In which recuperation and strategies are to be had.
The clone fell apart like a well thrown water balloon.
Sakura fell limply back to the ground, landing with a dull thud. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing hoarsely. Haruhi landed with a gasp on her stomach.
"THROW IT!" She screamed at Sasuke. Sasuke who was still staring at Sakura in shock, snapped out of it and threw it across the clearing, directly at Zabuza. He was still in shock from his clone being destroyed by a few inch tall woman and barely dodged, this time lacking a witty comeback.
Kakashi didn't react at all, horrified eyes on the two female members of team seven. Then the second Shuriken hidden under hit, right in Zabuza's shoulder.
He screamed in pain and a puff of smoke obscured him. Kakashi fell onto the water and in a movement to quick to follow, pulled the real Naruto away from the demon. Blood was on his orange jacket and her heart leapt into her throat before she realized it was Zabuza's. Naruto's kunai was covered in blood from where he had launched it into the demon's shoulder.
Zabuza jumped back, bleeding heavily and panting, watching the wrathful Kakashi like a cornered animal.
Sasuke ran over to Sakura and her, the Naruto clone long since poofing out of existence. He dropped into a crouch and his hands hovered unsure, never having actually picked up Haruhi or helped Sakura before. He helped Sakura up and Haruhi was lifted by a stunned Tazuna. He held her as if she was made of glass, delicate and could cut you if broken.
Naruto swam back to shore, and Kakashi was beating Zabuza so bad it wasn't even a competition. He got beat down in canon, here, he was getting slaughtered. She quickly scanned the treeline for Haku.
"Q-quickly, Zabuza might have an accomplice like the two others had each other. Stand guard!" The three shakily went in formation, eyes drifting back to the massacre. Bleeding heavily from multiple wounds from his shoulder, Zabuza swayed from blood loss. His eyes were tinged with desperation as Kakashi went in for the kill.
And then she heard chirping.
Chidori.
Kakashi was warming up, having immobilized Zabuza.
"STOP!"
Sasuke whipped around, just in time to stop Tazuna from being taken hostage. But too late for her.
An elegant hand clenched around her, and a giant needle was being pressed against her collarbone. Kakashi's chidori fizzled out of existence. So did Zabuza, escaping through the trees with a frantic dash.
The genin and Kakashi surrounded Haku from all sides. He was trapped.
"Zabuza could have easily killed Kakashi, and you could have taken out the genin while they were distracted. What are you playing at? Why didn't you carry out Gato's order to the fullest and get the job done as soon as possible? Are you playing him or is he playing you?" She whispered.
The fist spasmed around her, and the shouts of outrage were deafening. Although exhausted, Kakashi fist was gripping the Kunai. His sharingan swirled. Haku knew he wouldn't be getting out of this alive with the three genin, much less Kakashi, and Zabuza wouldn't be able to save him in his condition. Haku would rather die than betray Zabuza.
She was the only thing keeping him alive, but Haku didn't care about his life.
With a scream, she burned Haku's hand with whatever chakra she had left, causing him to drop her in pain and surprise.
Kakashi jumped sideways for her, barely catching her before she hit the stone. The last thing she saw was his panicked expression, and a fleeing Haku.
...
...Voices hummed in the background. Some hysterical, all strained.
"Kakas-...-what wil..hh! Is there any-ohmy...Haruh-!" She fell back asleep to ignore the static.
Flashes of light made her eyes hurt and confused her. She closed them tighter.
Her back hurt and sensations like a thousand tiny bugs prickled all along her body. So she fell back asleep.
When she woke up for the fourth time, it was with a gasp and an abrupt jolt upwards. This wasn't her matchbox bed! And where was her warm cat curled up at the base of her bed and keeping her toes warm? She cracked her eyes open to a dim room.
It was barren and mostly empty, the only items being a picture on the wall and the pillow she was on. The sound of slow even breathing captured her attention-it sure wasn't her's. She painstakingly turned over to the other side and blinked at the sleeping figure of Naruto. And Sakura. And Sasuke. They were all sleeping on a spread out mat, obvious eye bags adorning their faces.
She looked down at herself. She had come on this trip with nothing but the clothes on her back and her glasses, so she wasn't surprised to see herself only in her boxers and a bra. She had been wrapped in a wash cloth, various parts of her body covered in bandages. Every bit of her ached and if she tilted her head just right, she could see a giant bruise and a gash from where the senbon had been pressed to her shoulder.
"You gave us all quite a scare." A relieved voice said.
She turned as quickly as she could, coming face to face with Kakashi. Inches away.
"I thought you stopped that."
"Maa, it's making a comeback."
His breath fanned over her in a sigh, and his eyes trailed up and down her body-checking her injuries. She did the same.
Kakashi was in better shape then he was in canon and her heart stilled as the thought crossed her mind. He wasn't wrapped in nearly as much bandages and was clearly walking on his own without the support of crutches. The way he cautiously moved dictated some soreness, but he wasn't bedridden.
"You're suffering from chakra exhaustion and a puncture wound." The previous emotion was erased, the blush gone.
"It's not like I wanted to."
He stared blankly before sighing again. He seemed to do that a lot. But their chatter had another sided effect.
"-WERE SO GL-GLAD YOU'RE ALRIGHT AND YOU WERE LIMP AND NO-NOT MOVING, AND AND REALLY PALE!" Naruto desperately tried to stifle sobs, biting his sleeve. She looked back up at Kakashi, whose face was covered by hair.
Sakura and Sasuke had shot up, eyes wide. Sakura immediately crawled over to Haruhi and with surprising confidence, started checking her over.
"I wasn't sure entirely what to do but I know cause I read it in the book, Haruhi-Sensei, that you need bed rest and can't do jutsu." Sakura blurted.
"What," She licked her lips." Made you a medic all of a sudden?"
Everyone looked on, wanting to know the answer. Sakura fidgeted, looking back and forth from her to Sasuke, who had his emo face on.
"I remembered how you said Naruto can't lose anymore brain cells and how we help our teammates, and well, I started thinking about how I could."
Oh. Okay then.
"She fixed me up too. "Kakashi said.
Naruto ran downstairs, blabbing something about getting food. Sakura ran after him, yelling about how he would poison Haruhi-sensei if he did. Sasuke twitched.
Kakashi smiled at her, touching her hand before getting up to leave her alone-with Sasuke. She stared at him, and he resolutely looked everywhere but her. They sat in a tense silence for a bit, Haruhi waiting for him to crack. He mumbled under his breath.
"What?"
"...Sorry." He ground out, teeth clenched.
!
The great Sasuke Uchiha, apologizing! For what?
"Um, what for?" A muscle jumped in his jaw.
"...For not protecting you. I let the missing-nin get you." Oh! He was talking about Haku grabbing her from Tazuna. Sasuke's hair was in his face and she couldn't see his expression.
"It's okay, really! That nin seemed to be at least chunin level." She laughed, relieved it wasn't something else. Sasuke untensed, looking almost hopefully at her before catching himself, grunting, and walking away with one last glance over his shoulder. And for all his drawbacks, Haruhi was reminded he was still a child.
Would he be after this mission?
Now left completely alone, she wondered just how long she had been asleep. The bandage over her shoulder had a bit of dried blood, so it only recently stopped bleeding. So maybe a day, two max.
Zabuza was injured worse this time around, and Haku's cover was blown, so they would probably take more time to recover. Team seven had the advantage. She didn't have to wait long, as Naruto and Sakura came back, with more food then she could possibly eat.
Fish,(yuck) fruit that was slighted wilted, and rice. She didn't want to eat up here, so she wrapped herself in the washcloth and asked Sakura to carry her down. Unable to resist, Sakura picked her up.
Kakashi, Sasuke, Tazuna, and Tazuna's daughter were there. She supposed Inari went to bed or something, which she was happy about as she remembered him being a whiny piss-baby.
She had to hide because of Tazuna's daughter.
007 style, she glided over the table when the daughter was washing dishes(much to the genin's and Tazuna's amusement) and crawled into Kakashi's pocket, the man with a perfect poker face. It was a struggle to get the washcloth in with her, she she just threw it on the table, a scandalized gasp leaving Sakura, and Naruto making kissy faces.
"Déjà vu, huh?" She said.
Sasuke choked on his rice.
"W-what's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing." Kakashi eye smiled. At this angle, if she poked her head out she would be hidden. So she stuck it out and nibble on a rice piece the size of her finger. It was hella good. She noticed the side glances and well she new she wasn't something you see everyday. But this was different. It was as if all of them were sizing her up, rethinking her, and she wasn't sure she liked it.
Well slitting Zabuza Momochi's throat, even if it was a clone (and only because he didn't know she was there), then escaping another Nin was something else.
But something had irrevocably changed with those actions.
What would happen now?