Hello, Heartache ~Uchiha Sasuke Love story~

Chapter 9: Tree Climbing

'Ah ah! Sensei's awake!' Naruto grinned happily.

Sakura walked over to Kakashi sensei and knelt down next to the futon he was in. 'Sharingan is amazing, but it puts a lot of strain on the body.' she said, 'I'm not sure whether that's good or bad.'

'I'm sorry,' sensei said softly.

'But you defeated such a strong ninja.' said Tazuna gladly. 'We should be okay for a while.'

'But who was that boy with the mask?' Sakura thought out loud.

'Wait, that was a boy?' I asked her, an eyebrow raised. Apparently, everyone knew it was a boy by the looks they were all giving me. 'Sorry,' I muttered, feeling my face heat up.

'He had the mask of a pursuing ninja from a special squad from the Hidden Village of Mist's ANBU ...' Kakashi sensei trailed off, looking lost in thought. I exchanged curious looks with Naruto.

'What's wrong, sensei?' Naruto asked.

'Huh? Oh, what I was talking about before,' sensei said, snapping out of his own thoughts. 'Pursuing ninjas are suppose to eliminate the corpse on the spot.'

'So?' Sakura asked, looking lost.

'What did that boy do to Zabuza's body?' Kakashi sensei asked us.

I felt the blood drain from my face from the sudden realization. I could feel myself shaking from fear. Zabuza's not dead, perhaps? No... His pulse had stopped, right?

'Makoto?' Sensei turned to me.

'Zabubza might still be alive?' I squeaked out.

'Mm. Zabuza is still alive.'

'WHAT?!' Tazuna, Sakura and Naruto yelled, flabbergasted.

'What does that mean?' Naruto asked urgently.

'But you confirmed that he was dead!' Sakura protested, not believing what she'd been told.

'I did confirm it,' Kakashi sensei replied. 'But he was most likely in a near-death state. The weapon that the pursuing ninja used has a low fatality rate unless it hits a critical spot. It's mostly used in acupuncture healing and such. The goal of that boy was not to kill Zabuza, but to help him.'

'Maybe you're thinking too much,' Tazuna said, looking unsure.

'No, once a ninja feels that there's something weird, he must prepare for it before it's too late.' Kakashi sensei told him.

'But sensei, how are you going to prepare for this before it's too late?' I asked. 'You can't move for a while ...'

Kakashi sensei chuckled before saying 'I'm going to make all of you go through training.'

'Wait, even if we train, it's not going to be very helpful.' Sakura argued. 'Since the enemy is a ninja that even you had trouble with.'

'Sakura, who saved me when I had a difficult time?' Sensei said, looking at us sternly. 'You three are growing at a rapid rate. Especially you, Naruto.'

'Huh?' Naruto said, surprised. I couldn't help but smile, feeling happy for him.

'You've grown the most.' Kakashi sensei smiled.

'You know your stuff, Kakashi sensei.' Naruto said proudly. 'Now things are getting interesting!'

'No, it's not.' A voice from behind us said.

We turned back to see a young boy standing at the doorway.

'Who are you?' Naruto demanded, pointing a finger at him.