Right, since we all know how insane Author-san can be, /cue maniacal laughter , I'll will always tell you when the POV changes, just in case. I mean, variety is the spice of life. And life is for you to enjoy. Especially while reading a fanfiction. HELLA YES.
Chapter Sixteen: The Demon Comes
Mononoke entertained herself by leaning over the boat and swishing the water. Kakashi watched her endearingly as she smiled into the water, as if the depths of the river held some sort of secret joke.
What is that scamp up to?
Kakashi blinked and turned his head to looked over the boat.
He thought he saw something at the corner of his eye, inside the water...
Turns out, what Kakashi thought he saw were glowing ice fishes that trailed the boat, sliding in and out and around it, hiding from the others notice. One of them flowed over Mononoke fingers and she bit back a giggle.
Her company would probably think she's lost her mind if she did.
The purpose of the ice fishes were to cover up their tracks with genjutsu. No one could see it but if you look closely, you can see the slight outline of ice around the boat, harbouring it like an invisible bubble. Mononoke did it the moment the boatman cut the engine.
She had sensed someone's energy close by, filled with darkness and death.
Of course the girl certainly didn't like that at all. At least she can manage to confuse their stalker by going invisible.
But it'll only last on water. The moment they hit dry land, the illusion will fall apart and they'll be seen. Mononoke was counting on the fog to obscure their tracks.
"The fog is so thick... I can't see anything..", Sakura whispered, glancing around fearfully. "Not far now... Our destination is up ahead, the Land of Waves.", the boatman announced quietly.
"Wow! It's huge!", Naruto exclaimed in awe, shaking the boat a little in all his excitement.
"Quiet! I told you no noise! Why do you think we're travelling like this? Cutting off the engine and rowing? We're moving through the fog so no one's going to see us.", the boatman scolded in a hushed can feel his tension as he looked around their surroundings fearfully. Mononoke wanted to tell him no one could see them but they'll probably need a lengthy explanation so forget it.
Not doing all that talking. She preferred to help in the shadows.
Mononoke could hear Kakashi questioning Tazuna about the Demon Brothers and what they would be up against or else they would drop the mission. And of course Tazuna proceeded to explain himself. However, Mononoke could only listen half-heartedly. The reason?
They were still being followed.
XXXXXXXX
When they got to dry land, Sasuke noticed how muted Mononoke was. She was painfully quiet from the moment their feet struck dirt. Her sea foam eyes flickered this way and that, her body twitching at the slightest sound. She looked like a ticking time bomb.
"Oi.", Sasuke dropped to the back of the group, to walk beside her. But she didn't answer him.
"Hey.", he tried again. No response.
"Mononoke.", the Uchiha finally said, his nerves wracking. He knew she heard him but she was acting deaf. Infuriating girl.
"You called, blue flamingo?", Mononoke asked, her mouth twitching upwards as her eyes slide to him momentarily.
"Three times, in fact.", he snorted in disdain. "I have a name and I'll only answer to that name. Not half assed clicks. I'm not your lapdog.", she shot back, her attention on the surroundings. She's already straining her ears to listen to the woods and her nose was taking in every scent it could.
But to marshmallow hell, she couldn't pinpoint that stupid deadly chakra.
Where in the bloody dark dirt is he?
Kakashi picked up on Mononoke's uneasiness as well and was about to ask the scamp but Sasuke beat him to it. So he listened to their conversation, too lazy to ask again himself. But Mononoke was silent.
I suppose she'll answer if it's me, Kakashi thought. Picky kid.
Just as he was about to look over his shoulder to talk to her, Naruto threw a kunai into the woods, freaking everybody but Mononoke out. "There! Someone's over there!", the blonde knucklehead announced proudly but there wasn't any sign of life in the bushes. "Do you want to scare the life out of us, idiot?!", Sakura roared and punched his head.
Ah, teamwork. What a thing of beauty.
