So, the world really IS round, thought Zabuza to himself as he got a glimpse of that round mostly-blue globe with the white fluffy clouds began expanding before him. The novelty of this sight struck him - and despite thinking of himself as a bloodthirsty monster - he could appreciate the beauty of the sight. He would have appreciated it a LOT more though if he weren't continuing to pick up speed, being pulled along by the damn weapon that he'd been allowed to catch. No doubt in his mind - that had been the Uzumaki's plan all along.
The girl? Now that he'd thought more about it, he'd figured out that she was a puppet like those the Sand Village used. So he'd been lured into attacking the puppet, the Uzumaki had then tricked him into grabbing the weapon, and Zabuza Momochi was now heading for the ground at...
Zabuza pried an eye open against the curtain of flame now streaming around him and tried to estimate how fast they were approaching the ground. He closed his eye again, deciding that he didn't really have a good reference. Just call it Too Fast and be satisfied with that.
When he felt his downward drop begin to slow, Zabuza opened his eyes again. There were clouds below him. Light fluffy clouds, so peaceful and serene. Below that was the lake, looking as if he could stretch out his hand and cover it.
He'd just let go of the hammer when it was all a little closer. Closer. Closer. Now.
Zabuza frowned as he started using his other hand to try and pry the one that had a death-grip on the hilt of the hammer off. If he hit the ground at this pace, Haku wouldn't need to do the senbon attack.
"I'm slowing it down, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto. "I also put up a barrier to keep him from frying. I take it you want to interrogate him?"
"Yes, that's it exactly," said Kakashi, apparently pleased at the reasoning of his genin.
"You should let him go splat," grumbled Sakura. "Poor Sasuke."
"You know, after getting knocked out and dismissed by the missing-nin, he's really going to be out for vengeance after this," said Kakashi, eyeing the fallen student.
"Uhm," interrupted Tazuna. "You do realize that keeping me safe is your mission, and killing the missing-nin out to kill me would probably do a lot towards that?"
"We're not on an assassination mission," said Kakashi. "If he attacks you, fine. All that was probably just his way of introducing himself. They're like that in Mist, you know."
"Really?" asked Sakura.
"Oh yes," said Kakashi. "For example, your genin test was the Bell Test, right?"
Naruto nodded, showing he was listening despite the amount of concentration on whatever he was doing.
"Yeah," agreed Sakura.
"Well, in Mist, they used to pair off the graduates from their own ninja school and had them fight each other to the death. The winners graduated, the losers - well - they died," said Kakashi. '"The reason they stopped was the missing-nin we're facing. He killed his entire graduating class."
"Slowing him down gradually so he... he let go?!" Naruto staggered as suddenly the weight shifted through whatever connection he had.
"Uhm, how high up was he?" asked Kakashi.
"Roughly one kilometer," said Naruto.
"Oh," said Kakashi, looking up.
"Well, no reason to keep slowing Mjolnir," said Naruto, shaking his head.
Haku watched as the distant streak became a dot and a streak. The streak changed direction a moment later, while the dot continued its path.
Haku glanced in the direction of the Uzumaki and considered vowing revenge. If Zabuza-sama was dead, he'd do it. Otherwise, getting Zabuza away from the Uzumaki was top priority.
The dot was slowly growing larger, and eventually Haku could make out that the dot was indeed Zabuza who was apparently quite still alive. It looked like he was going through hand-signs quickly.
Haku caught a glimpse of the senior missing-nin taking a diving-stance. Then Zabuza slammed into the water, sending up a plume at the point of impact.
"There goes that Hunter Nin from Wave," said Kakashi.
"Should I go after him?" asked Naruto.
"Not right now," said Kakashi. "The first priority is the safety of the client. There may be additional ninja after all."
"Right, Area Search," said Naruto, forming and sending the spheres off as soon as Mjolnir had slapped back into his hand. "Got it."
"Now, Tazuna-san," said Kakashi, shouldering the still-unconscious Sasuke, "care to lead us to your humble home?"
"Haku?"
A familiar face slowly resolved from a blur. "Zabuza-sama. Please don't try to move."
"How bad?" asked Zabuza as he became aware that he was lying on a bed and currently seemed to look like he'd escaped from a mummy-movie.
"You managed to cushion your fall, Zabuza-sama, but the crocodile could only do so much," said Haku.
"Ah, is that what I hit before I hit the bottom of the lake?" said Zabuza. "How many broken bones?"
"Seven, Zabuza-sama. There also appears to be considerable bruising and some unknown sort of strain damage especially in your right arm. Your chakra reserves are very low as well."
"I know," said Zabuza. "I had to use a lot of chakra to deal with the acceleration among other things. Haku?"
