Naruko: Chapter 013

Chapter 13
(Follows chapter 23, 24 & 25 of the manga)

The scream echoed through the street as Tsunami watched the two goons before slice in to her son, but the blinked in surprise when instead of pieces of Inari falling to the ground, there were pieces of a log.
"A substitution jutsu?!" Zouri gasped, how did that little boy know the substitution jutsu? What was going on>
It wasn't until they turned back to look at Tsunami that it clicked.
A young girl with blond hair, and long pigtails stood with her back to them with Inari clinging to her was now stood between them and Tsunami, who was now further away
Naruko ushered Inari to his mother.
"N-Naruko?!" Inari blinked, surprised to see her.
"Hey." she smiled cutely. "Your heroine is here." she pulled a 'V' sign and then turned to focus on her opponents. "You did a good job Inari, thanks to your distraction, I was able to untie your mother and get her back here, out of the way."
"Hey... isn't she one of Tazuna's so called bodyguards?!" Zouri said as they charged at her.
"Naruko! Are you going to be ok?" He asked.
"No sweat." she smirked as she pulled a kunai.
"Think you can fight us with that toy?!" they laughed at her.
Naruko just smirked, as two clones suddenly came at them from behind. She was just a distraction, and with a strong kick to the back of their heads, they were quickly down and out.
"Man... those guys were weak!" she laughed.
She ran over and quickly began to secure them, separating the goons from their weapons, and tieing them up.
"How did you know those samurai were coming?" Inari asked as he walked over.
"Well... while I was on my way to the bridge, I noticed some cut marks in the tree's and a few animals. They looked clean, and recent, and heading towards here... so I got worried about you and your mom." Naruko explained. "But forget that... Inari... I want to apologise... about last night."
"Why?" Inari asked.
"Well... you know..." Naruko said, acting coy. "I'm... sorry I called you a baby... its not true, okay?" Naruko smiled cutely as she moved up to him and patted him on the head. "You're a big strong boy."
Inari blushed a little, but then began to cry. "Oohh... I p-promised I w-wouldn't cry... now you'll m-make fun of me again." he said as he tried to wipe away the tears.
Naruko just smiled. "No way." she said "There's nothing wrong with crying when you're happy."
Inari looked at her surprised. But smiled too, he had that feeling again, the sisterly one, and secretly, he began thinking how he wished Naruko were his big sister.
He wiped away the last of his tears and both he and Naruko turned to the unconscious prisoners.
"If they're here, then its possible that they're making a move on the bridge too." Naruko said, thinking, "Inari... you can handle things here right?"
"Yeah." he nodded, sounding much braver.
"OK then." Naruko grinned as she turned and headed off once more. "This 'Hero' business is a lot of work." she giggled.
Inari chuckled and gave her a thumbs up. "You bet... good luck."

At the same time, back on the bridge, the rest of team seven, along with Tazuna, were facing Zabuza and Haku.
They were hardly surprised to see Haku there, standing beside Zabuza.
"He's got a lot of nerve showing his face." Sakura said, she hated being tricked like that.
"He's mine." Sasuke frowned, focusing all his attention on Haku. "That was quite a show you put on before... but we're not fooled this time, and I hate ham actors."
"Sasuke, you're so cool." Sakura said, fawning over him.
"Sakura..." Kakashi said, basically telling her with his tone, to save it for later and focus.
"S-sorry sensei." Sakura said, re-assuming her defensive position.

"Impressive kid... Even though your water-clones were only a tenth of your strength, it was amazing he did so well." Haku said.
"Just remember... we're still on the offensive." Zabuza said.
"Yes sir." Haku nodded before disappearing from sight.
Sasuke blinked as Haku suddenly appeared before him, but there was no hesitation in his counter as he defended with a kunai
'He can keep up with Haku's speed!' Zabuza thought as he watched the two youths fight.

"Sakura, we'll both cover Tazuna, we'll let Sasuke take care of his opponent." Kakashi said, as he and Sakura took up defensive positions around the old man.
"Yes sir." Sakura nodded.

Sasuke smirked at Haku, as they both held their positions, his kunai pressed hard against a senbon needle. It was amazing such a think object could hold back a kunai, but there it was, their hands shaking from the tension between the two's pressing strength.
"I don't want to kill you, but you won't just leave will you?" Haku said.
"Don't be stupid." Sasuke smirked.
"Just as I thought, you won't be able to match my speed for long." Haku said confidently. "There is water all around you, and only one hand to defend with against my attacks."

And just like that, Haku used his own free hand to begin to form sighs.
Kakashi and Sasuke were both surprised, something like that, performing jutsu with one hand was impossible, yet right before them, this young boy was doing it.
"Secret water art: The thousand stinging needles of death." Haku cried, as suddenly the water from Zabuza's fallen clones suddenly moved, and formed needles that began to  fly at Sasuke.
"SASUKE!!" Sakura cried out in concern.
But Sasuke didn't say anything as he was too focused on reacting to the attack.
'Focus... summon all the chakra I can... and send it to my feet.' he thought as he did it.
A second later, the water needle converged, as Haku pushed away.

But as Haku moved away, he looked to see that Sasuke had vanished.
But he didn't have time to wonder for long before he found himself dodging an array of shurikin that came at him from above.
But when he stopped, he gasped when he heard... "You're not that fast." Sasuke was behind him, and with a kunai at Haku's neck. "Now you're the one who has to worry about defending... against me." Sasuke smirked.
Haku may not have liked to hear that, as the next second he was moving against him, at incredible speed.
Sasuke parried the hit, and followed with one of his own, using his kunai, and his own speed to fight the enemy ninja.
Zabuza watched in mild disbelief that his partner was actually losing a battle of speed.

Haku was eventually kicked away, and hit the ground hard as he skidded across the surface, coming to a halt in front of Zabuza.
"You're fast... but I'm faster." Sasuke grinned, mockingly.
"You had that coming, for underestimating my team, and for name calling." Kakashi confidently said, in a 'for-shame' tone.
Zabuza just laughed, which made Sasuke wonder why when his side was losing.
"Haku... do you understand, if this goes on... you could die at his hands?" Zabuza frowned.
"Yes... I do." Haku nodded, almost sounding saddened by the fact that he was going to have to kill Sasuke.
Sasuke, then noticed the temperature dropping, as he shivered a little, and then, as Haku focused his chakra, the water behind Sasuke surged up and began to freeze, and the same began happening all around him.
"Secret art of water: Ice crystal magic mirror technique." he cried as Sasuke quickly found himself surrounded by mirrors made out of ice.

Neither Sasuke nor Kakashi knew what was going on, and it only got more confusing as Haku walked up, and simply moved in to one of them, and simply moulded in to it.
Once he was apart of the mirror, his image duplicated in to the others, making it impossible to know which one was the real one.

Sasuke frowned, feeling that this was getting more complicated by the second.
Kakashi knew this too, and leapt in to action, but Zabuza moved in front of him.
"Don't forget... I'm your enemy." Zabuza said, "Let our boys play in peace."

Sasuke looked all around him at the mirror, wondering what Haku was going to do, only to be answered by a sudden flurry of senbon from all around him.

"Sasuke!!" Sakura gasped, before getting a focused look in her eyes. "Mr Tazuna... I'm sorry, but I have to leave you for a moment.
"I understand." he said. And in a flash Sakura was off, pulling out a kunai as she rushed towards the mirrors.
When she was close enough, she threw the kunai between the mirrors, but the real Haku grabbed the kunai.
But just as he looked to Sakura, from the opposite direction came a shurikin, that slashed into Haku's mask, knocking him out of the mirror to the ground.

Zabuza and Kakashi looked over, wondering what just happened, even Sakura wondered who it could be.
A large smoke filled explosion then burst out of nowhere, and as the smoke cleared, Sasuke chuckled "What a show off." he mumbled.
Sakura blinked, as she saw a flash of blonde and orange.
"The ninja maiden, Uzumaki Naruko... at your service." she grinned as she came in to view.
Kakashi looked, and sighed, they needed an ambush, not a showy arrival like that.
"I'm here to save the day, that's what a hero does."
Sakura was happy to see her, it meant more back up.
Zabuza was still annoyed with her previous trickery, and the very sight of the 'brat' was enough to cause him to make a move.
He instantly whipped out several shurikin, and flung them at the blond shinobi.
Haku had other idea's though, and used senbon to stop the shurikin.
"Zabuza sir... please... let me have this girl." Haku then said. "I wish to fight her my own way."
Zabuza looked at him with a glare. "Very well... I'll keep my hands off of her."

Sasuke meanwhile was taking this time to catch his breath and try to figure out how Haku's technique worked.
He was confused, but his only hope was Naruko, they would have to team up somehow, her on the outside, and he on the inside.

Naruko looked at Haku as they stared each other down.
She ran at Haku with her kunai in hand, but when Haku threw senbon at her, she simply disappeared.
"Bun shin!" Haku said, looking around, just as another Naruko came at him from above.
Another senbon dispelled another clone, and this seemed to continue as one after another, a clone would come out of nowhere, and just be dispelled by a senbon.
Haku was getting a little frustrated.
"Is this all you want to do, attack with your weak clones?" Haku said, just as another Naruko came in to play, just to get a senbon to the shoulder, Haku wasn't even aiming, a strong enough hit and a clone would dispel, and just like the others this one exploded in to a puff of smoke. But something was different this time. It was just a moment, but it was enough to realise that the body kept coming through, it was real, and Naruko's leg slapped right against Haku's neck, sending him flying.
Sakura gave a smile, Naruko had tricked Haku, but it was a victory that was short lived, as Haku immediately countered with a kick that sent Naruko flying... skidding across the ground, and in to the mirror cage, joining Sasuke.
But before she'd even stopped, Naruko focused her chakra, and it was then that Haku realised the reason for the amount of clones, it wasn't just to distract him, but each clone dropped and explosive tag, and Naruko set them off.
Haku, unfortunately, still had his speed and managed to get out of the way.
Kakashi was impressed, it was certainly a good plan, but it just didn't work as well as she had hoped.
Sasuke helped Naruko up, and removed the senbon from her shoulder. She was now inside the mirror cage, trapped with him, and Haku was already returning to the mirrors.
Sasuke figured the mirror Haku entered was the one that he would still be in, but when he heard Haku's voice come from another mirror, he was once again confused, how could he be in that one.
"No choice... we have to destroy all the mirrors." Sasuke said as he began to prepare to execute a jutsu. They were mirrors made of ice... so fire would melt them.

But no matter how intense the flame was, Sasuke couldn't melt the ice, and for his trouble.
"It didn't even make a dent." Naruko frowned, Sasuke didn't even like it.

"We have to find the real one." Naruko said, as Haku attacked them both with a blinding light, that also seemed to throw them back, like a wave of energy.
"Damn it." Naruko said once the light dimmed. She then summoned several clones.
"WAIT!" Sasuke said, but it was too late, Naruko had it in her head that if she attacked every mirror, then she would have to hit the real one.
But before her plan could be executed, Haku leapt from mirror to mirror, passing Naruko's clones and destroying them.

The real Naruko was sent crashing back to the ground though.
"The technique I'm using is part of the art of teleportation, and the only tool I need  to perform it, are these mirrors that hold my image." Haku explained. "I move so fast,  the pair of you may as well be standing still."

"So... that's it." Kakashi said, as he finally worked something out. "I never imagined anyone could master a technique like that as such a young age."
"S-sensei?!" Sakura said, confused. "What do you mean 'such a technique' ?"
"Its a Kekkai-genkai." Kakashi said with a serious look in his eyes.

To Be continued...

(ok... I made a big change in here, I couldn't help it, even though Naruto was a show-off, it was a little stupid for him not to sneak up at least, especially after showing that it was his preferred method of attack were diversionary tactics, like when fighting Kakashi, Zabuza (fight 1) and the two Gato goons, so I decided to keep to that for Naruko , instead of her having a lapse in judgement.)