The atmosphere was tense, all opponents muscles were tensed and ready for the fight that was about to begin "Well, well" Kakashi began "So I had it right, it was all an act, an act with a cute little mask."
"HUH!" Sakura screamed so loudly that it made Mieko shriek as it pierced her ear drums. She hissed angrily at the pinkette.
"Big phoney, ha" Sasuke insulted, earning himself a soft giggled from behind him.
"So I guess all that about being a tracker ninja protecting his village was just a bunch of bull!" said Tazuna dryly, he was so angry at these ninja for attacking his builders, they didn't deserve that, they only wanted to stop the suffering the town had to face constantly.
"They look pretty friendly to me" Mieko commented, "I say they've been pulling scams like this for quite some time."
"He's got some nerve facing us after he pulled that trick!" Sakura growled in her annoying high pitched voice.
"And hiding behind a mask, who does he think he's fooling" Mieko sweatdropped.
"Speak for yourself papa."
"That's it, I'm taking him out" stated Sasuke calmly "Who does he think he's fooling, hiding behind that mask like some sort of clown."
"Sasuke! You're so cool!" Sakura blushed heavily
"Kiss ass…" Mieko muttered to herself, getting annoyed with how the pinkette was flirting with Sasuke when the situation was dire…she certainly wasn't angry that Sakura was flirting with Sasuke who is in a relationship…no, not at all 'she better not touch my man – where did this possessiveness come from' she shook her head thoroughly, focusing her attention back onto the enemy before her only to see the boy known as Haku begin to spin.
"What the hell is that!?" Sakura cried out as she watched Sasuke prepare himself for the oncoming attack.
"Sakura, cover Tazuna, Mieko, you stay close to me" Kakashi ordered "let Sasuke handle this."
"Right" Mieko muttered, her eyes watching as her boyfriend engaged in battle, their speed was evenly matched and their attacks where vicious.
"We want the bridge builder not you" Haku explained as he blocked Sasuke's attack "If you back down I won't have to kill you."
"Save it" Sasuke shot back.
"You're making a mistake, you won't be able to keep up with my speed" Haku tried to reason "I've gained two key advantages."
"Yeah? What are they?"
"First, we're surrounded by water, second, I've blocked one of your hands, therefore…you only have one free hand to defend yourself" Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw Haku using one hand to perform a Jutsu.
"Shit…" Mieko muttered fearfully, she felt angry and helpless that she could not help Sasuke in his fight.
"Secret Jutsu, a thousand needles of death" he smashed his foot onto the water to raise it into the air.
"Sasuke!" Sakura called out, the group watched as the water turned into sharpened needles and headed straight for the Uchiha male who merely stood still with his eyes closed in concentration, his eyes snapped open an in a split second he jumped into the air and avoided every single needle, Haku gasped and jumped away from the incoming kunai.
"You're not as fast as you think" Sasuke taunted when he appeared behind the masked boy "From this point on…you'll be the one defending yourself from my attacks" they continued their fighting with incredible speed with Sasuke quickly becoming the victor with a well place kick to Haku's stomach that made him fly over to his Masters feet "Thought you were quicker huh, now what else are you wrong about?" Sasuke boasted.
"You made a big mistake insulting this ninja and calling them brats, that's just guaranteed to bring out Sasuke's attitude, he's the last member of the Uchiha clan" Kakashi started "And Sakura here is out sharpest mind" Sakura blushed on the outside but cheered on the inside "Mieko was trained by me since she was 5 and is our most skilled fighter on this, you insult the people she cares about and she won't hesitate in slaughtering you…her unique abilities will guarantee her a victory in every fight."
"I think it would be more fun to not use my ability this fight" Mieko mumbled, her eyes glued to Zabuza, intending to help Kakashi in defeating the demon.
"And last but not least our number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja is Naruto Uzumaki" Kakashi finished.
Zabuza merely stared at the group and began laughing "Haku if we keep going like this we'll be the victims instead of them, get on with it!" he ordered.
"Right" a strong chakra covered the boy's body "I'm sorry it's come to this."
"The air, it's so cold" Sasuke muttered to himself.
"Sasuke, behind you!" Mieko shouted to the Uchiha, he snapped his head around to watch the water rise into the air, it turned itself to ice and travelled back down to the floor to create a dome.
