Gentle Caress

The Battle of the Bridge

Kakashi looks down at the ice forming on the floor. He makes no comment. "Zabuza, if you don't mind me asking? Are you going after your target or after vengeance?"

"What is that to you?" The swordsman twirls his blade around. This was all just a game to him after all. A cat toying with the mouse it had caught for its next meal. "You'll be dead before long."

Menma furrowed his brow. That girl? And this guy? They were clearly working together, but how had their paths crossed? He shook his head, now was not the time for tragic lore-building. He and his siblings had a job to complete and Kami be damn if he doesn't see it through! Still... His best idea was questionable at best. At his wits' end, he turned to his brother, Noriaki.

Noriaki hadn't taken his eyes off the girl since she arrived. He taps on the floor, hoping to get a message through. With his eyes still locked on the girl, Noriaki tapped back. Okay... Now how to use this information to better their odds...

The copycat ninja shifts his weight. Huh? Seems like he might be listening in on their conversation. "I have never seen a jutsu like that before. Your companion is quite the catch." He laughs. "So I must know, how did you get your hands on such a pupil?" A ninja hangs low, waiting for the right moment to strike. That had been one of the first lectures Ka-chan had drilled into their mind. Decide when that moment is, is purely up to them.

A series of rushed footsteps come from the forest and a set of smoke tags take the girl by surprise. She gasps and takes a step back. What a promising turn of events. Menma lunged forward, using the ice to his advantage. He grabs hold of the girl's waist. She lost her balance, slipping on the ice. Her head hit the metal rail, knocking her out. The two soon found themselves pinned between the railing. He tried to ignore how this whole situation looked from everyone else's perspective. Ero-sensei would be proud and he can already hear his sibling tainting him. "The only thing keeping your pupil from falling to her death is me. What are you going to do about it?"

The Demon of The Mist rolled his eyes. "I have no attachment to her. Let her die for all I care!"

Noriaki growled. It caught everyone off guard. "How could you say that? After all she's done for you! Are personal connections that insignificant to you?"

"Listen, kid. She's extendable. A liability if you will. I'd get rid of her when she no longer serves of any use to me."

"You filthy bastard!" Akihiko's eyes widened. Their eldest brother had never been one to curse. "You are everything to her! Does the concept of a 'special person' mean nothing to you!" There were tears in his eyes.

"Noriaki." Kakashi started in a gentle tone, "that man had no empathy for human life. It is pointless trying to reason with him." Menma's grip on the girl tightened. Zubuza shrugged, clearly annoyed by the exchange.

An idea popped into his head. "You know, Gato is going to do the same to you once you have served your purpose." He takes the girl, balancing her dead weight on his shoulder. "That's how the world of mercenaries works, right? You do a job for a client, and they try to cheat you out of your pay. Mostly by hiring someone else to kill you."

"You pick up on things pretty quickly. I'd figured as much."

"Aren't you tired of it? Having to listen to a dead-weight employer just to make pathetic pieces of silver? When someone of your skills could clearly be making more." The girl groaned. "Zubuza, was it? Allowing me to introduce myself. My name is Menma. I have outbid, out gambled, and out wizzed nearly every thug in this land. And I can tell you this, when I bet on something, I always win. So I offer you a wager. We'll hold off Gato's forces so you and your pupil can live to see an actual fight. And in return, you leave the bridge builder to complete his bridge."