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“We need to do something,” Naruto stated, not for the first time.
“We agreed,” Sakura replied, trying to keep her voice calm. She felt anything but calm. “We’d wait until sensei regained consciousness.”
“But he hasn’t,” Sasuke pointed out, pacing the room. “No, Naruto’s right, it’s time we re-thought our strategy. We may have waited too long as it is. One of us has to go back to the Leaf and get help.”
“Now hold on,” Tazuna interrupted. “My bridge-”
Naruto rounded on the builder, long since out of patience with the man. Three days of anxious waiting will do that to anyone, and Naruto wasn’t used to plans that involved waiting. “You and your bridge are the reason this happened!” He gestured at Kakashi’s unmoving form, blue eyes blazing. “He swore to protect us, and he did. The least we can do is return the favor.”
“At first Gato sent chunin,” Sasuke began, folding his arms across his chest. “Then he sent an S-class criminal. Even with Zabuza dead, who knows who will be sent next? If Gato is as rich and powerful as you say, he can hire anyone to send after your bridge. We need to leave.”
“No one can take you off the island,” Tazuna argued smugly. “Gato doesn’t allow anyone to leave without his say-so.”
Sasuke, short and twelve though he was, got into Tazuna’s face. Like Naruto, the Uchiha was out of patience. “It’s basic strategy. We are going to die here if we stay. The bridge is clearly still being built despite the threats we’ve faced so far. It is only a matter of time before Gato sends someone else to put a stop to it. Even if Kakashi wakes up before then, there’s no telling if he’ll be fit to fight. Unless Gato sends civilian mercenaries, we will all be killed.”
That silenced the bridge builder.
“The only choice we have is contacting the Leaf for help,” Sasuke continued. “If we can’t leave by boat, then can we send a message through the mail? Is there a radio?”
“The mail won’t get to the Hokage in time,” Sakura muttered quietly.
Sasuke softened his voice. They were all upset enough as it was. “A radio then?” He turned to Tazuna. His gaze was as demanding and fierce as he could make it, but on the inside the Uchiha felt scared. He was grasping at straws.
“There is a radio in the village,” Tazuna replied, crossing his arms. “But Gato has people monitoring the frequencies. If they hear that your sensei is hurt then they’ll know that we, all of us,” he emphasized this part, to remind the genin that they were all in the same boat, “are relatively defenseless.”
“Not if we use a code,” Sakura spoke again, hope growing in her eyes.
“You know a code?” Naruto asked in hopeful disbelief.
“It’s an old code, from the Third War,” Sakura replied hesitantly. “I memorized it for extra credit at the academy.”
“It’s better than nothing,” Sasuke said, his pale face almost breaking into a smile. He turned to the bridge builder. The encouraging tone he’d used to address Sakura vanished. “Where’s the radio?”
“I can show you,” Tazuna grunted, grabbing his sandals.
Sasuke motioned with his head for Sakura to follow Tazuna so that he could bring up the rear. Sakura would normally be thrilled to go somewhere with Sasuke. Now her brain was completely occupied with composing the distress message she wanted to send. She didn’t even notice that Naruto tried to follow them.
When Naruto too moved to get his shoes, Sasuke stopped him with a hand. “Someone has to stay with Kakashi.”
Naruto looked back at the spare room where their sensei slept. He hated to be left behind and almost said so, but stopped. Naruto suddenly realized he’d almost left Kakashi behind, and that wasn’t something that teammates did. He knew what Sasuke was saying now. They had to stay in pairs to watch out for each other. Naruto nodded his agreement. He could wait a little bit longer.
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“Bloom calling any outpost within range, please respond,” rattled through the static.
“What is it?”
The two Leaf chunin set down their playing cards. The isolated radio outpost wasn’t the most stimulating job, but it payed and had a regular schedule. They were right on the coast, so they didn’t get many stray calls. The occasional ship would ask for a weather report, but those requests sounded nothing like this.
One turned to the console and adjusted some dials. The voice came in clearer this time, it was a young girl speaking. “Bloom calling any outpost within range, please respond. We have an eagle in flight and are requesting a net.”
“It’s just kids playing with the radio, come on.” The other man fanned out his cards.
“No,” the first man frowned, “this is,” he trailed off. He swiveled around in his chair and began digging through a shelf of scrolls.
The second man looked up from his cards, frowning. Then he suddenly grinned. “Wait, wait, hold on, there’s a code YOU don’t have memorized? This I gotta see.” He set his cards back down and joined his coworker near the console.
The first man huffed in frustration. “It’s an old code, I haven’t heard it since the academy.”
“The academy,” the other man repeated in confusion, “who would-” A note pad and pen were thrust his way.
“Just write down what she’s saying until I can find the right code book! I have to check her callsign and ask a couple of other questions before I’ll know for sure.”
The second man began writing down everything the mystery caller had said so far while the other searched through the pile of scrolls and booklets.
“Bloom calling any outpost within range, we have an eagle in flight and are requesting a net, please respond.”
The second man scribbled furiously. “So what tipped you off?”
The first man shook his head. “All I remember is ‘eagle in flight’ means there’s a jonin down. The net is a call for backup, I think.” Then, “here it is!” He pulled out a thin yellowed booklet.
00
“What do we do if no one answers?” Sasuke asked after Sakura once again released the button on the mic.
Sakura stared at the console, ignoring the Land of Waves radio personnel who were glaring at her through the glass. She was sure the only reason they’d let her transmit this long was because Tazuna had vouched for her. Despite using a code, she’d asked everyone but Sasuke to leave the booth.
Sasuke’s question frightened Sakura. The static silence seemed to deepen and the black mesh of the speaker grew large and unfriendly. This was the best option they had. What if no one was within range? What if she’d misremembered the code? What if the code was too obscure? Kakashi might never wake up. No one would know they were in trouble. As far as the Leaf knew, they were guarding the bridge from low-level threats as ordered and then taking a leisurely walk home. It would be weeks before they were truly missed. If Sasuke was asking her for their backup plan, it meant he didn’t have one. Sakura’s mouth opened but no sound came out.
Sakura turned to Sasuke with wide eyes. “I-” An interruption in the static cut her off.
“Groundwater calling bloom, we hear you. Do you have the time?”
Sakura’s head swiveled around to look at the set of speakers. Her heart raced and her skin tingled. She blinked, thinking rapidly.
Sasuke looked between his unmoving teammate and the microphone. “What’s he asking?”
Sakura licked her lips and closed her eyes, mouthing something to herself.
“Sakura.”
“I’m thinking,” she snapped back. Then Sakura slapped her fingers down on the call button. “It’s still early here and will be for two more hours.”
00
“What’s she saying?”
“I asked her for the time, meaning her rank.” The first chunin double checked the book. “She’s a genin, and there are two other genin with her.”
“With a downed jonin?” At his partner’s solemn nod, the second man cussed. That was not a good situation for anyone and this girl sounded young enough to still be under a jonin-sensei.
The first man was already pushing the button. “Bloom, can you see the type of eagle?”
00
Sasuke was irritated at his own ignorance. “Now they want the type of eagle?”
Sakura’s stomach dropped out. “They want Kakashi-sensei’s callsign for confirmation. I don’t know what that is!” The young girl panicked. If she couldn’t give them a satisfactory answer, they may ignore the rest of what she had to say.
“Bloom, the type of eagle?”
Sakura pressed the button. She was nearly in tears, but mindful of those who may be listening. “It’s not like I can ask it,” she cried.
00
“Their jonin can’t speak,” the first man whispered in realization. “Might be in critical condition if they can’t communicate at all.”
The second man looked at the book over the other man’s shoulder. “Is that what it says?”
The first man shook his head. “No, but that’s all it could mean. If this genin is doing all this from memory,” he gestured at the yellowed pages. “When in doubt, you’re supposed to say what you mean as discreetly as possible.”
“It could be a trick,” the second man proposed.
“Right,” the quick reply was sarcastic, “they’re tricking us with an old code that is taught to academy students as an introduction to codes but was never really used in the field. They also found a little girl to say all these things just to trick us.” The first chunin raised a challenging eyebrow.
“Well where are they then? They could at least give us a clue!”
“If they’re using a code at all then this is more complicated than she can say over the radio. But, there can only be so many genin squads out of village right now. Fire up the second unit and call the Leaf.” The first man returned to his call while the second went into the other room. “I hear you bloom, we will verify your location and send a net. Stand by.”
00
“He’s sending a net?” Sasuke asked.
“Backup,” Sakura explained. Then she pushed the call button. “Groundwater, we are expecting to go fishing later.” Sakura bit her lip, praying she’d remembered that correctly.
00
The first man paled at her words and the tremor in her voice. He stared at his console. He leaned in over his microphone. “Is there good fishing where you are bloom?”
00
Sakura choked out a breath, trying not to cry in her relief. He’d understood. Her trembling fingers pushed down. “We had some large fish earlier and one gargantuan fish. We don’t know how many more are com- I mean, how many more we’ll catch.”
00
The first man closed his eyes. “We’ll get that net out as soon as we can bloom. Promise.” He released the button and rushed into the other room. He didn’t hear Sakura’s thank you.
The second man looked up. “Give me a minute, the old girl needs to warm up a little.” He patted the second radio unit affectionately.
“They’re expecting an attack from multiple hostiles, possibly S-class ninja!”
The second man looked aghast. “You can’t be serious?”
“She mentioned that they were going fishing later. Good fishing means that they just expect enemies, large fish are chunin, giant fish are jonin, gargantuan fish are S-class threats. She said they’ve been attacked by some chunin and one S-class ninja so far. She doesn’t know what else is coming their way.”
The second man’s jaw dropped farther. “How?”
“Their jonin-sensei is down! How do you think that happened? They tripped and fell? Call the Leaf! Find out who these kids are and what they’re doing on this mission!”
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“Lord Hokage,” the local radio operator rushed into his office, “we’ve just received a message from our radio outpost on the eastern coast.”
Hiruzen glanced up, blinking. “Oh? And this is an urgent message?” The operator looked unusually distressed. Hiruzen straightened in his chair.
“Sir, the outpost operators received a message from someone using an old code. She claims to be a Leaf genin on a squad of three. It sounds like their jonin-sensei is incapacitated and they are requesting immediate backup. They’ve been attacked several times and are expecting further attack from S-class criminals. Do you know who they are?”
