Chapter 4: Demon of the Mist
"Kagome-chan, who is that?" Naruto asked. He knew that Kagome would have knowledge on anything in the shinobi world.
"Momochi Zabuza, an exiled jounin ninja from the Hidden Village of the Mist." Kagome said, "He was on the Hidden Village of the Mist assassination squad known as the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. At least that was written in the Bingo Books, correct?" Kagome asked, glancing at Zabuza who smirked underneath his bandages. He was impressed with her knowledge about him.
"What's a Bingo Book?" Naruto asked, confused.
"A black book that contain lists of dangerous shinobi from rival villages that are distributed to high ranking officials. Jounin and ANBU members to be most exact. The lists contain missing-nin or security threats that are to be eliminated." Kagome said, "You're also in the Bingo book as well, Kakashi-sensei."
Everyone stared at her in shock. Kakashi especially. As she said, only jounin level shinobi have Bingo Books. He guessed that she must have read some of the Bingo books that are stored at the Hokage tower. Everyone was having a hard time believing that their sensei is a high ranking shinobi who's known to be a threat to other shinobi villages.
"It seems like you did your homework, little girl." Zabuza said, chuckled.
"Let's just say I'm quite studious when it comes to the shinobi world." Kagome said, smirking.
"Interesting." Zabuza said, "I presume that the man next to you is Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye?"
Sasuke stiffened when Zabuza mentioned the 'Sharingan'. Sasuke knew that only certain members of the Uchiha clan have the Sharingan. He glanced at Kakashi with suspicion.
How does Kakashi-sensei have the Sharingan when he's not even an Uchiha? Sasuke thought. At that moment, Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate and opened his eyes. His left eye revealed the Sharingan eye.
That's the Sharingan? Naruto thought when he saw Kakashi's left eye.
Hai. Kagome thought.
Uncle Koichi also has the Sharingan, right? Naruto thought.
Hai. Kagome thought, The Sharingan is very rare. It's able to see and copy a person's jutsus.
That's amazing. Naruto thought.
"I'm honored to be in the presence of the shinobi who is able to copy over a thousand jutsus." Zabuza said, "Give me the old man and I just might let you all live."
"I'm afraid that I have to refuse, Zabuza." Kakashi said.
"Very well then." Zabuza said as he disappeared from the tree and appeared on a lake in front of them as he performed hand signs for a water technique, "Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu."
Suddenly, a mist surrounded Team 7 and Tazuna. It blanketed the area, hiding Zabuza's presence.
"Everyone don't let your guard down. Get into Manji formation." Kakashi said. The four ninjas nodded their heads and went into position to protect Tazuna. Soon enough, Kakashi vanished into the mist as well. Before Sakura could cry out for their sensei, Naruto interrupted her.
"Kagome-chan, what is this?" Naruto asked, slightly nervous.
"Part of Zabuza's 'Silent Killing' technique. It's a simple quiet method of killing an opponent. Because of the user being silent, you don't even realize you're dead before it's too late." Kagome said. Naruto and Sakura gulped while Sasuke stayed silent. Seeing that everyone was looking in different directions, Kagome closed her eyes and focused her chakra and miko-ki into her eyes. Then said a word in her mind,
Mikomegan.
It felt like minutes went by. Then hours. Everyone was starting to feel edgy because of the silence in the mist. Until they heard an eerie voice.
"8 parts." Zabuza echoed all around. Everyone flinched at Zabuza's voice. They couldn't pinpoint it.
"Legs...spine...kidney...artery...lungs...liver...jugular...heart." Zabuza said, "Which one should I strike first?"
Sakura felt a shiver go down her spine. Naruto was starting to tremble while holding onto his kunai. Sasuke was also starting to tremble in his legs. All of them were on guard, they didn't want to die on their first mission together. Kagome narrowed her eyes at the voice. She, however, wasn't affected by it at the least. She had heard worse when she was in the feudal era. Half a minute later, she finally located Zabuza, he was coming towards them. Kakashi wasn't that far away as well. She could tell that her teammates were on edge. She let out some of her aura, to calm them. Then Kakashi appeared with a hand seal that blew most of the mist so that they can all see each other.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you all. I won't let my comrades die." Kakashi said over his shoulder while smiling underneath his mask, "Trust me."
When they saw his smile, they felt a little at ease.
That doesn't mean that I will let you die, too Kakashi-sensei. Kagome thought. She tensed when she saw Zabuza appeared in the middle of their formation. She summoned Banryū into her hands.
"Is that so, Kakashi?" Zabuza asked as he was about to turn and attack Tazuna. At the last second, Kagome appeared in front of him and blocked his Kubikiribōchō with Banryū.
"Don't underestimate us, Zabuza." Kagome said as she held onto Banryū, pushing against Zabuza. While they were still pushing against each other, Zabuza's eyes widened when he gazed into Kagome's eyes; the irises were pink with an eight point star pattern in both eyes.
