Her blade passed harmlessly inches away from my right eyebrow, I examined the patterns across the steel, always noticing a new ridge, line or bump somewhere, I dropped to the ground, batted the sword away with my own and rose to meet her eyes with mine, the moment was short-lived, though, when she raised the other blade in a circular slash, I deftly pierced the continuous circle with my weapon and stopped all movement, she sighed.
"How are you doing this?" she asked.
"Doing what?" I asked innocently.
"No matter how much I train or how much experience I have over you, I can never best you in our damn duels!" she basically spat out.
"You're not feeling." I explained simply.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I have an idea... to make you understand." I reached into my all-purpose sealing scroll and released a blindfold, I handed it to Anko and she took it hesitantly.
"Put that on, I'm going to station Shadow Clones around you and throw senbon at you. It's not deadly, but it WILL hurt you. I want you to block them with your zhaboka."
"Block? Does that mean that I am not allowed to dodge?" Anko asked fearfully.
"Indeed."
"But how? I'm not going to be able to see them coming!" she protested.
"That is because you have something even better." she put the tip of her index finger on her chin and looked up at the sky for a moment and then nodded.
"Extend your senses. Let go, let the Force guide your actions." I explained and she nodded. Just then, Sasuke entered the training field and had a look in his eyes that I had never seen before in his black orbs. That wasn't all, though. He now had a rather short Padawan braid sprouting from his dark locks and he now donned a rather standard Jedi attire, but in white and burgundy.
"Do you have your answers?" I asked with a smile and he nodded with a smirk.
"I am ready." he said and bowed. I could feel no deception in his answer and his appearance said a thousand words. Sasuke was not one to enslave himself to the beliefs of others, not even for the cost of power.
"And the second question?" I raised an eyebrow at him but I was extending my senses to feel even the slightest tension in his emotions.
"I know that my... ambition has ruled over my life ever since that day... I wish to change that... to feel again, to be free of these restraints that I have put on myself." he said and bowed his head in shame. He was being honest, at least as far as I could tell.
"Very well. I sense no dishonesty in your words. My only hope is not that you are deceiving me, but that you are deceiving yourself... I will train you."
Sasuke smiled and for me that was a rare sight. He looked more like the young Sasuke that looked up to his big brother at that moment and I could see and sense the good in him, there was still hope.
( '_')0*´¯`·.¸.·´¯`°Q('_' )
We had finally departed for the Land of Waves and everything up until now was going according to plan. The Demon Brothers' 'surprise' was everything but and the trip so far had been uneventful, just like Canon, that was soon going to change.
"Nii-chan, something's not right."
"I sense it too." Sasuke concurred, I nodded to both of them and Kakashi spared a glance at us and nodded too.
"DOWN!" Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto and I shouted at the same time and we dropped to the ground. The sound of air being cut filled our soundscape which was then broken by the loud thud in a nearby tree, all of us turned around and saw a tall, grey skinned man with a bandaged face and a slashed Kirigakure headband that lay across it. Zabuza was positively more intimidating in real life.
"What have we here? Copy-cat Kakashi and a couple of brats. I am only after the bridge-builder, if you go on your own merry way" he stopped for a moment "I will let you leave."
"There's no way we're going to do that!" Naruto hissed at him and I couldn't help but smile proudly.
"Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist..." Kakashi muttered under his breath.
"Ah, so you've heard of me... good... that makes the next part so much easier!" he said and with incredible speed dislodged his Kubikiribocho and swung at the nearest of our group, which was Sakura. Sasuke, calmer than ever, drew a couple of kunai and threw them at Zabuza, then turned around to look into the distance, a small splash of water could be heard from where the clone previously was.
"The real one is over there." he pointed towards the water and Kakashi nodded with a proud eye smile. Zabuza raised his right arm straight up and his left in a half ram seal and muttered 'Kirigakure no Jutsu' ( Hidden in the Mist ), a deep mist clouding over the area.
"Menma, can you do something about this?" Kakashi inquired.
"I could, but it's actually better like this." I smirked and Naruto and Sasuke who were next to me merely nodded and closed their eyes.
"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked with a critical eye.
"Eight vital points: the larynx, spinal column, lungs, liver, jugular vein, subclavian artery, kidneys, and heart. Which one will it be?" Zabuza's disembodied voice loomed over our ears, including a healthy dose of Killing Intent.
"What... what is that?" Sakura asked fearfully and I could feel all the dread coming from her through the Force. Tazuna and Sakura started shaking uncontrollably and I started a weak version of my Battle Meditation, which boosted the morale, stamina and prowess of those around me and did the opposite to Zabuza. Sakura seemed to be taking deep breaths and Naruto and Sasuke were basking in the warm feeling of my ability.
"That's nice, nii-chan..." Naruto muttered euphorically but was focused entirely on the situation at hand. Kakashi, on the other hand, was shocked and wanted to question me further, but figured this wasn't the time nor place.
"Head's up." I warned but Naruto had already drawn his curve-hilted sword.
"I'm on it." he said and did a Makashi salute. He stepped to his left and deflected a slash aimed at Tazuna and then, with the same fluidity and grace, lightly tapped the figure's throat with his blade, which made it disappear in another splash of water.
"Good work. Sensei, let's capture him, I'll provide support." Kakashi nodded and I got into position and had already started inhaling deeply.
"Suiton: Teppōdama!" ( Water Release: Water Bullet ) I yelled and started shooting small but highly compressed bullets of water at Zabuza, who was engaged in a close quarters battle with Kakashi, now obligated to retreat and try blocking with his Kubikiribocho.
