Chapter Thirteen: Resolve
Disclaimer: No soy dueña de Naruto
The following morning, Sasuke woke up far too early. It was still dark out, but Sasuke had enough insomniac nights to know instantly that there was no going back to sleep. He laid in his roll for a few minutes, staring up at the ceiling.
Today's the day.
The thought came to him before he really understood what the words meant. He shivered where he lay, mulling the words over in his mind.
He didn't know how he knew it – maybe a result of an old memory from his original timeline – but he did. Today was the day. The day he would defend Tazuna and his teammates against a ninja with seemingly no weaknesses outside of his devotion to Zabuza.
Even without looking, Sasuke knew exactly where his team slept, and could hear three different rhythmic breathing patterns. Naruto with his heavy, deep breaths, and Sakura with her quiet, gentle snoring. Kakashi breathed quietly, as though he were ready to awaken at any time to defend and protect. In this dark room, everything seemed peaceful.
Sasuke could only think about how much blood would spill today.
When he first fought Haku, Sasuke believed it was skill that allowed them all to survive. Later, Sasuke realized it had been luck. Pure, dumb, luck. Sasuke had no hope that this luck would repeat itself; there were too many variables. Too many what ifs.
Sasuke took in a slow, deep breath, and released it just as slowly. If things go even remotely like how they did last time… I'll be activating my Sharingan today. Sharingan, his prized possession, the weapon that would allow him to take revenge, find Itachi, and learn his father's jutsu.
But at what cost? Naruto had to almost die before Sasuke unlocked it in the original timeline – Sakura actually did die last round against that four-eyed snake before his Sharingan finally manifested.
No. Sasuke shook his head, and covered his eyes with his arm. Everyone will be okay. I will gain my Sharingan, and I will succeed. Today is just one step closer to my goal; don't be afraid.
Now burning with resolve, Sasuke swiftly and silently rose to his feet. After he changed, Sasuke grabbed his sword and left to train in the woods. Given the position of the stars, Sasuke figured he would have at least an hour and a half before he would have to leave.
Like he did every morning, Sasuke ran through his exercises long enough to warm up his muscles and perfect his form. With each precise movement, Sasuke meditated on victory. With each practiced step, he became surer of himself and his own abilities.
Unfortunately, the hour passed by too quickly, and Sasuke returned to Tazuna's home – he didn't want to risk Kakashi leaving for the day without him. Now that Kakashi was almost fully healed, he would be joining them.
Even so, Sasuke didn't believe the jōnin could defend against Zabuza and protect Tazuna and his students at the same time. Which means I will have to really step up my game, Sasuke decided. Naruto would probably be okay since he had the advantage of being a Jinchūriki, but Sakura… Sasuke frowned.
Although she was undoubtedly strong for a genin, there was no way she could handle herself against someone on Haku's level. Not yet, at least.
Tsunami insisted on a hearty breakfast when Sasuke returned. Naruto remained fast asleep, despite the lights being on and no one trying to be quiet as they ate. Sasuke hardly tasted anything, but he knew that fighting on an empty stomach was almost as bad as fighting while injured.
Once they finished eating, they set off without Naruto, who was still dead asleep. Kakashi decided that he needed his rest, and when Sasuke reminded his sensei of Zabuza, Kakashi in turn reminded Sasuke that a tired Naruto was a dead Naruto.
With that comforting thought, the small group set out to the bridge, each taking a position to cover Tazuna. Sasuke looked at Kakashi's back, at his relaxed posture.
How could he appear so carefree? Surely Kakashi at least suspects that there could be trouble. Yet, the silver-haired jōnin did nothing to indicate unease – perhaps Kakashi was just that secure in his own power of defeating Zabuza. Tazuna chatted away with Sakura, who was actually laughing.
When was the last time he heard her laugh?
Dismissing the rather irrelevant thought, Sasuke decided to go over everything he knew about Haku and his bloodline. Prior to leaving for the mission, Sasuke read up on everything he could find about Haku's ice release – which, admittedly, was not much. Ice release is resistant to fire, as he knew, but surprisingly weak to earth related jutsu. This, of course, did Sasuke no good because earth release was decidedly his weakest ninjutsu.
No, my best bet is to prevent Haku from performing that ice mirror and overwhelm him with power. Although that boy is faster than me, I probably have more raw power.
Plus, he had been working on a couple of lethal, if chakra draining, attacks all week. So long as Sasuke didn't give Haku any openings, he should succeed.
He continued to mull over these thoughts as they walked up toward the bridge, a sharp chill in the air. The hair on the back of his neck rose – they're here!
