Of Discoveries, Returns, and Ice Mirrors
-Of Discoveries, Returns, and Ice Mirrors-
The morning was nothing but peaceful for the oldest of the Minamoto children, what with the twins being away on a mission. The only sounds that could be heard throughout the house was the ruffle of his father's newspaper and clinking from the dishes his mother was washing in the sink.
Toshiaki sipped at his tea, slowly moving the cup away from his lips with a light and content sigh. Looking up towards the clock on the wall caused him to raise a brow. 'Why does it seem like something is missing?' He thought to himself as he glanced around the kitchen. He moved his gaze to his father, who at the moment, seemed perfectly happy and completely at ease. Toshiaki then gave out a low hum under his breath before turning to his mother. He stared at her long, brown hair for a moment before it hit him. Where was Amaya? His precious Imouto. His dear and lovable baby sister who had the strength of ten men. He hadn't seen her all morning, certainly she wasn't still sleeping? He decided then to voice his thoughts.
"It's quiet today..." Toshiaki hummed cryptically with a nod, in hopes that his parents would casually bring up his sister.
"Yeah, we haven't had a day like this in a while." Kenji replied with a light laugh as Mitsuko joined them at the table.
The room then became silent once again, causing the younger, white haired males' eyebrows to twitch slightly. "Mama...? ~" Toshiaki called out cutely, prompting his mother to hum in acknowledgment. "Did Imouto have another early morning meeting with her team? She isn't still asleep, is she?" He asked, causing both of his parents to look at him in slight surprise before making eye contact with each other.
"No, she's--" Mitsuko meant to say more but was cut off as he stood quickly from his seat.
"I'll go get her then! ~" Toshiaki crooned cheerfully as he rounded the corner to the hall, his mind only processing the "no" in his mothers sentence.
The two adults could only stare in an awkward silence as he left the room.
***
'We'll spend the whole day together and I'll treat her to some dango!' Toshiaki thought to himself happily as he made his way upstairs. His mind forming a scenario of Amaya and himself having a great time as the two twins sulk in the background with jealousy.
He passed by multiple doors until he made it to the one farthest away from the staircase. "I-MOU-TO! ~" He called out in a singsong voice while giving a closed eyed smile as he flung open the bedroom door. His response, however, was complete silence. Opening his eyes, he looked toward the bed expecting to see a lump under the covers but was only greeted by neatly made bedsheets.
With wide brown eyes he walked towards the bed, and after placing a hand on the pillow his face lost all color. 'This bed hasn't been slept in...' He thought to himself before looking around the room. It then came to his realization that some of her weapons and scrolls were missing, along with her pouches. Letting out a shriek, he bolted out of the room and down the stairs.
"KAA-SAN! TOU-SAN! AMAYA'S MISSING! WHAT IF SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENED TO HER OR SHE WAS KIDNAPPED?!" Toshiaki squawked, his flailing caused his parents to sigh.
"Toshiaki, nothing's happened to Amaya." Kenji deadpanned.
"B-but--..." Toshiaki began, but was cut off by his father. "She wasn't kidnapped. Everything's just fine."
"She went on a mission. She won't be back until a few days from now." Mitsuko added reassuringly. However, her reply did anything but calm her eldest child as he dropped to his knees, his brown eyes overflowing with tears.
"IMOUTOOOO!" Toshiaki cried out in despair, causing nearby birds to fly away.
-Meanwhile-
Amaya sat up abruptly from her slouched position as a chill went down her spine, earning herself strange looks from her compatriots. 'My trash senses are tingling...'
"Amaya?" Kakashi drawls out before continuing, "Is everything alright?"
The brunette ignored his question. However, her scowl and low murmurs consisting of "piece of trash" and "go die" helped him understand completely. "Let me guess... It's Toshiaki, isn't it?" Kakashi asked again, causing the girl to snap out of her thoughts and look at him curiously.
Giving a small nod Amaya asked, "How'd you know?"
