Her Experience

by Tiny.Dncer

Sakura has been taking care of her sick civilian mother alone since she was 8. But now a full fledged ninja placed on team 7, she must learn how to stop holding herself back and let her team in, although, that proves challenging when her teammates are the wild and childish Naruto Uzumaki and her cold closed off long time crush, Sasuke Uchiha. (Better explanation inside.)

5. The Land of Waves pt 3

Note- This chapter is very long because it's the final battle with Zabuza and Haku. This story is third person omniscient, but mainly focuses on Sakura, so you get whatever parts of the battle Sakura has access to see or hear at that moment.

"Sakura's thoughts"

"Inner Sakura"

Memory

"Talking"

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

---

For the next five days, Naruto practically lived in the forest. He'd stay out all night training. Sasuke would join him during the day, but at least he knew that he needed to rest to build more chakra.

That morning, when Sakura awoke and went to join the others for breakfast, she immediately noted Naruto's absence.

"Naughty Naruto stayed out all night again, didn't he?" Tazuna asked.

"Ever since you told us that story, he's been in the trees training all alone, night after night…" She answered.

"An idiot with an obsession!"

"It's good he's training, the stronger he is, the better off our team is…but this might be too much…"

"If he exhausts his chakra, he could kill himself…He could be lying dead in the woods right now…"

"He never did know when to quit…"

"I hope he's alright! It's not good for a boy to spend night after night alone outside!" Tsunami fretted.

"There's nothing to worry about." Kakashi placated. "Naruto's a goofy kid, but he's also a full fledged ninja."

"Is it possible…Could that bone head have killed himself?" Sasuke normally wouldn't have entertained the notion, but if Sakura was actually concerned enough to voice it, it seemed worth considering.

Kakashi was a bit surprised by that. He would have expected Sasuke to side with him or dismiss the chance altogether. Though, he'd been noticing for a little while now that the boy seemed to be extra observant of his pink haired teammate and hold her opinions in higher regard than most others.

Shortly after that, Sasuke had dismissed himself to continue training. Tazuna and Sakura finished breakfast—Sakura helping Tsunami with the dishes before she and Tazuna left for the bridge.

Sakura had been helping Tazuna with construction. Honestly the man was fairly shocked. The young girl hadn't been lying when she said she wasn't bad with tools. And since she was a ninja she was pretty strong physically, able to lift lumber much greater than her size. Most of all, she was a surprisingly hard worker and rarely took a break. Since Gato came, Tazuna had lost at least 5 of his crew. They'd backed out, too scared to continue on the bridge project. The way Sakura worked made up for at least 2.5 of them. She couldn't operate any of the machinery, but that didn't matter. She was a much greater help than he expected. And with the slight but effective increase in manpower, the project was progressing rapidly.

What Tazuna didn't know was that several of the odd jobs and side hustles Sakura used to do were of the construction nature. For people who couldn't afford to make formal job requests of the village, she'd helped fix fences, paint and build sheds, seal doors, and patch decks, among other things. She was never paid as much as if it had been a mission, but it did pay a little, and coupled with several of her teams D-rank missions, she'd gotten rather skilled at basic construction. She hadn't told Kakashi that she was helping. She wasn't sure how he'd feel about her going outside of mission parameters like that, but she didn't want to take the chance that he wouldn't allow her to continue. She knew he'd find out soon. He was almost recovered, and once he was, he'd surely be joining her at the bridge and see it for himself. But she figured that if he tried to stop her at that point, at least she would have gotten in some time to work on the bridge. It helped her to be doing something, when she sat still too long she'd get anxious worrying about her mother, the people in the Land of Waves, Tazuna and his family, Kakashi-sensei, Zabuza…she was an anxious person and her mind was never very good at shutting off. Tasks and activities helped keep the anxiety at bay. The only time things were ever quiet in her head was when she'd dance.

"Hey, little girl? Why're you so good at building railings?" One of Tazuna's crew asked.

"I've done it before…or something like at least. It's the same theory as building a fence, just with pipes instead of wood."

"It's not like it's complex mathematics…"

"We could totally do that too though! Shannaro!"

"Not bad! Never would have bet a girl like you'd be good at this stuff."

"A girl like me?"

"Yeah you know. One with long pink hair? Not exactly the type you find around construction sites."

"Oi, lay off her!" Another worker chided. "She's giving us a hand here. Don't scare her off!"

"Mm, it's fine." Sakura replied with a shake of her head, before turning to the first man with a light glare. "My hair color wasn't exactly my choice, you know."

"Oh? Would you change it if you could?" The one who came to her defense before suddenly teased.

"…No."

The men nearby broke into cantankerous laughter and Sakura smiled in spite of herself. It was frequently tense here, the men could use a bit of a laugh.

"Sakura." Tazuna called.

"Yes, Tazuna-san?"

"If you ever change your mind about being a Ninja, I'll hire you." The men laughed but agreed that they wouldn't mind Sakura joining their crew.

"Thanks! But I don't plan on quitting." Sakura smiled.

---

The next morning, Sakura and Kakashi went to check on Naruto and Sasuke's progress.

Sakura sighed. "Where did Naruto go this time?"

"Pushing himself beyond his limit, going out by himself again last night." Kakashi sighed tiredly.

"And at breakfast this morning, Sasuke-kun says he's going for a walk and he disappears too…" If she'd had trouble with this, would she be working this hard to get it? She'd like to think she would, but a part of her wasn't so sure…even if she wanted to, she wouldn't be able to keep going for hours on end the way Naruto and Sasuke could. She simply didn't have the stamina her two teammates did.

A kunai suddenly dropped at her feet.

"TADAAA!" Naruto called happily, draped over a very high branch. His clothes were dirty, he looked exhausted, and his breathing was heavy, but he wore a face splitting smile.

"Amazing…he was so hopelessly bad at this before, but he really managed to get all the way up there!"

"Well! Well! Do you see? Look at how high I can go!" He called excitedly, standing up on the branch. But he was so tired his footing slipped and he lost balance.

"You idiot!" Sakura was panicking. "I don't have the physical strength to overcome his downward momentum if I try to intercept him!"

"No! If he falls from that height…!" Kakashi panicked as well. He wasn't healed enough to—

"Psych!" Naruto yelled, standing upside down on the branch, glued in place by his chakra. "Got ya suckers!" The blond cackled.

"You…You almost gave me a heart attack, you jerk!" Sakura yelled.

"Shaannaro! I'm gonna kill you for this later!"

Suddenly, his feet disconnected from the tree—he'd lost control of his chakra. Sakura wasn't sure whether to panic this time or not…not that it changed much either way, she couldn't do anything to help him.

"Is it real this time?!"

"That little brat! That's what he gets for messing around in the first place!"

"YAAAAA—ow!" Naruto's frantic cry was cut off when his movement was suddenly arrested. Sasuke was had taken Naruto's spot upside down on the branch and was holding the blond by the ankle.

"You bone head." He admonished flatly.

"Sasuke!" Naruto was torn between being grateful and angry.

"Great timing Sasuke-kun!"

"Yess! Sasuke saves the day! He gives me the shivers—he's sooo cool!"

She felt her heart rate pick up when he'd appeared out of nowhere and saved their teammate…he really was the hero type. He'd done the same for her when he'd jumped in front of her and Tazuna when they were first attacked by those Chunin.

Kakashi smiled up at the two. They were coming along nicely. Probably by the end of today they'd be ready. And just in time too.

---

Before Tazuna and Sakura left for the bridge, Kakashi asked for their help with something. He was feeling better, and he needed to test how good his physical condition was now. He asked them both to sit on his back while he did one fingered push ups. Sakura alone would have been too light. That girl didn't eat enough although Kakashi's minimal knowledge of her circumstances coupled with his intuition told him that that was by no choice of her own. He was certain though that she wasn't on any sort of stupid diet or something like that. He'd overheard from some academy aged girls on the streets a little while back that that was something they were doing now.

It was a bit of a strain, but he'd gotten to 198 reps when Tazuna spoke.

"I've been meaning to ask you…You know I duped you about how dangerous this mission was to come here, so why'd you stay?"

"To know what is right and to choose to ignore it is the act of a coward…Like master, like man…" He hit 199. "Those are the teachings of some of our previous Lords Hokage." His final rep got him to 200. "This is the shinobi way of life. True shinobi do not merely dance to the tune of whoever pays the piper." Plus he doubted he would have been able to get his students to abandon the mission. He certainly wouldn't have been able to convince Naruto—that boy was dead set on keeping his oath. Sasuke wouldn't have wanted to back down either. At one point he thought Sakura would have—hell, she'd advised them to go back when Naruto was first injured. But after hearing Tazuna's story, she, the last person he would have expected, became wildly determined to see this through too.

The other two got off his back and he stood, flexing his hand. He was almost completely healed. By the end of today, he should be at full strength.

Sakura watched her teacher with keen eyes. She knew what this had been. He was testing himself. And if she had to guess, he was almost completely better. She'd felt a bit of his strain when she'd been adding her weight to his back, but it wasn't that bad. And he'd made it all the way to 200.

"He should be fully better by tomorrow…but that means our enemy probably is too…"

---

That day at the bridge, Sakura worked three times harder than she had any of the previous days. She was determined to get as much of the bridge built as possible before Zabuza inevitably showed up again. Seeing her work so hard made the construction crew work even harder, after all, they couldn't let themselves be shown up by a pink haired little girl. They stayed later too, working through sunset and only calling it a day at twilight when there was too little light to continue working.

Sakura escorted Tazuna home, both tired from the long day.

"You two are back later than usual." Kakashi commented. Sakura noted that his eye lingered on her for some reason, and that the crutch he'd been using to help him walk was nowhere around.

"I'll say! Go wash up, dinner's almost ready." Tsunami agreed.

"Thank you Tsunami-san." Sakura said politely before excusing herself to the restroom. Maybe that was why her sensei had studied her for so long. Her clothes were covered in dirt and saw dust, and she definitely had a wood chip in her hair. Her hands were even stained with metal dust. Not at all how she was expected to look after an uneventful day doing nothing but keeping an eye on their charge.

She washed and changed quickly, giving her dirty clothes a quick soak in soapy water before setting them on the outside porch to dry. She only had one change of clothes and her pajamas, which she wore currently.

She hurried to the table just as Tsunami laid out the food. Sakura was excited. She was quite hungry from all the laboring today. Sakura had been eating better here than she had in her own home. Tsunami always gave her a full portion, unlike at home where she frequently gave her mother the larger portion, and despite never asking for seconds, Tsunami would automatically refill her bowl when it was empty.

For her part, Tsunami had noted how skinny Sakura was. How her clothing, despite being clean, was far more worn than the others. How she was always so aware of how little the Land of Waves had and consciously tried not to burden their family. She was a mother after all, and mothers were observant when it came to children. These observations had lead her to one conclusion. Sakura understood them in a way the others didn't. She likely had some level of experience with poverty. It made her want to look out for the girl more, at the very least feed her as much as she could.

About a quarter of the way through dinner, to door creaked open to reveal a slightly dirty Sasuke supporting a very dirty and worn out Naruto.

