Reborn in the Mist

“You, quickly go down and get some oil, get enough, don’t be stingy!”

“Tsume!” one of the other masked animals yelled at Tiger-mask, the group leadership was having some questions about the new plan, and not nearly everyone found it as brilliant as presented. “You can’t be serious, killing them is one thing but burning down—”

“Their legacy? It’s the first thing they did to ours! They burned and drowned our homes, our people. You think this is too far? No, not far enough.” Tiger-mask brushed past his two co-leaders and addressed the group. “If any of you find your knees too coward to follow through, to taste a slice of vengeance, then leave! We, I, will move on my own.”

Zabuza searched around for the Killing Gaze, its weight was lifted some time ago, shifted elsewhere perhaps but he could still sense the aura lingering around, nearby. He’d been hoping for some sort of answer on whether this much was forbidden or not.

Maybe not. But not like it matters. This is entirely deserved, fucked uptight clan. Zabuza spat, watching the Funato clash against their rivals. The number of fighters were thinning out and noticeably no one unleashed jutsu higher than C-rank onto the streets and Zabuza could easily pick out a handful of Jounin and Chuunin among the rage so it wasn’t for a lack of skillset.

More unspoken rules.

The group did nothing for a good two minutes. Standing exposed atop a rooftop as pairs and smaller groups of shinobi ran through the village. ANBU perched, investigated them with a narrow, lingering eye before departing to monitor some other place.

Two minutes felt like a small eternity as murmurs carried through the group, many debating how extreme things needed to be taken and others convincing others that this was merely the tip of the iceberg, reminding them that there will probably never been another opportunity like this.

That last one did most of the convincing. Better now than never, better to hurt than ignore. At the end of a very long two minutes the errand boy Tiger-mask sent returned with two large sachets of black gold. Oil.

He quickly distributed it, declaring how happy he was that no one left, not even his two co-leaders and largest voices of doubt and fear. “You all know the plan now, scatter!”

And scatter they did, leaving Zabuza atop the roof, staring right out at the compound likely to be ablaze in a couple minutes.

***

Sneaking into the Hozuki compound was far easier than he’d thought it would be. The chaos of their rival killing just outside their gate was a fair excuse but not one that would result in such lax security in a tenuous, open time.

Zabuza had even had the time and space to watch how others snuck in, particularly those charged with spreading the oil. When Zabuza moved to infiltrate the rather welcoming clan compound he did so behind the Tiger-mask and his close posse of six, all together they stood eight masked, cloaked and bandaged men strong.

The other eight scattered between spreading the oil and getting a headstart on the killings. Tiger-mask, well, he wanted to walk right up to each clan head. A plan not unlike Zabuza’s but one overly optimistic in its chances of survival.

And so they strutted in, kicking stones into the myriad of ponds that littered the compound and running blades against anything that could be destroyed. Statues, swimming koi, the fresh growing bamboo, all cut, stabbed and severed as Tiger-mask led the way in, his chest puffed and arms rippling tense with muscles.

“Come out! Megumi Hosuki, come out and face your doom!” Tiger-mask yelled. “The Lord Fourth has seen your sins and let us, the people, free to judge you!”

He cackled, his posse chortling along with him as she spread out. “And sentence you to extinction!”

They’d all yet to open any one of the homes but now, they were moving to do so. Zabuza watched as one skipped over the running stream of water winding around the house. He swung his morningstar about, twirling it and then igniting it for a first blow against the— “Ack!”

He screamed, a watery arm slung itself around his ankles. Zabuza snorted, watching with mild amusement as a Hozuki rose from the shallow stream, kunai in watery hand. “Get him of— urgk!” His throat was slit before any help could be rendered.

“Fire Release: Flame Bullet!” Tiger-masked declared, unleashing a running flame against the half reformed Hozuki.

It struck centre first, a rupture of steam exploded upward with the rising shriek of the Hozuki as he tried to sludge away. He was little more than a moving puddle on the earth, his eyes wide with pain, hate and more. He glared up at the owner of the foot he was crawling up to and gapped as a paperbomb kunai stabbed the earth in front of him.

BOOM!

“Megumi Hozuki! Where are you!” Tiger screamed, but there was no answer. Zabuza wasn’t even certain if she would be here or if they were even in the right part of the compound.

It looks like.

There was the shrine and the blossom tree they set alight on their way in, as well as the many homes and ponds interspersed between and leading up to the one giant home Tiger-mask stood yelling in front of.

Zabuza overheard one of his lackeys whisper doubts, the same ones that crossed Zabuza’s mind— Megumi Hozuki was a born and bred shinobi, the mother of the Sandaime and Matriarch of one of the most powerful clans. She wouldn’t be out in the open, ready to meet the promise of justice head on.

“We’re not getting anything done, let’s just burn the place and whoever else is hiding in the water and leave. The Funato clan is waiting.” One of the co-leaders wisely stated.

Just then a pair came hopping through the rooftops, there was something about their energy that screamed— “No, no, no!”

A water whip snatched one mid-air, his screams chased the other down our way with a vigour. He landed on the second to the last tile roof, ready to leap out again when his entire back side was enveloped in water.

“Ah! Tiger! Tsume! It’s done, it’s done now, burn it all!” The water sphere enveloping him by the waist developed teeth, spinning, gnawing teeth. Red, gut filled waters splashed over the roof, his upper half rolled down with a heavy thump against the grace.

Tiger looked back at his lackeys and screamed. “What are you waiting for! Kill them!”

He threw himself forward, launching up onto the rooftop and then again into the air where he weaved through hand seals at speed. “Fire Release: Fox Fire!”

Ten individual balls of flame manifested in a circle around him. Immediately a water bullet shot from below but his lackey’s countered swiftly— “Earth Release: Mud Bullet!”

The two jutsu clashed, canceling out each other's momentum enough to buy Tiger the time to unleash his jutsu as he fell. All ten balls of fire spread out across the compound, each finding their way towards an oil trail or at least the most flammable material in sight.

Zabuza perched safely atop a roof, sure no one was home in it as he idly watched the flames race towards…bubbles?

“Soap Bubble Technique!” A voice he’d always found grating erupted ahead. Surging from between the alleys was Utakata, he spun out in a circle, his pipe blowing bubbles in a hoard around the charging Tiger-mask and his lackeys.

POP! POP! POP!

A round of explosions wet the air with water and steam. Zabuza found the source in an instant— Utakata’s water-filled bubbles intercepting Tiger-mask’s fox fire. A grin he couldn’t help found its way under his bandages. He stood upright at his perch and watched the landmine of bubbles his former teammate had just unleashed into the air.

“I will tell you now, if one of my bubbles touches you, you will die.” He said, his voice was stronger than he’d ever heard it, even when he was saying goodbye. He stood casually against the seven of them, making a show of closing his eyes.

“It’s the Jinchuriki!” One of the lackeys yelled, a touch of hate in between all his panic.

“Don’t bother! The Jinchuriki are even worse off than we are. Made a lackey of the Hozuki, ha!” Tiger-mask led by example and unleashed shuriken at the bubbles farthest from him.

The bubbles popped with a splash, raining a flood of water across the roof tiles. “See that? Nothing but water!”

Utakata remained unfazed even as his opponent's uncertainty faded. Between hastily shared looks they unanimously decided what to do. Eight volleys of shuriken promptly launched volleys at Utakata’s bubbles, the young Jinchuriki’s facade soured as his bubbles were harmlessly popped into soap and raining buckets of water.

A volley fell at his feet, hard trained reflexes kicking in at the last second to spring him away. His fingers came up to hand seals as he faced the freshly emboldened group and Tiger-mask.

They soared at him, blades flashing, kunai and senbon sailing through air and Tiger-mask roaring with two ignited fists. A blazing blue flame billowed down to his elbows, in Zabuza’s untrained but well experienced eyes, it was a C-rank Fire Release at best— nothing too destructive in its lethality.

But it’s a fatal strike!

Zabuza had no time to scold the rising panic for Utakata’s safety as a wall of water rose between them. Projectiles pinged off the rapid wall of water, senbons lost in frothing waves and kunai ricocheted.

Tiger-mask’s fists steamed against the wall, still aflame yet continually quenched by rushing waves. Utakata wasted no time turning to run as the wall swept away their attacks. His fingers rushed through handseals as he ran, and in seconds a thickening mist seeped out his open mouth.

Zabuza cursed, hurrying after Utakata before his mist swallowed him entirely. A dozen other feet chased after the Jinchuriki, cloaked figures plunged into the mist and the clang of metal and yelps of pain followed right after.

Zabuza landed at a ledge, the mist and the grinding metal of unseen battle below him. Utakata’s mist sprawled into three full streets and the sounds of his clashes echoed from everywhere.

A warm orange light hummed in and out of life in the mist as Tiger-mask roared. “Come out now!”

Zabuza’s feet teetered at the edge, his body swaying to plunge into the mist and— And what? Help Tiger-mask or help Utakata?

FWOOSH!

A blast of flame lit up a street, expelling the mist with a wave of heated air that had Zabuza’s ankles sweating. The spike of panic as his heart leapt into his throat answered his question. Adrenaline saw him sprinting towards Utakata and Tiger-mask.

He turned the one corner needed and unsheathed his wakizashi in one smooth motion. His narrowed eyes widened as his caught sight of them— three men were laid out already but five more including Tiger-mask narrowed in on the young Jinchuriki.

Utakata spun in place, the sole of his foot smashed into a lackey’s temple, sending him flying as he completed the spin kick and back stepped from Tiger-mask’s flaming fist. Two lackeys sprung at him from behind— he leaped to avoid them but had his foot caught before he could escape.

They yanked him to the ground and a baseless scuffle began. Fists cracked against cheekbone, stomach and chin as the previously laid out lackeys ran in with kicks stomps.

Get your hands off him! Zabuza declared. His pounding heart was silenced behind his ribs, no panic to be found, only adrenaline filled bloodlust.

He flashed forward, skidding from side to side as he approached Tiger-mask as he and the other lackeys turned to face the source of the Killing Intent. Zabuza’s wakizashi slashed upwards, fabric ripped and a lick of blood stained the blade’s tip.

Tiger-mask dashed away, the flak armour he wore cut through deep enough to set it asunder, revealing the thin, bleeding line from Zabuza’s slash. It was poorly shallow.

Zabuza set his sights on the nearest to him and just as the lackey reached into a pouch for a kunai, his wakizashi cut through his neck. Zabuza twisted about fluidly carrying his momentum forward.

A trio of shuriken came soaring, their owner flipped through hand seals in the meantime. Zabuza deflected them swiftly and lurched for the kill—

“Traitorous demon, hyahhh!”

Tiger-mask’s punched fists of flame at him, roaring fist-shaped flame projectiles forced him several paces away and allowed a lackey to complete their jutsu.

“Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!”

Twelve spheres of electricity vibrated from the chakra in the atmosphere. The crackling yellow balls of thunder screeched at Zabuza at speeds nearly faster than he could react. Between them and the flaming fists roaring his way Zabuza was on the back foot.

“Nrrngh!” He growled, skirting to the side as another ball of lightning crackled against the earth.

“Soap Bubble Jutsu!” Utakata said, half knelt on the ground as he sent another hoard of bubbles towards Tiger-mask and the final standing lackey.

The lackey sent out the spheres of lightning to defend against the bubbles, his fingers trapped in the jutsu’s enacting handseal to fling shuriken. Tiger-mask pumped blows of flaming fists, quickly filling the space with a steaming mist Zabuza was too happy to take advantage of.

He delved into the rising steam, his eyes on Tiger-mask roaring fists at Utakata’s hoard of bubbles. Ahead of him was the final lackey, balls of crackled lightning hovered just above his head, a new one forming with the ticking seconds. Zabuza denied him another—

“Urrk! I— you!” The lackey, porcelain mask painted in the visage of a bear. His fingers broke the handseal immediately— foolish of him— and crawled over at Zabuza leaning against his back.

Zabuza yanked his blade out and let the bleeding man crumble at his feet. His eyes found Tiger-mask in the midst of the steam fog, the flares of orange blue flames too hard to miss. He darted forward, his wakizashi ready to cut again, but when he erupted out of the mist to save Utakata he found Tiger-mask encased in a large floating bubble.

His jutsu flared out against the bubble in defiance but each pump of his fist came with a faded intensity. “If you keep fighting you’ll use up the oxygen in there and suffocate. I won’t kill you but I won’t stop you from killing yourself.”

Utakata said, wiping a bleeding nose and cut chin. His eyes fell on Zabuza, the hardened stare that found him softened slowly before dissolving entirely.

“Zabuza, you came!”