Another kunai was thrown and Sakura was about to wring his neck but the bushes rustled this time. All eyes went to the source. Cautiously, Kakashi leaned over to see where the weapon struck. He realized what it was and just sighed.
Naruto walked over curiously and freaked, "Oh, poor little bunny! I'm so so so sorry, little guy!" He squished the sad soul of a rabbit into his face, hoping to give some comfort. "All these racket for a rodent?! Are you stupid or what?!", Tazuna yelled in frustration. Damn kid almost gave him a heart attack.
Kakashi blinked in surprise at the rabbits' fur. It's white. But it's a snow rabbit. That would mean-
Suddenly, Mononoke found him. Her head whirled around, as quick as an owl, staring right in the eyes of the beast.
A large sword was swung, half-heartedly aimed at them before striking into a nearby tree. Mononoke was frigid the moment the ninja appeared on the blade's handle.
What is he doing? He could have killed them just now! Why was he holding back?
The man smirked at them from under his appendages. His eyes were dark and they held no light. Mononoke wondered if they were facing a zombie. He seemed so... dead.
"Ah, I finally found you. All those underlying genjutsus sure did quite a number. But I expected nothing less from Sharingan No Kakashi.", he crooned.
Kakashi was confused. Genjutsu? But he never did-
The Copy Ninja looked at Mononoke to see her reaction to this. She was grinning from ear to ear. He should've known. The scamp was already planning ahead, lying their defences and throwing their intruder off their trail. Kami, what did he do to deserve the kid? And what was he doing now? He warned the Genin that a much stronger opponent was coming and yet Mononoke was the only one who's made preparations for the team. He's a Jounin, for crying out loud. Shame on him.
"Well, well. If it isn't Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Mist.", Kakashi stated casually, his eye lidded as if he didn't have a care in the world. He could sense Mononoke's excitement close by, and cursing himself again for exposing her to this.
Nothing really scared the kid, except for slugs. In fact, she preferred to have her life on the line. Life is a game for her, it doesn't matter if you win or lose, you just need to enjoy the ride.
But with her ridiculous luck and talent, she always managed to drag herself out of trouble. But luck will always run out sometime. Kakashi hoped that this would never be the case for her. He raised her, bloody hell, he's not going to allow her to throw her life away so easily.
"Ah, well. I would love to stay and play, but I'm going to ask you to hand over the old man first.", Zabuza stated, making it clear that it was an open negotiation. He wasn't tasked with killing the Konoha nins but if it came to it, he would gladly take their lives for them.
"I'm afraid I can't do that,", Kakashi said with a shrug. "Team, don't interfere. This guy's way out of your league.", Kakashi told them before adding, "Especially you, scamp. Stay out of this."
Great, he gave an order. Mononoke gritted her teeth, "I can help, Kakashi."
"You can, but you won't this time. Stay back and protect the others.", was his final say in this. The silver haired menace bit her lip. This wasn't the time to argue. If he says she stays, she stays. Unless she deemed otherwise.
Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing a badly scarred Sharingan. Zabuza tilted his head curiously, the killing intent filling up in him, "Hmm, the Sharingan. This would be interesting. You know, back in the Mist, we had a standing order to kill you on sight, Copy Ninja. The man who copied a thousand jutsus."
"You say that as if you could beat me.", Kakashi drawled, his tone still neutral. "Enough with the chit chat.", Zabuza said airily, "I'll just kill you and your little team before killing the old man."
"Say for yourself, you look pretty old.", Mononoke retorted, unable to stop her quick tongue from insulting. Man, this guy's getting on her nerves. The man blinked once before sneering.
Then, he disappeared as a thick fog began to roll in.
"You just had to, didn't you?", Sasuke growled at Mononoke and she shrugged nonchalantly, whirling out kunais on each hand, "He's being a pain in the butt crack, just like you, Duckbutt. Can't help it."
"Quiet, all of you.", Kakashi hushed and they fell silent.
The fog was dense. Mononoke looked left and right, top and bottom, 360 degrees, trying to pinpoint his chakra. Again, it was muddled, sometimes here, sometimes there, and sometimes everywhere at the same time. How did he learn to do that? It seems pretty useful to annoy the icy daylights out of someone.
"The mist is getting thicker and thicker!", Naruto pointed out obviously and Mononoke snapped, "Hush! It's a jutsu, so stay focused!"
"I can't see anything...", Sakura whimpered, her kunai in a weak defensive pose.
"Eight points.", Zabuza's voice drifted into the mist, rolling around like echoes, "Larynx, pharynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, sub-clavian artery, kidneys and heart. Which one should I target first? Who should go first?"
What a bunch of-
Suddenly, a wave of killing intent struck Mononoke, almost knocking her to the ground. Such blood thirst. Such hunger. It's almost choking her. Kakashi's in trouble. Deep shit trouble. She needs to help him, or else he's going to die! They're all probably going to die! Screw this shit! They need to go nOW!
Mononoke shook her head, clearing her mind. When did she become such a wuss?
Oh no. Oh HELL no. He's not doing anything to scare her away! He wants the bridge builder? Come get him! I'll be right here waiting for your bare chest so I can freeze your stony heart, ya lousy old cocoon!, she threatened him in her mind.
"Sasuke!", Kakashi's voice called, "Calm down. I'll protect all of you with my life." Mononoke's fear was gently ebbed away by the comforting sound of his voice. It was as if she was a kid again, who only had nightmares to fear and not crazy assassins. "I won't let my comrades die. Trust me."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Kakashi.", Zabuza's voice condensed. All the hairs on Mononoke's body began to stand up. He's close!
"It's over."
"Get out of my way, asshole!", Mononoke yelled, her kunai turning to freezing ice as she pierced into his heart. She felt a splatter of liquid on her face.
Blood?
No, water.
"A clone?", she whirled around, looking for the real one.
"Hmm, seems like I've mistaken. Those genjutsus weren't yours, Kakashi. It's your little girl here. Her chakra is quite distinctive.", Zabuza's voice drawled curiously, as if the child was suddenly of great interest to him.
"But, she's still a Genin, after all."
"Tch.", Mononoke cursed as the cold steel of a kunai was pressed against her neck. The fog lifted slightly, and she spotted Kakashi a few ways off of them. Sasuke and the others were close by. They had separated and regroup after Mononoke managed to hold the clone off. The trio were standing protectively around Tazuna.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed dangerously when he saw Zabuza holding Mononoke hostage.
But before he could make a move, water splashed against Zabuza's face, causing him to flinch in surprise. "Well, well. It's a little chilly.", Zabuza observed. In actual fact, the water was as icy cold as mountain water that had been frozen ten times over.
The Silent Killer looked up at his Jounin opponent smugly, "I guess you have quite a little ninja in your team, huh, Kakashi? She copied my water clone the moment she saw it. Quite impressive. Is she your kid?"
"I'm not that old.", Kakashi replied, honestly quite offended.
"Well, it seems we have another Copy Ninja in the making. How fun.", Zabuza remarked. The girl is not to be taken lightly of, now that he's seen what she could do. She doesn't react how an average Genin, no, an average ninja does. This suddenly seems very interesting.
"Please, I'm just another lousy ninja. That's the best I can do.", Mononoke replied for her sensei, an ice spike in her hand as she held it to Zabuza's throat, "Game over, grandpa."
"I thought I told you to stay out of this?", Kakashi reprimanded half-heartedly and she shrugged, "You know I never listen to dumb commands." He sighed, "That's what I'm worried about."
"What you should be worried about is me.", the real Zabuza said, appearing behind Mononoke. She froze as the blade touched her throat lightly. The Zabuza she was aiming at burst into a splash of water. The girl clenched her teeth. Idiot!
Suddenly something caught her eye.
"Kakashi! Behind you!", Mononoke called, almost cutting her own throat against the blade.
