I'm Not Alone {--Kakashi Hatake--}

{Chapter 4}

Zabuza dislodged his sword from the tree, and then suddenly disappeared, then reappeared, standing on the water, his left arm raised while the other formed a sign.

Naruto exclaimed, “Over there!!” Sakura shouted soon after him, “Is he…walking on water?!”

Zabuza ignored their comments, and spoke, “The finest of the Ninja Arts…The Kirigakure Jutsu.” Then he literally vanished. I pulled out a kunai from my weapons pouch and my body tensed, ready for anything that was going to happen.

Kakashi explained, “He will come after me first…Momochi Zabuza…of the Kirigakure Assassin Corps…is a famous master of the art of silent killing. Letting your guard down around him buys you a direct trip to Heaven. I haven’t necessarily mastered every aspect of the Sharingan Eye…so all of you stay on your toes.”

The Genin and I silently agreed, but then fog appeared, and the voice of Zabuza traveled along with it. “There are eight targets…throat, spinal column, lungs, liver…the Jugular vein, the Subclavian artery…kidney, heart…so many choices…what vital, vulnerable place shall I choose?” He then chuckled threateningly.

I could feel my entire body shaking from the stress of this…mental abuse. I let out a shaky breath, ‘This waiting…it’s so chilling. I almost want him to do something…something to get rid of this tension!’ I looked near me, and noticed that Sasuke seemed to be having the same problem.

Kakashi abruptly cut in, pulling me from my thoughts, “Sasuke, Michiko.” We both looked up at him as he continued, “Calm down. Even if he gets me, I’ll still protect you.” He turned, sporting a closed-eye smile as he promised, “I will…never let my comrades die!!”

There was a slight silence before Zabuza spoke again, “I wouldn’t bet on that…” He then appeared in the middle of our formation, “Game over.”

Kakashi quickly stopped Zabuza, but caused the entire group to fall in separate directions. I sat up as fast as I could to see Kakashi holding the kunai he had stabbed Zabuza in the chest with. The Zabuza in front of him turned into water as another appeared behind him, and Naruto shouted, “Sensei!! Behind you!!”

Kakashi turned right as Zabuza swung his sword, and he was cut literally in half. A scream was lodged in my throat, until ‘Kakashi’ turned into water. A doppelganger. Just as Zabuza realized this, the real Kakashi came from behind him with a kunai, and placed it on the assassin’s neck as he threatened, “Don’t move…game over.”

Both Naruto and Sakura pronounced their relief, until Zabuza started to chuckle, “Heh-heh-heh…heh…you think it’s over? You just don’t get it…it will take more to defeat me than mimicking me like an ape…a lot more.” Kakashi stayed silent, the surprise apparent on his face, “Heh-heh…but you are good! In that short time…you duplicated my water doppelganger technique, and by making your doppelganger say something you’d have said yourself…you ensured all my attention would be focused on it…while you yourself used the Kirigakure technique of hiding in the mist, watching my every move! Too bad for you…” The real Zabuza suddenly appeared behind Kakashi, “I am not that easy to fool!”

The Zabuza in front of the Jounin once again was a doppelganger, and the real one swung his sword at the Konoha ninja, but he ducked down in time to miss it. Zabuza lodged part of the sword into the ground, and used it to propel himself, and kick Kakashi in the chest, sending him flying into the lake.  Zabuza went to move toward him, until he noticed caltrops on the ground, and disappeared as Kakashi resurfaced, obviously dripping wet.

The former Mist ninja appeared behind him, and formed hand signs as he said, “Hah! Gullible fool! Art of the Water Prison!” 

Kakashi looked over his shoulder, but it was too late, and was trapped in a sphere of water, Zabuza’s hand inside of it to control the prison. He continued, “I thought I could go underwater and regroup, but it was a tactical error!! Heh-heh-heh…that prison is inescapable. You’re trapped. You running around free makes it too hard for me to do my job. I’ll finish you later…after I’ve dealt with all the others…Art of the Water Doppelganger!”