Chapter 5: Blood and mist

It was starting to get really irritating, the feeling of two sets of eyes constantly watching her every movement. Still, Kagome reckoned it was only natural, genins were only supposed to accept D and C-ranked missions. Taking someone else's life was rarely necessary on those sorts of assignments.

That said it was only one set of eyes that bothered her, Kakashi-sensei had, after all, a valid reason to keep close tabs on her. As her superior making sure she was coping well with the fact she'd just ended a person's life was literally part of the man's job. Plus he was fairly subtle about it. Tazuna-san on the other hand did nothing to try and hide the way his gaze followed her every step or the way he almost winced whenever she walked a bit too close to him. Even while helping them set camp for the night the old builder made sure to continue glancing at her, a concerned expression in his face.

And it was beginning to really get on her nerves.

What on earth did he want her to do?

Have a mental breakdown and start bawling her eyes out? Vomit on a bush as she screamed?

Yeah, that was so not happening. Not in the next five minutes, not in the next hour and certainly not when they were still in the open after choosing to continue with a mission that was suddenly way above their skill level.

So she kept smiling. She kept laughing at Naruto's antics even as she resigned herself to keep feeling that annoying light buzz on the back of her mind that warned her about being watched for the rest of their journey.

Perhaps she wasn't being fair, their client was just a civilian. One that lived far removed from the shinobi villages, someone like that couldn't possibly understand that those raised for this job lived surrounded by mentions of death during most of their childhoods. The heroes they aspired to become were not those who were kind and solved fights with clever words, but those who were so dangerous enemies ran for their lives when they heard their names. Even the Fourth who was mostly praised for saving Konoha from the Kyubi was also known as one of their deadliest shinobi. No matter how much she disliked violence keeping her hands clean as she chased those she loved had never been an option. She'd long since come to terms with that.

And yet...she probably should be feeling something, shouldn't she?

It wasn't that she was disassociating, she could remember the moment she made the decision with great clarity.

The fight wasn't overwhelmingly on their favor, but they weren't completely outclassed either. Unwilling to just stay back the girl began to provide support. After all, what was the point of having trained so hard in her long-ranged attacks if she did nothing when stuck in the rear?

It wasn't that hard to help Naruto-kun out of the corner he'd placed himself into, but his yell of surprise had gotten Sasuke to lose focus on his own fight. She knew what would happen the moment she saw the Uchiha step back. Pulling their client with her to get in a better position took only an instant. Her gaze locked in her target as her fingers took hold of the poisoned needles. Her decision was obvious. These weren't simple genins and she wouldn't risk their weapons being doused in a toxin she had no antidote for. The pressure point in his neck would work, of course, but...but they wouldn't hesitate to kill any of them.

She knew from the start blood would taint her hands if she insisted on continuing down this path. For the sake of keeping Sasuke safe though, no price would ever be too high for her to pay.

Her hand was steady when she sent the senbons to the man's carotid. Although to be honest, even had she hesitated at the last second muscle memory alone would've ensured she took the shot.

There was no haze, no rush of adrenaline, no hesitation.

No guilt either.

She kept what was left of her world safe, nothing more and nothing less.

Which was not a normal reaction was it...

Lifting her right hand slightly, Kagome thought back to that point in time, the point when the senbons left her fingers. She'd been calm and fully aware of what she was about to do. What she was going to destroy.

The one class she remembered covering this topic during the academy didn't exactly include this as one of the common reactions.

Warm fingers intertwined around hers, wide azure eyes looked at her side in surprise.

Sasuke was not one for showing affection, oh he'd never reject her touch (he did once, long ago, when their biggest worries were getting back home to play around the district and receiving hugs was girly). If she wanted to cling to his hand behind the walls of their home or in the middle of the market made no difference, she could count in one hand the number of times he was the one to look for her though. Especially when others were watching and he had to know that their teacher was very much awake and watching them both.

