Edited 29/06/2015

Ashley's POV

The two Ninja dart towards Naruto, evil looks shining in their eyes. They raise up their sharp, bloodied chains, causing the blonde's eyes to widen with fear and panic. I can't help sighing as Naruto freezes in place, obviously not sure how to react in a real battle situation. I can't say much I suppose, considering the kid has never even left his Village before....

Suddenly, Sasuke appears in front of Naruto, facing off against the two opposing Ninja. The ravenette swiftly pulls out a single shuriken with one hand, brandishing a kunai in the other.

He flings the shuriken towards the incoming Ninja, skilfully aiming for the gaps in the links of their chains. The shuriken hits its two targets, pinning the vicious looking chains to a nearby tree. Wanting to make sure the shuriken will hold, Sasuke then throws his kunai at the small hole in the middle of the throwing star, his aim perfect.

"I can't get loose!" one of the enemy Ninja growls, skidding to a halt and tugging on the large, metal claw covering his hand, the chain attached to it.

The Ninja's head snaps up when Sasuke leaps forwards, landing on his metal claw. The Uchiha moves his left foot over to the claw of the second Ninja, now standing a top both weapons.

Bending down and pressing his palms against each claw, Sasuke whips his legs out backwards, kicking both of the Ninja in their faces. They both stumble backwards, with Sasuke dropping to the ground in a crouched position.

The enemy Ninja both press a button on their metal claws, releasing the chains from them. I narrow my eyes and slide one foot backwards for a steadier stance, watching as the two Ninja skirt around Sasuke and race towards me.

"Big mistake" I smirk, ducking low to the ground as one of the Ninja swipes his huge claws over my head. Placing one hand down on the grass, I focus chakra into my leg and jam my knee up into my attacker's stomach, causing his eyes to bulge in both surprise and pain.

He drops to the ground as I rise to my feet and whirl around, throwing out both hands as the second Ninja comes for me. Gritting my teeth, I focus chakra into both of my arms, hoping it'll be enough to stop this guy. If not, I'm going to have to react pretty damn quick.

The Ninja comes to an abrupt halt as he jabs at me with his claws, my palms pushing against the metal weapon. Satisfied that I'd used enough chakra to stop the Ninja, I use both arms to hoist him up over my head, before dropping him down on top of his friend, causing the two men to groan.

I release a breathe and jump backwards a few times, not wanting to be too close to our attackers in case they get back up. I try to ignore the others as they gape at me, though I feel a little annoyed by their shocked looks. What did they expect me to do? Just stand there and let those guys kill me? Hardly.

'Yeah wow' I think to myself sarcastically, 'Look at that. I can actually do things.....'

Quickly regaining their cools, the two Ninja untangle themselves and leap to their feet, separating to circle around us. While one runs for the still frozen Naruto, the other one focuses his attention on Tazuna, claws at the ready.

"Stay behind me!" Sakura orders, sliding in front of the bridge builder and pointing a kunai knife at the incoming Shinobi. Before she can get herself killed, Sasuke appears in front of Sakura, glowering at the attacker.

What's he planning to do? Glare the enemy to death?.....

Appearing out of nowhere, Kakashi steps over to the Ninja about to attack Sasuke and Sakura, wrapping his arm around the man's throat. The other Ninja already in his other arm, Kakashi crushes the second Shinobi's throat, rendering him helpless.

"Kakashi Sensei!" Sakura cries joyfully, as Naruto stares at the uninjured man in disbelief. Where did he even come from? I mean, I was pretty sure he hadn't been killed back there seeing as he's so experienced, but I've no clue where exactly he's been hiding. Then again, I wasn't really focusing on the Jonin either.

"Hey" Kakashi replies coolly, to which a ticked off Sasuke shoves his hands in his pockets and frowns. He's probably mad because Kakashi showed up before he hand any further chance to show off.

"Huh?" Naruto asks, looking around in confusion. "But I thought Kakashi Sensei was........"

"He's a Jonin" I state bluntly, crossing my arms and looking over my shoulder, hooding my eyes as Kakashi's shredded body disappears in a puff of smoke. "Looks like he used a Substitution Jutsu."

"Sorry I didn't jump in right away and help you out Naruto" Kakashi says smartly, turning to face the blue eyed boy. "I didn't mean for you to get hurt, but I didn't think you were just going to freeze up like that."

As Naruto hangs his head in shame, I send a suspicious look over Tazuna's way, only to see the older man sighing with relief. So, is this really a C Rank mission then, or did he lie about the difficulty of the mission?

"Good job Sasuke, Sakura" Kakashi praises the two, with the pinkette smiling happily, before he turns to me. "You too Ashley, though honestly, I'm surprised you actually did something."

My shoulders sag at that comment, my head tilting to the side as I send Kakashi a dry, unamused look.

"As if I was just going to stand there and let them attack me" I tell the silver haired man. "I'm not that stupid."

Kakashi stares at me for a few moments, brows furrowing as if he is thinking hard about something. Not sure why the man is looking at me so suspiciously, I avert my gaze and look to Naruto, who is glaring at Sasuke. He must be pretty embarrassed right now, having had his rival save him and all.

"You're not hurt are you?" Sasuke teases Naruto, smirking. "Scaredy cat."

"Sasuke!" Naruto thunders angrily, his cheeks a little red. He pauses when Kakashi appears beside him however, one hand holding the boy's shoulder and keeping him in place.

"I'd stop moving if I were you Naruto" the Jonin advises. "You may not have noticed, but those claws were laced with poison. You'll have to open that scratch on your hand to get it out, because it's in your blood and we can't let it remain in there for long."

"Moving around will make the poison spread through your body faster" Sakura adds wisely, nodding her head. Naruto tilts his head down and stares at the back of his hand, looking a little pale.

"Oh and by the way Mr Tazuna" Kakashi continues, turning towards the bridge builder and making him jump nervously, "We need to have a little talk."

We stand before the two dazed Ninja who had attacked us, now tied securely to a tree to keep them from coming after us.

"They're Chunin from the Hidden Mist Village" Kakashi explains, recognising the symbol on their headbands. "They specialise in relentless attack. They've been taught to keep on fighting, no matter what the sacrifice may be."

"How ridiculous" I mutter disdainfully, shaking my head. What could possibly be worth giving up your life for? I don't understand that mentality......Anymore anyway.

"How did you know about our ambush?" one of the Mist Ninja asks.

"There was a single puddle in the middle of the road" Kakashi replies, raising one eyebrow at our attackers, "On a clear day, so it was suspicious already. To top that off though, it hasn't rained out here in weeks so there's no way a puddle could be here."

"Why did you leave all of the fighting to your Genin?" Tazuna asks, sounding both aggravated and curious at the same time. "You could have just easily taken these Ninja out from the beginning."

"While that's true" Kakashi confirms, looking thoughtful, "I wouldn't have learned anything if I'd done that. I needed to find out who their target really was and figure out what they were after."

Sakura and Naruto both gaze at their wise Sensei admiringly, looking like lovesick puppies, as Tazuna narrows his eyes at the man.

"What are you getting at here?" the older man demands to know.

"I wanted to know if they were attacking us Leaf Ninja or you" Kakashi responds coolly, glancing at Tazuna from the corner of his eye, "You know, seeing as you're the bridge builder we're supposed to be protecting."

Hm.....Though I won't say it out loud, Kakashi's tactic was smart. It may have been a little risky, considering the less than impressive skills of his other students, but it was still pretty smart. He's proving to be less of a fool than I originally thought him to be.

"When you put your request in to the Leaf Village" Kakashi continues, his gaze hardening, "You asked fore protection against people like robbers and highway men. You never said that there were Ninja out to get you. If we had've known that, this would have been escalated to a B Rank mission or higher. Our job was just to get you to your home and protect you while you finished building your bridge."

"So he lied about the difficulty of the mission to save money?" I question, before turning my head and giving Tazuna a flat look. "Tight ass."

"Thank you for your input Ashley" Kakashi says sarcastically, shaking his head. "Look, I'm sure you have your reasons Tazuna, but lying to us is unacceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission."

"We're only Genin" Sakura speaks up gently, stepping forwards when Tazuna hangs his head in shame, "This is too advanced a mission for us at the moment. We should really head back to the Village. Plus I think that we need to get Naruto's wound treated and have the poison removed as soon as possible."

We all turn to look at Naruto, who blinks and gazes down at his bleeding hand through wide eyes, apparently having forgotten about his injury.

"Hm, I guess we should head back home" Kakashi teases. "Naruto's hand could be a problem."

The blonde boy growls in frustration at this and abruptly whips out a kunai, before plunging it into the back of his own hand. Sakura gasps in horror at the move, hands flying to her mouth as he pushes the knife further into his wound and twists it around.

What is that idiot doing?! I certainly didn't expect that from him! How stupid can one person be?

Naruto mutters something about how he's always different to everyone else, when Sakura shouts at him to stop moving the knife around in his injury. Kakashi merely sighs, rubbing at his chin and giving the blonde boy a strange look.

"Look Naruto, it's really great that you got the poison out and all" the Jonin says flatly, "But if you lose anymore blood, you're probably gonna die."

Naruto freezes at this, his face turning an interesting shade of blue as Kakashi just sends him a closed eye smile in return.

"It might be a good time to stop the bleeding now" Kakashi suggests. "Seriously."

Naruto immediately jumps to life, freaking out and screeching incoherent things as he runs back and forth, limbs flailing. Sakura glares at the blonde for a few moments, before lashing out and grabbing onto the back of his collar, holding him relatively still.

"You shouldn't have such a self abusive personality Naruto" the girl scolds, as if she were his Mother. "It's not healthy!"

"Just let him bleed out" I suggest seriously, pausing when Kakashi crouches down beside Naruto and lifts up the boy's injured hand, looking at it in thought.

I slowly begin to walk over as well, narrowing my eyes at the injury as my brows furrow in confusion. While still visible, the wound has already begun to heal, which is basically impossible.....

'What the hell?' I wonder, shaking my head a little. 'How is that even possible? How can his wound already be closing over?'

'........It must be him' Hakuba growls lowly, sounding deep in thought. 'It must be.....'

'What?' I ask, eyes drifting away from Naruto as I try to converse with Hakuba. 'Who? What are you talking about-'

'Be quiet!' Hakuba commands sharply, making me scowl. 'Don't pester me with questions brat. I have an idea of what's going on here but.......'

'But what?' I inquire, feeling a little exasperated. 'Stop trailing off like that and tell me!'

'You better watch your tone and stop trying to order me around brat' Hakuba warns darkly, 'Or I'll make you regret it.....As for the boy, if this is what I think it is, you're going to kill him.'

'I'm what?!' I internally exclaim, shocked by Hakuba's demand. Not that I have any issue with the idea of getting rid of Naruto, I just don't understand why. What is Hakuba keeping from me?

"Uhh, Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto addresses worriedly. "You've got a really scary expression on your face right now. Am I gonna be okay?"

"Oh.....Uh, yeah" the Jonin assures Naruto, wrapping the boy's hand up in a bandage. "You'll be fine."

I send Kakashi a skeptical look as he rises to his feet. That sure didn't sound too convincing. What's he thinking?

All squashed into a small row boat, we glide across the dark water, now nearing the Land of Waves. While it is pleasantly cool around here, it is basically impossible to see anything ahead of us, due to the thick fog hanging in the air.

A man stands at the back of the boat, rowing silently. You'd think one of us would do the rowing, seeing as we're Ninja and all, but I guess it's that guy's job or something.

"This fog is so thick" Sakura whispers loudly, perched on my left. "You can't see anything!"

"The bridge isn't too far away now" our rower informs us in a low voice. "The Land of Waves is just up ahead."

"Travelling without the motor takes so long" I complain, looking up at Kakashi, who is at the front of the boat. "I still don't understand why you wouldn't just let me run there. Or at least walk."

Naruto leans forwards and sends me a puzzled look, while Kakashi turns his head and raises an eyebrow.

"You did realise that we'd have to get there by river, right?" the Jonin questions, to which I give him a deadpan look. How dumb does he think I am? I'm not Naruto...

"Of course I realised" I inform the man dryly. "You told us awhile ago."

"Then how would you be able to get there without a boat?" Naruto questions, almost making me slap my hand to my face.

"Like I just said" I reiterate, sighing, "I would have run there. It's not that hard to understand."

"But you can only get there by way of water" Sakura adds, also looking at me in confusion.

"I know" I growl pointedly. "I would have run over the water. Why is this so difficult for all of you to comprehend?"

"You can walk on water?" Kakashi inquires, narrowing his eyes at me as I nod my head. Why does he always look at me like that? What's he so suspicious of?

"Yeah" I reply dully, looking away from the silver haired man. "So? Most Ninja can."

"Not beginning ones" Kakashi states, watching me carefully, as if waiting for some sort of reaction. I disappoint him however, merely shrugging one shoulder, done with the conversation.

Before anyone can question me further, a large bridge begins to materialise through the fog, looming above us and allowing everyone to see just how much work has already been put into building it.

"Wow!" Naruto breathes loudly, impressed. "That bridge is huge!"

"Quiet!" the rower hisses. "I told you not to make any noise! We're travelling with the motor off so we can slip into the Village unnoticed. Yelling is not helping the situation."

As Naruto covers his big, dumb mouth with his hands, Kakashi turns to look at Tazuna, who has been very quiet the entire boat ride.

"Mr Tazuna" the silver haired Jonin addresses, "I need you to tell us why those Ninja were after you. If you don't, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call off the mission as soon as we get you to the pier."

Tazuna remains silent for a few moments, his eyes flicking between all of us in though, when he eventually lets out a low breath.

"I guess I have no choice but to tell you then" the older man decides. "No, scratch that, I want to tell you. Like you said earlier Kakashi, this is in fact beyond the scope of your original mission."

"The one who seeks to take away my life is a very small man who cast a very large, very deadly shadow. I'm sure you will have at the very least, heard of him Kakashi. He's one of the wealthiest men in the world. His name is Gato, the man in charge of Gato Transport."

"Gato?" Kakashi repeats, clearly shocked, though I have no idea who they're talking about. "But he's just a business leader. Everyone knows him!"

"Yes, Gato is a very powerful man from a famous company" Tazuna agrees, looking grim, "But underneath all of that, he uses gangs and Ninja to sell drugs and contraband. Gato first sets his sights on the Land of Waves about a year ago, taking control of all of our transport and shipping. Anyone who stood in his way would mysteriously disappear......In an island nation like ours, the man who controls the sea, control everything. Finance, government, our very lives...."

Here Tazuna pulls a disgusted face down at his hands, shaking his head before continuing with his story.

"But the one thing he fears" the old man explains, chuckling humourlessly, "Is the bridge that I'm in charge of building. When it is completed, it will connect our Village to the mainland and that will break all of the control he has over us. So he sent people to get rid of me and the threat that comes with my bridge."

"So because you're the bridge builder" Sakura says slowly, figuring it out, "You're the one standing in this gangster's way....."

"That means that those guys that jumped us back there were working for Gato" Sasuke states bluntly, as a clueless Naruto just nods, pretending to understand what the others are talking about.

"I don't understand something though" Kakashi speaks up. "If you knew that he was dangerous and would send Ninja after you, why didn't you just tell us that?"

"The Land of Waves is not a rich Village" Tazuna admits softly, fiddling with hands. "We don't have a lot of money at the moment, thanks to Gato. We wouldn't have been able to afford paying for an A or B Rank mission. If you end the mission when you drop me off at the pier, there will be no bridge and they will assassinate me before I even arrive home....."

Tazuna looks up at us here, a closed eye smile on his face.

"But don't feel bad about it or anything!" he reassures us cheerfully. "Sure, when I'm dead, my little Grandson will cry and call for his beloved Grandfather, but I'm sure he'll get over that!....Or maybe he won't. And I mean sure, my Daughter will condemn the Ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village and blame you for my death, living the rest of her life in misery. But don't worry about it, that won't be your fault!"

I cast a suspicious look over at Tazuna and sweat drop, seeing that the rest of my team are exchanging guilty looks with each other. While I certainly haven't fallen for this guilt trip, it looks like the old man's ploy has worked on the others.

"Alright" Kakashi eventually decides, shrugging. "I guess we'll just have to keep guarding you."

"Oh, much obliged" Tazuna replies gratefully, the triumphant smile on his face almost making me fall right out of the boat.

I can't believe they'd actually feel guilty about ditching this annoying, lying old geezer......

Our rower bids us a quiet goodbye as we pull up at the pier and clear out of the boat, before he turns the motor on and speeds away, leaving me feeling rather incredulous and annoyed.

If he was just going to turn the damn motor on when he left, why couldn't we use it on our way here?!

"Okay!" Tazuna announces, casting us all a stern look. "Take me home, and when I say that, I mean in one piece."

I pull a face at the old man's back as we all begin walking, heading towards a pretty, green forest. While it had been very foggy and dreary on the way here, the further we walk away from the water, the clearer and nicer the land looks to be.

I can't help thinking that once this Gato guy hears about us defeating the Ninja he originally sent after Tazuna, he'll send out stronger ones, with deadlier skills. I just hope Kakashi realises that if that does happen, I certainly won't be risking my life for this bossy, crabby old man. No way in hell.

I pause as, just ahead of me, Naruto stops in his tracks and begins peering around hurriedly, as if looking for something. He throws a number of kunai in all directions, apparently thinking that someone is watching us from just about every bush in the surrounding area.

"Naruto, those are not toys" Kakashi sighs, watching as the blonde bounds over to one of the bushes he'd thrown a kunai at, "They're very dangerous kunai knives!"

"Look what you did you idiot!" Sakura screeches, punching Naruto's shoulder as he parts the leaves, only to see a petrified looking Rabbit cowering beside a tree, a kunai sticking into the bark right above it's head.

Naruto frantically scoops the white Rabbit up into his arms, rocking the creature back and forth as he cuddles it.

"I'm so sorry Mr Bunny!" the blonde blubbers, feeling bad for almost killing the animal. "I didn't mean to scare you!"

I raise one eyebrow at Naruto, not sure why he's so concerned about a Rabbit, when a faint movement catches my attention. Slowly turning my head, I look to my left, eyes searching the forest suspiciously. Am I imagining things?

"It's not Winter anymore, so why does that Rabbit still have its Winter coat?" I hear Kakashi ask under his breath, the question rhetorical. I'm not sure how he knows that sort of thing about Rabbits, but what does it matter anyway? Maybe it's just late in shedding its fur?

"Look out!" Kakashi suddenly shouts, his head turning to the left. Feeling something heading towards us at speed, I bend my knees and leap up into a tree, as everyone else drops to the ground.

Slicing right over their heads, an absolutely massive sword comes spinning out of the trees and collides with tree to everyone's right, the blade sinking half way into the trunk with a heavy thunk sound.

My eyes widen when a tall, muscular man appears on the hilt of the sword, balancing on the thin surface with no problems whatsoever. Though his back is to us, I can see that there are bandages wrapped around the lower half of his face and he isn't wearing a shirt, showing off his well defined muscles.

"Well, well" Kakashi says loudly, stepping forwards, "If it isn't Zabuza Momochi, rogue Nina from the Hidden Mist."

Naruto, being the dim with that he is, decides to launch himself at Zabuza, only for Kakashi to shove the blonde backwards.

"You'll just be in the way here" the Jonin warns, to which Naruto scowls. "Stay back."

"But why?" Naruto whines, only to jump when I drop down from the tree, landing in a crouched position.

"Because he's not like those other Ninja" I state lowly, eyeing Zabuza warily as he watches us over his shoulder. "He's in a whole other league to them....."

"I remember you" Zabuza chuckles darkly, his eyes flashing dangerously. "You're that little brat. For being one of his students, you were pitiful."

"What'd you just say?" I growl, blood boiling as Zabuza takes a stab at my pride.

While he may not be incorrect in what's he's saying, it doesn't mean that his words don't annoy me.

"Do......do you two know each other or something?" Kakashi asks, turning his head to look back at me.

I rise to my feet, ignoring the Jonin's question as I focus solely on Zabuza. This situation could soon be getting very bad....

"I wonder" the rogue Ninja continues, keen eyes surveying the area carefully, "If you're here, then he must be as well. After all, you were Oro-"

"H-He's not here" I interrupt hastily, slowly sliding one foot backwards. "I'm on my own and I have no interest in fighting you!"

I take another step back, my body feeling tense under Zabuza's severe gaze. I'm already beginning to feel like a wound up coil, ready to spring.

I'm hardly willing to admit that I'm afraid of Zabuza, but last time we had met, I hadn't been the one to defeat him. I'm not confident that Kakashi, as well as the rest of the team, are going to be able to survive a run in with Zabuza...

I'm certainly not about to lose my life trying to find out!

"What's he talking about?" Kakashi asks suspiciously, brows furrowing as he notices my uneasy body language. "Are you alright Ashley?"

"I'm on my own" I repeat tightly, ignoring Kakashi as I grit my teeth into a strained smirk, "And I have no interest in dealing with you again."

"You're not on your own though!" Naruto announces, looking at me, perplexed by the whole situation. "We're all here too!"

I scowl at Naruto and shake my head, wondering how someone so dense had somehow managed to survive up until now. Doesn't Naruto understand that I don't need him or the others?

"As far as I'm concerned" I spit back, "The four of you may as well not be here. You're nothing."

Sakura and Naruto's eyes widen at my words, hurt flashing across the blonde's face. Sasuke merely narrows his eyes at me, mouth turning down with disapproval. Kakashi studies me closely, looking deep in thought, though he too looks highly unimpressed with me. As if I care.

Zabuza eyes me cautiously, probably wondering whether I'm lying about him being here with me or not. Eventually, I see the corners of his eyes crinkle slightly, the man no doubt smirking at me behind the bandages covering his mouth.

"Your former mentor raised you well I see" Zabuza laughs mockingly. "So loyal."

I growl under my breath, not happy with Zabuza's jab at me, but not contesting it either.

"Hand over the old man" Zabuza commands seriously, raising his hand to point at Tazuna, "Kakashi of the Sharingan."

Sasuke and myself both freeze, looking to the silver haired Jonin with shocked expressions. The Uchiha's look soon fades into that of wary suspicion, while my brow creases in confusion.

Kakashi of the Sharingan? What did Zabuza mean by that? Does he think that the Jonin has a Sharingan eye or something?.....But that's impossible. Only the Uchiha can possess the Sharingan!

"Quick, protect the bridge builder!" Kakashi orders, raising a hand to his headband as he gestures to Tazuna with his other one. "Stay out of this fight you guys. I taught you team work and now is the time to use it!"

Pushing up the side of the headband that usually covers his left eye, I almost gasp when I see Kakashi's red eye, three black tomoe around the pupil. He......He really does have the Sharingan, though it only seems to be in that one eye.

How? How is this even possible?! How does Kakashi possess an Uchiha Kekkei Genkai?! As far as I'm aware, the Jonin doesn't even have any Uchiha blood in him, so I don't know how well he'd be able to wield such an ability.

"Looks like I'm getting the honour of seeing the Sharingan up close huh?" Zabuza muses sarcastically, clearly not impressed at all.

Glaring at both Zabuza and Kakashi in turn, I take another step backwards, only to suddenly spin around and run in the direction we'd originally come from. I'm not fighting with Zabuza, and I can only imagine that my team mates would get in the way of the fight anyway.

"That kid......" Zabuza growls, eyes following me until I vanish from his sight. Kakashi and the others also stare after me, with worried looks on Naruto and Sakura's faces.

".......Never mind her" Kakashi states, focusing his attention back on Zabuza. "I'm your opponent."

"Prepare yourself then Kakashi" the former Mist Ninja warns coldly, "For Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist Village!"

"Sharingan...." I mutter to myself, jumping between the branches in the trees, scowl still etched onto my face. "....Sharingan........How could he possibly have a Sharingan?"

'You outwardly distract yourself well' Hakuba sneers in the back of my mind, his taunt causing my frown to deepen, 'Yet your heart pounds.'

"I'm not trying to distract myself Hakuba" I deny, shaking my head vehemently. "I just don't understand how Kakashi could have-"

'What does it matter?' Hakuba interrupts me, scoffing. 'You can't ignore your own fear.'

"I'm not-"

'You were spooked by the appearance of an old enemy' Hakuba mocks, clearly enjoying himself.

"I'm not scared!" I deny angrily, coming to an abrupt halt on a tree branch, my fingers curling into tight fists. "I'm not scared of Zabuza."

'Then why do you run brat?' Hakuba asks in a low voice.

Before I can snap back at him however, a loud explosion suddenly rips through the air behind me, almost as if a bomb had gone off.

I whirl around and stare back in the direction I'd come from, watching with wide eyes as a thick pillar of smoke billows into the air. I feel the breeze warm slightly, no doubt from the fiery explosion.

'He must think little of a brat like you' Hakuba laughs meanly, 'Always running away. You're weak and you know it.'

I bare my teeth in an aggravated scowl, my eyes narrowing dangerously. I feel my heart pounding in my chest, thinking back to the day I had first run into Zabuza.

There's no way I'm scared. Not of Zabuza....Perhaps my memories of that time are somewhat clouded due to the situation I was stuck in.

Surely I've grown stronger in these last three years? It's different now. I'm free now...

I see a streak of blue electricity flash up into the sky ahead of me, right through the smoke pillar. Kakashi must be fighting against Zabuza right now.

"....I'm not a little kid anymore" I growl under my breath, shaking my head as my pride urges me to head back towards the fight. "It's different now."

Against my better judgement, I drop down to the ground and begin running back in the direction my team.