7

Disclaimer: I own Naruto.

/~/

A light, one mile warm up run was finished in four minutes flat. Naruto took a deep breath, not that he needed it, of fresh, sea air. The boy allowed his eyes to close contentedly for a few moments.

The slightly more haggard breathing of his training partner for the day filled his ears and brought a smile to his face. It was good to know that he was still the best. Ino was rapidly catching him, however. He would have to do something about that.

A solid morning of training was just what the doctor ordered. Doubly so after the "mission" he and his teammates had run two days previous.

Asuma had been pleased with the result, though he meticulously picked apart their execution of the plan. Naruto was the first to concede that mistakes had been made, but given what they had to work with, he thought that he, Kiba, and Ino had managed rather well.

It had been their first true assassination mission, after all. He might have been biased, but he thought they did a pretty bang up job for an inexperienced team of genin.

There had been a few hiccups, but the outcome had been exactly as planned. The more dangerous of the two, Futaba, had been dealt with, while the weaker of the two had been brought in for "questioning" by Asuma. Naruto hadn't seen the man in a day, but given Asuma's cheerful mood, he had been a wealth of information.

By Asuma's estimate, Zabuza should be recovered enough to make his move within the next two days. Once they were finished with him, they would move on Gatou.

Naruto was still unsure about the whole ordeal, he didn't particularly want to get himself involved in what might turn into a civil war if handled the wrong way by the people of Wave. It seemed like something more suited for more experienced ninja.

Just killing Gatou, while possibly stopping the problems that Wave had, could throw the country into chaos. Gatou might have ruled with an iron fist, but he still ruled. Wave had laws, and they were followed for fear of retaliation.

It wasn't a good or pleasant system, but it kept people in line. If that was removed, there was no telling what might happen. Wave hadn't been governed by its people in years, and Naruto hesitated in saying that they would just go back to business as usual once Gatou was dead. A poor handling of Gatou and the immediate aftermath could lead Wave into a period of chaos.

He shook his head as he moved through some light stretches. That wasn't his, or his team's, problem.

He banished all thought about the mission from his mind as he finished stretching his chest muscles. Gai had impressed on him the importance of proper stretching and rest at a young age. Naruto followed what he man said to the letter. He had also managed to impress that same notion on his partner for the day. He had no want to be injured, especially on a mission like this one, and having an injured teammate would just be too troublesome to deal with, to quote Nara Shikamaru.

Ino was developing nicely, he noted from his peripheral vision as he watched the girl cross and uncross her arms in a simple exercise.

Stretching had its benefits, and he was in puberty. That was all the excuse he felt he needed, and it wasn't like any straight male in his graduating class would dispute Ino's attractiveness.

He dropped to the forest floor and began a sequence of pushups. At fifty he would stop and rest for thirty seconds, before doing fifty more. He would do that in increments of five, and then move to his abs.

General strength was important for a ninja, and there was no better way to go about getting it than through pushups, pull-ups, and sit-ups. They were perfect for Naruto, who was still young and developing. They allowed for his body weight to work against him while not straining it past its limit.

He had moved toward more general strength when he discarded his weight set. They focused too much on the legs and arms, and would eventually lock him into a rigid taijutsu style based on bulk. He had been moving along that path almost subconsciously, by training with Gai and Lee on a regular basis, and he needed to get off that track.

It wasn't that it was bad, but it had its disadvantages.

His fight with the missing-nin had shown him that a rigid taijutsu form could easily be overcome in the right circumstances. The enclosed space of the apartment hadn't allowed for Naruto to use the more sweeping attacks of the Goken style, and it had hampered his efforts tremendously.

A more flexible form based around quickness, efficiency of movement, and flexibility was more his speed. It fit in with what he liked in a shinobi fight, and would allow him to use his ever increasing ninjutsu abilities. He had to start with eliminating many of the kicks, they were common in the Goken style, and replace them with more grabs, grapples, and throws, more close range tactics.

It was easier said than done. Building a taijutsu style couldn't be done overnight, and Naruto knew that it would take years for it to sort itself out properly. There was no sense in not getting started though.

The wind ruffled his hair as time flowed past him in the clearing. At one point, he and Ino shared a look, no words were conveyed, and the individualized training session devolved into a spar of epic proportions.

Naruto was more than happy to say he won.

If you had asked him a few months ago, he would have been scandalized to even hear the suggestion that he would have to go full out to beat Ino in a spar. It was a credit to both him and her that he had no such compulsions anymore.

He took a sip from his canteen, reveling in the crisp, cool taste. There was something inherently enjoyable about relaxing alongside nature. It had a certain energy to it. A relaxing energy, if Naruto were to attempt to describe it.

Even powerful.

It was peaceful though.

Naruto shook his head quickly to clear his head of such confusing thoughts. Now wasn't the time to think of such things. No, now was the time to focus on much more important things.

Like why Ino's head was currently resting on his shoulder. "Ino?" he asked, his voice light.

