what universe is this again?

3- into the mist

Thick mist was obscuring her vision, but Kana could still see flashes of steel clashing. She tightened her grip on her weapon, eyes narrowing as she stood protectively in front of Tazuna. zabuza was out there fighting against Kakashi, and the boy he had called Haku was up against Sasuke and Naruto.

Suddenly the mist rippled as someone, no, two people close in on her and the bride builder. Kana can see them clearer now, and falls into a defensive pose against the two water clones. They charge at the same time, but Kana forces one of them to fall back with a volley of Shuriken. The other one keeps going, swings his sword and Kana ducks and rolls under it. She feels the heavy slab of metal rush past her above, and internally shudders at what a hit with such force would do to a human.

Getting up, she reaches for her weapon pouch and draws a kunai. It is a special kind, with an explosive seal wrapped around the handle set to go off a second after she does a chakra infused throw. She won't hit Zabuza so easily, but with this she won't have to. She throws a normal kunai first at the Zabuza closest to her, and he deflects it easily, so she throws the special one and leaps back, dragging Tazuna with her. Zabuza's clone deflects this one as well, but the moment before it goes off he realises his mistake and his eyes widen minutely, and then they are blown out of his skull and he disappears in a splash of water with a 'pop'.

The bright light disappears and Kana feels rather than sees when the other clone moves closer to her position, and brings up her naginata to block his hit. She knows that she won't withstand it if it is the sword, but luckily enough Zabuza went for a kick and she manages to block, only skidding back slightly by the force. Now it is her turn and she slices downward, right where Zabuza stood. He sidesteps and she redirects her momentum, aims a kick at his side. The clone easily grabs her ankle, so she kicks with the other foot, then a punch and finally he is letting go of her ankle and she jumps back, only to immediately be assaulted by a flurry of punches. One particularly hard one gets her in the stomach and sends her flying back, landing on her ass on the cold hard ground.

Kana rolls to the side, spitting bile. Her naginata is off to the side, and she reaches for it, feeling disoriented. Her ears are ringing and her stomach is throbbing. Shit, Zabuza kicks hard. Looking up, her eyes widen and panic overtakes. The clone is closing in on Tazuna.

Ignoring the pain in favour of desperation Kana scrambles for her weapon, finally reaching it and using the pole to steady herself enough to stand. Zabuza raises his sword, and Kana throws herself forward, using the opening that appears when the heavy sword is swinging, and swings her own, lighter and faster blade. It catches him in the ribs, ripping through clothes and touching flesh before the clone disintegrates into a puddle, sword mere inches from Tazuna's face. Kana sighs in relief, then tumbles forward and suddenly the ground is racing towards her face. She is ok with this, even if she happens to get her nose broken by the fall. She has done her part for the mission.

She never hits the ground. Tazuna goes out of his fear induced stupor and catches her just in time. In his arms, she can feel that he is still trembling.

"Ha.. it's alright, I just need.. a moment," she promises, steadying herself against her weapon once more, putting herself in front of Tazuna. The world is slowly becoming clearer once again. No more clones are approaching, but Kana remains on high alert as the sounds of fighting continue inside the mist.

A loud noise startles her and the next second projectiles are approaching them. Kana grabs Tazuna and drags him to the ground, shielding him. But the sharp point of shuriken or kunai never hits. Instead she is attacked with something that feels like small stones. Once they stop, Kana crawls off of Tazuna, and picks up one of the offending objects.

"..Ice?" Then she remembers that the boy, Haku, was using ice. Was this one of his attacks? It didn't seem to do much damage, but it could be a distraction. Fear gripped her heart. Was Sasuke and Naruto okay?

She didn't have to worry about that for long. Soon her worry was replaced by all out fear, as a malevolent chakra unlike anything Kana had ever felt before. It was harsh, laced with killing intent. Who it came from, Kana didn't know, but she couldn't imagine one of her teammates being the source so that left only Zabuza and Haku. Who were currently fighting her team.

A deafening roar, and then silence followed as the mist cleared away. The first thing Kana saw was Zabuza trapped and held down by nindogs. Kakashi was racing towards him, chakra in his hand chirping like a thousand birds. Then, Haku appeared in front of Zabuza, and Kakashi's arm went through him like a knife through butter. Blood splattered everywhere, as Hakuky inched forward on Kakahsi's arm. He slowed to a stop, coughing blood into Kakashi's face, and then he stilled with a serene smile on his face. Kana trembled. She was a ninja, and knew that death came with the job. But this, it was just too gruesome. Zabuza swung his sword, and Kakashi jumped back, laying Haku down on the ground.

"Stay out of this Naruto. This is my fight," He said, and Kana's eyes drifted over to where Naruto stood. He looked unharmed. But.. where was Sasuke? Her eyes zeroed in on the still form behind him. Sasuke laid on the ground, senbon protruding from everywhere that his skin was showing. Kana's hands trembled, but she remained frozen in place until Tazuna gave her a shove from behind.

"Go to him, kid," he told her. Kana dropped her weapon, rushing over to Sasuke's side. His eyes were closed, he looked so peaceful, and if it wasn't for all of the weapons and blood he might even have been sleeping. This was too sudden. Sauske was gone, just like that. Kana didn't want to believe it. He had been the rookie of the year. He, of all of them, should be the one to survive. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. He was an arrogant prick, but he was her teammate. They had hunted cats together, had kicked eachother's ass until the sun was setting. They had been team 7 together.

Kana realised now what Kakashi had meant. The thing she should have protected.. it was her teammates. But now it was too late. Sasuke was dead. She punched the ground next to his head. She was glad that Haku had died. The tears started to run, and Kana didn't even notice unil Sasuke's shirt was wet and snotty.

"Fuck.. fuck. I hate you Sasuke," she whispered, leaning on the corpse and ignoring the background fighting, tears streaming down her face.

Gato showed up, the villagers showed up, and Kana dried her tears and went through the motions feeling like she was in a trance. Sasuke was dead. One of her boys. Naruto could have faced the same fate. In fact, Kana was surprised he hadn't. She swore to protect him.

"Ugh, why am I wet..?" Sasuke's voice tore through her stupor. Sasuke! Sasuke was alive. How? Had the senbon missed all vital spots and put him in a short coma? That must be it. Kana's lip trembled, as she resisted punching the boy in the face. Sasuke was alive! Her tears had stopped, but only because she had no more to give, and her eyes were still red rimmed.

"Naruto! Naruto! It's Sasuke!" Naruto turned around, and he too started to cry. Sasuke watched his two teammates dumbfounded before Naruto ran up to hug him, then promptly jumped back swearing as some of the senbon sank into his skin. Kana laughed, feeling like she was going to cry again any time now. Her team. Her team. They were all going to be alright.

Burying Haku and Zabuza was a bittersweet affair. On one hand it marked a completed mission. On the other hand, this was the end of the three naive genin that had never before left Konoha. Had never before faced a real enemy in combat. It symbolised growth, accomplishment, but also a loss of innocence, a testament to the cruelties of the ninja world.

They waved goodbye to the land of waves, and Naruto cried again.