A/N1: I don't usually do this but it kinda helped me write it. When you get to the last scene, denoted by a "ooo000ooo" line break, feel free to load up The Grateful Dead's performance of "Brokedown Palace" at San Francisco in 1977. I don't usually go for that sort of thing, but I thought it fit quite well. Just search "Grateful Dead Brokedown Palace 6/8/77" on the Youtube.


Chapter XIV: "The Grapes of Wrath"

"…and in the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." – John Steinbeck


We took to the trees in an instant, leaving Neji and Lee with five clones to scout and communicate with the original.

I almost couldn't believe it when Naruto said that a clone he left in Jubei's house had been transported to Gatou's base of operations.

What he failed to mention to our Sensei, however, was that the clone had only accomplished this by disguising itself as a brick of heroin. Sasuke and I both seemed to subconsciously agree that that information was best kept private as we allowed Naruto to explain it away as a decent sum of money made to look like Jubei's savings.

And so here we were, tree hopping to Gatou's compound to collect his head and anything else of note we might find. It's kind of a rush, getting to carry out such a high-priority mission. Genin are expected to see combat, sure, but assassinations are supposed to be kept to Chuunin and up. Killing people is actually in their job description.

Killing people usually entails discretion so the margin for fuck ups is much slimmer. Genin are expected to fuck up, it's why they have a babysitter—Anko's words, not mine—for things as simple as "catch the fucking cat."

I'd be lying if I said Kakashi-sensei trusting us with this job didn't make me feel ten feet tall and reaffirm my belief in my career choice.

It even felt good to see similar looks of eagerness on my friends' faces as they sailed through the leaves alongside me.

Silent.

Purposeful.

Deadly.

I repress a shudder and continue on, mentally going over strategies in my head. I've no illusions about my heavy-hitting teammates and how far they outstrip me strength-wise.

Thankfully we're not measuring our dicks today. No, we're here to eliminate ronin and kill our target.

That I can do in spades.

The trees begin to thin and we drop to the ground, approaching at a sedate pace. The forest soon turns to scattered trees that disappear into scrub and end in tall grass.

Just in front of us is a perimeter fence, meant for keeping wildlife away. I stop besides my teammates. The complex isn't too large. Three warehouses, a shipping and receiving center with various containers staged for transportation, and a three-story office building.

The cliché in me says that our target will be up on the top floor in a fancy office with luxuries befitting a billionaire.

The cynic in me says that if this fat, rich man's… thing is little kids, I'm going to feed him his own cock.

Yeah, I think, noting the few ronin patrolling the grounds, if it's kids I'm gonna say I "snapped" and get righteous on some sub-human scum.

Sasuke points to the office buildings, my gaze following as I squint.

Ah. He's spotted quite a few ronin milling about inside the office buildings– must be nice to have the Sharingan and the heightened visual acuity that comes with it. I'm sure it drives Naruto into fits of jealous rage at night, but I acknowledge that I have no proof to back up my claim.

"So, I was thinking we send in some clones first, just to make sure there aren't any shinobi laying back," Naruto suggests quietly. "My clones at the bridge reported all three were present, but there could be a fourth, however unlikely that is…"

"Clones seem reasonable," Sasuke agrees. "How do we approach Gatou?"

"I say we head to the top," my blonde teammate replies, waving to the trees around us. "We get Gatou first, make sure he can't escape or destroy documents, then clean up what the clones miss."

I nod in the affirmative, noting that the clones emerge from the trees around us. Naruto's getting good at that, I think as about forty copies of him hop the fence and begin spreading out and moving into the compound.

Two additional clones step up next to Naruto, surveying the compound. We have the high ground– the forest kind of bleeds into a valley that Gatou has built his base of operations in. It has a good vantage point to catch in-traffic coming from the ocean and town, but it's pretty open to anyone willing to take a hike through the woods.

So far I've counted about twelve people moving around the open lots, all armed with swords, double checking potential hiding spots and securing any staged cargo.

The clones below us begin taking up positions on the outskirts of the shipping containers. Gatou's set up may be efficient and well secured, but he didn't think to put any high guard towers apart from a check point at the main entrance.

One of the clones next to Naruto dispelled and my eyes widened as I saw every clone in front of me, all forty of them, pause and move a few steps here and there into a final position. I knew the constructs took instructions well and had the ability to think independently, but I had no idea they could communicate so… fluidly.

That wasn't even getting into how impossible it should be to create forty fucking shadow clones without collapsing from chakra exhaustion.

Naruto seemed to be waiting– ah, there it was. He's waiting for several ronin to get closer to stacked containers, round corners, or disappear between buildings.

A few more seconds…

The second clone with us dispels and the other forty move like choreographed ants as they drop down, run through, or grab their victims. It happens in a moment and Gatou is down at least fifteen ronin, the only evidence left is the rapidly disappearing bodies now being dragged out of sight and stuffed into containers.

I can't help but feel impressed. That was about as smooth as anyone could hope for.

"It's less impressive because I know your clone has been here mapping patrols and noting shift changes," Sasuke dismisses. "I'm more curious as to how you managed to pass information between the clone and yourself."

"Eh, eat a dick, you couldn't do better," Naruto counters. "But, to your other question, it was actually the clone who made contact. After observing for a bit, he made a kage bunshin of his own and dispelled it."

"Fascinating," I interrupt, "but I'd rather get this done sooner than later. Maybe we can save the 'Q and A' for after the mission?"

"Spoilsport," Naruto sighs before motioning us on.

As we descend to the compound, I can see the clones splitting off and entering the various warehouses no doubt intent on nosing through Gatou's inventory and picking off any stragglers who might be inside. A minute or so later and the three of us have managed to make it to the offices undetected.

Sticking to a building is just as easy as sticking to a tree so it isn't any challenge for my teammates and I to begin scaling the building, arriving at the top a few seconds later with no one the wiser.

"Check this out," Naruto grins as he creates and dismisses another shadow clone.

I look down and catch one of his clones hengeing into a bloodied version of a ronin before taking off, full sprint and screaming at the top of its lungs.

"INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS!" The clone screams, running for the main entrance of the offices we are currently standing atop. I grimace, realizing the fountain out front is most likely going to be ruined.

A stream of ten or so ronin, these ones actually armored lightly and each carrying two swords, promptly exits the building to investigate and their fates are sealed.

Before any of them can begin asking questions, the clone promptly explodes in a hellish blaze, incinerating the four closest ronin into a fine, pink mist that coats the smooth concrete of Gatou's fountain area.

The survivors are screaming, some have ended up in the fountain, their severed limbs helping to dye the water a sickening crimson…

"That should distract them," Naruto explains unnecessarily, "and I'm fairly certain there are no shinobi lurking about. Looks like the clone from the bridge was right and that's where Zabuza went to make his final play…"

"You were bothered by your teammate's brutality?"

Sakura laughs, picking at the frayed stitching on the couch she currently occupies. "No, of course not. If anything, it was a smart move that efficiently used Naruto's ridiculous chakra capacity to keep the three of us as safe as possible." The kunoichi shrugs her shoulders. "Nobody thinks of strategies like that because nobody can really do things the way Naruto does them…"

"I read the mission report," Yamanaka Kaori continued, "if the violence of infiltrating Gatou's compound did not bother you, why do you keep circling back to it?" A pause. "Did you not have confidence in Naruto-san's plan?"

"I did," Sakura counters, "but I didn't learn until afterwards that I was wrong to not be skeptical," she admits, "Kakashi-sensei hadn't explained that no plan survives contact with the enemy. We didn't know who the enemy was, either. That's why I keep circling back to the compound, Yamanaka-san– that's where things started going wrong."

xxxXXXxxx

Jiro slammed down his empty sake bottle with a laugh. "You're one funny motherfucker!"

Keiji grinned in response, tipping his glass of beer in acknowledgement.

"Glad I got to run into you for this bout of day drinking," Jiro explains, "I wasn't supposed to have the day off but I got a call from the boss! Said to stay home and take a full day's pay– what are the fucking odds of that?"

"Long ones," Keiji grunted, downing his beer, "best not waste today, then."

"We're drinking, aren't we?" Jiro bellowed good naturedly. The traveling merchant was a good guy, Jiro had a knack for these kinds of things. "Though I've got something a bit better, if you're interested…"

"Normally, I'd be more than enthused to partake," Keiji grinned apologetically, "but there isn't going to be enough time…"

"What do you mean?" Jiro frowned.

"Jiro, think about it, man." Keiji groaned. "traveling merchant who just so happens to show up now and start hanging out with you of all people? If I'm not a clone of Naruto then I'm clearly an assassin sent by Gatou to gut you like a fish, buddy," the merchant replied severely.

"…Naruto!?" Jiro screeched. "You're watching me!? Still!?"

"Well, today's gonna be big day and the boss wanted to make sure you stayed safe– there's going to be a lot of ronin and villagers running around."

"What do you–"

Jiro was interrupted as man wearing a fish monger's apron burst into the tavern, dragging a bleeding ronin behind him.

"No more!" The fish monger bellowed. "I caught this one raping a girl while his fellows laughed!" He snarled, beating the ronin about the face with the handle of his knife.

The ronin whimpered, Jiro thought he couldn't be more than a couple of years older than himself.

"Today this ends!" The fish monger asserted, drawing his blade across the protesting ronin's neck, silencing his cries in a strangled, wet gurgle. "The ninja are fighting on the bridge, these men," he spat, indicating the twitching, dying teenager at his feet, "are just that: men. Come with me and the others! Our country will be ours again!"

"That," Naruto chuckled as a few patrons followed after the fish monger. "Kinda had a little revolution planned to take care of Gatou's thugs. It's the least you all could do to help Tazuna-san in thanks for the bridge that is going to make everyone's lives much better…"

Jiro could hear screaming and shouting outside punctuated by the clash of steel.

"Naruto, what have you done?" He asked quietly.

"What we have to. We can take care of Gatou and his minions, but it's you all that have to rebuild this country," the disguised shinobi explained, "and that process begins today. We're gonna pour Wave a strong foundation so that the next group of assholes—*cough* probably Kiri *cough*—that comes along has to think twice about fucking with it!"

Jiro wanted to protest the idea, citing the many lives likely to be lost in the process as a reason, but he could not fault Naruto's logic. Defeating Gatou was pointless if it only left them vulnerable to another tyrant.

"Gods above," Jiro whispered, turning to the bar with horror. "It's really come to this?" He asked no one in particular as the screaming and shouting outside grew louder still.

"Only thing to do," the barkeep offered as he took out a rather cruel looking dagger, "is stick to your principles and pray your god saves you." He pointed the blade at an obsidian sculpture sitting on a shelf behind the bar. "My God is an angry God, but sometimes you need a bigger monster to look out for you, what with all the other big baddies stepping over us mortals in their never-ending games."

