DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from the Naruto universe. This is my Mito, though.
Thinking (+ flashbacks, "Mito speaking to Kurama in her mindscape," etc.)
Emphasis
Bijuu, etc. speaking
Bijuu, etc. thinking
"What the hell is going on, Haku? WHY would you and Zabuza attack Konoha ninjas?"
Haku gasped. "I… they… W- we're on a mission! Those Konoha nins had to be poaching or rum-running the people we're looking for."
Mito's chains moved with her as she moved to face him. She put her hands on her hips. "Explain. I promise you, Haku, Hatake Kakashi's team is NOT involved in trafficking anyone. But I am working on a missing persons investigation, myself. If what you're saying is true, maybe we can help each other."
Haku didn't realize how much he'd messed up until a barrier made of chains separated him from his master.
"Why did you do it?" Mito asked in a deadly, quiet voice.
"Haku?" Zabuza asked blearily. Sharingan no Kakashi and his rag-tag group of brats had done quite a number on him - and his brat, Haku, had only made things worse by paralyzing him. The effects of his kid's senbon attack/save were still lingering.
"Guess again."
Zabuza opened his eyes to find thick chains surrounding most of the shitty, makeshift bedroom he was in - a barrier! - his apprentice on the other side trying to reach him - finally even using his sword to try to get to him. He also had chains wrapping him up, almost like a sushi roll. "Holy shit. Would you look who it is?!"
"Explain before I get angry."
"Ahh. 'Fox,' right? Hmm… Shouuuuuld I say it's good to see you again?"
"Fuck off. You attacked someone important to me!"
"What? Are you involved with Cold Kill Sharingan no Kakashi?" For a couple of reasons, that idea pissed him off. –He blew that off.
"No. Times expiring, Zabby-kun. You'd best explain yourself before we have a problem, ne?"
Zabuza slowly nodded - fully awake, then; noting the way that Namikaze Mito's - and it IS definitely her - normally magnificently beautiful eyes continued to flicker to red with slightly slitted pupils as if she was barely holding her bijuu chakra back. (That intel was thanks to Ao: that giant asshole couldn't keep his big mouth closed about it.) "Haku and I are on a mission."
"Tick. Tick."
"Aaaaand, CHILDREN have gone missing in Water Country, Foxy!" Shit: he knew Fox loved kids but that last little pet name left his lips before his brain caught up with him. Fortunately the beautiful woman with the… "I liked your hair better when it was purple." Why did he say that?
Right: Haku's tender mercies and homemade pain reliever had caused him to be a little off. Plus he liked to mouth off.
The woman's growling became a little more apparent –something between a purr and a snarl.
God, that is hot!
Zabuza groaned painfully, raising his fingers as much as he was allowed from within her chains to show that he wasn't carrying. Well, he was: he had a lot of kunai he couldn't reach but no damn sword under the covers - but hopefully, the gesture would calm her down. "Mei-sama sent us on a mission to find some missing people. Civilians: mainly girls, along with a bunch of shinobis' kids that were supposed to return after Yagura was put down. Adults too - along with some kids that were reported missing as much as a decade or more ago, so they're grown now if they're alive. After Mei-sama went through records and listened to worried families, we found out that the kids didn't go where they were supposed to. They all came this way, Foxy."
"You got orders from her that I can see?"
"Hell no! What am I, a newbie? Don't insult me."
"Yeah, I don't have orders on me, either. But I'm looking for some folks, too." Mito felt a group of civilians coming and hid, dropping her chains and camouflaging her presence as she moved to another high corner of the room.
A very short man in a western-style, retro suit and Rayban sunglasses came in, arguing with a relieved Zabuza and incredibly freaked out and then angry Haku, talking about Kakashi's (her brother's!) team. After much monologuing and posturing, Mito found the shipping magnate, Gato, to be a total scumbag. –An awfully bold one, but that didn't change anything.
As soon as he and his entourage were gone, Mito dodged the senbon Haku threw at her and flashed around the room, wrapping both him and Zabu (and Zabuza's giant sword) in her chains after rattling the building with a chakra-infused toe tap - as soon as the civilians were out of range. She winked at Haku when she released the camouflage jutsu. "Good sensing - but you're about a hundred years too early to take me on, Gaki." She felt bad when Haku looked teary-eyed and panicked. "Aww. Who am I kidding? You're really good, Haku-kun. Within the decade you'll definitely be able to challenge me but don't forget: I'll be improving during that time, too!"
Haku grinned shyly. "Thank you, sensei."
"Oh for fuck's sake."
Mito frowned at Zabuza before awkwardly rubbing the back of her head. "Anyway, um, I can't believe THAT guy is THE Gato. –What are you two doing with that little shitstain?" She could guess but still…
"Right?" Zabuza agreed wholeheartedly. "Gato IS a shitstain: that's a perfect handle for him. He's an in; much as you used Mangetsu, hm?" He smirked when Fox looked so uncomfortable: Foxy hadn't exactly been sluethy about using the kid - not that he blamed her or was unhappy she'd done it. "Gato trades EVERYWHERE, even outside the Elemental Nations, so we thought…"
"He might have taken those you're looking for," Mito noted, more than asked.
