ZY: Hurrah hurrah. Chapter 5 is finished. I am going to apologize now for not working on Heart of Chocolate and Touch of Blue and Red. I'm going to try to work on them as much as I can when I'm writing my other stories. I admit, my brain loves working in chaos.
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Dreams of Passion turned into Reality, Chapter 5; On The Bridge of Courage
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Naruto yawned and looked at his watch. Time to change shifts. 'Who am I suppose to wake up?' Naruto thought as he entered the house. Then he finally remembered 'Oh, right... Hyūga...' That's just great...
Naruto rubbed his eyes as he walked into the living room as he tried to remember where she was sleeping. That was when he spotted Shino's overcoat on the ground. Only it wasn't on the ground, it was covering the upper part of a blanket. Now curious, Naruto softly walked over to the overcoat. When Naruto was right next to the blanket and overcoat, he smiled. Both Kiba and Shino were snuggled in each other's arms under the two objects. Shino's face was buried in Kiba's chest while Kiba's face was buried in Shino's fluffy hair, both were sleeping peacefully. The bug-nin nuzzled the dog-nin's chest and snuggled closer. 'Heh, no wonder Kiba calls Shino a Cuddle Bug ^~^. Pair of Lovebirds,' Naruto thought as he quietly tiptoed away to wake Hinata for her shift. 'I hope I get my Soulmate Dreams when I turn 15,' the blond thought happily. He couldn't wait to see his Soulmate.
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Naruto finally found the room that Hinata was in, it was the last one of coarse. Sasuke was a futon right across from her, laying on his back. The blond wasn't sure if he should be surprised or not that the two were in the same room. He yawned again, he'll think about it later after he gets some sleep.
Naruto walked up to Hinata, kneeled down, reached an arm out, and said softly "Oi, Hina-" Next thing the blond knew, he was on the ground, a knee on his gut, a kuni knife only a few centimeters from from his eye, and the Hyūga glaring at him. "What are you doing here?" Hinata asked the blond quietly with as much venom as a cobra. "I-i-i-it's y-y-y-your t-t-turn t-t-to t-t-take wa-wa-watch!" Naruto quietly stuttered out. Hinata looked around, realizing where she was, and said "Right... Sorry." as she got off Naruto and walked to the door. "Haruno-san is after me, right?" Hinata asked in a cold quiet voice. Naruto replied "Yes..." before she walked out.
Naruto released the breath he didn't know he was holding in relief. 'I reeeeeeeeeeeealy feel sorry for whoever her Soulmate is...' Naruto thought as he moved to a sitting position.
The blond heard a soft chuckle coming from Sasuke's side of the room. Naruto immediately turned his head towards the Uchiha only to find him sleeping soundly on his back. 'I could have sworn I heard...' Naruto thought as he watched Sasuke roll to his side to face him. The Uchiha's eyes were closed and his face was in a peaceful slumber, there was no way the chuckling came from him. Naruto concluded that he was hearing things because he was tired, so he left the room to find his sleeping spot.
As soon as the blond left, a swirl of chakra filled the room and took an outline of a human. "Did he... Actually hear me?" the chakra whispered.
}i{ }i{ In Konohagakure At the Same Time }i{ }i{
Team 6 (Team Gai) had a just finished a late mission, it was the only reason they were up at this hour.
"All right my Youthful team. We have the next two days off to relax and replenish our Youthful energy," Gai said with a tired smile. Lee gave his sensei a tired thumbs-up, while Tenten yawned, and Neji just turned away from the Green Beast. Once the team hit the main street, they split up, heading towards their respective homes. Well... Almost everyone.
"Why are you following me?" Neji asked Lee, whom was walking right next to him. "Oh, I... Figured I'd walk you home," Lee said with his hands behind his head and his elbows pointing to the night sky, he was hoping that the Hyūga wouldn't mind the company. Neji glared at the green clad teen and said, keeping a careful eye on him "Don't you live in the opposite direction from my home?" the Hyūga didn't want to spent more time then he needed to with Team 6. "I live a couple of block away from you now. I told you and the team that I moved three days ago?" Lee said as he let his arms drop to his side. Neji turned his head away from Lee, trying to hide a soft tint of pink on his cheeks as he thought 'Right, he did mentioned that he moved... But I didn't know it was that close to the Hyūga estate...'
"Ano, Neji..." Lee asked cautiously, good thing to because Neji answered back "What?" in an annoyed voice. 'Well... Now or never,' Lee thought before he asked "Would you like to practice our tag-team maneuvers when we have more energy to do so?" Neji answered back with a firm "No." "Then how about-" Lee started to ask, but was intuited by Neji saying "No" again in the same firm tone.
Lee: "What about-"
Neji: "No."
Lee: "But I haven't-"
Neji: "Still no."
Lee: "But..."
Neji: "No."
Lee: "Can you at least-"
Neji: "No."
Lee: "Neji!"
Neji: "What?"
