Summary: One day he woke up, he woke up to see a pretty boy missing an eye tending to his wounds. He didn't know where he was, who the pretty boy was, what he was doing or his name. He just woke up and... didn't know anything.
Disclaimer: Uh... I suck at this thingy magingy... it is not mine. Naruto stuff not mine.
Prologue
In the ice mirror Haku shifted and Sasuke tensed, he had to keep his eyes focused and he had to concentrate. Concentrate! Harden your nerves and be a shinobi! Every detail was clear as the enemy began to move, the creases on their clothing and the muscle movements.
"This is the end!" Haku yelled, shooting out of the mirror and towards Naruto in a lightning fast motion.
Sasuke froze, he was unprepared for this, unsure of what to do in this situation. It had been a long time that he had cared for anyone's fate other than his own and Itachi's but he found himself not wanting Naruto to die.
Shock and indecision stopped him for a second and that second had cost him much, he realised, staring down at the completely motionless body of Naruto. He supposed now he could understand why Naruto had frozen earlier as they faced off against the Demon Brothers. Pure rage coursed through him, his only friend was dead, the only person who understood him in the slightest was dead. His only friend, rival, dobe, person was DEAD.
Sasuke bowed his head, it was his fault, he hadn't been quick enough. It was Sasuke's fault that his only friend had died. He had killed Naruto.
Haku cocked his head to the side looking at Sasuke curiously, "You could have made it in time but… you hesitated. Are you not his friend?"
Sasuke hugged Naruto's body to him, knowing that the little warmth he felt radiating from his friend would soon fade and Sasuke would be left cold and alone as always.
"I was his friend. I was." He muttered, almost to himself, "He knew that… he had to."
Gently he rested Naruto's body onto the ground and stood slowly, every one of his muscles tense and angry. The anger and hatred he had felt no longer directed at himself but at the person before him, they would pay, they would pay in blood.
"Is this the first time you have seen a friend die?" Haku shifted to a mirrior closer to Sasuke, "You must know it won't be the last… such is a shinobi's life."
"Shut up." He hissed, pure loathing coursing through his veins and bloodlust erasing any strategy he might have had. He raised his eyes to those of his enemy, the Mangekyō Sharingan spinning within their depths.
"Now," Sasuke growled, "You die."
Haku blinked then glanced around desperately, he was in a world that was entirely black, it was as though he was surrounded by nothingness. His previous surroundings seemed to have completely changed, the only thing remaining being the wrathful genin before him.
Haku flinched at the pure rage he saw in the boy's eyes and the world around him went up in flames, which licked and burnt at the side of his legs. Excruciating pain coursed through his body as he struggled to move his hand to form the necessary hand sign.
"Kai." He hissed and stared in horror as the flames around him didn't extinguish or dissipate.
"Kai." Haku's voice was desperate, the flames were licking the bottom of his mask now and he could no longer think past the terror.
He locked eyes with the enemy he had foolishly underestimated just before the flames engulfed him; they had watched him unwavering and eager as he was devoured. He screamed.
He screamed and fell to the frozen ground, his body still twitching in remembered agony and the ice mirrors surrounding him melted into puddles on the ground.
He had failed, the realisation shocked him, for never once had he truly failed Zabuza-san like this. He truly had become worthless.
Haku raised his head to look at the one who had brought him to this, looking for mercy and upon seeing none gave a relieved smile. He was worthless to his master now so the least he could do was die and, through that, repent his failure.
Sasuke glared hatefully at the person twitching on the ground, he didn't care that he was a step closer to defeating his brother, he only cared that Naruto was dead and this person, this person had the gall to smile? His fists clenched, it wasn't enough! They hadn't atoned enough!
He inched closer to Haku, slowly and maliciously pulling out a kunai and kneeling to pull off the mask still covering the boy's face. Sasuke sneered and spat in the boy's face, such a pretty face for such an ugly, horrible person. He pulled back his arm and with the delicateness and precision of a hammer dug the kunai into the boy's eye. He tore the weapon out, smiling as the pretty boy wailed and squirmed in his grasp. It had made a beautiful slurping noise as he ripped it out.