"You did great today." The words were soft but she could hear the genuine pride in his voice

"I did?"

She let the question linger, allowing the boy to understand the meaning behind it. It wasn't about her performance during the fight, she knew she'd done well. Kept her teammates safe while complying with their mission. It was about what came after and what didn't.

There was a second of confusion before understanding lit his eyes. Relief clear in his gaze, comforting others had never been his forte. Still, his grip tightened around her fingers for three full seconds before letting go. The hidden meaning of their childish code soothing her fears.

"Don't go fishing for praise."

At that, she laughed, calm reassurance silencing her own confusion.

Could she still be a good person if she didn't care for taking the lives of others for the sake of those she loved?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

But at the end of the day it didn't matter, to keep them safe, to keep them alive who cared if she had to left a trail of bodies behind.

He frowned as he finished closing his bag. They were finally nearing Wave but the feelings of safety no longer being in an open space were glaringly absent. As much as he wanted to Tazuna couldn't help but follow the only girl in his group as she moved to pick up their provisions with his aging eyes. Already four days had passed since he came clean about the lies he used to hire them. Four days since they were attacked. Since he witnessed a girl, not all that older than his own grandson, kill a man in cold blood and act like nothing happened. Like doing that was the most normal thing in the world.

It was unnerving.

Back when he first saw his bodyguards his hopes of making it out alive had been completely crushed. A bunch of kids, nothing more. Then again, he couldn't pretend he was paying for high-end bodyguards capable of going against skilled mercenaries. He could only hope their teacher would be enough. The lanky albino was the only one Tazuna dared to count on considering his team was made of just children. Young and weak, or so he thought.

How could he not when between his so-called protectors was a hyperactive shortie and a delicate young girl who spoke in gentle tones?

He still shuddered at the memory of that same soft voice and gentle tones.

Any other targets had higher risks of missing, sensei.

She said that with the same tone she used to tell the loud pipsqueak why he should wait a couple more minutes for their meal to be ready. Like explaining the reason why she'd gone overboard with her attack was the same thing. Overboard, the word stuck with him just as much as the image of that unnerving smile. The implication that there had been no need for the eleven-year-old to kill anyone but had still chosen to do so heavy in his mind.

Just like the sullen dark-haired boy chose to just go and tear out whatever weapon the girl used with complete disregard for the blood spatter staining him. He didn't give the corpse a second glance after that. Even Naruto, the loud shortie Tazuna had begun to begrudgingly tolerate, had simply taken a look at the corpse, blinked a couple of times, and bounced back to sing the girl's praises. As if his teammate hadn't just taken a man's life.

It wasn't fair, he knew, the girl had placed herself in between him and his would-be killers without hesitating. It was more than clear she was willing to fight for his life. But that was just it wasn't it? He'd hired them, literally paid them for protection, what they did was not out of care or concern, killing someone else was just a part of their job.

They didn't care and yet he had no choice but to put his life in the hands of someone who placed no value in others' lives.

And it was to these people he'd just admitted to lying. In all honesty, he wouldn't have been surprised if they'd chosen to abandon him. They moved for money and he wasn't paying them nearly enough for their services. A part of him almost wished they'd just gone back to their village if only to get rid of the gnawing doubts about their loyalty. Without their money, they had no real reason to protect him, if someone offered a higher sum there was nothing to stop them from just taking it and leave. Maybe even straight out backstab him.

"She's trustworthy if that's what's troubling you."

A lazy drawl sounded behind him, almost making him jump in surprise.

"What?" he asked, trying to play dumb. He didn't think he'd bee quite so obvious.

"Kagome-chan is very much a kind person, really loyal too." There was something in the teacher's voice that put him on edge. "Not the kind of girl who'd turn away from someone when she can help, let alone stab them in the back."

"I never said anything like that."

