Waiting Game

Chapter 15

That's it; I'm taking him out. Who does he think he's fooling, hiding behind that mask like some sort of clown!" Sasuke declared.

"Sasuke! You're so cool!" Sakura swooned.

'Wait a second, didn't I just say that?' Kakashi sweat-dropped. 'She'll never change.'

Haku then began... spinning, on his heels, like a tornado going after Sasuke. Sasuke then held up his dual kunai with a smirk.

When the tornado subsided, Haku was blocking Sasuke's kunai with a senbon needle.

'Oh... that must... ouch...' Haku shook with the strain of blocking a knife with a needle. 'That is why I don't block with senbon,' I deadpanned. The two spun around in a deadly dance, each blocking each other with an attack. Metal on metal 'dinged'.

"We want the bridge-builder, not you," Haku stated. "If you back down, I won't have to kill you."

"Save it," Sasuke smirked.

"You're making a mistake. You won't be able to keep up with my speed," Haku pressured, in a... pleading manner?

Time slowed, or, for me at least.

I narrowed my eyes, twirling some senbon between my fingers.

'Haku... he was barely a threat, but he could be. He's definitely holding back... he can become a true Shinobi and throw out all of his emotions with a single thought, but he's not... He's a good, kind person, but I know that if this continues, Haku will kill Sasuke. It's a guaranteed 100% chance. If Sasuke's dead and Naruto is not here, Sakura is next. I'm not sure if I can protect her from both Zabuza and Haku, but no matter what, I will try. Hopefully, Kakashi will pull through as well.

'Sakura is, as much as I hate to say this, dead weight. She can't fight either of these and survive for even ten minutes. Her best bet is to be a last resort for protecting Tazuna... which seems like everyone else's plan too. Sasuke is going to be the first line against Haku, and Kakashi will be for Zabuza. If Naruto gets here on time, then he should most definitely pair up with whoever I am not helping at that time, whether it be against Zabuza or Haku.

'I, for now, will stay back to prolong this fight. I will have to stay with Sakura... at least until I refill my chakra diamonds again,' I concluded. Time immediately went back to normal for me, and I jumped over to behind Tazuna, and-

"WHY ARE YOU SITTING, BRAT?!" Tazuna roared. "GO HELP THE REST OF YOUR TEAM!"

"Onee-chan! What are you doing?!" Sakura demanded. I ignored the two, and put my hands into a hand-sign.

"Please don't interrupt this process. It will be harder on you if you do, trust me," I warned before closing my eyes.

Zabuza suddenly narrowed his eyes.

"I sense a build-up of chakra here- wait, how did I forget the undead kid?! She's over there, gathering chakra! Haku, trash your brat and interrupt her!" Zabuza commanded.

"Yes, Zabuza," Haku said. He began doing one-handed hand-signs rapidly. "Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles of Death." Haku stomped in a puddle of water, dispersing it into the air and turning them into needles of ice.

'1 crystal out of 20...' I focused harder on my meditation. A crystal on my wrist appeared, and shone red.

"Sasuke is our greatest young fighter in the Hidden Leaf! And the Haruno twins, Sakura and Tsubaki, are our greatest minds! And last but not least, our number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja is Naruto Uzumaki!" Kakashi bragged.

"If the Sasuke brat is the best fighter, then why is your rival Tsubaki?" Zabuza growled quietly at Haku.

"Trust me, she's definitely faster and more precise," Haku told as he got up from being kicked in the face(mask) by Sasuke.