Chapter 19: The Bridge Battle

I woke up for the fifth time that night, my restlessness getting the better of me again. I looked out the window and saw the sky beginning to lighten. I guess I better get up now. trying to sleep is just a waste of time at this point. I walked over the 4 bodies that were scattered around the room, careful not to wake them up. I took my time washing up and getting ready for the day. Thankfully, I was feeling way less groggy after a warm shower.

I went outside and was greeted by the cool morning breeze. The sun was starting to become visible above the horizon, painting the sky with different shades of purples and reds. Enjoying the calm atmosphere around me, I sat down on the steps in front of the house. I closed my eyes and let my other senses take over. The chirping birds were loud in my ears accompanied by the sound of ruffling leaves. I could smell the salt in the air and could hear the soft sound of running water. At that moment, I didn't need to concentrate to make my own chakra. It was flooding out of me like it has never done before. I focused on the tingling inside me, diving deeper into the calm. It's like I could feel my worries and exhaustion fading away. These are the times that I live for. The hidden piece of calm within a life time of hardships. There is nothing better than…BOOM! "ELLE!" I opened my eyes in shock. The sudden crash made me jump out of my seat and fall onto the ground. I looked around to see the door wide open and Kakashi rushing towards me. He crouched in front of me as I watched him in confusion. He was looking at me, examining me, trying to find something. "What's wrong Kakashi?" I said as I sat up. He took one long look at me again and sighed. "I felt your chakra everywhere all of a sudden so I thought you were having another attack." I felt grateful for his concern but my thankfulness was clouded instantly. I was looking at him but all I could see was that look in his eyes when he threatened to kill me. he wasn't holding me, but I could feel my wrists ache from his hold. Do you hate me or not Kakashi? Make it clear. I got up and dusted my clothes off. "I was just training." He got up as well but his eyes lingered on my wrists for a second. I looked down to see myself subconsciously holding them. He sighed again making me look up at him. "Listen Elle, I'm sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have reacted that way." I feel so bad for making him feel guilty. No Kakashi, it's not your fault. I shook my head at him stopping him from continuing. "please don't apologize to me. I get it. You were just protecting your team." I looked away, not able to look in his eyes anymore. "You're a part of my team. I shouldn't have hurt you." I looked back at him with a smile this time. "You didn't hurt me. I might be weak but I'm not fragile." He seemed taken aback by my childish tone but he just shook his head and sighed again. it was just then that I noticed the sun rising higher into the sky. "Sorry to cut this short but I better wake the rest of the team up." He seemed to remember something suddenly so he made a move to grab my arm to stop me. Without meaning to, I flinched away from his touch which made him draw his hand back. "I just wanted to ask about Tsunami and Inari. I didn't sense them around this morning." I shrugged nonchalantly, "Tsunami told me they were going to the hot springs after dinner. I think they're staying the night." He nodded at me which I took as my signal to leave.

I woke all Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke up and waited for them to get ready. I walked around in front of the house in circles, occupied by my thoughts. This morning I was thankfully able to make enough chakra before I was interrupted. Ok, lets go over the plan once more. I'll let the fight play out while I'm hiding until I hear the mirrors break because of Kurama's chakra. Then, I'll use my jutsu to suppress Kurama's chakra. After that, I'll head over to Sasuke and give him some chakra to make sure he heals faster. then comes the hardest part. I have to stall them to stop fighting until Gato and his thugs show up. From there on out, it'll be a piece of cake. I stopped my circling and headed over to the freshly ready Genin, coming outside of the house. "Hey guys, sorry but you'll have to guard Tazuna by yourself today. Tell Kakashi for me, will you." And with that, I left behind 3 confused Genin and headed over to the bridge as fast as I could.

I arrived to see Zabuza and Haku standing at the edge, about to attack the builders. I jumped in front of them, stopping them. "Whoa there guys. No need to hurt innocents." Haku stood down but Zabuza on the other hand looked at me like I was an alien of some sort. "how did you know we were here?" I sighed and shrugged. "a gut feeling, I guess. Anyways, I'll take the builders and make sure they don't alert anyone about this. You guys can wait here for the rest of my team." Not caring enough, Zabuza waved me off to go do whatever I want. I turned around and looked at the terrified builders. "you guys can pick, you can either stay with them or come with me. what do you say?" before I knew it, I was leading a group of 30 builders to the village. Once we were there, I told them to go on home and not step foot outside their house till tomorrow. Following my orders, they scurried off running each to their house. Ordering people around is fun.

I made my way back to Tazuna's empty house only to see the door broken down. So, they're here already. Good, I needed some extra chakra. A smirk spread to my face as I jumped silently onto the roof. I could sense their chakras from the dining room and to make it easier for me, they were standing still. I put my hands on the roof and directed my chakra strings through. It didn't take me a minute to secretly attach the strings to them and start pulling out their chakra. 5 more minutes after that, I was dragging two barely alive men out of the house and into forest. Actually, dragging them away from the house was way harder than knocking them out. I really need to improve my taijutsu.

Once I was finally done with that, I headed over to the bridge. I hid my chakra and stuck myself to the bottom of the bridge. I closed my eyes and focused on the chakras above me. I could almost visualize what was happening. At this point, Sasuke's chakra was near zero and I could sense Naruto's chakra fluctuating. I need to get ready. It's almost time. I rushed to the edge of the bridge and jumped up. Just as I did so, I could hear all the mirrors breaking. A huge sense of dread washed over me, almost stopping me mid jump, but somehow, I managed to push on.

I jumped onto the bridge behind Naruto and attached my chakra strings to him. I could feel all eyes on my back as I preformed my jutsu. To them it looked like I was just standing behind Naruto with my hands in front of me. thinking back, they must've thought I was insane. "secret technique: chakra suppression jutsu!" I screamed pushing half of my extra chakra into the strings. The chakra pushed its way into Naruto's system and surrounded Kurama's chakra. I felt his chakra resist against mine but thankfully I was able to push Kurama's chakra back into the seal. I opened my eyes to see the chakra coat receding back into Naruto. Without a moment to spare, I detached my chakra strings and attached them to Sasuke, giving him what is remaining of my extra chakra. Ok, now comes the hard part, the stalling. I turned around and looked at my audience with a smirk on my face. I could tell my team was relieved to see me. I looked over at Kakashi and Zabuza for a second, checking if they had any wounds but I only found minor scratches on both of them. Time to start the show. I turned my back to my team and walked over to Haku, who was laying on the ground. I helped him up and started giving him some chakra. "Elle, what are you doing?" I could hear the shock in Sakura's voice. I ignored her and looked over at Zabuza. "come closer, will you. You're out of my range." I could see Kakashi's conflicted face. he looked like he was debating whether to help me or to kill me. once Zabuza made his way over to me and Haku, I started giving him chakra too. he didn't lose much so I was able to fill him up quickly. "Stay here for second." I said as I left them and headed over to Kakashi. He didn't move but he looked tense, like he was ready to attack me any minute. My smirk got wider, "you can relax, I'm just going to fill up your chakra." I placed a hand on his chest and started giving him chakra. I better explain before he kills me for helping them. "Kakashi, I have completed my mission. So now, that it's over, I can finally explain." Once he was up to 75% of his reserves, I stopped giving him chakra. after all, I do need to save some for later. I turned around facing all of them. "I can confirm that Gato and his men are on their way here to kill all of us." Zabuza looked at me with disbelief and so did Kakashi. Sakura and Tazuna just looked confused. "Since you're not under Gato's command anymore, there is no reason for this fight to go on." Kakashi looked at me questioningly, "Was this your 'mission' from earlier?" I nodded smiling a bit. He sighed at my response and did something I wasn't expecting. He put away his kunai and sat down with his legs crossed. Seems like he does trust me after all. With Kakashi convinced, I focused my attention at Zabuza. He was still looking at me questioningly. "prove it." I smirked slightly as I closed my eyes to focus. I could sense a large group of people heading our way. "if you wait about 30 second, it will prove itself." I said looking back at him. everything was still for the next half a minute. Footsteps could be heard heading our way. Everyone stood on guard waiting, with me in the front.

Before we knew it, Gato and his men were standing at the foot of the bridge. Zabuza was about to talk when I turned and glared at him. "I swear to god one word out of you and I will hand you over to him myself." he growled at me but didn't talk. I needed Gato to make his speech so that I have time to attach my chakra strings. I attached all of them fairly quickly and started absorbing their chakra. By the time he was done talking, he was barely conscious and his men were all on the floor knocked out. Everyone was looking at them shocked as they saw man after man fall to the ground for no apparent reason. Once they were all knocked out, including Gato, I transferred all the chakra that I absorbed to my teammates. They seemed surprised in the beginning, but gained smirks as they understood what was happening. Except poor Sakura and Tazuna, they had no idea what was going on. "Hate to say told you so but I did tell you so. I did my part please deal with the rest." I said pointing to the bodies as I sat down exhausted. "Also, Haku and Zabuza, I need to talk to you guys." They made their way over to me and I explained the situation to them. Zabuza was reluctant in the beginning but thanks to Haku's help, I was able to convince him to at least talk to the hokage. It's finally over. They're safe. Everyone's safe. Those were my last thoughts as I rested my head on the ground, all my exhaustion finally catching up with me.