The Copy Ninja whirled around, blocking Zabuza's relentless attacks. A series of lethal taijutsu ensued, so fast Mononoke found it hard to keep up with their speed. But she was still captured.
Well, Mononoke have a feeling that she can turned that around. She smirked as she tilted her head slightly, curving her body into Zabuza.
The man blinked and made a sound of surprise. Suddenly, ice spikes shot out of her back, stabbing him. Colour drained from the girl, leaving behind an ice sculpture. The clone fell to the ground, his body riddled with holes before turning into water the next moment. The real Mononoke landed softly behind the puddle and smirked, "Dumbass."
"Mononoke, watch out!", Naruto voice called and she snapped her head around, only to see in time a foot connecting with her gut. The impact was enough to cause her flying in the air.
She crashed into a tree hard, the sound echoing through the mist. Mononoke coughed, her blood splattered. Falling to the ground, she tried to stabilize herself but her head was spinning like a storm. Heck, don't even think of standing, I can't even push myself off the ground, she thought bitterly. The girl could barely look up, when a shadow appeared before her and the clone dissolved into nothing.
"Get it together, idiot.", Sasuke's harsh voice flashed and she groaned, using all her strength to push herself up, "Thanks, Duckbutt. I owe you one."
She winced and touched her ribs. Damn, that hurt. "You're not hurt, are you?", he asked in the same manner he did to Naruto before, and Mononoke laughed, despite herself, "Lemme kick you like that and you'll see." A snort came as a reply and Mononoke pulled herself to her feet, with the support of the tree she was thrown against.
Sasuke turned his head slightly when a hand was placed on his shoulder. The clanless girl smiled at him, "Don't mean to burst your bubble but I'm not dying so easily."
"Hmm, shame. Because Naruto has a plan."
Zabuza chuckled, his arm holding on to an orb prison, "This may look like water, but it's even stronger than steel. He can't fight if he can't move. Heh. I didn't know what I was so worked up about. You're a piece of cake."
"Kakashi!", Mononoke yelled the moment she saw him inside the sphere.
This sucks balls. Now he had to get himself trapped in a water balloon while she and Duckbutt were talking. And she couldn't do anything about it. Mononoke gritted her teeth as she nudged Sasuke, "Get back with them. I need to catch my breath."
Sasuke looked over at her, a little concern in his eyes. The smaller girl nodded, a cocky smile in place, "Go. I'll live. It's just a kick."
But in truth, it was more than just a kick. Zabuza had aimed her gut with his foot that was filled with chakra. Just her luck that she managed to lace her body with ice seconds before impact. But she doesn't need Duckbutt to worry. They have too much to handle now.
Sasuke dipped his head, "Don't take too long." Then he used a teleportation jutsu to regroup with the others. Mononoke scooted closer into the trees, watching Zabuza. His attention is elsewhere now, most of it trained on Naruto. He used a clone to mock the kid, jeering at his dreams and ideals.
"Listen to me! Grab the bridge builder and run!", Kakashi called for them desperately, "You can't win this fight! He's using all his power to keep me here, so he can only fight you off with his clone! The clone can't get far from his real body. Now run!"
"Run?", Sasuke gritted his teeth, "That became unthinkable the moment you got captured."
Zabuza made a hand sign and a being began to form from the water. Mononoke clicked her tongue. Water, water, water. She has the absolute right mind to freeze everything into a desolate wasteland. If she had that kind of power, that is.
Suddenly, Sasuke sprung into action, trying to take Zabuza down, but he was caught by the throat. With a roar, Zabuza threw him to the ground, before stepping into the boy's gut. Naruto growled, creating multiple shadow clones to surround Zabuza.
"Hmm, what makes you think you can stop me?", Zabuza asked with a sneer, his eyes darting around, assessing the clones.
"Because I'm going to be the Hokage, and I never back down! So don't think you can stop me!", Naruto smirked as he lowered his body, preparing to fight.
"Tell him, Naruto.", Mononoke said as she reappeared beside him. "Huh?", Naruto turned to see his friend grinning. Taking a deep breath, she pouted at Zabuza, "You know, if you keep focusing on those two, I might just get jealous."
The man watched her with greedy eyes, "Hm, I thought I disabled you."
The clanless girl just snorted in disdain, "Oh, please. I'm a lousy ninja, but I'm not weak enough to get knocked out by a kick." The Demon shrugged nonchalantly, "No matter, I can still kill the whole lot of you."
"Mononoke, don't be so stubborn! You know you can't win this fight! Take the others and go!", Kakashi demanded, trying to thrash his way out. He can't let her do this on her own.
In the past, on the missions he smuggled her along, Kakashi always made sure she was hidden away from the fight. She was just a child. Sure, she was good at detecting danger but he never let her in the fight before.
"Don't tell me what I can't do, Kakashi.", Mononoke said, frost building inside her body, "Besides, you said so yourself. Those who leave their comrades behind are worse than scum."
"This is not the time to show how strong you are! You need to save the bridge builder, stay on your mission!", Kakashi tried again. Naruto turned to the old man, hoping to see what he says about this, "Bridge builder?"
Tazuna sighed, "I dragged you into this mess because of my own need to live. But I won't let myself stand in your way. Forget about me. Do what you have to do. Go and save your sensei."
Mononoke turned to Naruto, sighing in defeat, "Well, I can't really have all the fun. Go wild, Naruto. I'll catch up."
The boy nodded defiantly and rushed off. The girl turned back to Sakura, a comforting smile on her face, "Well, let's leave it to the knights in shining armour. Us damsels in distress should just sit back and watch for now."
The pinkette nodded. So far, she's been useless. Mononoke was so brave, standing up against Zabuza and trying to protect all of them. And her? All she could do was stand and watch. Guilt filled inside Sakura.
What's the point of being such a smarty ass in the Academy when she couldn't even apply basic tactics?
"Hey.", Sakura jumped at the touch on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Mononoke looking up at her, "You're a part of the team. Everyone has their own role here. And you're essential to this team." The girl grinned wolfishly, her canines gleaming, "You're our motivation."
Sakura felt tears brimming in her eyes as she whispered, "Thank you."
X
"Tch, a monster.", Mononoke cursed under her breath. After the brief history lesson about Zabuza and his weird hunger for blood, she couldn't help but wonder if she could do that.
Kill everyone and be the last one standing? Could she live with it?
"It... It felt so good!", Zabuza declared, his voice tinged slightly with madness. Okay, the eyebrow-less freak is getting real creepy now. Mononoke swear if she hears him chuckle like a broken record one more time, she's going to lose it.
Naruto and Sakura watched in horror, while Sasuke and Mononoke glared at the demon as he laughed again.
"Okay, that's it! I'm clobbering his ass!", Mononoke said furiously, her previous role forgotten. She's going to be the one to create a diversion.
It's now or never.
Frost flowed and swirled under her hand. Something was forming but Sakura, who was right beside her, couldn't see what was happening. It all happened so fast. In a heartbeat, Mononoke appeared before the Zabuza clone, her arms raised in the air. Everyone watched in disbelief at the weapon in her hands.
It was the exact replica of Zabuza's sword. Except the fact that it looked as if it was made of ice.
Mononoke swung it downwards, "Off with your head!"
The ice blade connected with the clones', who's expression was priceless. Mononoke smirked at him, pressing the blade down as hard as she could, "Big man with a big sword. Not so great when you have a twin fighting against you, huh?"
"Naruto!", she called, still struggling against the man, and a swarm of Narutos appeared at the clones feet, "Got him!"
Zabuza roared and pushed against Mononoke with all his might, sending her into the air. Another swing of the deadly blade caused the clones to disappear in a cloud of smoke.
The real Naruto, still skidding away, grabbed something from his bag, "I still got this! Sasuke!" The Uchiha caught the folded shuriken, before blinking in surprise. So that's it. He made it spin a few times before unfolding it into a windmill shuriken.
"Demon Wind Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows."
Mononoke smirked in understanding. 'That's my team.', she thought to herself and landed softly, the blade still in her hands. Although it looked big and bulky, it was light enough for her to hold without a problem.
She coughed and fell to her knees, leaning against the blade for support. Looks like she's fresh out of chakra. Maybe that kick just now did more damage than she thought. No matter. Her job is done. The rest is up to those two walnuts.
Looking up, Mononoke watched in amazement as Sasuke rushed towards the clone before making a jump, collecting all the speed and momentum he needed and flung the shuriken at him. "A shuriken? You can never touch me with that.", Zabuza mocked but just as he was about to make a move, the shuriken spun away and aimed for the real Zabuza.
"So you passed the clone and targeted me. Smart... but not smart enough!", Zabuza stated haughtily as he grabbed the shuriken with ease. A blink and he noticed another shuriken hidden in the previous' shadow. He smirked. What a bunch of cheap tricks. Before it reached him, he jumped, avoiding it like it was nothing. "I told you, you can never touch me."
Keep talking, mummy man. Keep talking. Mononoke grinned devilishly.
The shuriken that went behind him disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced by a smug looking Naruto.
"Eat this!", Naruto yelled, throwing a shuriken at Zabuza's arm that was imprisoning Kakashi.
Zabuza and Kakashi watched in shock as the shuriken thrown flew. Left with no choice, Zabuza retracted his arm, causing the prison to burst. Clearly annoyed, Zabuza threw the windmill shuriken im his hand at Naruto, "I'm going to destroy you!"
Mononoke's heart skipped a beat as the distance between the shuriken and Naruto was closing in. But now that's he's free, Kakashi leaped into action, catching the shuriken before it ripped Naruto to shreds.
Naruto fell into the water safely, and Kakashi glared at Zabuza, his body dripping with water. "Well done, Naruto. You've grown up plenty.", Kakashi praised and the blonde laughed, "I knew I couldn't beat him with my shadow clone jutsu, so I used them as a distraction! Then I turned into a windmill shuriken! That guy never saw it coming!"
"Stop bragging, you just lucked out.", Sasuke stated and Mononoke just shook her head and chuckled. Fools.
"Heh, I just got distracted and lost my grip on the water prison.", Zabuza said. Wow, no shame, Zabuza. No shame, Mononoke thought sarcastically.
"Don't flatter yourself. You weren't distracted, you were forced to let go.", Kakashi countered smugly, "Your jutsus worked on me once, but it won't happen again. So what's it going to be?"
Silence hung heavily as the two Jounins stared at each other. Mononoke slide back to her post, closer to Tazuna and Sakura. She raised the blade defensively, bracing herself for their next move.
Everything seemed to move in a blur later, Zabuza and Kakashi were focused on each other now. The girl smiled. Kakashi was still as amazing as ever. Guess he missed a few moves in the beginning, so he's making up for it now. Well, whatever the reason, he's still her Kakashi, protective and kickass.
XX
"You're finished.", Kakashi stated coldly as he sat on a branch above Zabuza, who was sprawled on the tree below.
"How?", Zabuza asked weakly, looking up at him, "Can you see into the future?"
"Yes. And this is your last battle ever.", Kakashi said and just as he was about to make the killing blow, Mononoke lifted her head, the ice blade cracking into shards, falling to the grass and melting into water.
Someone's here.
Two senbons struck Zabuza's muscled neck, causing him to faint.
Mononoke sensed something was wrong the moment the masked ninja appeared. His entire body breathes like ice, but not the same way as her and definitely not natural ice. Instead, he felt like sorrow.
"You are right. This is his last battle.", the masked ninja chuckled, his voice androgynous. Kakashi jumped off the tree and checked Zabuza's pulse. Nothing.
"He's dead.", Kakashi confirmed and turned to his team. He blinked in surprise. Mononoke's eyes were on the newcomer, her gaze unsettling. Her body was tense and lowered, as if she was ready to pounce.
"Thank you. I have been tracking Zabuza for some time now. Waiting for a chance to catch him.", the ninja explained politely. Something about the way he says it make the hairs on Mononoke's neck stand up. "By your mask, I can tell you're a tracker ninja from the Mist.", Kakashi said, turning back to the boy. As long as he isn't attacking, it should be fine.
"Impressive. You're well informed."
"Huh? A tracker?", Naruto asked, clearly having no idea what their conversation about. As Sakura explained it to him, Mononoke stepped forward, her eyes untrusting, "So, why wait until now to make a move? Why didn't you help us? Our enemy is your enemy, which would make us allies."
The boy turned towards her, seemingly surprised at her girth, "Well, I wasn't sure if you were his allies, trying to lure me out. So I waited for you to truly weaken him for me." He quickly dropped to the ground and threw Zabuza's arm around his neck, "Your struggle is over now. I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body and I would not allow it to fall into the wrong hands. Farewell."
And with that, he was gone.
Mononoke clenched her fists. Something didn't add up. He explained too much and did too little. But, what can she do? It's over. All of them were pooped out.
Naruto got worked up as he growled, "We look like idiots, fumbling around! Did you see what he just did? Zabuza was big and powerful, like some sort of monster, and a kid no bigger than me just took him down like that! Like it was nothing! We don't know anything! How can I accept that?!"
Kakashi sighed and pulled down his headband, covering his Sharingan, "Well, even if you don't accept it, it's still the way things are, Naruto. There are kids in this world who are younger than you and stronger than me." He said this thinking of the girl who was only a few feet away.
Mononoke proved something today. She wasn't the child she was then. She's grown and stronger.
The silver haired man placed a hand on Naruto's head, hoping it would comfort the boy, "Let it go, Naruto. He's gone." The blonde shook his hand off and walked to the place the masked boy was a minute ago. Naruto roared and punched the ground, "What are we doing here? We're nothing! I can't believe it!"
Sasuke watched the fool with understanding. Honestly, he was quite pissed that the kid was strong enough to take the monster down with two needles. But...
His onyx eyes slid to his teammate. Mononoke had earned Zabuza's praise, saying that she was impressive. He didn't even realized that they were shielded by genjutsu. Sasuke fists curled, his fingernails digging into his flesh.
Kakashi grabbed Naruto's arm, stopping him, "As a ninja, the things we encounter are never easy. Save your energy for the next opponent. Come on, we still need to take the bridge builder home." Naruto stood up and followed. Just as Kakashi took his first five steps, he collapsed to the ground.
"Kakashi!", Mononoke was the first to get to him.
Checking his vital points, she sighed in relief. The others crowded her and she smiled at them, "He's just exhausted." Lifting his arm around her neck, Mononoke lifted Kakashi to his feet, "Come on now, don't conk out on me.", she muttered softly.
To her surprise, Sasuke appeared beside Kakashi, mirroring her as he shared the burden. Mononoke blinked at him in surprise but he just snorted. She bit back a smile.
Sure, he has a hard exterior, Duckbutt is a softie inside all the same.
"Let's get back to Tazuna's place."
XXXX
If you got some of the references, I love you. But then again, I always love you guys. I'm not sure how to fight scene but yeah.
ANYWAY. Quick question, do you guys want Haku-chan alive?...OR DEAD? I mean, Zabuza's gotta croak anyway, but Haku is this sad little boy. So yeah. I try updating as much as I can because my semester is starting in July and I probably can't update much after that. I'm trying to get to Chunin Exams before that happens.
Fact#12: Mononoke has an IQ level of 175. (Missing Shikamaru's who we all know is 200 by a few notches. Which explains why she's better than Asuma at Shogi but not as good a strategist as the Nara. But everyone is smart as different things. You can't judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree.)