Kakashi's Teammate, the Lightning Goddess

Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Mist

*edited*

Chapter 13: Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Mist

                Someone was shaking me. “Come on, wake up… you said so yourself, he wasn’t trying to kill us…”

                Sasuke. I kind of wanted him to shut up.

                “Kira-sensei, if you don’t get up now, you’re gonna miss the ending. Come on, get up, you’re not this weak…”

                “Will you shut up?” I mumbled, cracking an eye open. “You’re disrupting my beauty sleep!”

                Sasuke gave me an exasperated look. “Just get up, come on. Kakashi might need our help.”

                “Screw Kakashi,” I said happily, but got up anyway, a bit unsteadily. Sasuke held onto my arm, making sure that I wasn’t going to just topple over. “Okay, fill me in.”

                “It was just like you said. My Sharingan finally activated, and Naruto gained some weird… power. We destroyed the mirrors together, and Haku told us his sob story and how he’s kind of a slave for Zabuza.”

                “Wonderful,” I said, nodding. “You have no sympathy at all. What did I tell you? Sympathy and courage.”

                He just grunted in response, but my eyes were caught on something in the distance. Was that… could that be –

                “Let’s go,” I said, breaking into a run, dragging Sasuke with me.

                “You shouldn’t be running.”

                “I don’t give a rat’s ass right now.”

                Sure, I was aching all over, but it was nothing compared to what pain could be dealt if I didn’t get there in time.

                “No!” I heard Naruto shout, just as Kakashi charged at Zabuza with his Chidori. Oh, no – but I couldn’t do anything to stop it.

                Haku was dead, a bloody hole through his chest. Zabuza’s eyes were wide as his assistant fell.

                ‘We’ve met him before, remember?’ said Amaterasu. ‘Once, when we were with Iwagakure, and we ran into him.’

                “It was him,” I breathed, remembering, all of a sudden. “Yes, yes, the boy and the flowers… and he was looking for his family. Oh my God.”

                ‘His family is dead, and his last actions were to protect his master. These are the stories that wound Naruto most deeply.’

                “Well, well… who do we have here?” a new voice piped up. I glanced past Zabuza to see a short, little fat man. “A demon? Ha! A baby demon, more like!” He wore round sunglasses and an evil grin, and I had no doubt at all that this was Gato. I wondered where Inari was.

                Zabuza had already lost both his arms, and I knew then that Kakashi was going to win. Gato took a step forward and kicked Haku over. “I have a score to settle with this brat. He crushed my arm ‘til the bones broke.”

                “You probably deserved it,” I called, causing everyone’s eyes to turn to me. I ripped one of the senbon out of my arm and flung it carelessly. It bounced off of Gato’s right sunglass lens, causing him to gasp and stagger backward. “I’m very good at reading people. Let me guess; you never intended to pay Zabuza at all. You used him like a slave, because you’re a little selfish brat who throws a fit when he doesn’t get what he wants.”

                I ripped out another senbon, ignoring Kakashi’s warning.

                “Come, Zabuza,” I said, striding past my teammates. “We’re going to avenge Haku, and then we’re going to avenge you.”

                I knew he would follow me, but the energy radiating off of him was amazing. Gato signaled for his men to be at the ready. “Let me,” Zabuza said, stopping as we were about halfway in between the two parties. “Let me avenge Haku. He was not a tool.”

                “I know,” I said quietly. “Go. He’s all yours.”

                “Is this what you meant when you said that you’ll avenge me?”

                I gave him a sad smile. “Yes. I know that you’ll go all out, and when you do…”

                “… I’ll die. I have nothing left to live for, anyway.” He took another step forward, before turning back and locking eyes with me. “That little boy – protect him. In him, the brightest fire rages – one that can turn any heart.”

                “I know,” I said. “Go.”

                “Peace be with you, Kira Izanami.”

                He could no longer use his arms, taking away the majority of his skills, but I threw him a kunai and he caught it between his teeth. Charging at the crowd – and particularly Gato – with an inhumane cry, I finally saw the demon inside. Yes, he was a demon, alright… the Demon of the Mist.

                It was all too clear, from the start, that Zabuza would win. With nothing left to live for, he had no worry about his own well-being. He kept on going, despite the many weapons embedded in him, until I heard a cry, and knew that Gato was dead.

                The mob turned on us then. “You’ll regret what you’ve done!”

                I didn’t move from my spot and simply smiled at them. An arrow shot through the air and landed at their feet. They froze.

                “Not one step further!” Inari yelled. “This is our home, and we’re going to defend it!”

                “Inari!” Naruto cried happily. I turned and waved my fingers at him, and he gave me a big grin. The entire village was rounded up behind him, with makeshift weapons in their hands. Gato’s men now seemed quite scared, and began to back off. I narrowed my eyes; I’d promised to avenge Zabuza.

                I slowly took out my senbon pouch and extended my poor, needle-ridden wings. “Kira,” Kakashi said, a note of warning in his voice.

                “Don’t worry,” I said, without turning to face him. “Baby steps.”

                I flew into the air as they all began to run for it, hopping back into the boats they’d come from. One needle to the back of every man’s neck, and they slumped. They wouldn’t die, for sure, but that was all I was willing to do. I was sure that Zabuza, who now understood me, would not have wanted me to kill such worthless men.

                My wings were aching like hell, and I couldn’t get down onto the ground fast enough. I couldn’t even retract them – they hurt that much. Kakashi was waiting for me, and Sasuke, who didn’t seem to have much interest in celebrating with the locals.

                “Never knew you dealt with senbon,” said Kakashi.

                “There’s a lot you don’t know,” I said with a smirk. “For now, though, could you pull out that one near my shoulder? It’s glitching up my entire wing…”

***

                “But for that special person, I will do anything… even turn my heart into steel, like a true shinobi… and then I realized the most painful thing: knowing that you are unwanted. Unimportant. Shunned. But then Master Zabuza took me in, knowing that I was a person with a Kekkei Genkai. The blood that everyone hated… he desired it, he needed it… I was so happy…!”