Jiro examined the effigy. It stood proud on what appeared to be piles of bones, tall and reptilian, grasping a mace in one hand and a small, human warrior in the other.

"The weak should fear the strong, kid. It's the natural order of things," the barkeep elaborated. "So, I ask you, if you're gonna do whatever," he waved his hand in the general direction of the town, "this is, what harm could it do to have someone watching your back?"

"…are you asking me to pray?" Jiro finally asked. He looked around and saw Keij—Naruto, he saw Naruto directing more patrons to the street with the guy from the docks.

The bartender laughed. "No, kid. The Harvester has no need for our thoughts and wishes. He only respects strength." The man drew his dagger across his palm casually and held his bleeding hand above the effigy. "Blood is life, blood is strength," he intoned as Jiro watched his blood drip down onto the figure's curved horns.

Jiro grabbed another bottle of sake and downed it quickly. He was gonna need a sword. "Fuck it. Couldn't hurt, right? Better than the freaks who are dying but won't admit it."

"That's the spirit!" The bartender smiled approvingly. "If you're intent on following the trouble that's brewing outside you might as well have all the help you can get. Everyone needs a god." He said matter-of-factly.

Jiro stared at the bartender, waiting.

"What?" The surly man finally asked.

"You gonna clean that knife or get me a new one…?"

The bartender briefly looked as if he wanted to say something but perhaps thought better of it and settled for a sigh before fetching a second knife, this one plain and utilitarian. "Here, kid. Hopefully The Harvester finds you worthy and protects you."

Jiro nodded before cutting his hand and allowing the blood to drip onto the countertop effigy. He was rather pleased with himself for not wincing as he made the shallow cut on his palm.

"Didn't know you were in the market for some salvation, Jiro," Naruto mused, "I could have helped you with that." The disguised ninja shook his head. "You settled to early and bought low– rookie mistake."

"Eh, it's all the same shit, anyways. If you're not covered in rot and disease, claiming your god wills it, I can deal," Jiro shrugged. "Besides, you're the one protecting me from Gatou's people. That, more than anything, is my primary concern. You get me through this and you can sell me all of your bullshit afterwards."

"Mmmmmmm," Naruto made a show about thinking it over before shaking his head in the negative, "I think I'll pass. My god doesn't care for sloppy seconds– worshipers who just go around giving up their souls to any deity that crosses their path displease Her sensibilities."

Jiro had no response to that and settled for watching Naruto—what he assumed was probably a clone of him, anyway—walk off to the nearest window to observe the violence proliferating outside.

"So… are we just going to attack ronin or something?" He managed to ask.

"Pretty much," Naruto shrugged, not bothering to look away from the mirror, "but I'm going to let the others thin out the ranks a bit… maybe send an update and see if Boss has new orders, too…"

"Shit, that sounds good to me." Jiro nodded, pouring himself another dish of sake. "Zabuza and the other ninja aren't around, are they?"

"Nah, they've been spotted at the bridge. Probably their best shot– Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei are no pushovers."

Another satisfied nod. "Cool, sounds good to me. So are you down to party later? I still need help–"

"NO!" Naruto screamed, hurling a kunai at the man stabbing the bartender to death as he leapt at the man who had hurled a throwing knife into Jubei's neck.

The bartender's assailant and Jubei collapsed simultaneously as Naruto subdued the second attacker. The blonde ensured he was disarmed before picking him up and slamming him nose first into the nearest table.

The disguised blonde hurried over to Jubei as the attacker howled in pain on the floor behind him.

"Fuck." Naruto swore. The blood had already ruined Jubei's shirt and soaked the kneed of Naruto's pants. He tore at his shirt to use as a cloth to staunch the bleeding–

He caught Jubei's eyes, felt his hand touch his leg.

"Huh…huhhlllhhhp…"

The words ended as a rattling exhale, Jubei's chest moving laboriously one final time and his eyes dimming in a way Naruto was intimately familiar with.

The clone sighed and stood up wearily. The boss was going to be pissed, Jubei was a good guy. He approached the bleeding attacker with measured steps. He wasn't remarkable. Brown breeches, black hair cut short, and a dirty tunic. He looked like a dockworker or ship hand. Just another villager.

Or so it would have seemed.

"Do you know why you're here?" Naruto began.

"Because of divine providence," the man grinned wetly, "would you be surprised if I told you my friend and I were only supposed to watch you?"

Naruto paused. "No, not exactly. We'll circle back to that, though," he answered, helping the man up and bringing him over to the bar. "You're here because I need to know who sent you. That means I gotta interrogate you before I kill you."

The man laughed. "You will only waste your time, shinobi-san. Just know that your friend and that other heathen died for worshipping a false god who uses some of the vilest of creatures to do his bidding."

Naruto quirked a brow in curiosity before summoning a shadow clone to fetch him the effigy the bartender and Jubei had offered their blood to.

It was a reptilian looking thing with an overly large mace holding a human warrior as if preparing to consume it. Naruto did not fail to notice the bloodstained horns on the thing, either. Troubling, however, was the fact that he did not recognize this particular deity.

People these days tended to worship everything under the sun so you never knew whose god was real and whose was just a metaphor.

"Would it help if I told you that the Schemer Prince will consume their souls in a horrific manner to further strengthen his own powers?" Naruto's captive asked.

"Oh, my," Naruto mock gasped as he handed the man to his clone, tossing the effigy away and hopping behind the bar to rummage around, "you're certainly spirited!" The blonde emerged from behind the bar with a bottle of alcohol and a rag. "I'll be sure to enquire into the identity of the 'Schemer Prince' on my own time. For now, I'd really like to know who sent you. Mind telling me the easy way?"

"Fool, I will only tell you that you are exactly where you are meant to be because a power greater than you or your whore-of-a-mother could ever hope to oppose!" He hissed, spitting in Naruto's face. He smiled serenely. "Now kill me like I decided you would. Prove to me you'll kill for your god while I prove to you that I'll die for mine."

Naruto examined the man carefully. He seemed perfectly content to die at Naruto's whim. There were other things to be doing, so he didn't have much time…

"I think you might talk, but you seem pretty resolute…" he pondered before kicking out the man's left knee. "So I'm going to have to make this quick," he continued as the man screamed in agony on the floor, "tell me the name of who sent you, and I'll kill you with a kunai to the head."

Naruto took a few steps back, lit the rag stuffed into his bottle of alcohol, aimed just in front of his howling prisoner, and hurled the bottle into the floor.

The man's screaming turned to shrieking as the bottle shattered and doused him in flaming alcohol. A second bottle, for good measure, exploded and the flames licking away at his skin and clothes doubled in height and spread to the surrounding tables and chairs.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The man continued, rolling on the floor in a futile effort to stop the fire.

The clone made a second who dispelled to update the Boss and its comrades on the new… development.

The clone watched as the man screamed and burned, the awful stench suffocating him. In sixty seconds or so, the shock and lock of oxygen would be a factor and at five minutes he'd be dead. Didn't seem like he was going to talk…

But, still…

"I hope you feel every second of it," the clone replied to the screams as the fires began to slowly consume the bar they were in.

xxxXXXxxx

"Fuck."

"What?" Sasuke asked Naruto, stopping along with his teammates at the maintenance access to the top of Gatou's offices.

"Something's not right…" the blonde replied, looking supremely disturbed. "Jubei's dead…"

Sakura gasped. "I thought you said all the shinobi were at the bridge?"

"They are!" Naruto confirmed. "There were two… cultists, or something. They couldn't use chakra but they were definitely trained, though. One of them claimed they were spies…" Naruto rubbed his face tiredly. "Fuck. I was only looking for ronin and civilians."

"Kakashi can beat you for incompetence later," Sasuke dismissed. "Is there anything else you fucked up that Sakura and I need to know about?"

"Sasuke!" Sakura admonished, horrified.

Said Genin turned to the kunoichi with a raised brow. "Incompetence kills."

Naruto actually looked genuinely hurt before carefully schooling his features. "No," he growled in seething anger, much to Sasuke's delight, "these people aren't any danger to us. But if they were watching the town, they're probably watching Gatou, too. Be alert."

"I always am because I'm a ninja, Naruto," Sasuke dismissed airily as picked the lock with the small kit most shinobi kept on themselves. "Do you even know how to ninja?" He asked as he disappeared into the building.

Sakura gave Naruto a weak smile that was more of a grimace before following Sasuke, letting a breath she hadn't realized she was holding go as Naruto finally fell into step with them.

The concrete stairs spiraled down twice before depositing the three shinobi in a closet filled with sundries and janitorial supplies, a lone door with frosted glass allowing a shaft of light to penetrate the darkness.

Sakura nodded to her teammates. Her heart was beginning to thunder in her chest, tattooing a beat only she could feel. She noted Sasuke's Sharingan glinting crimson in the darkness as he waited for their next move.

"Breathe…" she thought, grinning at Sasuke.

Sakura turned to their third member who she noted was opening the door and peeking out.

He turned back towards Sakura and Sasuke signing that four people waited at the end of the hall, all of them armed.

Sakura watched as he stepped away from the door. "They're paying more attention to the door in front of them," he whispered, "but they're gonna see us coming. So, Sasuke, hit the two closest to us, and Sakura and I will nab the two in the back," Naruto advised as he withdrew a kunai.

"Sounds good, I'll take right," Sakura nodded, a kunai of her own now resting in her hand. She idly noted that Sasuke had palmed two handfuls of shuriken.

Naruto moved to the door, giving each of his teammates a meaningful look to which both nodded. Sasuke stepped up to lead them off and reach the closest targets first.

The door opened and Sakura tore off after her two teammates, running up the wall and onto the ceiling as the whistling of shuriken drew the attention of the guard on the left who had just enough time to turn slightly before the ronin to his right dropped dead with a deluge of blood and a wet gurgle.

Sakura ignored the second crumpling body and took three more steps before canceling the chakra flowing to her feat as she leaped at her target. The shock of watching Naruto hurl a kunai into his buddy's temple effectively distracting him from Sakura and the kunai she jammed into his neck.

The kunoichi tried not to grunt, her knees took most of the impact, as she finished driving the ronin's body into the floor, leading her to hastily scramble up to avoid soaking her pants in his blood.

Naruto and Sasuke moved through the next door and Sakura followed, the three finding themselves in a corridor that opened into an elaborate reception area. Sakura moved forward, noting the distinct lack of guards, before halting abruptly at the sight of a dead woman slumped over her desk.

Sasuke sprang into action, rushing to the gaudy, solid-wood door and entering what must surely be Gatou's office.

"Fuck," Naruto swore, examining the woman and revealing a gaping wound on her neck that ran from ear-to-ear. "She's still warm, this happened recently. Fuck. Probably related to Jubei."