"Who's that?" Sakura asked after greeting everyone good morning.
"Toshiaki?" Kakashi asked making everyone besides Amaya and Sasuke nod their heads. "He's Amaya's older brother. I've worked with him a couple of times on missions."
"He's a complete womanizer. A walking trash can. He's like Sasuke, except he likes the attention." Amaya added blankly, making everyone sweatdrop at her bluntness.
"Hey kid, that's a bit harsh don't ya think?" Tazuna asked as the others and himself looked between the two.
"He can be a bit.. hopeless sometimes." Kakashi informed, causing Amaya to scoff lightly to herself before adding, "But underneath it all, he is very intelligent and a good strategist."
"I didn't get to tell him I was leaving... I have a feeling he just figured it out." Amaya said as she and Kakashi gave a tired sigh in unison. "Anyway, it's awful quiet this today... Where's Naruto? I haven't seen him all morning." She asked, changing the subject altogether.
"Naruto's not here? Looks like he was out all night again." Tazuna mused to himself, looking around.
"He's gone completely crazy. He's out climbing trees in the dark. He could be dead by now, you know, from using up too much of his chakra." Sakura replied, her unconcerned tone caused Amaya to twitch slightly.
"Well, I certainly hope that he's okay! A child spending the night in the woods alone..." Tsunami trailed off as she walked over to the table with a tray.
"There's nothing to worry about. Naruto's a goofy kid but he's also a full-fledged ninja, he can handle himself." Kakashi reassured.
"Sakura's right. Naruto's such a loser, he's probably lying out there dead somewhere." Sasuke cut in. Amaya, hearing enough, slammed her hands down on the table as she stood. "I wish you all would quit talking like that!" She exclaimed angrily as she made her way to the door.
"Where are you going?" Tsunami asked, her motherly instincts kicking in.
"I'm going to find that blond idiot. Thanks for the meal." Amaya replied curtly as she left.
The room was silent for a moment before Sasuke silently stood from his seat, also walking towards the door.
"Sasuke?" Sakura called out curiously.
"I'm going for a walk." The ravenet replied as he followed after the Minamoto.
"We just started eating... Huh?" Sakura mumbled aloud as she looked at the table, particularly at a set of empty plates. "That was fast." Sakura mused as her eye twitched slightly.
***
Sasuke eventually caught up with the brunette and the two continued to walk in silence. Looking farther up ahead, they see a young woman walking towards them. As the woman passes them and gets farther away, Sasuke stops walking and glances back.
Noticing the Uchiha's disappearance from her side, Amaya turns around. "Hey, you okay?" She asks, looking between Sasuke and the woman. Not long after, he turns back to face her and gives a nod in response before the two continue down the path.
They soon hear the murmurings of a certain blond. "Woah, I've seen a lot of weird things in my life before, but this takes the cake." Naruto mumbles, not realizing that Sasuke and Amaya were approaching.
Sasuke walks up to the sitting blond and bonks him on the head. "Ow! Hey! What did you do that for?! Cut it out!" Naruto yells as he rubs the now sore spot.
"Hey twerp, did you forget about breakfast? You're such a loser." Sasuke comments dully.
"Saa~ Seriously, you need to take better care of yourself if you're gonna train this hard." Amaya adds as she crosses her arms.
Naruto stares at the two for a moment before he grins brightly, which soon turns into laughter causing Sasuke to slightly cringe and Amaya to sigh.
"Naruto?!" Sakura calls out from her spot next to Kakashi, her worry growing when receiving no response. When neither Sasuke or Amaya came back with Naruto, the two decided to go look for them and ended up in the clearing they had been using for training.
"Knowing Naruto, he could be anywhere. And Sasuke and Amaya haven't come back either... I wonder where they are?" Sakura mused as she looked around.
Suddenly, a kunai flew through the air and embedded into the ground between their feet. Looking up they see Naruto lying on a branch high above them, laughing. "Woah... Naruto can climb that high now using his chakra? That's great!" Sakura said in awe as they both observed the laughing blond.