"Exactly," Haku nodded excitedly.
"Mayyybe, Haku, maybe he's responsible," Zabuza drawled, correcting his apprentice. "Gato's up to his neck in filth, that's for sure."
"That's not really that much filth," Mito said, making a shitty comment about the man's height. Zabuza bobbed his head, raising one of his regrowing eyebrows with a smirk, and continued.
"If it's not him, I'm sure he knows who's involved. I'm here but we've got other operatives looking into the yakuza. Our intel suggests that Wave's a key stop if nothing else. We know he's also got some pirates he's using."
"Pirates?" Mito asked in surprise, her eyes beginning to twinkle. Mito wanted to meet a real pirate.
"Maybe he took your people, too, Fox-sensei," Haku added. "Er…."
"Mito. I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me Fox for now."
Haku sucked in a breath. "Your Adamantine Chakra Chains are a technique only the Uzumakis hold," he commented, repeating what his shishou had told him. "Uzumaki Naruto; the boy I met while I was gathering herbs!"
That little stinker, Mito thought. Knowing that Haku was a sensor, she had carefully - although speedily - approached when Naruto and Haku were introducing themselves to one another but hadn't heard the whole conversation. At least Haku didn't use his last name! Naruto did, apparently.
"...THAT'S who you care about in the group we fought," Haku grinned.
"Perhaps," Mito said with a stretch and yawn. "You realize that threatening one of my comrades or perhaps even my clansmen means I gotta take your master's sword, don't ya?"
"What?!"
Zabuza's eyes went wide, darting between them. "Now wait just a minute!"
"Nope; I need leverage for my fellow Leaf nins. I'm gonna take it, and I might even break it again. –And NO BLOOD FOR YOU TO FIX YOUR BIG SWORD!" Mito almost shook her fist at him but controlled her angry self. How dare this nice boy mention her little brother in a situation like this! "When are you going to be back on your feet?"
"You could heal him," Haku requested in a small voice, hoping that she would. "I didn't mean anything about Naruto-kun, and… Zabuza-sama heals fast, sensei. I'm sure it wouldn't take much for you to heal him."
"Haku," Zabuza scolded. "She's holding us hostage!"
"I am not," Mito hissed. Haku seemed genuine enough about Naruto, she guessed. "I'm just… not sure where to go from here, now that I've got you all chained up, to tell you the truth."
Zabuza stared at her in disbelief for a minute before breaking out in husky laughter. "You might be a genius medic, but it seems you can also be an idiot. –-Which suits me, fine. And no one's threatening ANYONE." He ignored the voice in his head that reminded him that he was all tied up in the vixen's chains.
The Namikaze Mito he'd gotten to know as Fox was a nice woman: really rough around the edges but a hell of an ally for Kiri.
Mei-sama adored her.
"Yeah," Mito disagreed, knowing that she was blushing in embarrassment and very unsure of what was best to do now. "Okay. Where's your wound?"
"No way," Zabuza complained. Foxy's chain began unraveling but before he could do anything, split into sections to hold his hands and legs down. "Impressive - and kinky."
"Th-thank you?"
Mito winced when she pulled away his carefully applied bandages and saw that his studly abs had been burned by lightning chakra. Kunai littered the bed and he was wearing some kind of lightweight, sleep pants that had happy cow and horse faces covering them. Wow. Somebody wants to be a cowboy. "You really pissed Hatake off, huh?" –That burn was nasty! "Why did you attack him and the kids?"
"We were hired by Gato to take out the bridge builder."
Haku cleared his throat importantly and gave Zabuza an (amusingly) disgusted look. "And let us not forget that Master loves to challenge and fight strong shinobis, wherever and whomever they may be."
"HAKU! –You pain in the ass; don't tell her that!"
Mito asked the key question, though - even as she received one of her clone's memories. Kakashi realized that the clone playing the real her was indeed a clone and had been very unhappy about it. Naturally, he'd stabbed her. She figured she needed to wind this little meeting up before he did something stupid or obnoxious on behalf of her father. "Are you planning to kill the bridge builder?"
"I couldn't care less about him," Zabuza admitted, "and what Gato was offering barely constituted a B-rank." Haku again scoffed about such a low payment being offered. Zabuza needed to talk to him about that. The Jonins stared each other down for a minute before Mito began going through the scrolls she was carrying.
"Leave the bridge builder, his family, and my comrades alone and I'll give you this," she unsealed some special burn cream. "You apply this with iryo-ninjutsu and it'll not only heal that," she pointed to his wound, "but help immensely with the pain." Zabuza nodded and she decided to mention what bothered her about the Gato thing as she tossed the jar up and down in one hand and scratched her chin. "Ya know, I don't get why someone trading outside our continent would care about a bridge - considering the big, wide world that's out there. I mean, yeah: it will affect Gato's business here but… Is hiring you for this worth the scrutiny he's put on himself and the island? And his company?"
