Chapter 11: Purpose
"So you're alive, huh kid? I guess it's my lucky day. Now I can pay you back for what you did to my arm, you brat!" Gato sneered, walking a few meters into the open and waving his bandaged limb in the air.
"Gato…" Haku growled, rising to his feet.
"So they finally came out," a cold voice said. Haku glanced over and saw that it was the red-haired man who spoke. Sora, he'd called himself earlier. "It took them long enough. They've been hiding back there for the past ten minutes. I'm guessing Gato is the one who can't seem to shut up. He in charge?"
"Yeah," Kakashi answered, "So you noticed them too?"
"Of course."
"Wait, what?! You both knew they were there this whole time?" Naruto complained.
Kakashi nodded. "It's hard to hide 40 people climbing onto a bridge," he explained.
"I didn't hear them!"
He shrugged. "We were in the middle of a fight; I'm not surprised you didn't catch the signs. Don't worry, you'll get better in time."
"The townspeople are probably on their way too," Sora added. "I saw some kid organizing them on the way here."
"That must have been Inari!" Naruto exclaimed, "I was glad he finally stood up for himself, but I didn't think he'd bring the whole town together right after I left!"
"Maybe it was," Sora said. "I didn't catch the kid's name. Either way, they'll probably be here soon."
Haku ignored the rest of the conversation as he focused on Gato, "Why are you here?"
"Well I had come to kill you and that oaf, Zabuza, after you finished that little job I gave you. But it turns out you were too useless to even get that right," Gato explained with a chilling smile. "But since you're all going to die, I suppose it doesn't really matter much either way."
"You are not worthy of speaking Zabuza-san's name," Haku hissed, narrowing his eyes. "You aren't even worthy of killing in his memory. But I will make an exception this one time and end your pathetic life, you disgusting worm." He took a shaky step towards the group of mercenaries, but was stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.
He turned and found it was the red-haired man that was holding him back. Haku tried to shrug off the man's grip, but he was unexpectedly strong, keeping Haku to where he was. "Leave me be!" he protested, glaring at the man. "This is my fight."
Sora merely shook his head. "Normally you might be able to take care of these men without any trouble, but right now you're covered with injuries and can barely stand. You'll only get yourself killed trying to fight them all by yourself."
"Then I'll at least take Gato with me, now let me go!" Haku countered as he continued to struggle.
"There's no reason for you throw your life away, Haku, no matter what you might think."
"No reason?! My life is meaningless now. I have no reason to care whether I live or die! You don't—"
Sora cut him off with an icy glare, "This isn't a suggestion. You will stay here. If you want to argue about your idiotic death wish, then you can do it after we deal with Gato and his men."
Haku slumped. He was forced to accept that he wouldn't be able to break free of the man's grasp. He simply didn't have enough strength left in his current condition.
"Having trouble there, brat?" Gato mocked in amusement. "Are you so useless that you need your enemies to protect you now?"
Haku turned to Gato, bristling at the insult, but did not give the man the satisfaction of a response.
"What's wrong? Out of insults for me already?"
As Gato began to laugh, Haku noticed a glint from the corner of his eye, and a split-second later, Gato was on the ground, Howling in pain as he clutched at where a kunai had pierced his leg.
"Finally. Does that annoying toad ever shut up? He's almost as bad as the dobe."
Haku turned to see the dark haired boy, Sasuke, limping towards them with an almost imperceptible smirk on his lips. The pink-haired girl and the bridge builder were right behind him, likely worried that Sasuke was moving so soon after recovering from his supposed death.
As he came to a stop among the group, Sasuke studied his surroundings, eyes flitting between the large spikes that remained from the earlier battle on the bridge. "What the…how long was I out? What happened here?" He murmured before glancing up at Sora, "and what the hell are you doing here?"
Sora just waved his hand dismissively, "It's a long story."
Kakashi shook his head, taking a few steps forward. "We can discuss it later. Keep in mind that we still have a mission to complete and enemies to take care of," he said, gesturing broadly to the group of mercenaries who seemed unsure of how to act while Gato was writhing on the ground. He took a moment to appraise his students before speaking again, "Usually, I'd sideline the three of you from fighting at all, considering how injured you all are from the last two ambushes we dealt with. Fortunately, since it looks like Gato doesn't have anyone left that's more useful than this bunch of thugs, I'll let you help so long as none of you run in with a death wish like our friend over there," he finished, eyeing Haku, eliciting a small frown from the boy.
