"Zabuza!" Rina yelled, her arm shot out in an improvised [Water Whip] that clamped his offending hand to the wall of a clothing stall. "Don't make me—!"
The words hadn't finished leaving her mouth before the very traitor she saved roared at her, tackling her to the ground as he swiftly brandished a kunai. Chaos ensued as the market burst apart, customers fleeing the site and vendors screaming for mercy as blood spurt around Rina, her hand shielding her face from the kunai the traitor was desperately trying to bury in her face.
Zabuza shook his head, his hands wet but free of her foolish constraints, "That's what you get when you try to talk to traitors!" He left her to it, happy to let her live or die by the consequences of her foolishness if it meant—
"Wind Release: Venom Gale!"
A gust of poisoned wind exploded out of the second traitor, his mask billowing waves of purple gas into the market with no regard for who got caught. Zabuza gritted his teeth in pain as his throat clamped up, swelling to rapid degrees and seizing his breath all while the purple gas obscured his view of the traitor.
Bubbles rose out of the poisonous mist, Utakata's jutsu securing the traitorous civilians and bystanders alike. Zabuza had no trouble holding his breath, he'd trained fighting underwater for dozens of minutes at a time, even going as far as to weigh himself for a stronger challenge.
This was different. This wasn't holding his breath, this was his throat closed up from swelling and his eyes watering as he swiped and slashed wildly through the mist, hoping to catch a slice of flesh. His tongue felt like an intruder in his own mouth and his nose was an ornament of an organ, failing woefully to even seize a breath.
Fuckkk!! He doubled over just as the purple mist began to clear, his teary eyes slipping into unconsciousness saw Utakata running over from Rina. The Hozuki Princess had somehow managed to restrain the first traitor even as her right arm slowly sublimed from semi-liquid to solid. She glared at him, eyes red with fury as tears ran down her cheek and rolled over the same dark respirator Utakata was now pulling over his nose.
Zabuza cursed as the Jinchuriki swatted his flailing hands away. He'd completely forgotten they'd prepared equipment to stand against these poisonous traitors and now he looked like an utter idiot for jumping in.
He took in the first breath of medicated air through his congested nostrils and felt his throat relax like a clenched fist finally letting go. Tears poured down his face unrestrained as he sat up with a growl, shoving Utakata aside as he stumbled up onto his feet, snatching his wakizashi as he rose.
"What are you doing you—" Utakata started.
"What are you doing? They're getting away!" Zabuza coughed, staggering out into the swiftly emptying market, barely anyone was left in sight, their stalls, wares and goods left behind as they ran for their lives. All that was left were those bubbled within Utakata's jutsu, many of them floating just bare inches over the ground.
"Zabuza!" Rina yelled from her place atop the struggling traitor, she sat on his back, his arms bound together by metal restraints and her eyes continued to burn with the fury his own mind targeted at himself. "They got away because of you. If you'd just stopped to listen—!"
A thundering clap echoed across the lower caste district as arcs of lightning exploded into the sky a fair distance from where they stood. Zabuza stared at it, the crackling blue reaching up into the sky one after the other before dissipating to nothing. He shared a look with Utakata who immediately began shaking his head and then spared the Hozuki Princess a glance as her eyes widened.
"Don't you dare!" She shrieked, her arm sublimed to liquid in a blink flash. He somersaulted forward and leaped up onto a carpentry workshop's roof, "Zabuza, stop, Ao-taicho gave us clear orders to—"
"To stop the traitors! And you have, congratulations but I'm not sticking around to do nothing when they need my help over there."
"Need your help?" Utakata wondered aloud, sounding genuinely confused.
Rina shook her head at him, her arm re-solidifying beside her, "Leave him, Utakata. Whatever the consequences Ao-taicho brings I'll take it and it'll be less than what falls upon his head. Let's go."
Strangely, as he watched them leave, Utakata more hesitant than the Princess, Zabuza felt a knot tightening in his gut. He quickly brushed it aside, relaxing his brows and letting out a breath as he turned away towards where he was truly needed.
There was a battle raging. ANBU had successfully cornered the Kumo spies some distance away from the warehouse Hisako Yuki was confirmed to use as a meeting place. He landed softly atop the rooftop, watched the crackling streaks of lightning burst and fade as several shinobi, Ao-taicho included, raced after a single spy.
Walking across the rooftop Zabuza came upon what he was looking for, a hole small enough to peep through the weathered metal roofing. He'd already heard hushed voices but through the peep he saw ANBU had bound and put Hisako Yuki to her knees while a man with a Demon Mask spoke.
He recognized the man, or rather his mask. Zabuza had seen him among the halls of the Interrogations and Communications holding centre, a place he'd been a frequent visitor of in the past thanks to teammates.
The mere thought of teammates had him stand upright and bolt the other way, back on track with a fuming will to prove them all wrong, to outshine everyone who'd dared tried to suffocate his talent. Yet…the closer he got, the faster his feet carried him to the electrifying battle between Jounin and the spy, the more he thought of Rina and Utakata.
To their credit they hadn't tried to…they hadn't hated him. They used his name, they relied on him to do his part and…they didn't push him away nearly as much as he pushed them.
Useless thoughts!
Zabuza growled, brandishing his wakizaki and seeping chakra across its surface. He silently thanked Lord Funato for letting him keep such a fine chakra conductive weapon set, his previous tools wouldn't have been able to survive without chipping against the pressure of chakra but this, even without emulating his chakra nature would allow his swings to slice through the air with an ease other weapons would be envious of.
He was close enough to see the man behind the streaks of lightning now. His fists were covered in it and with them he fended off the attacks of three Jounin taking turns slashing and casting various Water Release jutsu at him.
Zabuza rounded around them, taking the long, curved path through the fearfully emptied roads and the patch wood roofs. One of the Jounins ran into close quarters with Earthen wrapped fists. The engagement was brief and quick, the spy either didn't care about running out of chakra or was simply a chakra monster. His lightning smashed through the Jounin's counter earth with a concentrated burst of lightning, tossing him aside like a ragdoll as he roared victorious. He wasted no time getting on the move, Zabuza could tell by the way the herded him that the Jounins were trying to force him to a corner. But a cornered rat is no rat at all.
Zabuza struggled to keep up with the ridiculous pace they sprinted through the district with, it was evident the Jounins didn't want the spy to break out into any of the other districts, keeping the battle solely in the lower caste district and its avenues. There was no escape from them but that didn't stop the spy from trying.
Zabuza watched the spy come upon an exit out of the district only to be cornered by none other than the Byakugan Killer. His Captain's fingers blurred through hand signs faster than the spy could close the distance and out from his pursed lips came a torrential flood of water that swept him right back into the centre of their square trap. A Jounin descended from above, a scythe and chain whipped out viciously, slicing through flesh and wrapping around the spy's arm. The Jounin landed and yelled out to the others to finish him but it was too late— lightning streaked, rushing in a blink of an eye to electrocute and stun the Jounin.
Zabuza landed, sucking his teeth as he watched the Jounin pathetically collapse and his weapon now wielded against the remaining three. Ao came sprinting in, weaving in and under the electrified scythe and chain in an attempt to initiate close quarters combat but it wasn't enough. The spy's eyes glowed a blue as he supercharged whatever lightning jutsu he'd been using and from his skin came a burst of electric power, one that sent Ao flying back and the other Jounins wary of the electrified man and scythe.
"Come! Come and meet your deaths! You'll never—!" He shut up quickly enough to deflect a flurry of kunai and senbon with the scythe. A paper bomb slipped through though and Zabuza revelled in the fear in his widening eyes, yet rather than blow him to smithereens the paper bomb merely exploded in a giant plump of smoke.
What? Why? Zabuza was tired of these half measures. Crouched from his spot atop a street lamp he decided to make his move, he was right after all, they desperately needed his help ending this Kumo scum.
Ram. A single hand seal was all he needed to take the plunge into any series of puddles below. Zabuza vanished in the water and moved through it, a fair section of it was electrified but in the midst of the smokescreen the spy wasn't nearly as concerned about what came from below as he was what else was coming from above. He got on the move, eager to escape the smokescreen and whatever trap the Jounin had prepared for him but as stepped over Zabuza's puddle the Demon struck.
A well placed hand was all he needed to send the man spiralling, to his credit he caught his balance and lashed out like a mad man in the dark depths of the smokescreen. Zabuza rose up from behind him, the lightning wreaking off the Kumo-nin's body sent goosebumps all over as his hairs stood on their ends. His heart pounded in his chest as he surged forward, his sense of smell and hearing guiding him to the spy's treadmilling heart.
Zabuza's eyes widened as he stabbed empty space.
"Foolish child." the spy said, the lightning of his fists illuminating his face in the thinning smoke, he was a bald broad man with hatred in his eyes. His prolonged scuffle with the Jounins had him torn up with cuts, gashes and impact bruises. His fists surged for Zabuza's head.
"Zabuza!" Ao screamed from somewhere too far to do anything about the lightning charged fist bringing death to him.
No!
He clenched his jaw and reacted as quickly as he could, it wasn't much but he tossed his wakizashi into his left hand and presented his shoulder rather than his face to bear the blow. Volts of electricity surged through his right arm, running through his organs all the way down his right foot as he skidded back, his wakizashi stabbed into the wet granite to slow his backwards momentum. Zabuza knew his right arm was useless but he wasn't going to fuck up his one opportunity.
He clamped his wakizashi between his teeth and glared at the spy, his fist cocked back to deliver a final blow. Off to the side in his periphery Zabuza scarcely made out Ao dashing his way— he wouldn't make it in time, none of them would.
Chakra surged at the sole of his foot and with a burst release Zabuza flung himself head and wakizashi first. It happened instantly, the soft tear of flesh as his chakra imbued blade stabbed into the spy and the skull shattering, electrifying impact of his fist against his head.
A fair trade! Zabuza thought as all light vanished.
***
Zabuza woke to the sound of voices, familiar voices.
"...Team 3 again, that would be nice."
It was Utakata. What is he yapping about now? Zabuza felt for himself, his surroundings and quickly found from the smell and the texture of the soft fabric beneath him, and the soft pounding in his head, that he was in the hospital. He began to searched his memories for what landed him here when Rina spoke.
She snorted derisively, "I wouldn't count on it. And who are you kidding, Uta? This team was nothing nice, its a good thing we're over."
Over? She sounded relieved and exhausted at the same time, their voices came from around him and so when Zabuza opened his eyes, he wasn't surprised to see them seated in the room. Utakata right beside him, drawing imaginary nonsense against the sheets and Rina was swimming in the couch, idling with a pamphlet to some new play rink.
He croaked out a word, or at least tried to. Nothing but a whistle of air hissed out his mouth as he tried to sit up. Utakata's eyes widened to saucers, "How are you awake?"
A pang of ache filled his head as his two teammates stared at him like an alien. He croaked again and Rina leaped to her feet, "Get him some water."
"Right, right!" Utakata hurried with a cup and bottle on the nightstand beside the dripstand, returning with a cup Zabuza gratefully took a sip of.
His throat was a desert for some reason and looking around he wondered if he'd been unconscious for long. But, that wasn't what he wanted to know right now. He sighed, grateful to Utakata and eyed Rina and he as he asked, "You said we're over…why…how are we over?"
Stood by the end of his bed Rina rolled her eyes and sighed, "I told you not to leave."
She'd told him not to do many things before so it took a minute for his memories to flood from past to most recent and as they did, Utakata wore a gentle, strained smile as he broke the news in full meaning.
"The Kumo spy you killed, Kuzo, he was the last one and was meant to be taken prisoner, interrogated, used as leverage, a lot of other things above our heads." He shrugged, smile thinning the more he spoke, "Ao-taicho said this was the last straw. He already put in for our Team 3 to disband, he doesn't want to train us if we can't…obey."
The knot in Zabuza's stomach was full gordian now as he gulped, his mouth a brand new desert as he took in the news and recalled what exactly landed him in the hospital. He gingerly touched his head, finding the bandages wrapped tight around it slick with blood.
"But I…I'm the one who—"
Rina scoffed, taking a break from staring at the wall to glare at him, "It's called teamwork you idiot. It's my fault for letting you go too, should have just beaten you up myself but what's that worth? You'd just find some other moment to mess us all up."
His stomach sank. She was right. Rina is right. He'd only begun to fear that very truth and yet…he couldn't listen to himself or others for that matter to see when he was ruining something good.
Staring at his empty hands, the fluorescent light made it look unreal, made everything feel unreal. For the first time he truly regretted being the Demon.
"Guys…I'm sor—"
"Save it. If you're fine then I'm leaving, you coming, Uta?"
The Jinchuriki didn't so much as stammer, a sympathetic look lingered on his features for a moment as he backed away waving goodbye, "Get well soon, Zabuza, we'll let the nurse know you're awake. Bye."
The door swung shut behind them, Rina never looking back and Utakata never hesitant to leave.
"...Bye."