"Secret Jutsu, crystal ice mirrors!" team seven looked at the ice in shock, Haku stepped forward and entered his ice, further shocking the team. Kakashi growled and ran forward to help his student only to be stopped by Zabuza.
"If you enter this fight…you fight me" Zabuza demanded darkly "your boy has no chance against that Jutsu, he's finished" Mieko suddenly appeared beside Kakashi, her eyes narrowing into slits.
"You even mention Sasuke dying once and I will not hesitate in slaughtering you mercilessly" she hissed darkly.
"You couldn't even land a hit on me, little girl" Zabuza taunted.
"Don't be so quick to judge" Kakashi commented, his face portraying nothing.
"Now, we'll begin, and I will show you what speed really means" from the ice Haku threw many senbon needles into Sasuke.
"SASUKE!" Sakura screamed as she watched her crush get punctured by many needles.
"STOP IT!" Mieko screamed, showing more emotion then she would have like.
"Just try to help him and I will kill the other two in a heartbeat" Zabuza threatened, forcing the others to watch as Sasuke got covered by his blood more and more as each needle struck.
"I'm sorry but I can't stay with you" Sakura spoke to Tazuna "Forgive me."
"I understand" Tazuna replied "Go now."
"No Sakura!" Mieko was ignored as Sakura ran forth and threw a kunai into the ice, only for it to be caught by Haku, Sasuke collapsed shortly after.
"He caught it!" Sakura cried out in despair, she could do nothing to help the love of her life.
"Ahh" Haku gasped when his ice clones were attacked by an unknown source, he fell from his Jutsu and to the floor. Just as Sasuke was going to attack an explosion happened a little while away from him, distracting all who heard it.
"Who is it?" Sakura asked everyone looked at the cloud, waiting to see who would emerge.
"Number one, hyperactive knucklehead ninja…" Haku began.
Mieko sighed in relief when she saw the person who emerged from the smoke "Naruto Uzumaki is here! Yeah, believe it!" Naruto stood before them, his body striking what he thought was an intimidating pose, a determined smirk was plastered on his face "now that I'm here everything will be alright!"
"Naruto!" Sakura cheered in relief.
"You know how in stories the hero usually shows up at the last minute and then kicks butt? Well, that's what I'm gonna do right now! Believe it!" he pointed his finger at the group.
"Urg, this brat again" Zabuza drawled lazily, not looking in the least bit intimidated or impressed.
'Way to ruin the moment Naruto,' Mieko thought to herself, sighing in disappointment of her friend.
"Alright! You're history! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto brought his hands forth to form the hand signs only to be stopped when Zabuza threw a group of shuriken at him.
"No!" Kakashi yelled "Naruto move!" before anyone could blink, Mieko raced forth and brought her arm up, all the shuriken's and senbon needles that Haku threw stabbed into her flesh, the entire group gasped.
"Mieko!" Naruto cried in shock at the blood flowing out of his friends wounds.
"Don't be a dumbass Naruto, I know you're better than that" Mieko muttered, not showing how much pain she was feeling as she pulled the weapons out of her flesh.
"They didn't get him…why Mieko?" Sakura asked softly before glaring at Naruto "What are you doing Naruto are you crazy, you got Mieko hurt!"
"This is a battle, not a talent show, don't let your opponent see your Jutsu!" Kakashi scolded, angry that Mieko took the attack even though the senbon needles would have cancelled out the Shuriken's "A Shinobi's art is deception, always keep the enemies guessing, even when executing a single Jutsu one must distract their opponents attention, catch them off balance and outmanoeuvre them, you just turn yourself into a human target when you enter a battle like that."
"AHHHH I'M SORRY! I WAS JUST TRYING TO RESCUE EVERYBODY!" Naruto screamed in panic.
"But…there's another mystery here" Kakashi continued, looking down at Haku's crouched form, Zabuza caught onto what Kakashi was implying.
"Haku, what are you doing?" the demon of the mist growled out disapprovingly.
"Zabuza, this boy…let me fight him my own way, please," Haku asked emotionlessly.
"Let's bring it on!" both Naruto and Haku got into a stance, Mieko reappeared beside Kakashi, knowing that the fight was going to begin, luckily she had taught herself to ignore some amounts of pain when in a fight, luckily it was merely a flesh wound.
