branch… was it that easy to master? A sneer replaced the smile. Of course, it might have been only because he was a genius; to regular people, such a technique might be beyond them. Such a technique was heavenly, but if Neji hadn't seen it, it would have been doomed the moment it was passed to Hinata Hyuuga's eyes.
And then, he shook his head; now was not the time to think about the Main Branch and their senseless nature. The Masked nin was engaged with Uzumaki, who was making a real effort to match the Kiri ninja's speed, and falling short. Nevertheless, Uzumaki was still standing, despite looking like a pincushion already. Neji had to end this quickly.
"Quickly!" Neji barked, "Tell me the handsigns for a fire jutsu! We need to melt the ice, because they will melt! It just doesn't seem like it because he keeps reforming them the instant they are vapourized, but it will take him a lot of chakra. We can wear him down! So quick, teach me a jutsu!"
He hated to state out his strategy so clearly, but he wasn't sure if Uzumaki would understand otherwise. Already he was depending much on the prankster personality of the blond's, and the fact that he was best friend of Sasuke Uchiha. Uzumaki, Neji had to admit, did know how to strategize.
Uzumaki's eyes shifted to his for a single instant, and then a huge grin spread across his face. Neji knew in that instant that Uzumaki had understood. "Can do! Rat. Boar. Pig. Hare. Fire Release: Crimson Burn!"
Neji gave a barely perceptible nod, crouching low and putting his hands together…
A rush of senbon needles came flying his way. Neji immediately spread out his arms, and spun. Distantly, he heard a voice call out 'Fire Release: Crimson Burn', and felt red hot heat burn his palms. Neji stopped spinning just in time to see a large plume of fire crash into the mirrors, and a smile spread across his face. A double distraction was the plan, and the masked ninja had fallen right into—
And then, Uzumaki gave a loud cry.
Neji's head snapped towards the direction almost without meaning to, his eyes wide with shock. Even with the Byakugan, he still retained the instinct. Uzumaki had his back arched, his face screwed in an expression of pain. On his back were fifty some senbon, all aimed towards fatal places. Uzumaki stumbled, and fell forward, collapsing into a heap on the ground. He did not breathe.
Uzumaki was dead. The question was… how?
The answer appeared in front of him. It was the masked boy, and this time he had gotten out of the mirrors. Evidently, he did not feel that Neji was a threat. Neji knew he could not correct him.
"I have analyzed your eyes," the masked ninja said softly, answering Neji's unspoken question "While we were fighting. You seem to have 50 meters of vision, so I made sure to stay out of that range when I fired on your friend. He didn't see it coming because he was using his jutsu, and I made sure you could not see it coming."
Neji felt laughter bubble in his throat, and it was not the joyous kind. He had been defeated, fair and square. He had relied too much on his all-seeing eyes and his Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin. Too much on his strategy. He should have known that a fellow genius would see through it.
"You have put up a grave fight," the Kiri nin continued, his eyes momentarily shifting to the orange clump on the ground. "But with your friend gone, you must know you stand no chance. Goodbye."
Neji closed his eyes, accepting his death. He had come far, but in the end he had fallen to a genius that surpassed him. It was fate. So… so why did the feeling taste like ash in his mouth, make his eyes and throat burn as if he were going to cry?
He had not cried since he was four years old, when he had something to regret, when Hizashi Hyyuga, his idol, had been so cruelly ripped away from him, all for the sake of an immoral clan. The world had seemed do dim that day, and Neji had seen the fateful truth beneath all the bright colours that coloured the earth.
The world was not a bright place. It was a place where only death and pain could exist. The flowers that he had admired at four would wither before the year was done, and those bright lavender eyes could only dull and fill with fear in response to the ugly world.
Yes, that was a day to regret, because if he had seen the realities of the world sooner, than perhaps things wouldn't have happened as they did. Perhaps if he hadn't been so trusting of the clan head, his father's own brother, then misfortune would not have come to the Hyuuga clan.
But what was he regretting now? Why did his very being rebel at the thought of a death like this? He couldn't be afraid of death could he? No, it couldn't be. All ninja were destined to die a violent death, he knew that. His death was fate…
He heard the sharp shiiiinnng of a kunai being pulled out, and a tell-tale whoosh as something was intercepted in the air.
Neji's eyes snapped open in shock, Byakugan activating automatically. There, to his left, was Uzumaki, standing with one hand clenched to his side and sweat dripping down his face. But other than that, he seemed fine. He wasn't… dead.
"Heh," Uzumaki chocked out, giving Neji a look that the Hyuuga couldn't decipher, "What was that, genius boy? Even Sasuke wouldn't accept defeat so easily."