"What do ya think? High enough for you guys? I mean it's a long way down, huh?" Naruto said as he moved to stand up on the branch, only to quickly lose balance and fall.
"NARUTO!" A wide-eyed Sakura yelled, along with Kakashi, who gave a simple "Uh oh..."
Just as they thought the blond was going to drop to the ground, Naruto swung to the underside of the branch, hanging upside down. "Just kidding! You guys really fell for it!" He said cheerfully with a laugh.
"We were really worried about you, Naruto!" Sakura snapped as the blond continued to laugh obnoxiously.
"Why do I think this is going to end badly?" Kakashi asked himself. However, his question was soon answered as Naruto's feet unlatched from the tree.
"You just had to push it didn't ya? Show off!" Sakura growled as she and Kakashi watched the blond shriek as he made his descent. Suddenly, Sasuke and Amaya appeared and grabbed Naruto's ankles, forcing him to sway to and fro.
"You really are a total loser, Naruto." Sasuke grunts as Amaya sighed and shot Kakashi and Sakura a smile.
"Hah?! Sasuke? Amaya?" Naruto called out in disbelief, shooting a small glare at the Uchiha - who returned the sentiment wholeheartedly.
At the sight of the ravenet, Sakura begins to squeal as she exclaims, "Ah Sasuke! You're the best!"
"If I'm still sane by the time they finish training, it'd be a miracle." Kakashi deadpanned with a tired sigh.
"Now they're both late. I wouldn't have expected that from Sasuke." Sakura complains as they all sat at the table that evening waiting for the two boys to come back from training.
Amaya sighed tiredly, wishing she had stayed with the boys to make sure they didn't kill each other or themselves. But no, not long after saving Naruto from that nasty fall, she had to leave with Kakashi and Sakura to help guard Tazuna.
Speaking of the two boys, right at that moment they came through the door panting and scuffed up. "What have you been up to? You look like something the cat dragged in." Tazuna asked as the two slumped against each other.
"We both made it. We climbed all the way to the top!" Naruto answered happily as he gave Amaya a fist bump.
"Good. Now we move on. Starting tomorrow, you're both bodyguards for Tazuna." Kakashi informs, giving the boys a small nod.
"Alright!" Naruto exclaims, fist pumping into the air in excitement. His action causes both himself and Sasuke to lose balance and fall onto the floor.
"Ugh. Such a loser!" Sasuke snaps from his position on the floor causing everyone in the room to laugh.
As the two boys get up from the floor, Tazuna turns to Kakashi and the two girls sitting at the table. "In a few more days, the bridge will be finished. I have you to thank for that."
"You've all done great, but you've still got to be careful." Tsunami cuts in as she walks over to join them.
Tazuna hummed in response before looking back to Kakashi. "I've been meaning to ask you this, but I haven't had the chance until now. Why did you stay and protect me? Even after you found out I lied to bring you here."
"Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage. But under the wing of a strong leader, cowardice cannot survive." Kakashi replied cryptically making Amaya raise an eyebrow. 'Why does that sound oddly familiar?' She thought to herself.
"Huh?" Tazuna asked, giving the Jounin a strange look.
"That was a quote from the First Hokage." Kakashi answered proudly as Amaya gave a small "oh" in realization.
"But why?" At the sound of Inari's wavering voice, the group turns to him.
"What'd you say?" Naruto asked with squinted eyes as he sat up from resting his head on the table.
"All this stupid training is just a waste of time! Gatō's got a whole army, they'll beat you down and destroy you! These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything! No matter what you do, the strong always win and the weak always lose." Inari replied with a glare as he stood up from his seat.
"Just speak for yourself. It won't be like that for me, you got that?" Naruto snapped back.
"Hey, c'mon now you two that's enou--" Amaya began but was cut off by Inari.
"Why don't you just be quiet! Just looking at you makes me sick! You don't know anything about this country, you're just butting in! Always laughing and playing around. You don't know what it's like to suffer and be treated like dirt!"
"Listen to yourself, whining and crying like some sorry victim. You can whimper all day for all I care! You're nothing but a coward!" Naruto yells back, tired of listening to the boy.
"Naruto! You went to far!" Sakura scolds before Naruto stands up from his seat and walks away.
"Naruto..." Amaya calls out, and right as she goes to follow him Kakashi grabs ahold of her arm. "Let's let him cool off for a minute, okay?" He advises, earning a hesitant nod in response as she sits back down.
Amaya stretches her arms languidly above her head as she and the others neared the bridge. 'Saa~ Naruto's gonna be so mad. ~' She thought with a small smile, thinking back to the blond they left behind at Tazuna's in the care of Tsunami.
"Hold on! What the heck is this?!"
At the old man's voice of disbelief and anger, Amaya looks ahead. Her eyes instantly locking on some of the workers laying on the ground, some unconscious while the rest groaned in pain.
"What happened?! Someone was here, someone got to them!" Tazuna yelled again, still in shock.
Just then mist started to fill the area, making it hard to see. "Well, this is familiar." The brunette deadpans as she looks around.
"This mist... Amaya, Sasuke, Sakura get ready!" At Kakashi's order, the three instantly move into a defensive formation around Tazuna, each one pulling out a kunai. "I knew he was still alive. He just couldn't wait for round two." The Jounin's added darkly as he readied a hand sign.
"Kakashi-sensei. It's Zabuza isn't it? This is his Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Sakura asked, and Amaya couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"No Sakura, all of that training we did was just for the hell of it." The brunette replies sarcastically, instantly earning a look of annoyance in return.
"I was being rhetorical!" Sakura snapped back, her eyebrow twitching slightly.
Amaya opens her mouth to say more but Kakashi cuts her off, "You two knock it off! Now isn't the time."
"Sorry I kept you waiting, Kakashi. I see you've still got those brats with you. That ones still trembling. Pitiful." Zabuza's gruff voice calls out through the mist as they're suddenly surrounded by his clones on all sides.
"I'm trembling with excitement." Sasuke replies smugly, causing Amaya's own smirk to slowly form.
"Go on, Sasuke." Kakashi calls out, prompting the boy to attack. Before the clones could even blink, Sasuke used his kunai and slashed them open, making them disband as water fell to the ground.
"Oooh, so you could see they were water clones huh? The brats improving. Looks like you've got a rival, Haku." Zabuza says as the group turns to him.
"So it seems." The "tracker nin" from before, now known as Haku, replies.
"Well well, so I had it right. It was all an act." Kakashi comments as he observed the two.
"An act?" Tazuna asked curiously.
"With a cute little mask." Kakashi adds as Sakura shrieks out a "Hah?!"
"Big phony." Sasuke sneers with a scoff.
"So, I guess all that about being a tracker ninja protecting his village, was just a bunch of bull." Tazuna grunts.
Amaya turns to look at him blankly. "Pretty much.. yeah."
"They look pretty chummy to me. I'd say they've been pulling scams like that for a long time." Kakashi accuses, making everyone focus on Haku.
"He's got some nerve facing us again after pulling that trick!" Sakura snapped angrily.
"And hiding behind a mask, who does he think he's fooling?" The Jounin added again, causing the two girls to deadpan.
"Hmph, speak for yourself sensei." Sakura dismissed.
Amaya turned to her, "Honestly, you'd think it's a trend or something." She comments as the pinkette nods in agreement.
"That's it." Sasuke grunts, catching everyone's attention. "I'm taking him out. Who does he think he's fooling? Hiding behind that mask like some sort of clown." He adds, causing Sakura to squeal annoyingly.
"Sasuke, you're so cool!"
'Wait a second.. didn't I just say that? She'll never change...' Kakashi thought to himself, slightly deflated.
"You're both hopeless. He literally repeated everything Sensei just said." Amaya cuts in with an annoyed sigh.
