Inside the misty clearing, ice mirrors gleamed all around Karin and Sakura, surrounding them in a perfect circle. Each mirror shimmered like glass, reflecting Haku's calm face a dozen times over. From every reflection, senbons flew like silver rain—sharp and fast.
Sakura raised her arms to block, gritting her teeth as a few needles grazed her skin. "He's too fast!"
Due to her harsh training—and her sharp perception brought on by her particular condition—Sakura could see the extremely fast attacks, something only Sasuke had managed with his Sharingan in the anime.
However, her reaction time wasn't trained enough to use that sharp perception. Her body could match the speed, but her mind wasn't reacting fast enough.
Karin crouched beside her, panting. Her chakra sense flared wildly, but it didn't help. "He's moving between the mirrors—his chakra signature keeps shifting every second! Damn it, this guy's a nightmare!"
Of course, for someone with Kaguya's mind's eye, sensing him would have been child's play, but what good was that when she couldn't even react in time to capitalize on the chance?
Haku's voice echoed gently through the dome of ice. "You both fight bravely. But surrender. I don't wish to harm you more than necessary."
Sakura glared at one of the mirrors. "Like hell we're giving up!" She threw a kunai straight ahead—but it only struck ice, the mirror reforming instantly.
"Yup, not happening," Karin roared too.
But then she peeked around, frowning. "He's not aiming to kill us. He's really holding back."
"Then why does it still hurt!?" Sakura snapped as another senbon whizzed past her ear.
Outside the battlefield, Sukuna stood beside Tazuna, arms crossed, watching the ice dome glimmer from afar. He could easily intervene, but a wicked grin tugged at his lips. "They're getting their asses handed to them," he muttered. "That'll teach that girl to take her training seriously."
He grinned—if only he had popcorn.
Suddenly, Sakura yelled, "Sukuna! Do something! We're getting skewered in here!"
Sukuna's amused tone came back. "Not my problem, dear sister. It's your fight—go on and overcome your limits right here and now."
"Screw you!" Sakura shouted out loud, furious. "If I die, I'm haunting you forever!"
"Don't worry, I know how to handle curse spirits like you. Go on."
Sakura gritted her teeth.
Inside the mirrors, Haku tilted his head slightly, hearing her voice echo. "You… have someone helping you?"
"Don't talk like that!" Karin shouted. "You're the one hiding in mirrors like a coward!"
Haku sighed softly, sadness flickering in his eyes. "You wouldn't understand. I only fight because I must."
Karin clenched her teeth, chakra flaring red around her hands. "Then we'll make you fight properly!"
She pulled a smoke bomb from her sleeve and slammed it onto the ground. Smoke clouded the area, hindering the surroundings and everyone's sight.
For a brief second, Haku's movements slowed. Unfortunately for Karin, she didn't realize that this smoke screen wasn't much different from the Hidden Mist Jutsu.
Being blinded was nothing new for someone like Haku. If anything, thanks to Zabuza's training, he had become just as adept at fighting blind as he was with sight.
Haku just shook his head inside the mirror, seeing the counterproductive action from his opponent.
[A/N: Damn it, I keep writing Haku as "she" for some reason. I had to fix it each time I did that. Can't help it—my instincts always write Haku as female for some reason...]
What he didn't know was Karin's sensory ability. Karin could pinpoint his location down to minute detail. Even Sakura, with her almost superhuman instincts thanks to her partially heavenly restricted body, could sense movement when Haku moved—though not when he stayed inside his mirrors.
"Now!" Karin yelled, hurling a barrage of kunai and shuriken toward one of the reflections. A few shattered, and one nearly grazed Haku's arm before he vanished again.
As Haku moved, Sakura's enhanced senses caught it. She wasn't ready to act, but when her eyes failed, she felt her other senses working in overdrive for the first time.
Outside, Sukuna chuckled, clearly entertained. "Not bad. So this is what my good-for-nothing brother meant."
"Use your instincts, Sakura. Sometimes it's much better than using that overinflated forehead of yours." She recalled his words, and her blood pressure spiked.
Did she really only have memories of him teasing her or beating the shit out of her in training?
For a second, she gave it genuine thought—only for her mind to suddenly bring forth the memory of that boy gifting her a beautiful hairpin.
Tickling her while she was in his arms.
Once even beating Sasuke when he gave her attitude.
"That baka." She shook her head, fond memories softening her anger toward that bastard. That was a dangerous line of thought—what if she forgot all her grievances against him?
Putting her head back into the game, she focused again on sensing her opponent's movements, trying to get used to his rhythm. Just as Sukuna said, she let her body do the talking.
Karin was sweating heavily, and her glasses were cracked. "This guy's too damn fast… I can't keep up!"
She could spot Haku but couldn't hit him. Even her chakra chains were too slow. And Uzumaki she might be—however, she didn't have nearly as much chakra as a certain knuckle-headed blond to pull out an army of clones for each mirror surrounding them.
Haku's soft voice came again. "You both have spirit. But this is pointless. My mirrors move faster than your eyes."
Sakura growled. "Maybe—but who said I need my eyes to keep up with you!"
Haku's eyes widened when he realized the voice came from behind him.
"But when…" Haku muttered just before a powerful punch landed at the corner of his masked face, grazing his beautiful features. The mask absorbed part of the blow.
If that punch had connected fully, he could only wonder what might have happened.
Haku immediately dove back into one of his mirrors, panting as the sudden movement threw off his breathing rhythm.
His mask was cracked, broken on one side.
"Damn, you almost got him," Karin chided, sensing what just happened. She didn't know how Sakura did that, but she didn't care—she could ask later. For now, she only desired to win.
Sakura smirked too. Once again, she focused hard, closing her eyes and relying only on her other senses, trying to trace the blur inside the ice.
Karin smirked faintly, sensing her resolve. "Alright then, forehead girl, let's show him what we can do."
"Who are you calling forehead girl, you tomato…"
...
A/N : I do see those siblings engaging like this all this time. Annoying each other but still caring.
xxx
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