"Hmmph, so you want me to leave this to you" commented Zabuza "Is that it Haku? As usual, your too soft" Haku bowed his head.
"Forgive me" replied Haku.
"Zabuza is right, he merely scratched Sasuke with his needles but did not hit a single vital spot…his wounds look as though they were chosen to be inflicted in that specific area…why?" Mieko was confused but it would not let it get in the way, her mind needed to stay focused on the upcoming battle she would soon be participating in.
"I'm warning you! One way or another I'm going to rip off that mask and take you as you are" he harshly pointed his finger at Haku whose expression was hidden by said mask.
'If Naruto doesn't get his head into the right frame of mind then he won't even be able to defeat Haku who clearly outmatches him at this moment of time, I rarely doubt Naruto's abilities but Haku seems too strong for him' Mieko turned her head to Zabuza who stepped in front of both her and Kakashi.
"Don't even think about it" Zabuza warned, his eyes narrowing slightly "You know the score Kakashi, if either of you go after Haku I will off the bridge builder" Kakashi gasped and widened his eye before narrowing it again, he was conflicted, he couldn't protect Tazuna and leave Mieko to deal with Zabuza alone, Sakura is feisty but she wouldn't be able to fight Zabuza either "Relax Kakashi, sit back and enjoy the show, let's see how they do one on one."
"That mask, and your bogus story, you were with Zabuza all along!" Naruto clenched his fists "You think you can get away with a stunt like that!?"
"I'm sorry" Naruto gasped slightly "but as your sensei said, deceiving your opponent, catching them off guard, that is the art of the Shinobi, please don't take it personally" from the ice Sasuke rose from the ground and threw a kunai at what he thought was an unsuspecting Haku who merely pulled his head back slightly so the weapon would fly past, Naruto gasped and looked at Sasuke.
"I haven't forgotten about you, not for an instant" Haku turned his head to Sasuke slowly "Some warriors accept defeat gracefully, they know when they are beaten others do not, so be it, let us finish our battle then…to the death!" the ice user stalked his way towards Sasuke as if he was the predator and the Uchiha male was his prey.
"Wha-hey where are you going!?" Naruto asked loudly.
"It's alright Naruto, we'll have our fight next" Haku walked through the ice and stared at Sasuke, the Uchiha looked at the one before him thinking that it was the real Ninja "I'm right behind you" Haku had seven kunai between his fingers, catching Sasuke off guard who was wondering how he transported himself. Like before, many Haku's appeared in the ice blocks, and once again Sasuke was bombarded with thousands of needles.
"Sasuke!" Sakura and Naruto screamed.
"SASUKE!" Mieko screamed louder than the others, the emotion of worry and fear exploding within her usually calm mind, her eyes were widened in shock and her mouth hung open slightly as she looked at her partner who was clutching his shoulder and gritting his teeth to keep in any sounds that might give away that he was in pain.
"Sasuke, Naruto, think!" Kakashi yelled out to his students "You need to attack from the outside and from the inside at the same time!" Mieko sighed when Naruto suddenly appeared inside the ice Jutsu.
"Hey I snuck in here to save you" Naruto whispered, though everyone heard him "Pretty cool move huh Sasuke!" everyone had different expression, anger, confusion, annoyance.
"Naruto, you sneak up on your enemy, not your ally" Kakashi sighed in disappointment, though he knew that Naruto would screw it up somehow.
"Gah, you are a complete loser!" Sasuke yelled at Naruto "You're a Shinobi, think carefully before you move!"
"What the hell is your problem you should thank me for coming in here to help you!" Naruto yelled back.
"Naruto if we're both inside here-Grrrr FORGET IT! I've had it with your mistakes!" growled Sasuke, feeling too mad to be able to think of an insult to throw at the blonde haired ninja.
"And I've had it with your attitude! Believe it!" Naruto clenched his fists.
"That's it I'm going to destroy these mirrors right now!" Sasuke stood up and went through several hand signs "Fire style-"
"Hey what Jutsu are you using!"
"These mirrors are made of ice and how do you destroy ice? Figure it out" he brought his hand up to his mouth "Fireball Jutsu!" a huge ball of fire came hurtling out of his mouth and hit the ice directly.