"Of course not, just thought it would be prudent to remind you. We do whatever it might be necessary to fulfill our mission, including keeping our teammates safe. Since the enemy was an unknown ninja there was no guarantee the weapons weren't doused in some sort poison or for them to have some other ace up their sleeve. There were other options sure, but her reaction wasn't unjustified."

His mind was drawing a blank as he fished for a response he already knew he wouldn't be able to find. Knowing he was being unfair and actually stopping his reactions were completely different issues. Besides, there was yet another thing that left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"They're still children."

"They've graduated, they are shinobis." The words were cold, leaving no room for debate. Like it was just a fact of life.

A grunt left his mouth as he moved away from the younger man. That was the other thing. Sure part of the blame for the whole thing was his. Tazuna was the one who lied about the risk of the mission and while all three kids agreed and insisted on continuing with the assignment regardless of the sudden increase in difficulty, it was Kakashi who had the final say. Counterproductive to his safety as it may have been a part of him (a really small part of him he'd managed to silence fairly quickly, he may have a heart but he wasn't suicidal) had wanted the man to reject the mission. Clearly, the scenario they were thrown into was not one they were supposed to be exposed quite as early. Let alone prepared to face and yet the albino had simply nodded saying at least they should be able to gain some experience. Despite his earlier comment in defense of his student the brats' caretaker also didn't care.

"It was, by the way," Kakashi said as he began to make his way to the kids.

"What was?"

"The weapon, it was poisoned."

Ice seeped into the builder's veins, Tazuna willed himself to ignore it. Instead, he followed the younger man, grumbling about slow brats taking their sweet time packing up. His thoughts on the matter wouldn't change no matter what. Regardless of where they were born or how things worked in their village, eleven-year-old children should not be expected to kill or be killed.

They shouldn't be praised for it either.

A single black eye glanced back to take a better look at his group of genins. Whatever tension might've been left over from their first real confrontation was no longer there. Tazuna wasn't quite as relaxed as he'd been in the beginning but at least the man had stopped wincing any time Kagome made the mistake of walking one step too close when trying to scold the blond on their client's opposite side.

Kakashi wasn't naive enough to believe his earlier talk with the bridge builder would get him to trust them but something was better than nothing.

Besides the girl's action had been a bit worrying. Then again, the whole situation was worrying and not something any of them could've prepared for...

In hindsight, this wasn't so bad, not that this wasn't a disaster, but perhaps it wasn't a complete disaster just yet. It was far too soon for any of them to have blood on their hands but this was probably the best way for it to happen. An accident in the heat of battle carried a huge amount of blame, obviously. Killing in self-defense could still lead to guilt building up inside. The self-doubt sprouting from it a dangerous hazard in a fight. Killing to save a teammate, however, also carried the implication that it was one or the other. Every time you see your friend alive and breathing a reminder of why it was necessary.

He'd admit (if only to himself) that a part of him had begun to worry when night fell and Kagome acted the same as always. Being crippled by guilt was far from ideal but complete apathy didn't exactly make the cut either. What happened to the Uchihas was a perfectly good example of why even in a career like this a total lack of empathy wasn't something to be desired.

Higurashi Kagome, however, was usually the exact opposite of apathetic. Patient and kind their former teachers called her a pacifist, Kakashi himself wouldn't have tried to deny it either. From his experience, the girl was always the last one to resort to violence. Which was why he'd been so unprepared for the cold logic behind her actions. The jounin had kept a close watch, not only on the enemies but his students as well. Like he'd told their client this had been a good chance to test their reflexes and gain some valuable experience. Not for one second though did he expect her to aim at a vital point.

On one hand, the former ANBU had no clue about how to deal with a hysteric child and couldn't be more relieved at her calm demeanor following her first kill. No tears and no vomit meant there was no reason for him to have an emotional talk about blame and guilt and etc. On the other, Uchiha Itachi was also reported to conserve an unnervingly calm demeanor during missions, always refusing to seek the usual emotional support. With both of them being raised in the same environment Kakashi couldn't help but keep her in his sight in search of any sign of emotional turmoil.

Of which he couldn't see.

At least not until night fell.

It wasn't much, but there was a hint of discomfort in the girl's quiet voice as she asked for reassurance from Sasuke. Considering her level of codependency and tragic shared history with the Uchiha brat, her going above and beyond for the sake of keeping the boy safe was only natural.

Sasuke's reaction wasn't ideal either, but this was hardly the first corpse he'd seen so maybe it wasn't all that weird.

Taking another look at his brats the jounin could only sigh, even after all the tragedies they'd suffered his genins were still children. Nothing but wide-eyed kids taking in the sight of the outside world for the first time. Gods he'd almost forgotten how sheltered village kids were. Clan brats especially never set a foot outside of Konoha's walls these days. It shouldn't be a surprise to see how they looked in curiosity around them, even moody Sasuke kept giving subtle glances here and there for nothing more than to take in the scenery.

In a way, despite it all, they were still lucky for being born in a time of relative peace. His own childhood had been practically non-existent due to the constant wars.

A moment or two of peace wouldn't hurt them though.

"Right there!"

The calm shattered with one yell from his sensei's son as Naruto rushed in front of him, kunai flying through the air in the direction of a moving bush.

Kakashi could feel a nervous tick coming. This was the fourth time the prankster attacked the local fauna in his attempt to find hidden nins…this morning.

He was going to have to have a talk with his student about overcompensating because this was not what he'd intended when he warned the blond to be more careful. For the last four days Naruto had forced them to stop more than once as he searched for his blades after aiming at some random bird, or rat, or squirrel…

"Oh, it's just a rabbit," Tazuna deadpanned.

A shiver ran down through his spine at the sight of the rabbit, the snow-white rabbit trembling in the middle of the rain in the middle of summer. An animal raised for kawarimi. Kakashi considered cursing his luck for an instant before deciding against it, his whole life had been like this, never a moment to rest from misfortune.

"I didn't mean it, I'm sorry lil rabbit." Kakashi ignored the blond's cooing.

Allowing his eye to glance around he moved closer to his team. At Kagome's uncharacteristically loud laugh the jounin allowed his gaze to fall on her. There was tension in her form as she inched closer to Tazuna, he wondered if she already had a blade in her hands. How did she notice they were being watched already?

He pushed those thoughts away, that was something to question later.

The issue here was whether their pursuer would let them advance peacefully or go for an attack? He bit back the sudden urge to laugh at the realization that Naruto had actually gotten one correct guess completely by accident. If the enemy thought themselves busted because of that then the answer was clear. And they were right next to a lake. Just great.

A sliver of murderous intent slipped into the air.

"Everyone get down!"

Relief washed over him as he checked on his students. At least their training seemed to have paid off. Everyone had followed his orders in an instant, Kagome tackling their client to the ground. So far everyone was still alive. And he intended to keep it that way.

Though it looked like this time he would need to be on the offensive.

The fates surely hated him.

A massive sword was stuck on a nearby tree supporting the full weight of the man on top of it

Ridiculously big sword, a man covered in bandages, a slashed Hidden Mist forehead protector. No way to mistake who their pursuer was.

Well, fuck.

"Well, well if it isn't Mist's missing-nin Momochi Zabuza." Whatever levity was left in his voice vanished as he addressed his students. "Stay back everyone, this one is on a whole other level."

This was why he disliked protection details.

Dealing with a former ANBU was well within his skill level but doing so while trying to keep an eye on not just his team but a civilian was going to be annoying. At least his team seemed to recognize the difference in power judging by how fast they moved to obey. Their previous formation changed to one with Sasuke at the front and the other two at the builder's sides. Overall a good call, not that it would make much difference though.

No other choice then.

"I guess this could be a little tough..." he trailed off for a second. "unless I do this."

He'd hoped to avoid using his trump card for a while more (if only to avoid the hundred and one questions it was bound to come with) but the faster he got rid of the infamous Demon of the Hidden Mist the better.

"Surround and protect Tazuna-san. Do not enter the fight, that's the teamwork here," he ordered, fingers lifting the forehead protector that usually covered his face. "Zabuza, if you want to get to our client then first...you'll have to fight me."

"I already get to see the famous sharingan, I'm honored"

"Sharingan?" Naruto asked, confusion lacing his word. Right, the boy had been close to the Sasuke since early childhood, of course he'd know something about it. "But wasn't that supposed to be..."

"The eye technique capable of defeating all sorts of jutsu," Sasuke answered, voice tight.

"And has the unique ability to copy any technique after seeing them only once," Zabuza added helpfully "When I was a member of the Hidden Mist's ANBU squads I kept a useful little handbook, it included information about you. The man who has copied over 1,000 jutsus. Copy ninja, Kakashi."

And this would only make his upcoming inquisition even worse. Really, this man loved to talk a bit too much for his taste.

"Not that some reputation is going to save the old man's life but Kakashi, it seems like I have to beat you first."

Both man and sword vanished from the tree without a sound, yet another sign he'd have to be careful. His kids were not ready for this one yet.

"Over there!"Naruto screamed. "And on top of the water!"

Fog rushed to cover the whole clearing, the white mist swallowing everything around them. The sharingan would help him oppose the missing-nin's signature move. Sadly his students didn't have that advantage.

"He'll come after me first," he explained, making sure to keep his tone calm. "Momochi Zabuza was known as an expert in silent killing, you won't even notice him until you're already dead," something that only complicated the issue more "It's not as if I can use the sharingan perfectly. You guys will need to be careful."

Zabuza's disembodied voice echoed through the clearing, oh my, this man loved to put on a show, didn't he? Maybe he just liked the sound of his own voice.

Stepping forward to get a better position Kakashi allowed himself to shed the mask of the lazy, careless man he so often donned. Pressure drowned the place as both killers prepared to make a move. He wanted to finish this fast, the less time the sharingan was left uncovered the better.

An almost imperceptible movement caught the sharingan's gaze. So that was his plan. Kakashi's hands moved, mimicking the other jounin's seals, one fast sprint and he was out of sight. Now he only needed a slight diversion. A quick glance around gave him a chance. The three genins were almost suffocating under the pressure of their killing intent, they'd managed to keep their positions but he could see the shivering in their hands.

"Sasuke," Kakashi's clone's calm voice sounded loud in the silent clearing. "don't worry. I'll protect you guys, even if it kills me." from his position in the edge of the tree line he could see their trembling calm down. "I don't let my comrades die."

"We'll see about that." Zabuza's eerie words echoed far away from the lake. "It's over!"

"Behind!"

His clone was already moving into their broken formation by the time the warning left Kagome's mouth. A small kunai blocking the swing of the heavy sword. He'd hoped Zabuza's bloodlust would keep the man's attention on himself, it seemed like always luck didn't appear to be on his side. Missing-nin or not Kakashi supposed his enemy was still a professional.

Something moved from the lake towards them. Fast.

Fuck.

His hands rushed through the hand seals, the new clones racing towards the group the second they were created. That fucking bastard. Kakashi ran, kunai in hand, reaching Kagome just in time to block the swing Zabuza's new bunshin aimed at her.

The sound of metal against metal a loud reassurance that all his clones made it on time. He risked a glance back, the girl was on the ground like she'd jumped back on the last second. Azure eyes wide and locked on the two of them with apprehension. This was not good, he needed the kids and Tazuna in one place.

"Get back to Tazuna!"

With a quick nod Kagome made to move, her actions thankfully steady as she stood up.

The weight pressing against his blade vanished. Zabuza was moving, not towards him though. The girl had barely taken a step towards their client before she was forced to jump back again. Kakashi rushed in front of her once more to block the missing-nin.

He was going after the kids, the fucking bastard was targeting his students.

Years of experience were the only thing that let him force his rage under control. With three clones and the sharingan being used at the same time, wasting his chakra in a rushed jutsu would be a bad idea. Managing his chakra would be key. He could always cover his eye but losing both his improved vision and the genjutsu would be a stupid move.

"What's wrong? Things not going according to plan?"

"For someone claiming to be a demon, you seem oddly determined to avoid direct confrontation." Don't raise to the bait, he just had to focus on getting his genins together. "I'll create an opening, you get back to Tazuna."

Kakashi pushed forward. If he wanted things to work he needed to get rid of this clone and the one targetting Tazuna at almost the same time. A bit risky, but doable.

So he attacked, the sharingan letting him keep an eye on Kagome as he rushed forward. One good shove or a single good hit. That was all he needed to give the girl an out.

Easier said than done.

Zabuza's determination to go after the girl was forcing him on the defensive far too much and any big scale jutsu would hit the client. This was why hated protection details.

After what felt like an eternity Kagome's blurry figure raced to his right. Too close, she was too close to them and...he saw it. The clone's slip as his attention moved towards the girl. At last, his blade cut through water.

The jounin passed her, rushing to the back of the next clone locked in a stance with his bunshin in front of Tazuna. His kunai plunged into the fake body and the copy ninja allowed his clone to vanish.

"Don't try to intervene," Kakashi ordered, borrowed crimson locking into azure. "It's okay, I'll get those two back here as well."

Looking back to the remaining fights Kakashi assessed the situation.

One Zabuza clone and the original left. Both boys kept trying for an opening but the missing-nin was good at forcing them to move back.

Sasuke's opponent was a bunshin.

Decision made the jounin rushed at the clone targeting the Uchiha. Once he got rid of the last clone he could focus on the real Zabuza and give Naruto a way back to the group.

Dispatching the clone was way easier with the aid of his own bunshin. Not waiting to see Sasuke make his way to the others Kakashi rushed to his las student's side.

He didn't reach the blond.

A jet of water violently slammed the spot he'd just been standing on. So the real Zabuza was finally willing to face him.

Now if only he could get Naruto out of there.

He could feel the strain of using the Sharingan starting to weight on him, the clones had sapped too much chakra he'd have to be careful what jutsus he used from now on. Not that he could use any wide-area attack with his own student standing behind the rogue shinobi.

At least he should be able to make an opening for the blond more easily. A couple more docks got him close enough to force the man to block his attack.

"Now!"

To his relief whatever panic the blond must've been feeling wasn't bad enough for the boy to completely freeze like the last time. The bright orange form of his student running past him at a frenzied pace taking one weight off his shoulders.

Good, now if he could only relocate to take the group out of the line of fire…

He jumped out of the way of another swing.

It was a risky gamble, Zabuza had already shown an affinity for water-based jutsus but in this position Kakashi would be forced to take the brunt of any wide area attack or let the kids try and deflect it.

In an impulsive decision, the jounin made for the lake.

Panic gnawed at the back of her mind as she watched their teacher make a run for the lake. Wrong, this was wrong. A big mistake. Her instincts were screaming at her keeping her anxiety high despite finally being reunited with the others.

This was bad.

A heavy swing threatened to sink their sensei under the water, Zabuza's brute strength pushing the man down.

Dread grew inside her as she could do nothing but watch as the jounin made a sluggish attempt to rise. In what felt like less than a second the missing-nin was towering over Kakashi-sensei, water swirling on his command to swallow their teacher.

"Really, trying to escape into the water?" Zabuza laughed "But thanks to your mistake now there's no way of you getting out of this prison.

"It makes things tougher if you can move you know. Now Kakashi, we can finish things later, first I'll take care of them."

I'd really love to be proven wrong just once. Was the hysterical thought that crossed her mind as the water in front of them shifted to take the form of the imposing man, massive sword included.

"Wearing forehead protectors and acting like you are real ninjas, like you know what it means to be a shinobi. But you know what, a real ninja is someone who's survived brushes with death time after time. Until you've learned what it means to live alongside death," The clone stepped forward. "until you're good enough to be listed in my handbook you shouldn't be referred to as ninjas."

She could barely see a blur as the mist assassin crossed the distance between the edge of the lake to Naruto. The sickening sound of his feet making contact with his head reverberating through her skull.

Shit, this was not good.

Not good at all.

The shock of the vast gap in abilities was still affecting them. Watching the only one in their group capable of fighting him one on one get captured only served to worsen their mental state. They were not on equal footing with Zabuza, Kagome wasn't delusional enough to think they could beat him. But they weren't just any average graduates either. They shouldn't be flailing around like this. They could do better.

If only acting on it was as easy as logically realizing what was wrong.

"Just a brat."

"You guys! Take Tazuna-san and run away! You have no chance of beating him!" She knew that. She already knew that, Kakashi-sensei was not helping them at all here. "As long as he's keeping me trapped in this prison he can't move!

"The water clone cannot go too far from the real body. Just run away now!"

It couldn't?

Naruto-kun had taught them how to perform the basic shadow technique but they hadn't tested that and the blond couldn't really remember the full instructions written in Forbbiden Scroll …

Wide azure eyes looked back. Fog covered most of the ground and there were still several meters before they could go back to the start of the road. How far is too far?

Despite having only a fraction of Zabuza's abilities the clone still managed to get to Naruto and back in less than second. Could they even reach the limits of the area their sensei was suggesting…even if they could do so while running at full speed Tazuna was just a civilian…

"Uwahh!" Naruto-kun's form was still trembling, even as he launched forward, a primal scream leaving his lips. No. No, no he couldn't really be trying to…

"Naruto what are you doing?!"

Kagome wanted to run, she was faster than him, she could reach him in time, push him back…and then what?

Before the girl managed to force her limbs to move her childhood friend was back to them. Another kick effortlessly sent him flying all the way back to where they were standing.

Finally, her legs reacted, rushing towards the one person other than Sasuke that cared enough to remain by her side despite her continuous attempt to push everyone away. Relief and anger warring inside her at the sight of the blond's pained movements.

"Are you out of your mind," she hissed, panic coloring her words. "Rushing by yourself like that, none of us stand a chance like…"

Whatever she wanted to say next died in her throat as worried, azure eyes found the thing held tightly in Naruto's hand. His forehead protector. It fell with the first kick, didn't it? Was that why he went back? Vaguely she felt Sasuke come closer, the quiet gasp telling her he'd seen it as well.

"Hey...you browless freak," Naruto said, knees barely shaking as he stood up. "put this on your stupid handbook. The man who will one day become Hokage's name, Konoha shinobi, Uzumaki Naruto!"

Something snapped. Like a weight had just vanished Kagome could feel most of her panic melt away. Right, they weren't dead yet, giving up was not something any of them would ever do. Panicking like that was not in their nature, they would snap out of it.

"Hey, guys! Lend me your ears, I have a plan."

"Pfft, something useful from you?" Sasuke scoffed his voice almost as steady as it usually was.

Kagome couldn't help the soft laugh that escaped her. "His plans work well enough one-fifth of the time right," it had been his impromptu plan that allowed them to pass the bell test after all. "let's hear this out, it's not like we have too much to lose."

This she could do, the atmosphere was still heavy but her mind was working at a speed closer to normal now. And listening to her childhood friend's hushed and rushed words seemed to clear any hint of hesitation left in her. It could work, as much as she hated the fact that she'd be sent to the back once again there was no denying this could work. They could do it.

"What are you doing?! Run away!" Kakashi-sensei screamed, for once she could hear genuine desperation in his voice, so he actually cared for them then. A pity they had no real intention of obeying the orders. "This fight was over the moment I got caught! Our duty is to protect Tazuna-san! Did you forget that?!"