Anger quickly replaced shock. It would have been foolish not to accept defeat; he had not chance against the ice user, and it had taken him a while to realize. There was no point in dragging out the fight and it would only soil both their honours. It was like ploughing through a game a chess when it was clear who the winner was; unprincipled and unsportsmanlike. Fate could not be fought. For all the genius that Sasuke was, the Uchiha was a fool if he would keep fighting in this situation.
The masked boy brought Neji out of his thoughts, his tone of voice indicating surprise. "You… I that place was fatal. How are you still alive?"
Uzumaki grinned, though it looked more like a grimace from Neji's perspective. He got a little bit of bitter satisfaction from that. "You aimed, but you didn't look. I avoided it just slightly, so that it only skimmed that fatal point."
Now it was the missing nin's turn to smile. One could hear it in his voice. "You are smarter than you look, ninja-san. But, I already knew that."
Uzumaki let out a feral grin, despite the fact that he was still clutching his side and looking pale. "Shall we get started for round two then?"
"Round Two?" The missing nin sounded hesitant. "Please ninja-san, you must see the difference between us. That last senbon almost killed you. If we continue this battle, you will die."
"Heh, no I won't. I'll beat you."
Neji had enough.
"Will you listen to yourself?" He spat out at the village pariah, earning the surprised looks of both Uzumaki and the masked boy. "This guy is beyond our level Uzumaki! Even I will accept that! He's a genius with a bloodline, you'll never beat him!"
"Oh, eh, but—" Uzumaki's eyes hardened, "Hey look Hyuuga, just 'cause you're willing to give up when things are starting to look a little downhill, doesn't mean that everyone else is. The rest of us grit our teeth and pull through, fighting hardships because there's nothing else we can do. And you know what? It works!"
"Those are the ignorant words of a failure," Neji sneered, "You were not born with talent, and thus you had to—"
"Will you listen to yourself!" Uzumaki exploded, whipping a finger up to point at the masked boy. The masked boy looked startled. "We're in the middle of a battlefield and you're blabbering about giving up because we're not good enough. Bullshit! What's the point of being a ninja if you run with your tail between your legs every time you see an obstacle course that you can't see the end of, huh? Where's your ninja pride?"
Ninja… pride? Ridiculous, this was the words of some loser—
"Ugh, I've had enough of you," Uzumaki grumbled loudly, stepping forward and turning to face the Mist nin, "Just ignore this guy, alright? Shall we get started?"
"Are you two… not comrades?" The Mist nin asked, sounding hesitant.
Uzumaki sent a glare in Neji's direction, "I thought we were, but apparently not. Like heck Konoha has a stupid coward like this in her ranks."
Stupid… coward? He was not! He—
"Just give up, there's no point in continuing. You're lost already."
"Why does Lee try so hard? Oh Neji, I'm not so sure you should be asking me that. But if you really want to know… well, you believe in all that fate stuff right? I suppose then, you could say that Lee is training to be strong enough to defeat fate."
"Neji, just you watch. While you're sitting on your genius, I will work hard, and I will surpass you!"
"I don't know about this idiot," Uzumaki's voice startled Neji, bringing the genius out of his memories. Neji inwardly uttered a soft curse; it was a rookie's mistake to get distracted by thoughts during a battle. "But I won't die here, I have a dream to fulfil!"
The masked nin sighed, "I'd hate to agree with your… associate, but he is correct. You have no chance against me, even more so now that you two are divided. Becoming a true ninja 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 ninja. This bridge is the place we fight... to connect to our dreams. Me, for my dreams, and you, for your dreams. Please don't hate me. I want to protect someone close to me. To work for that person. To fight with that person. To make that person's dreams come true. That is my dream."
"What bull!" Uzumaki's eyes were blazing. "I've... I've once forced someone very close to me to kill his kind heart, because I was too weak. I won't let the same thing happen to you, because I won't let you kill us!"
Uzumaki screamed, and charged. Neji could already see that it would be of no use. Uzumaki was moving much slower than he did at the beginning, and he had been beaten soundly at the beginning.
Neji clenched his fists; why… why was Uzumaki still trying?
"Farewell," the masked nin muttered, and let loose a cascade of senbon.
There was no way Uzumaki could avoid it, not injured like he was.
And then, before Neji knew what he was doing, he was in front of the blond, arms spread wide to protect the most area. The senbons struck him, penetrating deep. Blood spurted from his mouth, and Neji fell backwards.
A touch at his back. Blurred pictures. And then wide, questioning blue eyes. The back of his mind registered that Uzumaki had to have caught him, even if Neji couldn't detect that from his senses any longer. He blinked back the blackness, trying to focus on the blond. The blond and his determined blue eyes.
"You—why—?" Uzumaki choked out. "I—you—"
"I—I don't—" Neji said weakly, "I don't quite understand it. Bu—but I believe, that if it's you…"
And then, Neji Hyuuga died.