The Light Of Konoha

High

Aki's P.O.V

The bodies were everywhere.
Scattered haphazardly across the incomplete bridge.

I gawked at it, an icy feeling travelling down my spine.

'He was here.'

"What happened?!" Tazuna cried helplessly.
He ran, crouching by a beaten and bloody man and holding him in his arms.
"What happened?!!" He repeated,
"What... Could have...?!"

"M-monsters," the wounded man spoke with a choked voice.

Suddenly, the mist thickened in a way I, unfortunately, know all too well...
'Zabuza...'

Kakashi lowered his stance,
"They're coming!!"

The air grew heavy with both the mist and the tension as sweat began to trickle down our faces.

"Master Kakashi, is this...?
That man we met... His 'hiding in the mist' technique... Isn't it?" Sakura asked with a quiver in her usually strong voice.

Kakashi didn't bother with a reply,
We all knew what was coming.

I felt the shivers of Sasuke from our slightly touching arms and gulped, the rattling of the kunai in his shaking hand was extremely unsettling.

"Been a while, Kakashi..."
Came his ominous voice from the folds and swirls of the thick, foggy air.

"And I see you've got those brats tagging along, just like last time."

His voice was mocking and silky, but in a way that caused the hairs on the back of your neck to stand on end.

"And the little boy is trembling again, poor thing..."

The mist swirled once more and ten copies of Zabuza appeared in various threatening poses, surrounding us.

I looked apprehensively to Sasuke, who had a contrasting smirk on his face,
"I'm shaking with eagerness for a rematch!"

Despite the situation, I couldn't help but think:
'Isn't that what small dog's do when they're excited?'

Zabuza must have been having the same train of thought as me because, after a moment of surprise, he did one of his famous creepy chuckles.

Kakashi gave a closed-eye smile,
"Go ahead... Sasuke."

Almost as fast as they appeared, Sasuke cut the copies down, the smirk never leaving his face.
The water slapped loudly against the concrete as the clones were reduced to nothing but puddles.

"Well! My water doppelgängers were obviously no match for you!
It seems the brats have matured quite a bit... Into worthy rivals... Eh, Haku?" Zabuza drawled.

I gazed curiously at the second character, the mask of a hunter nin adorned his face.
'So this is the hunter nin Kakashi mentioned...'

I closely analysed every detail I could, much like I do with every person. Posture, hair texture, movements.

It's my powerful observational skills which make me almost impossible to fool with transformation jutsu.

"Indeed!" Chirped the hunter nin with a velvety voice.

My eyes widened slightly, recognition igniting within my mind,
"you...
You were in the woods with Naruto!"