A/N: Okay! Here;s the next chapter. First off, I'd like to thank all of my reviewers and tell you the votes. You may vote on this chapter, but I think NaruSaku is a definat. Still, you can do votes like Inner!SakuraXKyuubi!Naruto if you like.
NaruSaku - 42 (It wins)
ItaSaku - 12 (he'll come in later, but no major ItaSaku in this story)
ShikaIno - Sorry to the one person who voted it, but I'm not doing ShikaIno. It'll be ShikaTema and InoCho
NaruHina - Once again, sorry. You saw how many NaruSaku votes I got. I'll probably put her with Shino, Kiba or keep her single.
SakuCentric - Okay, you lucky people. Since I got 6 votes (woot?) I'll put in hints of this, but it'll be NaruSaku in the long run.
No shipping - 1 (I think it's safe to say I'm gonna be putting shipping in this story :D)
Inner!SakuraXKyuubi!Naruto - 1 (might happen anyway, but depends how me, Inner-chan and Kyuu-chan feel. You could vote KyuuInnerShukaku if you want hehe)
SakuNeji - 1 (It'll appear a few times, but this story is NaruSaku)
KyuuHina - 1 (Nope, sorry)
KyuuSaku - 1 (Err, he's mroe interested in Inner!sakura than Outer!Sakura)
NaruOc - 1 (Nah. Maybe to get Saku jealous)
NaruSakuSasu - 1 (It happens a lot, but she chooses Naruto in the end...maybe)
SasuSaku - 1 (Hmm, maybe one scene for this SasuSaku fan)
GaaHina - 1 (Bias, I know, but I'm writing this and I'm not using this couple. I don't hate it, but I just don't want it in my story. No offense to any GaaHina fans)
Chapter Nine
The Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja Joins the Fight!
Everyone looked at Naruto as he stood grinning at his feat of breaking Haku from the ice mirrors. Sasuke was wobbly and barely able to kneel from the loss of blood, but even he looked towards the late-to-arrive Hokage-wanna-be. Sakura's clone took a few steps back, going behind Tazuna, and took a deep breath, trying to locate her creator to see if she was coming back any time soon. So far, no luck.
"Ha! Now that I'm here, everything will be all right." Naruto boasted with a smug grin. Tazuna gasped and Sakura remained blank as Kakashi kept his eyes trained on Zabuza just in case.
"Baka." Sakura muttered with no emotion in her voice.
"You know how in stories the hero always shows up at the last minuet and then kicks bad-guy butt? Well that's what I'm gonna do right now, Dattebayo!" He stated, flashing a 'thumbs-up'. Sakura would have rolled her eyes, but no one would see it and there would be a split second in which time someone could discover and dispel her so the gesture would have been stupid to do.
"Uh, this brat again." Zabuza complained as he looked around at Naruto, but still not moving his body enough to give Kakashi access to his male students. Kakashi, on the other hand, was mentally hitting Naruto over and over again for being such a baka.
'Shut up, Naruto.' Sasuke groaned in his mind as he assumed a fighting position. His face was dead-panned as Naruto ranted. He looked over to see a reaction from the others, but saw through Sakura's clone. Sasuke sighed and knew immediately that she wasn't there with them, but had no idea where she was.
'Ugh! What an idiot. If he'd have stayed hidden, he could have been so much more effective.' Kakashi scolded mentally. If he had his book and wasn't trying to keep a criminal from killing the bridge builder, he would have taken out his favourite book and proceeded in hitting himself in the head with it.
'That boy…' Haku thought, looking at Naruto though the slits in the mask were his eyes were.
[--
"It's calm and I really didn't think anyone would be sleeping out here in the woods." He ended. Naruto grinned at the boy.
"I'm training." He stated simply.
"Hm?" Haku asked as he raised his delicate eyebrow. "So, are you a ninja then?" He questioned as if he didn't know. "I did notice that headband you're wearing, or are you just making a fashion statement?"
"You noticed that?" Naruto asked with another blush. "All right! Only super cool ninja can wear these!" He boasted.
"Oh really? I see." Haku stated, pretending to be interested. "That's very impressive. But…does that mean that you're training for something dangerous?"
"I'm just developing my skills so I can get stronger! Dattebayo!" The blonde told him proudly.
[--
Haku remained watching Naruto, standing in front of the mirror he was pulled out of not even five minuets prior. His eyes narrowed, knowing that it wasn't going to be as easy as before. Naruto chuckled slightly and took in a breath to begin talking again.
"All right! You're history!" He stated, preparing his signature move. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto stated.
Before he even got the chance to split into one clone, Zabuza hurled four perfectly aimed, deadly fast shuriken at him. Kakashi's eyes widened when he realised that no one could help him. Haku reached into his sleeve, drew four senbon and threw them at the shuriken, causing all eight weapons to clatter uselessly to the ground.
"Ah…" Naruto breathed, realising how close he had been to death. Zabuza let his eyes narrow at his underling, who remained still as if nothing happened. Sasuke and the others just looked at the weapons in stunned motionlessness.
"Their weapons cancelled each other out, amazing. Now that's what I'd call lucky, I think." Tazuna gushed as Sakura stared at him with one fine eyebrow raised.
"You're an easily amused little man, aren't you?" She asked blankly.
"Speak for yourself, shrimp." The bridge builder muttered, taking no heed of Sakura's teasing lacking its usual undertone.
"This is a battle, not a talent show. Don't let your opponent see you jutsu in the future!" Kakashi reprimanded the boy. "A shinobi's art is deception; always keep the enemy guessing. You must push your opponent's attention to something else, and then use a jutsu to surprise them. You just made yourself a living target and if you died here, Sakura would bring you back if only to kill you again for being so stupid!"
"AHHHH! No! I'm sorry! I'm just trying to rescue everybody! Don't hurt me after I'm gone, Sakura-chan! I just wanted to help!" Naruto told his team, freaking about almost being shredded into Naruto-flavoured ramen noodles.
"But…there's another mystery here." Kakashi muttered.
'Him. Why did he do that?' Sasuke thought from the ground in the ice dome as he looked at Haku.
"Haku! What're you doing?!" Zabuza asked the rebellious young teen.
"Zabuza…this boy…let me fight him my own way. Please." Haku requested of his master.
"Bring it on." Naruto dared. Haku positioned his feet for attack as Naruto sunk into his own—flawed—stance. Everyone was silent as the two stared at each other.
"Hm. So you want me to leave this to you?" Zabuza confirmed. "Is that it, Haku? As usual, you're too soft." He scoffed.
"Forgive me." Haku said with his head bowed.
'Soft?' Sasuke wondered as he got himself on one knee and looked at his injuries. 'He right. Look at these wounds. He cut me up with his needles, yet he didn't hit a single vital spot. Why? Is he just trying to humiliate me in front of Sakura?! Well, in front of that clone anyway.'
"I'm warning you; one way or another I'm going to take off that mask and rip you apart!" Naruto warned, pointed a finger at Haku.
'It's impossible. Naruto can't match this kid. Sakura would be able to fight him.' Kakashi thought, looking at his fake pupil. 'But she's not even here at the moment! Perfect time to ditch us and wander off Sakura! You really have a knack for disappearing at the worst of times. I've got to-'
"Don't even think about it." Zabuza said, cutting off Kakashi's thoughts and stepping in the way. "You know the score Kakashi. If you go after Haku, I go after the bridge builder, and don't think I'm stupid enough to know that that isn't the real Haruno girl."