"Sensei! He won't be able to block. Now!" I offered but Kakashi was already on it. My water bullets, because of their tight compression and my extremely strong water affinity, were closer to 'real' life bullets, but also much more resistant and much heavier. All of these combined simply allowed for them to pass through any hardened steel that wasn't chakra conductive, effectively punching holes through Zabuza's sword and impacting his body in different spots, albeit with greatly reduced impact.
Zabuza lost his footing and Kakashi profited with ease, now throwing water jutsu after water jutsu at him, hitting him repeatedly and throwing him into a tree at the other end of the lake.
"Good job, team." Kakashi said with an eye smile. Naruto was now grinning widely and Sasuke and Sakura were sporting a similar proud smile, although that quickly changed in the case of the boys, when senbon flying through the air were heard and then a squishing sound, coming from Zabuza's exposed neck.
"Thank you for your assistance, I have been chasing him for weeks." the newly appeared fake hunter-nin said. All the men in our group knew that something was wrong but I simply stopped them with a raise of my left hand. Both their expressions now read a disgruntled 'WHY?'
"It was our pleasure, hunter-nin-san." Kakashi thanked and motioned for the stranger to approach and he complied, grabbed Zabuza and shunshinned away.
"Why did we let him get away? He was still alive!" Naruto protested and both Kakashi and I turned to him and smiled, each in our own ways.
"What?! He was dead!" Sakura screeched "Kakashi-sensei even checked his pulse!"
"Yeah! But senbon aren't deadly weapons! Nii-chan makes me train with clones throwing senbon at me all the time!" Naruto once again protested and that seemed to shut Sakura up, who was now wearing a confused expression.
"Great observation, Naruto-kun. For one, I am tired and we don't know how strong his partner was. Secondly, our mission is to protect Tazuna-san, not to dispose of Kiri nuke-nins." Kakashi stated with a straight face, but my face said 'I'll tell you the whole story later.'
( '_')0*´¯`·.¸.·´¯`°Q('_' )
"Okay. I give up. Why didn't we stop him?" Naruto said with a pout.
"There's still good in Zabuza, and did you feel how protective is partner was? They have been hired by Gatou and I am certain that he is not trustful, from everything we have heard and the state of this village. That only leads to one logical conclusion – Gatou doesn't intend to uphold his end of the bargain, which means that when we meet Zabuza again, we can just wait until Gatou shows up." Naruto was thoughtful for a moment but then his face straightened.
"There's something you're not telling me, nii-chan. You've trained me well enough to notice this, especially when it comes to you." he said with a critical eye. Damn it... I knew I couldn't hide this for long. I set up some privacy seals around the room and motioned for Naruto to sit next to me.
"Naru-kun... have you ever wondered why I've always known this much and... how I know about the Jedi ways?" I asked and his eyes widened a little in shock and fear.
"Nii-chan... I don't know where you're going with this... you're scaring me." he said.
"Naruto... you know I will never hurt you... and that I will always be your brother, and nothing else, right?" I asked and he nodded and then gave me a sad smile.
"I'm actually... not from this world.
( '_')0*´¯`·.¸.·´¯`°Q('_' )
"This wasn't... as bad as I thought!" he said with a grin and hugged me tightly.
"You're not... mad... that I didn't tell you before or...?" I asked and he just hugged me tighter.
"No! It actually explains a whole lot! I've always wondered how you knew so much about all this stuff, but you're still my big brother and I think that it's wonderful that you've been sent here!" he said happily.
"But... don't tell me what's going to happen to me, please. I... I want to forge my own path." he said, now looking at the ground and I raised his face up for his eyes to meet mine.
"Don't worry, little brother." I said and now hugged him just as he did to me before.
( '_')0*´¯`·.¸.·´¯`°Q('_' )
It was only a few days till Zabuza's next appearance would take place and I had been sensing a ripple in the Force, something calling to me, beckoning me to follow it. I had complete faith in Team 7 to defend themselves and Tazuna and I also had to follow the will of the Force. I told my team I would be gone for some time and not to worry and Naruto and Sasuke understood right away, but Kakashi was more reluctant to allow it, though my status as ANBU quickly overwrote any feelings he had about the matter, I could be going on a classified assignment for all he knew.
I had followed the small hum that beckoned to a strange cave. I closed my eyes, extended my senses as much as I could and developed a mental image of my surroundings. Miraluka were a race that were blind from birth, in the Star Wars universe, but they used the Force to see around them, I employed a similar concept here, except it was much more difficult since I was not accustomed to it. I could see the faint outline of a tunnel and I followed it. Soon I was in a large antechamber and I could feel a presence in front of me that was very powerful in the Force.
"Who are you?" I called out and a blinding light forced me to open my eyes to check the source, I was now in the gardens at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and, in front of me, stood... Yoda?
"Master Yoda?" I asked hopefully.
"Indeed, young one. Lost, you seem." Yoda said in his tell-tale voice and motioned me to follow towards a group of other Jedi Masters, among which was the entirety of the Jedi Council.
"What am I doing here? How is this possible?" I asked and for the first time, I was beginning to doubt my sanity.
"Worry not, young one. In a safe place, you are, stay a while, you must." Yoda beckoned and I almost took up his offer, but this was wrong. Even though I desperately wanted it to be true, it wasn't.
"This isn't real." I said and I was now surrounded by the darkness of the cave yet again. I shook thoughts about the recent hallucination away and followed the tunnel once again. A short while later I was once again in a large chamber, faintly illuminated by an eerie glow.
"We finally meet." a voice strangely familiar said and I turned around to face... myself?
"You are... me. But how?" I asked and reached out for him but he took a step back.
"Don't even compare myself to you! You're nothing but a weakling." he scoffed and I eyed him warily.
"Then... who are you?" I asked confusedly and he smirked, then cackled evilly, filling the air with echoes of deep, malefic laughter.