Tazuna made an idle comment about being cold, and Sasuke took to drawing out his sword. Tazuna and Sakura looked over at him in confusion, but Kakashi casually moved his hand near his weapon's pouch.
Mist obscured their vision, but as they got closer a thick smell of copper and iron assaulted Sasuke's nose. Sakura immediately took out a kunai, looking around with wide eyes.
"Wha-what's this?" Tazuna exclaimed.
All five workers laid on the ground in a bloody mess. Tazuna ran over to Giichi, who had not only shown up to work after quitting, but never complained again. He wasn't complaining now, either, but managed to say that a monster had come.
Kakashi pulled Tazuna away from his friend, and warned his team to be on guard.
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura began, looking into the gray mist. "This is his hidden mist jutsu, isn't it?"
Kakashi grunted his confirmation. Sakura's mouth turned into a grim line of understanding. They stood at attention, waiting. A deep chuckle reverberated around them, and Sasuke tightened his grip around the handle of his chokutō.
"Long time, no see Kakashi…" a gravelly voice rumbled from a distance. "I see you're still with those brats… one of them even has his cute little sword with him!"
At his final word, half a dozen water clones surrounded the group, each ready to strike. Sasuke twitched, wanting to destroy the clones but also not wanting to act rashly.
"Do it, Sasuke." Kakashi said, unable to contain the pride in his voice. "Can't have him insulting my soldiers, can we?"
Sasuke slashed each clone in a matter of seconds, leaving behind puddles of water around the group.
"Hmm… he saw through the water clones, eh?" The real Zabuza commented some distance away. "It looks like a real rival has appeared, Haku."
"It does indeed." The masked boy said quietly.
Sasuke snarled at him in response. "The masked kid is mine."
Haku disappeared, and Sasuke began to form the necessary seals. The moment Haku landed, Sasuke sent an electric shock through the water, zapping the boy. A suppressed gasp escaped from behind Haku's mask, and the boy stood frozen.
Taking advantage of Haku's momentary paralysis, Sasuke rushed forward with his sword in hand.
Recovering – and not a moment too soon – Haku blocked with a kunai. A feral grin stretched across Sasuke's face as he pressed forward with his sword, forcing the older boy to jump back in retreat.
"Sakura!" Sasuke heard Kakashi say as he blocked the attack from Haku. "Step in front of Tazuna-san, and don't leave my side. We'll let Sasuke handle him."
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei!"
Trusting Kakashi to handle Zabuza, Sasuke tuned them out as he attacked Haku again – don't give him a chance to counter!
Sasuke summoned a single lightning ball in one second, transitioning to an attack with his sword in the next. Ducking several senbon, Sasuke swung his sword at Haku's chest.
With a speed that surpassed Sasuke's eyes, Haku blocked Sasuke's blade; but Sasuke was prepared for that. Right as Haku blocked, the lightning ball he had conjured a moment prior slammed into Haku's back–
It wasn't enough.
Though the nauseatingly putrid scent of burnt flesh filled the air, the older boy merely growled in pain and didn't hesitate to make seals with his free hand.
Sasuke flipped back and formed his own seals, fire erupting from his mouth at the same time that water needles slashed in all directions. The water evaporated into hot steam, and Sasuke used it to disappear. Reappearing behind Haku, Sasuke slashed his sword, intending to slice Haku's head clean off.
Naruto flashed through his mind the moment before his blade could separate Haku's head from his body, but Sasuke dismissed the thought.
His hands were already stained with blood, after all.
Haku disappeared as Sasuke sliced through air. Momentarily letting go of his sword, Sasuke whirled around in the opposite direction, a sharp pain jolting through his arm as he slammed it into Haku's, knocking the senbon out of the older boy's hand.
Sasuke backflipped – grabbing his sword before the blade hit the ground – and landed heavily, blocking a kunai from an attack above. Haku disappeared again and, using his snake-like instincts, Sasuke felt rather than saw where Haku would attack next.
Using the chokutō in one hand and a kunai in the other, Sasuke blocked the dual attack of senbon and ice needles. Pushing himself up, he threw his kunai even as he crashed his sword into Haku's kunai.
Bringing himself low, he swept Haku's legs out from underneath him. Haku landed on his hand, water splashing up, and kicked Sasuke in return. Sasuke dodged, and stabbed Haku right in the stomach.
"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed.
Just in time, Sasuke whipped himself around to block an attack from the real Haku. Several of his needles sliced through Sasuke's flesh, and he hissed.
"I see you are fighting with the intention to kill." Haku began, raising his hands. "In that case, so will I."