It was a rhetorical question, the Hokage signed off on every mission that was assigned, even the low-ranking ones. It only took the Third a moment to mentally sift through all the active missions. Hiruzen blinked again, but now he stood, the report in front of him forgotten. “Their jonin-sensei is incapacitated?”
She nodded. “That’s what the message says.”
Hiruzen signaled to his ANBU guards. The only genin team that was out of the village was Kakashi’s and the Land of Waves was off of Fire’s eastern coast. If that didn’t make it plain enough, Sakura was probably the only genin who knew enough of any radio code to actually use it to communicate. If Kakashi was injured and Sakura was expecting another attack from S-class hostiles, Kakashi wouldn’t be able to defend his students. The last three Sharingan the Leaf Village possessed, along with their only jinchuriki, would be gone in one disastrous mission.
Two ANBU squads appeared before the Hokage, startling the radio operator. She gasped at their sudden appearance.
“Collect Horse’s ANBU team and then all of you, head to the Land of Waves immediately. Make contact with Haruno Sakura and provide assistance to Hatake Kakashi and his genin team. Go!” With a wave of the Hokage’s arm, they were gone.
The radio operator stood staring with her mouth hanging. The Hokage retook his seat. “You may relay the message that help is on the way. I only hope it’s in time.”
The radio operator nodded and withdrew. When the door had closed, the Hokage pulled out active mission files until he found the C-ranked mission that Tazuna had requested. He opened the scroll and looked at the details of the mission. “Protection from bandits, escort to the Land of Waves, guards until the completion of the bridge,” he muttered, reading the important details. He closed the scroll and stared ahead of him, unable to imagine the trouble such a simple request had caused.
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“Bloom, your net is on the way.”
00
“Understood groundwater, thank you.”
00
The first man couldn’t help but smile as he signed off. He wanted to tell the young girl to hang in there but he knew there must be a reason she was using a code. She had risked being dismissed as nonsense by calling for help in such a way. Something was wrong, wherever she was.
The radio operator pushed back from the console. Neither man wanted to return to their card game but they knew they probably wouldn’t hear any more news for days. It was a waiting game now, for them and the genin. The difference was, the chunin radio operators were in no danger. They uneasily resumed their game.
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Sakura shook like a leaf when she stood up from the console. Sasuke took her arm and guided her out of the building. They both ignored Tazuna who watched them with a concerned expression. The walk back to his house was silent.
When they entered the dwelling, Naruto came rushing up to them. “What happened? What did they say?”
Sasuke wanted to reprimand Naruto, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. The blonde looked shattered and had to wait by Kakashi’s side for news. Staying still and waiting patiently were hardly Naruto’s strengths. He’d done it though, for the team. The least Sasuke and Sakura could do was relieve him a bit.
Sakura spoke up, her voice stronger than she’d expected. “They’re sending backup.”
“When,” Naruto demanded.
“We don’t know,” Sasuke answered.
“As soon as possible,” Sakura added with a shaky smile.
“And then what?” Tazuna broke in.
Naruto rounded on him. “And then, none of your business!”
Sasuke’s brow darkened at Tazuna’s scandalized expression. “Even if we didn’t have S-class criminals after us, or you hadn’t lied, or our sensei wasn’t injured as a result, three genin cannot complete a C-rank mission. I hereby declare our mission contract void, under the terms of misrepresentation of mission details and endangerment of your accompanying ninja outside of the agreement of the contract.”
Naruto stared at Sasuke for a moment, then, too late, followed his words up with, “yeah! What he said!”
Tazuna scowled. “Fine, then get out of my house!”
Sakura felt her built up terror and rage at their situation rise up inside of her like a boiling flood. Her eyes narrowed angerly but she plastered a fake smile on her face. Her voice went falsely sweet. “Right, that would be for the best. The S-class ninja that Gato will eventually send aren’t looking for us, they’re looking for you. The longer we stay here, the more you put us in danger.”
Sakura was bluffing. She was correct of course, but she knew there was a slight problem with her supposition. If Gato hired ninja then that meant they were mercenaries; they wanted to make money, either for their village or themselves. Zabuza had known Kakashi-sensei on sight, which meant that he was famous and other countries probably had a standing bounty for him. Getting away from Tazuna would put her team out of harm’s way temporarily, but if those ninja found out that Kakashi was helpless, they’d be after Team Seven as well, just for the bounty on their sensei. Sasuke, she glanced at her teammate, was probably worth something also, as the last Uchiha of the Leaf. If Tazuna sold them out, she and Naruto would be killed while Kakashi and Sasuke would be taken hostage. Despite these fears, Sakura maintained eye contact with Tazuna, a small smile on her face. Temporary shelter was better than no shelter at all.
“Ah, maybe you should stay until your help arrives,” Tazuna muttered. I might be able to beg protection from the backup the Leaf sends, he thought.
“Thank you for your hospitality,” Sakura said, her smile widening.
Tazuna didn’t like the look of that smile so he quickly backed out of the room. Once the bridge builder was gone, the genin looked at each other, their faces becoming serious.
“How’s sensei?” Sakura finally asked. She suddenly looked deflated and tired.
Naruto scratched his head. His unease showed with every movement. “The same, I hope. I keep thinking he’s getting worse.”
The trio trooped into the spare room where they’d laid out their sleeping bags around their teacher. Kakashi lay in the center of the room, tucked in and looking the same way he had when they’d left.
“We should try to give him water,” Sakura commented softly. The genin knew from the academy that normally they should never give an unconscious person anything by mouth, even water to drink. The risk of choking or other complications was too high. However, it had been three days and Kakashi would die without water. Taking him to a local medical center was too risky, as they were likely compromised by Gato’s corporation. “We have to try something. It’ll be another day before help gets here.”
“Did they say that?” Naruto asked, an anxious look on his face.
Sakura shook her head without looking away from Kakashi. “That’s just my estimate. It took us a couple of days with a civilian, so the backup should be much faster.”
They grew silent. It was strange. Once the immediate danger had passed and they’d gotten their sensei to safety, the genin had thought that that would be it, that everything would be better. When Kakashi didn’t wake up in the first couple of hours, then days, his continued silence loomed over them. He needed medical attention, or at the very least, fluids. They didn’t want to force-feed him for fear that something would go wrong and they’d choke him instead. Plus, it was simply strange to physically interact with him like this.
Kakashi was not someone who touched others often, or ever. They had all sparred with their sensei but that wasn’t the same kind of contact as nursing him back to health. The most physical affection they’d received from him had either involved an awkward hair ruffling or a shove out of the way of danger. So for them to touch him while he was sleeping, even to help him, felt wrong. They all looked at Kakashi but no one moved.
“We have to do something,” Sakura insisted again. “He needs water at least. Maybe only just enough to wet his mouth?”
Naruto bit his lip. “Sasuke, we’ll prop him up. Sakura, you get a cup of water.”
“Do we remove his mask?” Sakura asked. The three looked at each other, suddenly even more uncomfortable.
“We just won’t look,” Sasuke suggested finally.
Sakura wasn’t sure how she was going to give Kakashi-sensei a cup of water without looking at him but she’d do her best. “Okay,” she padded off to the kitchen to get some water.
Naruto and Sasuke moved to Kakashi’s either side and each grabbed a shoulder. “On three,” Sasuke suggested. They counted down and heaved.
“Sensei could stand to lose a few pounds,” Naruto complained, propping Kakashi up.
Sakura came in just then and scowled. “Where exactly do you expect him to lose it?” She was an expert on diets and even with his loose clothing she could tell, Kakashi was lean and muscular. If there was any fat on him, she couldn’t pick it out.
“His head maybe,” Naruto grunted, trying to keep Kakashi’s head from flopping around. He was like a rag doll.
Once Naruto was back to back with his sensei, keeping the adult up at an angle, Sasuke grasped Kakashi’s head, steadying it in an upright position.
“Okay Sakura,” Sasuke began, “you’re going to put the cup of water to his lips and then look away. I’ll keep my eyes on his neck. Once I’ve pulled the mask all the way down, you can start giving him water, a little bit at a time.”
“Got it,” Sakura replied, looking nervous.
Sasuke took the cloth of Kakashi’s mask in hand and focused on the man’s Adam’s apple. “Ready?”
Sakura put the cup to her sensei’s lips and looked away, closing her eyes for good measure. “Ready,” she replied.
Sasuke steeled his nerves and tightened his grip on the bottom half of the mask. Then Kakashi shifted and Sasuke immediately closed his eyes tightly in response. “Naruto would you hold him still-”
That was when Sasuke heard Naruto cry out. There was suddenly an emptiness in front of Sasuke and he felt Sakura fall into him with a surprised yelp. The little water that had been in the cup splashed onto the boy’s leg. Sasuke fell forward under Sakura’s weight but caught himself on his hands.
Sasuke’s eyes flashed open in confusion. He frantically looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. Then Sasuke why Sakura had fallen and the space where Kakashi had been was suddenly unoccupied. At the other side of the room was their sensei, crouched against the wall and wide-eyed, like a frightened animal.
“Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto cried.
The man stared at his students for a moment, then two. The wild look slowly left his eyes and his shoulders relaxed, collapsing the man’s entire frame to the floor. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the mats, a relieved sigh leaving him.
“Sensei,” Sakura asked slowly, “are you okay?” Even though Sakura knew her sensei was fast, it was still a shock to see him react so quickly after being still for so long. He’d woken up to being manhandled and had fled in a panic. In hindsight they were lucky their sensei had opted for flight rather than fight.
Kakashi took a slow breath before answering. When he did speak, he sounded exhausted, half speaking into the floor mats. “In a minute.” Despite the promise, it was several minutes before the jonin moved again.
“I’m sorry sensei, it’s just, it’s been three days, you haven’t had any water and in the academy they said we could die without water after three days and you weren’t waking up and we didn’t know what to do,” Sakura’s voice had started to rise. She cut herself off before her garbled speech could turn into full wails.
Kakashi’s slow, deep breaths were her only answer for a time. He slowly opened his eyes and nodded, even that seemed to take an effort. “It’s okay Sakura, you three just startled me. That was not a good way to wake up.”
Sasuke seemed to have gone into emergency mode. He picked up the cup and hurried out of the room. He came back with the same cup, brimming this time. “He still needs water,” he reminded his teammates.
Kakashi’s eye slivered open. He gave them a weak eye-smile. “I don’t think-”
“We’ll help you sensei,” Sakura insisted. She glanced at the boys who shuffled forward. With all three of them lifting, they managed to sit Kakashi up against the wall.
The boys each held one side of Kakashi while Sakura helped him with the cup. They all looked away but Kakashi just drank straight through his mask. He didn’t have the strength to reach up with his other arm to pull it out of the way.
The genin were so focused on being careful and not hurting their sensei, who seemed so fragile it hurt, that they completely forgot to tell him about the backup that was on the way. Instead, Kakashi had a mini panic attack when he remembered Zabuza.
“Listen,” the jonin gasped. They had already tucked him back into bed. The genin were startled when Kakashi almost sat up again, on his own.
Sakura panicked and rushed forward, trying to push him back down.
“Zabuza is still alive,” Kakashi realized even as he was saying it. Panic soaked back into his eyes. Kakashi didn’t know what to do now. He could barely move and his teammates were just kids. He’d only been teaching them for a couple of months. And he’d barely been able to sense Zabuza’s accomplice. Together the pair could easily kill all four of them. “You three need to head back to the Leaf as soon as possible.” He could feel his consciousness fading, his panicked reaction sapping the last of his strength. His mind alternated between tired alarm and fear. If he couldn’t even stay awake long enough to warn them, he’d never forgive himself. Then again, he didn’t think he’d get to live to regret it. “Stay hidden until you can get a boat, just get away from here.” He closed his eyes, unable to keep them open any longer. He sagged into the mattress, struggling against his fatigue.
“We aren’t leaving,” Naruto said stubbornly. “Besides, Sakura called for help. They should be here soon.”
“Help?” Kakashi forced out. His focus was drifting.
Naruto closed his mouth when he saw Kakashi’s head fall back. “Sensei?”
“Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura called. He did not respond.
“That was his limit,” Sasuke declared in the tense silence that followed. “We couldn’t expect him to be fine the minute he woke up.”
Sakura bit her lip again. “At least we got him some water.”
The three genin sat down, surrounding their sensei. All their excitement at seeing Kakashi awake evaporated. It left the genin feeling empty, tired, and useless.
The next twelve hours was a passive aggressive war between the genin and their “host”. The ninja had made preparations to leave, planning to carry Kakashi if necessary, but they had yet to be kicked out. Tazuna’s daughter was no longer feeding them, so they ate their rations in the spare room, rarely leaving Kakashi’s side.
Tazuna came back from work that evening shouting about more people quitting from the bridge project. He was sure to be loud enough for the genin to hear. They huddled around their sensei, calculating how quickly they could get away with Kakashi on their makeshift stretcher. If Tazuna tried to attack them they would flee, not fight. He didn’t have a prayer against ninja, even at the apprentice level, but the genin feared what could happen to their teacher in the process.
The bridge builder did not approach their room and the genin slept in uneasy shifts.
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The next day, Sasuke felt something different. It was people approaching, he was sure of it. He sat up, stretching out his senses. Whoever they were, they were fast and not even trying to hide their chakra. “Someone’s coming,” he warned his teammates.
Naruto hopped up from his nap. Sakura scooted a little closer to Kakashi. They waited.
“Can you tell who it is?” Sakura asked, her voice barely a whisper. There were two likely possibilities for who could be approaching. It was either backup or their enemies. Kakashi had said that Zabuza was still alive. If that was true then that probably meant that the kid, the strong one, was his accomplice. Those two were far more than the genin could handle, much less anyone else Gato hired to help the pair.
“Not yet,” Sasuke replied. “Get ready.”
The three waited. There was no point in fleeing or fighting. They’d been mentally preparing themselves for this. They would defend Kakashi, and each other, until they couldn’t. Even if it was only for a few seconds, they would do their best. It didn’t even occur to them to leave their sensei behind.
Sakura felt the ninja group now as they split up to surround Tazuna’s house. There was a knock at the door, loud enough to echo through the entire house. Sakura jumped at the sound and heard Tazuna’s daughter cry out from the kitchen. The sudden noise had startled her.
The genin listened as her stockinged feet rushed down the hallway. She opened the door. There was a muffled conversation and then near-silent footsteps.
The team didn’t dare to hope but, if Zabuza had come, surely he wouldn’t have knocked at the front door? Surely Gato’s hired help would have slipped in and tried to kill or interrogate them rather than enter through the front door?
Despite knowing this, the three genin tensed when there was a knock on their room door. The knock was softer this time. They itched to draw closer to each other, to pull together and shield their injured member, but that hadn’t been their training. Sasuke slipped a kunai from his holster and stepped out in front of Sakura and Kakashi. He would handle the primary assault. Sakura crouched near Kakashi’s head, a kunai in hand. She would be the last line of defense. Naruto moved to the other side of the room in a flash and waited, ready to flank anyone who moved toward Sasuke.
“Come in,” Sasuke called.
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When ANBU agent Horse opened the door, she hadn’t known what to expect. On the road, she had learned from her teammates that they were going to retrieve an injured jonin and three genin with the possibility of meeting S-class ninja.
When they had tracked the genin to this house, were welcomed inside, and directed to a spare room, Horse was confused. What she saw on the other side of the spare room door was three frightened children in a defensive formation around their bedridden sensei. The sensei, who turned out to be one of their own. Wonders never ceased. A ninja could retire from ANBU, but as long as they lived, they were ANBU, even to members of the unit who’d never worked or even met them before. Hound was legendary. If someone took Kakashi down, then it was no wonder the genin looked frightened.
“Haruno Sakura,” Horse began. The girl with pink hair looked up. Of course it was her, Horse thought. If either of the boys had the name Sakura and happened to end up on the same team as a girl with pink hair, the irony would have spun the world off of its axis.
Still, the genin squeaked out. “Yes?”
“I am to make contact with you concerning your extraction,” Horse replied, and then wished she hadn’t. The girl burst into tears.
Horse stared at the girl until she felt a nudge at her shoulder. The house had been checked and cleared. Now the rest of her squad mates were moving into defensive positions. Horse stepped aside and let three of her colleagues through the door. One went to guard the window. The medics on both squads made a beeline for Kakashi.
Learning from Horse’s misstep, one medic immediately began checking Kakashi’s vitals while the other turned to the boys. It was a man who spoke behind the bird mask. His voice was deep and made him sound older. “Hey you three, I know this is scary but we’re here to help okay?”
The genin nodded silently. The coddling didn’t bother even Sasuke. Help had arrived and they could relax for a moment.
“Okay good, now how long has your sensei been like this?”
“Since his fight with Zabuza, four days ago,” Sasuke answered in a mutter.
All of the ANBU stilled. The guard by the window cursed under his breath and then muttered, “S-class indeed. They weren’t kidding.”
“But he woke up for a little while yesterday,” Naruto chimed in. “We gave him some water.”
“Okay, that’s great, can you tell me how much?”
Naruto gestured the size of the cup. The other medic set to work on an IV fluid drip.
“Okay, and did you give him anything else? Did he say anything about being in pain?”
“Sensei doesn’t talk about things like that,” Sakura found herself saying. It was an odd answer but she could tell Kakashi had been in pain. Just because he hadn’t said anything about it didn’t mean it wasn’t the case. The ANBU seemed to understand.
The bird masked medic sighed. “That figures.” He’d worked with Hound before.
“Sakura,” Horse got the girl’s attention once again. “Would you come with me while-”
Horse cut herself off. It wasn’t the tensing up of the genin that had stopped her. The older medic had flicked his chakra at her.
“Captain, maybe we should let them stay together for now?” He indicated the genin with a tilt of his head. It was almost like he was pointing with his bird beak.
Owl had interrupted her, which meant that this was his opinion as a medic, not as a subordinate.
Horse nodded and squatted down next to Sakura. She opened her mouth to ask another question when the front door slammed. Tazuna was home. After a hurried conversation with his daughter, he entered the crowded spare room.
The masks gave the bridge builder pause but he rallied quickly. “I’m glad you’re here. As it turns out, that C-rank mission I asked for has become more complicated.” He scratched the back of his head in feigned embarrassment. “It isn’t my fault of course, totally a surprise-”
The way the three genin suddenly bristled gave Horse something to think about as she stood to go speak to the man. As it turned out, the bridge builder came to her.
“Are you the man in charge?” Tazuna boomed out, putting on a friendly smile.
“I am in charge, yes,” Horse replied, her voice showed how unswayed she was by the client’s chipper attitude.
Tazuna coughed. “Right, well, this mission-”
“Has been terminated,” Sasuke broke in, smoldering anger in his tone. “I already told you that.”
“He violated the terms of the agreement,” Sakura spoke up, green eyes fierce.
“He lied,” Naruto added, hands balling into fists.
Tazuna smiled again, not looking at the genin, but at Horse. “You can see they’re traumatized. I am so glad you’re here to fix the situation.”
“A situation that you caused, sir,” Horse replied. “This is a fresh genin team with a jonin-sensei. They are more than capable of handling the C-ranked mission that you described. Kakashi alone could have easily completed the mission you described, while sleep walking.
“But then we got a call from one of our ninja saying that she and her team had to deal with multiple chunin and another assailant that was jonin level or higher, all while completing your C-RANKED MISSION. So explain to me why I shouldn’t take our genin and injured comrade home right now and leave you to the mercy of whomever it is that’s after you? Rest assured, you or your next of kin will be receiving a bill for services redendered thus far, which includes this mission being upgraded to S.
“Now,” Horse continued. “I’m sure your feudal lord and ours can have a nice chat about this in the coming months. As it is, I assume you have a reason for all of this. Once I see to the care of this team, I would love,” Horse said the word love like she was going to take it out back and stab it to death, “to hear it. You may prepare yourself in the next room.”
Tazuna had clearly been dismissed, in his own home. He scrambled away from the ANBU captain.
Horse turned back to the genin and they stared at her. Then Sakura rushed forward and hugged her leg. Horse froze, staring down at the girl. Very carefully, in a controlled voice, Horse said, “please let go.”
Sakura did so, stepping back. “Sorry, I should have known. Sensei doesn’t like being touched either.”
Horse squatted down again. She took a breath and tried to follow Owl’s lead. She looked at the genin in turn. “Okay, so what happened? Start at the beginning.”
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The ANBU medics had Kakashi awake within the hour, much to the delight of Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. Kakashi blinked tiredly at the white masks around him and muttered a few thankful words under his breath. Relief made him shoulders sag.
“Sensei,” Naruto crowed and the three rushed Kakashi. He sat there and allowed it, being unable to do much else.
“Are you all alright?” Kakashi asked. He was asking his students but his eye drifted up to Horse, who gave him a slow nod.
Naruto began to spout without any more prompting. “You should have seen it sensei, Sakura was so cool! We knew that Gato was listening, but Sakura remembered this old code to call for help. And Sasuke went with her to the radio house to keep her safe. I stayed here with you to keep you safe. I said I was going to get better and I did, even though I had to sit around a lot. You wouldn’t think that’d be so hard, right sensei?”
Kakashi just nodded tiredly. Owl decided to have mercy on the man and interrupt the explanations. He cleared his throat and nudged into the circle. “Kakashi needs to eat while he’s still awake.” That was all it took. The genin immediately made way for the medic. Horse swooped in to ask for a few more particulars, like how had Kakashi gone about agreeing to stay with the bridge builder. By the time Horse and Owl were done, Kakashi was resting comfortably again.
Once Horse had collected all of the details, she prepared to radio in the situation and ask for advice on how to proceed. If Team Seven helped the Land of Waves, it would be good for their relations with the Land of Fire in the future. She could understand why Kakashi had continued with the mission even after the chunin attacked, but who could have imagined that Gato would get Zabuza to do his bidding? That plus the second ninja was a complete unknown.
Horse turned to Sakura, who was sitting with her teammates. “You want to see how a normal coded conversation goes?”
Sakura’s eyes brightened. She nodded and left with the ANBU captain.
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“And so,” Sakura finished her recounting of what had happened at the radio station, “we’re to provide assistance until the bridge is completed.” She turned from her teammates to indicate the ANBU squads. “All of us.”
“That’s a relief,” Sasuke said.
Naruto and Sakura both were surprised that Sasuke was showing the fear they’d felt. They hadn’t expected it of the Uchiha.
“We were sitting ducks,” Sasuke grumbled. He seemed both irritated and relieved.
“About that,” Kakashi spoke up from his corner. “I was thinking about your training-”
“The only thing you should be thinking about,” the medic interrupted. “Is getting better.”
Kakashi held out his arms to gesture at the fact that he was sitting up. “I’m better. I could probably even walk around if someone would find me some crutches.”
The medic bristled. “You won’t be doing any walking or training or whatever else you’re dreaming up. You’ve done enough, we’ll handle this.”
Kakashi, taking a serious tone. “My students were unprepared for this. I have to make more of an effort.”
“I don’t think any genin, no matter how well trained, could have been prepared for this.”
“But they would have been better off had they known about contact procedures, emergency medicine, or any number of backup plans I used to drill with you, Horse. So I’m going to train them. If you would like to help, be my guest.”
Horse, reprimanded, backed down. “Yes sir,” she said.
Team Seven’s eyes widened. Horse and the other ANBU were so cool but they submitted to Kakashi’s authority immediately.
“I’d like a word with Sasuke first,” Kakashi began, “while Sakura and Naruto go learn from the medics, then they’ll switch.”
The rest of the week passed quickly with different training and rotating guard work. The bridge progressed by the hour with many workers returning once they saw the increased protection detail.
Sakura had advanced to water walking within days. She got to practice on the water below the bridge, under the observation of one of the ANBU. That was when the mist rose up. Sakura backed away slowly, almost losing her footing with her concentration. “This is-” Before Sakura could finish her sentence, she was seized around the waist and was flying through the air. She gave a dramatic squeal but the ANBU that had been overseeing her water walking shushed her.
“If you know what this is then you should know to keep quiet,” he hissed. “We need to regroup.”
Sakura swallowed and nodded. The ANBU leapt back to the top of the bridge, Sakura still firmly in his hold. The silent alarm was raised and yet, the mist simply hung there for several minutes. The ANBU remained tense but no one attacked the workers or the ninja on the bridge. Eventually the mist dissipated and the sunny sky shone cheerfully above them once again.
“What was that?” Sakura asked Sasuke. He shook his head, unsure.
Naruto, tactless as ever, shouted into the blue sky. “Too afraid to fight me huh?”
His words fell on two watchful figures. They remained hidden at their vantage point. “Master Zabuza,” Haku whispered. “Aren’t we going to finish the contract?”
Zabuza eyed the ten ANBU and three genin that littered the bridge. He was definitely not getting paid enough for all of that. The genin were nothing and the ANBU they could probably handle, maybe, but Kakashi of the Sharingan was nowhere to be seen. Judging from their fight before, the legendary ninja wouldn’t have left his genin for anything, which means he was hiding, probably ready to pounce when the Mist ninja least expected it. Ten ANBU plus Kakashi of the Sharingan? Zabuza couldn’t raise money to fund a coup if he was dead. And Gato was a fool if he thought this fight was limited to a few locals now that the Leaf had sent backup.
“No Haku, I believe our dealings with Gato have come to an end. I have no interest in getting involved with Fire Country and Wave Country affairs, at least not in this way.”
As they watched, three large outboards pulled up at the end of the bridge. Gato and several thugs began mounting the ladder at the side of the bridge. “Well this is interesting,” Zabuza muttered.
“Should we help them?” Haku asked. A single ANBU approached the group. She crossed her arms and cocked her head at Gato as he spoke. It was clear she was not amused.
“No,” Zabuza said. “They’re done for, one way or another. This is our chance to escape. However-”
Zabuza turned around. Hatake Kakashi was leaning against a tree several paces behind the duo. Zabuza gripped his sword while holding out a hand for Haku to stay back.
“So you are partners,” Kakashi commented. His hands weren’t in his pockets but he still looked relaxed.
Zabuza swallowed. The swordsman wasn’t at full strength quite yet and Kakashi was well within range to signal the ANBU teams. “We have no quarrel with you Sharingan Kakashi. Our contract with Gato is ended.”
Kakashi crossed his arms. “Does Gato know that?”
“If he hasn’t figured it out then that’s his problem.” Zabuza shrugged.
Kakashi did not miss that the shrug loosened the great sword on Zabuza’s back, making it easier to draw. “So you weren’t about to attack my teams?” Kakashi continued, his stance still casual.
“We were just leaving,” Zabuza replied honestly. Leaf ninja were so possessive of each other. The genin were his and the ANBU? Zabuza couldn’t imagine personally looking out for that many people. Haku was trouble enough.
“Do you think so?” Kakashi countered.
Zabuza cocked his head. “We have no quarrel with you,” he repeated. “Your genin and bridge builder are safe, from us anyway. Shouldn’t you be down there, protecting them?” Zabuza tilted his head back a bit, hoping to get Kakashi’s attention off of him.
“I’m sure they’re handling it,” Kakashi replied easily. He eyed the pair. Besides the Bingo Book bounty, there was really no reason for him to continue to pursue the two rogue ninja. Kakashi wasn’t one for collecting bounties, having several placed on his own head over the years. “If you come after my genin again, I will kill you.”
“Go after your genin? That’s the furthest thing from my mind,” Zabuza replied, signaling to Haku for him to start walking. The boy slowly edged out of the clearing, Zabuza never taking his eyes off of Kakashi.
Kakashi watched them go. He didn’t move from his spot until they had completely left his field of awareness. He turned his attention back to the bridge in time to see Horse sending Gato away. The various bandits and cheap muscle he’d hired had fled.
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“You’re all going to die,” Inari burst out at the stuffed dinner table that night.
All fourteen of the ninja looked up. They had been invited for one last celebration dinner after Gato had been run off. The Leaf ninja would remain in Wave until the bridge, and the negotiation between their countries, was concluded, but this was the final evening in Tazuna’s home.
“Everybody dies kid,” Horse replied. “But nobody died today.”
“Gato will come back,” Inari pressed.
“Not if Fire Country has anything to say about it,” Horse replied evenly. She’d had enough. “And if Wave Country becomes a colony of Fire Country, they will have a say.”
The three Wave Country residents froze at the news. The bridge builder had wanted protection for his bridge, but hadn’t considered the cost of what he’d asked or how he’d asked it. The bridge would be completed and their way of life would change, but not in the way he’d imagined.
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke looked at Kakashi but he didn’t meet their eyes. Later, they gathered in their room at the local inn. No one had wanted to stay in Tazuna’s house any longer. For the genin in particular, it was just a reminder of those tense days before the ANBU arrived.
“Sensei,” Sakura began. She sat on her bed with her legs stretched out. “Is Wave really going to become a part of Fire Country?”
Kakashi leaned back, clasping his knee. “That will depend on the leaders of Wave Country and how their negotiations go. But more than likely, yes, Wave will lose its independence but gain the protection of Fire.”
“It just seems so,” Sakura struggled for the right word, “drastic.”
Kakashi shrugged. “When the people of Wave were unwilling to stand up to Gato, they sealed their own fate. They put themselves in a position where they would either be stuck under his rule or someone else’s.
“A few were working on the bridge, but they were banking their hopes on a passive strategy that had little chance of success. The bridge may have stopped Gato’s rise to power, but it came years too late. Gato already has a stranglehold on this land. Even when the bridge is completed, what’s to keep Gato from taking control of the bridge traffic?”
“Nothing,” Sasuke answered for everyone. “Gato has the resources to take over and tax the bridge the same way he taxes the waterways; nothing would have changed. He may have even been hoping that they’d use up the last of their resources, and resistance, on building the bridge.”
“How did Tazuna get out of Wave Country anyway?” Sakura wondered aloud. “He could have gone for help, gone anywhere, but-”
Sasuke continued. “He went to a foreign military power, lied about a mission-”
Naruto finished for Sasuke, “and almost got us killed.”
“That’s the long and short of it,” Kakashi replied.
“But,” Naruto chimed in, “will the people here be okay?”
“If nothing else,” Sakura said, “the people of Wave will be able to come and go as they please now. That was the whole point of the bridge, wasn’t it?”
“Tazuna said that the bridge was for hope,” Naruto replied. “But hope is something that’s in us, it doesn’t come from a bridge.”
Sasuke looked at Naruto for a long time but didn’t say anything.
Sakura chimed in, “they can put their hope in the bridge, but the bridge doesn’t give them hope, that’s backwards.”
“Exactly,” Kakashi smiled at them all. He leaned back in bed. “But I think it’s time to sleep now. Your sensei is still recovering.”
“Yeah right sensei,” Naruto complained. “We saw you sneak off when the mist appeared. You were probably training on your own, without us! When are you going to show me a cool new jutsu?”
Kakashi smiled and sighed. He was still quite tired from his ordeal. “Tomorrow Naruto, tomorrow.”