erode

Something hovers in the air the next morning. Her echo is abruptly very active as well. Stranger, Naruto hadn't returned until very late, even missing dinner. He's still on her range when she passed out the previous evening, so Sakura isn't worried much. But this morning is odd, different in the fact that it is the first day that Zabuza's imminent return has weighed so heavily. If Sakura's gut has anything to say about it, it's that the missing-nin quite frankly would be showing up today. Though Sakura watches as everyone at the table subtly rushes through breakfast, she doesn't comment on it. None of them seem very keen on talking about their quickness, and neither does Sakura. Her stomach is twisting nervously as it is. So much that she can barely swallow the now tasteless rice in her mouth. But she forces herself to keep eating anyway. She knows that she will need her strength for the upcoming battle.

That's another thing, now. When she'd woken up earlier, the pain from her lichtenberg-figuren was all but gone. They've only been lightly stinging since. She doesn't know exactly why she no longer has to be in pain, but she doesn't question it. Rightly so, especially since it only ensures a higher chance of her surviving the next twenty-four hours. With Naruto down for the count, now it will only be the three of them protecting Tazuna. Sakura, Kakashi, and Sasuke since he finally mastered the tree-walking exercise yesterday. Naruto may have also accomplished the feat, but he was out cold upstairs. The earliest they would be seeing the blonde was eleven or twelve.

Sakura trails a couple paces behind the group as they make their way towards the bridge. She has spread her sensory net as thin as it can go, encompassing the entire town around them and beyond. Sakura knows every person in about a ten mile radius. She knows their intent, and their skill with chakra. She can sense Ahmya as she shadows them from the alleyways. The other ashioto, too, are likely following. But they blend in with the other civilian signatures, so Sakura can only discern their presence by the sounds of their footsteps. Sakura had never told Ahmya she was a ninja, nor that she had been assigned a mission in Wave. Except experienced islanders have always had the ocean pulling at them, and Sakura is marked with figuren. Ahmya will always know where Sakura is. Thanks to Sakura's abilities as a sensor, she will always know where Ahmya is as well. Sakura angles one of her hands towards a passing alley, keeping her thumb, pointer, and pinky fingers splayed up as she bends the others down. She won't know if Ahmya sees or returns the gesture, but it doesn't matter. They are almost to the bridge, and it has already been an unusually cool morning. Filled with mist.

The mist at the bridge is different, and it parts as the chakra woven throughout it bids it to. Sakura has never been more thankful to be able to assign chakra signatures to bodies before. The workers are strewn about the bridge as if they are dead. They certainly look it, despite only being unconscious. Sakura's heart clenches a little as she recognizes one of them as the father of the ribbon kid. There is no time to think about it though. Just as the mist dissipates, Zabuza and his accomplice are revealed.

"Sakura, guard the bridge builder," Kakashi orders without looking at her. Sakura nods curtly, moving closer to Tazuna in a defensive position.

"Hai, sensei." Sakura says as she does so. Zabuza's familiar leer twists his face, but it doesn't really scare Sakura anymore. The missing-nin is not what has been haunting her nightmares. The roar of the ocean floods Sakura's ears as Zabuza speaks, but not enough to null her hearing.

"So we meet again, Copy-Cat Kakashi," Zabuza drawls, leaning his sword outwards a bit. The shinobi is brimming with confidence, and the masked nin to his left echoes the sentiment with his relaxed posture. Kakashi doesn't tense, but his voice is hard when he speaks next.

"So it would seem, Demon of the Mist Zabuza," Her sensei returns with the other's own moniker. The atmosphere is tense. It is all Sakura can do to stay focused and alert in order to protect the builder. Sasuke is shivering in her peripherals. From fear or the cold, Sakura doesn't know. A wave from the sea below crashes against the bridge. Zabuza chuckles roughly, swinging his blade over his shoulder with a breath.