With big black eyes shining in the darkness, Lee said "Neji, we ARE Teammates now. How are we suppose to be a team if we don't put in a bit of effort to get to know each other?" Neji just glared at him and said "Not my concern." Lee reached out and grabbed Neji's left wrist. The Hyūga wasn't thrilled about that. "Let go!" Neji said sternly as he tried to pull his arm away, but Lee kept his firm grip on the other. "Lee, if you don't remove your hand from me-" Neji stated trying to pull his arm out of Lee's vis-grip, but the green clad teen stated firmly "It IS your concern." Neji stopped struggling and said "Huh?" That was when the Hyūga saw a look in Lee's eyes that he's never seen before in the teen. "We ARE teammates whether you like it or not, and if I recall correctly, you were put on THIS team for a reason. I may not know what this reason is or why you are so untrusting towards others, but I can tell you this," Lee said tightening his grip on the other before continuing "I know you will not care for my words, so I will use my actions to earn your trust. And I can and will show you that you can trust me completely." Neji was stunned as Lee finally released his grip. The Hyūga immediatly rubbed that spot with his right.
"Don't just throw the word 'trust' around like that..." Neji stated, eyeing the ground. Lee sighed and said "I know, but I wanted to make sure you got the point. You're my teammate and friend." Neji glared at Lee and spat "Teammates, yes. Friends, no! Not even if hell froze over!"
"Are you truly sure about that?" was all Lee could ask. Neji huffed a yes and walked ahead of the green clad teen. This really broke Lee's heart.
When they reached the Hyūga estate, Lee just kept walking. Not stopping to say good-bye to his teammate, his Soulmate. What could have happened to Neji and Hinata to make them soooooo wiry of trusting people outside their family and the Uchihas? A tear rolled down Lee's cheek. Thank Kami no one saw it. That was when Lee made a resolve; no matter how long it took, Lee WILL prove to Neji that he could trust him absolutely, not only as a teammate and friend, but also as his Soulmate.
"Aren't you going to at least say bye to your teammate, Neji-kun?" one of the Hyūga night guards asked the younger Hyūga. Neji just watch Lee walk away into the darkness of the night before he walked into the compound. The guard's lotus purple eyes simply watched the younger enter the home. 'If only THAT didn't happen. I'm sure they would be great friends...' the guard thought sadly as he went back to his job.
}i{ }i{ With Team 7 & 8 at Dawn }i{ }i{
Everyone but Naruto was up and ready for the day. Kurenai, Kiba, and Akamaru were going to guard the house while the rest of the team will guard Tazuna and his crew as they finish the bridge.
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When the group got to the bridge, Tazuna's men were on the ground unconscious. The bridge builders managed to tell them that they were attacked by some sort of demon.
The next thing the ninjas knew, they were surrounded by a thick mist.
The Genins quickly surrounded Tazuna. They knew what was coming, Zabuza.
Twenty water clones of Zabuza appeared out of the puddles on the bridge and surrounded the ninjas.
"Hinata, Sasuke, would you kindly take care of these," Kakashi said with a smiling eye. The Uchiha and Hyūga smirked. The two went into action and in less then ten seconds, all of the clones were just droplets of water.
The real Zabuza appeared out of the fog with the fake hunter and said "Oh? Looks like you called for back-up, Kakashi. Oh well, more playmates for you Haku." the fake hunter chuckled and agreed. Looks like Kakashi's hypothesis was on the mark. "Even though the Water Clones only have 1/10th the strength as the original, the two of you took them down quiet easily~," Haku said happily. The Missing-nin chuckled and told the fake hunter to go ahead. Haku dissapeared.
Sasuke managed to block the fake hunter's nearly sightless attack.
}i{ }i{ Tsunami's House (by this time, Naruto was up) }i{ }i{
Two of Gatō's goons (whom were there to kidnap Tsunami and Inarī) were tied up, out cold, and no longer had any weapons on them.
"Sneaking up on US like that, please, those dweebs are a hundred years too early for that," Kiba stated. Akamaru barked in agreement. Kurenai cast her gaze at her student and Naruto and said "If these two are here, then there's a good chance that there's trouble at the bridge." Naruto bit his lip before saying "Oi, Kurenai-sensei... I'm going to the bridge, the rest of the team probably needs me." The red-eyed woman smiled and said "Go ahead. We have something to do here." Kiba grined and said that the blond better make sure that his Soulmate doesn't have a scratch on him when the dog-nin gets there then added "It's going to be the Kikaichū your going to worry about, not me." Naruto frowned, shivered a bit, thought 'Oh right, those bugs...' and raced off towards the bridge.
"Oi, Inarī, you think you can help us with an important mission?" Kiba asked the boy, whom happily nodded.
}i{ }i{ At The Bridge }i{ }i{
Blow for blow, Sasuke was able to keep up with Haku. Zabuza was rather impressed. Not a lot of ninjas could match Haku in speed. The Missing-nin had his target in sight. Kakashi noticed this and said calmly, despite the events happening, "Sakura, Shino, protect Tazuna. Hinata." the Hyūga nodded, she knew what she needed to do.
The Uchiha gained an edge in the fight with the fake hunter and managed to punch him in the mask, causing him to tumble backwards a bit. "Oh my~ Your stronger then I expected~" Haku said happily, but the temperature of the area got really cold all of the sudden. The masked boy started a series of hand symbols and by the time he finished, Sasuke was surrounded by ice mirrors. Haku walked right up to one of the ice mirrors and walked right into it! Now he was in all of the ice mirrors! What was this jutsu?
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"Shall we finish our fight, Kakashi?" Zabuza said taking ahold of his oversized sword. The Jōnin pulled a kuni out of his pouch and said "I don't have a choice, do I..."