'Well... At least I have Amaya on my side.' Kakashi deadpanned.
"He's impressive." Haku mused aloud, causing Zabuza to hum in amusement. "Even though they're just one tenth the strength of the original Water Clone Jutsu, he did destroy them all." He added, observing the raven-haired boy.
"That move still gave us the first advantage. Now use it." Zabuza replies gruffly.
"Right." As soon as the word slipped past his lips, Haku began to spin his body around, forming a whirlwind of sorts before quickly moving towards Sasuke.
"What's this?!" The Uchiha asked himself as he quickly readied his kunai, which soon clashed with Haku's own weapon.
'So he can keep up with Haku's speed, huh?' Zabuza mused to himself as he observed the two boys fighting.
"Amaya, Sakura, cover Tazuna and stay close to me. Let Sasuke handle this." Kakashi ordered, making the two girls nod and step closer to the old man, not taking their eyes off the fight happening in front of them.
The two boys swirl around, swiping their weapons at each other, their kunai knives clash once more. "We want the bridge builder not you, if you back down I won't have to kill you." Haku says lowly.
"Save it." Sasuke growls out.
"You're making a mistake. You won't be able to keep up with my speed. I've gained two key advantages." Haku informed.
"Yeah? What are they?" Sasuke asks, glaring fiercely at the masked boy in front of him.
"First, we're surrounded by water. Second, I've blocked one of your hands. Therefore, you only have one hand to defend yourself." Haku answers before making single handed hand signs, causing everyone's eyes to widen - with the exception of Zabuza.
'What?! Using one hand?' Sasuke thought to himself in shock.
'Hand signs with a single hand?! I've never seen that before outside of the Minamoto clan!' Kakashi thought to himself as he glanced from the two boys to the equally shocked brunette slightly behind him.
"Sensatsu Suishō." Haku says as he stomps the ground, making the surrounding water to rise into the air.
'He doesn't want to kill the kid; does he mean that?' Zabuza thought to himself as he observed the boy.
"Sasuke!" Sakura calls out, worried.
"Sensei..." Amaya murmurs anxiously as the water formed into sharp Senbon made of ice. However, the Jounin didn't reply.
'Remember the training. Focus. Summon my chakra at once and direct it to my feet!' Sasuke thought to himself with narrowed eyes.
Suddenly the senbon propelled towards the Uchiha. They hit their mark, causing a cloud of dust to form. The force of the attack sent Haku stumbling backwards. Looking up, the boy saw Sasuke nowhere to be seen as the ice morphed back into its original liquid state, landing on the ground with a splash. "He vanished!" Haku exclaimed in shock before looking around. Suddenly, the Uchiha appeared in front him, forcing Haku to jump back as Sasuke threw shuriken after shuriken, each one embedding into the wood of the bridge.
Sasuke reappears behind him, a smirk on his face. "You're not as fast as you think. From this point on, you'll be the one defending against my attacks."
As both boys spun around to face each other, Sasuke threw a punch which Haku quickly blocked with his arm, Sasuke then twirls the kunai in his other hand and flicks his wrist sending the kunai right at Haku who dodges before dropping into a crouch. Sasuke, seeing an advantage, roundhouse kicks the nin in the face, sending Haku flying backwards.
'It's not possible! No one's faster than Haku!' Zabuza thought to himself in shock as the boy landed a little ways away from his feet.
"Thought you were quicker, huh? What else are you wrong about?" Sasuke asks smugly.
"You made a big mistake insulting these ninja and calling them brats, that's just guaranteed to bring out Sasuke's attitude. He's the best young fighter of the Hidden Leaf Village, and Sakura here, is our sharpest mind." Kakashi informs, causing Sasuke to smirk and Sakura to giggle while sticking out her tongue.
"And we can't forget about Amaya here..." Kakashi adds as he places a hand on the brunette's shoulder before continuing. "She's the supporting pillar of this team." His statement caused the Minamoto to flush slightly. "And last but not least, our number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja, Naruto Uzumaki."
After he said this there was a moment of silence before Zabuza broke it by laughing. "Heh, Haku if you keep going like this, we'll be the victims instead of them. Get on with it!"
"Right." The nin replied as he stood up, a dark blue aura surrounding him.
"What's that?" Sasuke asked as the air became tense once again.
"I'm sorry it's come to this." Haku apologized lowly, ignoring the question. His voice caused shivers of unease to go down Amaya's spine.
"The air.. so cold..." Sasuke states, feeling the temperature drop in the area.
Haku doesn't say anything else and makes another hand sign. The water on the ground rises up and begins to form mirrors of ice behind Sasuke. "Makyō Hyōshō!" As he says this, the mirrors begin to glow with a white light.
"What is that? How does it work?" Kakashi asked aloud as they all watch Haku walk forward and step into the ice, creating a mirror image of himself which surrounded Sasuke from all angles.
'Mirrors?! But.. how?' Sasuke thought to himself as he glanced at all of the mirrors.
"Sensei..." Amaya called out lowly, making those around her - including Zabuza - turn to her.
"What is it, Amaya?" Kakashi asked, glancing back and forth between the mirrors and the brunette.
"That's not a normal jutsu..." the Minamoto replied, not moving her gaze away from her teammate and the mirrors.
Zabuza lets out a dark chuckle, "Smart girl."
Kakashi gave a low growl before moving to aid Sasuke. However, before he could move another step, Zabuza stepped in front of him with a dark look. "If you enter this fight, you fight me. Your boy has no chance against that jutsu. He's finished."
They all turn back to the fight as Haku's voice rings out. "Now, well begin. And I'll show you what speed really means." As he says this, he pulls out a few senbon and tosses it at the boy. The needles slice Sasuke on the arm and then the shoulder, tearing his shirt.
"Sasuke!" Sakura and Amaya call out worriedly as the boy cries out in pain. By this point, Sasuke is being attacked by a barrage of senbon. One hits his hand, making him drop his kunai knife.
"Sasuke!" Kakashi yelled, flinching forward slightly.
"Just try to help him, and I'll kill the other three in a heartbeat!" Zabuza spat threateningly, keeping Kakashi in his place.
"We have to do something..." Amaya mumbled, prompting Sakura to glance at her quietly.
"I'm sorry. I can't stay with you. Forgive me." Sakura suddenly says, catching both Tazuna and Amaya off guard.
"Wait wha--" The brunette stammers as Tazuna nods. "I understand. Go now."
Sakura grips her kunai and runs forward, ignoring Amaya as she called out, "Sakura! We can't just rush into--"
Kakashi and Zabuza, hearing Amaya's voice glanced towards where the three were standing, their eyes widening slightly as Sakura leaped into the air. 'Sasuke...' She thought as she threw the kunai with a yell, "Take this!"
However, her hopes of helping were crushed as Haku leaned out of one of the mirrors and caught the kunai before it could go through the narrow opening and reach the Uchiha. "He caught it!" Sakura gasps in awe. Suddenly, a shuriken flies by and hits Haku's mask. Making him lose balance and fall out of the mirror, faceplanting the ground with a thud.
"Huh?"
As Haku sits up slowly, a loud explosion and a huge cloud of dust gathers at the far end of the bridge. "Who is it?" Sakura asks curiously as everyone's eyes focus on the spot.
'What a fool. Such a show off.' Sasuke thought to himself as he hunched over on the ground, various cuts and scrapes covering his body.
'Saa~ Please don't tell me it's who I think it is...' Amaya mentally pleaded with a deadpan, her grip on her kunai slacking slightly.
"Number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja." Haku grunts as he stood up completely, raising his head, he reveals a deep scratch in his mask.
The dust clears, revealing a smug Naruto. "Naruto Uzumaki, is here! Yeah, believe it!"
'Well this just got a whole lot more interesting...' Amaya thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes.