Cognizance
“Its’s over? You don’t get it, do you?” Nobara’s ears piqued, Zabuza’s guttural laugh resonated through her ears soundly as the rest of his words seemed to blur and fade out. She shudders as the memory of a familiar tragedy resurfaced from the pits of her mind; the hair from the nape of her neck arose. For a second, she was under the impression that she was seeing Hideyoshi-sensei and the rogue who killed her former sensei when she gazed at Kakashi and Zabuza. She could still see the vivid depiction of Hideyoshi’s throat being cut open and the blood spurting from his neck. The teacher, the Kiri-nin, the three genin and the old man standing in front of her prompt her to a setting she was no stranger to. Her chest rose and collapsed at a rapid pace, her heart thumped against her chest, she could hear her its beat in her ears. Her fingers around her blade tightened as her hands trembled, her nails digging through the skin of her palm.
She felt a nudge on her elbow, the Uchiha gave her a hard look before muttering, “get a grip.”
“Tsk,” was the only sound that escaped her throat, before taking a subtle deep breath and forcing her muscles to relax. However, she was grateful when he brought her back from her atrocious daze, but they knew now wasn’t the time to talk. She focused on Kakashi and Zabuza’s interaction, and realized she missed some of what was said, but she picked up enough to know what was going on.
“At that time, you had already copied my technique, Mizu Bunshin. You had your clone say those words to attract my attention… while the real you stayed in the mist and watched. Nice plan.” The missing-nin spoke to the Jonin, reading through Kakashi’s scheme. “But…”
Another chill travelled down Nobara’s spine, but this time she pulled her own mind from straying. A blink and she saw another clone of Zabuza’s standing behind Kakashi.
“I’m not that easy.”
“That one’s a fake too!” Naruto warned Kakashi.
The masked foe swung his cleave around, his body rotating along the weight of his sharp and heavy weapon. Kakashi crouched to dodge, but Zabuza planted his sword in the ground, before leaning against the fulcrum of his weapon and landed a kick on the jonin’s left side, sending him flying towards the pond nearby.
There was, after all, no stopping Nobara from acting out of her own will. With chakra gathered at her feet, she released it from the plank of her foot, running up to the angled sword rooted in the soil, she didn’t let Zabuza ground his feet as he looked back at her with startled eyes. He dodged, tilting his head forward to the side which caused her to miss hitting him with her small blade. But, seizing the opening she created, her foot connected with his cheekbone, sending him flying towards the makibishi Kakashi so subtly scattered on the ground. But Zabuza had already recuperate before his body could collapse on the small spikes on the ground, feet planting in between the gaps, now facing her. Even under the bandages covering half of his face, Nobara could tell that his lips pulled into a smirk with the way the fabric crinkled, and his eyes squinted faintly.
“Heh, interesting. So much strength in such a tiny little body. I’ll take care of you next.” The Kiri-nin stated, hues of amusement in his tone before he vanished from sight and the next thing she knew, he stood above waters right behind a struggling Kakashi who was fully emersed in the river. It gave them the impression that Zabuza found solid ground to stand on waters as he told the Konoha-nin, “fool,” before he executed a complex set of mudras with his hands with expeditious and precise movements. His hand extended towards Kakashi before a body of rich and dense water wrapped into a sphere around the jonin, entrapping him inside this prison of liquid.
“Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto shouted in concern.
“Your mistake was trying to escape through the water.” The Kiri-nin sneered, and continued, “Now I have you in my inescapable prison. Find it harder to move, yet?”
Zabuza then turns to the group of genin and Tazuna, sheathing his sword to his back. His eyes darkened as he used his only unoccupied hand to half-completed ram mudra.
“Now… Kakashi, we can finish things later. But first, I’ll take care of this little thing and then dispose the rest of your precious pupils.” The strong adversary spoke as a clone of his materialized in front of Nobara and Team Seven.
The clone noised a laugh, looking up at them. “Wearing those headbands and acting like ninjas. A true ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death.” His eyes stopped on Nobara. “Pieces of clothes don’t make a shinobi. You need skills good enough to rate a listing in my bingo-book can you start calling yourselves ninjas. But you, “the Kiri-nin turns to the young Miyazaki, pointing his cleave at her, “I know you. I’ve seen you before…Miyazaki Nobara.”
Nobara could feel the eyes of team seven once Zabuza had mentioned her. There was a pause as her brow furrowed in confusion. She could feel the eyes of the old man and the other genin on her back. And then she queried, “how do you know my name?”
His gravelly laugh had reached her ears once more and he spoke, “You see, a little over a year ago, I’ve sent someone to ensure that my men succeed in their mission…for good measures. The spy I sent had told me a small, white-haired girl had defeated my men, then we did a little digging. I had a hard time believing that Jiro and Isamu lost to such a meek-looking child. But no matter, in the end, they were the ones who proved themselves weak.”
“Everyone, listen!” Kakashi shouted from the water-prison he was trapped in. “Take Tazuna and leave! He’s going to stay put unless he releases me from his water prison. When his doppelganger reaches a certain distance, his real form loses control of it! So, get out of here while you still can!”
Distraught, the look in the three genin eyes were troubled as their sensei’s orders reached their ears, none of them wishing to leave their teacher behind.
However, for Nobara, Kakashi’s instructions blurred out, sounding muffled and faraway. Her muscles tensed when the names of the two missing-nin who have killed her friends and teacher were pronounced. She started seething, as her mind started to set the pieces together. Her brows furrowed in anger when it registered in her mind that the two rogues that slaughtered her squad were working for the man standing in front of her. Even though she understood that Gato was the one who employed Zabuza, he was just as guilty as the one who sent him. All she wanted was to kill him.
The speed in which he moved made it seem like he vanished, and before they could do anything, “argh!” Nobara’s feet left the ground as she dropped her wakizashi blade to the ground, Zabuza’s large hand gripping at her neck. “It was you…who sent them.” She mustered, grabbing onto his arms, and trying to dig her nails into his skin in an attempt to force him to release his grasp around her neck but it was to no avail.
“Oh, it’s nothing personal. We’re only doing the jobs we are paid to do.” His laugh reverberated in her ears as he cocked his head to the side. “It’s a shame you’re so emotional.” He told her, squeezing a little harder and blocking her airways. “You know, when I learned that you were only a genin when you killed Jiro and Isamu, I was reminded of my younger self.” He sneered. “Oh, I would give anything to have my hands stained in blood for the first time."
He squeezed with enough force to break her frail neck. The bone-chilling cracking sound they heard from Nobara’s throat sent a cold chill down the other genin’s spine. Her body disappeared, permutating into a log of wood before emerged from beneath him. She grabbed her sword and brandished at Zabuza. He stepped back, dodging the blade. She veered off her course with a switch kick to the ground, as he swung his large cleave down at her, the tip of his blade sunk into the earth.
Through the eyes of the genin of Team Seven, Nobara’s earlier prowess against the Demon was a vast contrast to what she was exhibiting in front of their very eyes now. In her violent fury, her speed increased, nearly matching Zabuza’s. They way her arms and legs shifted and swung emanated an animalistic ferocity that made them all flinch as her clawed hand almost grazed the missing-nin.
Zabuza dodged her attack, and she followed up by swinging her blade at his torso. He blocked the attack with his sword. For a moment, their swords were locked, but due to their height and weight differences, all it took for him was to brandish his heavy sword. The force of the strike sent Nobara flying backwards, her feet grounded themselves to the ground.
He laughed, his laughter echoing in her ears. "I can tell you're better at fighting than the other little runts. I'm impressed." He admitted, "but even though your movements are swift, they lack finesse."
Nobara scorned, but she knew that his words were true, that he was stronger than the opponents she faced. She could feel the seething and angry blood running through her veins and was well aware that her muscles were twitching with anticipation and impatience. The emotional turmoil inside of her couldn't be subdued, where logic had been completely thrown out of the window. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, her breathing becoming erratic.
"Hahaha!" Zabuza snickered again. "You've got guts, kid. But you won't last long." He said, as he brought his hand up in a Ram mudra once again.
All it took was one fraction of a second. There was no time to react, Nobara was caught off-guard, and it felt like she couldn't breathe as Zabuza picked her up by the back of her collar, lifted her up and slammed her tiny body into the ground. Blood spewed from her mouth, the air of her lungs asphyxiating. She tried to struggle, to push herself away from him, but she found no strength within her.
Zabuza walked around her, inspecting the damage he inflicted. "Well, looks like you're going to die today," He remarked to himself, before raising his right foot high in the air, ready to finish her off. This was where she had the terrible realization of the gap in their strength, and how weak she still was.
But the kick never landed, instead it was Naruto who took the blow. His body barrelled on the ground, striking the dirt with such force that it caused dust clouds to rise from its impact.
Zabuza turned around to face Naruto, who was still lying motionless on the floor, his whole body covered in cuts and bruises. "Heh, weak."
Nobara looked up to the blond-haired genin, and in her daze, she thought she saw her friend Hiroto laying on the ground. "Hiroto...run." She muttered, her voice raspy and meek as she reached out a hand to him. Her face contorted from the pain she sustained as tears started to stream down her pale cheeks. But her tears weren't from the physical ache, but from panic and desperation. "...Please." Was the last word she uttered before darkness engulfed her vision.