The older boy disappeared, and Sasuke blocked–
Sasuke hissed again in pain as his skin flamed with cuts, barely missing vital arteries on his wrists, neck, and thighs. Sasuke summoned two lightning balls – taking care to not expel too much chakra – sending them at Haku as he jumped back and dodged more senbon.
Sasuke landed, and the water behind him rose.
His ice mirror jutsu! Cursing, Sasuke tried to jump away but Haku kicked Sasuke in the back, flinging him forward.
Sasuke landed on his knees and forearms, and he didn't even have time to lift up his head before little needles tore his skin to shreds. An unwilling scream erupted from his mouth, and he thought he heard Kakashi trying to come to his rescue.
Not waiting for help that would never arrive, Sasuke forced himself to ignore the burning sensation all throughout his body, and blocked what he could with his sword. He looked around at the cage of ice mirrors, and growled. Victory had become much harder to attain – but that was okay. Sasuke was strong.
Then, still in a crouching position, Sasuke started performing the one-handed signals he'd been practicing the last two months.
Concentrate, just like you used to, Sasuke told himself as he gathered chakra into his sword. With a roar, electricity surged through his weapon, destroying the barrage of ice needles as he swung in all directions.
Panting, Sasuke rose to his feet, and looked at Haku square in his mask.
"That all you got?" Sasuke taunted.
Although he couldn't see the boy's face, Sasuke suspected he would have seen a mildly irritated frown. Haku once again started throwing senbon at inhuman speed, attacking Sasuke at all sides.
Crouching once more to protect vital points, Sasuke raised his sword up as a shield. From behind his chokutō, Sasuke watched closely as Haku left the mirrors to attack.
Watched, and waited.
One weakness Haku's ice mirrors offered is that he had to leave each mirror during his attack. Haku didn't likely possess the chakra reserves to create his ice mirror jutsu and water clones at the same time, which meant there shouldn't be a dozen Hakus. It just looked like there were.
Sasuke closed his eyes, and let instinct take over – just like Orochimaru taught.
Still using his sword as a shield, Sasuke flung shuriken and kunai where he thought Haku might be, grimacing in pain as the senbon continued to slice through his skin. Focus. Orochimaru put you through worse hell than this; you survived then, and you will survive now. Focus. Listen.
There? No. Miss. Miss. Almost…
"Got you." Sasuke's eyes opened.
Sasuke couldn't help but smile as six kunai tied with wire lodged into Haku's arm and leg. Sasuke set the wire on fire, and Haku screamed. Not giving the boy a chance to recover, Sasuke immediately threw more shuriken his way. Haku managed to block and retreat into his mirror, but too late.
Smoke rolled off Haku's sleeve, and angry burn marks marred his left bicep and right leg.
"Quit playing with him!" Sasuke heard Zabuza yell from somewhere.
Sasuke frowned; was Kakashi not keeping the man busy?
Haku disappeared. Once more, senbon hit Sasuke, and he worked to protect the vital points the boy now aimed for. The senbon hit in succession, rendering Sasuke frozen in place as he was unable to counter – not unless he wanted to risk Haku cutting an important artery. Sasuke watched as his own blood coated the hilt of his sword and gritted his teeth, waiting for an opening – anything!
"You're a worthy opponent." Haku said as another barrage of ice needles dove into Sasuke's skin. "But I'm afraid I need to end this soon."
His muscles burned and trembled – from being pricked in a hundred different places or from the chill, Sasuke didn't know. Wait to strike; lull him into thinking he has me defeated, Sasuke told himself even as his vision began to blur. Sasuke growled, and attempted to peer outside the ice dome.
Where is Naruto? Shouldn't he have been here by now?
Suddenly, the mirrors began to vibrate. Sasuke looked up to see Sakura, green eyes furious as dozens of stones pelted the mirrors. The mirrors didn't so much as crack, but Haku wobbled a little in his mirror, causing his senbon to miss Sasuke's throat by a millimeter.
More stones bombarded Haku's ice mirrors, and Sasuke summoned three lightning balls before sending them at Haku. Sasuke could feel he was low on chakra, but if these lightning balls actually hit Haku…
Haku dodged, a little slow Sasuke noted, and the lightning exploded against the ice. A large crack splintered in that particular mirror, but didn't break. He glanced outside the mirror dome, met Sakura's eyes, who then jutted her chin down.
Haku left one mirror–
And Sasuke dropped to the ground.
Stone and ice whizzed right above Sasuke, followed by sharp, cracking noises. Sasuke lifted his head in time to see Haku leaving the dome in order to attack Sakura.