"So you're finally back! Looking like someone the cat dragged in!" Tazuna greeted.

"Heh…both of us…" Naruto huffed, but was too tired to finish the sentence.

"We made it to the top of the tree." Sasuke finished, scowling at the blond. He'd told him he'd wear himself out if he didn't take a break, the idiot.

"Good! Naruto, Sasuke, starting tomorrow, you two can help Sakura protect Tazuna-san."

"Yes, sir!" They both answered, albeit Naruto with way more enthusiasm.

"Whew! Well, I'm all sweaty, dirty, and real warn out from all the work on the bridge today…But construction is almost complete!" Tazuna announced, with a beaming smile.

Sakura smiled as well. Construction was almost complete, which meant that even if Zabuza attacked—even if god forbid he succeeded, there wouldn't be too much left to do. The crew could probably finish it off even without Tazuna's supervision.

"Father, you and Naruto are two of a kind. Please don't work yourselves to death!" Tsunami chided, as Naruto sank collapsed on the table with a worn out sigh.

"Yep. Don't worry. I'd be much worse if it wasn't for Sakura!" The bridge builder soothed. All of her teammates eyes suddenly shot to her.

"Why? Was there an attack?" Sasuke questioned, checking his female teammate for any sign of injury. Her cheeks tinted pink under his gaze.

"No nothing like that! She's been helping with the construction. Sped up the process a great deal. You should have seen her today, she could give any of my crew a run for their money. We wouldn't be nearly as far along if it wasn't for her." Tazuna hadn't mentioned anything before incase Kakashi ordered the girl not to help anymore, but seeing as the full team would be guarding him tomorrow, he wanted to give the girl the well deserved credit she'd been lacking the past week.

"Oh?" Kakashi asked, turning to his female student. He studied her—her eyes wide and face flushing with embarrassment. He recalled what he'd heard earlier while he was in the woods after checking in on Naruto's and Sasuke's progress.

His students were progressing quite nicely. Both were managing to maintain their chakra for much longer periods and had managed to climb almost all the way up. They didn't seem to want any instruction or interference and that wasn't really his teaching style anyway, so after checking to make sure they hadn't killed themselves, he departed.

He decided to fit in some light training himself, just to make sure he really was in peak condition for their next confrontation, and went for a run through the woods. He hopped from tree to tree efficiently and with out much strain, but stopped and hid his presence when he heard voices coming his way.

"Ageha! You sure we can eat these?" A boy of about ten asked, a little rudely.

"Uh-huh. That's what Onee-chan said. But she said you have to soak them until the water is clear first. Then you can roast them. I tried it at home and they were really good!"

A group of children were wondering along the forest floor gathering acorns, pinecones, and some plant he couldn't identify from this far away. The youngest of the kids appeared to be five, the oldest no more than thirteen. Leading them was an eight year old girl, the one the little boy had called Ageha.

"Why did she only tell us now?"

"Cause she's not from here." The girl responded with an eye roll

The boy looked around, eyes narrowing and whispered, "Gato might have sent her to poison us! How can you trust her?"

"She was with Tazuna-san. And she was really nice and had pretty pink hair! If Tazuna-san trusts Nee-chan, so do I!"

Kakashi listened more intently at that. Pink hair and with Tazuna-san? They had to be talking about Sakura.

"Remember, you have to boil the pinecones and mash them. Otherwise they're too hard and spiky to eat. That's what Nee-chan said."

Kakashi turned away and left the kids to their gathering. It seemed his pink haired student was trying to provide alternative ways to feed the city's children.

His female student seemed rather intent on helping these people, first showing the kids how to find food, then helping with the actual construction of the bridge…

"You didn't have to do that, Sakura." Kakashi stated, trying to gauge her reaction.

Sakura shrugged. It may not have been their mission, and thus she didn't "have" to do it strictly speaking, but how could she just sit there and do nothing. It wasn't like she had anything better to do. Why not help?

"I overheard some of the city kids in the woods today," Kakashi continued casually. "A group of them were gathering acorns and pinecones. One of them kept giving instructions about how to eat them that came from her 'Nee-chan' with pretty pink hair…"

"Oh good! She did tell others!" Sakura felt a little relieved. The more kids Ageha told, the more people could eat, assuming those kids had families.

"She's still calling me pretty? Flattery won't help her if the person she's flattering isn't around to hear it…"

"Maybe she just genuinely thinks we're pretty." She felt the eye roll from her internal self in the back of her mind. That part of her was vain and did care how she looked. After all, Sakura did care, she'd just stopped having time to actually devote anything to that care when she turned ten.

Sasuke listened curiously. She'd helped some of the kids here find food? Why?

"Is the situation that bad?" Sasuke asked, his eyes boring into her jade green ones. The rest of team 7 hadn't seen anything of the city aside from the small port when they first arrived. Other than that, they'd only been in the woods, training, and at Tazuna's house, resting. He watched her eyes become a bit sad and tired looking. The smile she'd been wearing faltered a little as she nodded. Once again, Sasuke noted, Sakura seemed distinctly older than 12.

"Yeah. It's bad. There's a lot of homelessness. Almost everyone I see shows signs of malnutrition. Many people are out on the streets begging for work, money, or food. Pick pocketing and desperation theft seems common place."

Tazuna and Tsunami looked down sadly. Inari stared fixedly at the torn picture on the wall. Naruto and Sasuke stared at her, a little shaken by her report.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Sasuke snapped.

"Neither of you asked. Would it have changed anything? You two needed to train. We're on this mission in the first place to try and remedy that. What difference does knowing the details make?" Sakura countered. She wasn't wrong.

"That girl you saw," Tazuna cut in, "She came up to Sakura and asked her for food."

"I didn't have anything to give her, but I couldn't just send her away so I took her to the forest and showed her some things there that were edible." Sakura paused, and then her head shot to her sensei. "Don't worry I didn't forget the mission! I didn't let Tazuna-san out of my sight I swear. Not then and not when I've been helping with construction."

"Relax Sakura. It's fine." He actually had been a little concerned about that but figured Tazuna would never let him hear the end of it if they left him completely unattended. "I'm just surprised. You turned out to be quite the philanthropist."

"Hardly." Sakura retorted with a dry laugh.

"You need money to be a philanthropist…"

"Besides, the sooner the bridge is finished, the sooner Tazuna-san's not a target, the sooner the mission ends. This is just to get us home faster." Not a full lie, but not exactly the truth either. She was doing that a lot lately. The more they delved into her motives, the more they'd figure out her situation. It wasn't that she wanted to lie to her team, or keep them in the dark. It was just personal. Her mother's illness and her finances were her problems to deal with, they shouldn't have to be involved. Most of all, she feared them looking down on her the way everyone else did. She feared both their disgust and their pity. She'd rather wait until she could at least start getting her mother treatment before disclosing anything. Once she had some good news, and things were looking better for her, then she'd tell them.

Naruto didn't know what philanthropist meant. Nor did he believe Sakura's statement that this was just to get them home faster. He saw the way she looked away and crossed her arms when she said it. Obviously she was just embarrassed by the compliment. Naruto grinned widely, weakly lifting his head off the table.

"You're amazing Sakura-chan! You're so nice and kind and that kid wasn't wrong about you having pretty hair!" Naruto cheered rising from his seat enthusiastically, completely oblivious to Sasuke's glare.

"Shut up, Naruto! You're embarrassing me…" Sakura mumbled looking away, lightly flushed.

"Why couldn't it be Sasuke-kun saying that?!"

"It'd be out of character if he did…"

"A girl can dream, can't she? Kill joy…"

"No, seriously Sakura-chan, I mean—" Naruto was cut off when his legs gave out and he collapsed back into his seat, his head leaning tiredly into the table.

"Naru—"

"Why do you wear yourself out trying?! Look at you, you can't even stand up!" Inari suddenly yelled, tears streaming from his face as he glared at the exhausted blond. "No matter how hard you train, you'll never be a match for Gato's thugs! You act all cool, and talk all tough, but big strong guys like that are always too much for people weaker than they are! They'll destroy you!"

Everyone in the room stared at the boy in shocked silence. The explosion seemed to come from no where…

"Shut up! I'm not you, and I'm not gonna lose!" Naruto answered stubbornly, not even bothering to pick his head up from his arms.

"Just watching you ticks me off! You go running your mouth when you don't know a thing! This isn't your town! And you don't know a thing about me! You're always clowning around and having fun. You don't know a thing about suffering or loneliness or what my life is like!"

"That's not fair…"

"So…you figure it's noble to star in a melodrama and treat everyone around you like guests at your pity party?" Naruto growled, rage gave him enough energy to look up. "It takes a really big man to sit around and cry…" Naruto spat sarcastically. "You Brat! You big baby!" The blond pushed away from the table and stormed off.

"Naruto! You went too far!" She admonished, not that it stopped him. And not that Inari didn't sort of deserve it. But still, Naruto was older…he should have at least been more tactful about it. She turned to Inari and tried to keep her tone calm. "Inari-chan, You don't know what our lives have been like either, so please don't assume…People have all kinds of different ways of handling things…"

Kakashi gave her a gentle nod. The room was too tense and suffocating. She quickly helped clear the table, and excused herself to bed. Sasuke followed.

---

"Were you including yourself in that, or was it about us?"

The hushed darkness around them, and the fact that they were both lying down, gave the moment an intimate feel that had Sakura's heart pounding.

"H-huh?"

"What you said to Inari earlier."

"Oh…I don't know, it was general I guess."

"That's not an answer."

She held in a sigh. He was always so persistent when hunting answers, like why she was always late. Out of her whole team, he seemed to be the most aware that she had a situation…and the one most interested in learning what that situation was.

"Does that mean he's interested in me?…I wonder what he'll think of me when he finds out…"

"It was about all of us. Our whole team. I mean…we don't know Kakashi-sensei's situation, other than his closest friends having passed away. I don't know the details of what happened to you…I already made an assumption and said something careless and hurtful to you once. Inari-chan was doing the same, so I thought I'd warn him against that."

"…Then what's your situation?" He'd never tried asking her point blank. It had been bothering him for a while. Maturity like hers at such a young age usually came from some kind of hardship. So what? What was it that had made her so…adult?

"What makes you think I have a situation?" She forced a light and playful tone into her voice. It was too soon for this. She needed to dig herself out at least a little bit, first, before she enlightened her team.

"Tch…annoying." Sasuke muttered. She was faking he could tell. She was avoiding the topic again. Which meant she was definitely hiding something. It couldn't just be the bullying she'd endured from the other girls in the academy. For the life of him, he couldn't remember how they'd pick on her or what they'd say…she hadn't really been on his radar at the time. She was one of the few not constantly trying to insert herself into his personal space, although he was sure he'd caught her eyes on him a couple of times.

"Don't worry. I'm fine." She told him.

She kept saying things like that to reassure him, as if he was concerned. He wasn't. He wasn't worried about her. He was just curious. That was all. He tried to ignore the needling instinct that told him that anyone who claimed they were fine, 95% of the time, were not.

"Annoying…"

"What'd we do this time?"

"Well he has kind of asked me about myself a few times and I keep dodging so I guess that would be annoying…"

"Why does he want to know?

