10. This Battlefield of Dreams
"So my prediction was correct," Kakashi-sensei commented, watching the two ninja in front of him.
Our formation broke now that we had a clear line of sight to our target. I stood beside Tazuna and glared at the boy in the mask. The boy that had managed to trick us. And who had erased our entire effort to bring down Zabuza with one flick of his wrist.
My veins were humming, a familiar feeling. The anticipation of a fight. And I was planning on winning this one. I found myself with far more courage than I had the first time we had fought Zabuza, even though now he had backup. "For a group of 'brats', you certainly didn't trick us for long, did you?"
"I'll fight him," Sasuke said, never taking his eyes off of the pair.
"Sasuke?" Sakura questioned.
"He pulled that stupid trick on us…I hate conceited guys like that."
"You're so cool Sasuke," Sakura nearly squealed.
What!? That's basically what I just said! It's only cool if Sasuke says it?
Only moments after Sasuke's statement, our opponent leapt into action. Zabuza stayed where he was, but the boy named Haku began to spin rapidly on one heel until he, himself, became like a small tornado. He spun towards Sasuke rapidly, with a speed that I had not anticipated.
The boy stuck an arm out, trying to stab Sasuke with a senbon, but Sasuke was quick and was able to block the weapon with his kunai. The two struggled against one another, each trying to break through the other's defense. Every time one boy would try and make an attack, the other would simply counter.
"Sakura, Nakao, stay with Tazuna and stay close to me. Let Sasuke handle the boy," Kakashi-sensei instructed.
Sakura and I pressed our shoulders together, standing guard in front of Tazuna. We kept our weapons at the ready but our eyes were trained on Sasuke's every move.
"I don't want to kill you, but you won't back off, will you?" the boy said calmly.
"What are you, stupid?" Sasuke smirked.
"As I thought…but you won't be able to keep up with my next attack; and I have two advantages."
My heart sank. Something about this boy gave me the feeling that he didn't need to exaggerate his abilities to spook us. Two advantages?
"The first is that the ground is covered in water. Second, I have one of your hands occupied."
I watched in shock as Haku performed hand seals with just his left hand. My eyes shook. He can perform jutsus with just one hand! And he can do them so quickly!
Haku stomped on the ground with his right foot. All the water on the ground flew into the air, separated, and turned into needles made out of ice. A second later, the needles slammed towards the ground. Haku jumped out of the way before they hit.
I knew Sasuke was safe because I'd seen his every move. He jumped into the air, avoiding the needles, and took out several shuriken. He threw them at Haku; Haku continually jumping backwards to avoid the shuriken. I watched in amazement as Sasuke disappeared, reappearing behind Haku.
"You're pretty slow," Sasuke smirked.
He's gotten so much faster!
The two lashed out at each other again, but once again, Sasuke blocked Haku's senbon with his kunai. With his unoccupied hand, Sasuke flicked a kunai right at Haku's face. Haku ducked, but Sasuke was ready and kicked Haku in the head, sending him flying back towards Zabuza, hitting the ground as he did so.
"Looks like my speed's better," Sasuke said, staring down Zabuza and Haku.
"Way to go, Sasuke!" I cheered, confidence returning again.
"You really shouldn't underestimate my team just because I have young students," Kakashi-sensei said, looking to Zabuza. "Sasuke is Konoha's top rookie. Sakura has one of the brightest minds. Nakao possesses and controls the Makase Clan kekki genki and Naruto is the most show-offy, hyperactive, number one loudest ninja."
Zabuza remained quiet for a moment before glancing down at Haku. "Haku, at this rate, we'll be driven back."
"I understand," Haku got to his feet slowly. "It's a shame."
I gasped when I could feel Haku gathering his chakra. It was very impressive; impressive enough for me to start to worry about Sasuke. As Sasuke watched the boy carefully, a cold air swept through the area, making me shiver.
Why did it suddenly get so cold? My teeth chattered and I could see my breath escape into the air in icy tendrils.