"That didn't do anything at all!" Naruto screamed, stating the obvious to the already shocked and angered Uchiha male.
"You'll need much more heat than that to melt this ice" Haku finally spoke, Sasuke growled, wishing that Mieko could help but knowing she was unable to since it would put both Sakura and Tazuna in danger.
Light suddenly enveloped the ice mirrors, blinding all that was inside its prison "AHH!" both Naruto and Sasuke yelled out as they were attacked by something that was hidden within the light, they both landed on the ground harshly.
"Where is he!? Where is his needle attack coming from!? Are they clones?" Naruto forced himself to stand "we gotta find the real one, which one is it?"
Haku's voice surrounded the Konoha ninja "Look into every mirror as hard as you like, you will never learn the secret."
"Oh yeah! Shadow cloned Jutsu!"
"No!" Sasuke yelled "Don't!" he was ignored as several clones of Naruto suddenly appeared, all attacking the mirrors.
"You got a hundred mirrors, well I've got a hundred mes, then I'll find who you really are" each clone was attacked by the real Haku effortlessly, all of them puffed into smoke and disappeared "AAHH!" Naruto came flying back towards Sasuke.
"These mirrors do more than reflect my image, they also allow me to transport myself at light speed…through my eyes, you appear to be moving in slow motion."
"I knew it! It's a bloodline trait, Kekei Genkai" Kakashi gasped in shock.
"Kekei Genkai? What is it?" Sakura asked her incredibly worried sensei.
"It's like the Uchiha's Sharingan, you can't learn it, it has to be in your blood" Mieko explained "your genetic code, passed down from generation to generation within a single clan."
"But that means-"
"Yes, even I can't copy that Jutsu" Kakashi finished Sakura's sentence "There's no way to destroy it, and no way to stop him" everyone narrowed they eyes at this information.
"I couldn't break through" Sasuke looked towards Naruto "So what he's not gonna stop me" Haku gasped "I'm not giving up and I'm not gonna lose here because I have a dream and no one is gonna take it away from me" he glared at the ice maker "someday I'm gonna be respected in my village that's my dream! To be the greatest Hokage!" Mieko's eyes glazed over slightly.
'Dreams…' she thought back to when she was a child.
"And what is your dream Mieko?" Itachi asked a small girl with two black pigtails. They were sitting in an empty park so Kakashi could have some time to himself.
"My dream is to one day marry you and have a HUGE family!" the girl happily replied with hearts in her eyes as she stared at Itachi dreamily.
"Is that so?" Itachi chuckled.
"Back then my dreams were simple, easy, I originally was supposed to be married to Itachi before Sasuke was born, it didn't matter which brother I married as long as we continued the main Uchiha family but…after the massacre."
"My dream…will one day become a reality" Mieko hissed out menacingly, her fists continuously punching a tree, not even stopping as she broke the skin over her knuckles "I will kill Itachi for the pain he has caused me and Sasuke!"
"My anger was so strong within me that day that it caused me to lose my mind, Kakashi had found me running through thick trees on all fours, he tried to walk up to me but I growled at him like an animal, I had lost my mine to my beastly instincts. I nearly attacked Kakashi before I managed to catch a whiff of his scent, that stopped me as my instincts realised he was my father and the alpha. After that my anger disappeared and my dream changed…now my dream is to make sure Sasuke is never alone and that I would become strong so that I could and will always be able to protect him, Naruto had found his way into this dream as well when he cared for me after the trauma I suffered."
Her glazed eyes focused back on the real world as Haku began to speak "it was not my desire to be a Shinobi, it's painful" Haku spoke slowly "I don't want to kill you but if you advance, I will have no choice, then I will kill the kindness in my own heart and fully embrace the Shinobi way, and there will be no mercy, no turning back, this bridge will be the battlefield where our dreams collide, now I must fight for my dream, just as you fight for yours, please do not blame me, I fight for someone who is precious to me, I live for him and I face death for him so that his dream may become a reality…that is my dream, and for the sake of that dream if I must I will act as a Shinobi and take your lives" both Sasuke and Naruto suddenly grew smirks, fully intending for their dreams to become a reality as well and they would do anything to make them a reality as well.