Zabuza shrugged but definitely wanted the cream she was flaunting, especially if it helped with the lingering, vicious pain he was in. "If you couldn't tell, Gato's a megalomaniacal little shit. His short-man issues probably couldn't handle disruption on his home turf and I really doubt that after all he's done he expected anyone here to stand up to him." Foxy nodded. "You know, your clones could REALLY aid me in my hunt through Gato's records. We can meet at the fortress or shipyards in what, Haku? How long?"
"If that cream helps as much as um, Mito-sensei says it will, you should be quite well within two days, Master."
"I can do that," Mito had replied to Zabuza about meeting him, offering another bob of the head to Haku's guesstimate. "But first, you two have gotta apologize to Hatake's team. And then I'll give you your sword back."
"What?! No way!"
"Mei-sama would want you to apologize, wouldn't she? I'm sure Kiri doesn't want trouble with Konoha." Mito tried not to grin at the way Zabuza blanched and looked so flustered for several seconds but it was difficult.
"One: we're not lookin' for another fight unless it's warranted, Princess," Zabuza sneered before his expression turned into more of a smirk. "And Haku said Hatake keeled over right after our fight."
Mito rolled her eyes, wondering if Zabuza had so little self-awareness that he didn't realize that he'd also been left bedridden from his fight with Kakashi.
"And as for where, we've got another hideout but uhhh… How 'bout you meet us at the shipyards?" Mito nodded, retracting her chains and he was instantly on her, throwing his shoulder into her solar plexus and rolling them toward his sword with his legs trapping her - using up nearly all of his chakra. He moved his head aside to avoid one of her hellacious punches and felt the room explode around and underneath him. He was rocketed back with the force of it - and for all of a second or two - he saw thick chains come to life again, shining in the sun.
Then he and Haku were left alone, in the middle of little but debris. He broke out in laughter. "Holy shit!"
Haku took a deep and shaky breath and held his racing heart, grateful that Fox -er, Mito-sensei's chains had shielded them from the building's collapse. "You said that before, Master," he pouted.
"What a woman. Crap. – She took Kubikiribocho; that bitch!" Zabuza looked around to make sure he was right and groaned. Poor Haku was breathless but now letting out shocked little gaspy chuckles from behind his hands - something he needed to work with him on so that he stopped doing that. He reached down, wincing with the movement, and picked up the burn cream she'd left behind when he saw it lying under what remained of their former shelter's broken ceiling and moaned, wanting to cradle his side.
"I wouldn't call her that again if I were you, Zabuza-sama," Haku joked (sort of.) "When we get home, we can better determine what this cream is made of and make more of it! …I also believe Mito-sensei will give you back your sword, Master. She returned Helmet Splitter to Mangetsu-senpai, did she not? And Samehada to him, as well. – Right in the middle of battle!"
Zabuza knew that was true. "We'll see. For now let's put that balm to good use, hmm? I need to get her fine ass back for what she just pulled! –Ha!"
Haku winced, opening the cream and only smiling when his shishou breathed out a sigh of relief when he applied it. "It speaks volumes that you didn't demand this be tested before having it applied to your wound, Zabuza-sama."
"Shut up, Haku. What do you know?"
Haku grinned at him cheekily. "Enough - at least about this!"
"Is that right? Do me a favor and go back to being a tool, you brat."
Bending over at the waist, Mito grasped her knees and shuddered with adrenaline and silent laughter when she appeared on Tazuna-san's bridge. My God. That was close!
"Where have you been?" Kakashi wanted to shout at her when he saw her suck the goddamn sword, Kubikiribocho, into a seal on her wrist. "You cannot be serious!" He grasped that wrist, easily noting that she had too much of the swordsman's scent on her although she looked fine aside from the wood and asbestos in her hair and on her clothes. "What were you doing?"
Mito raised an eyebrow and meaningfully looked at her wrist and then, slowly, up into his dark gray eye before shaking him off. "I was working on something."
"Why do you smell like you and Momochi have been rolling around together?" he hissed
"We were! We were wrastlin'!" Those few seconds had been fun and… Damn. It had been exciting. Mito tried to wipe the giddy smile off of her face but found that she just couldn't! Her nerves were SO electrically charged!
"Do you realize what kind of target you've put on us?" Kakashi asked.
Her bodywide tinglies smashed to pure aggravation, Mito wanted to smack her brother's sensei but scowled - pulling her lower lip back in when she realized it was sticking out petulantly. She sighed and forced herself to give him a sly grin as she calmed herself. "Ahhhh. I think you already had a target on you - but… ugh. Have no fear! I'll henge clones to stay with your team. Naruto's marked and I can tell Tou-san's marked you, too, so I'll be spending the next few nights elsewhere since you're so concerned."
Kakashi stared at her, feeling increasingly like he couldn't breathe: something nasty and extremely unwelcome had twisted inside of his chest and gut. Where the hell (and with whom) was she planning to spend her nights?!
He was not used to being dismissed like this by anyone, either. By the time he was cool enough to speak again, Mito was quietly chatting with an enormous black panther on the other end of the bridge who nodded at her and disappeared with a swooshing POP.
Mito took a deep breath and felt her little brother approaching. He was fine; his team was fine. Looking at the cold water, she dove under the bridge. –Just to take a walk and think.
"I'd rather not be freed in frigid water."
Mito let out a soft snort as she turned to the fox in her mind. "When I jumped in, I didn't expect your smooth, happy baritone to bring me here, Kurama."
Kurama gave her a deadpan stare. "Cheeky. But it seems you've finally decided to end it."
"What? No! Oh my gosh. You wish!"
"Perhaps," he half-lied. "You've noticed that this place stinks with rot as much as Konoha."
"Wave's a mess. You can see what I see, right?" She thought the fox bobbed his head or at least inclined it slightly as he crossed his arms over his gigantic chest. "I know you don't like Konoha…"
"Something there stinks, Mitwo."
Mito's lips twitched and she withheld a grin: that was cute: "I like being called 'Mitwo' better than 'Mito-2,' I think. But what do you mean about something stinking? In Konoha? I mean, Wave's obviously a hole."
"Something's coming. You know it, too, if you'd just open your eyes."
Naruto's chakra began to spike and she blasted herself off of the straight's floor. "This conversation will have to wait, Kurama. I'm sorry." She flew out of the water, shuddering in the cold air.
"Ane! Where did you… What were you doing down there, 'ttebayo?!" Naruto asked as he ran up, followed by his teammates. "Kakashi-sensei stabbed you earlier and I almost killed him!"
"Hn. Like you could. Idiot."
"Naruto, chill out," Sakura begged, hoping to avoid yet another fight between the two boys.
"And then you were there and you just ran away!"
"When?" Mito asked, feeling bewildered as she used a quick wind jutsu to dry herself off. It didn't really help with the cold. She needed to think but going for a little water therapy wasn't that big of a deal, was it?
"You're the sister or 'not girlfriend' or somethin'?" an old man with a sun hat asked.
Mito gave the carpenter and Naruto the most disappointed (and slightly confused) glare she could muster, not knowing what he meant about being someone's girlfriend. And he wasn't supposed to know about her being Naruto's sister!
Tazuna grinned at the ninjas. "That was a strange-looking horse ya made disappear with yer ninja magic!"
"He's a panther," Mito told the likely alcoholic; she knew she needed to check the old fart's health and liver before she left the island. She turned to Team 7: the kids were all wet, too. "What were you three doing?" she asked before opening her damn eyes and realizing that Kakashi was using a crutch to walk on. "WHAT did you not tell me about your injuries?"
And what was the deal with her lack of awareness!?
"I think I have more pressing questions," Kakashi said in a quiet, serious tone. "Shoo, brats." Naruto squawked and tried to refuse, hissing that his beloved older brother/sensei was a "wannabe incestual damn pervert:" the little shit.
WHERE Naruto got ideas like that, Kakashi had no idea.
"Yes, you do," his insane, fearless (of Minato-sensei) side argued.
He pulled out his water bottle to discipline the little brats, spraying Mito, too, when she laughed at all of them. Kakashi reminded himself to never do that to someone with a water/wind combined affinity again when she raised half of the Tiger seal of all things and whipped the spray (and what felt like half of the water under the bridge) back at him - and nearly sent him sprawling.
Great! Now the client was laughing at them. –Tazuna was the only one left dry.
Mito couldn't stop smiling, biting her chuckles back so that she could check Kakashi's leg. "C'mon. I need to check your wound and stuff; you're not supposed to even be up. I'll carry ya back," she said, leaving a clone with the client and lifting him up like a princess. She hissed at her silver-haired, overly-long nuisance of a patient when he zapped her shoulder with his chakra and called her a "brute."
They were covered with water! Lightning chakra hurt like a bitch and with water on top of it?
The baka "genius" was supposed to be conserving and building chakra, not using it!
What a dumbass!
When Mito later popped his hip into place without warning him, she might have enjoyed it just a little when Kakashi screamed.
.
"Don't leave," Kakashi demand/requested.
Mito was dressed in the black, long-sleeve compression top with matching tight pants that she often wore, but this time with no waistcloth, hitai-ate, flak vest, or jacket. She had a matching black, sturdy rolled-up facemask on her head. Her red and blonde hair flowed out of it in waves, past her wide hips, bouncing up as it flowed and curled to just over her knees.
"Are you hurting?" Mito asked. "I'm somewhat, mmm slightly sorry about before, I guess. You should still take it easy and just concentrate on regaining your chakra, especially through tomorrow."
And let me stick a new eye in your thick silver skull once we're in Konoha, dammit.
"I'm fine. Adjusting my leg helped. Where are you going?"
Mito tried to decide. "I'm going to scout a safe house, do some closer recon on this fortress Gato's got, and hmm - maybe check out the shipyards."
"I'll go with you."
"You have a mission," she reminded the other Jonin with a tilt of her head and soft, amused smile. "Your team's here and you have to guard the bridge builder. You really need to watch the kids, too."
That last statement gave Kakashi pause. He'd obviously be watching the pups but her bringing it up again meant that more could be going on here than he was aware of. "Just use your clones. What is your mission here, anyway?"
Mito let out an unhappy sound but thanked Kakashi for the tea he handed her. They were the only ones currently downstairs. "As I mentioned, Naruto sent Tou-san a message about your status. Like you, my missions became much more complicated once I got here. –It's as if strange things are afoot in Wave, ne?"
Kakashi hummed, imagining what she might mean by that - and definitely noting that she said "missions:" plural. "Does sensei know?"
Mito swallowed that thought, knowing that her father probably wasn't happy with her right now. "I'm sure Asuma told him." I wonder if Asuma will show up here. "If you were alone, how quickly could you get here from Konoha, Kakashi? Running?"
"On my own and with no distractions? Certainly less than a day; maybe a third of that if I was really pushing it."
.
Asuma looked twice when he realized Mito's largest summons was outside of his window. He lived on the second floor so seeing an enormous panther's face staring at him (Buddy's giant paws tapping on his window to get his attention) had been quite unexpected. He put out his cigarette and raised the window. "Yo, cat."
"Asuma. Mito's following up on what she called a 'hot lead' into your investigation."
"Is she now? That's probably a drag. Anything else?"
"Not really. She said you needed to know: that it was 'important level 1.5.'"
Asuma groaned and nodded, wincing when the panther's following teleportation sucked up all of the garbage cans and such in the road, sending crap flying everywhere or smashing into the building across the alley.
He closed the window, guessing that he needed to let Hokage-sama know.
An hour later, he was off in the dead of night after setting Gai and Kurenai on his poor, unsuspecting (and quite lazy) Genins. –And that was after dealing with a mopey Hokage who had openly sulked over his daughter not messaging him, instead. (Hokage-sama had also not been especially thrilled, although he'd been unsurprised that Asuma had brought Mito into his investigation.)
When Asuma found his brat sister the next night, he shook with anger at her and the Mist nin she was making out with.
"Heya, Hatake. And uh, Sarutobi, huh? I guess I apologize on behalf of Kiri."
Zabuza broke out in laughter and jumped behind him, into the water, disappearing.
Mito rubbed her head sheepishly, softly touching her lips with her other hand.
"Uh- Heheh. I can explain?"
.
Kurenai shook her head in exasperation as her friend, Anko, hailed volleys of senbons on poor fresh Genins.
Anko's grin was wide and deranged. "Dance, ya monkeys!"
"YOSH," Gai cheered. "Your evasion training shows that you've reached the pinnacle of Youth, Anko-san!"
"You're goddamn right I have, Gai. Now get a move on, ya lazy Genin-shits!"
Lee wondered if he'd truly be allowed to die. "Gai-sensei?"
"Fan your flames, Lee!"
"Oh, Gai-sensei!
Anko's face grew a tick mark and looked over an axe she just happened to have on her. "Cut that shit out or I'll kill everyone." Meh, she threw the axe anyway, unsure of when she put it in her secondary weapons seal.
"Oh, God!"
"Troublesome!"
"I-I h-h-hate you, A-Anko-san!"
"Hyuga-hime, that is highly unyouthful language!"
"Gatsuga!"
Anko evaded the attack - but her mouth dropped open and she shuddered all over - her temper passing her boiling point. "YOU HIT MY DANGO, you dog fucker!"
"Anko, wait," Kurenai begged, laughing, "it was an accident!"
Shino nodded at his cousin. "It's time to take the gloves off, Torune. Why? Because Mitarashi-san is insane."
.
Mito sat pouting - really putting on a show of it since she was actually a clone - in a bedroom at the bridge builder's house. Asuma and Kakashi (the latter because of what "loyalty to sensei" entailed to him, she guessed,) were as bad as her father when they were riled up and overprotective. "It's fine, Asuma." She tried to get comfy but worried that she'd wake up the giant black bulldog now making her legs numb - or Spiderman, who was sleeping in her hair. Juggling either of those cuties might cause her to dispel.
It was hilarious that she got Mito's first kiss (aside from Anko-chan) even though she'd kissed a water clone. Kissing saltwater had been gross but the humor and desire leading up to it had been thrilling! She bet her original would be jealous no matter how outlandish the whole thing was.
Now that Kakashi's Genins were in bed, Asuma could finally really grill his sister. "What is wrong with you?!"
"Nothing. I just got really excited."
Asuma's eyes bugged out. "I don't need to know thaaaat!" He nodded in approval at Kakashi who was still whispering promises of violence to no one and everyone as he paced back and forth like a caged predator. He scowled at his blushing sister who apparently felt his words were funny.
"I didn't mean excited like THAT," Mito snickered as she calmed down, knowing that her face was probably aflame. "Before you interrupted us, we'd found a record - a receipt - that had some names Zabby-kun recognized." She grinned apologetically at Asuma's completely disgusted expression but clone or not, seeing evidence of a receipt for a PERSON had been horrible.
Kakashi pointed that shitty, bright lamp into her face and over his giant ninken. "What are your intentions with Momochi Zabuza?"
The clone internally swore that if he tried to raise his headband at her to reveal that fucking Sharingan again, he was going to get a repeat of her boot up his ass even if she did have to reheal him again. "I TOLD you. We're working together on a case! Right, Asuma?"
Asuma grunted something she couldn't catch. "I didn't authorize you to bring in outsiders. Chiriku was fine but… Momochi Zabuza: You can't be serious!"
The clone rolled her heterochromatic eyes. "Zabuza's looking for people, too: Mei-sama's orders. –Well, probably."
Bull moved and the clone's eyes went wide. –As soon as she felt his claws against her bare legs she knew it was probably over. "Bull! Wai–"
*POOF*
Asuma cursed. "Another goddamn shadow clone. Where the hell is she?!"
Mito's body's entire upper quarter - at least - had turned beet red, she'd bet. She averted her eyes from Zabuza's masked face. "Oh my goodness!"
How hard do you have to suck for your clone to get your first kiss - at age 22 - with a Mist nin's water clone, Mito?!
"What?" Zabuza asked absently, going through Gato's logs. His Konoha partner in crime had been spamming henged clones like mad as they took out the goons near the short fucker's fortress. He looked at her red face and smirked. "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing!" She knew that water clones didn't transfer memories so Zabuza had no idea of what their clones had decided to do to get her brother and father's student off their asses. "My clone got caught. –The one that was back with the bridge builder. Well, the one that got dragged off to the bridge builder's house after the other one got stabbed."
Zabuza smirked down at her. "You tree-huggers are a strange bunch, you know that?"
"Like you kappas aren't." Her eyes popped open and she grabbed his arm as another henged clone dispelled. She wasn't sure that she'd ever had this many going before. "Gato's… Hey, Zabuza, is um," she snapped her fingers a few times as she tried to remember those two asshole brothers' last names.
The brothers her clone saw were a couple of the scumbags that had appeared at the very tail end of the Mist's rebellion: from what Mito remembered, they were sadistic fuckers. "Do you have anyone working for you in Wave aside from Haku?" Zabuza shook his head, glancing back to Gato's logs. Mito understood: Gato was rolling in wealth and certainly had a special place reserved for him in hell, considering all the other shit he was rolling in. "There are some Mist nins with Haku - and Gato." She sucked in another breath when another clone popped. "Haku's okay but took off, reassuring Gato that he would 'check on a container' while you were supposed to be out dealing with Leaf nins, of course."
"Of course." Zabuza was 'supposed to be' killing Hatake right now for the rich little fucker. "Did you hear what kind of container?"
"Pegasus… 12-470AS? –I'm sure that's what Haku repeated back to Gato."
"Fuck." The idea that any of his Mist comrades would betray them after finally ridding themselves of the scourge that was Yagura disgusted him. "There's a container ship in port called the Pegasus."
"We should check it out. My last clone to dispel noticed one of my other ones, so Haku-kun's being tracked."
"Thanks." He held out his hand and looked terribly uncomfortable. Mito had earlier asked to mark Haku so she could get to him quickly.
Mito sighed and handed over his sword as she put her hand on his broad shoulder. "You - or your clone, rather - did apologize to Hatake, I guess. …Let's go kick some ass, Zabby-kun."
"Whatever you say, Foxy."
.
"Tou," Mito breathed in horror when they opened the container. "Oh no. God, no."
"We need to get you lot out of here," Zabuza said to those left alive as Mito cradled the deceased woman who had fallen out when he broke into the container. "MITO."
"M-m-m-Mito-sensei?" came a trembling adolescent voice from the back of the cargo container, breaking through Mito's grief. She looked up to see one of the little monks that used to spy on her teaching the older kids in ninjutsu class. She held out her hand as people filed/stumbled out of the container - some carrying the ones they cared for as best they could. "You've gotten so big, Senshi-kun." The boy stumbled forward and grabbed onto her like a lifeline, shuddering into her shoulder. "It's okay. It's okay…"
It's not okay at all!
She was eventually able to get the young monk to drink some water, passing out everything she had on her to those who'd survived being kidnapped.
"H-he separated us and then, and then… He threw Tou-sensei in with us c-cuz she fought back!"
"How long ya been in there, kid?" Zabuza asked, trying to give Mito space. None of those that had been put in a fucking shipping container were his friends or comrades so he could only imagine how she felt. He had a terrible feeling he'd find his countrymen somewhere here or worse (if that was possible,) too.
Gato was going to die for trafficking all these people, and Zabuza was probably going to have to fight Mito for the honor to do so.
"I dunno. A few days?" the kid answered.
Mito knew that couldn't be right unless Tou had been alive when she was "thrown in." She felt numb and wished she could just go somewhere and sit but she had an important job to do. She began sealing up bodies, including her friend from back at the temple.
"Zabuza-sama," Haku said quietly when he came back to help. "We need to get these people out of here. Gato's men will be coming to check…"
"I think um… There's a place close to the bridge builder's that should be big enough to temporarily settle everyone." Mito looked up at Haku. "And if I see any of Gato's stooges, they're going to die: plain and simple. First, though, we need to check the rest of the ship." She couldn't sense anyone else hidden but Mito didn't want to miss anyone.
Zabuza nodded. "The ship's not going anywhere." He had hacked through the deck's electronics and more.
"Let my clones handle it," Mito said.
"Kurama," she began and moved to place her hand on his claw that was sticking through his cage again. "May I please borrow some of your chakra?" She felt his chakra running into her as soon as she touched him and jerked her hand away. "I didn't mean to take it like that!"
Kurama rolled his eyes. "You are one weird human." He put his fist up to his shitty cage bars and rolled his eyes, jerking it away again after she touched it. "That's all you get."
"Thank you!" Mito tried to cheer, feeling renewed (chakra-wise.) Kurama rolled his eyes and lay back down but Mito could feel that he was watching everything that was going on right now. She made a hundred more clones. "Henge and search," she ordered her doppelgangers. "Don't allow any ships to disembark!" She clasped Senshi and another elderly survivor's shoulders, giving them a nod. "This won't be pleasant - but let's get you to safety." She flashed them back to Tazuna's place, gave a brief explanation to Tsunami, (scolded Tazuna to sober the hell up,) and grabbed Asuma, dragging the surprised Jonin outside.
"Haku-kun found old manifests! –They were being taken outside of the Elemental Nations, Asuma! …And Tou-chan was there. She's... dead."
.
Days later, the trap was set but Mito still found it unbelievable that Gato showed up: height-challenged, repulsive, and as brash as day. Not only that but he brought nearly everyone left at his "fortress" and other haunts with him.
Haku and Mito's clones were continuing to loot the fortress as this whole shitshow went down.
The thing that was pissing her off (to a lesser extent) was the real fight that Kakashi and Zabuza had gotten into. They were supposed to be acting but nooooo. –They'd even involved the Genins! Mito was grieving and exhausted from having more henged clones than she ever thought she was capable of making PLUS running around using jutsus - AND studying shipping manifests, searching for clues for SO many missing people.
Zabuza and Kakashi were both heaving - having finally finished their fight on the nearly finished bridge.
Stupid men!
Listening to them trash-talk each other about "compensating" with big swords or having "fancy eyes" had thoroughly pissed Mito off.
Two of Gato's lackeys dragged "Tsunami" and "Inari" out and Mito really had to hold herself back from her hiding spot, knowing that they were actually a henged Asuma and Naruto. As soon as one of the goons began bragging that he'd had some fun with Tsunami, Naruto freaked out and Asuma flipped the other criminal over his shoulder, easily knocking out the one who Naruto had torn into.
Asuma held the other captor down and hissed at the scumbag. "That was a genjutsu, you fuck. I don't know what you think you saw in it, but how 'bout you taste this?" He slit his throat.
Poor Naru and Sakura looked so shocked that it made Mito sick.
-And poor Sasuke. Considering what his family had just been through, Mito couldn't imagine how much trauma that must have rekindled in him.
"Well, well" Gato drawled as he clicked his cane on a plank of the bridge and came closer. "To think we have yet another civilian who needs to be taught a lesson!"
Mito rolled her eyes from the tree she was sitting in. "Business tycoon" and a fair distance away or not, Gato must be a complete fool to think that Tsunami would be able to flip a big guy over her shoulder and slit his throat - or that Inari was able to punch (and viciously scratch and claw at) someone like the henged Naruto had.
"I need to thank you, Copy Ninja," Gato began in a mocking voice.
"What are you doing here, Gato?" Zabuza asked. He was panting from exertion after another long round with Hatake.
"There's been a change of plans, you see," Gato smugly said. "Well, it was always my plan: I never was going to pay you. -You look close to dead anyway, which is why I thanked Mr. Copy Nin!" He snapped his fingers and the two Mist nins appeared at his side.
Zabuza glared at the Chunins, sneering at their slashed Kiri headbands. "So even when it comes to payment, you're a shitstain. You're going to die today, Gato. So are you two: the Yaku brothers, huh?"
"You look pretty tired, old man," the taller Yaku laughed. Zabuza didn't remember his first name - only that he'd protected these little fuckers in Kiri's recent fight for freedom.
"What are you going to do against all of us?" one of the goons behind Gato catcalled.
Mito jumped down from the tree she'd been in. "I think Zabuza put it quite well: you're all going to die today."
"Grab the woman and the girl," Zabuza said dismissively, pointing to Sakura - which was a BIG mistake. "They'll get quite the price..."
A barrier of chains went up around him and his group and the two former Mist nins took a step back, stumbling in shock.
Asuma winced at the carnage that ensued in only seconds. So this is what she did at the capitol? His little sister's clones had flown to positions at the kunais she'd thrown, killing every one of those fuckers.
Mito's chains fell in her exhaustion. She had blood all over her again and was holding Gato up to her face with one hand. The other three Jonins were immediately at her side. Zabuza shoved some documents to Gato, having him sign away his business and all holdings, then Hatake revealed his Sharingan. After Kakashi gave the okay, Mito dropped the fucker to the ground and Asuma took the signed documents, pocketing them into his jacket and pulling out a cigarette.
Zabuza carved the asshole in half with one great drop of his sword. Asuma and Kakashi had sunshinned away at the last second, thinking that Mito would too - but now she had more blood all over her, even covering her face.
"You didn't let me do much, Foxy," Zabuza grinned.
Mito just stared at Gato's remains. She turned away from Zabuza, unsure of whether she appreciated her brother and Kakashi at her side again but slumped when she saw how Naruto was staring at her as if she were a monster. A few more of her clones popped back at Gato's fortress and Mito couldn't make herself feel bad about what she'd done.
Yeah, she'd killed more than a hundred more people, but those men had ruined or ended the lives of thousands. "I'm going to go clean up."
"You didn't... You don't know whether or not they were all guilty! You didn't give anyone a chance!" Naruto yelled at her. Mito just kept walking.
.
Two days after that shitshow, Kakashi watched his students and the citizens of Wave finish their bridge and would be glad to head back to Konoha. Minato's favorite teams of desk ninjas and civilians - most of them Naras (plus Jiraiya, surprisingly) - had come in to comb through and most likely take over Gato's finances. He'd seen them do this before - but never with someone with holdings outside of the Elemental Nations although he knew at least four of those here had experience with the western powers.
Gato was filthy rich. There was plenty of money to help resettle and aid victims, secure Wave as a key ally indebted to Konoha and Fire Country with billions more left to sort through. He'd heard that Kiri was making demands for their share, too.
On the way to pick up after his team, he passed an anxious, smoking Sarutobi Asuma and asked if everything was alright.
"You know Tou-chan was one of Daimyo-sama's guards," he said, involuntarily running his fingers over his Guardian 12 waistcloth. He was still in shock that the strong woman, his comrade-in-arms, had been killed but was sure she died fighting to protect those around her. "Mito and Tou became close - back at the Temple. She's… Mito's an idiot."
"It's not like I'm so self-centered to think that I'm the cause of all these bad things," Mito chuckled bitterly. "But let's face it, Asuma: the people I care about have an improved chance of dying early. We should umm… probably stay away from each other, 'ttebane."
"Don't be stupid. We're NINJAS, Mito! And you're my sister, for fuck's sake."
"I know! But Asuma… If Obito's alive he's gonna get back at me one of these days, don't you think? I don't mind dying fighting him, but what if he comes after you or Naruto? –Or someone else I care about to make me pay for what I did to him? –Tou-san was right..."
Instead of finding crap his students had left lying around upstairs in the bridge builder's home, Kakashi found Mito in the bedroom corner he'd once interrogated her in. She was pale and had dark circles under her eyes, which made him feel guilty since along with the clones she had seemingly everywhere, she'd healed him - and that Momochi asshole - after their fight turned rather personal on the bridge.
Mito was holding a large stuffed animal that looked very much like Katsuya, Tsunade-hime's summons. It looked "well-loved," Kakashi thought was the right phrase.
Mito wiped her face, embarrassed that she'd not only been found clutching a plushie like a child but hadn't properly sensed Kakashi coming - which was ridiculous. Kakashi's chakra was like rolling, thick white lightning. "Ha," she began without humor, looking down at the slug plushie she'd named Hime-chan so long ago with a watery smile. "I lost my first summons," she said, giving Hime-chan a loving shake before looking back up at him. "I guess I should get myself some kind of cat plushie if I'm going to be such a baby, huh?"
Kakashi didn't think her teary, sad eyes suited her pretty face at all. Her doe-like eyes were meant to be filled with laughter or fire, the way he'd always seen them before this. Mito had lost a comrade - a recent teammate - something he was intimately acquainted with but Kakashi couldn't imagine losing his summons. They were his partners and trusted allies: for life.
It was something he remembered: that Mito once summoned the slugs, but he hadn't really considered the change until now. "I'm sorry about your friend."
"Thank you," she breathed, pulling Hime-chan close to her chest again. Her thoughts kept returning to Tou and Anko, who had maintained a friendship through letters from what she'd heard. Anko was going to be upset that she'd lost Tou, too.
Not knowing how to act in these situations, Kakashi summoned Pakkun and pointed to the younger woman. Sensei's daughter. Pakkun snorted at him and asked Mito to feel his paw and soon enough, the pug was on Mito's lap, being babied. –That would probably come back to bite him in the ass later but seemed worth it for some unfathomable reason.
The day after returning to Konoha, Mito discovered a fluffy, soft tiger plushie on her couch. Very surprised and quite moved by the gift, she took it to her bedroom where she wound up keeping it. "Tora-chan" turned out to be quite cuddly - but didn't help much with the pain in her heart.
Like always, life moved on. Soon, foreign shinobis began arriving in Konoha for the Chunin Exams.