'Argh! He's got me. I can't protect Tazuna and help Naruto and Sasuke at the same time! Sakura, where are you?!' Kakashi yelled mentally.
[--
"You do not request to go to the aid of your team when you know that they are in danger and your clone can't do anything to help." A man with brown eyes mused as he tapped his foot on the ground, growing impatient of waiting for the other man to show.
"They do not need me." Sakura replied, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the man in front of her.
"The blonde seems to be a pathetic excuse for a ninja. I don't understand why you haven't just taken him out already." He said with grit teeth as he still couldn't feel the other man's chakra anywhere near him and Sakura.
"I have my reasons." She waved off.
"Them being?" He prompted.
"None of your business." Sakura said calmly. "Nervous?" She asked, seeing the foot tapping. He glared at her and sighed, stopping the tapping but crossing his arms so that he could tap his fingers on his arm.
"I'm merely impatient and you know it." He reminded her. She smirked and shrugged slightly.
"Patience is a virtue." She told him.
"Patience is only the ability to count down before you blast off. As a ninja, I indulge my enemies with the surprise of a sudden temper." He retorted quickly.
"But patience is the companion of wisdom, though." She replied just as fast.
"I suppose you could be right, but patience has its limits. Take it too far, and its nothing but cowardice." He scoffed.
"Touché." Sakura smirked.
"I know. So how are you getting on?" He asked her, changing the subject before she could bring up more cracks about his impatience.
"So-so. I have gained the trust of most people now that I have completed missions for the leaf, but many are still wary of me. Especially the ones who matter, like the Hokage and the council." She huffed.
"Well, you can't win them all." He shrugged.
"I guess not, but that would make my job easier." Sakura pointed out.
"Who ever said that it was going to be easy?" The man chuckled.
"No one, but the missions aren't usually this hard." She muttered.
"You've been getting it easy since you left Yukigakure." He told her. "I think that it's about time you got the harder missions."
"It's not that they're difficult. They just take too long. I mean, I been here for two years already and only just graduated the academy. Leaf ninja are weak." Sakura sighed. "I just wish they'd take less time."
"Impatient?" The man mocked.
"I am and you know it." She replied with a smirk.
"He's close." He stated randomly, feeling no need to clarify since Sakura knew who he was talking about.
"I suppose I should get going before the baka gets here and asks why I'm wearing orange, ne?" She asked rhetorically with a side-ways tilt of her head.
"Sayonara, Haruno-san." The man bid with a quick nod and a lasting smirk.
"Sayonara." Sakura sighed and took off into the trees, planning an entrance that would maim or kill once she got to the bridge.
'At least he and the baka don't feel the need to either attack me or insult me as we converse, like all of the others do.' Sakura sighed to her inner.
'Yeah. Thank Kami-sama.' Inner agreed.
[--
"Relax, Kakashi. Sit back and enjoy the show." Zabuza mocked as he broke Kakashi from his thoughts yet again. "Let's see how they do. One on one."
Naruto and Haku were still facing each other, looking for a point where an attack wouldn't be expected, but even Naruto wasn't stupid enough to leave one, let alone Haku. The latter narrowed his eyes as Naruto opened his mouth to speak again.
"That mask…and your bogus story." He began. "You were with Zabuza all along!" The blonde accused obviously. "You think you could get away with a stunt like that?"
"I'm sorry." Haku apologised with his head turned down in shame.
"Huh?" Naruto asked in confusion.
"But as your sensei said; deceiving the opponent, catching them off guard,that is the art of the shinobi." Haku told him. "Please don't take it personally."
'And while you're jabbering, I'll catch you off guard!' Sasuke thought as he hurled a kunai at Haku, who didn't move anything other than his head, which he shifted fast and only back a little to dodge the kunai easily. The Uchiha could only gape at the feat, Naruto doing the same.
'Sasuke?' He asked in his head, looking at his team mate though the gaps in the ice dome.
"I haven't forgotten about you." Haku said in an almost sinister tone, not looking at Sasuke as he said it. "Not for an instant."
'So that's were Sasuke is. He's trapped.' Naruto noticed.
"Some warriors accept defeat gracefully, while others do not. So be it. Let us finish our battle then. To the death." Haku said as he walked in Sasuke's direction. Naruto stared in question.
"Hey! Where're you going?!" Naruto yelled, not wanting Haku to harm his team mate any more.
"It's alright, Naruto. We'll have our fight next." Haku promised as he melted into one of the ice mirrors.
'Grrrr! What is he?!' Naruto asked himself.
'Here he comes.' Sasuke thought as he narrowed his eyes and tensed his body to move quickly. He looked around and noticed that only one mirror showed Haku's reflection this time. 'The real one is over there.' He noted as he reached for his kunai pouch.
"I'm behind you." Haku chimed, causing Sasuke to freeze and snap his head up to look where Haku had been previously and the mirror was blank now. The one behind him, however, depicted Haku with three senbon poised for launch.
'He tricked me and transported himself…in a mere instant! How?' Sasuke wondered in slight fear of his opponent. The mirrors all adopted an image of Haku with his senbon and Sasuke was surrounded once again. His eyes widened as all of the senbon shot out and tore into his skin. He fell back with the force and landed hard on the ground.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called in worry as Sasuke's wounds bled heavily. Even Kakashi froze as Zabuza seemed amused.
'Whatis that?! Sasuke's getting all ripped up and I can't even tell where the attacks are coming from! How's he doing that?' Naruto wondered in awe.
[--
"Time for phase one. Kai!" Sakura called as she placed her hands in the symbol for monkey. She felt a tug as her clone returned to her and her chakra was no longer lessened for the clone to have some.
[--
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out. "Sasuke need's hel-" He cut himself off when he saw Sakura fading before disappearing completely. A clone, he realised once it was too late. Naruto grumbled under his breath at Sakura's bad-timing and tried to think of a way to help Sasuke on his own or at least stall the attack.
'What kind of jutsu is this?' Sasuke wondered. 'Maybe he had clones hiding in the mirrors. All throwing needles at the same time. No, they're too fast for that. I can't even see where they're coming from. And if it were just a clone jutsu…he wouldn't need the ice mirrors. Those mirrors are defiantly the key to his attacks. But what's my next move?'
"Sasuke, Naruto, think! Attack from the outside at the same time as you attack from the inside." Kakashi told them.
[--
"Phase two commence. Kanjoo jiyuu irobunretsu!" Sakura called as she split into thirteen girls with different coloured eyes.
[--
'I've got it!' Naruto stated proudly as he clenched his fists.
'Yes. It's all about position! And Naruto and I are in the perfect position to attack!' Sasuke realised. 'If I attack him from here, and Naruto attacks him from the outside…we can do it.'
"Hey, I snuck in here to save you." Naruto whispered to Sasuke as he appeared next to him. Sasuke jumped back in shock as he looked at Naruto with an expression that clearly said; WHAT THE HELL?! "Pretty cool move, huh Sasuke?"
"GRRRRRAAAAWW!" Sasuke roared at Naruto's idiocy.
"Naruto…you're supposed to sneak up on your enemy, not your ally." His sensei told him from outside the dome.
"Gah! You are a complete loser!" Sasuke yelled at him. "You're a shinobi; think carefully before you move!"
"Argh! What is you're problem?! You should thank me for coming in here to help you!" Naruto shouted back. Sasuke took a breath and tried to calm down.
"Naruto…if we're both inside here…grr…FORGET IT!" Sasuke yelled, giving up on his hopeless team mate. "I've had it with your mistakes."