"Tazuna-san." she started, voice calm and clear. "there's honestly no guarantee what we're planning is going to work." Without taking her eyes off their new target Kagome moved to stand in front of the old man, senbons already lodged between her slender fingers. "But then again, there's no guarantee we can protect you even if we somehow make it out of the area the clone can move in.

"A simple choice really, we can either die trying to run away...or die trying to fight back."

"Your call old man."

"Guess this here is my fault, I can't say I'm not willing to do anything to survive." Tazuna looked back at Naruto, grim smile on his face. "I'm sorry guys, fight as much as you like."

"Pfft, you hear that," Sasuke smirked.

"Are you ready?"

"Not much of a choice is there?" Kagome replied, bitter amusement lacing her words.

"You guys never learn," Zabuza laughed. Still stubbornly trying to keep playing ninja eh?"

Kagome willed herself to stay still. This was a psychological play if she ever saw one. The man had to be sadistic, preferring to see his prey trembling in their feet if he was so intent on keeping this up despite knowing they couldn't match him.

"Let me tell what a real ninja is, when I was about your age these hands were already stained red with blood."

A chill ran down her spine at the seer pleasure in his voice as he spoke about it. This wasn't the first time she heard someone speaking about their kills, heck she'd already taken someone's life and felt no remorse. It was necessary so she killed. But that was just it, when a shinobi took another's life was because they had to. Whether because that was the mission's objective or because they needed to in order to complete their assignments the reasoning behind it was the same. It was a part of the job, not the objective. Killing was a fact of life for a shinobi but not one they would ever prioritize. As the man spoke however one thing was abundantly clear.

Momochi Zabuza enjoyed killing, he simply took pleasure in hurting others. If they wanted to have a sliver of hope for surviving then they couldn't afford to mess up.

AN: Thinking back on it I really don't get Zabuza's decisions in canon, I mean yes going for Tazuna with that first attack is fine but after he gets stopped by Kakashi why keep going after Tazuna? There are three clearly weaker targets that aren't going to be protected as much and knowing what he does about Kakashi making him waste chakra is probably his best bet. He has to know working with Haku that kekkei genkai use more chakra, he knows Kakashi is not an Uchiha so thinking that the sharingan takes more from him than someone who was born from it is not that big of a leap in logic, and clones zaps chakra like crazy. Attacking all the genins at the same time is going to force Kakashi to tire himself really quickly so why not do it? I don't think it's that he was just overconfident, he had Haku on standby for a reason, he knew he might need help so then...

In any case, thank you so much for reading and stay safe everyone.

Tempest S: I actually went ahead and checked Zabuza's former rank and he was supposed to be former ANBU and fairly renown as well, honestly I think he was supposed to be at Kakashi's level but by the time he appeared in the story the limit of the power levels was far from being decided so he ends up feeling so much weaker compared to the rest of the new enemies. His sword was also supposed to be super special but again I really didn't get that feeling. If you ask me I have no idea why both him and Haku (his ice cage is useful against small groups but can't hold a candle to the large scale jutsus everyone else who was revived) were brought back other than nostalgia.

I never thought about what would happen if Sakura died but I can see your point. You wouldn't even have to change much in the story for it to work, she did basically nothing in the first half and what little she does later on isn't something exclusive to her, someone else could've apprenticed under Tsunade and have the exact same results...I don't actually remember Sakura having a fight focused on her other than the one against Sasori and Chiyo did half of the work there. Her death would've certainly motivated Kakashi and Naruto could've really grown like that, depending on how she died future confrontations with Akatsuki could've had even more tension for him. Hell even Sasuke would've benefitted from it, we never see him learn anything under Kakashi other than the chidori and that was because he was forced into a corner. Maybe if they boy felt he was getting stronger he wouldn't have turned away so easily