Naruto motioned towards Gatou's office and the pair made their way into the office to find Sasuke staring at Gatou's body, splayed out on his desk and absolutely drenched in his own lifeblood.

Sakura grimaced at the brutality. The man's face was a rictus of terror and pain and his entire torso was riddled with shallow stab wounds. The desk was practically painted crimson with everything that had once been inside Gatou; even now, more red droplets continued their soft pitter patter when they struck the floor.

"Damn," Naruto said, almost admiringly, "that hurt and it took a bit. This wasn't a ninja, but they know a thing or two about the nastier things in life. I wonder how they got in without drawing any attention?"

"Tea cup is still full," Sasuke pointed out, diligently ignoring the stench of bloody death that hung sourly in the air, "almost cold, too."

Sakura exited the room and reexamined the secretary. "She has a cup on her desk, too," the kunoichi reported before scanning the room once more. Sure enough, there was a white-clothed tray with a pot, cups and several accoutrements. "Cart is still here, guys. Maybe the killer snuck in as a servant?"

"Yeah, no one ever really pays attention to the help if they can avoid it," Naruto agreed before approaching and pulling up the white cloth that covered the tray. There was a white kitchen uniform stashed away. "Fuck, they did sneak in as underlings. Stupid ronin probably didn't vet someone who had already come from the kitchens…"

"Hn."

"I deduced that as well, Sasuke," Naruto continued, "but why would anyone want to do our job for us?"

"Why would we be the only ones who would want to kill Gatou? Inari would have done it if we'd let him," Sasuke pointed out.

"Point," Naruto conceded, pausing and staring off at something only he could see. "Lee and Neji are being attacked by a squad of ronin, thirty or so."

"Just ronin?" Sakura asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. C'mon, let's check around for any documents, money, or valuables and be on our way. This place is secure, we can come back and be more thorough after we go help out on the bridge."

"How's that going, by the way?"

"Not bad, Sasuke" Naruto eventually replied, making a so-so gesture with his hand, "but I don't think Gai and Kakashi would hate the extra help– Haku is a sadistic bitch and Ameyuri's swords are fucking sharp. Let's finish up and head out. I'll have the clones with Lee and Neji send them our way once they wrap with their new friends."

The Uchiha turned to examine a bookcase in the room's far corner. "How are Lee and Neji doing? They worth anything?"

This time Naruto grimaced. "They're getting youthful on some poor ronins' asses."

xxxXXXxxx

Zori was getting pretty tired of all the bullshit, if he was being honest with himself. The ninja Gatou had hired were assholes who were certainly not above murdering ronin whenever it struck their fancy.

Not to mention the fact that they drew a ridiculous sum of money that could be used to pay the forces who were actually loyal to Gatou more. Whatever. They were here to bust ass and that's what they were going to do.

"Look, you little shits," he spat, "give us the fucking woman and her son. Or else my friends and I are going to gut you like pigs!"

"What my associate means," Waraji hastened to explain, "is that there's no need for violence. Our employer simply wants Tazuna-san's–"

Waraji was halted when a kunai sailed out, faster than Zori could track, and embedded itself in Takeshi's forehead. He'd been standing about five feet behind Waraji.

The one with the creepy eyes stepped off the balcony. "We aren't accepting terms of surrender or taking… civilian," he spat the word disdainfully, "prisoners today."

"Wait–!" Zori attempted, but it was too late.

Waraji literally exploded with a wet boom as a sizzling kunai imbedded itself in his chest.

Zori screamed as he was hurled back from the concussive force before he landed on his back just in time to see Kyoshi's face cave in to bloody pulp from the inhuman hammerfist the shinobi in green dropped on him. The action shocked him into jumping to his feet and fleeing the battle.

He ran, jumping over Nori's crumpling form as a kunai lodged itself in the poor boy's neck. Zori spurred on, if he could just make it to the trees–

"You are within my field of divination."

The white-eyed freak came out of nowhere, his hands moving faster than Zori could comprehend as the shinobi danced around the ronin's wild strikes.

Zori fell to the ground, dying as his body and chakra circulatory system shut down simultaneously.

The white-eyed boy walking away and casually flicking a kunai into the base of Yuuta's skull was the last thing observed by his rapidly dimming vision.

xxxXXXxxx

Haku stood, shakily, and spit out a glob of blood– a souvenir from the devastating backhand the green freak of nature had dealt her when she attempted to flank him as he pressed Ameyuri.

A costly mistake if the ache in her face was anything to go by. Any harder and the Jounin would have broken her jaw, though she had not yet ruled out a hairline fracture. Thankfully, her partner was faring better at keeping the man at bay with her swords.

He may possess terrifying speed and ungodly strength, but the Kiba could hack his limbs off or fry him with electricity all the same.

It was a small miracle that Zabuza-sama was holding his own against Kakashi a little further down the bridge. Haku didn't like her or Ameyuri's chances against the green Jounin all that much. The need to finish him off was beginning to grow incessant as every second that ticked by drew them closer to incoming leaf-nin.

They may have all been Genin, but an eight-to-three ratio was stretching things very thin. Those weren't the kind of numbers shinobi expected to survive when just going one-on-one could go horribly wrong with but a single misstep.

Haku leapt into action, hurling a dozen senbon at the Jounin's back, before sending a second dozen after the man as he leapt away from Ameyuri-chan to dodge her first salvo. Haku shunshin'd in front of him and ran through a short string of seals.

"Hijutsu: Sensatso Suishou."

The air hummed with chakra as the moisture coalesced into a thousand needles that hurled themselves at the Jounin's landing spot, eviscerating his form in gruesome fashion. Haku grimaced at the destroyed remnants of her opponent's kawarimi as she sank into a mirror that pooled at her feet.

She appreciated the man's technique as she reappeared twenty feet away, clearing the way for her lover. Haku watched her lover drop from the sky in graceful fashion.

"Raiton: Raiga!" Ameyuri yelled as lightning chakra surged forth from the Kiba and rushed at the surprised Jounin.

Gai, for his part, managed to leap away and avoid the twin blades seeking his neck but was still struck by the lightning chakra as it exploded on the bridge and hurled him off to the side.

Haku smiled and threw more senbon. They could do this; their teamwork was immaculate and Zabuza-sama was still holding his own against Kakashi. They needed only to kill either Jounin before their students arrived and the numbers would matter much less.

The Jounin managed to avoid most of Haku's senbon, but the kunoichi was pleased to observe one imbedding itself in a cluster of nerves located near the collarbone that was known to cause severe pain.

The man stopped, a pained gasp clawing its way from between his gritted teeth before he steeled his eyes and ripped the steel needle out of his chest with a grimace.

Haku found her respect for the man grudgingly rising– such a thing had been known to cause lesser shinobi to pass out from the pain.

Hard, brown eyes found her light ones.

"Kaimon!"

Haku felt the chakra as the man shot forward faster than she could react to and kneed her in the stomach, causing her to vomit as she curled around the Jounin's leg, before flying away end over end.

The pain grew exponentially as Haku crashed into the bridge, skidding away in a pathetic heap that finally came to a stop when she hit the barrier running up and down the bridge's sides.

Her instincts screamed at her to move and evade and Haku found herself panicking for the first time in the fight as her body refused to cooperate fast enough.

"Raiton: Bakura!"

Haku looked up as the glowing form of Ameyuri crashed into the advancing Jounin, discharging electricity wildly as the girl screamed at the man and furiously tried to sever his head from his shoulders. Haku finally cleared her head, tenderly touching the surely broken rib where the Jounin's attack had landed.

Ameyuri and he were now pitting their kenjutsu and taijutsu against each other, thundering explosions popping off rapidly as their opposing chakras clashed around their bodies. Haku was somewhat dismayed to see the man landing several hits on Ameyuri, moving just a hair faster than the sword-wielding girl, with her lightning chakra pushing back as the only thing keeping him from pressing his apparent advantage.

Haku peppered the man with some more senbon, forcing the Jounin to dodge and keeping him from pushing Ameyuri further away and closer towards Kakashi and Zabuza. The two elite shinobi quickly clashed again, their chakra whipping about and clearing away a fair portion of the mist Zabuza had clouded the bridge in.

The nuke-nin could now see the leaf kunoichi and their client tucked away far behind a veritable fortress of tags, wires, and hidden traps. Haku's eyes narrowed.

Was that an exploding tag sticking out of that man's collar?

Haku chuckled grimly and returned to her own fight, disappearing into a mirror, she leapt out of a second and peppered the Jounin with senbon.

He jerked away and Ameyuri scored a nick of his bicep in recompense for his sloppiness. Haku dove into another mirror, flying through the howling void that screamed into her ears, before emerging behind the man.

The Jounin dodged a crossing slash from Ameyuri and Haku dove forward, planting a senbon in each of his shoulders before kicking off his back and flying away into the darkness via the safety of a power even she didn't fully understand once again.

She emerged about fifteen feet away to see the man roar in pain before the cloak of chakra around him flared and ejected her senbon. Haku swallowed. That was certainly different. She sighed, if she couldn't subdue this man then she and Ameyuri would have to use brute force.

Haku disappeared once more, emerging to the Jounin's left with senbon in hand and slashing at him before she dove into another mirror as Ameyuri pressed her opening. Haku interrupted, Ameyuri grimacing and disappearing into a mirror, appearing in front of the man with senbon in each hand.

Chakra flared violently and the man forced the issue.

"Omote Renge!"

The kick crashed into Haku like a tsunami breaking the shore and sent her flying into the air regretting her foolish decision to be the "bait."

The man loosed his bandages for a second technique and a mirror appeared above them, heralding Ameyuri and her glowing swords.

"Raitou Jutsu: Rakurai!" she screamed as a lightning bolt shot down into the brightly glowing Kiba before rocketing into their attacker and exploding.

Haku managed to correct her positioning and dive into a hasty roll just in time to avoid the backlash of lightning chakra that hurled the Konoha Jounin into the bridge, forming a small crater that kicked up dust and debris upon impact.

The kunoichi landed shakily, Ameyuri landing just behind her and steadying Haku with a bracing had to the younger girl's shoulder.

"Are you okay, Haku-chan?" the sword master asked with concern.

"Broken ribs…" Haku panted wearily, "that last kick hurt more than what I know Zabuza-sama can dish out…" She sighed unevenly. "We need to finish this, let's go."

The two advanced, swords and senbon at the ready, and closed in on the struggling Jounin. His green suit was now ripped in several places and he was smoking lightly.

The air around the two kunoichi began to kick up as frost started blooming across the standing water left over from various jutsu.

The mist in the air iced and started sticking to surfaces and clothing alike.