"AND I'VE HAD IT WITH YOUR ATTITUDE! DATTEBAYO!" Naruto screamed in return.
'I thought he wanted to be Hokage. Naruto's just building a solid reputation as the most clueless ninja in history.' Kakashi thought with a sweat drop.
"That's it! I'm going to destroy these mirrors right now!" Sasuke yelled as he preformed the hand seals.
[--
"Oh yeah!" Red-eyed Sakura cheered.
"Phase three!" They all said in union.
[--
"Hey what attack are you using?!" Naruto asked Sasuke.
"These mirrors are made of ice. So how do you destroy ice?" Sasuke replied with a question of his own. "Figure it out! Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!"
[--
"Koorikobushi!" The Sakuras yelled as ice covered their fisted hands, spreading to just above their elbows.
[--
A stream of fire burst from Sasuke's mouth as the emotions slammed their ice-covered fists on the mirrors from outside. Naruto's eyes widened as he looked from the Sakura closest to him, the one with purple eyes, to Sasuke. One mirror chipped on the outside, but Sasuke was doing no damage.
Haku heard a small crack under the mirror Pride was hiding and he gasped before appearing outwards and streaming senbon at the emotions to make them stop. His attack worked as all of the Sakuras burst into butterflies and landed as one body. Sakura opened her green eyes and clenched her teeth as the old shuriken wound in her hip from a few days ago reopened.
Her jutsu cancelled itself and the ice around her arms melted and chipped away until all that was left was a bit of water on either side of her, and a small bit of her chakra gone to prove that the jutsu was cast. Sakura growled as she watched Haku continue to mess with Naruto and Sasuke as he planned his attack from the safety of his mirrors.
She felt a mild poison in her blood and sent her chakra to sort it, but it was making her drowsy. If her chakra wasn't able to cancel out the poison like it usually did…well, she didn't want to think about it.
[--
Back inside the dome, Haku and reappeared in the mirrors inside as Sasuke's attack subsided and he looked at his work. A few chips and cracks, but nothing to stop the mirrors from working. His eyes widened in shock.
'Fire melts ice. It's common knowledge. But…how did this not work?' He asked himself.
"That didn't do anything at all! The only thing that happened was that Sakura-chan got hurt and that's not good, teme!" Naruto yelled, pointed to Sakura as she wrapped bandages around her stomach. It was convenient that her clothing showed her stomach and it made it easier to rewrap the old wound.
"You'll need much more heat than that to melt this ice." Haku told him, but it was a little late for that. Sasuke clenched his teeth and the mirrors glowed white as Haku, as well as all of the reflections, raised their senbon to throw them.
Both Naruto and Sasuke were thrown back, blood dripping from the senbon wounds as they landed. Sakura froze when she heard their pain-filled screams. Her breath hitched in her throat and her knees trembled.
"Where is he?! Where's the senbon attack coming at us from?! Are they clones?" Naruto asked franticly. He got up and faced Sasuke. "We've got to find the real one. Which one is it?"
"Look into every mirror as hard as you like." All the Hakus told them together, forming an echo. "You'll never learn the secret."
"Oh yeah?! Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto yelled, performing the hand sign for his jutsu.
"NO DON'T!" Sasuke warned him, but it was too late. Hundreds of Narutos leapt up and took one mirror each with their fists ready for fighting.
"You got one hundred mirrors? Then a hundred of me will smash them all, Dattebayo! I'll find where you really are and get you back for what you did to Sakura-chan!" Naruto promised.
Haku slid out of one of the mirrors, near a clone, and jumped too fast for Naruto or Sasuke to see. He exited and re-entered the mirrors at great speed, passing the clones as he went. Every time he passed, Naruto got cut by a senbon. The clones dispersed in clouds of smoke, leaving the original alone with Sasuke and the enemy. Naruto fell to the floor with a cry, panting and bleeding from the attack he just had to endure.
"These mirrors only reflect my image." Haku told them. "They allow me to transport myself at light-speed. Though my eyes, you appear to be moving in slow motion." He concluded.
[--
Outside the mirrors, Kakashi's eyes widened.
"Gah! I knew it! It's a bloodline trait…a kekkei genkai." Kakashi noticed as Zabuza began chuckling.
"A what?" Tazuna asked.
"A kekkei genkai, like my Sharingan and Sakura's Kanjoo jiyuu. You can't learn it. It needs to be in your blood, your genetic code. Only someone with the same blood, or from the same clan, can use the same kekkei genkai. There's no way to destroy it." Kakashi told him.
[--
"I couldn't break though." Naruto began, letting a shadow fall over his eyes as Sasuke looked at him. "So what? He's not gonna stop me. I'm not giving up and I'm not gonna lose here. I have a dream and no one's gonna take it away from me. I'll be respected by my village…and I'll protect Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan with my life. That's my dream. To be the greatest Hokage and protect my greatest friends!"
"Dreams." Haku echoed in a quiet voice.
[--
Haku was sitting on a stone bridge alone, still in the lightly falling snow but feeling no cold. Feet were herd coming in his direction and a shadow loomed over the younger child. He looked up to see a man with sharp eyes, spiked hair and a Jounin uniform on. The most surprising this was that this man was actually looking at him.
Not passed him.
Not though him.
At him.
The man chuckled as he remained with his eyes trained on Haku.
"Pathetic little urchin." He said. Haku didn't react as the man walked closer to him and kneeled down. "No one wants you, huh? Before winter ends, you'll die with nothing. Not even a dream." The man told him. Haku smiled and took him completely off guard.
"You're eyes are just like mine, mister. We're both the same." Haku replied with an innocent smile. The man said nothing and just stared at him.
[--
"It was not my desire to be a shinobi. It's painful." Haku told them with a small crack of a choked sob in his voice.
"Huh?" Naruto asked.
"I can tell that all of you have suffered from being shinobi too. An Uchiha alone, a boy hated and a Haruno who…well, got driven to the edge." Haku looked over at Sakura.
"Driven to the edge? What're you talking about?" Sasuke asked.
"It's her business to tell you, not mine." Haku said.
"Everyone says that, but you know about Sakura-chan!" Naruto accused.
"That I do. I find Harunos fascinating and she's the one who is the most amazing of all for what she did." He told them.
"What she did?" Sasuke echoed. He looked out of the dome at Sakura, who heard him and was looking away, biting her lip.
"I don't want to kill you. But, if you advance, I'll have no choice. That will be when I kill the kindness in my own heart, and fully embrace the shinobi way. There will be no mercy." Haku continued. "No turning back."
"Alright!" Naruto cheered, getting the real fight he wanted.
"This Bridge will be the battle field were our dreams collide. Now I must fight for my dream, just as you fight for yours. Please do not blame me. I fight for someone who is precious to me. I live for him, and I face death for him, so that his dream may become reality. That is my dream. And for the sake of that dream, I shall do as I must and take your lives!"
Naruto grinned as Sasuke smirked.
Game on.
Zero Visibility: The Sharingan Shatters
"Naruto, Sasuke! Come on!" Sakura prompted from the side before holding her hip as it began to throb when the pain of the poison rushed though it.
"Don't, Sakura." Kakashi warned her.
"Huh?" She asked as she turned to look at him.
"Even if they some how destroy the ice mirrors, they could never defeat that ninja. They just don't have the power. You can't even help them because you made a stupid mistake and reopened your wound." Kakashi scolded.
"Oh yeah?" She smirked, letting a bit of chakra flow to her hand and she placed it over her wound. In two seconds, she moved her hand and cut off the bandages, revealing nothing more than a small scar in the place of the gash.