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"Shall I show you my true speed~?" Haku asked almost playfully. With narrowed eyes glancing from mirror to mirror trying to located the real masked boy, Sasuke thought 'What does he mean by that?' The next thing the Uchiha knew wooden needles were flying from every direction, shredding his cloths and skin.
"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura shrieked.
Sasuke dropped to his knees, blood was dripping from all of the scratches. 'What the hell?!' Sasuke thought as he tried to get to his feet, but the pain caused him to fall back to the ground. 'Crap!' the Uchiha thought as he forced himself to his knees, he coughed up some blood as he did so. "Shall I finish you off now~?" Sasuke heard the masked boy said suddenly.
Another wave of needles hit the air.
Sasuke braced himself for the pain, but none came.
"I admit, you're pretty fast,"
Sasuke looked up. "Hi-Hinata!" The Uchiha coughed out. The Hyūga smirked, dropped all the needles that the masked boy threw, relieving that her Byakugan was activated, and said "But, I can still see your movement." Haku was impressed "Oh~ Pretty eyes~, they're just like pearls~"
Sasuke got to his feet and was back-to-back with the Hyūga. "Thanks, Hinata. I owe you one," Sasuke said through the pain. "No worries Sasuke. Besides the only one allowed to "kill" you is Hanabi," Hinata said with a smile. Sasuke smiled and said "Do you really need to bring that up now?" Hinata apologized with a smile and added "Lets finish this." Sasuke nodded as the two got into a fighting stance.
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Zabuza summoned a thick fog to counter Kakashi's Sharingan. So far it was working, the battle was in the Missing-nin's favor. 'Damn... I really don't want to use this... But...' Kakashi thought before he realized that Zabuza was going to go after the bridge builder.
As soon as the Missing-nin raised his sword to strike Tazuna, Kakashi tackled him to the ground, making damn sure to place his hand on his face. The two tumbled to the ground and Zabuza's sword hit the ground with a clank. That sound got Haku's attention.
The thick fog suddenly vanished. Allowing everyone to see again. Both of the older ninjas were on the ground, unconscious, and Kakashi's hand wasn't too far from Zabuza's head. 'No way! Kakashi-sensei!' Sakura thought when she saw. "What was he thinking!?" Hinata whispered to Sasuke, whom just shrugged in confusion.
"That Bastard! He's a Dream Empath!" Haku hissed out, aiming a wooden needle at Kakashi! "Haku! Don't!" Shino called out. Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard it.
Shino could shout? Who knew?
"If you kill Kakashi-sensei while he's in Zabuza's Dream Plain then Zabuza will never wake-up!" Shino explained in that shouting voice. "You're lying," Haku growled out. Shino shook his head and shouted "I'm not! There are actual reports of Dream Empaths being accidentally killed while they're in someone's Dream Plain and those people never awoke. You love Zabuza, don't you? Please, just leave them be and just wait until they wake-up." Haku was silent for a very looooooong minute before finally saying "You are damn lucky you're right about my feeling. Fine, I'll leave them be." The masked boy made a mental note to kill that boy in the overcoat after Zabuza awakes. 'How the hell did he know about that?' Haku thought, making sure to keep an eye on that teen.
'Just how keen is his sense of observation? That fake hunter made absolutely no indication that he loved Zabuza,' Sakura thought as she was still in shock.
"Hinata... How did he?" Sasuke whispered to his friend. "I guess Kiba was right about his observational skills," Hinata whispered back in amazement. Haku heard that. 'So there are others like me,' The masked boy thought as he readied himself to launch another attack on the two inside his jutsu.
}i{ }i{ Zabuza's Dream Plain }i{ }i{
"Misty place, no surprise,"Kakashi muttered to himself as he looked around the Dream Plain. It was indeed misty, not foggy. Every tree that Kakashi could see was covered with a thin coat of the water vapor, very common for people from the Land of Mist. "This is a surprisingly nice place," Kakashi muttered before stepping in something squishy. The Jōnin looked down and muttered "I'd take that back." He just stepped on a decaying corps, and there was more scattered around the area. 'Gross...' Kakashi thought as he covered his nose as the smell from the corpses assaulted the air.
"KAKASHI! YOU BASTARD!" Zabuza appeared in front of the Jōnin, without his sword and looking extremely pissed off. "YOUR A FUCKING DREAM EMPATH!" The Missing-nin shouted angrily. "I am and there's no need to shout," Kakashi said getting into a fighting stance.
Glaring daggers at the Jōnin, Zabuza growled out "I'm going to make sure you're going to fucking suffer!" as he started making hand signs. Kakashi paled and shouted out "ZABUZA! STOP! NINJUTSU AND GENJUTSU DON'T WORK RIGHT HERE!" but it was too late! Zabuza summoned a huuuuuuge water dragon to attack the Dream Empath, but thing went astray.
The gigantic tsunami dragon hit both of them! Sending the two in opposite directions.
}i{ }i{ The Bridge }i{ }i{
Zabuza and Kakashi's bodies remained on the ground, completely unaware of what was happening around them.
Haku was launching attack after attack at the Hyūga and Uchiha. Hinata was keeping pace with the attack, deflecting all of the needles aimed at her with a kuni. Sasuke was moving faster, he was starting to see the needles more clearly.