Leaning in close Sasuke whispered in the boy's ear, his kunai at his throat, "Do you maybe regret it now? Beg for forgiveness and I might kill you quickly."
Haku attempted to glare with his only remaining eye, "I regret none of my actions."
"Thought so." Sasuke smiled and tore one of the senbon in his body out, "But, that's okay… you will."
He considered telling the boy that his friend still lived and was, for the most part, unharmed but before he could even open his mouth Haku heard a light chirping sound that sent tendrils of fear whirling through his body. He was moving before he even had a chance to fully realize what was occurring but he was stopped by the tight grasp of the angry boy in front of him.
Haku desperately tried to break free of the hold, fighting with all of his remaining strength and finally he managed to shake the tight grip. He formed and ice mirror as quickly as possible, his aim being to arrive right beside Zabuza-san. He arrived seconds too late but just in time to witness what he had feared would occur, Hatake Kakashi's fist through his master's chest.
"Zabuza-san." Haku whispered, "Zabuza-san!"
He sunk to the ground, numb of all feelings but the intense self-loathing coursing through his being. Above him stood a shadow but he felt too weak to even raise his head to see the mocking hatred he was certain he'd find.
Sasuke cursed as the boy disappeared from his grasp and set off at a run towards the clearing mist where he was certain he'd find his enemy. At the sight of his sensei's bloody hand and the kneeling apprentice his face split into a wide grin. His enemy too felt the pain of losing a comrade.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried and he swiveled on his feet to face her, "You're alive!"
"Hn." He grunted, she looked a little too healthy to him, especially considering that Naruto had died.
"I knew you'd make it!" Sakura exclaimed, "Zabuza was all like they don't stand a chance against my apprentice but I said I knew you and Naruto could do it! I- hey… where's Naruto?"
Sasuke, who had been listening to her ramble apathetically, turned his eyes away from her face, the shame enveloping his entire being. At his side his fist clenched and the slight prickling at his eyes just made him even more determined not to look her way.
"Sasuke?" she asked, her voice shaky.
He raised his head and said as emotionlessly as possible, "He's dead."
She choked and stared at him, too shocked to even speak, and her body began to shake.
"I'll go with you," Tazuna said, "That way you won't be breaking your sensei's order."
"Okay." She whispered, gasping his hand before running as quickly as the man could handle.
He just stood there, blank faced, trying to make himself move, trying to remember what he had been doing. Sasuke's eyes meet Kakashi's who seems to be frozen in place after hearing what Sasuke said then slide down to land on the boy near his feet. He takes a step forward, now he remembers what he had been doing.
"Zabuza, a failure to the end, it is a good thing I anticipated this to some degree."
Sasuke's head whipped around to stare at the man standing at the edge of the bridge, he was a robust man that oozed wealth and greed. He flanked by numerous mercenaries, all with numerous weapons and smirks on their face.
Kakashi seemed to have to forcibly snap himself out of the daze he had entered, "Sakura," he shouted, "Get back over here!"
"Its not going to do you much good, we'll just kill you two off while your weakened and she's just a weak little kunoichi, it won't take long for her to die." Gatou paused and leered, "If she's pretty I might have a bit of fun with her first though."
Blood splattered onto the mercenaries clothes as a thrown kunai from Sasuke impacted Gatou's face and Kakashi's snarl transformed into a twisted grin.
"Brilliant aim, Sasuke." He said and Sasuke smirked.
"Thank you, Sensei."
"Hey," an angry voice cried out, "You killed our meal ticket!"
Kakashi glanced at the angry mob, "But we're not done yet."
A hesitant hand reached out to touch her friends whiskered cheek, then slowly drew back.
"He's cold." She whispered, "He really is dead."
Behind her Tazuna turned his head away from the sight that he knew was partially his fault.
"Don't mind me." He swallowed back the bile in his throat, "Go ahead and cry."
Sakura knelt over Naruto's pale body, her eyes watery and her body shaking with tremors. She carefully brushed his blond fringe out of his eyes and allowed herself to shed a single tear for her fallen team-mate.
"Sakura," her head lifted at the sound of her Sensei's voice, "Get back over here!"
Sakura closed her eyes, how foolish of her to forget that they were still on a battlefield. She stood resolutely and wiped the tear away from her face, standing protectively in front of Takuma as they moved forward. She had been assigned this job and she'd be damned if she let it fail after the sacrifices her team had made.
'Hell YEAH!" her inner Sakura screamed, "For Naruto!"
Kakashi and Sasuke tore into the mercenaries with wild abandon, straining the last of their chakra reserves to the extreme. Sasuke narrowly dodged a mercenary's blade, accidentally bumping into another mercenary's mace as he did so. He gritted his teeth as the mace tore into his left arm and slit both their throats as he moved onto his next opponent.
Sakura stood by the sidelines, ready to intervene if one of their lives truly appeared at risk but for the most part entirely focused on protecting Tazuna. She shifted nervously as the mace hit Sasuke, that wound would most likely leave a scar and Kakashi-sensei didn't seem to be faring much better, he had at least one blade embedded in his body and was running incredibly low on chakra.
Kakashi killed the last of the mercenaries and spared Sasuke a quick glance before collapsing, he really needed to get a handle on the whole chakra overuse thing… this happened far to often. Sasuke fell to his knees, feeling a little weak himself when he spotted a shadow of people behind Sakura.
"Sakura!" he pointed behind her, "Run!"
She looked behind herself, slightly dumbstruck by his terror, before her face matched his. She spared Tazuna a brief glance before running over to pick up Kakashi's body.
"Those who leave their team-mates behind are worse than trash." She said resolutely and Tazuna quickly slung Sasuke over his shoulder.
Haku watched them apathetically as they fled, unknowingly abandoning their other team-mate. Why should he care what they did? What happened to the whiskered boy? He had failed. He had failed to save Zabuza-san.
His glazed eyes landed on the now twitching form of Naruto and before he realised what he was doing the boy was flung over his shoulder and he had performed a shunshin off the bridge.
The crowd at the end of the bridge stepped forward cautiously, holding their homemade weapons closer to their bodies. The villagers glanced around at the wreckage and the mutilated bodies before directing their eyes to Inari.
"I guess we were a bit too late." Inari said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
Haku gently laid Naruto down on the makeshift bed he had created and began the tedious task of removing each of the senbon from the boy's body. He watched the boy's restless form with his remaining eye as he did so, this was delicate work in which the slightest movement could cause irreparable damage.
His eye softened as he worked, he could remember the times in which he would have to do this for Zabuza-san, it had only ever occurred twice, the only two times his master had encountered someone stronger than himself but it had made Haku feel far more useful than he usually did. It had been proof that to some extent Zabuza-san had needed him.
Haku carefully sponged down the areas the senbon had pierced and gently covered them in glaze. He turned away from the boy then, he had done all he needed to, now he had to tend to his own wounds. Haku carefully inspected the damage to his eye, Haku was sure it was irretrievable but he didn't want to run the risk of infection. He carefully cleaned and covered the wound with glaze then tied a strip of cloth over it. It would do for the time being.
He turned back to Naruto and stared at the boy patiently, inspecting him with his eye. Haku slowly leaned forward to remove Naruto's head band and ran a thumb over the engraving, he wondered what it would be like to live in a village. He supposed it would be nice if it was one as peaceful as Konoha, maybe it would be like living in a family almost... either way, he'd never know.
"Wher-"
The head band was tucked within the folds of Haku's clothing before he could even blink and Haku stared at his awakening guest. Naruto seemed to be trying to motion that his throat was too dry to speak so Haku passed him his water container. Naruto sat up and grasped it weakly, he swallowed it down as quickly as possible then raised his bright blue eyes to roam over Haku's face.
"Where am I?" he said, "And who are you?"
Haku cocked his head to the side, he wasn't wearing his mask but even so Naruto had met him without his mask before.
"You don't remember me?" he asked, his voice unsure.
Naruto's brows creased in confusion before his eyes widened in shock, "No. I don't remember anything."
The container of water fell from Naruto's limp hands.
"Who am I?"
AN: Don't really know where this is going... but yes, there it is. Oh, and I know I kind of portray Sakura as weak but that is only because at this point she was really weak, she'll change (though I may not show that, like I said, I don't really know where this is going... ).