Three hours later the bridge builders house-
Mari saw the antics between Sasuke and naruto and sighed slightly "I know you need to eat to get stronger, but being sick afterwards isn't going to help you." She said from her seat beside Kakashi.
"If you excuse me I need some fresh air, I'll be outside if anybody wants me." Mari said softly before leaving the house.
10 minutes later Mari looked up when she felt someone come up beside her.
"Can I join you?" Kakashi said, looking down at her as he waited for her answer.
Mari nodded before looking out at the water again.
"Is something troubling you?" Kakashi said as he sat down beside her.
"It's ever since I saw him again, everything he did keeps coming into my head. I know he's dead now but it still won't stop." She said tears forming in her eyes again as she spoke "I've never been that powerless before."
Kakashi put one arm around her and pulled her closer, "it's ok, something like that will take a long time to deal with." He said softly gently stroking her hair as he let her cry onto his shoulder.
"It seems I've been doing a lot of this since I arrived here." She said softly her head still on his shoulder.
"Like I said a moment ago it's ok." He said, smiling at her when she looked up at him. He pulled his mask down slightly and kissed her forehead before pulling it back up again.
Mari's eyes widened slightly when he kissed her. What? Why? She thought wondering why he was acting like this with her.
Mari smiled before moving slightly closer to him as she shivered from the drop in temperature, her eyes seemed to close again as she got comfortable. His arms tightened around her waist as he pulled her closer to him she's the first person I've felt this way about in a long time. He thought before noticing that she had fallen asleep against him again.
"She really has had it rough since she arrived here, it's no wonder that she's so exhausted." He said softly as he sat looking up at the sky his arm remained around her waist.
They sat like that for a while before Kakashi gently picked her up bridal style and walked inside.
"Is she alright Kakashi- sensei?" sakura said when she saw them both.
"She'll be fine; she's been through a lot over the last few days. She's just exhausted." He said as he took her to the room he had been lying in when he woke up. He put her down gently before covering her in one of the blankets and leaving the room.
"She told me it takes a lot out of her to use that mental ability she has. It is possible that she could be put in a coma if she uses it too much." Kakashi said to the three genin, seeing the look of surprise on their faces he sighed slightly. "Remember Sasuke, naruto try not to train yourselves to hard. Yes your training is important but so is your health." He added before turning and walking back towards the room he had just put Mari in. He sat down close to her with his back against the wall and smiled slightly at the peaceful look on her face.
-The next morning. –
"Kakashi-kun. I fell asleep on you again didn't I?" Mari said after she had woken up to see him watching her.
"Yeah you sure did." He said smiling at her again before moving to sit next to her. "So do you feel any better today? I didn't tell the others that you had a slight fever I assume that's one of the side effects on your power." He added putting his arm around her shoulder again. Why does this feel so right? He thought before putting his mind back on the mission. "We're all protecting tazuna on the bridge today." He said as he hugged her before getting to his feet.
Mari nodded before standing up quickly; she tied her hair up in a pony tail before leaving the room to get something to eat.
"Morning mari-chan." Naruto shouted making her wince slightly.
"Good morning naruto how's your training going?" she said looking at him as she began to eat the food in front of him. "We made it all the way to the top." Naruto said gesturing to Sasuke as well as he spoke.
An hour later, the great bridge-
"What on earth happened here?" tazuna said as he looked around at the workers lying on the floor with wounds covering their bodies.
"Why don't you shoe yourself Zabuza? I already know you're there." Mari said a she looked at a spot on the bridge.
"Haku deal with her, Kakashi's mine." Zabuza said to the figure next to him before attacking Kakashi.
"Sakura stay with tazuna." Mari said before taking her sword from its sheath. She used it to block haku's first attack before jumping as it was knocked from her hand.
Sasuke came up behind haku a kunai at the boy's throat. "It seems I have no choice." Haku said as he used one hand to do some hand signs "demonic ice crystal mirrors" he shouts trapping both Sasuke and Mari in a cage of ice.
Mari pushed Sasuke out of the way of the wave of needles aimed at them, she gasped as a number of the needles hit her in the back and neck making her collapse to her knees.
"Hello everyone naruto uzamaki has arrived." Naruto shouted as he appeared on the bridge making everyone sigh.
"Naruto! The whole point of a surprise attack is for it to be a surprise." Kakashi said loudly as he battled Zabuza.
maybe we have a chance if naruto attacks from outside while i attack from inside.sasuke thought, he was just about to make his paln known when he saw naruto beside him. " you idiot." sasuke, kakashi and mari shouted at the same time.