"Why wouldn't he? We're teammates."

"Maybe he loves us!"

"Why is that always the conclusion you jump to?!"

Sasuke sighed. There was no point in continuing this conversation. She wasn't in a forthcoming mood and she'd just keep dodging anyways. She really was…different. Most girls practically threw themselves at his feet, wanting to bombard him with all the inane details of their lives and claiming they wanted to know everything about his…not that they'd be able to handle it if he told them. They'd run the other direction. But this girl did everything she could to keep her life painted in the broadest strokes possible. She worked so hard to evade any questions that might give her away. But her actions betrayed her. Working so hard on the construction of the bridge, giving the children another way to feed themselves…it was like she deeply cared for these people and wanted to do everything she could to help them. Why? Sure it was the good and right thing to do. But her actions seemed to hold more weight than just that. It was like there was something personal for her about it.

And the ways she would yell at Naruto…there was something almost motherly in her word choice. She was so nurturing and gentle when treating injuries, like caregiving was second nature to her…did Sakura have a younger sibling or something?

Sasuke had let the conversation die and Sakura tried not to let that bother her. She didn't want him to keep asking about her life—she wasn't ready to tell him yet. But she really liked talking to Sasuke. There was something oddly soothing about his blunt manor. His voice relaxed her and his presence made her feel safe and secure. She couldn't even begin to know why that was the case, but she wasn't about to question it. She so rarely had a sense of security and stability in her life, so she would cling to it wherever she could find it.

"Hey Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn."

"Congrats on finishing your training…we can be together now—our team, I mean…"

"Hn, doubtful. That idiot's probably going to be too tired to join us tomorrow. He's probably passed out already."

That was worrying. Sasuke was right. He'd been exhausted, and he probably hadn't stayed conscious for long…but he hadn't come back to the room. If he was passed out…

Sakura stood up, fully ready to track him down, but no sooner had she done so than the door opened. Kakashi came in carrying a sleeping Naruto. He glanced at his students, one standing with a look of concern painted across her face, the other staring back at him with an unsurprised expression.

"Is he ok? Where was he?!" Sakura hissed in a demanding whisper.

"He's fine. He fell asleep on the roof. I assume he went up there to calm down." Kakashi answered calmly.

Sasuke watched as Sakura tucked Naruto in, making sure he was fully covered by the blanket. She was doing it again…that almost motherly thing that was so strange to see from a twelve year old girl. She had to have a younger sibling, that had to be it…after all, his brother used to—

He turned away from the scene sharply. Whatever his brother used to do meant nothing anymore.

Sakura settled back into her sleeping mat, satisfied that Naruto was safe. If Sasuke's presence made her feel safe and secure, both her teammates presences made her feel reassured. It made her feel like she had a full family again, instead of the one she did have, which was only half full and hanging on by a thread. She drifted off to her light, patchy sleep, with a warm feeling in her chest.

---

"Well! Please take care of Naruto. He's worn himself out. I doubt he'll be able to more for the rest of the day." Kakashi warned Tsunami, as the group got ready to go.

"We're off Tsunami!" Tazuna called.

"Bye." She waved them off as the group set out.

The warmth Sakura felt about being with her full team again had worn off, replaced by a sense of foreboding. The walk was calm and serene, which felt off to Sakura. Their enemies had recovered by now. They should be on the move. They should be stopping them. Wouldn't it make most sense to try cutting them off before they reached the bridge? She passed a hand through her hair to calm herself.

Sasuke caught how tense Sakura looked, and recognized her nervous tick.

"What?"

"Why aren't we being attacked?"

"Shouldn't you be happy we're not?" Tazuna shot her a quick glance.

"If they're worried about you finishing the bridge…Shouldn't they try to be cutting us off before we reach it? Unless—" Sakura's eyes widened.

"Unless they knew even if he reached it he wouldn't be able to complete it…But how would they know that? Even if they sabotage the bridge, he and his crew could repair—the crew!"

Sakura started running. The group was startled by the girl's reaction, but had learned to trust her analysis, and picked up speed as well. They weren't far from the bridge anyways.

"Sakura, what is it?" Kakashi prompted sternly.

"They would try to stop us on the way unless they knew there was no way he'd finish even if he got there. The only way that would be the case was if he did something to—"

They reached the bridge and stopped abruptly at the scene before them. The bodies of the construction crew were all on the ground, blood smears around them.

"—my crew!" Tazuna yelled, eyes widening in horror. "Wh-what the hell…? What happened?" Tazuna demanded, kneeling next to one of the men. "What…could have…?!" He supported the man's torso a little, propping him up and pressing a hand to his wound.

"M-monsters…" The man choked out.

"I'll…I'll kill him! I swear I'll kill him! How dare he hurt these people!"

Sakura felt nauseated when she ran over to Tazuna and pulled him back towards Kakashi and Sasuke. She wanted to check on the injured men, help them if it was at all in her power. She'd been working with them, by their side for a week now. She knew them and it hurt seeing them like that. It really hurt not even trying to help. But there wasn't time. If they were in that state, it meant their enemies were already here. And if the whole crew died, then Tazuna had to survive. He was the only one left who could finish the bridge.

Sure enough a mist began enveloping the area. Thankfully she managed to drag Tazuna back to the group before it got too thick. He didn't fight her, since he knew what she was doing and why.

"They're coming!" Kakashi warned. He and Sakura had been right. Zabuza was still alive. And he was back to finish what he started.

"Sensei! Zabuza—this is his hidden mist jutsu, isn't it?" Sakura recognized. Her memory always had been near perfect.

"Been a while Kakashi." His gravely voice rumbled from all around them, completely obscured by the mist. "And I see you've got those brats tagging along, just like last time. And the little boy is trembling again, poor thing…" the missing nin mocked. The mist cleared enough to reveal that they were completely surrounded by his water clones. Sakura yanked the bridge builder behind her.

"I'm shaking with eagerness for a rematch." Sasuke smirked confidently. She wished she had that kind of battle confidence. Zabuza seemed to find the thought amusing. Kakashi just smiled.

"Go ahead Sasuke."

He was incredibly fast. In a whirl of speed, he slashed through all the clones with kunai, returning to his original location as water splashed around him. She barely even saw the attack. And he was standing with so much poise and grace—he may not have been a dancer, but he moved damn well.

With the clones cleared, they were able to see the real Zabuza about four and a half meters away, the masked boy standing next to him.

"Well! My water clones were obviously no match for you! It seems the brats have matured quite a bit into worthy rivals, eh Haku?"

"Indeed!" The masked boy answered. So his name was Haku…

"Looks like you were right, Sakura. Our mysterious masked friend is playing on Zabuza's team."

"You've got some nerve, tricking us like that and shamelessly appearing now!" She growled at the masked boy.

"This one's mine." Sasuke said authoritatively, his glare trained on Haku. If he was as strong as Kakashi said, he'd be a good measure for his current power levels, and how much further he needed to go to to beat Itachi. "That was quite a show you put on before, but we're on to you now and I hate bad actors…"

"Sasuke-kun's so cool!"

"If this were Naruto, this is where you'd be yelling at him…" Kakashi addressed the pink haired girl in front of him.

"That's because Naruto's reckless and impulsive. He would've just charged in blindly by now. Sasuke-kun hasn't and won't."

"You sure there's not another reason?" Kakashi teased. He'd noticed the way the girl blushed around her dark haired teammate, and that she never seemed to yell at him nearly as much as she did Naruto. Even when she did admonish him, her tone was almost gentle. And the way she was blushing now was a definite tell that he was right.

"Is now really the time for this sensei?" She snapped, huffing and looking away from her dark haired teammate, who spared the briefest of glances at the question before turning his full attention back to Haku.

"Humor is an important tool on the battle field Sakura." Kakashi tossed back lightly before letting the subject drop, studying the missing nin in front of them.

There was a whirl in front of them, as Haku suddenly appeared, swiping at Sasuke who just barely managed to deflect. But Sasuke acclimated to the speed quickly, and when Haku struck again, Sasuke was able to block more easily.

"The fighting's too close…" Sakura murmured noting the proximity between Sasuke and Haku, and Tazuna. "If he was clever enough to trick us the first time, he might use fighting with Sasuke-kun as an excuse to get close to Tazuna-san."

Kakashi was apparently thinking something similar. "Sakura, we have to cover Tazuna! Take that side and stay close! Let Sasuke handle Haku."

"Yes sir!"

They managed to clear Tazuna of the immediate area, getting him a safer distance away. It was far enough that she couldn't clearly hear many of the words exchanged between Haku and Sasuke, but she could still see the battle—what little of it her eyes could keep up with anyways. They both were Fast. Scary Fast.

They seemed to be at a stand off when Haku began weaving signs with one hand.

"One handed?! How's that even possible?!"

Kakashi was equally shocked, he'd never seen anything like it. Maybe he'd miscalculated when letting Sasuke fight this kid.

Haku cast his jutsu and the water around the two started to rise up, surrounding them, the droplets sharpening into points.

"Sasuke-kun!" She screamed in horror as the water converged on her teammate. There was a dark streak as Sasuke shot into the air, his chakra focused into his feet to give him more strength and height. Shuriken rained down on Haku, who was having a hard time dodging them all.

Sasuke was suddenly behind the masked boy, two kunai in each hand. Haku managed to block his first attack and dodge his second by dropping to the ground, but Sasuke wasted no time in pulling a kick back to aim at his head. A kick which he landed successfully, sending Haku flying back towards Zabuza.

The missing nin looked shocked. No one had ever beaten Haku's speed.

"You're fast. I'm faster." Sasuke stated cooly.

"That's my mine! He's the best! Shannaro!"

"Since when was he 'mine'…gah this isn't the time for this!

"Kill joy!" Her own voice berated her—not for the first time.

"You had that coming for underestimating my team…and the name calling." Kakashi stated calmly, though there was a small hint of smugness in his tone. "He may not look like much, but Sasuke here is the top rated-rookie from all of Konoha—I'm sure you can see why. And Sakura here is our sharpest mind. She figured out what was going on here even before I did…"

"You're damn right we are! Shannaro!"

"…And last but not least, let's not forget our number one knuckle head ninja, the maverick show-stopper, the one and only Naruto!" Despite Kakashi's praise, he still managed to look rather bored.

Zabuza's gravely laugh carried ominously.

"…That's not a good sign…"

"What's that eyebrow-less freak laughing about now?!"

"Haku, you do understand that if this goes on, you could end up dying at the very hands of the person you sought to spare?

"Yes…I do. What a pity…" Haku seemed to emanating a cold front. The temperature of the area noticeably dropped. Haku began to weave signs. "Secret ninja art: Ice crystal magic mirror jutsu!" The water surrounding Sasuke rose up again, but this time instead of forming sharp points, it took the shape of various rectangles, which hardened over into a dome of reflective icy mirrors, incasing Sasuke.

Kakashi's eye went wide. He didn't know this technique, which meant he had no idea if his student could handle it.

Haku entered one of the mirrors from the outside.

"This…can't be good…"

Inside the dome, and image of Haku appeared in every mirror, surrounding Sasuke.

"Damn!" Kakashi jumped towards the mirror dome. Whatever this jutsu was, it was powerful. But before he could reach it, Zabuza intercepted him.

"Let's not forget, I'm your enemy. Our children can play together while my boy kills yours."

Kakashi glared. This was definitely not good. He needed to get to Sasuke now.

"Focus Sakura…there's got to be something you can do to help…figure it out. There has to be a trick to undoing a jutsu like this…put your sharp mind to work and figure it out already! Mirrors. Why mirrors? What can mirrors do?

Inside the dome, Haku tossed a single senbon, cutting Sasuke's upper arm. Suddenly senbon were flying everywhere, shredding across him. There were too many. It hurt. A lot. He screamed.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi yelled, hearing the boys scream of pain.

"Any sudden moves, and I'll kill those other two!" Zabuza yelled, planting himself firmly in Kakashi's way.

"Mirrors…reflect. Haku went into one…the jutsu probably let's him reflect himself into the others…and his reflections do whatever he does…but…how do you beat it…?"

Sasuke let out another scream. She couldn't take it. She couldn't just stand here and do nothing…but that would mean leaving Tazuna open…

"…Tazuna-san, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to leave you for just a little bit."

Tazuna stared at the girl who'd worked so desperately to help him save his people. How could he stand in the way of her saving hers?

"Go ahead. I'll be fine."

She jumped off immediately.

"I'm doing what I always accuse Naruto of…running in without a plan. But I can't just stand here thinking while Sasuke-kun—I need to do something! Running into the dome's a no, but maybe if I try to break a mirror from the outside…"

She tossed a kunai as hard as she could at one of the mirrors, but Haku popped halfway out of the mirror and caught it. He hadn't prepared for the shuriken that seemed to come from nowhere almost slicing his neck off and forcing him to pull himself out of the mirror to dodge.

Kakashi and Zabuza turned to look in surprise

"…Who…?"

"It couldn't be…"

Sasuke smirked from where he lay on the ground, bleeding from multiple cuts. It was about time that dead last show off got here.

"Uzumaki Naruto! At your service!" The blond announced boisterously. "Here I am to save the day! You know how the story goes. Things look bleak…til the hero arrives and then POW! bye bye bad guys!"

"He is truly an idiot—an idiot with great timing…"

"Ugh…What we really needed was an ambush…"

Kakashi stared at his blond student, eye wide with exasperation. That little—He just had to run in and paint a target on himself…Sakura had been right again, he really did always run in recklessly.

Zabuza smirked. This brat again…leaning back he chucked several shuriken at the loudmouth, intending to get him out of Haku's way, but strangely, they were all knocked aside by senbon.

"What are you doing?" He demanded of the masked boy.

"Zabuza sir, please let me have this boy. I want to fight him in my own way."

"…So you want me to keep my hands off him, eh Haku? How charmingly naive of you, as usual…"

Sasuke snorted. That guy naive? Yeah right. It's like Sasuke was being cut to ribbons by a thousand needles…but the cuts were superficial. He was killing him by centimeters…saving the vital targets and deathblow for later, Sasuke thought. He couldn't figure out what technique he was using. His clones all hid in the mirrors and then struck simultaneously. He couldn't even see him move. Haku kept striking before he could spot his weapons trajectory. It couldn't just be a clone jutsu. The ice mirrors were a part of it somehow. But he couldn't figure out their significants…whatever was going on, the mirrors had to be the key. His only chance was to concentrate on the battle here and trust Naruto to set him free from the outside…he'd probably be able to with Sakura's insight…

"Yo! Sasuke-teme! I'm here to rescue you!" Naruto was crouched in front of him, his hand up in some sort of idiotic salute…that knuckle head!

"Y-you doofus! No stealth, no caution…And you call yourself a ninja?! Now that you've just gotten yourself trapped in here with me, do what you want! I don't really care!"

"Oh fine! I went through hell to rescue you and this is the thanks I get?!"

Kakashi twitched. Leave it to the number one knuckle head ninja. Once he starts 'helping' things go from bad to worse! If he went to help Naruto and Sasuke, he'd leave Tazuna completely exposed, but he couldn't just abandon the boys…

Sakura's mind had been rendered blank by Naruto's sheer stupidity. All thoughts ceased and she could only stare in disbelief when the blond had actually entered the mirror dome. But seeing Haku enter one of the mirrors jarred her out of her stupor.

"Shit! They're both trapped in there now! I need to think of something fast or they might really—" Panic was rising in her. Her teammates might really die…this was different than her mother, who was dying slowly, giving her lots of time to come up with cures and treatments and solutions. This wasn't about reading into someone's word choice to unravel their secrets. This was six seconds before her boys could die…and she wasn't thinking fast enough. The awareness of that was only adding to her panic and disrupting her thoughts more.

"Come on think! T-the mirrors have to be important, and they're made of ice so maybe—"

"Sasuke-kun try fire!" She screamed desperately. It had been the only thing she could come up with.

"Fire style: Fire ball jutsu!"

"It's not even making a dent!" Naruto yelled.

"That pitiful flame will barely touch my ice mirrors." And then the rain of senbon started again.

"Which one of you is real?!" Naruto questioned, his voice as frantic as Sakura's thoughts.

"Your eyes will never see the truth. I can't be caught."

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto shouted despite Sasuke's protests. His clone army jumped at all of the mirrors, but each one was dispelled quickly and the real Naruto was left to take a barrage of senbon.

"The technique I'm using is part of the space-time ninjutsu. The art of teleportation. And the only tools I need to perform it are the mirrors that hold my image. I move so quickly, the pair of you might as well be standing still."

Kakashi's eye widened in surprise. So that was it. "I never imagined that anyone could master such a technique so young!"

Zabuza gave a gravely laugh.

"S-such a technique?" Sakura questioned. She'd certainly never heard of anything like this before…

"It's a kekkei genkai—a skill that can be passed from one generation to the next. A genetic trait, running through the bloodlines of those of purest shinobi pedigree. Some of the most extraordinary techniques are handed down from generation to generation solely on that basis…"

"Like your Sharingan." Sakura murmured looking back at the mirror dome.

"Precisely…it's part of the same order of skills as my eye. But even my sharingan can't copy, mimic, or break this boys jutsu…"

That was very bad news…news that didn't help Sakura's ever growing panic. She couldn't think…couldn't do anything. She was completely useless…

"It can't end like this! I've got a dream to fulfill!" She heard Naruto growl.

"I… Find it difficult to embrace the full shinobi philosophy. I can't help but prefer that the pair of you…not force me to kill you. However, if you two are going to come at me, I shall kill my own heart with my blade—just as the word 'shinobi' was originally the words 'heart' and 'blade'—and act as a full fledged shinobi would! This bridge is a nexus of our destinies…and all of our dreams and futures balance on the edge of a knife. I have my own dreams as you have yours. Please try not to resent me, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes…to protect the one I care about the most…to fight, kill or die to fulfill that persons dreams. Doing so is my own dream. To that end, I will become a true shinobi…and kill you both."

Hearing that proclamation spiked Sakura's panic into overdrive. He really was willing to kill her teammates. He was preparing to do so now. She had to do something, but she was frozen…her mind wouldn't work and her body wouldn't respond.

"I can't…I can't lose them…I already lost dad. And I'm watching mom slowly wither and nothing I'm doing is truly working and I pushed Ino away cause I didn't want to drag her down but…I can't lose them too…Why can't I do anything? Why can't I think of anything? Why am I so useless!?"

Her fists balled at her sides. "Don't lose…Sasuke-kun. Naruto. You can't lose. Don't lose!"

"Don't encourage them Sakura." Kakashi murmured. He could see the girls panic and desperation. Hear it in her voice. It was obvious how much she loved her team…He was glad that the panic had frozen her rather than driven her into doing something reckless and stupid like trying to attack. She was no match for this boy. And whatever esteem he seemed to have placed in Naruto and Sasuke to have asked Zabuza to spare them, he wasn't sure that it extended to Sakura. She was weaker than both, and outwardly appeared less driven, though he knew that wasn't actually the case. But the boy didn't know that and probably held less respect for her, which would make him less hesitant to kill her. Knowing her, she'd probably beat herself up relentlessly for freezing, but for now it was better that way. He'd finally acknowledged that she held a lot of potential, but potential meant nothing until it expressed itself, and she hadn't trained enough for that to have happened yet.

"W-what?" She was unable to look at her sensei. Unable to tear her eyes from the mirror dome she was sure would soon house the two corpses of her teammates.

"Even if we knew of a way to counter his technique, your teammates still wouldn't be up to the task of defeating that boy."

"You mean not up to killing him, right?" She always had been quick on the uptake.

"Yes…those two haven't yet developed the psychological strength to turn their hearts to ice and take a human life."

"That boy has lived with the kind of emotional anguish that prepares him to be a true shinobi. No true shinobi could ever be born of a place like your village, a place of weakness…of peace. You don't live with death, or grow up needing to kill to ensure your survival. In you those skills—and the mindset they require—die stillborn!" Zabuza growled, his voice grating.

Uchiha and Uzumaki, huh? Those poor boys have had it rough.

"He's wrong…"

His entire clan was killed.

"They have been in anguish…all alone…"

At that time…I was crying…That man…He left me alone…with no one…

I've never had anyone to reign me in…

"Even Kakashi-sensei…"

This is a memorial. It has the names of my friends engraved on it.

"…They've all lived in pain, having to take care of themselves alone…Hell, Sasuke-kun's goal for the future is to kill someone…and I…I've grown up living with death. I'm forced to watch my mother die daily…and I've grown up having to steal and scrape to survive, and to buy time…the fact that any of us manage to keep waking up and trying is strength. There is no way people like us can't prepare ourselves mentally to do whatever we must, regardless of the 'peaceful' village we come from…"

"Shannaro! How dare he look down on us when he doesn't know what we've been through!"

Sakura turned and looked Zabuza dead in the eye with a murderous glare.

"You…Know nothing about what we've been through. Our 'peaceful' village does not ensure survival, and this team has suffered more than enough emotional anguish you claim is so necessary for the shinobi mindset. Don't think for one second that we're incapable of killing if that's what's needed." Her tone was as lethal as her eyes. Zabuza was actually a little impressed—in that moment, the little girl looked like she could harden herself and commit murder. Clearly she at least did have some kind of emotional anguish she'd been living through. Not that he could fathom what that could have been. What did any of these kids suffer in a village like theirs?

Kakashi was floored. The look in her eyes was…hardened. He would have expected it from Sasuke maybe, but not from her. She freaked out over her teams minor cuts, had medicinal herbs memorized, and created a very effective healing ointment. She offered to help build this bridge and taught the city children about additional food sources. If anything, she seemed to deeply value life. Yet it seemed that if it came down to having to kill, she was the first on the team who might actually be able to deal that final blow…And to look at Zabuza with that murderous intent and speak in that deadly tone, knowing their vast difference in power…the level of bravery and recklessness that took, that was far from what he ever would have expected from Sakura. She may have been brave, but he didn't think it was that much—and she was the exact opposite of reckless.

"Well said, Sakura. You'll forgive me if I put an end to this!" Kakashi said, glaring at Zabuza as he moved to lift his forehead protector from his eye.

"Heh. Going to use the sharingan? What a vulgar maneuver. So obvious, so lacking in finesse!"

Zabuza charged, kunai in hand, and stabbed at Kakashi's still hidden sharingan. The kunai met flesh, but it was that of his hand, which he'd used to block the incoming blade. His blood dripped to the ground

"You can sneer all you want about my 'lack of finesse,' Zabuza…it doesn't change the fact that you're afraid of the sharingan. And of me." Kakashi said darkly.

Zabuza chuckled. "A ninjas secret weapon should be employed judiciously, not displayed at random to every foe you face!"

"That may be true normally…but that doesn't apply to a skill like the shringan…he would have to use it often—the more jutsu he copies, the more powerful he becomes…"

"You should feel privileged. No one has ever lived to see the sharingan a second time. And no one will see it thrice!"

"heh heh by all means, defeat me if you can. You still won't have what it takes to kill Haku."

"…He's not wrong. Kakashi-sensei said he couldn't beat his kekkei genkai…and that Haku was more powerful than him…as they are now, Naruto and Sasuke-kun don't stand a chance…Think Sakura, think damnit!"

"Since he was a toddler, I've beaten his skills into him. Even in the face of unthinkable adversity, he has always prevailed! He's lost his regard for his own life and become a killing machine—a true shinobi!"

"That's horrible…" Sakura couldn't help but feel for the boy, but also strangely, she could relate a little. Her mom had admonished her several times on how little time she spent on herself. Sasuke had too, in a way—he'd never exactly said it, but she saw the looks he gave her whenever she neglected her own injuries in favor of her teams, or how she always held back her thoughts in concern for her teammates emotions. She didn't remember what it was to care about her own life. The only reason she'd been breathing so long was to care for her mother. When she'd been placed on squad 7, her teammates also joined that reason. But if dying meant she could cure her mom, she would in a heart beat. If dying meant saving her teammates lives, she'd do it, no questions asked.

"His skills even surpass my own," Zabuza continued, "and he bears within him the formidable legacy of an inherited kekkei genkai!"

"I need to focus! His kekkei genkai…he said he needed the mirrors as his conduit, so without them he can't teleport. So to beat the technique, you have to break the mirrors, but how? They're made of ice but fire did nothing—what's the other way to break a mirror?"

"Shannaro that's easy! Punching it, dropping it, stabbing it…any blunt force really, duh!"

"But they can't get close enough…And I'm not strong or fast enough to break it from the outside…"

Throughout her internal dialogue, Zabuza had continued to speak, boasting about Haku's deadly skill.

"Is there anything duller than listening to someone else brag? It's showtime!" Kakashi declared, Pushing Zabuza back a little and finally revealing his sharingan.

"perhaps you'll permit me one more boast. You turned a pretty phrase at our last encounter…frankly I've been dying to steal it."

Sakura had a feeling she knew where this was going and she didn't like it.

"Something to the effect of 'just so you know, the same spell won't work on me twice.' Having had the chance to see it in action, I now have a thorough understanding of the arcane workings of your sharingan. There was more to our previous battle than the apparently humiliating defeat I permitted you to hand me. Haku, who was hiding nearby, observed and studied every aspect of our fight, from beginning to end. Haku is extremely intelligent. For him to see a technique is to analyze and understand it. And with that understanding he can develop effective counter measures."

Kakashi's eyes bounced very briefly to Sakura. She was similar, but far less experience and weaker. The potential was definitely there, but as of right now, Haku's insight would definitely trump hers. She knew it too.

"Damnit! That's my only calling card at the moment! That little punk has to take everything!"

"Ok, thinking about beating his Kekkei genkai's getting me nowhere—but I should be able to figure out his analyses, right? He was watching Kakashi-sensei's sharingan…the sharingan can copy anything it sees…How would you beat something like that…?"

"By playing hide and seek." For once her repressed thoughts actually seemed to be pitching in something useful—that piece of her was competitive, and more egocentric, so it didn't take well to being shown up at one of her few strengths.

Unfortunately, she reached this conclusion too slow.

"Hidden mist jutsu!" Fog began to slowly roll in and obscure Zabuza's form.

"Sensei! He's going to try to keep you from seeing him! He'll probably hide in the mist and attack from your blind spots!"

"The last time he did this, he went directly for his real target—the bridge builder…" She cast a very quick hesitant look at the mirror dome. "There's nothing I can do for them—I can't even come up with anything. I'll just have to trust Sasuke-kun and Naruto, and focus on the mission!"

She wasted no more time in darting in front of Tazuna.

"Understood!" Kakashi called, grateful and impressed with his student's quick reverse analysis and sense of duty. "I'm counting on you to protect Tazuna!"

The fog was getting so thick, they could barely see their hands in front of their faces. Sakura could feel Tazuna's tension at her back.

"This air is charged with his energy. Stay by my side, Tazuna-san!"

"All right, Sakura…"

The fog was so thick, she had no idea how Zabuza himself could see. She could no longer see her sensei, and tried to rely on her hearing to parse what was going on with their battle.

Kakashi's ears jerked as he heard the faint whistling of several shuriken through the air. managed to block them all, but jolted when he felt Zabuza's presence behind him.

"You repelled those nicely. No less than I'd expect from the great Kakashi of the Sharing. However, the next time you see me it'll be the end…"

Kakashi looked at Zabuza, his body tense with adrenaline and anxiety. To his shock, the missing nin's eyes were closed.

"You've overestimated the value of your sharingan."

"…what?"

Zabuza laughed. "You pretend it enables you to penetrate all, but you've turned out to be a false prophet after all, Kakashi. You can neither read my mind nor the future. In other words, your precious sharingan is just an elaborate hoax, a confidence trick you play in order to psych out your opponents. More precisely, it combines clarity or perception and insight on your own part with the ability to all but hypnotize those around you! Using those skills in concert, you are able to create your illusions through a combination of mimicry—from movement to thoughts, to the skills of those you fight! Prancing around acting like you can see the future!"

Kakashi tensed even more. Zabuza's voice surrounded him in the fog, continuing to pick apart his impression of the Kakashi's visual jutsu. Sakura had been right. He was attempting to completely nullify Kakashi's eye by attacking from blindspots, reducing visablity, and giving him as little to read as possible.

"You analyze my superficial movements, copy them, and use the rapidity of the turnaround to induce fear and insecurity. Once you're certain you understand what's going on in my heart and mind, you calculate just what to say to bend my mind to your will, and then…you calculate when my insecurities have reached their fever pitch, and you lay your trap. You use hypnosis to trick me into signaling what technique I'll use and how I'll be using it. Then all you have to do is mimic it!"

"Is that right?…there has to be more to it…that sounds like a trick anyone incredibly smart and observant could pull, without some special doujutsu…" Sakura tensed, when she heard movement behind the wall of fog. "Zabuza must have made some sort of move…was Kakashi-sensei able to counter? How can he fight when he can't see anything?"

"With my eyes closed, I eliminate the possibility of your hypnotizing me while we're in close proximity."

"But then, while I can't use my own eyes, you can't use yours either!" Kakashi countered.

"Ah but you forget, I am trained in the art of silent killing. My genius lies in the ability to hunt by sound alone!"

"I almost forgot he's an assassin! If he's talking about hunting, his real target right now is—!" Sakura's eyes widened, her senses on high alert, clutching her kunai tighter. She jolted when she heard the slow draw of metal behind from behind her and Tazuna. "Damn! Of course he'd attack from our blindspot as well! I have to move fast!"

She immediately placed one foot behind Tazuna and gracefully spun and pivoted so her small body blocked as much of his back as possible, her kunai held determinedly in front of her as she faced the assassin her sensei struggled to beat.

Zabuza swung his heavy sword and to her own frustration, she felt her eyes close in anticipation of the blade's sharp sting. But it never came. She opened her eyes to see Kakashi's green vested back in front of her. He'd taken the hit for her…the same way Sasuke had been planing to when they'd been attacked by those chunin…Once again, she was staring at a teammates back because she wasn't strong enough to do anything. When she saw the blood dripping on the ground, she screamed.

Blood was dripping down from his middle and on to the ground steadily. His wound was probably deep. And across the middle wasn't an ideal place to be hit…there were too many vitals that could have been damaged.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

He grunted, one hand pressing against the wide gash on his torso.

"You were slow on your guard Kakashi. Even that inexperienced little girl was quicker than you this time. Your desire to save those brats caused the blood to rise to your head, obscuring your thoughts and vision as surely as the fog I've created does!" Zabuza gave a low chuckle. "I want to enjoy this Kakashi! Paying back what you did to me would give me the greatest pleasure! Don't worry, Haku should be finishing off those brats of yours right about now…I'll be reuniting you with them shortly. When you meet them in the afterlife, beg them to forgive your weakness and folly!" Zabuza burst into full dark laughter.

Sakura felt a resurgence of her earlier burning rage. She might have been weak and incapable, but her team wasn't. Her voice took on the previous dark edge it had, as she stepped out a little from behind Kakashi.

"You seem to have memory problems—I already told you to stop underestimating my team. Sasuke-kun won't be easy for someone like that masked boy to kill! Neither will Naruto!"

"Shannaro! You tell that eyebrow-less freak! Our team's gonna win no matter what!"

"…You're right Sakura, as usual…" Kakashi agreed. She had a tendency to be right frequently—even when she was only working with half the picture. "I have faith in them and in their strengths. Naruto's unpredictability…and Sasuke is one of the most worthy heirs to the most superior bloodline of Konoha!"

"Heir to a bloodline…Sasuke-kun has a kekkei genkai?! The way Kakashi-sensei just talked about it, it's a powerful one too…Does he know he has one? He never mentioned or showed any special jutsu before…"

The proclamation seemed to surprise Zabuza as well. "You don't mean…"

"That's right…His full name is Uchiha Sasuke. He's a ninja genius who carries in his genes the kekei genkai of the Uchiha clan!"

"He's the sole surviving member of that tragic clan, huh?" He cast a glance at the pink haired girl next to Kakashi. She'd mentioned earlier that the members of her team had been through anguish. It seemed she hadn't been bluffing, at least, not about that boy. He had a hard time imagining the goofy blond going through anything at all. And she was hard to read. Her long shiny pink hair and smooth pale skin didn't look like they'd seen any hardship, and she was clearly the weakest on her team. But the look in that kids eyes…Fine. He'd acknowledge that there was more to this group of brats than he'd initially believed. "He may actually be Haku's equal…No one has ever penetrated the secret of Haku's techniques…until now…no one…" Zabuza faded back into the mist.

"He's gone again!"

"Sakura, don't move an inch. I'll finish this as quickly as I can!"

"Don't get in the way…stay back…you can't handle this…you're too weak…" Her mind continue to translate his statement into various negative implications. She was so frustrated by her inability. "Not even Naruto or Sasuke-kun could take Zabuza, I know that—Sensei's having a hard time…but I can't even help them with Haku…I couldn't even do the one thing I'm good at and think of something useful…why am I so useless?"

