A/N: I'm sorry to everyone who keeps complaining about the transitions. When I type things up I put one in and a few extra lines in between but when I upload it the lines and breaks disappear. Right now I'm just trying to find out what works.

Chapter 6

(With Asuma and Hōshō)

"I spoke with Kagome earlier." Hōshō said. He sipped his tea and looked at the jounin across from him.

"Oh? How was she?" Asuma took a drag of his cigarette.

"Something was wrong, she seemed…angry, maybe a little hurt."

The older of the two nodded. "Seems about right." He muttered. His friend straightened in surprise at the comment. "Her team was given a mission to escort a man home; the man might have made a comment alluding to Kagome looking weak."

"How'd she react?"

"She wasn't too pleased. She stormed out after attempting to attack him. Before that though…she seemed stronger. She even spoke out about wanted a harder mission to prove herself." He smiled.

Hōshō remembered that while all of them had taken part in the rescue and had each carried her, Asuma had been the first to her and carried her most of the way to the village. Even after that mission he'd visited her all the time. Of all of those involved he had played the biggest role, he tried to be like a father to her. Maybe someday when everything was sorted out, when she could talk about it openly the two of them could be at peace with one another and he could play that role more easily. The medic smiled, then they could both heal.

(With the Travelers)

"Kakashi, we need to talk." Tazuna said as the rode through the mist.

The ride was quiet as the boatman paddled them across. The gentle rocking of the boat almost made Kagome fall asleep. While the power bar had helped to restore her physical strength and chakra supply she had used more of her spiritual power to heal Naruto. Deep down all she wanted do was sleep but she knew the mission came first and she could go a good deal of the mission without that power and without sleep if she had to.

"We're almost there. The Wave country is at the base of the bridge. It should be coming into view soon." The boatman said.

Naruto took in a breath but Kagome covered his mouth and shook her head. Turning to look up at the massive structure towering above them. Stone and iron, and someone was willing to kill to make sure it wasn't built. She looked up at the gaunt boatman. He looked like he hadn't eaten well in a long time. His clothing hid it well, though, and, she was willing to bet, it helped to ward of the bone chilling cold brought on by the mist. They glided into shore silently and Kagome jumped out to help the boat quietly on to the rocky shore.

"About the mission…" Tazuna said causing the group to come to a halt. "You were right. This is far beyond your skills. There is a very evil and very powerful man after me."

"Who?"

"It's Gatou, isn't?" Kagome asked. "I remember reading about a powerful businessman who had taken over the country, I don't remember the details but I do remember that."

"Yes, that's him. On the surface he runs a shipping company but secretly he uses drugs and other illegal items. He uses rogue ninjas and gang thugs to take over businesses and countries." He looked down at his hands. "It was almost a year ago when he set his sights on our country. Through money and violence he quickly took control of the country's shipping industry. He now has a monopoly on all business in the country. The only thing he has to fear now..."

"Is the bridge and as an extension, you." Kagome said.

"So this Gatou guy hired those ninja from before."

Kakashi's eyes darkened for a moment. "What I don't understand is why you lied when you hired us. You knew they were after you, why not hire someone stronger?"

"I-"

"You couldn't afford it could you?" Kagome asked. She was completely serious, which stopped Tazuna's angry response. "You said Gatou runs everything, right? If his company owns everything the whole country must be broke, which, means the bridge is your only hope."

"Yes, we couldn't even afford the cost of a B-ranked mission." He paused. "It's ok, I know I lied. I won't hold you to the mission if you-"

"No. We're seeing this through. We've come this far, we won't back down." Sasuke said sharing a rare smile with his teammates and even managing to coax a small smile out of Kagome.

Kakashi stood in awe at the strength of the team. They had come a long way in teamwork since he'd first met them and it shocked him the way the darker two seemed to come out of their shells around their teammates. A part of him wished they hadn't agreed on keeping on with the mission. There was a good chance the ninja they would be facing would be stronger than the last two. He let his eyes linger on those two. In his initial assumptions about Kagome during his training exercise had been wrong. She hadn't really shown any power but when it came down to life or death she hadn't hesitated to exercise power over her enemies. Sasuke was the opposite. In training he had shown great promise but when it came down to it he had used only the necessary force to win and protect his teammates.