The ninja turned back towards the horribly outmatched crowd of mercenaries, sighing as if fighting them was little more than a chore. Without looking back, Kakashi began to give orders, "Naruto, make as many shadow clones as you can. Sasuke, pin them down with fire jutsu if you have the chakra left, but give a warning shot first to scare some of them off. Sakura, stay back and throw kunai or shuriken at anyone that tries to move forward. And Sora…" He turned to meet the man's eyes, "Can you do me a favor and make sure no one runs in like a reckless idiot? I've had enough of my students nearly dying for one day."
Sora grinned. "Of course," he said with a nod.
"Thanks," Kakashi said, beginning to walk towards the mercenaries again. His students maneuvered forward a few meters, but followed their teacher's instructions and remained a safe distance back. The mercenaries held their ground and began to raise their weapons, cockily shouting insults at the leaf ninja as he drew closer.
Once Kakashi was within a few meters of Gato, who was still on the ground outside of the protection of his men, a few of the mercenaries finally had the good sense to attack, if for no other reason than to preserve their paycheck. Four of the thugs scrambled forward to hack at Kakashi, only for their weapons to sail through open air as he lazily dodged each attack. Giving his opponents no time to recover, the jonin drove his elbow into to head of the lead attacker, then spun around to kick another man in the knee, breaking the joint. He turned, evading a wild swing from the third man, before grabbing the mercenaries arm and throwing him into the final man.
"No, stay away from me!" Gato pleaded, "One of you bastards help me!" he shouted to his men, who were all staring at Kakashi, their faces in shock.
His commands shook his thugs into action, but none of them were close enough to help Gato in time. Kakashi simply picked the man up by his shirt and threw him away towards the other side of the bridge.
"Shadow clone jutsu," Kakashi said nonchalantly, creating a dozen copies of himself. "Now," he told his students.
Haku watched impassively, not even bothering to try breaking free from Sora's grasp to join the attack. Not that it mattered much. Some of the mercenaries began to back away the second Kakashi downed four of their comrades; by the time he and Naruto had made an army of themselves and Sasuke had shot a fireball into the air, they were all running for their lives.
"Well that was easy," Kakashi remarked.
As he walked back, Kakashi grabbed Gato from where he'd landed and dragged the man behind him. When he arrived, he tossed the whimpering businessman in front of Tazuna.
"He's yours. You and the rest of your countrymen can decide what to do with him."
Tazuna stared wide-eyed at Kakashi, "But…but why? This wasn't a part of our contract!"
"Doesn't need to be. Just call it payment for giving us somewhere to stay for the past couple weeks."
"You don't know what this means for my people. Gato…he caused so much pain for us. To have a chance to bring him to justice…" The bridge builder bowed his head in respect, "I cannot thank you enough."
At that moment, Haku began to hear shouts from beyond the bridge, and saw many of the townspeople running towards them at a harried pace. All of them were carrying pitchforks, sickles, sticks and other makeshift weapons. As they arrived and registered Gato's prone form, all of their expressions changed from apprehension to looks of gratitude and wonder.
Haku barely paid attention to the conversation going on around him, only noticing bits and pieces: The townspeople cheering; Naruto laughing, congratulating a child, but telling him he was too late to see the action; Gato cursing as the townspeople dragged him off to whatever punishment they had in store for him.
"I don't think they'll kill him, you know." A voice said.
Haku looked up, realizing for the first time that almost everyone had left. He hadn't even noticed Sora letting go of him. The only people still on the bridge were Kakashi, Naruto and Sora.
"What?" Haku asked in confusion.
"They were talking about jailing and punishing Gato, but no one mentioned actually executing him," Sora explained.
"Ahh, I see…"
"And that doesn't bother you?"
"Should it?" Haku asked.
"You were threatening to kill him the second he showed up."
"I…" He hesitated, unable to find a good response.
Sora shook his head, "You never really cared about killing Gato did you?"