"Sasuke, Naruto!" Sakura shouted, "take this guy out, you can do it-"
"Don't Sakura" Kakashi interrupted "don't push them."
"Huh?" both Sakura and Mieko turned to look at Kakashi's focused expression.
"Even if they somehow found a way to overcome the mirror jutsu, they still couldn't defeat this ninja."
"How can you be so sure!?" Sakura cried out, wide eyes staring at her sensei in shock.
"What are you trying to say papa?" Mieko was losing her confidence, now she was worried about her sensei losing confidence in Sasuke and Naruto.
"They have the desire to win, but they don't have the instincts to kill" Mieko lowered her eyes to the ground, he was right, the only people on this team that were willing to kill was Kakashi and herself. Kakashi had killed years ago and continues to do so but that was not his choice, he was a prodigy in the third Shinobi war and was forced to grow this instinct. Mieko, on the other hand, was raised in a time of peace but even then she was forced to kill since she too was a prodigy, her first kill was when a rogue ninja tried to attack her and was by accident, her beastly nature had gotten too strong when she was fighting with the enemy and she lost control, after she killed her opponent she was screwed in the head for weeks before she was able to overcome it with the help of Sasuke and her father, she would be too weak if it wasn't for them. "That boy is a whole other breed, he lives for pain, he thrives on it" Mieko's shining orbs flashed at the mention Haku thriving on pain, she knew that feeling all too well, a feeling that she hated more than anything in the world.
"Exactly, your village had become complacent, your trainees never learnt the most important lesson of all" Zabuza stood stiff, looking at Kakashi menacingly "To kill the feeling in their own hearts, to crush their opponent mercilessly with no emotion and no regret" Sakura gasped.
"Wha- but then sensei, what are we gonna do? Please tell us!" Sakura asked Kakashi pleadingly, she was scared that Haku would kill Sasuke. Kakashi remained still, thinking of his options, he could make a break for it and save Naruto and Sasuke but Zabuza would slay the bridge builder, he wasn't going to allow Mieko to fight Zabuza on her own, no matter how skilled she was he wasn't going to take the chance. If he used Shadow clones then Zabuza would use his own water clones and he would waste his chakra, there was only one thing he could do.
Kakashi brought his hand to his Hitai-ate, he was going to use his Sharingan once more to take this guy out. Seeing this Zabuza began to laugh "Sharingan, you're no fun Kakashi, using the same old trick" Mieko narrowed her eyes, noticing that Zabuza was reaching for something under his shirt, both her sensei and herself gasped when the demon sped forth, raising a kunai to strike Kakashi.
"Sensei no!" Sakura cried out when the kunai struck Kakashi's hand, Mieko got into a battle stance and readied her body to attack.
"If it's just an old trick, why did you just stop me?" Kakashi taunted, once again Zabuza laughed.
"Let your opponent see your Jutsu too many times and they'll find a way to use it against you."
"Then count yourself lucky, you're the only man alive who has seen my Sharingan twice, shows over, there won't be a third time."
"Even if you did defeat me you'd have no chance against Haku" Sakura looked over at the ice prison with a worried expression "When I found him he was just a street kid but I trained him in the most advanced ninja techniques, I taught him everything I know plus, he had special abilities that he refined on his own. The boy developed quickly, soon he could face the most powerful enemy, outnumbered, in total darkness it didn't matter, he could strike with perfect accuracy, he cared nothing for his own life, or the lives of others, he became a unique fighting machine, a Shinobi, in the end, his powers surpassed even mine, his Kekkei genkai cannot be defeated by anyone, I've created a tool that can destroy anything that stands in my way, unlike the useless punks that follow you around" Zabuza pulled out his kunai and stared at Mieko who began chuckling darkly "what are you laughing about brat?" he snarled.
"You seem to think that you have created this unstoppable killing machine that we can never hope to defeat" she looked into the demon's eyes with smugness swirling in her own orbs "you are sorely mistaken."
"What? You think you can take him on" Zabuza laughed loudly.
"In fact, I can, if Naruto and Sasuke were not in such a dangerous situation then your precious Haku would already be dead."
"You're kidding, a weakling like you could never kill Haku."
