Tender Sea

Chapter 29

"I'm sorry," Miyu stood in front of the broken tool, her back towards her enraged nephew, looking straight into those empty eyes with her own, "Haku." There was a small, almost unnoticeable reaction towards his own name, but otherwise he had accepted his fate. As he closed his eyes she drew her sword, the metal screeching against the sheath in resistance. Whilst the sword may have been somewhat sentient, Miyu had defeated it by force once, and could easily do it again. In a smooth motion she flipped the sword, exposing the deadly blade, before slicing upwards.

"Aaaarggh!" The blonde turned her head at the sound of the rough scream, watching as Zabuza was simultaneously electrocuted and impaled, unable to escape with his limbs held down by Kakashi's dogs. "Guh..." He coughed out a mouthful of blood, looking in slight amazement at the arm that pierced his chest before turning his head, returning her gaze.

His cold gaze flickered, trailing down to the body before her, its clothes beginning to dye a deep red. The demon of the mist seemed to come to an understanding, falling to his knees as Kakashi withdrew his arm. The entire time he held her gaze, for what reason Miyu could only guess as she watched life slip from his grasp, a soundless name forming on his lips.

"...you killed him?" This whole time she had almost completely forgotten her primary concern.

"Naruto," She looked over her shoulder at the boy. It seemed shock had easily overtaken his rage as he looked down at the unmoving body. "This is what it means to be a ninja, do you understand?" In all honesty she could have let him have his way earlier but she knew her little cousin too well. It would've done no good, it was far too soon.

"Heh, looks like they were useless after all," Their reprieve was cut short by the main antagonist of the small village. The small man was confident enough to laugh at them, behind him a small army of weak bandits he believed enough to raze the town, "I ought to thank you, seeing as I no longer need to pay them, not that I was planning to."

"You-!" Miyu covered Naruto's mouth and shook her head. There was no use for shouting and arguments in a situation like this.

"But that's enough of that," Despite being so short, Gato seemed to have a talent for acting above others, "Kill them all." With a single command and the clack from his cane the hired men took a menacing step forward.

"Hah..."Kakashi let out a tired sigh, he was exhausted, especially after using his eye for a second time within the week. Nonetheless, he didn't back down, knowing that the bandits wouldn't leave without blood. despite his readiness though, it seemed he wouldn't have to fight at all.

"Stand back," Miyu ordered, wiping her sword clean of blood before returning it to its case, the dragon on the blade clearly visible without the obscuring red liquid. She felt she had tarnished the noble sword enough and chose to hover over her more fragile companion. The weak blade would be more than enough for mere thugs. The men sneered at her, their eyes lingering enough to make anyone disgusted.

"Hey-" The first man never got a chance to finish his sentence before he was lying dead on the floor, blood spraying from the gash on his chest. Miyu on the other hand, hadn't seemed to have moved, the only signs of her involvement being the soft click of her decorative blade.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gato asked impatiently, "It can't be that difficult..." His voice died down as his men fell before him. It was rather admirable how the hired rogues stood to protect their living paycheck only to be cut down before they realised. Dead before they hit the ground.

"Ah..." She made a small sound of distaste as her clothes were splattered with blood. Cutting through the main arteries often caused more of a mess despite its efficiency, and before long the red raining down became a fine mist. It was ever so slightly nostalgic. Slowly she moved her gaze from the lifeless corpses to the small man before her.