" naruto sauke get down." Mari said loudly grabbing them both and pushing them down, She gasped again as she took the needles that haku had aimed at the two boys. Struggling to her feet she looked at the images of haku for a moment before closing her yes for a moment and breathing in.
" oh so you can sense me then. it seems you'l habe to go first." haku said as he aimed more needles at them. Mari flicked her wrist stopping the needles movement before turning them around and launching them back at the mirrors. she did that without touching them. she must have some kind of bloodline limit as well. haku thought before smiling slightly when he saw how weakened she was.
she looked at the two boys and smiled beneath her mask.i know her weakness as well.he thought before aiming the needles at the boys who were kneeling on the floor. Mari jumped forwards taking the needles in the neck.
" mari- san. why?" naruto said as he and sasuke caught her, she coughed slightly before saying " don't let your dreams die. never let hatred rule your life." she said before closing her eyes.
Naruto passed mari to sasuke before looking at haku his anger showing on his face. " i take it neither of you have witnessed death then." haku said laughing at the looks on both the genins faces.
he gasped as a visible aura began to surround naruto, sasuke gasps before being knocked out by a number of haku's needles that were aimed at naruto. what is this chakra? haku thought as naruto changed before his eyes. naruto roars destrying the ice prison and blocking haku's attack before launching himself at haku, only to stop jsut before giving him the killer blow whe he see's that it's a boy he'd met in the woods while training.
kakashi looked over qickly as the prison was destroyed before turning back to zabuza who was being restrained by kakashi's ninja hounds. " chidori." he said creating the lightening blade in his hand " i let you injure me on purpose so that i could get your sent. now you die." he said aiming the chidori at zabuza's chest onloy to hit haku at the last moment. " i have done my job zabuza. i die protecting you." haku murmered coughing up blood as kakashi lowers him to the floor.
" naruto!" sakura shouted as the fog cleared slightly allowing her to see naruto stood over two figures lying on the floor. " where's sasuke and Mari- san?" she added seeing the look on naruto's face she stopped and turned to tazuna. " come on i'l take you." he said before taking her hand and running over.
" sasuke's just been knocked out, But mari- san." naruto said looking down at mari before looking away as he tried not to cry.
Mari. kakashi thought glancing over before turning his anger on zabuza. Kakashi quickly countered every move zabuza made before finally taking out both of zabuza's arms.
" sakura, naruto get off me i can't breath." Mari said weakly opening her eyes to see both of them with their heads on her chest.
" Mari- san your alive." naruto and sakura shout at the same time as they hugged the older kunoichi. " hey, will you be a little bit gentler i still have the needles in me you know." mari whispered,her voice still weak.
well will you look at that. haku never meant to kill them after all.kakashi thought before turning to zabuza.
" so what are you going to do now? you haven't got use of your arms anymore." kakashi said, he stopped speaking when he heard clapping coming from across the bridge.
"well he really did a number on you didn't he zabuza. it saves me having to do the job later." gato said before laughing as he gestured to the men behind him.
zabuza growled before turning to naruto " hey kid pass me a kunai." he said, as he ripped the bandages off his face using his teeth, as soon as he caught the kunai in his mouth her ran towards gato taking out as many of the men as he could before finally reaching gato and slashing him across the chestr before pushing him off the bridge.
he headed back towards haku and collapsed looking at the boy he had brought up and loved more than anything in the world even if he didn't want to admit it.
"we still want to be paid. maybe we should go and see what the village has to offer." one of the samurai gato had hired said before beginning to move forwards only to be stopped by an arrow.
" get away from our village, or we'll have no choice but to kill you. we're tired of you using us." one of the villagers shouted having come out in force to stop the attack.
" i'm not letting them have all the fun." naruto said from beside kakashi " KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" he shouted 30 naruto's appearing behind him. i should have enough to help out. kakashi thought before saying " kage bunshin no jutsu. kakashi style."
The men looked at the kage bunshin and villagers before turning and running away.
" we did it." Mari said behind kakashi her voice weak before she collapsed forwards, Kakashi caught her quickly and lay her down on the ground gently beside him before getting to his feet.
- 1 week later-
" well i guess we'll be saying our goodbyes now. we have to get back to konoha." kakashi said glancing at Mari before waving to the villagers and turning to walk away.
" there's somewhere i want to go before he head back to the village." Mari said softly looking at kakashi who jsut nodded.
- ten minutes later-
The group stood beside the two graves on the hill close to the village. " so this is what ninja life is. i've had enough." naruto said making them all look at him in surprise. " from now on i'm going to live me life without regret. From now on i'm goign to live by my own nindo."
Kakashi and Mari chuckled before turning and heading down the path that lead home.