"But…how? You never learned medical jutsu in the academy." Kakashi asked suspiciously.
"I got the basics from my old village before I entered Konoha. I can heal, but I'm no medic." Sakura shrugged.
[--
"Do you really want to kill, Sakura-chan?" A boy with white hair asked his younger sister as he wiped someone's blood off of her cheek. She had just returned from a mission out of the village to kill three rogue ninjas. That kind of mission and she was only six.
"No. But it's all I know how to do. I can't even play properly with Taiyoo and Tsuki because I always end up losing control and one of the elders has to bring me back to the compound." Sakura answered. "But, that's what I'm supposed to do. Otou-san says I'm a weapon, right Juhi-nii-san?"
"Tell you what; I'll teach you a healing technique! You could be a healer, like me, instead of a killer. I learned a really easy one today. Here's how you do it…"
[--
"It doesn't matter. They'll fail and so you shouldn't push them. It'll only make them feel worse later." Kakashi told her.
"How can you be so sure?" Sakura demanded. Zabuza chuckled.
"They have the desire to win, but they don't have the instinct to kill like you and I do. That boy is a whole other breed. He lives for the pain of others. He thrives on it." He told her.
"He's not another breed, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura muttered. 'He's just doing it to…to help his special person. Just like I…I did what I did to help Tsuki, Taiyoo and Juhi-nii-san.' She added to herself.
"Exactly, Kakashi. Your village has become complacent. Trainees never learn the most important lesson of all, unlike Haruno was taught in her village of Yukigakure." Zabuza stated.
[--
"Yukigakure?" Sasuke and Naruto asked together.
[--
"That's right. Maybe you should look it up some time. Unlike Konoha, the ninja in Yukigakure not only begin training from birth, but they learn the most important lesson a ninja could ever learn. To kill the feelings in their own hearts. To crush an opponent mercilessly. To destroy with no emotion or regret." The mist-nin said.
'I could make a break for it, to save Naruto and Sasuke.' Kakashi thought to himself. 'But then I would be abandoning Sakura to fight Zabuza in her weakened state. I could make shadow clone…but he would match them with water clones. So…I have no choice.' He reached up to his Hatei-ate.
"Heh. Sharingan. You're no fun, Kakashi. Using the same old trick over and over again. I'll bet that Haruno never repeats her jutsu on the same enemy. In fact, when have you ever seen her use the complete same battle tactic more than once?" Zabuza asked. Kakashi was silent, so he reached into his pocket and ran at the silver-haired man. Kakashi was stunned for a moment, but reacted quickly enough to raise his hand to block the kunai, which was aiming for his eye. The weapon went into his hand and blood dripped to the floor.
"If it's just an old trick, why did you need to stop me?" Kakashi mocked him, ignoring the pain in his hand. Zabuza just chuckled.
"Let your opponent see your jutsu too many times and he'll use it against you." Zabuza said, sounding amused.
"Then count yourself lucky that you're the only man alive who's seen my Sharingan twice." Kakashi told him. "Shows over. There won't be a third time." He said. Zabuza just chuckled again.
"Even if you did defeat me, you'd have no chance against Haku." He informed them. "The only one here who wouldn't die by Haku's hand in the end is Haruno, but that's only because Haku refuses to harm girls too badly or kill them."
'Is that possible? That boy in the mask could take out all of them?' Sakura asked herself, looking towards the mirrors. 'No way. Naruto alone is strong enough to beat anyone…I know he is…'
'Or maybe you just like to think he is because of how alike he and Tsuki are. You knew Tsuki was strong, so if Naruto wasn't it would be like him dirtying Tsuki's name.'Inner stated.
'Why would I care? Tsuki was just an old team mate.' Sakura replied.
'You care because he and Taiyoo were like your family, only better than your dad. In fact, you used to say that you would replace your dad with them if you could.'Inner remembered.
'…so?'
"When I found him, he was just a street kid. But I trained him in the most advanced ninja techniques.
Zabuza watched from a tree as a younger Haku threw senbon at quick speeds into the brain, neck and heart of all of the wooden training dummies set out in front of him.
"I taught him everything I know." Zabuza continued.
Haku jumped to avoid a kunai heading right towards him, thrown from the hand of none other than his trainer, Zabuza. He switched trees to avoid the danger and parried the next attack as Zabuza tried to hit him from above.
"Plus, he had special abilities."
Haku gathered his chakra and made a hand seal in the form of tiger with both hands. He and Zabuza watched as his jutsu gathered ice mirrors, slowly but surely.
"But he refined on his own. The boy developed quickly. Soon he could destroy powerful enemies while he was outnumbered and in total darkness, because it just didn't matter. He cared nothing for his own life or the lives of others. He became a unique fighting machine with power surpassing even mine. I've created a tool that can destroy anything that stands in my way, unlike the useless boys who follow you around."
"What about the 'never harming girls' part, then? That's not a statement used to describe a perfect weapon." Kakashi stated.
"Of course, every weapon his it's set backs. Haku refused to kill women, no matter who they were, because he kept saying he was trying to find someone." Zabuza shrugged. "Easily overcome when he discovers who the woman is, since it's never the girl he's looking for."
[--
Inside the dome, Sasuke and Naruto were no longer listening to Zabuza, but instead promising Haku defeat. Whether this promise was verbal—meaning Naruto—or thought—Sasuke—it was a promise both intended to keep until it was carried out.
"I didn't get to him. Then I'll try it again. As many times as it takes. Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he became more clones again, trying his best to beat Haku.
"Naruto! Don't!" Sasuke warned him again, but it was too late. Naruto and all his clones had leapt up to try the same attack again.
Once again, the Naruto clones were attacked along with the real thing as Haku shifted at an inhuman speed and dug senbon into them. A small drip of water in the air moved as Haku moved passed the spot it was in, leaving a small sign of where he was moving. This time, however, Sasuke got his fair share of the attack too and he found himself crying out in pain as the senbon ripped his already damaged skin.
The clones disappeared and Naruto fell heavily to the ground again, even more injured than last time. He ignored the stings and pain the wounds were giving him as he quickly got back up to complain.
"How is he doing that?" Naruto whined.
'It was barely there, but I saw it.' Sasuke remembered.
"One more time!" Naruto yelled. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"
Naruto and his clones leapt up, and Sasuke reacted quickly by kicking up a puddle so that it would shift as Haku passed it. The water rose, as did Naruto and his replicas, as Haku watched the same thing happen with an almost bored tone.
"Don't you see that it's useless?" He asked. Haku leapt from the mirror again and attacked Naruto with his senbon, but this time Sasuke watched out for the movements in the water he had kicked instead of trying to look out for Haku. The clones were destroyed and both Naruto and Sasuke fell to the ground with more shuriken injuries.
'I can see his speed, but that doesn't mean I can match it. Maybe if Sakura were to—no! I will not get Sakura in danger. I'll just have to figure out another way and…wait. The water didn't move, it was being repelled. What if I try something else? Not water, but…yes! Now it's my move.'
[--
Zabuza chuckled as he continued to hold back Kakashi, without touching him but the previous impalement with the kunai was still a fresh wound and reminded Kakashi to take out Zabuza first.
"You think those Genin punks together can beat Haku?" Zabuza asked in amusement. "He's the ultimate weapon! A battle tool of destruction!"
"Have you finished bragging? You're putting me to sleep. Let's end this, right now." Kakashi said as he pulled up his Hatei-ate and revealed his Sharingan.
"Fine, but there's one more thing you should know. A little more bragging as you say." Zabuza stated as he put away his kunai. "Did you really think that our last battle was just win or lose? That I took your attacks like some weak Genin?"
[--
"This is your last battle!" They cried together.
Masses of red, white, black, brown, blue, purple and all sorts of other coloured chakra spin around the two, who seemed unaffected by it. Voices chanted words, but not a single letter was heard clearly enough to distinguish what was being said.
[--
"Haku was there. Hiding. Watching every move you made. Studying your Sharingan and Haruno's Kanjoo jiyuu. Usually Haku can see a jutsu once, and immediately devise a lethal counterattack." Zabuza boasted.
"Usually?" Sakura echoed.
"Well, why do you think he's so interested in Harunos? Your jutsu are the only ones he can't seem to figure out. They're too complex. But any, it's one of his gifts. I've been waiting to see the look on your face when you realise that you're Sharingan is worthless."
Tazuna looked shocked, while Sakura frowned. Even she admired the Uchiha-clan's Sharingan, so to hear that someone could render it useless was shocking news to her.
"You once said that the same jutsu won't work on me twice. Now I'm telling you that. Kiri Gakure no jutsu!" The mist-nin called as the mist around the bridge got thicker, causing Zabuza to seemingly disappear into it.
'This is it.' Kakashi acknowledged. Sakura tried to get to Tazuna though the fog as fast as she could, but the poison was in the final stages before it was wiped out and it was making her tired. She fell to her knees and blinked to keep her eyes open.
[--
"You're weak! You shall never amount to anything!" A man with white hair yelled at his five-year-old daughter.
"Otou-san, don't be too hard on her." The boy with white hair and icy blue eyes stood next to his sister said. "It was my idea."
"I don't care! She's the one who was destined to be great, not you! You can't even activate your Kanjoo jiyuu!" Their father shouted, causing the boy with white hair to wince. "Ten years old and you can't even kill a rabbit. You're just like your mother!"
"NEVER SPEAK OF HER!" The little girl screamed, her eyes turning red and white.
"DON'T YOU EVER TRY TO USE THAT ON ME!" Her father slapped her and, out of shock, the little girl deactivated her Kanjoo jiyuu.
"Why did you do that?! She's just a kid!" The boy stood up for his sister.
"She's a weapon and it's time she learned that."
[--
Sakura shook her head as the haze the poison was creating in her mind was letting suppressed memories seep though. It wasn't painful physically, but the mental and emotional anguish that came with her repressed memories was more that enough for her.
'What's going on? The mist is so think…visibility is zero. Where's that little kunoichi when you need her?' Tazuna thought in fear for his life.
"Sakura, are you there?" Kakashi called though the mist.
"I'm here!" She yelled back, trying to sound fine.
"Good. I need you to stay with Tazuna and protect him." He ordered. The pinkette stood on shaky legs and moved over to where she knew Tazuna was.
Said aforementioned bridge builder saw a dark figure coming towards him and almost panicked if it weren't for the colours he saw as the figure got closer to him. Pink and orange was a hard combination to mistaken and he knew then that it was Sakura.
"Tazuna-san, you okay?" She asked.
"I'm fine, Sakura-san." He replied.
"Good. Just stay close and follow my lead." Sakura told him. Recognising the seriousness in her voice and realising that now was no time for petty arguments, Tazuna nodded.
"Alright. I'm right behind you." He promised.
[--
Back with Haku, Sasuke and Naruto, the three were still thinking of their own plans to kill and defeat respectively.
"I know you need me, Zabuza." Haku muttered. "I'll finish them off quickly."
Naruto activated shadow clone jutsu again and Haku grabbed a senbon.
'He just won't give up.' The fake tracker-nin noted.
As he jumped out of the mirror to attack the clones again, he saw a ball of fire coming from Sasuke and didn't bother to hide his shocked face, since it was behind a mask anyway.
'Fire ball jutsu?' He asked with a gasped as he twisted in mid-air to avoid the flaming ball. Haku re-entered the mirror before jumping out and attacking the Naruto clones as usual, but he was wary for more fire to be thrown at him.
"It shouldn't be taking this long to defeat them." Haku mumbled as he had to slash a shadow clone three times more before it disappeared and he moved onto the next one, only to have to attack it five times before continuing. As Naruto approached a mirror, Sasuke took a breath and blew a ball of fire.
Haku jumped form one mirror and into another before going after the final few Narutos, but he had to miss the blondes to dodge a rather large ball of fire that was aimed for him. He managed to dodge most of it, but it still caught him on the leg. Haku destroyed the rest of the clones as quickly as he could and returned to his mirror after delivering a blow to the real Naruto.
The blonde fell into a crumpled heap on the ground before getting up shakily. He and Sasuke were both panting and covered in bleeding wounds, but Haku looked just as he did when he began the fight, save for a burn on his trouser leg and a crack in the middle of his mask. The team seven boys gritted their teeth as they remained standing.
Sasuke smirked. 'Ha. Got him that last time. I think I'm staring to get the timing.' He realised with a mental boast and party to glorify his small but significant find.
[--
Kakashi was looking around the mist, trying to find out were his enemy was.'I know the jutsu, but this mist is even too thick for Zabuza. How can he see in it? Let alone fight!'
The Jounin heard the wind being cut and grabbed a kunai, turning in enough time to counter every shuriken so that they fell uselessly to the ground in front of him instead of ripping though his back and killing him instantly. Not too far away, he heard Sakura doing the same.
"Very skilful." Zabuza's voice called out from the mist. "Both of you are, in fact. As I'd expect from Kakashi the Sharingan warrior and Sakura the clan prodigy."
Kakashi gasped as he heard Zabuza from behind him, close enough to kill or be killed by a fast kunai thrower, but that wouldn't work. The scarecrow named man turned to face his opponent, who had a one-handed tiger sign formed in front of him.
'His eyes are closed!' Kakashi noticed.
"Next time you see me, Kakashi, will be the last time you see anything at all. I promise you that." Zabuza warned. "Without your Sharingan, you're nothing." He said as he faded away again.
"What?" Kakashi gasped as he could no longer see Zabuza.
"You wanted me to believe that your Sharingan could see though anything; even though time. But I guess that the prediction Haruno made of it being my final battle was wrong. I'm still here." He boasted. "You're nothing but a fraud, Kakashi. You can't read the future and you can't read me. Sharingan is nothing but a cheap trick that makes you seem more powerful than you are."
"What about you?" Kakashi asked.
"What do you mean?" Zabuza enquired.
"Your mist is nothing but a cheap party trick. Come out of it and fight me like a man before you die like a dog!" Hatake dared.
"Okay, but you asked for it. I know the weakness of the great Sharingan warrior. An enemy you can't see and you can't hear."
[--
"Sakura…are you okay?" Tazuna asked his guard when he saw her sway slightly.
"I…I'm fine." She replied. However, her body contradicted her words as she fell to her knees, panting at the toll the poison was taking on her body.
"You really should lie when your life is on the line, you know." The older man told her as he knelt down to take her temperature. "You're burning and…you were poisoned, weren't you?!" He accused.
"Yeah. So what?" She panted as she clutched her stomach and fell completely on her side in the foetal position. Sakura groaned and began to breathe heavily.
"So?! Look at you! You're dying!" Tazuna yelled. Sakura didn't hear him as she fell into unconsciousness and had flash memories serve as a dream.
[--
Naruto and Sasuke were unmoving in the ice mirror prison, wait for inspiration or an attack to hit them, which one didn't matter. Sasuke growled as he got impatient.
'He read my movements.' Haku thought stunned as he looked down at Sasuke. 'But that's not possible!'
"I was so close but I couldn't quite get to him." Naruto muttered to himself.
"Naruto." Sasuke called to get his attention. "Can you do it again?"
"Huh? Of course! Nothing can stop me! Dattebayo!" Naruto claimed in confidence.
'He doesn't want to show it, but he's exhausted. The shadow clone jutsu uses up too much chakra, but thanks to him I've figured it out. I know how to break though.' Sasuke noticed. He then looked passed the mirrors, but couldn't see anything. 'This fog has gotten so thick, I can't even check on Sakura any more. I hope she's okay out there.'
'The human eye cannot track my movements. It must have been a mere coincidence.' Haku assured himself. The mirrors glowed and Sasuke preformed quick hand seals.
"Naruto! Run for it!" He ordered. "Get out of here and attack from the outside! Hurry!"
"Uh…alright, you got it!" Naruto said as he ran towards one of the gaps between the ice mirrors.
"You cannot escape." Haku stated confidently. He pushed the blonde back, but Naruto just got up and ran towards the gap again.
"You think you can keep me in here?! Well, forget it!" Naruto yelled, closing his eyes and running blindly towards the gap. Haku got out of the mirror and Sasuke saw him.
"Yes! Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" He called, shooting a ball of fire from his mouth.
It was all in slow-motion. Naruto running, Haku speeding towards him and Sasuke's jutsu heading right for the brunette. However, Haku saw the attack and dodged it flawlessly, releasing a senbon towards Sasuke as he carried on to stop Naruto. He landed in front of the blonde and kicked him back as the senbon entered Sasuke's shoulder. Haku then returned to the ice mirror.
"I couldn't get passed him." Naruto panted as he got back up. Sasuke remained on one knee and panted as he pulled the senbon out of his shoulder.
"That was good, Naruto." He complimented gruffly as he stood. "One more time?"
"Yeah, let's do it! For Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered.
'There must be a limit to his chakra too. I can feel him slowing down.' The Uchiha noted. Naruto charged towards another gap in the mirrors and Sasuke ran for a different one.
"No more games." Haku pronounced. "I need to stop this now!" He got out of the mirror and raised a senbon. "This time you'll stay down!" The senbon was thrown at Sasuke and hit him in the back, just as another ten came at him from the front, five from the left, seven from the right and three from behind. Sasuke cried out as each tore his flesh and drew blood.
Naruto stopped after hearing Sasuke's cry and turned to face his male team mate. His eyes widened when he saw the senbon and he prepared himself to run and help him.
"Sasuke!" Naruto call as he began to run. However, he was cut off after three steps but the same barrage of senbon being aimed at him. They hit and Naruto cried out.
[--
"Ugh." Sakura groaned as she turned onto her back. Tazuna sighed and watched her suffer uselessly from the side. He looked down in shame at not being able to help her after she risked her life for him with the Demon Brothers.
[--
'An enemy you can't see and can't hear.' Kakashi thought to himself. He frowned. 'It's been a long time since I faced anyone this tough. As for Sasuke and Naruto…I don't know if they can hold out. Sakura…what's going on? Have you repelled the poison or…no…I can't even think that! I have to stay calm. Think. Where will he strike?'
"Sakura and Tazuna-san!" Kakashi realised as he turned to go to them.
[--
"N-N…Naru…to…" Sakura murmured in her sleep as Tazuna watched over her feverish dream. "Sa…Sasu…ke…wh…where are…you?" She cried, tossing onto her side before rolling onto her stomach. "Ts…Tsuki?"
[--
"I…I really like you, Sakura-chan!" A pale six-year-old boy with harlequin green hair and maroon eyes confessed as he turned bright red. The girl in front of him froze and looked at him with her mouth agape.
"U-Umm…Tsuki…I…" She stuttered, trying to find the words.
"Just say it. You hate me now." He muttered in sadness. The girl hugged him and smiled at him when she pulled away.
"I don't hate you. But, maybe we could pretend this never happened for now. My dad…" Sakura trailed off, looking to the sky where the snow fell from.
"I get it. Just remember…I'll always be here for you, Sakura-chan."
[--
"T…Tai…Taiyoo…" She continued.
"Who are Tsuki and Taiyoo?" Tazuna wondered out loud as he kept an eye on the poisoned kunoichi.
[--
"What do you want to be when you grow up, Sakura-chan?"
"I don't know, Taiyoo."
"Really?"
"Well, I do know one thing."
"What is it?"
"I want to be a kunoichi."
"But you're already a kunoichi. You have been since we were four and that's three years now."
"But…I'm not a kunoichi."
"Then what are you?"
"…A murderer."
[--
"Come on, Sakura. Wake up." Tazuna pleaded with the feverish girl. "I need help."
Zabuza appeared behind him as he was knelt down next to Sakura. He turned and saw Zabuza running at him with his sword unsheathed and poised for attack. He ran swung his blade round, meeting flesh, but not that of the bridge builder. Kakashi was too late.
A scream was heard, running over the bridge and causing anyone within hearing distance to cry for the girl who suffered to produce it. however, if you listened carefully, there was the light, breezy laughter of a child behind the painful scream.
The Broken Seal
"That scream!" Sasuke said, getting up from the attack. "Naruto!" He called out, only to see the blonde clenching his fists with tears gathering in his blue eyes.
"It was Sakura-chan. She's hurt, teme, and we're not there to help her. I promised her that I'd protect her. I never said it, but she's my best friend, teme." Naruto muttered.
"I know…what's happening to her? She would never…never let anyone know she was hurt, let alone scream." Sasuke noted. Naruto nodded.
"Why isn't Kakashi-sensei helping her?" Naruto asked.
"We've got to break though. We have to help her." Sasuke said in all seriousness.
"I'll bust us out of here." Naruto promised, getting up off the floor with much pain.
"Naruto…" Sasuke muttered in awe as the blonde seemed to ignore the pain in his body to get up and grin.
"I'll fake him out." He said, grinning and panting as he tried to remain on his feet. "I have to get to Sakura-chan."
'He cares so much about her…and she cares about him too…they both care about each other so much.' Sasuke noticed.
"You've exhausted my patience." Haku growled.
Naruto growled back and gathered his chakra until he was surrounded by swirling blue chakra. He kicked off and ran quickly towards Haku, leaving blue chakra in his steps as it dripped off of him. He was literally covered in powerful chakra.
Haku predicted his move and appeared in a mirror close to the gap he was going for. However, Naruto had anticipated this. He twisted in a jump and ran in the opposite direction with Haku running next to him in the mirrors so it looked as if Haku was Naruto's reflection. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Haku came to a stop and drew senbon.
"Naruto! Behind you!" He called out. Naruto stopped and turn in time to see three senbon heading towards him, but he was too slow to dodge them and they hit him in the chest. "Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, seeing his team mate crumple to the ground again.
"Your chance of escaping my house of mirrors…is zero." Haku informed them. "That is absolute."
Sasuke ran forwards to where Naruto fell and looked at the orange-wearing knucklehead. He knelt down and check to see if Naruto was actually conscious. Naruto's chest was rising and falling with his laboured breaths and his eyes were open, proving that he was alive and awake.
"Naruto, can you get up?" Sasuke asked him. Naruto tried. "Try not to use any more chakra." He warned him. "It's only going to help him now, so don't bother."
"I know, Sasuke. I know." Naruto grunted as he got up slowly. "I can't give up. I need to…Sakura-chan…needs me." He panted. He collapsed again and Sasuke sighed, looking at the blonde in worry.
'We can't go on like this. He's blocking every move we make. At this rate, Sakura might be…dead…before we get to her. Ugh. Even thinking that makes me feel sick.' Sasuke thought. 'I've got to find a way to outmanoeuvre him.' He stood up. 'My eyes have adjusted to his movements.'
"Looking for a counter-attack?" Haku asked as he appeared in one of the mirrors with three senbon in his hand. "I'll save you the trouble." He stated, moving to a different mirror to confuse Sasuke before throwing the needles.
The Uchiha picked up one of the pre-used senbon on the ground and used it to block all of the senbon thrown at him with great speed. His speed was so good, in fact, that you would have missed the movements if you blinked.
'What?' Haku asked. Sasuke fell to one knee as the senbon clattered to the ground. He grunted and breathed heavily.
"Get up, loser. We have to team up." Sasuke ground out to the fallen blonde next to him. Naruto took a shaky breath and got up on his knees with much difficulty.
'I'm aiming at his vital spots now…but I can't get a direct hit.' Haku noticed with a sour tone.
"I know what we have to do…Dattebayo." Naruto said. Haku threw hundreds of senbon towards the boys, but Sasuke blocked every single one with what looked like ease, except it took all of his energy not to collapse instead.
'It's not just luck.' Haku realised. 'He's fighting to protect his friend so they can go and help the girl. He's so determined. But he can't possibly see the needles coming.' The boy released more senbon and Sasuke pushed an almost fully standing Naruto out of the way so he could deflect them.
"Argh!" The Uchiha cried out. Sasuke looked down when he felt a sharp pain and saw that two senbon were dug firmly into his leg.
'My movements are beyond human speed.' Haku continued. 'And yet, he's tracking them. Somehow. Whatever he's doing, I've got to stop him and I have to do it now.' Haku's form melted further into the mirror until it was no longer visible.
"He disappeared!" Sasuke noticed. "Where'd he go? How could he just vanish like that?! Naruto, you'd better not pass out again. Come on, let's go. I can't keep protecting you like this."
"Well then, don't." Naruto grunted in pain. "I never asked did for your help." He told the Uchiha as he fell back.
"Naruto! What about Sakura? Come on!" Sasuke yelled as he turned, ready to slap Naruto awake for being so inconsiderate.
"You can't revive him." Haku's voice told him. "He's reached his limits."
"Shut up." He muttered. Sasuke turned and saw Haku in one of the higher mirrors, laughing about Naruto's defeat. He growled and launched the senbon in his hand towards the brunette without really think. Haku easily deflected it and moved.
"Impressive. You have excellent moves." Haku complimented from his new spot in one of the lower mirrors behind Sasuke. "Your attacks are very skilful." He said as he launched three more senbon and disappeared again. Sasuke dodged. "But you've reached your limits as well." He said as he appeared in front of Sasuke with more senbon.
"Ah!" Sasuke grunted in shock.
"Motor functions." Haku moved. "Reflexes. Judgement" He moved for each word he said. "Your abilities are weakening, slowly but surely." He told him, not staying put but continuously moving from one mirror into another. "Now, you're finished!"
'Here he comes.' Sasuke thoughts, getting ready for the attack. 'Stay calm. Focus. Concentrate. See everything.' His eyes widened as everything seemed to slow down and become clearer. He grabbed Naruto under his arm and jumped, just a split-second before the senbon hit the ground where he and Naruto once were.
'He saw every move.' Haku noticed as he jumped back into his ice mirror after throwing the needles. 'But…there's no way he could do that.'
Haku looked over at Sasuke, who was standing. He grunted and dropped Naruto, panting from the effort he just exerted by carrying Naruto away from the danger. When he looked up, his eyes were no longer onyx, but crimson red.
He had black outlines in both eyes and two black tomoe surrounding where the pupil would go in his right eye, but only one in his left. The pupil was still there, but smaller than a normal one. Sasuke had just developed the Sharingan.
"Impossible." Haku muttered when he saw the eyes. "Those eyes…he has the Sharingan. You're…"
"It's not complete, but I can see though his deceptions." Sasuke whispered to himself.
"So, he too has a kekkei genkai. Hmm, the only one who hasn't shown one now is the blonde, I guess. Even though his is not complete, to uncover it in the midst of a lethal attack, is amazing." Haku held his senbon tighter. 'Because of that, I won't be able to fight much longer. My jutsu used a tremendous amount of chakra. And his swift movements also take energy. There's no doubt that the longer we fight, the more he will use the Sharingan to perceive my moves. Even now…his eyes are tracking me. I can't target him directly, he'd block it. So I'll have to throw him off guard…by attacking his partner. Then I'll destroy him.'
Haku got out of his mirror and aimed directly at Naruto, who was still limp on the ground.
'What?!' Sasuke asked, see the attack. 'I've got to stop him!'
[--
Zabuza appeared behind him as he was knelt down next to Sakura. He turned and saw Zabuza running at him with his sword unsheathed and poised for attack. He ran swung his blade round, meeting flesh, but not that of the bridge builder. Kakashi was too late.
A scream was heard, running over the bridge and causing anyone within hearing distance to cry for the girl who suffered to produce it. however, if you listened carefully, there was the light, breezy laughter of a child behind the painful scream.
Kakashi looked in front of him and saw Zabuza with his swords digging though Sakura's shoulder as she stood in front of Tazuna with a dazed expression. If any more pressure was put on the sword during the swing, Sakura might have just lost an arm, yet she didn't seem affected when her scream ended.
"Don't…don't worry…Tsuki." Sakura panted in a fever-induced illusion where she thought she was saving someone named 'Tsuki'.
"Sakura?" Kakashi asked. she turned to him and smiled, a true smile that looked like it belonged on the face of an innocent little girl playing in a garden.
"Konnichiwa, Taiyoo." She said wistfully, her voice raspy. "Don't worry, you guys. Haruno-sensei won't hurt you." Sakura paused and looked at Zabuza. "Will you, otou-sensei?" She asked.
Everyone was shocked as she ripped the sword out of her shoulder and punched Zabuza in the jaw with that same, injured arm, sending him reeling back. She then smiled and promptly fell over due to the fever and her newly found exhaustion formed by fighting with it.
Zabuza got up and rubbed his jaw, looking from the dead-faint girl to the bridge-builder holding her, then at Kakashi. He sighed and grabbed his sword from the ground were Sakura had thrown it.
"You're a little late, Kakashi. She'll die from blood-loss if the poisoned fever doesn't get to her first." Zabuza told him.'
"Poison?" Kakashi echoed.
"She didn't tell you? In that attack on the ice mirrors, Haku sent her back with poisoned senbon rather than regular ones. Only the best for a Haruno he admires so much." He told them almost sarcastically. "You're eyes are sharp, Kakashi, but no longer sharp enough to read my moves. Come on, I want his to be fun. To enjoy myself as I exact my revenge! As for those brats, they're breathing their lasts breaths."
"Nuh." Sakura moaned in her sleep as she unconsciously grabbed her bleeding shoulder. Kakashi looked back at her, only to find Tazuna already bandaging her wound.
"Don't worry, Kakashi. You'll have plenty of time to weep out an apology for not being able to save these kids in the next life!" Zabuza chuckled darkly as he melted into the mist again.
"N…Naruto and S…Sasuke will be…be okay." Sakura murmured in her semi-conscious state. She smiled at Kakashi when he looked down at her.