"Raiton: Bakurai." Ameyuri said as she was wreathed in lighting chakra, glowing luminously and pushing back the encroaching ice. A moment passed and the chakra went from a howling tempest to a pinprick with the weight of a dying star as Ameyuri's lightning chakra receded and crawled into the Kiba. The twin swords now hummed with barely restrained power that spoke nothing but destruction.

Haku turned away. The swords were so bright they hurt to look at.

No matter. Haku knew how this would work. She would go low and Ameyuri would drop from above.

The two kunoichi leapt into action, rushing forward at the now standing Jounin in a blaze of speed. Haku stopped a few feet away to ensure accuracy.

"Hissatsu Hyousou!" she exclaimed as Ameyuri leapt up to strike down their opponent.

And the momentum turned to horror as Haku felt the inhuman amount of chakra it required to substitute a man like the ninja she was fighting

He disappeared in a puff of smoke to be replaced by that godsdamned smile and blonde hair. The clone grinned before exploding as dozens of large ice spikes erupted from beneath him, running through it in numerous fatal wounds.

It was all Haku could do to force a mirror between Ameyuri and the explosion that went off when the clone dispelled. Haku was forced to dodge what she identified as a Hyuuga, the Genin attempting to close off some tenketsu from her blindside, however, and was unable to finesse Ameyuri's landing.

The older kunoichi emerged a good twenty feet back, the built-up energy ripping uncontrollably out of her swords and destroying a fair-sized chunk of the bridge in a blinding explosion.

Haku dodged a stab from Naruto that would have destroyed her right knee as she kicked back to put more distance between herself and her opponents. The blonde charged after her, keeping Haku on the defensive with arcing slashes and opportunistic stabs. She belatedly realized he was doing a fair job of forcing her into the pinpoint strikes of his Hyuuga teammate.

It was a rather elegant dance to twist between the two, spinning and hurling senbon to fend off their circling attack as they each swung counter to each other around her like hungry wolves on the prowl. Haku's superior speed, however, was its own weapon.

She leapt up and hurled more senbon. The Hyuuga moved like a willow in the wind around her projectiles, but Naruto was forced to deflect most of the needles headed his way. Haku grinned as three found their mark in his left arm.

She started doubling back to Ameyuri, hoping to–

Haku ducked hastily, the whistling of shuriken her only warning as a dozen of them whirled over her head, before she dove into a mirror as they began looping back with the tell-tale sight of frost sticking to the ninja wire that directed them.

The nuke-nin emerged with another round of senbon between her fingers and searched for the new target.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Haku was forced to leap even further away to avoid the roaring fireball that crashed into her previous location. She landed and sighted the Uchiha closing in, eyes glowing ominously in the flurries of snow that were picking up.

"Sen'ei Jashu!"

Haku turned in alarm as a swarm of snakes leapt at her from the pink-haired kunoichi, only to be saved by a snarling Ameyuri who leapt in and hacked all the creatures to pieces with the Kiba. The Konoha kunoichi was saved from Ameyuri's wrath by Naruto, who leapt in with his own sword to fend off the sword-wielding kunoichi.

Even worse, Haku spied a miniature version of the Jounin they'd been fighting helping what was obviously his sensei to his feet. Behind her, a pair of water dragons roared to life and crashed into each other, inundating the bridge in a deluge of water.

The Konoha ninja were now closing in on Haku and Ameyuri. This was desperate. Haku stepped into a mirror, reappearing behind Ameyuri and snatching her away from her fight with Naruto, before the two kunoichi reappeared next to each other a bit further away from Zabuza and Kakashi.

"Now!" Haku urged, gathering a large amount of her remaining chakra.

Ameyuri nodded and stabbed the Kiba into the bridge. "Raiton: Sandageto!"

The swords glowed and lighting erupted from the sky like divine judgement, reaching down and striking the immediate area around the two kunoichi. It forced all the leaf-nin back, none of them looking to be obliterated by nature and Ameyuri's potent chakra.

But it was all the time Haku needed to perform her technique.

"Hijutsu: Makyou Hyoushou." She whispered as the water around the bridge turned to chakra-soaked ice that gleamed menacingly in the snow.

Ameyuri charged the Hyuuga, forcing him towards his sensei with glowing strikes of the Kiba, as Haku sank into the ice. She reappeared in all the reflective surfaces creating a kaleidoscope effect and suddenly a hundred senbon flew at Neji.

The Genin leaped back as his sensei prepared to intervene, only for both to stop in amazement as a dome of mirrors began to materialize around them.

Gai quickly shot forward and struck the closest mirror, bouncing back with a grimace and an aching hand.

Haku turned her attention to Ameyuri. The older girl was charging the pink haired kunoichi, forcing Naruto and the Uchiha to intervene.

"LEE! DROP YOUR WEIGHTS!" The kunoichi guarding Tazuna-san screamed, causing Haku's eyes to widen as the smaller, green ninja dropped a pair of leg weights that thundered into the concrete.

The Genin, Lee, shot towards Ameyuri and forced her back with ludicrously fast taijutsu. The boy was clearly a cut faster than his peers and Ameyuri began to lose ground despite her perceived advantage.

Haku hurled several hundred senbon at Naruto and Sasuke to prevent the two from overwhelming Ameyuri before turning her attention to the pink-haired kunoichi.

Said girl hurled a pair of kunai to keep Haku from approaching her two vulnerable teammates, but in doing so left herself open.

The seven senbon that peppered Sakura's thigh and knee sent the younger girl crashing to the ground in a screaming heap that desperately began to crawl away before a pair of Naruto clones helped pull her to safety.

Haku smiled viciously, finding that quite the useful trick before deciding to finish the immobilized girl off. The kunoichi snarled, dropping into a mirror just in time to avoid an orchestra of shuriken sailing straight for her head.

She emerged behind the Uchiha and hurled a dozen senbon at his back, frowning in disappointment when the clone dispelled in a poof of chakra.

Haku was beginning to truly loathe that technique.

"Hijutsu: Sensatso Suishou!" She called out, the water needles forcing the Uchiha to withdraw rather than attempt to counter. He leapt back towards his two comrades who Ameyuri had successfully fended off as well.

The ice user was pleased to note several weeping slashes on Naruto.

Haku focused her chakra and sank into a mirror at her feet, reappearing in the numerous reflective planes of ice coating the bridge's surface. She was ecouraged at the note of apprehension on the Genin's faces when each of her reflections hurled a dozen senbon from nearly every direction.

The three dodged admirably, but even the Uchiha and his doujutsu were not enough; he took three to the back of his thigh. The green-covered boy did best, there were only two senbon protruding from his left bicep. He was already pulling them out with a frown.

Ameyuri appeared next to Haku. "Better be quicker next time, blondie!" She crowed.

Naruto had taken two to his shoulder, but he'd already plucked them out and dropped them to the ground. He was, however, in the process of extracting one from his left cheek that he'd managed to stop by biting down at the last moment. Haku had been hoping to strike the soft palate in his mouth, that was usually fatal.

She was suitably impressed. The murder in Naruto's eyes as the tiny hole in his cheek began to close was just gravy on top of everything.

Then Haku felt the chakra roll over her. It was the smaller, green Genin. He was grunting with the effort he was expending.

"Kai–!"

Haku deftly flicked her senbon as Ameyuri charged the Uchiha and Naruto. The green clad boy's mistake was remaining stationary for just moment too long.

He stood no chance as the thin needle slid into his sinus cavity, a little to the left of where the bridge of his nose ended between his eyes. Two extremely bushy eyebrows raised in horror before the boy dropped to the ground screaming bloody murder and thrashing about in a futile effort to do something—anything—about the excruciating pain.

One down–

"KYUUMON! SAIMON!"

Haku stared at the spectacle occurring in her dome of mirrors. It felt as if a great font of chakra had been torn open and set free. Her eyes widened as deafening explosions sounded and her mirrors shattered like cheap glass.

The Jounin rushed before the ice had the chance to touch the ground and Haku was forced to fall back as Ameyuri blazed to life in a coat of lightning chakra.

Gai was impossibly fast, snatching Haku out of midair as she attempted to dive into a mirror that had appeared on the ground. Her world spun upside down before she crashed into Ameyuri, the latter deactivating her jutsu to make a hasty attempt at catching Haku that resulted in the two kunoichi tumbling to the ground in a heap.

Haku idly watched the man, his skin bright crimson, walk over to his student and deftly snatch the senbon out of his face, causing the boy to shriek loudly one last time before falling still.

Her body, unfortunately, was growing sluggish from the chakra expenditure and the Jounin's blows.

He was soon charging again and Haku quickly forced Ameyuri and herself through a mirror. The pair appeared ten feet behind their opponent, Ameyuri leaping away with the Kiba glowing and Haku hurling senbon ahead of her to prevent the Jounin from pursuing.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Haku waited for the phalanx of clones to rush her, forming a unique string of seals. "Hijutsu: Sensatso Suishou." She finished, just before she sank into yet another mirror.

The thousand water needles coalesced and shot forward, skewering the mob of clones and revealing the real one charging at Haku from her left. She made a mirror a few feet away as Naruto leapt at her, wicked black flames licking along the edge of his blade, and a second mirror appeared between them.

Ameyuri leapt out with her Kiba glowing and intercepted while Haku turned to throw some senbon at the encroaching Hyuuga who merely danced around them all using his damned Byakugan.

The Uchiha used her lapse in concentration to score his first hit on Haku. One of his shuriken had nicked her right arm just above the elbow.

Haku snarled and dipped back into her mirrors, her reflection appearing in all of the reflective surfaces menacingly as she prepared to toss more senbon at her opponents. The first couple of hundred targeted the Uchiha and the Hyuuga, corralling them towards their kunoichi teammate and Tazuna. They probably weren't going to head through the traps, but they'd at least be at a distance and separated from the others.

The Hyouton user hastily crafted a mirror that allowed Ameyuri to sink away from the vicious-looking kick the green Jounin had aimed at her blindside as the redhead battled back Naruto.

Ameyuri reappeared between the man and his student, Haku stepping gracefully through a mirror that had appeared next to her.

The Jounin's eyes narrowed dangerously before Ameyuri was once again glowing with power and charging forward to meet him head on. That left Haku to hurl a dozen senbon at Naruto who was attempting to make his way to the Uchiha and the Hyuuga.

Haku idly noted a pair of clones dragging the unconscious, green-clad boy away from the fighting as she took off in pursuit of the remaining Genin, even as the clanging of Zabuza-sama and Kakashi's fighting grew more frenzied.

She leapt at Naruto, first, coming down upon him from above and forcing the blonde to roll out of the way of Haku's axe-kick or have his skull caved in. Another dozen senbon halted his retreat and allowed Haku to pass him to engage the Hyuuga.

The boy took light, measured steps towards her.

