Ruby slowed down when she had noticed a fight going on ahead of her.
"Fuck." The silver eyed sighed as she prepared to bite her healed thumb again, "Even more assholes to—" Then she narrowed her eyes as she saw the bright crimson hair in the distance. "Wait... Is that... Is that Naruko-chan? Oh shit, it is... What's she doing fighting that guy by herself?" Then she lowered her hand, observing her fight against the masked kid who looked to be around the same age as her, going by size.
"Gotta get past her... But how...?" Ruby muttered to herself before a brilliant plan came to her mind. A mind that Haruto would argue was a little lacking in most areas. A dusty, cobweb-ridden light bulb in her head suddenly lit up and an idea—debatable if it was a good or bad one—popped into her mind.
She snapped her fingers and gave herself an imaginary pat on the back, pleased that she had been so clever as to formulate such a brilliant plan. "Right, she doesn't know about me! Just act stupid, you can do this." She swore she heard Jashin-sama snort, as if trying to hide her laughter. She didn't know what was so funny, but she ignored it for now.
Trying to look as normal as possible, she whistled a merry tune and made her way towards the two.
Haku panted and formed the hand seals to the technique that would completely put a halt to the momentum Naruko was gaining.
"Makyō Hyōshō (Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors)..."
The water molecules in the air begun to take form, solidifying at a fast rate and creating floating mirrors that were placed in a shape of a dome. It was reminiscent of large cage, and Naruko was the little bird trapped within it.
"The hell is this...?" She rapped the mirror closest to her with her knuckles and shivered as a chill went down her spine at the coldness the mirrors emanated. In a matter of seconds, even her breaths became visible as the temperature dropped and even snow began to fall. Subconsciously, she began to tug her cardigan close and fiddled with the buttons that lined it.
"This is technique passed down to me by my mother, only known and used by those in my clan. And with this technique, I will protect Zabuza-sama." Haku shook the remnants of the blow away from his head and made his way towards the one closest to him.
"What does it do?" Naruko was more curious that afraid. Something as interesting as this captivated her attention easily. Regardless, she had a bad feeling about it.
"This." Haku answered her question by placing his palm against the mirror and slowly began to seep into it, losing his physical form as he entered the mirror. Naruko pulled a shuriken out flicked it towards the mirror he had just entered, expecting the ice crystals to give way to the shuriken toss. Instead, it bounced off harmlessly, leaving not even a scratch.
"Huh..."
Naruko frowned and tossed another, this time at a faster speed. Her frown grew when it still bounced off, leaving the same results.
"That-That's er... That's not very good..." She trailed off.
"What's not very good?" Ruby smiled as she jumped out from behind one of the many mirrors, landing inside of the dome. The elder female had to stifle a large grin when she saw the horrified look on Naruko's face.
Laughter filled the air as Gai bobbed and weaved between Raiga's quick stabs and slashes, dodging every single attack with some difficulty. The weapons crackled and sparked with electricity, calling on it's natural ability to use lightning to aid it in battle. Not wanting to get shocked, Gai had to keep his distance.
Neji and Lee stood far behind their teacher, watching the two battle it out. Neji's Byakugan had been turned off and was conserved for when Raiga tried to hide in the mist again, allowing him to time to replenish his chakra. Gai didn't want them to get to close and to only step in when he needed help.
"Maybe I went a little too far..." Both boys snapped their heads to the side to see Haruto walking up and onto the ledge of the bridge.
Neji stared in shock before he snarled at Haruto. "You!" Although Haruto hid his face with a mask, there was no mistaking that mane of hair for anyone else's.
Haruto managed to mask his surprise well, not having expected seeing Gai and his team so far down the bridge. Luckily for him, Raiga was here as well. Just the man he was looking for.
"Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee, yes? I remember you two well." He couldn't ever forget about Lee. The boy's unquenchable fire and desire for wanting to improve himself despite his weaknesses and disadvantage as a shinobi truly was inspiring. It also helped that he was very likeable, if not loud, but also humble and respectful. His teammate was on the other side of the spectrum, but even then Neji could back up his scathing insults with his natural prowess in his clan's techniques. Both were impressive in their own rights, and Haruto knew of their tough history and backgrounds. Losing a father and being oppressed by his clan made Neji bitter and Lee's inability to use Ninjutsu made him a laughing stock amongst his classmates. "What a coincidence."
"Are you working for Gato as well, Haruto-san?" Lee spoke up, wondering aloud.
"Not at all." Haruto shook his head. "I came here for something else entirely." His answer caused the boy's to raise an eyebrow, now unsure of his motives. Then he glanced towards Raiga and his swords. "I'll have to ask you to move." The quick look towards Raiga had been misconstrued by the two boys, making them think that he was after Gai instead.
Veins near Neji's eyes bulged once more as he activated his Byakugan while Lee stepped into his Goken stance, not allowing Haruto to harm his master so long as he was standing.
Seeing that they had no intention of stepping aside—not that he expected them to in the first place—Haruto vanished as a flicker.
Realising that he had just dodged their battle, Neji and Lee turned to see Haruto next to Gai and Raiga, both of which were confused by the sudden appearance of Haruto. They temporarily stopped the battle, jumping away from each other to stare at the new appearance.
"Gai-senpai." Haruto greeted the man quietly as he stared down at the man who had taught him much in terms of Taijutsu. He was careful to keep his eyes from showing any emotion. His mother had always said that the eyes were the window to the soul and that you could easily read a person's intentions just by staring into them. And since he was fully masked besides his eyes, it made it all the more easier for anyone to read them since they didn't have to focus on anything else but his eyes so Haruto had to constantly remind himself to keep his eyes stone cold or emotionless when in the presence of anyone but Ruby.
"Haruto-kun." Gai replied, staring into the azure eyes. "It's nice to see you again. I do wish it was on better terms."
"I agree." Haruto dropped down from the ledge and landed next to Gai and Raiga. The latter of whom gave Haruto a confused look.
"Are you siding with Zabuza and Raiga?" Gai questioned, not bothering to be delicate about the situation, "Please reconsider Haruto-kun. Surrendering yourself in and returning to Konoha will allow Hokage-sama to lessen your sentence considerably."
"You misunderstand, Gai-senpai. I am on no one's side." Haruto's quiet voice was laced with venom as he stared at Gai with contempt, as if mentioning the Hokage in his presence was a taboo. He threw his arm to the side, as if casting away the notion.
"The only side I'm on is my own." Haruto flickered for a brief moment before he disappeared and reappeared behind Raiga, fist cocked and ready to strike. Raiga spun around quickly and slashed the sword across where Haruto's chest would've been, forcing the blonde to abandon his attack and to lean backwards to dodge.
He fell backwards but one of his feet shot upwards and kicked the hand that was delivering the passing slash. His back bent and his hands touched the ground, allowing him to push himself up into the air in a back-flip and then back onto the ground.
Raiga hissed and reeled his injured hand back. The fingers that had been kicked hard began to twitch in pain, and Raiga was more than certain that they had been fractured. He sported a grimace and cradled his hurt hand to his chest, careful not to cut himself with his blade. With the sudden appearance of Haruto, Raiga was now trapped between a rock and a hard place.
Haruto stretched his open hand out to Raiga, "Give me the sword, and you live." The demand caused Raiga to regain his previous amusement.
"Hah!" He laughed, despite his injury, "What makes you think I'll give my blades up so easily? Bah! I can take you on, even with one hand!" His overconfidence as one of the Swordsmen was getting to his head. Pride unwilling to let him run, he stood his ground and spun his blade around, causing arcs of electricity to form on the weapon. Haruto glared icily at the man, ignoring the Konoha shinobi behind Raiga.
"Then I'll just have to ask you again when you're dead."