"Their... Completely in sync...Amazing..." Sakura said in aw. Shino didn't say anything, but he could see EVERYTHING that was going on in the ice mirrors.
"NARUTO UZUMAKI IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!"
"Idiotic, loudmouth baka," Sasuke muttered under his breath.
Yes, Naruto appeared out of a cloud of smoke, shouting his introduction. The blond immediately noticed that Kakashi and Zabuza were on the ground and shouted what happened. Sakura was the one to explain the whole thing to him.
"You know, maybe that baka can actually be useful," Hinata whispered to Sasuke, who muttered back "How so" rather sarcastically. The Hyūga explained softly that if they and the blond attacked the mirrors at the same time from opposite sides then there's a good chance that they could win. Sasuke actually liked that idea. "Oi, I'm here to save you two," Naruto said standing next to the two. The Hyūga and Uchiha had a look on their faces that practically shouted "What-The-Hell?!". Sasuke finally growled out "You utter fool! Did you even think about the situation we were in before you just walked in here?" Now Naruto realized that as he thought 'Crap! He right!' Hinata pinched the bridge of her nose and thought 'He's suppose to be the Hokage's son... Nitwit.'
Haku launched another barrage of needles at the Genins.
Sasuke was able to deflect most of the needles with a kuni knife, Hinata was also deflecting the needles, but Naruto wasn't doing so well. 'Baka!' Hinata thought as she deflected a needle heading right at the blond's eye. "Pay attention, dweeb!" Hinata stated as she deflected more needles. Naruto was about to say something, but was interrupted by a wooden needle whizzing by his ear.
}i{ }i{ Zabuza's Dream Plain }i{ }i{
"I really should have seen that coming," Kakashi muttered rubbing his head as he looked around, trying to find his barring. After realizing where he was, he thought ' *sarcastically* Joy, I'm Zabuza's memory section. I better get out of here quick.' But he needed to find a way out of here first. He started walking relatively quickly.
"You're really pushing your luck, you know," Kakashi heard Zabuza's voice. Did the Missing-nin find him already? "But, Zabuza-sama, you promised," That sounded like the boy in the mask. Kakashi gave a sigh in relief 'It's just a memory.' and started walking, passing by some thick trees.
"I know I promised you Haku, but..." Kakashi heard Memory Zabuza say. "I'm going to have to draw a line somewhere..." Kakashi stopped in his tracks, his face (or the parts you could see anyway) paled, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
The Demon of the Mist was completely naked, arms above his head bound by ice against the tree bark, legs were spread apart and was also bound to trees by ice, leaving his completely exposed to the younger ninja before him (the boy in the mask to Kakashi, but he wasn't wearing his mask here). 'What! The!' was all Kakashi was thinking at the moment. 'Is this... Really a memory?' Asked himself as he blinked, making sure he wasn't seeing things.
Memory Haku whined as he said "I mastered the new technique *spreads Zabuza's ass cheeks apart to reveal more of his anus, making the older ninja turn a nice shade of red*, so *now talking happily* you're suppose to let me do sexy things to you~" Yup, this was a memory, since the two made no indications that they saw the Jōnin, whom was obviously in their view.
'Not how I wanted to learn about their relationship...' Kakashi thought as he started to walk by the two. He REALLY didn't want to see them go at it, but he needed to get by to get out of this section.
"HAKU! Don't just stick your fingers in! You need to lubricate them first!" Memory Zabuza stated nervously. "You're not just saying that just to stop me are you?" Memory Haku asked. Memory Zabuza shook his head and said "If you just stick dry fingers in, it's going to hurt and it'll be hard for you to move them. So... Just find something to use for lubrication." Memory Haku was quiet for a bit before he gave the older a mischievous smile and said "I think I know what we can use~" as he started to message Memory Zabuza's balls, causing the older to gasp.
'I think it'll be a good idea if I jog away,' Kakashi thought as he quickened his pace. He REALLY DIDN'T NEED TO SEE what happens next. He better get out of this section before he saw anymore unwanted images. But Kakashi couldn't help but wonder something. Okay, sure Haku was a strong ninja, but those ice binds didn't seem like they were THAT strong, Zabuza could have easily broken out of those to either cover himself or attack Haku for putting him in such a position. And the fact that he PROMISED the younger ninja that he could do such things to him... Damn it, Kakashi's Dream Empath instincts were kicking in.
}i{ }i{ The Bridge }i{ }i{
'I see now,' Haku thought as he launched another wave of needles, he now knew what he needed to do.
A needle pierced Hinata's left ankle. "HINATA!" Both Sasuke and Naruto shouted as she flinched in pain. Another needle pierced her left ankle again. 'Crap!' Sasuke thought as he deflected another needle aimed at the Hyūga's ankle. 'That bastard found out that she can't see attack that low!' the Uchiha thought as Naruto caught onto the scam and went to defend his comrade.
'I have to protect her!' Sasuke thought as the needles started to slow down, at least to him. 'She's my friend!' the needles moved slower still. 'I WILL NEVER leave my Friends!' Sasuke's eyes suddenly turned red with two black wheels. Now Sasuke could see the true power of this ice mirror jutsu! He could see that Haku was moving between the mirrors!
Sasuke struck the fake hunter in the mask!