Haku flicked three senbon straight at his eyes to which the Hyuuga merely rose a lazy hand to bat them away with a disdainful sneer on his features.

The kunoichi smiled and rushed onwards, ducking under yet more shuriken attached to ninja wire as Ameyuri and the Jounin continued to clash all around the bridge in great, thundering eruptions.

The Hyuuga responded by sending two fingertips towards Haku's throat. The kunoichi merely stepped into a mirror as several more sprung up around the Hyuuga, forcing the boy onto the defensive.

One of Haku's reflections hurled more senbon at the approaching forms of Naruto and Sasuke to stall them just long enough for the original Haku to step out from Neji's side, bat away his reactionary Jyuuken strike, and plant a single senbon in his elbow that killed the sensation in that appendage.

The reflections surrounding Neji did not cease, immediately hurling more of those cursed, endless senbon at him, forcing the Genin to twist every-which-way in the hopes of avoiding being turned into a human pincushion.

Neji had yet to forget Lee's screams…

Haku continued to pepper her opponents with senbon, making excellent use of the numerous reflective surfaces on the bridge to corral her enemies.

"Ahhhhh!" Ameyuri screamed, causing Haku to turn, horrified, as the older girl sailed through the air before crashing a few feet away from Haku in a crumpled, moaning heap.

"Ameyuri-chan!" Haku shouted, rushing over to her friend. Ameyuri's left arm looked broken if the way it limply hung next to her was any indication. With a grimace Haku hauled the girl into a mirror just as the green Jounin approached them, his skin an inhuman crimson as chakra swirled about his muscular frame.

"Are you alright?" Haku asked Ameyuri when they emerged from the second mirror.

"…fractured my arm, probably…" the girl panted as she found her feet. "That man isn't human, no one can hit that hard…"

"Namekuji Tsunade-hime…" Haku countered forlornly.

Ameyuri paused, looking over to the green Jounin who was removing yet another senbon from yet another one of his students, before sighing. "Fuck."

"Target the Genin," Haku concluded darkly, "he'll leave himself vulnerable to protect them. The Hyuuga, first."

Ameyuri nodded, tucking one of the Kiba into its scabbard and keeping her injured arm close, before the two kunoichi leapt into the fray.

The Jounin moved to intercept Haku and Ameyuri before they reached his student but was forced back, along with the Genin, by the latter who hurled the Kiba in her right hand into the ground.

"Raiton: Sandageto!" The sky cracked open and the resulting lightning bolt roared to the ground before violently exploding around Ameyuri, Haku, and the Hyuuga.

Haku hurled more senbon, cutting off the Hyuuga's escape and even managing to strike Naruto in the upper thigh. The barely restrained killing intent rolling off of the boy only made Haku grin as she pursued the Hyuuga, dodging more Jyuuken strikes aimed at her tenketsu. The kunoichi was patient and finally rewarded when the Genin over extended, allowing Haku to flick three senbon between the boy's upper ribs.

The steel needles punctured his skin, sinking in deep enough to perforate a lung. The Hyuuga stopped in his tracks, breath instantly going ragged, and attempted to pluck out one of the senbon. The decision to do so was a natural instinct when one was penetrated with a foreign object. The distraction, however, cost the Hyuuga as a mirror appeared behind him with Ameyuri emerging from the ice's reflective surface.

"Raiton: Raiga!" Neji had time to widen his eyes in shock before the surge of lightning impacted his chest, lighting him up in a blinding glow, before ejecting him out of the battle and over the bridge's edge.

"NEJI!" The Jounin roared bounding to the bridge's edge and leaping after his student.

Naruto and Sasuke shot forward, the latter hurling three shuriken at Haku and palming a kunai while Naruto moved to engage Ameyuri.

The redhead merely held her single Kiba in a casual stance and waited for the blonde's opening strike—a stab aimed at her heart—before sidestepping it and answering with a slash of her own that forced Naruto back a step and a half to avoid having his throat cut open.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Five more of the blondes appeared, swords drawn, and leapt into the fight against Ameyuri. Naruto pulled back as the first clone ran at her, its sword held high, and attempted to run the girl through with the Ebony Blade.

The kunoichi swung at the shadow clone, eyes widening in surprise when it was kawarimi'd away and replaced with an identical copy that had its hands in the snake seal.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" It screamed, unleashing a torrent of wind chakra into Ameyuri's exposed side and sending the girl flying away from Naruto and towards Sasuke.

The Uchiha hurled a kunai at Haku, forcing her to dodge before running through a lightning-fast string of seals and taking a deep breath.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" The Uchiha spat out six small fireballs that sped towards Ameyuri, causing the girl to twist in midair to avoid being hit and set aflame.

Ameyuri had a moment to sigh in relief as she landed in front of the Uchiha who promptly jumped up and gave an almighty tug.

The kunoichi looked around in alarm, the fireballs fizzled out to reveal black shuriken whirling around her in a wide arc as the wire attached to them closed around her. Ameyuri began panicking when the wires pulled taught before she could finish her kawarimi and the Uchiha held his hands in the tiger seal, the wires binding her new secured in his teeth.

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" Fire shot out of the Uchiha's mouth and ran down the wires, hurtling towards Ameyuri.

"Makyou Hyoushou!"

One of Haku's gigantic mirrors formed between Ameyuri and the rushing flames, directing the flames around the relieved kunoichi as Haku snatched the Kiba from Ameyuri's right hand and quickly cut the girl free before dashing away to head off the encroaching Naruto.

Haku engaged the blonde with taijutsu, weaving around his ever increasingly frustrated swings before scoring several high percentage strikes to his legs.

The Genin snarled and redoubled his efforts, an act matched by Haku. The kunoichi was keenly aware of the imminent return of the green-clad Jounin. The situation was still manageable, but Zabuza-sama would probably need assistance to finish off Hatake-san.

But, before Haku and Ameyuri could do that, they had to either kill the Jounin or finish off his students. Then they could split up and finish off the remaining Leaf shinobi. Haku steeled herself, a plan forming in her mind as she took in her surroundings.

Haku ducked another errant swipe of Naruto's sword before dropping into another mirror, smiling to herself at the blonde's primal roar of frustration. She stepped out next to Ameyuri, hurling more senbon and forcing the Uchiha to alter his approach.

"Ameyuri-chan, take out the Uchiha." They could do this. Would do this. "Try to neutralize him while I set up a trap for their sensei." The three of them were going to return to Wave and make something of their lives. Even if they had to go through some Konoha shinobi first to do so.

The redhead nodded grimly and set off after Naruto and the Uchiha as Haku stepped into a mirror that bloomed in front of her.

From her mirrors, Haku watched Ameyuri skillfully keep the two Genin from penetrating her defenses. Naruto attempted to keep the older kunoichi from reaching his Uchiha teammate with rather elaborate, arcing slashes that seemed to be designed more for defense than attack.

The Uchiha, for his part, harried Ameyuri with shuriken and kunai, stoping her counters when it looked as if she were going to exploit an opening in Naruto's defenses. The act was slowly leading Ameyuri away from the traps at the Wave end of the bridge and towards Kakashi and Zabuza-sama at the Fire Country side.

Haku briefly wondered how much the Sharingan had to do with that strategy before Ameyuri managed to kick Naruto in the chest after an errant stab left the Genin vulnerable. Ameyuri quickly capitalized by closing in on the Uchiha who was ill equipped to deal with her superior strength, speed, and reach.

To his credit, the raven-haired boy did an admirable job of avoiding Ameyuri's Kiba until Naruto was able to rejoin the fight and peel the master swordswoman off of his teammate. Haku readied two senbon in her right hand; she was probably only going to get one shot at this…

The kunoichi looked over to Zabuza. The man had a kunai stuck in his left shoulder while his opponent sported several cuts on his arm– they were running out of time.

Ameyuri ducked under Naruto, using the blonde's momentum to toss him over her shoulder before she engaged Sasuke again. The kunoichi easily parried his kunai and responded with a tight slash that cut his bicep, making the Uchiha hiss in pain.

As the older Kunoichi attempted to press her advantage, a green blur of speed caught Haku's attention.

"There!"

Haku hurled two senbon with all her strength at the Jounin's blindside as he prepared to launch a kick at Ameyuri's head. The ice wielder was horrified to see the man whip around, lightning-quick, and snatch the first senbon out of midair even as the second one pierced his neck deeply before he collapsed to the ground in a boneless heap.

The two kunoichi did not need any further invitation before they both charged at the two remaining Genin, forcing them back towards their client with the intent to kill them all.

The Uchiha slipped up first, able to dodge Ameyuri's strikes but not capable of keeping an eye on Haku as the latter used a mirror to appear above him and perforate his right arm with three senbon.

Ameyuri and Haku made to pursue the blonde whose eyes had gone wide upon the realization that he was the last man standing.

Naruto's eyes hardened and Haku was stupefied when the boy merely roared and sent both kunoichi tumbling away with sheer force as crimson chakra bloomed all around his frame.

When Haku returned to her feet, her eyes met a pair of crimson ones that had cruel slits for their inhuman pupils. Rage swam in those eyes along with uncontrolled power and for the first time in the fight, Haku found herself truly worried.

The blonde was practically glowing with energy that swirled around him menacingly as he shunshin'd forward, kicking Ameyuri in the chest and sending her skidding back even further.

Haku snapped out of her stupor and hurled more senbon at the boy who merely roared again, scattering the needles away from him before they could find purchase in his body.

Whatever new plan that Haku was going to form died in its infancy as the blonde Genin seemed to master his rage before turning to the crumpled form of the green Jounin.

The snow generated by Haku's chakra continued to fall as the girl prepared herself for what was coming. It was poor tradecraft to use the same trick twice, but Haku was fairly certain she could put down Naruto in a similar fashion to the green-clad boy. Her eyes widened when she finally realized the Jounin was speaking, his last word catching her ears…

"…—mon… Keimon…"

Even Naruto paused as the man exploded in violent, green chakra that raged around his body and casually extracted a steel needle from his neck that should have—at the very least—paralyzed him for a couple of hours.

Ameyuri made it to Haku's side just as the man launched forward, snow and ice melting all around him, screaming and molding enough chakra to make Haku's instincts panic as his now fully unleashed killing intent bathed everyone around him.

The man reared back a glowing right hand that promptly burst into flames–

—Haku ran through another set of unique seals—

"ASA KUJAKU!"

"—Hyouton: Hyougan Doumu!"

An ice dome, more than a foot thick surrounded the two kunoichi just before the Jounin's flaming fist impacted them, resulting in an explosion that shook the entire structure. Haku fell to her knees at the expenditure of chakra and stared in awe as a hundred more flaming punches fired off into her dome, like mortars shelling infantry bunkers.