Sasuke ignored a jolt of pain in his leg as he forced himself to his feet, throwing a barrage of kunai and shuriken. Controlling all sixteen weapons with pure silver wires, each weapon hit different mirrors. He aimed specifically at the ones which sported spindly little cracks – and crisscrossed the wires in such a way that it created a hexa-decagon.
"Your fire trick won't work twice!" Haku said from somewhere behind, indicating Haku had returned to his mirror.
Who said anything about fire?
Even as a new set of needles pierced and slashed through Sasuke's back and legs, he activated his jutsu. The wires crackled as electricity swept through them, creating a lethal current accompanied with a high-pitched shriek. Sasuke watched as the cracked mirrors fractured further until finally, they shattered.
Sasuke ended the jutsu, and with a flick of his wrist, collected the weapons connected to his wire. Sasuke darted his eyes around him, not believing for a moment his attack killed Haku – that boy must be around here somewhere! Sasuke's breathing labored in uneven heaves as he looked around, his legs shaking violently underneath him.
Why wasn't Haku attacking?
Sasuke's heart skipped and he whirled over to where Sakura and Tazuna were. No, Sasuke thought as he watched Haku aim for the old man. Tazuna! Sasuke took a step forward, immediately stopped by a horribly sharp pain that erupted through his leg. A scream tore through his throat, and he collapsed immediately.
He spared a glance at his right calf, which had swollen twice its regular size, with blood gushing out. Cursing loudly, Sasuke began to wrap up the wound as best he could – where the hell is that idiot! – and glanced back up at Tazuna and Sakura.
Sakura pushed the old man back, and Haku turned his attention to the pink-haired girl. Sasuke's heart seemed to stop, already seeing her dead even while she still stood. Sasuke's hands already started forming the seals when a wave of burning pain rushed through his limbs –
Damnit, I used too much chakra already! I don't have enough for…
Sasuke looked back up, only to see Haku nearly killing Sakura with her own kunai.
No. No! Sasuke tried to get up. Please, not again! He fell back down with a cry before he could even blink. Sasuke looked up, and his eyes widened.
Sasuke watched as Sakura parried the boy's attacks away from Tazuna. Haku's movements had slowed down considerably, and Sakura was able to mostly keep up.
He continued to watch as she created a stone dome around Tazuna in one second, and cracked the ground in a missed attack in the next second. Sakura simultaneously punched Haku, while blocking his attack with a kunai.
She's… she's keeping up, Sasuke realized. Of course, she is.
Sakura swept under Haku's leg, but he jumped up, and punched Sakura right in the face. Sasuke forced himself to get back up, putting all of his weight in his left leg. Nausea rolled in Sasuke's stomach, and he swayed, causing him to fall back over and land on his hand. Gulping back bile, he looked back up to see Sakura punching Haku. Haku landed on his feet and threw senbon at her.
I have to do something, Sasuke thought, and through sheer will alone, he rose unsteadily to his feet, ignoring the nauseating dizzy spell that accompanied the motion. He pushed chakra to his legs, carefully, gradually – watching the battle between his teammate and his enemy.
Sakura blocked senbon – though several still lodged themselves into her leg – and tried to dodge the following attack, but only turned enough for it to miss her heart. The kunai lodged itself in Sakura's shoulder, and she screamed.
Despite the wound, Sakura kept fighting the losing battle, a vicious expression etched on her face. Everything seemed to slow down as he watched, mustering up the last bit of chakra he had in his legs. Just for a second. Just for a minute, so I can keep her safe. That's all I need – my leg be damned!
The world took on a familiar reddish tint as the desperation clawed its way up his stomach through his heart, before finally constricting his throat.
Haku knocked Sakura down, and slowly, so very slowly, Sasuke watched the boy's hands raised against Sakura, the senbon glinting. Now! Finally having enough chakra, Sasuke used the body-flicker technique to appear in front of Sakura, pulling out his sword in the process.
Haku released his senbon, and it happened so gradually that Sasuke managed to block each senbon. Haku took a step back, and Sasuke immediately rounded on Haku with a punch right between the eyes.
The mask broke around Haku's face, revealing a kind-looking, and surprised, face. Pain suddenly shot through Sasuke's right leg, and with a yell, he collapsed onto his knees. Sasuke looked up at the boy, seething.
For a moment, neither of them moved. Haku looked down at Sasuke, his eyes sad. Almost pitying.
I need to kill him. His hand slipped into his weapon's pouch, searching for another kunai. But I need to be careful — he's faster than me. He'll kill me if I am too rash.
"I cut your tendon; you know." Haku told him, his voice calm. "And you could have died, jumping in front of her like that. Yet here you are."
Sasuke remained silent, his hand grasping on his final kunai.
"Is she… precious to you?"
Sasuke froze, his heart jolting violently; he didn't answer. Haku's expression softened, and something like understanding appeared in his eyes.
The last thing Sasuke saw before the boy disappeared was a look of hard resolve. Sakura screamed behind him, and far too sluggishly Sasuke turned. Sakura was fine.
Tazuna was not.
Everything began to shake around Sasuke, but he could clearly see the stone dome had crumbled around Tazuna, with Haku standing unsteadily over him. Tazuna coughed up blood, cuts covering his body.
With a cry, Sakura tackled Haku to the ground, trying to punch him. Haku grabbed her shoulders and with his knee, swung her onto the stone bridge so that he straddled her.
Sasuke raised his kunai, even though his hand shook and his eyes refused to focus properly. If he did this right, it would go straight into Haku's heart–
"Stop!" Someone yelled.
Sasuke barely registered the blur of orange and yellow that tackled Haku onto the ground, away from Sakura. Sakura immediately got up, and ran over to Tazuna, nearly tripping in the process.
"Everyone, stop fighting!" Naruto yelled, his knee on Haku's chest. "Gatou surrendered!"
What? Sasuke gritted his teeth, and his fingers scraped painfully against the stone beneath him.
Then, Naruto looked down at Haku, and said, "You don't have to kill anyone today."
Screw that, Sasuke thought as he moved to shove Naruto off Haku. However, when he tried to move, Sasuke found that his body refused to cooperate, and he landed face down. Fresh pain bloomed in Sasuke's chin, but he ignored it and propped himself up with an arm, glaring at his foolish teammate.
"What are you doing, you idiot?" Sasuke hissed. "That boy just killed Tazuna! He tried to kill Sakura!"
"What would you have me do, Sasuke?" Naruto shot back, putting pressure on the weakened Haku to prevent him from moving. "Kill him?"
"Yes!" Sasuke exclaimed, trying to raise himself up further.
"Hatred only breeds more hatred, Sasuke. In order to break the cycle, we have to choose differently!" Naruto declared.
Sasuke glared at the fool in disbelief, before Naruto turned his attention back to Haku.
"Tell Zabuza to stop fighting my sensei. Gatou isn't after Tazuna any more, after all. No one has to die today."
Haku looked puzzled at Naruto's words. And then, to Sasuke's horror, Naruto got off of Haku, and helped him up. Sasuke thought he heard a dog barking in the distance, but disregarded it and dragged himself closer, grimacing in pain.
"You want to play nice with them?" Sasuke hissed. "After what they did?"
Naruto turned fully to look Sasuke in the eye. "Revenge isn't everything, Sasuke."
Again, with that self-righteous attitude!
"Oh, and what do you know?" Sasuke demanded clenching his fists.
"More than you think! I-" Naruto cut himself off, clamping his jaw shut, and looked over to where Haku had been. Naruto paled. "Where… No. No!"
Sasuke looked over to where Zabuza and Kakashi were fighting, which was much easier now that the mist had cleared.
Haku… Haku was in front of Zabuza, Kakashi's hand through his chest. That's what happens when you let your enemy out of your sight, Sasuke sneered.
Sasuke looked back at Naruto, who looked stricken. Sasuke blinked; why would Naruto be sad over the death of an enemy? Naruto disappeared, reappearing next to their teacher. Sasuke's head swam, and he rubbed his eyes.
Sleep…
Sasuke shook his head, and heard a soft groan. Tazuna! Opening his eyes, Sasuke whirled his head back over to where he saw the old man last. Sakura was kneeling over Tazuna with glowing hands; her mouth was a hard line, and sweat beaded down her face.
"Please, be enough." She began to whisper, tears spilling from her eyes. "Please, please, be enough."
Is he…? They'll be heartbroken if…
Groaning, Sasuke managed to drag himself over, and kind of sat up on his good leg although his teeth buzzed and his stomach churned dangerously in the process.
"Sakura," he said. "What do you need?"
"In my pouch, get saline and gauze. Soak the gauze with the saline." Sakura instructed, not looking away from her patient.
Sasuke obeyed, ignoring the unpleasant buzz he felt in his forehead and nose, and tried blinking away the black dots that covered his vision.
Sasuke handed it to her, and leaned heavily on his hand as the buzzing overwhelmed his senses. Evidently, even the great Uchiha Sasuke wasn't immune to blood loss.
He passed out before he even knew what was happening.