"Ah!" Zabuza and Mieko stopped bickering and turned to the ice prison when they heard Naruto yell, inside Naruto's clones were being destroyed and Sasuke was being bombarded with senbon needles "How is he doing that!?" Naruto yelled out, Sasuke remained quiet, slowly standing as he realised a weak point in Haku's ice mirrors "One more time! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" many Naruto's popped in and tried attacking Haku again, Sasuke took his chance and kicked water into the air, a tactic already formed in his mind.
"Don't you see that it's useless" Haku attacked again and the two males were flown back, the bodies thrown against the floor.
Sasuke rose to his knees and huffed when he felt his stiff muscles ache in disagreement 'I could see his speed but that doesn't mean I can match it' I realisation suddenly occurred to him 'the water, its being repelled' he looked at all the Haku clones 'what if I tried something else, not water but-yes, now it's my move.'
Zabuza chuckled at his enemies "You see little brat, Kakashi, you think you and those other brats can defeat Haku? He is the ultimate battle tool for destruction."
"Have you finished bragging, you're starting to put me to sleep" Kakashi pulled his Hitai-ate away from his eye to reveal his Sharingan "Lets finish this, now!"
"Fine but there's one more thing you should know, a little more bragging as you say, did you really think that our last battle was just win or lose, that I took your attacks like some stupid Genin, Haku was there, hiding , watching every move you make, studying your Sharingan, Haku can see a Jutsu once and can immediately devise a lethal counter attack, it's one of his gifts" Sakura's worried expression grew into one of fear "I've been waiting to see the look on your face when you realise that your Sharingan has become worthless. You once said the same Jutsu won't work on me twice, and now I'm telling you that" Zabuza raised in hand to perform a one handed Justu "Ninja art: Hidden mist Jutsu" Kakashi followed Mieko and prepared for an attack as mist appeared and covered their vision, Zabuza disappeared soon after.
"This Is it" Mieko muttered determinedly.
"Sensei?"
"Sakura, stay with Tazuna" Sakura nodded and ran back to the bridge builder "Mieko, you stay with me, we will need to team up to take this guy down so we can help Naruto and Sasuke" she nodded silently, only to gasp when she heard the whirling of several shuriken's, with lightning speed reflexes she brought out a kunai and blocked all of them.
"Very skillfull, guess you're not that bad brat" Both Kakashi and Mieko's eyes widened when they heard Zabuza's voice behind them, they quickly turned around to face the man who had his eyes closed in concentration "but next time you see me will be the last time you see anything, without your Sharingan you're nothing" he faded away once more.
"Mieko, I think you should use your senses for this fight."
"Yes papa" she closed her eyes before reopening then, what was once simple golden eyes shining brightly. Her eyes, ears and nose would detect anything Zabuza did. She was surprised that the mist ninja had no scent when she breathed in deeply.
"You wanted me to believe you could see through anything even through time but your prediction was wrong, I'm still alive so you're a fraud Kakashi, you can't read the future and you can't read me, the Sharingan is just a trick which makes you seem more powerful than you are, I know now that your Sharingan has two separate elements, the piercing eyes which sees every detail and the hypnotic eye, which mesmerises your opponent, employing these abilities can allow you to execute multiple Jutsu's in quick succession which makes it seem like you can see the future, now that I know this I can make a very simple plan to defeat you, first I will disable your piercing eye with this zero visibility mist."
"Papa, in front of you!" Mieko shouted, allow Kakashi to quickly jump away from Zabuza's attack.
"Heh, the little girl has faster reflexes then you do Kakashi" Zabuza teased "Next I will neutralise your hypnotic eye by keeping my own eyes closed, you can't bore into my mind without looking into my eyes."
"Brilliant, except with your eyes closed you can't see me either" Kakashi spoke back.
"Have you forgotten who I am Kakashi, I'm the demon of the hidden mist, the master of the silent kill, I can take you out by sound alone" the Jounin's eyes widened, this was not good.
"Papa?" Mieko asked when she saw Kakashi's snap his eyes open.
"The bridge builder!"
"Sakura! Tazuna! Behind you!" Mieko shouted. Sakura quickly jerked her body around to see Zabuza running towards them, without another thought, Mieko flash stepped behind Tazuna and blocked Zabuza's attack.
"Too late!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"