"Yes. I have confidence in their abilities. Naruto, the number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja. And Sasuke, heir to the most powerful clan in the hidden leaf village." Kakashi stated. Zabuza, who was listening in, gasped.
"You mean…?" Zabuza trailed off.
"Yes. His full name, is Uchiha Sasuke. The unique powers of the Uchiha clan run though his veins. The kekkei genkai is his birthright." Kakashi said proudly.
"Huh. I heard that one little ninja survived the Uchiha clan massacre. No wonder he advances so quickly. But, so does Haku. No one can match him. Not even some Uchiha brat." Zabuza grunted, getting into his fighting stance with his sword firmly in hand. "No one has ever stopped his secret jutsu, even the most skilled Jounin fall before him." He became invisible in the mist again. "Just as you will fall before me! Right now!"
"Tazuna, keep an eye on Sakura. Her ninja instincts are still flawless and she can protect you, but I don't want her falling to sleep from her exhaustion and never waking up. Do you hear me?" Kakashi ordered.
"Yes, of course." Tazuna replied, shifting with Sakura so that she was lying on her back on the ground and he was sitting next to her, ready to hold her down if she tried to get up and fight without needing to.
Kakashi nodded and ran off into the mist, leaving Tazuna and Sakura with only a hope of their well-being. He had no doubt Tazuna would be okay, for Sakura truly did have perfect instincts when it came to danger, but if she felt the danger around his battle when Tazuna wasn't in danger and she tried to help, she could tired herself to death.
'Zabuza was right. Now it the time to end this…but he is the one who will fall!' Kakashi promised as he ran on.
[--
Naruto groaned and shifted in his sleep before he opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder. It all came back to him. The fight, Sakura's scream, him telling Sasuke to basically get lost before falling unconscious and…Sakura could be seriously hurt now. He looked at the scene though hazy vision. From what Naruto could see, Sasuke was standing in front of him with Haku on the ground in a heap.
"You always…get in the way, Naruto." Sasuke panted in pain. "It never fails." He said. Naruto sat up and grinned.
"Ha! You beat him, Sasuke!" He congratulated, but the grin fell off of his face when he saw Sasuke shaking and covered in more senbon that he thought was humanly possible. Naruto froze in shock when Sasuke turned around, a trail of blood running from the corner of his mouth and scratches all over his cheeks and forehead.
"Heh…you should see…the look on your face." Sasuke said, pausing to take breaths. "You…You look like a total…loser." He concluded. Naruto's face didn't change and he sat up more to see Sasuke better.
"Wait…why did you…save me?" Naruto asked slowly, trying to think of the words between his heavy breaths. "Why did you do it?"
"I don't know why. I just did." He stated. Sasuke remembered all the times he'd teased Naruto and about Naruto proclaiming his dream during the introduction and it hit him. "You…I hated you."
"Then why?" Naruto asked, getting up onto his feet. "It doesn't make any sense. Why did you…protect me?" He clenched his fist and growled as Sasuke smirked. "I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask for you to save me!"
"I don't know. My body just moved. There was no time to think. All I know is, that if I could change what happened…or if it was Sakura instead of you…I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. You two aren't just my team mates any more…but I don't know how to describe you." He finished as he fell backwards. "Loser." Sasuke grunted as he fell. Naruto sprung forwards and caught him before he hit the floor.
"Sasuke!" He called. Sasuke looked up at him with a dazed look and a small frown.
"Hey…he's still out there." Sasuke told him. "My brother. I promised myself…I'd stay…alive…until…I'd killed him" He panted. "Naruto, don't let your dream…die. And…tell Sakura that…dreams are important, so she shouldn't…give up on them…just yet." He ended as his body went limp.
Naruto looked down at Sasuke's dead body and something inside of him began to stir as he held the limp Uchiha tighter without realising it. Haku, meanwhile, was getting up and going over the previous battle.
'He found…' Haku thought. 'He found a strength he didn't realise he had until that moment. Why? Because of the two people who were precious to him. To save them both, even if it meant his own life.'
[--
"Why do you fight when you know you can't win?" Haku asked Sasuke as he charged.
"So that Naruto doesn't die. If he did, Sakura would be crush. I would rather die myself than see her break like that. And Naruto…I don't know what I'd do without him."
[--
'He rushed to save his friend, even when he knew for sure that it was just a trap.' Haku got up and bowed to the dead body of Uchiha Sasuke. 'He was a true ninja worthy of honour.'
"Sasuke…" Haku heard Naruto whisper. He straightened himself and returned to the cold boy he was when he killed Sasuke.
"Is this the fist time you have seen a true friend die in battle?" Haku asked. "This is what it truly means to be a ninja." He stated a he sank into the mirror behind him.
"Shut up." Naruto demanded as he set down Sasuke's body. "I…I hated you too Sasuke…and yet…you'll pay for this." He threatened as he unknowingly gathered his chakra and caused smoke to rise in a circle around him and Sasuke. The smoke became red chakra spiralling upwards from the ground around them, destroy rock.
"Hm?" Haku asked him shock. Naruto's body shook as the chakra became more violent. He looked up and his eyes had become red with slits for pupils, his whiskers deeper and more prominent and his fangs sharper as his hair became spikier.
"I'm gonna kill you." He stated darkly, sounding as if two people were talking at once. The chakra spread close to the mirrors.
"What is this chakra?" Haku wondered. "Chakra cannot be seen, and yet it's clearly visible. It's something ghastly. I can feel the wrath. The blood lust, like evil itself."
The chakra formed the shape of a fox's head as the senbon dropped out of Naruto's skin and all of his wounds healed. His nails grew longer and sharper too.
"His hand is healing…and changing." Haku said in fear. "This boy…what is he?"
Naruto looked towards Haku and the blood lust rolled off of him in waves, causing the masked boy to all but choke on the killing intent and tension in the air.
[--
From where he was, Kakashi felt the demonic aura in great tsunamis coming from where Naruto was.
'Is Zabuza creating this?' Kakashi wondered.
[--
Zabuza even stopped and his eyes widened when he saw the red and orange chakra in the sky.
'What is this energy?' Zabuza wondered to himself. 'Something foul and utterly evil. Kakashi perhaps? No, it's too powerful even for him. Who is it coming from?'
[--
The chakra in the shape of a fox's head roared.
[--
Kakashi's eyes widened. 'He's not. I know this chakra. There's no way. It's impossible…Naruto! this puts everyone in danger. Now, of all times, the seal has broken. I have to stop it.'
[--
The chakra disappeared and Naruto's features became even more demonic as he looked at Haku. The latter held his senbon, knowing that they'd be useless now but liking to have some form of defence. Naruto ran at him like an animal, on all fours.
[--
Tazuna was shocked into stillness by the overshadowing aura of Naruto's power and he didn't even notice Sakura's eyes snap open suddenly. In fact, he didn't even realise she was awake until she got up and bolted to where Naruto and Sasuke were. By the time he noticed her gone, it was too late to stop her.
[--
In a garden covered in snow, two seven-year-olds sat with snow drop flowers surrounding them.
"Tsuki?" A young girl called out to her companion.
"Yeah?" Tsuki replied.
"Remember when you told me that you liked me?" She asked. Tsuki nodded.
"Why?" He questioned back.
"I think…that I like you too. But…I'm not sure." The girl smiled.
That night, her laughter chimed throughout all of Yukigakure, only to end with her bloodcurdling screaming.
"TSUKI!"
[--
"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed.