Child of the Moon

Lectures

Tsukiko was barely in control of her own mind when she heard Kakashi call out to Sakura. Noticing an opening in Zabuza's defense, she managed to get a strike in, hitting him with a heel palm strike and following it up with gentle fist style taijutsu strikes. Next thing she knew, a loud bang and dramatic burst of smoke announced the arrival of Naruto.

She hadn't fully been paying attention, so had missed the moment that Haku had been hit and knocked down, but she felt a mixture of pride and exasperation when she realized it was Naruto.

Who was not capitalizing on his surprise attack.

Of course, he wasn't.

"Naruto Uzumaki..." Naruto declared as the smoke cleared. "Is here, believe it!"

"Kakashi this is your fault!" Tsukiko mentally cursed. "Also, not your fault, because we both know Naruto likes attention."

"Ha, now that I'm here, everything will be alright!" Naruto laughed.

"Naruto!"

That was probably the first time Tsukiko had heard Sakura sound happy at Naruto's arrival.

"You know how in the stories, the hero usually shows up at the last minute?" Naruto grinned.

"Usually, he's not so dramatic, and does something other than shout," Tsukiko sighed, keeping her eyes on Zabuza. "And you're a ninja, Naruto, not some warrior of justice! We fight from the shadows, not announce ourselves to the world!"

"Uh! Sorry, my bad," Naruto said, dejection washing off of him, making Tsukiko feel slightly guilty.

How was she supposed to scold or anything like that, when she could tell what they were thinking and just feel guilty about it? This was not going to work.

"A-anyway, you with the mask, you're history!" Naruto said, returning to his usual self. "Shadow Clone jutsu!"

The Zabuza near Kakashi suddenly turned, and Tsukiko moved without really thinking about what she was doing.

"Naruto, move!" Kakashi yelled.

"Naruto!" Tsukiko was suddenly blocked by Zabuza, while Naruto froze. "Move!"

Tsukiko tried to attack Zabuza but was forced back by his sword. Haku intervened, his senbon knocking the kunai aside.

"What are you doing Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

"This is a battle, not a talent ground!" Kakashi scolded, while Tsukiko attempted to avoid being cut in half. "Don't let your opponent see your jutsu!"

"Ah..." Naruto could see Tsukiko dodging swings, being forced back. She could tell he was listening to what Kakashi was saying, which was basically backing her up on the ninja art of deception.

A brief pause, as Zabuza demanded to know what Haku was doing, as it was clear that he had stopped Zabuza's attack on purpose. Tsukiko winced; a shallow cut just below her knee stinging with the salt in the air from the ocean. She needed to be more careful, and trust that Naruto could take care of himself.

If she focused on him at this moment, or Sasuke, she could lose her life and that wouldn't help anyone.

Haku requested to fight Naruto without Zabuza's interference, Naruto took the challenge in stride. What Tsukiko didn't understand was why Sasuke was just watching it all, instead of escaping and taking the enemy by surprise. She subtly prompted him with mental persuasion, unable to make it a compulsion without taking her attention off of Zabuza, which would be stupid.