"Kirara, protect Tazuna!" Kagome yelled. Kirara jumped off her shoulder and stood near Tazuna. Kagome pushed Zabuza out of the formation and she followed after him. Their swords clashed again and again. Zabuza couldn't believe that this female genin was able to match him in speed and strength. Not to mention the sword she was carrying. It looked heavy and bigger than her.
Kakashi was surprised at this. He couldn't believe that Kagome was fighting against Zabuza. The sword she was carrying looked even heavier than Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō. As he watched the two battle, he was amazed that Kagome was on the same level of strength as Zabuza. Maybe even more. With his Sharingan still active, he noticed the enormous amount of chakra in her body, but there was something else, a power he couldn't identify. The pattern in her eyes is also what intrigued him as well.
Sasuke was amazed at this as well. He never knew that Kagome could handle the weapon she had in her hands. What surprised him the most was the pattern he saw in Kagome's eyes. He had never seen any kind of pattern like that before. What did it mean?
"Let's finish this!" Kagome said as she swung Banryū at Zabuza. When she sliced him with Banryū, it turned out to be a water clone. Zabuza appeared behind her with his blade aimed at her.
"It's over." Zabuza said as he sliced her with his blade. 'Kagome' collapsed into water. Then Zabuza felt a kunai against his neck. Zabuza smirked at that. Kagome narrowed at Zabuza's smirk. She nipped him with her kunai. He turned into water. She sensed him behind her and dove into the lake nearby to avoid his next lethal attack. Zabuza followed her to into the water. When Kagome got out of the water, her hair was limp as water was dripping from it and her ninja clothes were soaked. Then she noticed something strange about the water.
The water, it feels...heavy. Kagome thought.
"Suiton: Suirō no Jutsu!" Zabuza shouted. Kagome's eyes widened when she saw Zabuza in front of her.
"Kagome!" Everyone shouted when the water quickly caged her in. Kagome felt like she was being held down by a ton of bricks. She couldn't move any part of her body at all. She now knew that this was a prison technique. The user has to keep one arm inside the sphere at all times in order to keep the victim imprisoned. She was truly helpless right now.
"Kagome!" Naruto shouted as he started to run towards her. But stopped when he heard her voice.
"Stay away, Naruto!" Kagome shouted, "Don't worry about me! Just get Tazuna-san back home!"
"There's no way we're leaving you behind Kagome!" Naruto shouted.
"Do you think we would leave you like this, Kagome-chan?" Sasuke asked. Kagome's eyes widened and shook at the look she saw in Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes. They looked familiar to her. But where had she seen them before?
"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!" Zabuza shouted as two water figures came out of the water. The figures settled into the form of Zabuza. Sasuke rushed forward to attack the water clone, but he got pushed back by Zabuza's powerful kick.
"You should quit being ninjas. You're not even qualified to be one." Zabuza said, "When I was your age, my hands were already dyed with blood."
"What?" Naruto asked, shocked.
"Back then I was known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist." Zabuza said.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, horrified.
"Long ago in the Hidden Village of the Mist, which was also known as the Blood Mist Village. The final part of the exam to becoming a ninja was a fight to the death between students. You fight against those you trained with, ate lunches with, and sat down together with. The last one standing..." Kagome said with sadness in her voice, "...is the victor."
"Ah, that was a great day. So much blood was spilled. I enjoyed it." Zabuza said, chuckling darkly.
"How horrible." Sakura said, her eyes widened in horror. The other three genin couldn't believe that a Hidden village would do such an exam. It was too cruel and wrong to kill your own comrades.
"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto shouted as ten shadow clones appeared in front of him. Then they charged towards Zabuza's water clone. But Zabuza pushed them all away with his Kubikiribōchō. As Naruto was being pushed away, he dug into his backpack and took out a certain ninja weapon.
"Sasuke, catch!" Naruto said as he threw the weapon to Sasuke, who was closer to the other clone. Sasuke caught the weapon and unfolded the four blades. He leaped up into the air and threw the weapon.
"Fūma Shuriken!" Sasuke yelled as he released the weapon. The shuriken sliced through the water clones and headed towards the real Zabuza. But he was able to catch it with ease.
"Smart, but not smart enough." Zabuza said.
"There!" Naruto shouted as he threw a kunai towards Zabuza. His eyes widened when he saw Naruto's kunai coming towards him. Having no other choice, he removed his arm from the water sphere. The water prison broke, leaving Kagome soaked while breathing heavily for needed air.
"You're gonna pay for that, Zabuza." Kagome said as she stood up with water soaked clothes.
"Oh really?" Zabuza asked, smirking with his left brow arched.
"Yeah, I'll make sure you pay it in full." Kagome said, smirking. At a rapid pace, they both performed the same hand signs.
"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" Both of them shouted in sync as two dragons rose out of the water and twirled around each other until they rammed into themselves.
"Impossible!" Zabuza shouted when both of the dragon's forms fell back into the water. Kagome quickly performed another set of hand signs.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Kagome shouted as a typhoon of water burst from her mouth and shot towards Zabuza. The force of the typhoon shoved him towards a tree. He slid down onto the ground. He felt like the wind just got knocked out of him.
"It's over." Kagome said. Zabuza looked up and his eyes widened when he saw Kagome right above him with a kunai in hand. Before Kagome could finish the fight, two senbon needles were stabbed into Zabuza's neck. His body slumped against the tree. Kagome jumped down from the tree and glanced at Zabuza's body. She looked to where the needles had come from. She saw a figure on a tree branch not that far from them. The figure was a male dressed in the Kirigakure pinstriped outfit where the baggy pants stopped at the knees. He wore a green haori with white trimmings, and around his waist a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around his waist twice over the pinstriped outfit. On his feet, he wore light-brown platoon sandals with straps in the same color as his kimono and nail polish on his fingernails and toenails in matching blue green color. He had long black hair that was gathered in a white bun holder, while two locks of his hair fell loose framing his face that were bound with metal hair cuffs at the ends. The mask on him was white with thin, curved eye-holes and a red wavy design in place of the mouth. The Hidden Village of the Mist symbol etched on the forehead part.
"Judging by the mask you're wearing, you must be a hunter-nin from the Hidden Village of the Mist." Kagome said, staring at the hunter-nin.
"Indeed I am." The hunter-nin said, giving a nod. Kagome knew that the hunter-nin was a male. He looked about Naruto's age. Probably hasn't reached puberty yet.
"Kakashi-sensei." Kagome said, not breaking eye contact with the hunter-nin.
"Hai?" Kakashi asked.
"Could you check Zabuza?" Kagome asked.
"Hai." Kakashi said as he walked over Zabuza's slumped form. He kneel down and placed two fingers on Zabuza's neck. He felt no pulse.
"He's dead." Kakashi said as he stood up.
"Thank you." The hunter-nin said.
"Who the heck is he, Kagome-chan?" Naruto asked, narrowing his blue eyes at the hunter-nin.
"A hunter-nin. They assassinate exiled ninjas like Zabuza who are a threat to their village in order to conceal their secrets from getting out." Kagome said. The hunter-nin disappeared in a whirl of leaves and reappeared in the same manner next to Zabuza.
"Your battle is over. This body holds many secrets. I'll handle the rest." The hunter-nin said as he hoisted Zabuza's body over his shoulder and disappeared in a whirl of leaves once more. The mist soon cleared up, everything was back to the way it was before Zabuza's arrival. Kagome let out a sigh of relief as the pattern in her eyes disappeared while Kakashi put his hitai-ate over his Sharingan. They were safe, for now. Then she sensed a disturbance in Naruto's aura. She had a pretty good guess that Naruto felt like he was unable to defeat Zabuza while the hunter-nin did it like no problem.
"Naruto-kun," Kagome said, gaining Naruto's attention, "There are some people who are younger than me yet stronger than me. Don't be discouraged by this battle."
Naruto nodded his head in understanding. He knew that she was right. He felt helpless during the battle with Zabuza. He couldn't even lay a finger on him. Kagome was on equal ground with Zabuza. But he understood her words; get stronger in order to defeat the opponent next time.
"Well then, let's get going." Kagome said as she started to walk towards them. But she only took three steps until she collapsed. Before she hit the ground, Kakashi rushed over and caught her in his arms.
"Kagome!" Naruto said as he, Sasuke, and Kirara ran over to her. Kirara started mewing in panic for her master. She didn't expect her to use so much of her powers in one battle.
"Don't worry, she's just exhausted. She just needs some rest is all." Kakashi said, looking down at her unconscious form. She looked so innocent while she stayed in his arms. He couldn't believe that she would get so exhausted so quickly. Not to mention that she was able to perform those high-level techniques. He didn't know that she could do that.
"You can all rest at my house in the village." Tazuna said, walking over to them. It was the least he could do for them. After all, they were risking their lives to get him back home.
"Thank you, that's much appreciated." Kakashi said as he lifted Kagome into his arms, bridal style. Then Kirara jumped onto his shoulder. As he carried her, many thoughts began to enter his mind.
She was able to fight Zabuza, who is at a jounin level. I've never seen that kind of power before. That pattern in her eyes as well. Kakashi thought, Her weapons as well. I didn't know that she can handle that kind of weight.
Kakashi knew at that moment that Kagome Higurashi, was no ordinary kunoichi.
There are people who are very highly paid to cover the truth and who will protect their clients.
-Mary Hart
A/N: The eight point star pattern in Kagome's eyes is composed of two interlocking squares. See Inuyasha: The Final Act Episode 16. Kagome's mother draws it.
Jutsu:
Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu - Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique
Suiton: Suirō no Jutsu - Water Release: Water Prison Technique
Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu - Water Clone Technique
Kage Bunshin no jutsu - Shadow Clone Technique
Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu - Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique
Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu - Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique
Mikomegan - Eye of the Priestess Technique
