Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve:
The mist thickens, not only obscuring Naruto's sight of Kakashi, but also clouding the jounin's scent from him.
"There are eight vital points," Zabuza's voice rings out around the area, echoing eerily. "Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidney and heart." He lists off, his voice low and intimidating. "Now, which organ would you like to be struck at?"
Sweat drips down Sasuke's chin and Naruto nudges him with his elbow, trying to snap the boy out of whatever daze he's fallen into. It doesn't work. And neither does glaring at him.
Sasuke's fingers twitch. His grip on the handle of his kunai tightens. He shakily brings it closer to his chest, onyx coloured eyes wide and staring off into space.
Shit, Naruto curses internally. Shit. Shit. Shit.
"Sasuke," Kakashi's voice is steady, coming from somewhere in front of them. "Don't worry. I'll protect the three of you with my life."
A sudden burst of electrifying chakra erupts from in front of the group, dispelling Zabuza's mist jutsu. The area clears and sunlight pours in, lighting up Kakashi's figure. "I absolutely won't let my comrades die," the jounin declares softly, turning to flash his pups a closed eye smile.
Sakura lets out a quiet, wounded noise, surprise flickering across her pale features. Stuck between her and Sasuke, Naruto realises he'll have to come up with a gift for Kakashi's unwavering show of loyalty.
"I don't know about that," Zabuza murmurs ominously from within team sevens protective formation of Tazuna, having appeared without a sound. His sword glints dangerously in Sakura's peripheral vision. Sasuke's breath audibly hitches and Naruto feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention, knowing he's successfully been cornered by a stronger predator.
"This is the end." Zabuza states, monotone.
In between one blink and another, Naruto's instincts flare to life, a protective, possessive surge rushing through his blood. Team seven are an extension of him, they belong to him ━ hadn't he promised Iruka he'd protect them the same way he protects the chuunin?
Zabuza twists his sword to decapitate them all and Naruto pushes Sakura towards Tazuna, forcing the two to stumble together. Grabbing a hold of the back of Sasuke's shirt, Naruto activates his flying raijin and teleports the four of them away from Zabuza and his bloodthirsty sword.
They land in separate directions, Sakura with Tazuna near the tree line and Naruto with Sasuke, closer to the lake.
"Fuck," Naruto curses, breathing heavily as he crouches down. It's the first time he's used the flying raijin to move so many objects at the same time and it's making pain flare up and down his chest, like a fire is trying to lick up all the oxygen in his lungs.
"Naruto," Sasuke sinks down beside the blonde boy, looking fraught as he carefully holds onto his shoulders. He doesn't say anything else, unable to, with the words getting stuck in his throat. Sasuke glances to the other side, watching as Sakura struggles to stand to her feet.
In between them, Kakashi clashes with Zabuza, stabbing his kunai into the mist ninja's abdomen with a sickening, slick sound. Naruto can hear the sound of blood dripping, but when he looks, all he finds is water trailing from out of Zabuza's wound and onto the ground.
The air behind Kakashi shifts and another Zabuza appears. The first one ━ the clone ━ turns into water, splashing loudly in all directions. Kakashi turns swiftly, just as the real Zabuza swings his sword, effectively slicing him in half.
Blood splatters almost everywhere and Sakura watches, terrified beyond belief, as the blood changes to water, splashing in all directions just like Zabuza's clone had done earlier.
Surprise, plain and evident, flickers across Zabuza's bandaged face, those dark eyes of his widening as he feels a kunai press against the side of his neck.
"Don't move," the real Kakashi advises coolly from behind Zabuza. His voice, which is usually low and warm, filled with a lazy tone, is now ice cold, not only succeeding in making Sasuke flinch, but also forcing Naruto to raise his shoulders to press into his cheeks, effectively hiding the vulnerable line of his throat. “It's over.”
A dark laugh bubbles from within Zabuza's chest, his amusement thick and heavy in the air. His mist jutsu slowly trickles in again, clouding the area around them. “Did you say it's over?’’ he asks. “You don't understand, do you? You won't be able to defeat me with such simple moves. Not a chance.”
Kakashi’s eyes narrow at the mist ninja's words. He presses the tip of his kunai closer to the man’s neck, but all Zabuza does is laugh again.
“But, I must admit… you are good,” he says, reluctance heavy in his tone, “you copied my water clone jutsu and distracted me with it, using the hidden mist jutsu to hide yourself to see what I was doing…” Zabuza clicks his tongue and presses his throat into the sharp end of Kakashi's kunai, dispelling himself into water.
The real Zabuza appears behind Kakashi with a shift of the misty air. “However, I am no fool,” he intones, swinging his sword through the air.
Kakashi ducks just in time, evading the deathly blow, but Zabuza is fast. He turns, sending Kakashi flying through the air and into the lake with a sharp, strong kick. When Kakashi resurfaces, disgruntled, Zabuza is quick to join him at the lake, performing a dozen quick hand signs that Naruto can barely keep up with.
“You fool,” Zabuza snickers, “this is the water prison jutsu.’’ He watches in glee as the water around Kakashi comes to life, trapping him in a sphere before the jounin is even capable of running away. “You've been caught, Kakashi,” he grins beneath the bandages wrapped around his face, “now then… I think I'll finish off those brats of yours first.”
With one hand preoccupied with keeping the water prison intact, Zabuza uses his other hand to create half of the ram sign. “Water clone jutsu,” he mutters, letting the water in front of him rise to create an imitation of himself.
Kakashi struggles from within the sphere of water, unable to get out of it. He yells at his team, “take Tazuna with you and run!”
Zabuza’s water clone laughs. “Look at you,” he says, eyeing Kakashi’s pups with disdain, “acting brave and big, wearing hitai-ate like you're real ninja. Listen up, real ninja are those who have hovered between life and death numerous times━”
“That's right,” Naruto murmurs, sliding his tongue along his bottom lip, surprising Zabuza into silence. Sasuke tenses beside him, keeping as still as a statue, and Naruto slowly rises to hit feet. He rolls his head from side to side, easing up the tense muscles in his shoulders. His mask slips away and Naruto smiles, soft and kind, blue eyes terrifyingly empty.
Zabuza stares into the eyes of the void.
And the void stares back.
“You see,” Naruto says, eerily calm, “if it's about life and death, then this team… is very well acquainted with those two things.”
Sasuke sucks in a sharp breath, before a breath of laughter slips out from between his lips in pure disbelief. Of all the times to bring up our villages mistakes.... He feels hysterical, joining Naruto's side with a cocky smirk.
“Sakura,” Naruto calls, his empty gaze still pinned onto Zabuza's clone, “what did Kakashi say on the boat?”
The girl swallows thickly, hesitantly moving towards her teammates. She feels like she's walking through a pool of mud, her whole body heavy and hurting as Tazuna stumbles after her. “That.. that we’re not supposed to separate from each other.”
“Exactly,” Naruto says. “and what did he promise us just five minutes ago?’’
Sakura can feel sweat dripping down her back. Her hands keep trembling. She whispers, “that he'd protect us with his life.”
“I don't know about you two,” Naruto says, sizing Zabuza up with a small, animalistic tilt of his head, “but loyalty is something I value, and Kakashi deserves a reward for it.”
“Oi, Sensei,” Naruto shifts his empty gaze onto Kakashi, “I’m letting you see the real me. It's only fair that after this… you start answering my questions.”
Stuck in the water sphere, with his heart beating loudly behind his ribcage, Kakashi is once again reminded of Minato. The empty gaze, the soft smile ━ even the way Naruto is peering at Zabuza like he’s merely an insignificant bug ━ all of it, is exactly the way Minato would have reacted in a hostage situation like this. Kakashi grits his teeth. It doesn't matter. Naruto is still a pup. “What are you doing? Hurry up and run! Our mission is to protect Tazuna! Or did you forget about that?’’
Ignoring him, team seven collectively glance back at Tazuna. The man lowers his head in understanding. “Well, this is the seed that I planted…” he trails off, smiling beneath the brim of his straw hat. “I can't say that I want my life to be spared. Sorry you guys.” He lifts his head, “fight as much as you want!”
“You hear that, Sakura?” Naruto’s soft smile turns into a blinding smile. He holds his thumb close to his mouth, “we can fight as much as we want.”
“Right,” Sakura breathes out shakily. “I'm terrified,” she confesses in a whisper, placing the pad of her thumb along her bottom lip.
Sasuke scoffs, copying his teammates. “I can't believe I'm about to say this, but it looks like we're going to have to use our teamwork to get out of this one.”
“You talk too much,” Zabuza barks out a sharp laugh. “What could the three of you possibly do against me? Surely you don't think you can beat me with that flashy teleportation jutsu of yours, you Namikaze brat?” Zabuza shakes his head and holds out his hand. “You're still playing at being ninja. When I was your age, this hand was already stained red with blood!”
“That would make two of us,” Naruto happily supplies, before he and his teammates bite into their thumbs, effectively drawing blood. The three of them crouch low to the ground and slam their palms towards the earth. “Summoning jutsu!” They chorus loudly.
Smoke rises from the ground, clearing away to show three large, menacing wolves with dangerous golden eyes and overly sharp fangs.
“Master Naruto,” Kuro greets, baring his fangs at Zabuza. Beside him, Shiro growls threateningly, lowering her large body closer to the ground, like she's preparing for an attack.
“Have you summoned us for a meal?’’ Chairo questions, eyeing Zabuza hungrily. His stomach grumbles loudly. “That one looks like he has a decent amount of meat on him.”
“You can have his corpse later,” Sasuke promises, scratching just behind the wolf’s ear. Chairo makes a deep, rumbling noise, evidently pleased by his words.
Beside them, Naruto runs his hand through the fur on Kuro’s flank. His orders are simple. “Keep Tazuna alive. He's our mission. If we fail this, we won't be able to participate in the chuunin exams.”
“That's right,” Sakura frowns, determination settling into her pale features as Shiro’s white tail brushes along her shoulders reassuringly, “I can't even begin to imagine the embarrassment of not being able to participate while the rest of our classmates do.”
“We understand,” the wolf siblings chorus, slinking away to herd Tazuna into safety. With the civilian out of the way, Naruto steps forward, raising both his middle and index fingers to form a cross.
“Shadow clone jutsu!” He calls out, making smoke rise up all over the area. When the dust settles, twenty of his clones appear, equipped with basic kunai.
“So, you've been hiding this too…” Sasuke trails off.
“There's so many…” Sakura awe’s. She stares at Naruto's back with wide, pale green eyes. When did you become so dependable? She wonders.
“Hmm?” Zabuza's clone steps off the lake and onto land, looking mildly impressed. “First the teleportation jutsu, then the summoning jutsu and now the shadow clone jutsu…” the water clone lets out a low chuckle, “Kakashi, your brats are somewhat impressive.”
He reaches behind him, to grab a hold of his broadsword and unclips it, unleashing it into the air with one mighty swoop. “Now let's see if they're any good in battle!”