"Zabuza-sama?" asked Haku.
"From now on, we ALWAYS insist on an Uzumaki Avoidance Clause in our contracts. No matter how bad our finances."
"Yes, Zabuza-sama," agreed Haku. "Then you confirmed it is as you speculated?"
"If I had any doubts that one of that line survived and wasn't just someone with the same name, it died in that encounter," said Zabuza. "How long?"
"I can heal the wounds over the course of a week, the chakra depletion will take at least that long as well," said Haku.
The mercenary walked calmly in, opened the small satchel he kept near his bunk, and drew out a small box.
"Writing the wife and kids again?" asked one of the other mercenaries, his voice faintly mocking.
"Laredo? What are my main skills outside being able to use a spear?" asked the first mercenary, opening the box to reveal a writing set.
"Uhm," said Laredo, clearly not having a pre-planned response to that question.
"You're a tracker," said one of the other mercenaries in the room, breaking off the poker game. Seeing their fellow paying attention, several of the other mercenaries broke off their own activities to watch.
"I'm a hunter," said the mercenary, scribbling something out. "I can track humans fine, but my main skills growing up were hunting. That's why I'm good with the spear. If you aren't - you don't eat. Hunting got scarce, no money left in Wave for fur and pelts, can't sell what I do get. Only reason I'm working for Gato, ain't got much choice if I want to feed my family."
"Yeah we get that, reg'lar family man," said Laredo. Something was going on and he didn't know what.
"I saw some weird tracks, noticed that Zabuza guy's footprints nearby, headed over there to see if I could ask 'em about it," said the hunter.
"Like they'd talk to you, a mere hunter," scoffed Laredo.
"I heard 'em," said the hunter. "There's an Uzumaki involved."
Half the mercenaries looked blank, a quarter looked puzzled, five of them though - turned pale.
"You mean like one of those branch family types, right?" asked a guy with two swords.
"No. I overheard. Main family. Which fits the tracks I found," said the hunter.
"That isn't a letter to your wife is it?" asked the poker player.
"Resignation," said the hunter. "Can't do my family any good if I'm on the other side of a fight with a main branch Uzumaki."
"There's an Uzumaki and they're working for the other side?" asked one of the mercenaries who'd recognized the name.
"That's bad?" asked Laredo, who wasn't the brightest guy in the room, but WAS able to read something of the reactions going on. "Worse than Gato finding out you're dropping off his payroll?"
"I'm a hunter," said the hunter. "I can get out of here and be halfway across Wave before Gato settles down to dinner."
"If Gato catches you before you get out, you won't do your family any good either," pointed out the gambler.
"You gonna rat on me?" asked the hunter.
"No," said the gambler. "I'm not going up against an Uzumaki. Are you nuts? Gato would just kill me."
"I see," said the hunter, putting the letter he'd written into an envelope and scribbling something on the outside.
"Well, I'll tell Gato and he'll see how loyal-" began one mercenary.
schnikt - THUD!
Stepping over the loyalist, the gambler eyed the rest of the mercenaries. "If you want to stay. Stay. If you don't - this is your big chance."
"I don't get it," said Laredo. "What's so bad about an Uzumaki?"
"If they're on YOUR side, nothing at all," said the hunter, shouldering his pack. "In fact, every story I've heard that doesn't have them eating the flesh of babies or something - they're as good to their friends as they are fiendish to their enemies. As to how bad they are to their enemies - it took four villages uniting to bring them down and they snuck in under cover of being diplomats."
"They're badasses to the badass ninjas," said the gambler, cleaning one of his knives. "When badass ninja assassins go to bed, they check underneath to make sure there isn't an Uzumaki down there waiting to avenge his clan."
"Oh," said Laredo.
"So what did you see that got you curious?" asked the gambler of the hunter.
"I saw something big flying, I found tracks from a lizard bigger than a horse," said the hunter. "A lizard that can apparently fly."
"How much are we getting paid for this?" asked one of the less clueless mercenaries. "Cause all of sudden it don't seem like enough."
The hunter nodded and ducked out the window. When Laredo checked to see what direction the other had gone, there was no trace of him.
"So, this is my humble home," said Tazuna.
Naruto shrugged. "I need to recover some chakra, sensei. Doing that with the guy who took my hammer was kinda tiring."
"Well, I suppose it can be pardoned for now," said Kakashi. "Sakura, you can put Sasuke down over there."
"hnnn. wha- WHAT?" asked Sasuke, taking that moment to wake up with a massive headache. "Sakura? Put me down."
"But Sasuke, you got knocked out by that missing-nin," said Sakura, her concern obvious in her voice.
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(Posted Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:35)
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