The group moved on. Things were silent besides the crunching of dirt and small rocks beneath their feet. Out of nowhere Naruto grabbed a shuriken and lobbed it into the woods. Everything was silent until the group burst into yelling and shouting. Feeling suddenly trapped by the noise Kagome stepped to the side and looked around. Despite Naruto's idiotic track record she knew there was substance behind his perceived threat. The group started to move again after everyone had calmed down and, having no evidence to support her theory she followed. The mist became thicker just as Naruto freaked out again. This time a bunny rushed out from a place in the bushes. Something about it caught Kakashi's attention. At first she couldn't tell what it was then she saw the white rabbit and she understood. Her eyes glossed over the road. There was no doubt there was a sinister presence watching them but she couldn't nail down its position.

"Everyone, get down." Kakashi yelled.

Sakura jumped to push Tazuna down and Kakashi went for Naruto. A large cleaver like sword lodged itself in a tree not too far from where they'd been standing. Kagome could hear the thud as she pressed herself to the ground, then there was a sound as someone stepped on to it. She cursed herself for not being able to warn them. Kakashi was the first to his feet followed quickly by Naruto and then the others. Kagome was the last to slowly push herself up from the dirt, glaring all the way. There was a moment after Naruto stood up that it looked as though he might try to go after the new enemy but their sensei held the blonde back and started to prepare himself for a possibly big fight.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Mist's Zabuza Momochi." Kakashi said stepping forward and putting himself between the missing nin and the rest of his group. "This guy's on a whole other level. None of you even stand a chance against a guy like him so stay back and protect the bridge builder." Against him…It'll be a little thought….unless I do this.

They all backed away slowly and watched as their sensei moved to push his forehead protector off his left eye. His opponent, Zabuza, watched intently over his shoulder at the new development. From where he stood he could feel the fear of the children but the one before him drew his curiosity. With disregard toward his own life he had put himself between his opponent and the rest of his group. Then movement from the group caught his eyes. The dark haired girls hand moved back as if to draw a weapon but she hesitated before clenching her fist. There was no fear in her eyes, only anger and hatred.

From where she stood Kagome could see the smirk on Zabuza's face below his mask. "Interesting. It would appear that you are Kakashi of the Sharingan. I'm sorry but…the old man is mine."

Sasuke's eyes widened. No that can't be. Only those of the Uchiha line have the ability to use the Sharingan, he couldn't use it. Unless…

"In order to get to him you'll have to…" he pushed the headband squarely on his head and looked up, "fight me first."

"I'm honored. The fight hasn't begun but I've already been allowed to see the famous sharingan."

"What the heck is the sharingan?" Naruto yelled.

"The Sharingan is a type of doujutsu that allows one to read and defeat all types of jutsu." Sasuke said. His teammates' eyes flashed to him in worry. "But that's not its only power-"

"Huh?"

"Exactly, that's not all, what's even scarier is that you can copy your opponents techniques as soon as you've seen them." Zabuza said. "When I was an assassin for the Hidden Mist I kept a bingo book that included your information, Kakashi. It said that you had copied over 1,000 jutsu. You are the copy ninja, Kakashi Hatake."

The sharingan is a special physical condition that only appears in a select few members of the Uchiha clan. Does that mean…? Sasuke looked up at his sensei. Could he be…?

"I'm done with all this chitchat, I have to kill that old man."

The demon ninja moved so fast Kagome couldn't see him. Once again her arm tensed and she thought about pulling a weapon from a scroll to defend her teammates but again she forced herself to relax and let her sensei take care of the enemy. All eyes darted around looking for the enemy at last Sakura called out that he stood on the water. She and Naruto seemed surprised that he was able to do so but the others were unimpressed. The next jutsu he used cast a heavy fog around them. Kagome took a strategic step back to put herself in the best position to protect the old man and then motioned for the others to do the same until they formed a circle around him. This time Kagome did pull out a kunai in preparation for any attack. As they did Zabuza disappeared from his perch on the water.

"He'll come after me first. He is a ninja of the Hidden Mist, he was trained in the art of silent killing. If he kills you, you won't even know until it's too late. I can't use the sharingan so you'll have to be careful." Kakashi said looking over his shoulder at them.

"Eight choices," the voice came from nowhere and made the hair on the back of Kagome's neck stand on end. "Liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart, which should I go after?"

The all tensed but it was Sasuke who began to truly crumble under the immense dark chakra Zabuza was putting out. For a moment it crossed his mind that he would probably die anyway and it would be easier if he just killed himself to get it over with. His hand shook as it began to pull a kunai up to do the deed. Someone's hand grabbed his wrist stopping the movement. His eyes traveled up his teammates arm to Kagome's sapphire eyes. Her face was in its normal state of blankness but her eyes were full of sincere worry. Kakashi turned back to see them as Kagome released Sasuke's wrist with a nod.

"Sasuke…" the boy turned to look at his sensei. "Don't worry. I'll protect you guys even if it kills me. I don't let my comrades die."

"We'll see about that!" Zabuza reappeared just behind Kagome. "It's over."

Between Zabuza attempting to draw his sword and Kakashi moving in to stop him all four genin found themselves in the dirt. When Kakashi stabbed the other man there was a great explosion of water. A water clone. The real Zabuza reappeared behind him, sword at the ready to kill Kakashi. The sword moved effortlessly through Kakashi's body as he too disappeared in an explosion of water. Kagome's widened as she realized what Kakashi had done just as he reappeared behind Zabuza.

"Don't move. It's over."

"Hehehe….did you really think you could beat me those monkey like mimicking? It was impressive of you. You had already copied my water clone jutsu. You had it say those words to distract me while the real you hid in the mist and watched. Very nicely done. But-"Kakashi's kunai pierced Zabuza as another kunai appeared at his throat.

"That one's a fake too?" Naruto yelled as the water clone vanished into puddles at Kakashi's feet.

The all watched as the fight continued Kagome inched closer to the bridge builder who was still close to the fighting sitting on his butt. She pulled his collar slowly keeping her eyes glued to her sensei's movements. The silver haired man ducked a sweep of the sword and was promptly kicked into the water. He seemed to struggle to keep himself up in the water. All the sudden Zabuza appeared above him chuckling.

"Water prison." Kagome's eyes widened as she watched a bubble of seamless water encased her sensei. "You may have been trying to escape my sword but this will just make it so much easier to take down your little team."

Kagome could feel his eyes on them. She inched her way over to the old bridge builder without taking her eyes off of her sensei who was yelling something she couldn't understand. Without a word the four resumed their places around the old man with Kagome at the front staring Zabuza down. Replica Zabuzas rose from the water and toward them slowly. Beside her, Sasuke retrieved a kunai from his hip pouch and she thought about doing the same but thought better of it. They would need more than kunai to take care of Zabuza and get Kakashi back while continuing with their original mission to protect the bridge builder. They needed a plan.

"Wearing headbands, playing at being ninjas….hehehe. Let me tell you a secret about being a real ninja. A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous encounters with death." His words brought back memories of her pain filled past. By his definition she was more than a real ninja. "Once you're good enough to show up in the bingo book you can start calling yourselves ninja. Until then, you shouldn't go around calling yourselves ninja."

As if sensing his weakness, Zabuza immediately went for Naruto. He knocked the younger boy back so hard that his headband flew from his head. Kakashi screamed warnings at them again but his words were lost on Kagome's still deaf ears. For a moment she tore her eyes from Zabuza and found Naruto several feet away on the ground. The blonde's eyes were on the cut from before. She could almost feel his train of thought. They had promised to keep going on this mission and they weren't here to give up. Naruto stood and ran at the clone only to get flung backwards yet again.

"What are you doing? We are genin we have no chance against him!" Sakura yelled.

Both girls watched as Sasuke was about to move towards Naruto but stepped back looking at their misshapen circle and then at the clone. "Go. I'll deal with the clones you take care of whatever it is you have planned."