"!?" That was when Haku noticed the Uchiha's eyes, Sharingans!
"Whoa, Sasuke, your eyes..." Naruto said when he saw the Uchiha's eyes. "You... Got them," Hinata said with a smile. Sasuke could feel that he achieved what so few Uchihas could do. He awakened his Sharingans!
}i{ }i{ Zabuza's Dream Plain }i{ }i{
"Damn it..." Zabuza growled out. What did Kakashi do to make his jutsu go haywire? That was when the Missing-nin realized that the Jōnin tried to warn him about using the jutsu. 'If it wasn't him, then what the hell happened?' Zabuza thought as he tracked through the pathway.
After who knows how long, Zabuza finally found Kakashi. The Copy-nin was watching something happening through an open door. "You being noisy or finding my weakness?" Zabuza asked with a smirk. Kakashi said nothing, he just stood there. Zabuza was about to say something but he heard moans of pleasure coming from the doorway. The Missing-nin didn't even realized that he moved until he saw what was on the other side of the door. Him and Haku, in their birthday suits, having sex with each other.
"Well aren't you the pervert," Zabuza said with a smirk. Kakashi said nothing. "So I let the kid fuck me from time to time, no big deal," The Missing-nin said turing towards Kakashi, whom had his right eye closed. "It IS a big deal..." Kakashi finally said. Zabuza sneered as he said "Why?Is it the fact that he's still a kid?" Kakashi told the Missing-nin to take another look at the scene before him, so he did and that was when he realized what the Copy-nin meant. Haku was a good five years older in the scene. Zabuza went pale. This was one of his seven Soulmate Dreams.
Kakashi finally said seriously "You let him have his way with you, kept him close to you, and personally trained him because he IS your Soulmate." Zabuza said nothing, he was too stunned to speak. Kakashi opened his visible eye and said "You never told him, did you?" The Missing-nin said no words, which was enough of a answer.
}i{ }i{ The Bridge }i{ }i{
Now with his new Sharingans, Sasuke was gaining the edge. 'Damn, this jutsu uses a lot of chakra... I need to end this fight,' Haku thought as he calculated a new plan. Naruto was using the opportunity to help Hinata remove the needles from her ankle.
Two groans hit everyone's ears. Now everyone's eyes were on Kakashi and Zabuza, both of whom were slowly getting to their feet. "Zabuza-sama! Are you all right?" Haku asked the older ninja, whom grunted out that he was fine. With his eyes on the Copy-nin, Zabuza growled "That was a cheap shot, Kakashi." Taking another kuni out of he pouch as the Missing-nin picked up his sword, Kakashi stated "Considering what I was thinking about doing before pulling you into the Dream Plain, it wasn't really that cheap of a shot."
The battle between Kakashi and Zabuza resumed when the Missing-nin re-summoned the thick fog.
}i{ }i{
Now Haku's mind was completely focused on ending the young ninja before him and his first target was in his sight. He launched his attack.
The Uchiha saw this. 'No!' Sasuke thought as he moved towards Hinata and Naruto. 'Crap! Please make it in time!' Sasuke told his body as he pushed it to the limits.
}i{ }i{
Naruto couldn't believe his eyes.
Hinata's eyes widened.
Haku was laying on the ground. Sasuke landed a nasty blow to the masked ninja, but...
Sasuke coughed up a glob of blood. Wooden needles were embedded deep within his neck, torso, arms, and legs.
"SASUKE!" Hinata hollared as the Uchiha fell backwards.
Despite the pain in her ankle, Hinata raced to catch him as he fell. When she caught him, she gently layed him on the ground. Sasuke coughed up more blood, his Sharingans were no longer activated. "Sasuke! Stay with me!" Hinata franticaly said as she shook his chest. Sasuke weakly said "Hi...na...ta..." "I'm here! Just stay with me!" Hinata said, her voice was breaking. "I...I...don't...think...I...can...this...time..." Sasuke said weakly, light was fading from his eyes. "You have too! Not just for me or Neji! But Itachi-nii, Kisame-nii, and the babies! They need you!" The Hyūga said was teared forced their way to the surface. "I'm...so...sorry... T...take...c...are...o...f...th...em...f...or...me..." Sasuke said closing his eyes. His head fell to the side. Hinata shook the Uchiha harder, he made no notion of moving. "No... Sasuke..." Tears flowed freely from Hinata's eyes.
}i{ }i{ In Konohagakure, Uchiha Residence }i{ }i{
The sound of glass breaking filled the hallway.
Kisami immediately went to investigate the noise, he had a kuni knife in his hand just incase it was an intruder. He found a framed picture that use to be hanging on the wall on the ground. "Kisame, is everything alright?" Itachi asked as he entered the hallway. "Yeah, one of the pictures just fell. It looks like the string broke," Kisame said picking up the framed picture analyzing the string that held it on the wall. It was indeed broken. "I guess it's time to get a new frame. Is the picture okay?" Itachi said walking up next to his Soulmate.
Kisame turned the frame over to look at the picture. The picture was of the two Uchihas and the Water Ninja that was taken in the Land of Water a few years before the Uchiha Massacre. The glass was broken and the crack ran right over the picture of the smiling six-year-old Sasuke. Kisame looked at the image for a bit before carefully removing the glass.
"Looks fine," Kisame said after looking at the picture. Then the shark-man looked at the broken glass. "It broke along Sasuke's image..." Kisame muttered knowing that his Soulmate heard him. With a worried look on his face, Itachi said "I hope that's not an omen..." Kisame stood up and told his Soulmate not to worry and that Sasuke'll be home before their anaversery. Itachi smiled and hugged Kisame. "I hope so," Itachi muttered. The water ninja held his love close and thought 'You better come home kiddo.'
}i{ }i{ The Bridge }i{ }i{
Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. Hyūga Hinata, the coldhearted heir, was crying, over her dead friend. And that friend, was the blond's rival. This couldn't be real. This had to be some kind of Genjutsu. Sasuke couldn't be dead, he just couldn't.
As Haku got to his knees and said "He landed a blow on me without flinching... And died protecting her. To protect a precious person, knowing it was a trap, he was still willing to jump in. He is a shinobi that deserves respect." The masked boy got to his feet and said "This is your first death of a friend, isn't it." he walked into the nearest ice mirror.
Naruto watched Hinata slump over Sasuke's chest and continued to cry. 'This... Isn't suppose to happen,' Naruto thought. The image he was seeing reflected in his blue eyes. Those blue eyes started to slowly turned red. Crimson chakra suddenly emitted from Naruto.
Hinata quickly raised her head, tears were still streaking down her cheeks. 'Is this chakra Naruto's?' the Hyūga thought as the crimson chakra swirled around her and the blond. 'No, this isn't Naruto's. It's... Far too vile to be his,' Hinata thought as she rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her vision from the tears. Now she saw that the chakra was in the shape of an evil fox's face. The Hyūga's eyes widened as she thought 'That's!'
The wounds on Naruto were healing! The needles that were embedded in him were forced out of his skin by the rapid healing.
}i{ }i{
"W-Who's horrid chakra is that?" Sakura asked in fear. She never felt chakra that made her want to take a shower in boiling acid on the spot. Even a ordinary person like Tazuna could feel the vile chakra. "My... Kikaichū..." Sakura turned to a shaking Shino. It looked like something was crawling under his skin, a lot of something. Sakura and Tazuna were completely grossed out by that. "Their... Scared..." Shino said trying to calm his bugs down. "The chakra?" Sakura asked trying to keep her lunch down as Shino nodded and muttered "Kiba... Please get here soon..." The Kikaichū were not settling down. Sakura REALLY wanted to know what was happening in that fog.
}i{ }i{
Zabuza and Kakashi felt that crimson chakra.
'Oh, Kami! The seal! Was it?!' Kakashi thought as he turned towards the origin of the vile chakra. The Copy-nin sighed in relief as he realized that the seal wasn't broken, weakened but not broken. 'Minato-sensei... You need to tell Naruto about the true fate of the Kyuubi, before the seal breaks,' Kakashi thought as he shivered, he could sense the "dreams" of the Kyuubi from within the seal. They... Were not pleasant.
Zabuza could sense the chakra, but he didn't know who's it was. All he knew was that it wasn't Haku or Kakashi's.
}i{ }i{
Haku quickly threw twenty needles at Naruto as he attacked. The blond deflected the needles with just his chakra.
Naruto started his rage filled assault on the ice mirrors to attack the masked boy.
}i{ }i{
Kakashi readied his kuni knife as he stood in front of Zabuza, whom readied his massive sword.
}i{ }i{
Naruto punched Haku in the masked so hard it was like falling face first off a cliff. With that attack the ice mirrors shattered.
'Zabuza-sama... I'm sorry... I can't stop him.' Haku thought solemnly as his mask shattered into pieces.
In a fit of rage, Naruto charged at Huka with the intent to kill.
'I failed you...' Haku thought as he awaited his fate, but it never came. Naruto stopped his fist midway to Haku's face.
"You're that kid from before. The one talking about Soulmates," Naruto said with rage still evident. "Why did you stop?" was all Haku asked. Naruto punched him right on his cheek, causing him to fall backwards. "Don't tell me that eyebrow-less guy's your Soulmate," Naruto asked, not looking at the boy before him. Haku didn't answer, which was answer enough for Naruto.
There was a loud shriek of pain.
"Zabuza-sama!" Haku said sensing the older's chakra and raced towards him.
"Kakashi!" Naruto shouted at the same time as Haku, but he sensed out his sensei's chakra and ran to him.
The fog was slowly fading.
}i{ }i{
"Zabuza-sama!" Haku called running up to the older ninja, whom was just standing there with his sword ready to strike but had a disbelieving look in his eyes. "Haku..." Zabuza said, realizing that the younger was there. "Are you okay?" Haku asked in a worried tone. Zabuza just nodded.
"Kakashi!"
The water ninjas turned to the shouting blond. The fog was clearing.
A kuni knife was on the ground and Kakashi was a bit away from the water ninjas, clutching his head in pain. "Kakashi! What's wrong? What happened?" Naruto asked the Jōnin. Kakashi managed to get out through the pain in his head "Th-there's a N-n-nightmare R-radio n-near-by..." This got the three's attention. "But... We destroyed all of them," Naruto said as the Jōnin sank to his knees. "Nightmare Radio? The gizmos that give people nightmares?" Haku asked, this was a weird sight for him. Zabuza explained "Those gizmos also cause Dream Empaths nasty headaches. They can't get near them without experiencing pain." Haku blinked and asked "So why would there be a Nightmare Radio there? There's no reason for one to be here."
The fog was completely clear now and everyone could see.
}i{ }i{
Sakura and Shino saw Sasuke on the ground and Hinata sitting besides him.
Sakura, Tazuna, and Shino raced over to the two. They saw that the Uchiha wasn't moving and the Hyūga looked like she'd been crying. "No..." Sakura whispered. Tazuna was sadden by the scene. Shino read the scene and walked up to the Hyūga, whom told him not to come any closer. "I know how you feel," Shino said in his soft tone. "No you don't!" Hinata said sternly, but Shino sat next to her and said softly "My mother... Died protecting me." Hinata looked at her teammate, his face was sad. He rolled up his right sleeve, reviling a large scorch mark that covered most of his arm and said "There was a forest fire and mother used herself as a shield to save me. *Indicating the burn mark on his arm* This was the only damage I got from the fire because of her. So, I know how you feel." Hinata couldn't believe her ears and said "Really?" Shino nodded and muttered "I can tell you that the pain never really goes away."
Hinata's eyes fell back on Sasuke's stilled body. Shino placed a hand on her shoulder and said "He cared about you enough to give his life for yours. I know he was not your Soulmate, but I know he loved you just as much and he knew that you needed to live." Another tear rolled down her cheek.
}i{ }i{
There standing at a good distance away from Zabuza, Naruto, Haku, and Kakashi was Gatō, with a horde of his "hired hands" and what appears to be a large, metallic gray, stationary, satellite dish. "What are you doing here? Why'd you bring them?" Zabuza asked the tyrant suspiciously. With an evil smile, Gatō stated in an oddly happy tone "Why, I came to pick up my new Dream Empath, of coarse, and these nice gentlemen are simpley here to help with that." Kakashi growled under his breath as he kept one hand on his head and used the other to support his leg as he got into a kneeling position. Zabuza's eyes narrowed when he said "Was that the reason why you had Nightmare Radios in the village? To lure a Dream Empath here?" Gatō smiled a sadistic smile as he said "I already took what I wanted from this village and when I heard that Dream Empaths'll help anyone with unruly nightmares, I'd figured I'd use the villagers as irresistible bait for them." Over the pain in his head, Kakashi hissed out with more venom then a cobra "You bastard! Do you even know how horrible the nightmares from those accursed devises are?" The tyrant shrugged as he said "What do I care. I got my Dream Empath out of it?"
Kakashi glared at Gatō and said in that same venomous tone "I am a Dream Empath of Konohagakure. There is no way I'll ever be yours and there is NO way Konohagakure will allow you to get away with it." The tyrant sneered and eyed the goon closest to the Nightmare Radio, whom turned a dial on the device.
}i{ }i{
Kakashi now felt an entire symphony of jackhammers AND hurricanes playing inside his skull. The pain was sooooooo unbearable! He didn't even feel himself hit the hard pavement of the bridge, nor did he hear Naruto and Sakura shout his name in distress as he went down. The only thing Kakashi was aware of right now was the immense pain from the Nightmare Radio.
}i{ }i{
"KAKASHI!" Naruto shouted as his sensei clutched his head in agony and curled into a ball. Sakura rushed to their side. "That's... That's not just a nasty headach, is it?" Haku asked watching the sight before him. THAT kind of pain was something Haku had never seen before, and it wasn't a good feeling. Now the Copy-nin was visibly shaking, the pain must have been horrible.
"Zabuza, would you mind bringing the Dream Empath here for us? I'll double your pay if you do," Gatō asked in a polite matter, as if he wasn't seeing someone in imminse pain before him. For once, Haku wasn't sure this was the right thing to do. Zabuza didn't move, his eyes were on Kakashi, and he didn't even see Naruto glaring at him. The blond was willing to attack the Missing-nin if he came close to his sensei.
After what felt like forever, Zabuza finally said "No."
Gatō was a bit surprised by that, but recovered quickly and said "Alright fine, I'll triple your pay."
Zabuza moved until he was blocking the tyrant's view of Kakashi. "The pay isn't why I'm saying no," the Missing-nin stated harshly. He looked over his shoulder to Naruto and asked him "What do you think of this situation, boy?" The blond blinked a couple of times, he wasn't expecting anyone to ask him that. "Ano, I hate it for one," Naruto finally said, glancing at his family friend and sensei, then added "The second... It's not right. I mean, this is something that only a soulless, heartless monster would think about and do, and anyone who agrees with that monster is even worse..." Zabuza closed his eyes and said "You're right about that boy. I will admit, I am considered a Demon, I even agree with that. And, *opens eyes* even I wouldn't agree with that plan, no matter how much you pay me." The Missing-nin pointed his giant broadsword at the tyrant.
"Oh? Are you saying that you have a heart?" Gatō said in amusement. "I suppose you could say that, but not in the way you think," Zabuza said, shrugging his shoulders. Naruto blinked and thought 'Isn't he suppose to be the enemy?' "Boy," The blond heard the Missing-nin say, so Naruto looked up at his back and said "Yeah?" After a second or so, Zabuza finally said "Take care of Haku for me... I'm going to end this." Then he took off directly at the Nightmare Radio.
"Wait! Zabu-" Haku shouted before his body gave out on him. He really did use too much chakra on the Ice Mirrors. Sakura managed to catch him before he hit the ground. Haku watched in horror as Zabuza charge at the horded of goons. 'What did he mean by him ending this?' Naruto thought in confusion as he watch the scene before him.
Gatō quicly shouted at the goons to protect the gadget and him.
As the Missing-nin was attacked by the croonies as he continued on towards his first target. He never raised his sword to defend himself in any way, he just kept moving and took whatever weapon the goon had. When he got in stricking distance of the Nightmare Radio, he finally raised his blade and split the device in two.
The moment the Nightmare Radio was destroyed, the pain in Kakashi's head was gone. The Dream Empath quickly got to his knees and saw what Sakura, Haku, and Naruto were seeing. "Zabuza..." Kakashi muttered. "Sensei..." Sakura said not really sure what to ask as she held Haku back.
With daggers, swords, and javelins embedded in his body, Zabuza turned to his next target. To all of the evildoers standing in front of the Missing-nin, they could see that his chakra took the shape of a demon before he launched himself forward. All of the goons did their best to stop the Demon, but he just kept charging towards Gatō, just like a real demon.
The Tyrant ordered the goons to stop him, but nothing could stop the oncoming demon.
'Haku... I know your going to be sad...' Zabuza thought as he raised his broadsword to strike. 'But...' The Missing-nin brought down his sword, slicing Gatō in half before the tyrant could do anything. 'It's for your own good...' Zabuza thought as he too fell to the ground, the damage he received was finally taking it's toll. As he fell, Zabuza saw Haku reaching out to him with tears in his eyes. 'I'm sorry...' The Missing-nin was now on the ground.
}i{ }i{ In A Dark Place }i{ }i{
Were am I? Why is it so dark?
"SASUKE!"
Someone was calling me... My Soulmate? Why?
"Sakuke! Wake up!"
Wake up? What do you mean?
"You need to wake up! You're not dead!"
I'm... Not?
"No, you're not. So, wake up?"
Why?
"Your family and friends need you and we haven't met in person yet. Don't you want to meet the real me?"
... Yes...
}i{ }i{
Sasuke's eyes slowly opened, the first thing he saw was Hinata crying.
"Hi...na...ta..."
Hinata and Shino's eyes quickly snapped to Sasuke's face. He was alive! "Were... You... Crying?" Sasuke asked looking at his friend. Hinata wiped her eyes and said "Of coarse I was. I thought you were dead." Sasuke chuckled weakly and said "I thought so too." Shino helped the Uchiha into a sitting position and muttered "I suggest you not move too much."
Sakura noticed the scene and told Naruto and Kakashi that Sasuke was alive. When the Uchiha noticed them looking at him, he just waved at them. "He survived that? He really is a shinobi..." was all Haku could say. After all, no one before was able to survive that attack.
The horde of goons interrupted the ninjas by saying that they were going to raid and kill the village to make up for their meal ticket being dead. An arrow was shot right at the feet of the horde. All of the villagers were present along with Kurenai-sensei, Kiba, Akamaru, Tsunami, and Inarī. The boy was holding a crossbow.
The goons were a bit unnerved, so Naruto used the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu and made ten clones. To put the nail in the coffin, Kakashi used the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu to create 50 illusion clones and scare the goons off.
Everyone cheered. Everyone but Haku. He couldn't really move, not after remembering that Zabuza was near-death.
Kakashi was the one to walk up to the Missing-nin. "It's over," was all Kakashi said to him. "I...see..." Zabuza said weakly before adding "Can...you...take...me...to..." Kakashi kneeled down and said "Sure" before carefully picking Zabuza up. The Copy-nin already knew what the Missing-nin wanted.
"Miss..." Haku asked Sakura as he pointed towards Kakashi and Zabuza. The pink-haired kunoichi nodded and helped him move to the two older ninjas. Kakashi carefully laid Zabuza on the ground and Sakura let Haku go. The pre-teen immediately stat on hi knees and moved the Missing-nin so that he was cradled in the boys arms. "Ha...ku..." Zabuza whispered out, his strength was fading. "Please don't leave me," Was all Haku could say. By this time, Naruto was standing near them.
"Haku... I don't think he's going to make it," Kakashi told the boy as he saw tears in his eyes. Haku shook his head and hugged Zabuza closer. Kakashi knelt down and said "I know Zabuza wants to tell you something, but it looks like he's not going to be able to tell you like this. *Holds a hand up* But I know where he can talk to you for as long as he has left, but I need your consent." Haku looked at the Copy-nin and then to Zabuza, whom looked like he wanted to tell him something but didn't have the energy to do so. "Alright..." Haku said closing his eyes. Zabuza moved his eyes towards the Copy-nin, telling him that he has his consent as well. So, Kakashi placed his hands on Haku's and Zabuza's head and closed his eyes.
Not really sure what to think, Naruto was about to place a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "Wait, Naruto!" Sakura tried to warn, but it was too late. When Naruto touched Kakashi's shoulder, he was sent to another world. Another plane of existence.
}i{ }i{
ZY: Before Naruto goes jumping into the Dream Plane, I'll be working on a Flash Forward Episode. It'll be taking place in Boruto's era, so be prepared to see the next generation of ninjas in this AU.