"Hmm, yes Naruto-kun?" she responded blearily, sounding like she was the most comfortable person in the world. Naruto blinked at both the tone and the suffix at the end of his name. She had started adding the "kun" to the end of his name recently, and he didn't know what to make of it.

He shook it off. "Is something wrong?"

She lifted her head from his shoulder gently. Cerulean met sea foam as their eyes locked. Naruto fought down a blush at the proximity of their faces. So undignified, he thought. How does she do this stuff to me?

"No." Her response was simple and she returned her head to its former resting place. Naruto nearly sputtered at the girl, but controlled himself. He settled back into the tree trunk and did his best to make himself comfortable. He knew well enough that Ino wouldn't leave her place of comfort unless he forced her off. Inwardly, he reflected that he wasn't too inclined to move her.

Growing up the way he did, with just about no one to either raise him or comfort him, he was mostly unfamiliar with human contact of the pleasant variety. He was sure that this would fall into that branch. It was nice to know that someone was comfortable enough with him to be willing to actually touch him. The fact that it was Ino of all people who was so comfortable with him brought an involuntary smile to his face. He knew he still nursed a crush on the girl next to him, and it hadn't really shrunk since he had gotten to know her.

It was just more indication that his life was changing more than he had ever imagined. And for the better.

He had a team that he actually liked. No, it was more than that. While he had his squabbles with Kiba and Ino respectively, he wouldn't replace them with anyone. Not for anything. That didn't even go over the effect Asuma was having on his life. The man was rapidly filling the gap that a father figure should have occupied. It had gotten to the point that he wanted the man to be pleased with him just for the sake of it, rather than it being a matter of pride.

Kiba was as good a running buddy as he had had back in the Academy, and he genuinely enjoyed exchanging barbs with the dog ninja. He had even caught himself defending him to Sasuke a few times.

Ino was the same, yet so different. He wasn't quite sure when the girl had started paying attention to him, but he was sure that he didn't mind. Their friendship, if it could be called that, was probably the best thing to come out of his time with Team Ten. The girl had proved herself to be more than just another pretty face from the Academy. She was far more than that. She was a competent kunoichi; smart, skilled, and determined to prove herself to anyone she came across. Naruto knew himself well enough to know that he never would have given her the same respect she held with him had he never been on her team. He had never done it in the Academy, despite her grades showing her competency. He had simply brushed it off, disregarding her as just another Sasuke fangirl.

Naruto sighed audibly, unknowingly breaking the companionable silence that had permeated the clearing for the last five minutes. Thinking was becoming a steady habit of his these days. It was probably for the best.

"I suppose I owe you an apology," he said suddenly, startling Ino out of her daze. She had been dozing comfortably for the past few minutes, though he had no way of knowing that, as wrapped up in his own thoughts as he had been.

"Hm? For what?" she asked, perplexed. Ino straightened herself, taking her head off Naruto's shoulder with some reluctance. It was remarkably comfortable.

Naruto took a moment to formulate his thoughts…and came up with nothing. He couldn't think of how to formulate an apology without sounding like a total douche bag in the process. How exactly did you tell someone that you used to have absolutely no respect for them?

"Um…well, I'm not really sure how to say it," he stated rather lamely. Unconsciously, he reached up with his right hand and began scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Ino locked eyes with him, a perfectly manicured eyebrow raised delicately. "So…you want to apologize, but…you don't know what for? Or you just don't know how to say it," she finished conclusively.

"The second one," Naruto clarified with some hesitation. This wasn't going at all like he'd wanted. He took a couple of long swigs from his canteen to try to buy some time.

"You don't know how to say it," Ino said again, looking thoughtful. "That means it's probably embarrassing in some way." She directed an accusing glare at him. "You've been having perverted thoughts about me, haven't you?"

The water going down Naruto's throat halted as the boy sputtered incoherently for a moment. "Wh-what?" he coughed, spitting out the remainder of the water he had been drinking. He knew the girl well enough to know she had timed her statement perfectly. Bitch. "Of course not!" was what he said out loud.

Ino narrowed her eyes at him. "So you don't think I'm attractive. Any boy that thinks I'm attractive should have some perverted thoughts about me," she concluded in a grand leap of logic. Naruto's eyes widened in horror. One precious life lesson he had learned in his youth was to never insult a woman's looks. That went double for a girl as vain as Ino could be at times.

"What? No! I mean yes! I do think-"

"You know Naruto," Ino cut him off haughtily, offense clear as she moved away from him. "Kiba may be an idiot, but he's right that women do like to be appreciated."

"But that has nothing to do…" the blond boy trailed off as he stared at his teammate. His eyes narrowed as his mind finally caught up with his mouth. "Oh no, no. You're not pulling that shit," he declared.

Blond eyebrows shot into the girl's hairline. "Excuse me? You're the one insulting me."

"Not happening, Ino."

"What's not happening?" she asked. She looked annoyed, but Naruto knew better.

"This," he said simply, gesturing at the little clearing they were situated in.

"If by this, you mean insulting me, then yes it is happening."

He shook his head. "Uh un. No. This; you're getting me off topic by teasing me, just like you always do."

"And by topic, you mean…"

"My apology!"

"Oh, so you're apologizing for insulting me. Well, let's hear it then." The blond genin sat back on her haunches, an expectant look on her face.

"I'm not apologizing for that! I didn't even insult you!"

"So what are you apologizing for?" she questioned, finally looking bored with the whole situation. She casually buffed her nails against her purple top.

"For thinking you were a bimbo back in the Academy!" Naruto burst out as he began pacing about the clearing. He missed the triumphant smirk upon his teammate's face as he got on a roll. "I mean, here I am, swallowing my pride and apologizing, and you just start in on your usual routine."

"I have a routine now?"

"Your teasing! All your flirting and all that confusing shit you do to confuse me."

"Aw, you don't like it, Naruto-kun?" she asked demurely, batting her eyelashes.

"That! Right there! What you just did," he exclaimed, pointing accusingly at her from across the clearing where he had abruptly stopped pacing.

"What about it?" she asked innocently.

"It's…it's…" he trailed off. It wasn't exactly like he wanted her to stop her teasing. It was enjoyable sometimes. Not to mention that Ino wouldn't be Ino without that facet of her personality. It wasn't like she would actually stop if he asked, in any event. "You know what," he said, plopping down next to her on the ground. "Never mind."

His frustration was spent, so he just settled for leaning back against the same tree he had been resting against before. To his surprise, and inwardly, to his satisfaction, Ino moved back to the same spot she had been in before, casually resting her head on his shoulder once more as if nothing had even been said.

He even went so far as to lean his own head on top of hers. Her hair was pleasantly soft.

He couldn't really describe their relationship, Naruto decided. They argued about random things often enough, almost as much as she and Kiba did, but they also got along far better than Ino and Kiba did on a regular basis. There was a comfort level there that Naruto couldn't really describe. If push came to shove, he knew full well that Ino would have his back, but that was what teammates did. They were closer than that, somehow. He honestly felt that he would be able to trust her with just about anything, and he had no idea why.

That was just fine though.

Naruto's eyes drifted shut as he allowed his body to relax for the first time since he had arrived in Wave Country.

"So…what's this about you thinking I was a bimbo?"

"Arrgh!"

/~/

A soft smile crept up on an equally soft face as he observed the two pre-teens from a safe distance. It would be hard to tell that the two were ninja had he not already known. They seemed just like average pre-teens.

He knew full well that they were far from it.

He had observed the two for some time now, taking in their routine. They were competent for their age, and that was worrying to an extent. His master would need all the help he could get against the Konoha jonin when they made their move, and having two – three, he corrected himself – capable adversaries besides the jonin would bode ill for him.

It looked like he would have to make an appearance.

His heart was saddened by the prospect of killing such happy children, especially ones that were in the midst of young love. It would be necessary though. He would harden his heart so his master's ambitions would be fulfilled.

Even as the thoughts crossed his mind, a hand crept toward his concealed senbon pouch within his kimono. His hand brushed cold metal for a moment as he contemplated ending the lives of the two genin right here and now. It could save them some problems down the road, and who knew, it might even send the other two home without having to kill them.

The girl settled down next to the boy for the second time, idly resting her head on his shoulder. The boy followed suit shortly after, putting his head on hers.

His resolve faltered, and the silent observer replaced his senbon with a click. He couldn't bear to kill such children in such a way.

He would harden his heart for his master and his ambitions, but not this day.

With another soft smile that made him look even more effeminate, Haku went back to his herb picking, wandering away from the two genin in the clearing, oblivious to his presence.

/~/

Wind ruffled blond hair and whipped through black shorts as Naruto stared.

It was one hell of a view. Wave was truly a beautiful country from the right angle. Rolling hills from the border of the island inward; lush, green forests that spoke volumes about the amount of moisture in the air. That didn't even begin to describe the view of the sea. Blue, rolling waves that majestically crashed against the shoreline with untold force.

Naruto had lived a fairly sheltered life in Konoha. To him, the sea's majesty was awe inspiring. To an extent, he understood how so many bards had found inspiration in the ocean. He just wasn't quite sure he would be able to find words to properly describe it had he been put on the spot. It was that amazing.

From the top of the tallest tree in the immediate vicinity of Tazuna's home, Wave looked to be a country floating in a cloud, the rolling fog's white contrasting with the eternal blue of the sea. From sixty feet in the air, Naruto could see the sun clearly for the first time since he had arrived in Wave Country, its reflection off of the mist and water nearly blinding at times.

He wished he had some sunglasses so he could stare at it.

He supposed it was for the best, he wasn't so high up to enjoy the view. One heartbeat later had blue eyes focused back on their target: Tazuna's house. The humble abode was about as interesting to regard as it was to watch paint dry, but he had his assignment. He was about used to the boredom by now anyway. He had made this tree his vantage point three days ago, when Asuma had estimated that Zabuza would be about ready to make his attack, if he was truly still alive.

The plan was simple in nature, and accounted for most of the variables that Team Ten had managed to brainstorm in one of their powwows. The main concern was that Zabuza, or Gatou as it may turn out to be, would send men to Tazuna's house in order to eliminate or take the man's family hostage when he was working at the bridge. It was a likely prospect, and would require Team Ten to keep at least one member back to deal with any threat to Tsunami and Inari that may present itself. There had been some serious discussion about who to leave, but Naruto had been conscripted into the job, the reasoning behind it being that he was the most all around of the three genin, and leaving Asuma behind was out of the question.

Naruto just took it as confirmation of his skills. He was being trusted to deal with the possible threat of shinobi knocking on Tazuna's front door, and that was something most jonin sensei would hesitate at sending one of their relatively green genin to deal with – no matter how low that threat was. It was a nice feeling knowing that someone in a position of authority respected your skills.

In any event, he had holed himself up in Tazuna's house for the better part of the first day, citing that it would allow him to immediately respond to anything, but that had lasted as long as he could tolerate Inari's incessant staring at him and negative energy. Honestly, the boy just bled bad vibes. Had it gone on for any longer, Naruto would have been more likely to kill him than any possible attacker. The boy's bitching was downright intolerable. Not to mention that he always stared at him with a look that plainly said he pitied Naruto for his "stupidity".

In some ways, he had come to really respect Tazuna and the cause he fought for, no matter how it put him and his team in danger, but he couldn't comprehend how he had managed to end up with such a little bitch for a grandson. It was mind boggling.

He supposed he could just pin it on bad parenting, though Tsunami seemed to have a decent head on her shoulders.

She was hot too. That made everything better.

He and Ino had had much fun ribbing Kiba about his newfound obsession with his "dream woman". It was endlessly amusing watching the boy's posturing in an attempt to get some attention from the mature woman; doubly so because the pretty woman was far more interested in their laid back jonin sensei. Kiba would never forgive Asuma till his dyeing day for that one fact, or so the mutt grumbled.

Still, as amusing as it was, Naruto could see where the boy was coming from. No matter how much he liked Ino, there was something inordinately attractive about a mature woman. Naruto was no expert on feelings, but there was a quiet confidence exuded by a woman who had found her niche in life and was comfortable with it and herself. It was…soothing was the best way he could describe it.

Rolling mist, thicker than what was natural, caught the light of the sun in Naruto's peripheral vision. So it begins, he thought dramatically. The mist was his signal that Zabuza was finally making his move. He was to wait a full five minutes if no one showed themselves, an eternity in the shinobi world, before breaking cover and getting to the bridge as fast as he could.

The boy shifted slightly in the tree's upper branches as he tapped out the seconds on the bark. He could forgive himself some nervous anticipation, but it was more than that. Uncontrollable by his own thoughts, he was itching for a fight.

The count got to fifty seconds when two figures emerged from the dense foliage surrounding Tazuna's house. They were dressed like thugs, katana's held arrogantly at their sides as they swaggered in like they owned the place. Fucking ronin, he thought uncharitably. He checked himself for a moment. They could actually be shinobi in disguise. He discarded the notion a moment later. Even the most idiotic of shinobi weren't as arrogant, not at the level these two would be at.

His thoughts were confirmed a moment later as they kicked in the door. A smart shinobi, or even a smart thug, would have knocked. The person who answered the door would have been somewhat unawares and easy to subdue and capture. Honestly, no creativity.

"God damnit! Hold still woman!" came the shout from inside. The sound of muffled screaming came a moment later, followed by wailing that could only belong to Inari.

They reemerged from the abode a few moments later, a struggling Tsunami being dragged from the house.

Naruto stood, chakra holding him to the thin branch. A quick glance at the clearing around the home revealed no new enemies, so Naruto felt relatively safe from ambush.

His legs flexed once, hard, before he leapt from his perch like a swimmer diving into a pool, arms held out and legs snapped together forming his body into a "T" shape. Chakra carried him past the surrounding branches sticking from the tree, and he did a quick, midair roll on his way down, using his life essence to angle his body into a perfectly controlled fall.

The thug not holding Tsunami was completely unprepared for one hundred and five pounds of twelve year old to come crashing down upon him from sixty feet in the air. He said nothing as Naruto plowed into him, having simply let gravity go to work, and he said nothing as his body was crushed into the earth as Naruto discharged the chakra in his legs so as not to break them.

"You won't hurt my mother!"

A determined and tear spilling Inari sprinted outside his home, knife brandished wildly, only to see one of his attackers wordlessly pounded into the ground with all the grace and subtlety of a railroad spike. "Huh?" escaped his lips as Naruto stood calmly on top of the dead man, two kunai held loosely at his sides as he stared down the second man with something akin to divine wrath in his eyes.

"Get back in the house Inari," was all the blond said, without even turning to face the boy. The boy retreated wordlessly, barely in control of his own body, so in awe of the blond specter of righteousness before him was he.

The remaining ronin had regained some semblance of his wits, and was brandishing his katana at Tsunami's neck.

"Stop right there! I'll kill her! I will kill her!" he screamed, his voice shaking.

Naruto pinned all the rudimentary killing intent he could muster on the man and was rewarded with the thug breaking out in a cold sweat. "Drop the bade, ronin," he said in his best "intimidating voice". He imagined it sounded ridiculous coming from a twelve year old. "You drop the blade, you live. If you make me come and get her, you die. If you kill her, you die. Is this really worth losing your life over."

Contrary to what Naruto wanted, the man simply pulled the blade tighter to Tsunami's neck, eliciting a muted wail from the captive woman.

One chance. A seal-less Kawarimi had Naruto in Tsunami's place, his chakra easily dwarfing hers. He was inside the man's guard before the man realized a switch had been made, and a simple haymaker to the neck sent him to the ground, his windpipe crushed. Naruto spun one of his two kunai idly before planting it in the man's exposed chest, right through the heart.

He had no pity for such men, but allowing any human being to die in such a painful way was distasteful to the twelve year old genin. The boy turned to the embracing mother and son with a reassuring smile plastered across his face.

"You two should get back inside," he cautioned as the two turned to him. Tsunami nodded hurriedly, tears flowing.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" she gushed as she steered a sobbing Inari inside with a firm hand, unconsciously shielding him with her body from any other threat, real or imagined. Even now, she thought of her son first.

Naruto smiled wistfully at the sight of mother and son, silently lamenting his own lack of a mother, before turning his gaze toward the bridge. He couldn't see it clearly through the trees, but Zabuza's mist was seeping through the foliage.

That wasn't good.

He gave one more glance to Tazuna's house, where Tsunami was barricading the entrance with furniture – Smart woman, he thought– before channeling chakra and stepping into Shunshin.

The world blurred to a combination of green, brown, and grey as tunnel vision made its wonders known to Naruto. He stopped abruptly as the bridge came into view. Heavy mist covered the area, restricting Naruto's view of his teammates, but he could see one thing.

Large, reflective shards of what looked to be ice were the only thing that penetrated the mist, the muted light reflecting off of them like mirrors. That can't be good.

He broke into a full sprint as the sounds of clashing blades reached his ears. He wasn't stupid enough to charge into a full scale battle in Shunshin, he'd be cut down in an instant just on reflex. A chakra enhanced leap carried him into the mist where he landed in an instinctive roll to dodge any projectiles that may have been aimed at him. Asuma had trained him well.

The roll saved his head, as he felt a kunai whipping through the air where his head had just been.

"Naruto!" the familiar voice of Ino called through the mist from the direction he kunai had come from, and Naruto balked. Fratricide would have been one hell of a way to go.

"Damnit Ino, hold your fire!" He sprinted through the mist toward her. She stood flanking Tazuna, her tanto drawn and held at the ready. Her gaze snapped to him with something akin to relief as he approached. "'The fuck's happening?"

"Asuma-sensei's fighting Zabuza while Kiba's dealing with the hunter-nin," she nearly screamed at him. From the words themselves, he would have thought the situation under wraps. Her tone, however, told a different story.

"Sensei can take care of himself," I hope. "Where's Kiba?" Naruto asked in a rush, already prepping his materials. Kunai were loaded with an explosive tag each and deposited into one of the pockets in his shorts. Shuriken were threaded with wire and placed in his middle weapons pouch on the small of his back; the second of three. I really should have done this earlier!

Ino pointed with a shaking hand. "In there." That was unlike her in every way. In battle, he had found, she was often at her most collected. For her to be this shaken up…

…things weren't looking good.

Naruto spun his head so fast he felt a pop in his neck. The reflective construct he had seen from off the bridge loomed ahead of him, the sounds of combat coming from within. How the hell had he missed that? He mentally slapped himself a few times. This wasn't the time to lose focus in battle.

"How the fuck did he get caught up in there?" he asked as he re-retrieved his explosive laden kunai from his hip pocket.

"No idea, Naruto, but be careful, that guy's probably as fast as you," Ino cautioned. That gave Naruto pause, and he glanced back at the mirror structure. He was unable to make out anything but two shapes weaving around each other on the bridge.

"Great," he drawled. "Anything else I should know?" He quickly double checked his resistance seals to make sure they were disengaged. They were.

"He's good with water," Ino rushed out, tapping the bridge with her hand impatiently as she tried to dredge up any more information she could think of. "Arrgh! That's all I got!"

Naruto nodded as he turned. "Ok…water natured, fast, mirror like structure…" he trailed off in thought as he tried to formulate a plan. Glancing at the construct before him, he narrowed his eyes. It was abnormally cold on this bridge, even for Wave. The answer came to him at the speed of thought. "Ice, maybe?" It made a twisted sort of sense. Ice was really just water. He had never heard of Ice Manipulation, but now wasn't the time for that.

Kiba was on the other guy's home turf. It was time to get him out.

Naruto broke into a light jog as he approached the mirror dome. The two shapes became clear enough to view, and Naruto spied two Kibas. Jujin Bunshin!

"Kiba! Get back!" he screamed. Two pairs of feral eyes snapped to his as he hurled the two explosive tag laden kunai in between a gap in the mirrors. The boy and his dog leapt back, simultaneously avoiding a hail of senbon speeding toward them, as Naruto's hands formed a ram seal.

…2…1…

A single application of chakra activated the charges on the kunai, which detonated with a force of two grenades. Shrapnel peppered the inside of the dome, but Naruto didn't stick around to find out what had happened.

The concussive force, while impressive, hadn't resulted in a shattering sound, something that would have naturally happened had the mirrors broken. Six hand seals had him submerged in heavy concrete courtesy of Doton: Dochu Senko, and a focused application of chakra blew a hole right through the concrete in a place Naruto knew was covered by the dome.

He exploded upward from the concrete with a crash as dust filled his vision. Rapid blinking cleared his sight well enough to make out the forms of Kiba and a transformed Akamaru huddling away from his explosion.

The two needed no goading to dive through the hole Naruto had created, and the trio of Team Ten teammates scampered back outside the dome.

"What the hell took you so long?" Kiba groused as they pushed their way through concrete and support beams. Naruto was surprised he had managed the Earth natured technique so quickly, given the structure of the bridge. It was amazing what chakra and adrenaline could do when moving in the same direction.

"Had some shit to deal with, mutt. Aren't you happy I bothered to show up?" Naruto snarked as grey light assaulted his eyes.

Naruto immediately made space once he emerged from the tunnel, speeding through seals for the Fuuton: Renkudan in order to provide cover. His instinct turned out to be fortuitous, as the hunter-nin appeared from a mirror less than three meters from the trio, and made to press his advantage. The screaming Renkudan had other ideas, however, and the masked youth was forced to abort.

Danger senses screamed bloody murder at him, and Naruto dropped low to avoid being turned into a pincushion. He palmed two kunai and the wind howled as an ethereal light surrounded the blades. He let the true nature of Wind Chakra take over as he slashed the air while the hunter chucked more senbon toward him, the wild chakra flying off the kunai and deflecting the incoming needles, leaving ruts in the concrete where they impacted the bridge.

"Get back!" he ordered Kiba and Akamaru. They obliged him as he blurred into Shunshin.

Only reflex born of life on the run saved the masked hunter as death soared toward him. His right arm came up in a rudimentary, reflexive block that halted Naruto's kunai strike in his forearm. He resisted the urge to scream as wind chakra ripped through skin, muscle, and bone, tearing his arm away with an almighty wrench, and a burst of speed carrying him away from Naruto.

The blond cursed sulferously as his prey slipped away from him, saved by a lucky break. The hunter wouldn't be letting him get so close a second time. No sense in not trying though.

Three kunai were airborne as Naruto finished seals, a Fuuton: Reppusho propelling the blades at thrice their normal speed. A slab of ice appeared from nowhere to block the projectiles, where they embedded themselves nearly hilt deep in the mirror.

A second curse split the air as Naruto realized he wouldn't get another opportunity to end the hunter-nin anytime soon. At least not by himself. The hunter was as fast as him, at least, and wasn't about to let himself be maneuvered.

A gust of wind blew a few strands of hair in his face, and he brushed them away idly, his blue eyes scanning what little he could of the bridge. Asuma had his hands full with Zabuza, the man's massive cleaver keeping the Konoha jonin at a safe distance. Ino was performing a hasty patch job on Kiba and Akamaru, both of whom were suffering from multiple puncture wounds.

He was on his own for the moment, as Ino needed to patch up Kiba before he would be any use in a fight.

He gripped a kunai as the hunter-nin spun toward him, senbon in his good hand. The two blades met in the middle, the hunter showing a surprising amount of strength for such a lithe body, as Naruto noticed for the first time. Naruto used his second hand to bring a second blade to bear and slashed out, slicing the hunter's kimono as he spun away.

A swift pivot on the balls of his feet had Naruto in position to block a second stab, and the redirected needle passed over his left shoulder harmlessly. The hunter made to move away once more, but Naruto was having none of it. A harsh grab of the arm had the shinobi in a vice grip as Naruto used his body weight to hurl the body to the concrete. A kunai quickly split the ninja's neck.

Naruto was already moving as the body exploded into water, a hail of needles peppering the spot he vacated. A second hail from his right forced him backwards, and Naruto used his left kunai to slash out at the specter of the hunter-nin. His blade caught skin once more, but the hunter was one step ahead again. The body dispersed into liquid and Naruto was left off balance as his kunai split water.

Water splashed around his feet as he attempted to regain his balance on the slippery ground. He had no time, however, as the hunter asserted himself with a vicious stab at Naruto's exposed neck. Only a desperate grab halted the motion of the shinobi's good hand, and Naruto moved to use momentum to swing the hunter around when he encountered a problem.

He couldn't move.

A glance downward showed that the hunter was doing more than Naruto had originally thought, as his feet were encased in ice. His eyes widened as they met the eye slits of the hunter's mask.

"Now you won't even be able to run from my attacks," a melodious voice spoke from beneath porcelain.

Naruto's eyes were drawn to the hunter's bad arm, the one he had stabbed, and he beheld the boy making one handed seals. How is that possible! he mentally screamed. His harried breath billowed out in a white cloud, and he belated realized that it suddenly had gotten colder. Much colder.

A stomp to the water laden bridge sent water skyward, where it coalesced into needles made of pure ice.

"I don't want to kill you," the hunter spoke, voice sounding solemn. "But I will kill my heart in this case. You are far too dangerous. I am sorry."

The senbon twitched once in midair before shooting toward him at speeds too fast to dodge. Naruto's eyes widened as death soared toward him.

"Tsuuga!" was all Naruto had time to hear before his body was brutally slammed into by a spinning grey projectile.

Ice cracked and he was airborne before he knew it, but the all too short flight came to an abrupt end on the hard concrete. He had little time to feel disoriented as a slap to the face brought him back to reality.

"Wake the fuck up, Naruto!" he heard Kiba howl at him.

Blond hair flailed about his head as he shook it to clear his head. He immediately wished he hadn't, as nothing but bruising pain hit him in the chest.

"What the fuck Kiba?" he coughed when the memory of being barreled into by Tsuuga reasserted itself in his mind.

"Sorry, man, it was all I could think of to get you out of that," Kiba apologized as Naruto pushed himself up, doing his best to ignore the pain where he knew his ribcage to be. "Better battered and bruised then dead, right?"

"Don't count on it," Naruto groused as his preliminary test of his ribs revealed sharp pain in three too many places. They were broken, but not shattered. That was good.

"Well suck it up. Ino's covering us right now, but her genjutsu's gonna break at some point."

Naruto nodded, wincing in pain as his ribs started involuntarily grinding together of all things. He coughed, once, as blinding pain hit his senses for a single moment before a pleasant heat enveloped the damaged ribs. Abruptly, and with no goading from Naruto himself, the pain disappeared, taking the pleasant warmth with it.

He quickly padded himself down, only to feel no pain whatsoever. What the hell? There's no way broken ribs can heal that quick. Not even with chakra therapy.

"-ruto! Naruto! Listen the fuck up, man. We need a plan," Kiba was shouting at him.

He shook himself once more, breaking any and all thoughts about how he had somehow managed to spontaneously heal three cracked ribs. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

"Yeah, I hear ya'. Where's Ino?"

Kiba pointed to a spot on the bridge mostly obscured by mist, Naruto could barely make out two figures huddled together. "She's doing a double layer on the hunter," Kiba clarified for Naruto. A quick glance showed the hunter hurling senbon at an imaginary opponent. "It won't hold long."

"Alright, move. We're gonna trap him. I'll flush him out once Ino drops the illusion." Naruto quickly tossed a kunai to a spot on the bridge near where the hunter was flailing about. "Hit him here with all you've got. We need to make this work and I don't trust us to get another shot at this guy. He's not too strong close in, but he's crafty."

Kiba nodded resolutely. "Got it. Put your radio in. Ino and me are on channel two."

Naruto didn't bother nodding as he ghosted through the mist toward the illusion entrapped hunter. He threaded the wire for his radio through his ear absently as he strafed. His first inclination would be to kill the hunter outright, but Asuma would want information from him after the fight was through. They needed to take him alive, and that was just so much harder.

He palmed a kunai as the hunter was finally in range. "Ino," he growled over the com.

He wasn't quite sure when the illusion dropped, but that wasn't his concern as he slashed out at neck level with the hunter. Eyes widened behind porcelain as Naruto came into view once the illusion fell, and the hunter ducked on reflex.

Naruto's eyes gleamed as his kunai sliced through long black hair, and the hunter moved to make space. Not so fast! Naruto thought as he brought his leg up and out in vicious, chakra enhanced thrust kick. The hunter attempted to block with both forearms, but the kick proved too much as the shinobi was sent sailing through the air, directly toward the kunai Naruto had thrown before.

Kiba appeared from nowhere and was nothing but a grey blur as he executed his clan's signature technique with a scream of "Tsuuga!"

The hunter-nin was slammed with an almighty CRACK, and soared for a precious few moments before landing in a heap, unmoving.

Naruto gripped his kunai loosely as he warily approached the hunter, who was now struggling to raise himself from the ground. The disguised shinobi fell back to the concrete with a muted thump and a rustling of cloth.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you," Naruto cautioned as he approached. "You probably have a few cracked ribs, if not shattered ones, and judging by the state of your arm, that's broken too." The left arm, the one Naruto hadn't stabbed earlier, was bent at an unnatural angle adjacent to the shinobi's body. The blond took a moment to admire the pure power that the Inuzuka technique had, inwardly happy that the same hadn't happened to him earlier.

He flipped the body over with his foot cautiously, though none too gently, to take in the surprising sight of a bloodied front and a cracked mask, revealing a blood spattered, feminine face. She was quite pretty, in Naruto's opinion. It was just too bad she was fighting on the wrong side of things today.

"Alright, up you get," he said as he lifted the girl bodily into his arms and half carried, half dragged her to the edge of the bridge, where he leaned her against the railing. Kiba joined him a moment later, while Ino slowly worked Tazuna over to their position. Caution was always the best part of valor.

"So…what do we do with her?" Kiba questioned, his gaze locked on their captive. His eyes were oddly appraising, calculating even. It was far from the usual reaction he had when faced with a pretty girl. Even he realized the situation they were in.

Naruto sighed. He had planned the combat expertly while in the heat of the moment, and now he hadn't the faintest idea of what to do. Life was funny like that sometimes. "I've got no idea," he finally admitted. "I figured Asuma would want someone to question afterwards, and we all know we wouldn't get shit from Zabuza."

"So are we just supposed to wait here for sensei?" Ino asked as she arrived on the scene with Tazuna in tow, wind whipping through her hair from the discharge of one of Asuma's Fuuton jutsu. She gave both Naruto and Kiba a once over, checking them for injuries. Her eyes lingered on Naruto for a few extra moments. He locked eyes with the girl and nodded once, conveying that he was alright.

He sighed once more. "I guess?" It came out as more of a question.

"Kill…me…" the soft voice of the hunter piped up weakly. Four heads spun to regard the girl in stunned silence.

"Wh-what?" Ino finally squeaked. Enemies asking to be killed wasn't something Team Ten was familiar with. Naruto and Kiba just stared.

"I want to protect the person important to me... I want to work for that person. I want to fight for that person. I want to make that person's dream come true... That is my dream," the girl muttered, more to herself than to Team Ten and Tazuna. "I failed in my dream. I've realized…my existence is no longer needed."

Naruto shook himself from his stupor. "What's your name?" he asked gently, far more gently than he had ever asked anyone anything before. It was almost as if he feared the girl would break if he raised his voice.

"Haku," was the whispered reply.

"Well, Haku, we're gonna get you patched up a bit." He held his hand up to stall any protest the girl may have had. "We're not gonna kill you, Haku, so you may as well get used to it. We have some questions we need to ask you."

The girl seemed to pull herself together for a single moment, almost looking outraged at the notion that they wouldn't honor her wish to be killed, but then wilted, falling back against the support beam.

Naruto turned to Ino. "See what you can do for her. We don't need her pass-"

An earth shattering explosion rocked the bridge suddenly, followed by a large gust of wind that cleared the mist from the bridge in one fell swoop. Naruto steadied himself against the bridge's railing as he gazed into the area where the explosion came from. His eyes widened.

Trench knives in hand, Asuma stood in the remnants of a great ash cloud, battered, bruised, and cut. His vest was nearly sliced in half, and the blood stains could be seen clearly even from a distance. The jonin stood like a great statue of a hero of the old times, weapons brandished as he engaged a monster of legend and brought it to its knees.

The eyes of the blond were drawn to the second form on the bridge. Zabuza kneeled in the center of the concrete construct, cleaver discarded in front of him in the wake of the excessive amount of third degree burns covering his exposed skin, the explosion having burned through his sleeveless top.

"A shinobi who's willing to sacrifice everything for his goals," Asuma said as he strode toward Zabuza, trench knives glowing with extended wind chakra sharpened to a four foot blade. "Everything, including the very people you seek to control. That's not what a shinobi does."

Zabuza glared. "I don't give a shit what you think a shinobi should do. I fight for my own goals."

"You fought for your own goals," Asuma corrected. "And you die for your own goals."

Three things happened at once. Asuma brought his blade down in a vertical slash that would bisect Zabuza; the Kirigakure no Kijin raised his head to death; and Ino gave a squeal of surprise as she was unceremoniously bowled over.

It was the third that caught Naruto's attention. He turned to regard his teammate, only to find her sprawled on the bridge. Haku was gone, an ice mirror left in her place.

"Oh no." In a single, momentary heartbeat of total clarity, Naruto knew exactly what would happen. He spun to face Asuma and Zabuza to warn his sensei, but by then it was far too late.

A single ice mirror stood between Haku and Zabuza, slowly melting as its creator bled out on to the concrete, Asuma's trench knife having neatly eviscerated the hunter-nin. The jonin stood transfixed by the sight of the young girl in front of him, shocked beyond words. Zabuza was the only one who didn't seem to be moving in slow motion, his body already moving to capitalize on the opportunity.

It was all over in the blink of an eye; in one slash of the blade. And Team Ten watched, transfixed.

"Heh, one hell of a kid, giving a chance like that. Sure can pick 'em."

Zabuza stood, cleaver in hand, a vicious smirk upon his face as he towered over the bodies of Asuma and Haku, their heads separated from their necks as blood flowed freely onto the bridge.

/~/