Haku made a handseal with both hands and from behind Sasuke, ice began to grow off of the ground. It built itself up, forming into a giant rectangle slightly taller than him. I watched, mouth hanging open as more began to appear, circling the area around Sasuke and then up, capping off the circle, enclosing Sasuke in a dome of ice…whatever they were.
There were gaps that I could see through, and right now, Sasuke was glancing around himself, teeth clenched. Once the ice had finished forming, Haku stepped forward, straight into one of the ice rectangles! He dissolved into it, his image appearing on the surface of the rectangle, watching Sasuke.
I was stunned. What were they? Mirrors? Whatever they were, it gave me a sinking feeling in my gut and the only thing that kept me from rushing forward was the thought of Tazuna standing behind me.
The mirrors flashed a bright, white light and, suddenly, images of Haku appeared on every single mirror. Every one of my senses was firing off. Warning! Warning! They tried to tell me but I gritted my teeth and remained where I was.
"Kuso…" Kakashi-sensei cursed before running towards the mirrors. Before he got there, however, Zabuza slid into his path, blocking him.
"I'm your opponent, remember?" Zabuza challenged Kakashi-sensei. "Against Haku, your boy is finished."
A horrified gasp betrayed me and Kakashi-sensei fixed a pointed stare over his shoulder at me. "Stay there! No matter what happens, do not move from that spot!"
I watched Kakashi-sensei helplessly before glancing to the dome of mirrors. But…Sasuke…
"Now, let's begin," Haku's voice seemed to echo off of the mirrors.
Haku's image raised a hand full of senbon, placed between each finger. He threw them, catching Sasuke in the shoulder…but that wasn't the end. Suddenly, senbon were flying from all over, slashing at Sasuke from everywhere. I couldn't even tell where they were all coming from. A needle sunk into Sasuke's hand, causing his kunai to fly out of his hand and it came spinning back towards me and Sakura, landing into the concrete by Sakura's feet.
My entire body began to shake as Sasuke's screams pierced the air. My breathing was coming out in gasps as my body pleaded with me to move. I looked desperately to my teacher. "Kakashi-sensei!"
"Nakao, do not leave that spot; that's an order!" Kakashi-sensei practically shouted at me, with a definite edge to his voice. Panic?
"Don't even think you can save your boy. If you move without warning, I'll kill the three behind you," Zabuza warned.
Kakashi-sensei tensed. Sasuke's screams distracted me again and, desperately, I looked back to the dome of mirrors. All I could see was Sasuke's body, kneeling on the ground, covering his head, and repeating blurs that I assumed were the needles. I swallowed.
"Sakura, stay here with Tazuna."
"What? But Nakao, Kakashi-sensei said not to move from this spot…" Sakura looked over at me, uncertainty written across her face.
I stared her directly in the eye, placing my daggers back on my belt in case they hindered my movement. "I can't stand here and watch him get cut to ribbons. I have to get him out of there. Maybe I can find a weakness from the outside. You need to stay with Tazuna. No, Sakura, listen to me. I'm leaving it up to you to protect him."
Sakura's lips were sealed firmly shut. Her eyes were wide and shaking with fear to be left alone with Tazuna. I could tell she wanted to interrupt me again, but the words seemed caught in her throat. Before she could protest further, if she still had the heart for it, I took off running towards the dome. I passed directly by Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza, but he made no move to stop me; which worried me further. He had no fear of me attempting to aid Sasuke. No concern that I would interrupt my teammate's death…and probably just threw my life down for the taking as well. But I pushed those thoughts down.
"Nakao!" Kakashi-sensei yelled after me as I sprinted by.
I pressed on, ignoring him. I barely heard him. My sole focus was on Sasuke. His screams rang in my ears and they grew louder and louder as my feet pounded against the concrete.
It grew colder and colder too as I neared the ice dome. The water beneath my feet turned slick and I found myself literally sliding to a stop in front of one of the mirrors. If I reached out, my fingers would be able to skim over the surface.
"Sasuke!" I heard a higher-pitched, worried version of my voice slice through the air.
Sasuke peeked out from beneath an arm. A steady stream of blood ran down one side of his face. His pale skin was covered in thin cuts, from his face to his legs. And there was no mistaking the absolute panic in his face and in his voice when he saw me outside the dome. "Nakao, do not come in here! Go! Run!"
"But Sasuke-!"
Sasuke screamed again. I bit my lip to prevent from calling out and felt a warm gush of blood run down my chin. The bitter taste of iron flooded my tongue. Wiping away the blood with my sleeve, I quickly grabbed a kunai from the holster on my right thigh. With the strongest grip I could manage, I stabbed at the mirror in front of me. The tip hit the surface and merely bounced off, without so much of a pinpoint scar. No matter how many times I thrust the kunai at the mirror, it would not penetrate or make any sort of damage whatsoever. I slashed, and hacked, and stabbed again until the opposing force pushed the kunai from my hand and it skidded against the pavement away from me.
"Fuck!" I cried out in aggravation and glared at the rectangle of solid ice before me.
Steel couldn't penetrate it. I wasn't going to break my hand stupidly thinking it only rebuffed weapons. What about jutsus…? What if I tried-
"Nakao! . ! Now!" Sasuke yelled out through his pain.
"Shut up!" I replied distractedly, trying to return my brain to my previous train of thought.
Before I made a decision, a hand stuck out of the mirror in front of me. I gasped in surprise and was a moment too slow in pulling back. The hand grasped my wrist and tugged me forward. I screamed, but it was cut off as I was pulled into the mirror.
The experience was not one I'd soon forget. I'd never felt so frozen in my life. The cold sunk into my body and the stabbing pain that exploded through me was agonizing. I wanted to scream, but found I could not. My lungs felt frozen in place and I could not breathe.
In reality, the experience only took a second; but it felt longer. Minutes? Hours? Time was relative. It seemed like an eternity.
I found myself tumbling out of the mirror, landing face first on the cold, cement ground. I took a gasp of air, hoping to refill my lungs; although the air within the dome was frigid as well; not nearly as freezing, but enough to make my lungs ache. I got to my knees, glancing around myself wildly.
My eyes fell on Sasuke. Since Haku had dragged me into the mirrors, the barrage of weapons, or whatever those blurs were, had ceased for the moment. Sasuke was on his knees, bent towards the ground. His shaky arms were slowly letting go of his head. His clothes were torn, his skin bloody.
"Sasuke!" I breathed, getting to my feet. I sprinted over to the boy, dropping to my knees beside him. "Sasuke, are you okay?"
"You…idiot! I told you to get out of here!" Sasuke yelled at me in frustration, glaring.
"Well clearly you're fine," I said flatly, glaring back at him.
Sasuke opened his mouth to retort when the mirrors flashed their blinding light again. It was a split second warning in which Sasuke had just enough time to take a sharp intake of breath before pain exploded over my body.
I screamed in pain as I threw my arms over my head to protect it; Sasuke did the same. I couldn't see what was doing it, but I was being slashed from all directions. Relentless pain; like hundreds of little razor blades shredding at my skin.
I thought I could faintly hear a yell and it caused me to peek out beneath my arms. I could see Sakura outside the dome. She'd jumped in the air and thrown a kunai towards the dome. What she'd been hoping to accomplish, I couldn't be sure; but at the very least the barrage ended for a moment. Haku stood inside one mirror. His hand shot out of it again, catching the kunai by its handle.
I slumped towards the ground, barely catching myself with my searing arms. Exhaustion coarsed through me and I found my head falling to my arms. My body was shaking, racked with pain, covered in blood. Breathing heavily, I forced my head up once more.
Haku remained in his mirror, but half of his body was sticking out of it. His masked face was turned in my direction. He raised the kunai.
Sasuke breathed heavily from beside me, eyes trained on Haku. He tried to get to his feet but his legs gave out and he fell back down to the concrete. I pushed myself up.
Is this…is this really it? It can't be…
I swallowed hard against my throat but continued to face Haku. A flash behind him caught my attention. I watched in surprise as a shuriken flew straight towards Haku, hitting him in the face. My mouth dropped open as Haku fell out of his mirror and onto the concrete inside of the dome.
Wha-?
A huge blast of smoke erupted from outside the dome. I sighed.
Idiot…
"The show-offy, hyperactive, number one loudest ninja…" Haku muttered.
"Uzumaki Naruto is here!" Naruto grinned wickedly, revealing himself to everyone on the bridge. "Now that I'm here, everything is going to be just fine."
"What…a freaking idiot," I muttered half-heartedly before glancing over to Sasuke. He was lying on the ground beside me, his body twitching. My eyes flooded with worry. "Sasuke, are you okay?"
"Alright, let's do this!" Naruto yelled from outside the dome. He put his fingers together in a handseal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Zabuza's eyes narrowed. He took out several shuriken and flung them straight towards Naruto, who froze, watching the kunais in fear.
"Dodge, Naruto!" Kakashi-sensei yelled out, but it wouldn't help him at this point.
However, as the shuriken neared Naruto, Haku flung several needles at them, knocking down each one. Everyone on the bridge watched in shock. Sakura regained her bearings first.
"Naruto, what are you doing!?" she yelled.
"What kind of ninja executes a jutsu right in front of the enemy!? The essence of being a ninja lies in deception! The way you barged in here makes you an easy target!" Kakashi-sensei lectured.
"I just came here to help!" Naruto grabbed at his head, flustered.
"Haku, what is the meaning of this?" Zabuza demanded.
"Please, let me fight him on my own," Haku responded, not turning around to look at his partner.
"You're always too soft on the enemy, Haku," Zabuza said after a pregnant pause.
This is soft? I'm a damn porcupine!
I glanced down at my body. Reaching for several needles sticking vertically out of my skin, I tugged them out with a gasp of pain. As I threw the needles aside, blood welled in their wake, staining both my skin and my clothes.
Still…it doesn't seem like he's aiming for any vital points…
I wished that had made me feel better; but it didn't. Was he toying with us? Did he like to play with his food before going in for the kill?
"Well it just looks like I'm going to have to beat you first!" Naruto pointed a finger at Haku.
Kakashi-sensei narrowed his eye. Zabuza cleared his throat. "Remember, you try anything and that old man is dead. Why don't we sit and observe the young ones fight, eh?"
"So you really were working for Zabuza. How dare you trick us!" Naruto glared at Haku.
"I am sorry," Haku bowed his head. "But as your sensei said, the true art of a shinobi is deception. Please do not take it personally."
Sasuke moved from beside me, taking a kunai from the pouch around his thigh. He watched Haku for a second before sending the kunai straight at Haku's face. Without any effort, Haku simple titled his head back at the last moment, missing the kunai. Naruto blinked and look over, like he was just now realizing that Sasuke and I were trapped in the mirrors.
"I have not forgotten about you," Haku assured. "I would have preferred it if you had just lain there quietly, but I guess I can't expect that. I'll have to finish my match with you first."
My body tensed as Haku walked towards a mirror. I scrambled to my feet, mind whirling. What were we going to do? How could we fight him when I couldn't even tell how his jutsu worked?
"H-Hey!" Naruto raised a fist.
"Naruto, I will fight you later," Haku promised, stepping into one of his mirrors.
Though I was standing, Sasuke was still kneeling on the ground. Haku was standing in the mirror in front of us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke reach for a weapon. But suddenly, Haku disappeared from the mirror.
"Over here."
Both Sasuke and I gasped. I whirled completely around while Sasuke just looked over his shoulder to find that Haku was now in a mirror behind us.
H-How? How is he moving from mirror to mirror like that? I don't see anything!
All of the mirrors began to reveal images of Haku; I knew what was going to happen next. A flash of light blinded me and the pain ensued. Sasuke and I cried out as we were once again shredded from every angle. The force of the barrage pushed against me and I found myself flying backwards until the ground caught me. Sasuke flew in the opposite direction.
The impact of the fall took my breath away. I rolled off my back, wheezing. Still trying to catch my breath, I pushed myself up on shaky arms. Warm blood slid down my cheek from my forehead.
How is he doing this? I wondered yet again, finally managing to sit up. The movement sent a a shock of pain through me, causing me to grunt. I peered down to find I'd pushed a needle deeper into my body by moving and I grabbed it, yanking it out. Tossing it away, I glanced up, breathing heavily. Is he using clones and having them throw needles all at once? But if he was using clones, what would be the point in the mirrors?
I glanced over to Sasuke who was on the opposite side of the dome. He was clutching his left shoulder, concentration stitched onto his face. There were several cuts on his face, one particularly bad one bleeding generously on his right cheek. I looked past him to the mirror behind him.
Those mirrors are definitely the key to his attack…but how am I going to get rid of them? My kunai couldn't even puncture the mirror…But wait…
I glanced outside of the mirrors at Naruto, who was staring at the scene inside in shock. I chewed on my bottom lip, turning my gaze to the mirrors again. Maybe if Sasuke and I attack from the inside, and Naruto attacks from the outside, we can figure out how these mirrors work!
"Hey, I came in here to save you!"
I whirled around and Sasuke looked forward to find Naruto squatting behind me. My face paled and my eye began to twitch dangerously.
"Pretty smart move huh?" Naruto grinned, looking past me to Sasuke. He too, was too stunned to even speak.
"You…IDIOT!" I yelled, grabbing at my hair to keep myself from punching the boy.
"Don't you even think before you act!?" Sasuke asked, getting to his knees.
"Hey, what's your problem!?" Naruto looked from me to Sasuke in irritation. "I came in here to save you and this is how you thank me!?"
"Naruto if you had stayed out there…ugh, forget it! I've had it with your mistakes!" Sasuke yelled.
"And I've had it with your attitude!" Naruto countered.
"Both of you, quit it!" I snapped louder than either of them, clutching my head, shaking it rapidly. This wasn't going to get us anywhere.
"That's it; I'm going to destroy these mirrors right now!" Sasuke yelled, getting to his feet.
I hopped to my feet as soon as Sasuke began doing handsigns. I recognized them instantly; he was going to perform his fireball jutsu.
"Wait, Sasuke!"
Sasuke paused, sparing me a glance. I looked him directly in the eye. "Let me use my kekki genki; it'll enhance your fire power."
Naruto glanced up at me cluelessly, still squatting on the ground. Sasuke eyed me for a second before nodding once. I took in a breath of air and closed my eyes, whipping out several handsigns.
Arashi Kamekaze.
I could feel my kekki genki beginning to work. The water molecules in my body began to seep out of the open orifices on my skin, steaming as it did so until it reformed as wind. The current rushed around my body. I concentrated, opening my eyes only once a steady stream had formed. I could visibly see the wind moving around me, though I know others couldn't. The currents appeared as white wisps, flowing around me. I gathered up chakra, directing the wind to rush away from me.
Although neither Sasuke nor Naruto could see my jutsu working, they could feel it. The wind whipped passed them, moving their hair around on their heads. My wind circled around the dome, encasing us in the middle.
"Okay, Sasuke, go!" I said urgently.
Sasuke took in a large breath of air, holding it. He brought his pinched fingers to his lips and blew out. Normally, a fireball would appear, but thanks to my jutsu, Sasuke's fire hit the wind and flared into life. It whipped around the dome, feeding off the extra oxygen, encasing me and my male teammates in a ring of fire. The fire licked up the sides of the mirrors, blocking them from view.
After a moment, Sasuke held out his arm, signaling me to cut off my jutsu. I took in a large breath of air and canceled the jutsu. A wave of lightheadedness hit me and I cupped a hand against my head to steady myself. The fire died down slowly.
We watched in anticipation until the fire died completely and my heart sunk in my chest. Not even a single drop of sweat could be seen on the ice. Naruto got to his feet. "That didn't do anything at all!"
"Naruto, shut up!" I yelled at him in frustration.
"You'll need a lot more heat than that to melt these mirrors," Haku said, still in all the mirrors. He raised a hand full of needles.
I tensed as the mirrors lit up. A moment later, the pain slammed into me. The three of us screamed in unison. The force of the attack knocked all three of us backward, each of us smacking onto the ground side by side. I fell between the two boys, Sasuke on my left, Naruto to my right.
Naruto immediately shot up, his cheek bleeding. "Where are the needles coming from!?" He hopped to his feet, glancing at all the mirrors. "We have to find the real one; which one is it?"
"Look as hard as you can but you will never learn the secret," Haku's voice rang through the dome.
"Fine! Then I'll just smash every mirror until I find you! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Naruto, no!" Sasuke shouted, but it was too late.
Naruto's clones jumped towards the mirrors, arms pulled back, ready to punch at the mirrors. I watched in desperation, well aware that no punch would be strong enough to crack these mirrors. Before any of the clones could even reach the mirrors, they disappeared one by one. I didn't know how; I didn't even see Haku moving, but it was the only explanation. The real Naruto fell back towards us, smacking into the ground.
"Naruto!" I knelt down, helping the boy into a sitting position.
"I can transport from my mirrors at light speed. In my eyes, you all are moving in slow motion," Haku said.
My eyebrows furrowed. Shit. How were we going to beat someone we couldn't see, let alone touch? How were we going to do beat this special jutsu? I growled as realization swept through me. "A kekki genki…"
"What?" Naruto asked, getting to his feet.
"His jutsu is a kekki genki," I said, also getting to my feet. "The Sharingan can't even copy this. We have to figure out how to take it down…"
"So what…" Naruto said quietly, gaining mine and Sasuke's attention. His voice got louder as he looked up and glared. "I'm not going to lose here! I've got a dream and no one's gunna take that away from me! I'm gunna be the greatest Hokage!"
My eyes fluttered shut briefly. How I wished that would be enough. The pure will-power would see us through this. But we weren't in a movie. We weren't in a book. This was reality. And reality was cruel.
"Dreams…" Haku muttered. He paused. "It was never my dream to be a shinobi; it is too painful. I do not want to kill you, but if you keep fighting, I will have no choice. If it means protecting his dreams, I will kill that side of me and become a true shinobi. This bridge will become the battle ground of our dreams. I will fight for my dreams, just like you must fight for yours. Please do not blame me. I fight for someone precious to me. I will face death for him to ensure his dreams. That is my dream, and if I have to become a true shinobi to complete that dream, I will, and I will take your lives."
My hands clenched at my sides as I glanced at Naruto and Sasuke out of the corners of my eyes. They were watching Haku intently.
"I don't ever want to attend another funeral for a loved one."
Haku's words pushed my own memory out of my head. "I fight for someone precious to me."
I took in the boys beside me. Their marred skin. Their displaced hair. Their ragged faces.
They drove me insane. They made me angry. They made me frustrated.
But they were important to me. We'd shared too much together for them not to make an impact on me. The last time we'd fought Zabuza, I thought I might die. And they would have been the last faces I'd have seen.
I hadn't noticed I'd been watching the two boys so intensely as I stood between them until Sasuke looked over at me. Our eyes locked. I searched those seemingly endless eyes. What was I searching for? An answer? Sasuke always had the answers. But not this time, I realized, as he seemed to search my eyes for an answer.
"Let's do this…" I said quietly. It wasn't an answer; but it was all I had.
Author's Note: I'm so glad you're here.