Despite her previous claims, she was incredibly worried about Sasuke and Naruto. The fog was too thick to see the mirror dome, and she was too far to hear anything going on inside it clearly. When she'd been closer to it, she could at least glean some of the situation inside, but now she had no idea…

"The only thing I know is that Naruto and Sasuke-kun aren't dead yet, otherwise Haku would be fighting with Zabuza…but just cause they aren't dead doesn't mean they're winning…"

"Don't go flip-flopping now!"

"I know…I can't do anything to help…the least I can do is have faith in them…"

That was easier thought than done. It was hard for her to have faith when things so rarely went well for her…her father dying, the bullies at school, their lack of finances, her mother getting sicker and sicker, Ino leaving her (she knew it was her fault but still)…hell, even this mission was supposed to be simple with no fighting but her luck managed to throw her and her team into the third deadly situation since they left their village. She didn't past the jinx she seemed to carry to turn around and take away one or more of her teammates—one of the few good things in her life. She shook her head and tried to focus her hearing on her sensei's battle. It was all she could do, so she might as well.

"Do you truly believe, after all of the hardships, I've survived in this world armed only with the sharingan? I too was once a member of a ninja assassin corps."

She heard her sensei announce. "He…was?" She knew he was a Jonin, but she hadn't known he was anbu…

"I'll show you what kind of shinobi I once was…This isn't something I learned with my sharingan, let me show you my true art!"

Suddenly Sakura felt something in the air change. Her chakra sensing abilities weren't terrible and were improving, but she was no sensor type. But even she was able to sense how Zabuza's energy, pulsing through the fog was overshadowed by something much larger…and darker.

"Wh-what is that?! Is it Kakashi-sensei's doing? Or Zabuza's? I've never sensed anything like this before…and it doesn't feel good…"

Kakashi froze when he sensed the chakra. Unbelievable—it couldn't be, after all this time…Did the binding begin to unravel? Was the seal broken? Kakashi focused his senses carefully on Naruto and the demonic chakra. Based on what he picked up, they were safe for now. It hadn't broken through yet, not completely. But the seal had slipped a little, and there was no doubt that the power of the nine-tailed fox was bleeding through. He had to finish this quickly and get to the boys.

He flipped a scroll in the air and wet his thumb with some blood from his wound, spreading it across the scroll as he caught it and flicked it open.

"Listen to me Zabuza, I'm a busy man. You're a busy man. We've both got a lot on our plates. and it goes against the grain to even suggest this, but what do you say we stop screwing around and wrap this up right now? One big move, winner take all?" The scroll furled around Kakashi, before snapping shut in the air. The Jonin caught it, balancing it in his thumbs as he wove a hand sign.

"An intriguing notion. What's left, Kakashi? Show me what you've got!"

He ran through a series of hand signs, before slamming the scroll on the ground, his hands on top of it. "Summoning technique! Earth style! Fanged vengeance jutsu!"

"This posturing will get you nowhere, Kakashi! You can't even tell where I truly am! While I, on the other hand, know exactly where you are and exactly how to defeat you! You're completely caught in my jutsu!" An odd rumbling and scraping sound cut him off. The ground around Zabuza's feet exploded and soon he was surrounded by snarling, growling canines.

"What's that sound?" She listened closely to the deep guttural snarling and growls emanating from the fog that obscured her sensei and his opponent from view. "It sounds like…dogs…"

"When your eyes and ears have let you down…you can always follow your nose!"

Eight different dogs, cloaked in various capes and vests, all wearing the konoha hitai-ate, all had their teeth clamped around various parts of Zabuza, holding his legs, arms, torso, and even his sword in place.

"It worked because you shut your eyes in the mist. This summoning is specifically designed for tracking. It's why I went out of my way to bleed a bit during both of our earlier encounters."

"That psycho planned to get hit?!"

"He…really planned that far ahead into the battle? That's amazing! Although it's dangerous to let yourself get hit and bleed that much…"

"…My little ninja pups couldn't miss it. The smell of my blood is all over you and your weapons, so thick…every dog has his nose, and they all know you stink. So, who's caught in who's jutsu now?"

Zabuza grunted. The pain of having eight dogs with very sharp teeth and strong jaws biting into him hard was starting to get to him.

"The fog is lifting. I can see your future…Your future is death."

"You say my future is death? I've had enough of your bluffs."

"Who's bluffing now? There's no way out. Face it. You're going to die. Zabuza…You've had your fun. You schemed your schemes. The day you deserted the Land of Mist, and became a missing nin, your name and actions were reported to Konoha. We know all about the failed coup you and your followers staged, and about the attempt to assassinate the Mizukage. You've been trying to raise funds for a second attempt, and barely staying a jump ahead of the shinobi hunters…which is what brought you here. It's why you'd stoop to work for a parasite like Gato."

Kakashi wove several rapid hand signs, holding on to his right wrist as chakra concentrated into his hand, becoming electricity. "Chidori!"

Zabuza could see the chakra in his palm. The blood from the wound on his hand sizzled with the electricity enveloping it.

"You're a loose cannon…The man you're trying to kill, Tazuna-san, is the heart and spirit of this place. And the bridge you're trying to prevent him from completing is this land's hope. You're willing to sacrifice this place and everyone in it, just to advance your own ambitions. That's not what a true shinobi does."

"Spare me the civics lesson and philosophy. I'm fighting for my own ideals. And I'm not about to stop."

"I'll say this just once more…Give up. Your future is death."

Sakura studied the fog in front of her…it seemed to be lightening a little.

"That super thick fog is starting to dissipate…I see two people. But it looks like they're just glaring at each other… It's hard to make out…which is your Kakashi-sensei?" Tazuna asked from behind her.

She didn't know the answer. She didn't know what was going on. And she hated not knowing. She could hear everything the two said, but that still left a lot of questions to be answered and didn't paint much of a picture of the battle. "Judging from what they said, Kakashi-sensei has the upper hand right now…"

She heard something like birds chirping, but couldn't place what the sound was…she knew it wasn't bird calls, no matter how much it sounded like it. She'd spent enough time in the woods to recognize various different patterns of bird song…this sound had no pattern. She assumed it had to be related to her sensei's big finishing move—'chidori,' he'd called it. But the two blurry figures only just becoming visible gave no indication of who was who.

"One of them's moving! Is it sensei's finishing move? Or did he goad Zabuza into attacking?"

Suddenly there was a small cry…a third figure had appeared directly in front of the stationary one. At the worst moment possible, the fog cleared enough for Sakura to see everything. She saw Kakashi shove his hand, crackling with electricity, through Haku's chest—he'd had too much momentum to stop and the now mask-less boy had come out of nowhere at the last minute. She saw the boys blood splatter everywhere, on the ground, on Zabuza, on Kakashi…blood dripped from the boy's mouth.

Sakura's eyes widened, her hands shot to her mouth to keep in a scream. She'd seen her mom dying slowly, daily, but this was her first time really seeing someone kill someone else. It was so quick. And there was so much blood…

"Zabuza…s-sir…" Haku tried to speak.

"You said my future was death…but you missed again, Kakashi."

"Isn't that the boy in the mask…?" Tazuna murmured quietly beside her. She couldn't bring herself to speak. It was…truly horrible. Facts from every anatomy and medical book screamed through her head at how Kakashi shouldn't pull his arm out, or the boy would definitely bleed out…not that it mattered much. Kakashi had his hand through Haku's chest. There was no way he hadn't hit a single vital…he'd either ruptured the heart or a lung, maybe both. There was practically nothing anyone could do to come back from that. She'd said earlier that if they had to kill, her team could, but now she wasn't so sure…She definitely wouldn't be able to kill anyone like that—skill required aside. Maybe she could bring herself to kill someone from a far, but she wouldn't be able to handle her arm being inside someone, feeling their blood soak into her…just thinking about it was making her feel nauseous.

Kakashi stared at the boy impaled on his arm in surprise. He had not been his target, and this kill felt…wrong. The boy was already dead.

"…That was brilliant, Haku…" Zabuza said. The hounds holding him had disappeared when Kakashi impaled Haku. The man grabbed at his giant sword. Kakashi knew he was willing to completely cut through the boy to get to him.

Sakura knew it too. "Kakashi-sensei!" She cried in alarm. Witnessing one death war more than enough for today…she really didn't want to see her sensei cut in half too.

"I really did find a treasure in that gutter…To think he'd grant me this marvelous chance in the end!" Zabuza jeered, racing towards the silver haired jonin and swinging his sword.

Kakashi grabbed Haku and leapt away. He laid the boy down a couple meters from where they'd been standing before, his right hand dripping with the boy's blood.

"So…you were able to get away because poor Haku was already dead."

"…Wait, if Haku was able to jump into Kakashi-sensei's battle, then what happened to Sasuke-kun and Naruto?" Anxiety was making her throat tighten.

Kakashi closed Haku's eyes gently. "Naruto…stay out of this. This is my fight!"

"Naruto?!"

The fog cleared enough for Sakura to see Naruto standing about five meters away from Kakashi.

"Naruto! Thank god, you're alive!" The relief she felt was very short lived when she noticed Sasuke wasn't with him. "What about Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto didn't answer right away. She felt her heart drop. "Naruto! Where's Sasuke-kun?" Her tone was sharp and desperate. Naruto flinched and looked away.

"…no…no it can't be…please no!" Her body began shaking.

"Focus Kakashi! Don't let your self be distracted!" Zabuza called charging at Kakashi. Sakura couldn't pay attention. It was like everything had frozen. The only thing she was aware of was her desperate need to get to Sasuke.

"I…Tazuna-san…mission…" Even her thoughts were disjointed. It felt like her lungs were constricting. She really needed to get to Sasuke.

Tazuna stared at the girl shaking silently in front of him. He'd spent more time with her over the past week than anyone else, and he'd been able to tell she felt something more for Sasuke than just teammates. He was a little surprised that she hadn't immediately sprinted for him. Now that he thought about it though, the girl had always taken the mission to protect him very seriously. She was always the one staying close to him, the first to move in front of him to try to block him from harm. The only time she'd ever left his side the whole battle was when she first attempted to help break her teammates from the mirror dome. And she'd returned the second Zabuza started attacking in earnest. She had always been the most responsible and even now, duty was glueing her to his side, instead of allowing her to act on her own need.

"I'll stay with you so that you won't be disobeying your sensei's orders." He said kindly, taking her hand.

Sakura didn't say anything. The surge of gratitude she felt was almost instantly muted by her panic. Holding the bridge builder's calloused hand tightly, she darted off. She had enough presence of mind to scan Naruto for injuries as she neared him, but seeing none visible and knowing he healed fast anyway, she didn't slow down or stop as she passed him.

She slowed to a stop when she reached Sasuke's body, staring down at him, wide eyed with horror and unable to intake a breath. She knelt next to him, feeling a burning in her eyes she hadn't allowed herself to feel for two years. She shouldn't be allowing herself to feel it now…

"Check first…maybe he's not actually dead…" That part of her always childishly held on to hope. She raised her shaking hand to his cheek.

"He's…so cold…"

"The mirrors were made of ice. It could be residual."

She dropped her shaking fingers to his neck, but she couldn't find a pulse. Not even her childishly hopeful repressed self could deny that one.

"This…isn't an illusion, it it…?" She knew it wasn't. She was desperately grasping at anything to deny what was in front of her. But she couldn't. She'd read enough medical books to know. Cold, no pulse, not breathing. Definitely meant he was dead.

Her vision started to distort with tears and her breathing was growing more uneven.

"I…I can't just leave him like this…"

"S-Sasuke-kun…"

She took a deep shuddering breath and did her best to steady her shaking fingers as she slowly and carefully began to pull out the needles she knew for a fact weren't near anything vital. She put all of her attention into the activity in an attempt to stop herself from crying. It wasn't working very well.

Tazuna studied the girl in front of him sadly, pulling out needles, and pressing small wads of fabric against the wounds. She was trembling. Her breathing was uneven. She had yet to really cry though. And she looked like she needed too. But she hadn't. He frequently forgot she was twelve. She didn't act like it. In that moment he saw her adult-like persona wrestling with the child who lost someone dear and wanted nothing more than to scream and cry. It wasn't right.

"Don't hold back for my sake. There are times when it's right to give in and shed some good honest tears." He told her gently.

"I…Always got perfect scores on all my tests in school." Her voice was strained, though still even. She didn't stop her work of removing needles.

"I memorized each and every one of the hundred rules of conducts a shinobi must follow. I used to write them out with pride…we had a test one day and the question was, 'what is the twenty fifth rule of shinobi conduct?' Just like always, I wrote it down." The tears she'd been working so hard to hold back began to fall.

"No matter what happens," her voice broke, "true shinobi must never…ever…show their emotions! Th-the mission is the only priority. Carry that in your heart. And n-never, never, shed a tear…" Her tears fell on Sasuke's cold face. She sobbed. Her fingers stilling on a needle, not trusting herself to pull it out straight with how much she was shaking.

Tazuna watched her sadly. So this is what a shinobi was…it was unbearable.

"Sasuke-kun…I…I knew I had bad luck but…this is…this is too much…why him? Why take him? Why can't one good thing in my life remain intact for once?!" She grit her teeth, her hands fisting tightly. She needed to take the needles out. He wouldn't like looking like this…she'd leave the ones in vital places in so people knew how he died—how skilled his opponent had to be to kill him—but she needed to remove the additional ones. They would have pierced his dignity if they were left in. She couldn't stop crying, but she managed to reign herself in enough to keep pulling out needles.

She lost all concept of time or what was happening around her. She paid no attention to her Sensei's battle. No attention to any of the words or blows exchanged, nor to who was winning. The only thing in her numb mind was pulling out needles, and tears. A new voice peripherally invaded her ears, but she didn't pay any attention to it until she heard a name.

"Gato…what are you doing here? And…why…did you…bring…all of them?"

Sakura's attention turned to the man she hated with every fiber of her being. Gato and a very large, heavily armed crowed stood at the five meters from where Kakashi had laid Haku.

She didn't hear anything the man said. She couldn't. Her numb mind failed to process anything other than extreme dislike for the billionaire, Sasuke being dead, needles, and tears. After far longer than it should have taken her, she finally made a connection.

"If he's here…with an army…he'll probably go after the bridge builder…"

"Tazuna-san, stay behind me." She said. Her voice was detached yet tear choked. She was still shaking. Tears still streamed from her eyes. She was in no mental or emotional shape to fight, but she wasn't about to let the bridge builder die as well, and take what little hope these people had left with him. She forced herself to rise and planted herself in front of him. Kunai clenched in her shaking hand.

Tazuna blinked down at her pink head. This girl was one of the most responsible people he'd ever met. And far stronger than anyone gave her credit for. Even herself.

Sakura watched the preceedings without absorbing any of it. She was only able to bring her real awareness to the five meter radius around her and the bridge builder. If anyone unfriendly entered that range, she'd attack. But she couldn't bring herself to pay attention to anything out of that radius.

She saw Gato kick Haku's corpse. Heard Naruto yell at Zabuza about how much Haku cared about him. Saw Zabuza turn to Naruto with tears in his eyes before charging Gato and the thug army in front of him. Too much happened for her to passively take in clearly, but Gato fell—Zabuza, with several weapons sticking out of his back, standing over the dead billionaire, before falling himself.

Sakura figured the thugs would no longer do anything now that their boss was gone—if they did, Kakashi and Naruto could probably handle it. And she'd keep her awareness to the five meter radius…but she had to finish getting the needles out of Sasuke.

"You…should be safe now, Tazuna-san…" She murmured, before dropping to her knees next to Sasuke again and resuming her task.

Looking at his dead body again, after having looked away for a while, grief hit her anew. A fresh onslaught of tears and sobs wracked through her as she pulled out the needles.

"Why am I crying so hard? Why can't I stop?" This was abnormal for her…she hadn't cried in two years. She'd wanted too, but she hadn't. She couldn't afford to. But now that she started, she couldn't stop…"Why him? Why my team…It was the one good thing I had…Why'd he have to be taken away?"

"Sasuke-kun…" She sobbed.

The only thing Sasuke could process was dark. He must be dead…except then he heard his own heart beat. It wouldn't be beating if he was dead, right? He was vaguely aware of the sound of someone sobbing. Who was that? There was no one left to cry over him. His family was gone. Then he heard a soft, feminine, tear choked voice.

"Sasuke-kun…"

Sakura…?! That was definitely Sakura's voice…She was ok then, he'd heard her scream earlier…why was she crying? She couldn't be crying for him, that was something you only did over important people, like your family. He couldn't mean that much to her…but his words always had a strong effect on her…could she really care about him so much as to cry over his death…if he was thinking all this, then could he actually be…was he…alive?

His eyes slowly opened to reveal Sakura, who was indeed crying over him. Her tears dripped on to his torso as she bent over him, slowly and carefully removing needles despite her shaking hands.

"…Sakura…That hurts…" Her watery green eyes turned to his and he could see the tears streaming down her face. She really was crying for him…a lot. She was always guarded…there were many times he thought she was about to cry and then she just didn't. She was always biting back her thoughts and emotions, but here she was, actually fully crying over him.

Sakura stared at him in shocked disbelief for a brief moment, processing that his eyes were open, that he was speaking to her, that he was breathing…and then relief crashed into her with so much force that she somehow managed to cry harder. She wasn't thinking, had no concept of what she was doing, as she threw her arms around him and pulled him tightly against her.

"Sasuke-kun! Oh my god! Sasuke-kun! Thank god! I thought you were dead! I thought—"

"Sakura…you're hurting me…"

"Oh! S-sorry…" She loosened her arms a little but didn't let go.

Sasuke was shocked. Not only was Sakura crying for him, but she was hugging him as well. The last person to hug him had been his mother…and Sakura was relieved he was alive. She was truly thankful that his eyes had opened. He didn't think there was anyone who would feel that way about him again. Usually, he didn't like people invading his personal space, but he found himself unwilling to push her off. Her warmth seeped slowly into his chest, warming his cold skin.

It took Sakura several moments to process that she was hugging Sasuke, who seemed like the type to not like having his personal space invaded. It took several more moments to bring herself to release him—it took more will power than she would have thought to let go. When she finally did, he pushed himself onto his knees, his hands pressed into the ground for support. He noted the pile of bloody needles next to him.

"Don't try to move!" Sakura yelled, her medical book knowledge emerging again.

"The needles I didn't remove are close to vitals…if he moves he could shift them and hurt himself more."

"…I'm alright…How's Naruto? And that…little creep in the mask…what happened to him?"

"Naruto's fine! You however, are definitely not!" Sakura answered stubbornly.

"I thought I lost him once. I'm not about to let him actually kill himself by doing something stupid."

"The masked boy is dead." She answered the last part once she was satisfied that he wasn't trying to move more.

"Dead?! Did Naruto…?"

"N-no…I mean…I'm not sure. I couldn't see too well with Zabuza's fog…But the boy died trying to protect Zabuza from Kakashi-sensei."

"If he's alive, that means none of the needles actually hit vitals, so as long as I'm careful, they should be safe to remove."

"Don't move. I'm going to take out the last of the needles, but they're closer to vitals, so if I don't take them out straight, you actually could die."

There was silence as Sakura leaned in closer to Sasuke, the top of her head and soft pink hair brushing against against his cheek. He caught a whiff of aloe, green tea, lemon and something floral.

Sakura was thankful the angle hid her face because she was blushing furiously—which on top of the tears was just…a lot. When she removed the last senbon from his neck, the silence broke.

"I…was afraid…I thought…" Sasuke murmured, staring absently at her hair. It was just like during the bell test. For some unknown reason, he was admitting to her things that he'd never admit out loud to anyone else. During the bell test it was that he'd cried that night. Now it was that he'd been afraid…afraid that he was really going to die. Afraid that once he was out of the picture, Naruto was going to die. When he'd heard her scream, afraid that she'd died…afraid of losing what little he had, again.

Sakura didn't look at him when she pulled away, focusing her attention on the remaining needles in his chest and stomach.

"Sasuke-kun…He's actually talking about what he felt…"

"So did I…I couldn't hear or see anything about your battle when I had to go back to Tazuna-san—I was so worried about you. Both of you. None of these senbon hit vitals, so it's unclear if he was really trying to kill you or not…he could have been trying and you were skilled enough that he couldn't make the shot cleanly…or he may have never intended to kill you at all. Even so, enough non-vital wounds can still be really damaging or lead to death from blood loss. His words didn't quite match his actions, so there's no way to know. But Sasuke-kun," she finally looked up into his troubled, tired, onyx eyes, after pulling out the last needle, "I don't really care…you, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei are alive. That's all that matters to me."

Sasuke blinked slowly. Her words melted his icy fear, anxiety, and inferiority like snow in spring. The fact that he wasn't the one to defeat Haku didn't mean he was weak. The fact that he survived didn't mean it was only because Haku spared him. He'd made the boy tired and desperate enough to focus solely on attacking Naruto because he couldn't even hit Sasuke. He'd awoken his sharingan during that fight. He hadn't lost. He hadn't died. Neither had Naruto. All of these things were good.

"Oh! Naruto still thinks you're…" Sakura couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, instead turning and calling, "Naruto!"

The blond, who'd been standing next to Kakashi, jerked at the sound of her voice. He was worried she'd hate him for letting Sasuke die in his place. He knew she liked him—she was always looking at him and blushing…the idea that she might hate him terrified the blond. Sakura meant so much too Naruto. He always thought she was pretty, but more than that, she cared about him. Sure, she yelled at him a lot, but it was…kind of nice. She actually had expectations of him and got mad when he didn't meet them. She was one of the very few people who did have standards for him and wanted him to succeed. He couldn't be more grateful to her for that. She was one of the last people he wanted to see look at him with hatred and disgust. But he deserved it this time. And he should get it over with.

He turned, but stopped short when he noticed Sakura was smiling.

"Sasuke-kun's alive! He's alright, Naruto! Our team's ok!"

Naruto's eyes widened, before his gaze fell on the raven haired boy, who looked away but raised an arm in greeting. Tears of relief pooled at the corners of his eyes when he turned and looked back at Haku.

Kakashi let out a sigh of relief as well. He'd been worrying since the fight began, but it seemed Sasuke made it! Fantastic!

"HEY!" everyone's attention turned to the thug army.

"Those moron's are still here?"

"Aren't you sweethearts forgetting something?! You ninja killed our meal ticket! And now you're gonna die! The only way we can break even now…is to overrun the city and loot every business and home!" This declaration was met with loud cheers of agreement.

"The hell they will!"

"This city barely has anything as is—there's no way I'm gonna let them take what little these people have!"

Sakura immediately slid in front of Tazuna, kunai back in hand, green eyes glaring fiercely.

"Let's go!" The army of thugs charged but immediately stopped when an arrow lodged in the ground directly in front of them. Sakura whirled around to see a crowd of villages, with Inari in front leading the pack, a cross-bow clutched in his small hand.

"Stop where you are. This island is our home. One step further and you'll die where you stand!"

"Inari…all of you…" Tazuna murmured, tears forming in his eyes. Sakura understood why. All he had wanted was to restore his home's spirit. And here it was.

"Inari!" Naruto yelled, excited.

"It's being a hero, you know? All that nick of time stuff!" The child said with a big smile, like the two were sharing some sort of inside joke.

"Good one, kid! Mind if I join in too? Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto called summoning five more of him.

Kakashi didn't have much chakra left, but he figured they just needed a bluff more than anything. "Shadow clone jutsu!" He summoned several clones—a truly intimidating number to the thugs. "Now, shall we?"

"Never mind! Run away!" The army of thugs stampeded for the boat they arrived on, taking off as soon as the last foot hit the deck. The citizens all cheered the victory. The clones poofed away.

"…looks like it's all over…eh Kakashi?" Zabuza wasn't dead yet, though he had barely any breath left in him.

"Yeah."

"Do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"…I want to…see…his face."

"Sure." Kakashi said sadly, tugging his hitai-ate down so it covered his sharingan.

He picked up the man and laid him down next to Haku, as it started to snow. It had been such a mild winter and had been sunny before. The snow came from nowhere.

"…Thank you…Kakashi…if I could…if I were able…I would want to go…to the same place…on the other side…as you." Zabuza said his final words to Haku as his eyes closed.

"…He…was born in a village where it snows a lot…" Naruto sniffled.

"I see. He was a pure spirit—as true and clean as a newly fallen snow." Kakashi answered, looking at the sad scene before him.

Sakura watched from a far, before sticking out her hand and catching a snowflake. Her mother told her it had snowed the day she was born. That winter had apparently been a long and hard one, and even though her birthday was in late march, there'd been a snow storm. Her mother said that had been the last one that season. That spring finally began after she was born. Since hearing that though, she'd always loved snow. It felt…familiar. Friendly.

"I wonder if Haku felt the same way about snow as I did…" She looked at the two bodies a ways in front of her. It was hard for her, who hadn't had much contact with the boy, to feel truly saddened by either ninja's death.

"Thank you…for not killing my teammates or my sensei…" It was an honest thought, and the best she could do.

---

The bridge was finished five days later. Those who'd left the project rejoined, and now that the threat was lifted and more people had hope, more volunteered to help. Between them and team 7, who followed Sakura's lead and aided with construction, the bridge was completed quickly. There had been a funeral for those workers who had been killed before the fight with Haku and Zabuza. She didn't have funeral clothes with her, but Sakura attended none the less. She'd worked with those men, it was the least she could do to pay her respects.

The team decided to pay their respects to Zabuza and Haku as well. They'd buried them on the shore not too far from the end of this finished bridge. Sakura placed a flower wreath around the wood cross they'd erected as a grave stone for Haku's grave. They were differentiated by the giant sword sticking up behind Zabuza's grave marker. Flowers and a plate of food had been laid at each.

In her peripheral vision she saw a hand reaching for some of the food, and immediately slapped it away.

"What sneaky, greedy trick is he up to now?!"

"Are you kidding me? Don't be greedy! You eat an offering, you'll be punished by the gods!" She yelled. She never did fully understand the point of food offerings. It felt wasteful. Surely the living needed the food more than the dead did…but Sakura wasn't about to risk it. Her luck was bad enough as it was, without inviting in trouble.

Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry Sakura-chan…"

Sakura turned her attention back to the two graves, thinking back on everything Zabuza said about Ninja.

"Just tools to be use or be used…Is that really how it is?"

"I'm not that disposable, damnit!"

"Kakashi-sensei…?"

Kakashi's attention shifted lazily to Sakura. "Hmmm?"

"I can't help wondering. Were those two right about what a ninja should be?"

"A shinobi shouldn't be concerned with a reason for her own existence…it is important merely that we exist as a tool for our homeland to use in whatever they need. That's as true for us in Konoha as it is for ninja anywhere else."

"Is that really what becoming a full fledged ninja's gonna be about? I don't like the sound of it!" Naruto decided.

"Do you really feel the way, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked with a side glance at their teacher. He didn't like the sound of being used, a mere tool, either. Kakashi didn't answer right away, so Sakura spoke instead.

"I don't think you do…Otherwise why ask us what our dreams for the future are? They wouldn't matter if our only true purpose was to become our homeland's weapon…besides, if that's truly how you felt, you wouldn't have agreed to finish this mission. This mission had more risk for Konoha than benefit. They could have lost four of their ninja and there wasn't just compensation for the difficulty level…if you truly thought of yourself as a tool for Konoha and nothing more, you wouldn't have followed through with this…"

Kakashi studied his pink haired student. She understood people far better than the average twelve year old. That was good. That was the one thing Naruto and Sasuke needed more than anything else. It wasn't ideal how weak she was, hopefully she'd grow and get stronger, but even without being much use in a fight, she was invaluable to this team.

"…You're right, as usual. I don't feel that way. And that's why all we ninja live our lives with that ideal bubbling under the surface of our minds, disturbing us…Like it did to Zabuza…and the boy…"

"That's it. I've made up my mind! I'm going to create my own nindo—my own ninja path. My own destiny!" Naruto stated determinedly.

Kakashi smiled at the boy behind his mask, admiring the boy's spirit. If any ninja could shed the expectation of simply being a weapon, ironically, it was Naruto.

---

Later that day, team 7 stood at the foot of the bridge, in front of Tazuna's family to say their goodbyes.

"Thanks to you, our bridge is finally complete. But it's going to be awfully dull around here, once you're gone." Tazuna said.

"We enjoyed your hospitality." Kakashi answered.

Sakura bowed politely. "Thank you for sharing your home and food with us." Tsunami pulled her into a hug when she straightened. She had a feeling Tsunami had figured out that Sakura was in a similar financial situation to them, and was grateful for both her kinship and her discretion.

"No problemo Tazuna, my man!" Naruto cheered loudly. "We'll come back to play with you again sometime!"

"You better…" Inari sniffled.

Hearing Inari holding back tears got to Naruto too, soon his sky blue eyes grew watery. "Inari…don't let it get you down. It's ok to cry if you really want!" Naruto comforted with a strained smile.

"I'm not gonna cry! B-but Naruto-niisan…Y-you can cry! Go ahead!"

"Me? No way. See you." Naruto muttered, turning around abruptly and blubbering. The second his back turned, Inari turned on the waterworks too.

"Boneheads…"

"Inari-chan might be really lonely now…it seems like Naruto was the closest thing he had to a friend…"

"Hey, Inari-chan? Can you do me a favor?"

"Uh, s-sure. What is it?" The boy sniffled again.

"Can you tell Ageha-chan I say bye, and take care?"

"Oh! Um…ok, but…" The last time Inari had tried talking to any of the other city kids, he'd almost drowned…of course, they'd all been older boys, but it still made him nervous.

"She's really nice, smart, and brave, like you Inari-chan. Try talking to her, I think you'll get along." She smiled.

"O-ok." Inari blushed and looked away.

Tazuna and Tsunami smiled gratefully at her, as she said her final goodbyes and turned away, catching up with the rest of her team.

"What was that about?" Sasuke asked. Sakura gave a light smile.

"Nothing really. Just playing match maker." Honestly she didn't care whether they dated or not. She just wanted to give Inari a friend his age. It seemed he only had adults.

"Hn…" Her words sounded like those of a twelve year old girl, but he thought the tone hadn't quite matched…if it had been one of his fangirls, he pictured their tone would be more mischievous and flirty.

"All right! Let's get home. Iruka-sensei's gonna take me out for ramen noodles to celebrate us accomplishing our mission! And then…and then, you know, I have to tell Konohamaru my epic tale of martial arts bravery—!"

Sakura was also anxious to get home. She was worried about her mom. She'd never left her unattended for so long. She'd been able to compartmentalize while on the mission, but now that they were headed home, she couldn't shake the worry she'd been putting off. A small piece of her—a piece she truly hated—dreaded going home. Back to the small prison cell of an apartment, and the crushing weight of all her responsibilities. While she was on the mission, she felt free for the first time in a while. She'd had time to train. Time to dance—and not just to make some money. Tsunami had made sure she ate well, and she'd gotten to spend a lot of time with Sasuke.

"I want to keep getting to know him better…but when I'm home, I'm not going to have the time anymore. I'm gonna need to look after mom. And I'm gonna be behind in rent since there's been two weeks without any money—this will only pay like a C-rank, which is only slightly more than D-ranks pay…" Her eyes slid to Sasuke. "Ugh, why am I letting this bother me now? I've always known I didn't have time for a boyfriend or anything…and why would he even be interested in me anyway?"

"It's not fair!"

"It's the way it is."

Sasuke felt her eye on him and glanced over. Why was she looking at him like that? Why did she look…sad…?

"Oh hey! Uh, Sakura-chan, when we get back, would you wanna go out with me?"

Both Sakura and Sasuke snapped their gaze to Naruto in shock. What did that idiot think he was saying? And why did it bug him so much.

"Uh, No…" She only realized how harsh that was after it left her mouth, and winced. "I mean—sorry Naruto, but no thank you…" She doubted she'd have time anyways…

"Aww by why not Sakura-chan!" The blond whined, giving her puppy dog eyes.

"Knock it off! I said no!" She snapped.

"But Sakura-chaaaaan!"

"Just shut up, Loser!" Sasuke barked, feeling unnecessarily annoyed by Naruto's whining.

Kakashi sighed. Looks like those three were back to business as usual.

---

Author's note: Woof. That was rough-Zabuza and Kakashi talk a looooot. I'm trying to keep it as close to the story as possible, but it makes some scenes a bit daunting...

I'm sorry if the time jumps are a little jarring. I'm following the scenes of the manga and anime, but they're both graphic so the transitions are a bit more obvious. I'll try and be more clear about that. I also went back and edited some of the spelling/grammar mistakes on the last few chapters.

In case anyone is curious, Sakura's dance style is similar to Chinese Classical. It has a lot of visual similarities to Ballet, although Chinese Classical uses more props and has more acrobatics and floor work built into it.

Thank you so so much for all the reads follows and reviews! You guys are the absolute best! Please keep it up-especially the reviews! They make me so happy and motivated.

Thanks for reading! :)