The attack lasted for a full six seconds, each blow rocking the dome. Haku was alarmed to see the first spider web of cracks form at the epicenter of the attack. The technique concluded in one earth-shaking blow that washed fire over the entire dome's surface, the light dancing beautifully on the ice and providing a morbidly spectacular lightshow for the two lovers ensconced inside.

Haku's heart sank as the Jounin finally landed and a much larger crack in her dome splintered across the entire structure's roof.

"He's gotta be spent after that, Haku-chan…" Ameyuri panted. "If we avoid the blonde… fuck, I think he's a jinchuuriki… anyway, if we avoid him we can finish off the Jounin."

The dome cracked further as Haku spied the form of Naruto approaching through the ice. He appeared to be speaking with the Uchiha.

The ice user began forming another plan–

"What's that!?" Ameyuri interrupted, pointing to the Fire Country side of the bridge.

Haku lacked an answer as a ball of glowing chakra appeared to be chasing Zabuza-sama around, whistling madly and reminding the kunoichi of birds. She turned her attention back to Naruto and the Uchiha. They were backing away from the dome.

"Did you mean it?" Haku asked.

Ameyuri blinked. "What?"

"Everything you said," Haku clarified, "did you mean it? All of it?"

"Yes. Of course," Ameyuri replied confusedly, but without any hesitation. "This isn't the time, Haku-chan–"

"I know," Haku interrupted Ameyuri with a kiss. It was everything she had left and Haku desperately tried her hardest to force it all into Ameyuri. She pulled away as the Uchiha launched a massive fireball at the dome. "I love you, I'm sorry." Haku choked, not giving Ameyuri the chance to react before she pushed the older girl through a mirror that had appeared behind her.

Ameyuri would never forgive Haku, but at least she would live.

Haku used a large amount of what little chakra she had left to form a second mirror and evacuate the dome just as she heard the blonde roar.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

As Haku reappeared behind the two Genin she watched Naruto's wind attack funnel into the Uchiha's fireball, turning it white-hot and propelling it with increased force into what was left of her ice dome.

Her most powerful jutsu reduced to nothing by a pair of Genin.

The kunoichi's only consolation was the scream of pain that emanated from Kakashi when one of Zabuza-sama's strike managed to graze him in the arm. The chirping lightning chakra in his hand dissipated and the green Jounin rushed to aid him.

Small miracles.

Haku strode forward, hurling senbon at Naruto and attempting to target the Uchiha instead of letting the latter pester her from long-range.

Naruto dodged before rushing Haku. The kunoichi gracefully dipped and drove two senbon into the Genin's back as he overshot her in his haste. The blonde roared without slowing down and continued to press Haku after turning around.

The older girl was forced back as his sword strikes seemed to grow quicker and the chakra around him began to stabilize into semi-transparent cloak that clung closer to his body. Haku dodged another stab—this one aimed at her ribs—and kicked at Naruto's knee.

The blonde howled in pain but grabbed Haku by her outer kimono just before the kunoichi could pull back. Naruto hurled his head forward, smashing it into Haku's mouth in a spray of blood that left the girl dazed and stumbling.

Haku fell back, screaming in pain as a pair of shuriken imbedded themselves in her left arm. She responded by diving into a roll to avoid the remaining four, the last of which still managed to graze her leg.

The kunoichi continued on, ripping out the two shuriken in her arm with a stifled moan of pain before hurling some of her senbon at the approaching Uchiha to interrupt his hand seals and stop whatever jutsu he had planned on using.

Haku took out a kunai of her own and reengaged Naruto. She danced lightly around his strikes, settling for small parrying blows whenever he overextended himself. The Uchiha shunshin'd behind her, lashing out with a kick to her head that forced Haku to twist out from between her two opponents.

She responded by charging the newcomer, forcing Sasuke to withdraw a kunai of his own to fend off her attacks. Haku had to continually sidestep the Uchiha's strikes to keep the Genin from herding her into Naruto's sword attacks.

Naruto once again attempted to slash Haku's throat and the kunoichi seized her opening by grabbing Naruto's right hand and using his momentum to send him careening away from Haku and the Uchiha. The girl slapped away Sasuke's stab before countering with a heel drop to his thigh that sent the black-haired boy staggering away in pain.

Haku returned her attention to Naruto, who had regained his bearings, and attempted to head him off now that the two Genin were separated. She hurled senbon ahead of her before charging in and striking at his torso with her kunai to keep him on the defensive. Haku pressed him further, her kunai clanging off his sword after each exchange between the two blades.

The deadly dance continued, each participant warry of tasting the sting of their opponents weapon, until the two weapons met in a stalemate– Haku just managing to raise her kunai in time to prevent Naruto's sword from decapitating her.

She ran through a familiar string of seals. "Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishou!"

Water needles coalesced and shot towards the blonde as his eyes widened in alarm at the sight of Haku backflipping away.

The needles skewered the blonde and he disappeared in a puff of chakra before bursting through the cloud of his kage bunshin in another charge. Haku stepped back avoiding the first stab that quickly turned itself into a slash heading for her torso. She flipped over it, swinging her kunai at the blonde's eyes to force him back.

A pair of shuriken hurled by the Uchiha forced her to stop just as the blonde stepped to the side instead and slashed at her stomach. Haku faltered and the tip of Naruto's sword managed to run across her abdomen, drawing a line of blood.

She spun away in pain, sloppily leaning back to narrowly miss the slash aimed lower than usual only for it gracefully change directions in a move that would have made Zabuza-sama proud.

"Oh~!" Haku managed as the blade tore through her chest and pierced her heart, Naruto's feint having succeeding in finding an opening.

Haku wryly noted the surprise on the blonde's face as blood began blooming through her clothes from her wound. She could taste the blood in her mouth as she sunk to the ground, Naruto allowing her to slide gracefully off his blade.

Haku, for once in her life, felt cold. It spread from the wound in her chest until it was all she knew and she finally, mercifully, knew no more.

xxxXXXxxx

Naruto stared down at Haku's body, blood was already pooling beneath her still form. Even after death the winds and snow continued to fall around them, leading Naruto to puzzle on what exactly the Ebony Blade did to the people it killed.

"Naruto-kun!" Gai-yelled.

Said blonde turned just in time to see Zabuza five feet away from his position, sword held high, and murderous rage in the man's dark eyes.

The first strike shattered concrete as Naruto barely managed to dodge and respond with a hasty stab that was batted away negligently by Zabuza's gargantuan sword.

Naruto thought he saw a flash of pink somewhere as a powerful kick connected with his chest, sending the jinchuuriki sailing backwards. Zabuza pressed and Naruto found himself rolling to the side as Sasuke entered the fray, shuriken whirling madly around the enraged nuke-nin.

Except this time, it was Zabuza who gave an almighty yank, pulling Sasuke towards him, before sending the Genin careening away with a vicious backhand.

The blonde watched his teammate hit the ground painfully before laying still like a puppet with its strings cut.

Naruto roared in outrage before charging Zabuza, the latter now occupied with Gai once again. The nuke-nin quickly grabbed his greatsword and swung it in a massive arc that forced everyone away from him.

Zabuza immediately singled out Naruto again and went after the blonde. Naruto responded by dodging the first downward slash, but was caught off-guard when Zabuza swung the flat of his sword into Naruto, batting the jinchuuriki away like a ball.

Naruto hit the concrete, shoulder-first, about ten feet from Sasuke. The impact caused him to drop the Ebony Blade as he rolled a few more feet before finally stopping. Zabuza was still running after him.

The nuke-nin pulled in close. Naruto noted Gai was approaching to intercede as everything slowed down to a painful crawl and the Genin watched Zabuza begin to raise his sword and realized he wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

Gai thundered in as Zabuza's execution swing reached its apex, high above the ex kiri-nin's head, landing a blow to Zabuza's face that halted his progress.

Naruto's eyes widened as Zabuza dropped his sword, the giant blade clanging loudly in the abrupt silence as it hit the scarred concrete of the bridge.

Zabuza looked down slowly. He had decided to eat the punch so he could cut the little, blonde prick in half. "…thought Haku took you out…"

The pink haired kunoichi stared defiantly back at him, the blonde's sword clutched tightly in her hands and sheathed deep into his ribs angling up from her lower position and penetrating his heart and lungs. He could feel it sticking out of his right side…

"Fuck…" he sighed, sinking to his knees as the kunoichi let go of the sword. His hand snatched out and grabbed the shocked kunoichi. He looked her in the eye. "Bury Haku…hear me?" Zabuza rasped, blood staining the bandages on his face. "Cash my bounty… but you bury Haku…" The nuke-nin seemed to waver for a bit before collapsing onto his back.

Sakura nodded. "I– we will… I promise."

Zabuza grunted painfully. "What's your name…?"

"Sakura Haruno."

"Don't let Mist take Kubikiribouchou… it's yours now… never let it rust." Zabuza took a few shallow and labored breaths. "…killed by a fucking Genin."

"You better get famous," Zabuza instructed before his eyes found Haku's form a bit further down the bridge.

Sakura watched his chest rise and fall one last time before the man's eyes glossed over with the stillness of death.

All around her, the snow still fell.

xxxXXXxxx

The sun was sinking low in the background, the only evidence of its existence left was the creeping golds, reds and purples that bled through the canopy of leaves surrounding the river's banks.

The Kyoshin River neatly bisected the Island Nation of Wave and was quite deep in several spots. The deepest of which was currently sunk low, revealing algae-covered stones, smoothed over by countless years of being subjected to the river's current.

To those who sought the truth, the ability to part the waters of ignorance was second nature.

And, when sunk low by long-thought-lost magics, the Kyoshin River revealed a hidden cave and the underground branch of the river's path.

Genkaku smiled, adjusting his robe to further conceal his features. This was a holy place that only the chosen were permitted to see. It was reserved for rituals and divination.

He looked at the bodies floating in the river's shallows; tonight it would be used for both.

The Student took a breath, focusing on his Tenth Eye before seizing on the well of power inside himself and using it to allow his eyes to penetrate the increasing darkness.

Doing so also revealed the lesser followers, drowning more of the wretches in the river's waters. Many struggled, others begged, and some even smiled. All were held under until their thrashing stopped, regardless, before being released into the current to drift further into the cave.

They would be burned in sacrifice to entreat direction from the Spider. But first the filthy creatures had to be cleansed and purified.

The two factions of shinobi fighting earlier had made it rather easy for The Webspinner's followers to abduct the cancerous sect before it could spread further into the island. An island protected by their God's dominion.

Genkaku grabbed a weeping mother, burned about the face and festering with rot, and dragged her to the river. The child she was clutching began screaming and begging for her mother.

So he grabbed her, too.

The man stopped at the water's edge and forced both of them under, abruptly reducing their sobbing pleas for mercy to writhing gurgles that bubbled beneath the river's surface.

The moments ticked by slowly. The struggles cease in a minute or two but actual death takes a little more than four and Genkaku found himself praying for the two wretches to be worthy sacrifices. Their souls were unclean, but perhaps when he was done with them they'd be worthy of consumption by Mephala.

Just. Maybe.

The bodies would be pooled inside the cave, shorn of all their hair, have their digestive tracts removed, before finally being stuffed with nightshade, mallowsweet, and bloodgrass. Then they'd be burned in sacrifice to the Spider.

The shinobi, though they knew not what they meddled in, proved to be very useful. The Harvester was waiting on the horizon and eager to use the coming turmoil to increase his sphere of influence.

Genkaku began moving further down the river and made for the cave's entrance. He eyed the girl and her mother briefly, wading serenely in the current amongst the other monstrosities. The Student came to a stop at a hysterical man being forced to the water's edge by two of the lessers.

"Save me, Father!" The man howled. The lesser to his right stabbed him in the ribs, causing the wretch to fall to his its knees.

Genkaku eyed the thing distastefully. "This world is not ours to offer, cretin. You and your cancerous ilk have no idea of the chaos you invite into this world," the Student spat hatefully. "And for your ignorance, you will die."

He nodded and the two lessers forced the weeping man under the river's currents.

The Student continued on his way, finally entering the cave proper. The bodies continued floating along the three feet-or-so of water that swept quietly inward. Normally the whole chamber was flooded with the flow of the river's underground branch, but the Priests held knowledge that made even the Student envious.

Theirs was a simple order. The lessers devoted themselves and proved themselves. They sought to learn the secrets of their Master's power.

The ones that actually managed to do so were taught about the perpendicular planes of reality that composed their existence and quickly became capable of many interesting things not limited to calming a river to speak with the Spider.

Genkaku thought to his own purpose– he was a Student. One of three known people capable of wielding the Master's gift. They learned from their Master and guided the rest.

Mephala had demanded this island and shown them the hidden chamber in the river. This was intended to shore up the borders of her territory that spread across most of Hi no Kuni and all of Kaze no Kuni. The Students kept themselves appropriately situated and only convened every few months.

The Spider preferred it that way. Genkaku figured it was wise of her to not put all her eggs in one basket, though he often pondered what Chuukuu and Don'yoku were up to in their spare time. The three of them never really discussed what they studied, only pertinent information from their spies and updated orders from the Master whenever her plans changed.

Though Genkaku never really did know what they were told to share and what they were told to withhold. Don'yoku loved her little plots, after all…

And Chuukuu was powerful enough to cow them both with his impressive strength and vast knowledge.

For now…

Best not to dwell on it, Genkaku concluded. The Spider would be instructing him shortly and he was eager to demonstrate what he had learned.

Seeing in the dark, after all, was the least of what he could do.

xxxXXXxxx

Naruto sighed contentedly as he fell back onto his bedroll, freshly showered, after being debriefed by Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei.

Said debriefing involved the two teams taking stock of themselves. Kakashi had a pretty nasty laceration to his arm and Gai had severely strained his body with the Gates—whatever the fuck those were—when he used them to smash through Haku's ridiculously sturdy ice mirrors and ice dome.

Sakura's leg would be tender for a good while, but there didn't appear to be any permanent damage. Neji would have a shitty time breathing, but that was only because three of Haku's senbon had found their way between his ribs, two of them perforating his right lung.

Naruto grudgingly respected the asshole's ability, but he was still secretly glad the dick was in pain.

More importantly, however was that Tazuna had taken a liking to Naruto for spearheading the liberation of Wave and had decided to name his bridge "The Great Naruto Bridge." The blonde had briefly thought of suggesting something that reflected more of the group effort that actually took place, but quickly came to his senses and accepted.

How many still-living people could say they had civil engineering structures named after them? No, "The Great Naruto Bridge" was a fine name. Naruto was even willing to admit it was a touching gesture– he had been worried that Tazuna might hate him because of what happened to Jubei, but the old drunk had waved off Naruto's apologies, content with the fact that Naruto had tried his best.

The old man did vow to keep an eye out for strange people coming through Wave, however. It seemed the townspeople had had enough of strange visitors for a good while.

Naruto rose from the bed and his musings before making his way to his backpack. Pulling out a spare set of black pants and matching shirt, he slipped them on and turned his attention to the Ebony Blade. The blonde pulled it out of its sheathe and marveled at frigid chill practically wafting off the blade's surface.

The chill began to fill the room, making Naruto's breath fog and seeping into his very bones. The boy fully sheathed the sword and tucked it away with the rest of his belongings. He was too cautious to attempt to summon the blade's black flames, but had the sneaking suspicion that they might not heed his call.

The blonde vowed to speak with Hayate-sensei upon his return. Perhaps the kenjutsu specialist would be able to shed more light upon the strange properties of the Ebony Blade.

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto left the room to go find Sasuke and Sakura. Gai-sensei was already sleeping from the exhaustion of opening the Gates and Kakashi-sensei was giving Gatou's compound a once over for anything his students might have missed.

Naruto had originally wanted to be offended, but had relented when he considered the day's events with more scrutiny. This lead him to thinking over the whole clusterfuck of a C-Rank—chuckle—this mission had been and concluding that maybe Kakashi was right to be extra thorough in the home stretch.

Whoever said that bad intel is what kills most shinobi wasn't fucking lying.

Now that Naruto thought on it, the name of the bridge was the least Tazuna could fucking do for almost getting everyone killed. The Kyuubi had even been quick to remind Naruto that it wasn't the jinchuuriki's skill that allowed him to beat Haku, but rather his ability to simply outlast her.

That thought was a sobering one.

Naruto came down the stairs to find Kakashi talking with Sakura and Sasuke in Tsunami's kitchen.

"What's up guys?" he asked.

"Just letting these two that we'll be leaving in two days– just long enough for Gai to get back on his feet." Kakashi replied with a smile. "We'll take an easy pace back– you three did quite well!"

"Hn."

"Thank you, sensei!" Sakura gushed. It had been decided that she could keep the sword, much to the girl's delight, but her enthusiasm was tempered when she had Kakashi seal it in a scroll for her because she wasn't strong enough to lift it or swing it properly.

"Yeah, thanks, sensei," Naruto nodded. "What's the plan for when we get back?"

"Training, of course!" Kakashi enthused. "You three did do great, for rookie Genin with no field experience. I believe with hard work and dedication you all could be competent Genin!" The Jounin grinned behind his mask as he saw Tenten enter the adjacent room. "Maybe one day you'll be as good as Gai's students!" Kakashi called, letting his voice carry.

"Ha!" the older kunoichi crowed.

"But we're getting ahead of ourselves," the cycloptic Jounin continued, "there are still learning opportunities. There is a woman outside wishing to speak with Naruto. I naturally attempted to dissuade her, but she is resolute."

That gave the three Genin pause.

"What does she want?" Naruto asked cautiously. It felt like a trap. These things were always traps.

"To file a complaint with you," Kakashi answered simply. "She doesn't seem to approve of your actions in today's operation."

Naruto simply stared at Kakashi, not moving, and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Go on, she's not dangerous, I checked," his sensei shooed, "it's rude to make people wait. And you're delaying my lesson– Sasuke and Sakura have a right to learn, too."

The blonde sighed tiredly at his sensei's antics and made for the house's front door. If this was some joke, Naruto was going to burn Kakashi's book collection.

Naruto reached for the door and swung it open, stepping outside.

"You let him die!" The sobbing woman screamed accusingly. She was pretty, a few years older than Naruto. "He trusted you and you killed him! He was supposed to come back to me!"

The door swung shut, Sasuke and Sakura staring in open shock, as the sound of small fists weakly beating against another person's chest drifted through it.

"No plan, no matter how great, survives contact with the enemy," Kakashi lectured dispassionately from behind his book as the woman outside continued to scream at Naruto, "and most outcomes in life don't involve everybody winning. Somebody always loses."

ooo000ooo

The first thing Ameyuri did when she appeared a good ten miles away from the battle was scream in broken rage at her lover's betrayal. Haku and Zabuza would be dead before she managed to make it back to the bridge.

Haku sacrificed herself so Ameyuri could live.

The second thing the devastated girl had done was drop to her knees and wail in despair. How could she live? It should have been her that stayed behind so Haku could escape, but the girl's damned loyalty to Zabuza would never permit her to do such a thing.

Ameyuri could feel the chakra signals flaring at the edges of her senses. The girl was no sensor, but whatever the ninja still present were tossing around… even she could tell it was big.

Then it all sort of just stopped. A couple of minutes later, the flaring ceased and the signatures dropped off the precipice of Ameyuri's perception.

She had cried, then. Louder and harder than she ever thought possible as her two best friends died for her. So that she could live.

But how could she?

She had stayed on the beach until the next morning, laying in the sand and letting the tides come in and wash over her body before receding away in their endless pull.

Ameyuri managed to rise later that day, still crying.

She shuffled onward, broken but filled with pain-numbing purpose. The rest of the day involved letting her injuries heal: a few broken bones and several closed tenketsu that still stung painfully as her chakra slowly worked to open them naturally. Her arm was even healing nicely now that she'd splinted it.

If anything, it was her ribs that inconvenienced her the most as she moved. Tree hopping was out so she'd been forced to hoof it.

It was sundown when she'd found them.

At first, she'd been enraged that Zabuza's sword was unaccounted for but she'd quickly lost steam as she collapsed between them in a pathetic, broken heap.

Zabuza would never let the great Kubikiribouchou rot away in disuse, Ameyuri concluded forlornly as she finally lost all semblance of control. Tears streamed down her face and she clawed at the two dirt mounds, both compelled and horrified by the thought of crawling in to be with the two of them.

Ameyuri screamed for her lover when she realized Zabuza could have escaped if the two of them sacrificed themselves but Haku's love for her outstripped her duty to Zabuza.

Now they were both dead because of it and Ameyuri would never taste Haku's lips again, or feel the warmth in her skin whenever they touched. There would be no great battles in Mizu as they freed their people from the evil things in this wretched world.

She screamed and thought about killing herself several times before she finally went lax. Horribly drained, Ameyuri decided that Haku and Zabuza had earned their rest. To disturb them would be wrong and would not bring them back.

The kunoichi wasn't sure how long she lingered, wishing, and praying for things to be different… but she eventually found her feet and began moving again.

There was nothing left for her on this fucking island. It had already taken everything that mattered.

She traveled by boat, not having the strength to cross the bridge, and eventually found herself in Fire Country a day and a half after leaving the graves.

There was a river that emptied into a delta close by where she found an inn that catered to fisherman and other merchants. Ameyuri idly wondered if the bridge would be good for business before she entered in search of something to eat.

It was a small miracle that she hadn't run into any invading Kiri nin, or Konoha Chuunin patrols. After she regained her strength, she'd have to head to Yu no Kuni and lay low. They didn't give a shit about anything ever since that psycho and his death cult destroyed their hidden village.

She'd just have to avoid their border with Sound. It wouldn't do to run into Orochimaru, but it beat being caught by Konoha and tortured for all her secrets, or worse, ransomed back to Kiri.

The Mizukage would pay in a heartbeat just to get his hands on her.

Ameyuri shivered as she took a seat in the back of the inn's tavern. Her sharp eyes scanned the room and noted twelve civilians. Most were armed with hidden blades, but a few had actual swords.

The kunoichi shrugged and waited for the bartender to come over, satisfied by the lack of shinobi present. One never could be too certain with those pesky Chuunin patrols.

"What can I get ya?" The bartender finally managed when he walked up to her table.

"Food and a room," Ameyuri sighed.

"Room comes with a meal, you can pay when you check out," the man shrugged. "Need anything to drink? Got beer, sake, wine…"

"No," the redhead declined.

The bartender nodded and left the forlorn girl to her devices, having long learned not to pry into the affairs of his customers and guests.

Her returned a short while later with a bowl of udon and fishballs, steaming hot and dotted with scallions, sliced onions, and an assortment of chili pastes. It certainly seemed the establishment took advantage of the bounty provided by the river and sea.

Ameyuri tucked into her meal and was almost in a state that resembled normalcy once again. The rich broth warmed her dead-weight bones and the fish stuck to her ribs in a pleasant way that almost reminded her of home.

Except for the spice. Fire Country at their shit way too spicy. They were sick freaks like that.

The kunoichi was about halfway done with her bowl of noodles and broth when she noticed the sniffling. Ameyuri looked around and realized that, in her inspection, she had missed the small boy sitting by himself three tables down.

She swallowed another mouthful of noodles and looked around. None of the other patrons seemed to be paying the boy any regard, so she ruled out any of them as the boy's parents. He didn't look destitute, so Ameyuri assumed he wasn't alone.

A tiny thing like him probably wouldn't make it on his own, Ameyuri thought sadly.

Ameyuri stood up and made her way over to the boy. "Excuse me, but is everything alright?"

The boy gave a start. His eyes were, wide, wet, and a shade of red that was going to get many young girls in trouble. "I– I don't know where my dad is…"

"My name is Ameyuri," the girl introduced herself, "what's yours?"

"Shiten…" he sniffed.

"It's nice to meet you, Shiten!" Ameyuri gushed with an enthused smile. She certainly didn't feel like smiling. "How did you come to be here?"

"My dad and I were traveling… we were camping by the river."

Ameyuri nodded. "Did you wander off from camp?"

"No!" he insisted wetly. "Dad left me here to eat lunch while he fished for dinner… the man in the kitchen said he'd pay for fish." Shiten turned his shimmering eyes to Ameyuri in terror. "I don't remember how to get back from here!"

Ameyuri thought for a moment. This really wasn't her problem… but she was probably going to go on a bender of epic scale, so maybe some good karma wouldn't help.

She swallowed thickly. Haku would have helped this boy without thinking twice.

"It's okay, I can take you to find your dad," Ameyuri reassured the young boy, "and if we don't find him I can bring you back here and we'll wait for him together." She gave Shiten another winning smile. "Okay?"

The boy looked around, seemingly torn between waiting where he was supposed to and finding his father now. "Okay," he nodded, "thank you Ameyuri-chan."

The kunoichi held out her hand for Shiten to take. He was so goddamn adorable. "It's no problem, Shiten-kun. Let's go!"

The two departed the inn and Ameyuri took them to the river's main trunk, about a quarter of a mile north of where the river split and formed the delta. She figured Shiten-kun's father would be fishing the river for freshwater fish, not whatever was hanging around in the brackish depths before the ocean took over.

"This looks familiar…" the boy began when they finally stopped. He pointed at a large rock jutting out of the ground. "Dad showed me the moss under that boulder! It's safe to eat, but tastes terrible."

"Excellent! Was your camp near here?"

"Yeah, we could see the river!" Shiten nodded excitedly.

Ameyuri nodded and tugged the boy along. "Let's go check a bit further upstream, then."

Now it was just a matter of finding fish, tracks, or a tent and the situation would be resolved. Shiten-kun was probably just worried at being separated from his father.

The pair continued along for another hundred or so feet before Ameyuri brought them to a halt. There were foot prints running from the river's banks into the trees. The kunoichi squinted. The tracks lead under the canopy of trees, but there were more tracks on the trees above…

Shinobi.

"Stay close to me, Shiten-kun, okay?"

"Okay, Ameyuri-chan!" the boy chirped happily.

They continued on leaving the river's banks and following the tracks into the trees. In about fifteen paces, Ameyuri halted her companion and pointed to the tent she could see peeking out from between a cluster of trees. "Is that your dad's tent?" Ameyuri asked quietly.

"It is! Dad must be close, too, Ameyuri-chan!"

The kunoichi hesitated. She could smell blood in the air and wasn't quite certain what they might find at the camp.

Ameyuri did have a sinking feeling about who they might find, however. She didn't know if Shiten should have to see what might be left of his father.

But she couldn't leave the boy, either. There was an unaccounted shinobi potentially meandering about.

"Let's go have a look," Ameyuri finally instructed, "but remember what I said about sticking close to me."

She stopped. She could see blood on the trees.

"Fuck."

"Wait here, Shiten-kun. Let me check first."

The boy seemed confused but eventually relented.

Ameyuri moved forward, alert and ready to make use of the two swords hanging from her waist, and entered the camp. There was a tent, the remains of a fire, and some packs that were no doubt filled with Shiten and his father's belongings.

The kunoichi noticed some scattered ashes and a few more footprints. She was dealing with two unique sets, and one was lighter than the other. There was blood splattered on the dead leaves outside the tent.

"Fuck…" the redhead breathed.

She paused, listening intently– there it was! A faint moaning was making its way to her ears. Ameyuri moved forward and opened the tent, backing out when she found nothing but some spare clothes and sleeping bags.

Around back, then.

Ameyuri circled around the tent, coming to an abrupt halt when her eyes landed on the bloodied form of a man in his mid-thirties. His hair was the same peculiar shade of gray as Shiten-kun's, but the rest of his body hardly bore any resemblance to anything other than a smashed eggplant.

Whoever had found this man had not been gentle. He was beaten and bore several lacerations that seemed just wide enough to have come from kunai. Ameyuri stepped forward, noting a pause in his wheezing moans…

"…wa… t…"

The girl got closer. "What was that?"

"…wat…" the man took a horrifically laborious breath, "…er…"

"Oh!" Ameyuri grabbed her canteen and knelt next to the man. "Here," she cradled his head and allowed a small stream of water to pass through his cracked lips, "take it slow…"

The man swallowed greedily for a few moments before his breathing evened out somewhat. Ameyuri was worried about the amount of blood he had lost… she didn't know any healing jutsu.

She looked down as the man's left hand weakly pawed at her knee. The man was trying to speak again.

"…not…" he trailed off, struggling to complete his thought.

"Yes?" Ameyuri encouraged. It seemed her suspicions about enemy shinobi were true. "Were you attacked?" She leaned in as he continued.

"…not alone… ninja…"

"How many were there?" Ameyuri hissed, leaning in. "I found your son, but I need to~"

The kunoichi paused, wide-eyed and shocked. She looked down at the dagger in her belly, the leather-wrapped handle inconspicuous as blood began staining the loose shirt Ameyuri wore.

The bloodied man smiled cruelly as his features changed, bleeding away to reveal someone entirely different. A man with dark brown hair and flat, blue eyes.

"Raiga!"

"I've been looking for you, senpai," Raiga spat disdainfully as Ameyuri attempted to separate herself from her attacker. "I hope you appreciate how long I've been waiting for this!"

Ameyuri stumbled away, the steel lodged inside her abdomen burning horribly as the bleeding continued. Her strength was already waning and the world was already spinning. A kick from Raiga sent her tumbling forward into the dirt.

The kunoichi looked up to see Shiten, eyes wide and afraid.

"Run!" Ameyuri managed before Raiga was on top of her, straddling her chest and drawing out another small dagger.

"Excellent work, Ranmaru!" Raiga cackled gleefully before turning back to Ameyuri and spiting in the girl's face. "You always were pathetically soft-hearted, you know. Now look where it's got you."

Ameyuri screamed as Raiga plunged a second dagger between her ribs before he leaned in close, lips brushing against the kunoichi's ear as he spoke. "The Kiba are mine," he explained, cupping the dying girl's sex, "but I wonder what else I can take from you before you die?"

The former ANBU was denied an answer when Ameyuri saw red, leaned forward, and sank her teeth into Raiga's exposed neck. Had her teeth still been filed to razor sharp points, Ameyuri's task would have proved to be much easier. However, the ear-splitting screech Raiga made as she tore harder and ripped out his throat made the extra effort required well worth it.

"Ranmaru" screamed hysterically in the background as Ameyuri took a second bite out of Raiga and covered them both in an obscene amount of blood that pooled in Ameyuri's mouth. Raiga's screams ceased in a wet gurgle as she kicked the dying and spasming man off of her before ripping out the dagger in her stomach.

She screamed in pain as she did so, and then yanked Ranmaru painfully to the ground by his hair. Ameyuri's trembling hand fisted in the struggling boy's hair, forcing his glowing, red eyes to meet hers, before she stabbed him in the chest.

Ranmaru shook, trying to jerk away, before Ameyuri stabbed him over and over again. She drove Raiga's dagger into the little boy she had helped until he stopped twitching and his face was no longer recognizable.

Ameyuri collapsed between her two dead attackers, no longer able to feel her fingers and toes or muster the strength to move her limbs.

She stared into Ranmaru's remaining eye, red and glassy with death…

It stared back, unseeing, and making Ameyuri weep. Her tears burned and pooled at the darkness creeping into her periphery before the broken girl gently closed her eyes and stopped swimming against the tides.


A/N2: This took so long because I wrote it several times, several different ways. I decided that the chapter would be extra long so I could bring several points to a neat head. Furthermore, having the fight told through Haku's eyes seemed like the best decision to add tension and some dramatic effect. I'm pretty sure we all knew Team 7 would win, but I hope having Haku tell it added to the experience. With this chapter, the story's opening arc is concluded. Next is the Chuunin exam and further exploration of the conflicts driving existence in the world we're enjoying. Fun! I hope you'll all continue to review and offer input. I'd especially love to hear about what you like, didn't like, and would like to see more of.

The larger story is still being slowly revealed, but we're starting to explore how the shinobi world interacts with Nirn. Thank you all so much for sticking with this story.