Haku closed his eyes and sighed, "Not him specifically, no. Without Zabuza-san, my life has lost all meaning. Now all I care for is an end to it." He opened his eyes, "Dying to bring justice to an evil man seemed better than asking one of you to kill me. Gato just happened to be here."
Sora scrubbed a hand over his face, "And I suppose that with Gato gone, you want us to kill you now?" He fixed Haku with a look, "Why do you believe you have no reason left to live?"
"A tool without someone to wield it is useless," Haku answered.
"You really don't see it, do you?" Kakashi interjected.
"See what?"
"That no man would die for something he only saw as a tool." Kakashi said, shaking his head.
"What are you trying to say?" Haku demanded, voice tightening in frustration.
"That Zabuza cared about you," Sora explained. "That even if he never admitted it, he saw you as more than a tool."
"No…No, you're wrong!"
"Then why did he protect you? Why did he give his life for you?"
"I don't know!" Haku shouted. He fell to his knees as tears began to form in his eyes. "I don't know…" he whispered, "But it can't be true. If Zabuza-san really did care about me, it would just make everything worse. It would mean I was a failure as a tool. It would mean I'm even more to blame for his death. It would mean that I've lost even more than I thought I had." Haku stared at the ground, unblinking. "What would you have me do? You keep lecturing me, but why should I even bother to keep living?"
There was a pause. "I don't know," Sora said finally, a regretful tinge to his voice. "I wish that I did, but I don't. You need to find that answer yourself; no one else can decide what gives your life purpose. But I'll tell you this: dying is a waste and is an insult to Zabuza's sacrifice. If you truly want to honor him, then you should find your own path and move forward."
The suggestion that he was wasting Zabuza's sacrifice stung Haku, but there was a hard truth to Sora's words.
Haku sighed deeply. "Perhaps you're right," he admitted, "I owe Zabuza-san more for all he did for me than giving up." He shook his head ruefully, "But even if I thought I could move forward, even if I believed I could find a new purpose, I'm not strong enough to do what you ask. You don't know what my life was like before Zabuza-san saved me. Without him, I'll be alone for the rest of my life. It's not that I want to die" he admitted, "It's just that I prefer death to a lifetime of loneliness…"
"But you're not alone," a voice corrected.
Haku looked up in surprise to see Naruto standing over him. The boy had been uncharacteristically quiet to the point where Haku had nearly forgotten he was there in the first place.
"I told you before, didn't I? I'm your friend," the boy gave a small smile and held a hand out to Haku, "and friends don't abandon each other."
Haku just looked at Naruto for a long moment. He'd known the boy had offered to be his friend, but he hadn't been able to truly bring himself to believe it was true. To do so would have just opened him up to the risk of being hurt.
"What?" Haku asked dumbly.
"I said that I'm your friend," Naruto repeated, grabbing one of his arms and hauling him to his feet. "And no matter what happens, you always will be."
"I…" Haku trailed off. He couldn't find the words to say.
"This is the part where you thank the kid and stop trying to throw your life away," Kakashi offered. "Sora's right, you know. It really would be a waste…" he added, looking over to where Zabuza's corpse still lay.
"Thank you…" Haku said sincerely.
"Try." Sora said, earning a look from Haku. "I won't lie and say it will be easy. But please, at least try to move forward."
"I—" Maybe he's right, Haku conceded, coming to a decision, "I'll try. It will never be the same without Zabuza-san, but maybe…" he said, glancing at Naruto, "Maybe I do have reason to hope."
"You could come to Konoha with us," Naruto offered. Then he seemed to remember himself and looked up at Kakashi, "He can, right, sensei?"
"Usually we don't take ninja we've just been fighting into our village, but considering his circumstances…" Kakashi shrugged, "well, the Third might be willing to give him a chance if we vouch for him. Kid's got some talent, so that would work in his favor too."
"But…but I was your enemy barely an hour ago!"
"And now you're not. We aren't above recruiting people we've fought before if they haven't hurt the Leaf too badly and don't pose a serious risk. Trust me, it's not like you'd walk in and that would be it. First you'll need to be tested, have your background history reviewed, and be cleared by our interrogation team, then you'd probably be put on probation for a couple years. Still, it's not a bad deal overall."
"So?" Naruto asked, extending a hand toward Haku, "What do you say?"
Haku looked at him for a moment, his hand twitched and he began to raise it, but then he remembered something. If I seek purpose, I must find it myself,he remembered. Haku lowered his hand and shook his head, but smiled at Naruto all the same. "Thank you for the offer, but there are still some questions I must find answers to; answers I do not think I can find simply staying in Konoha." He looked over at Sora, "For the time being, I must walk my own path."
The red-haired man nodded respectfully toward him.
"Are you sure?" Naruto asked sadly.
"I am," Haku said, "But…I would like to take you up your offer someday; if it stands."
"It will," Kakashi assured him.
"You're sure you'll be fine by yourself?" Sora asked, a bit of skepticism in his tone.
"I won't like it," the boy admitted, "But knowing I won't always be alone, that I have a place to return to, that I can hold on to hope…that is enough for now. It is more than I ever had before Zabuza-san found me."
"If you ever need anything, just let me know, you can always count on me," Naruto promised, laying a hand on his shoulder.
"I know that now," Haku said with a chuckle.
I have one last thing I must do. Haku bowed to the three ninja around him, then walked over to Zabuza's body. He grabbed Zabuza's giant cleaver off the ground and used a length of rope from his tool pouch to tie it onto his back. Then he bent down and gingerly picked Zabuza up.
Haku turned and gave one last nod at his newfound friends before beginning to walk away. He would be lying if he said he wasn't still devastated by Zabuza's death, and even if he found a way to move forward, he doubted the wound from the loss would ever completely heal. Surprisingly though, he felt lighter, more at peace, than he would have ever believed possible in this situation. It seemed to Haku that the hope Naruto had given him, simply by claiming him as a friend, helped to give him the resolve to keep walking forward. Perhaps this wasn't the end he had thought it to be just a short time ago; perhaps it was just a new beginning. Either way, Haku took solace in the knowledge that he would not face this future alone.
It really is beautiful here, I hope it doesn't suffer as much damage as it did the last time, Naomi reflected. She sat perched on the Hokage monument overlooking the village. The spot had been one of her favorite places to go when she was younger, but she hadn't had a chance to come back since she and Sora had arrived in the village. Considering that Lia had gone home shortly after they'd arrived at the village the day before and Sora still hadn't returned from the Land of Waves, Naomi had decided that now was as good a time as any to come here and gather her thoughts.
She had been troubled by the fact that the Hokage was only going to tell a select few people about the invasion during the Chunin exams. She knew it was necessary, of course: tipping their hand to Orochimaru would only cause him to change his plans to attack at a time they couldn't predict. Furthermore, the man was bound to have more spies in the village than Kabuto, who was the only one she and Sora actually knew of for certain. Still, just because it was the best course of action did not mean she liked it. It wasn't all bad, though: she'd chosen to fight in the actual invasion, at least, rather than against Orochimaru, just in case something got out of hand. While her taijutsu would be useful in the smaller skirmish against the traitor, she could make much more of a difference in the larger battle against the Sound and Sand forces with her genjutsu. Besides, she trusted Sora and the Third could beat Orochimaru so long as nothing too unexpected came up from their effect on the timeline.
"Sensei always did say that a bigger group just meant there were more people to trick," Naomi murmured. She proved it too, in the end, she reminded herself, shivering slightly as she remembered the last genjutsu Kurenai had ever used. Even though Naomi had worked with her teacher to create the technique, it had always unnerved her, though she herself had never actually used it. Sometimes she worried it was too cruel of an attack, even for an enemy. Most of the time, however, the woman just wondered if the technique was worth the danger it exposed its user to. She wondered if they would have lost Kurenai that day if they had never made that cursed genjutsu in the first place.
She protected so many people in the end, though; I'd have done the same thing in her position. Besides, she'd scold me if she ever knew I was concerning myself with what-ifs right now, Naomi shook her head, smiling fondly at the idea of the jonin lecturing her. Even though she had long since made peace with the admittedly small, indirect, part she'd played in Kurenai's fate, she couldn't help but think of her teacher at times. The woman had been the closest thing Naomi had had to a mother since her own had passed away when she was a child.
Naomi turned her gaze to a secluded compound, away from the center of the village. Even without activating her eyes, she was sure she could guess some of what was happening behind its high gates. It had been her home for the first half of her life, after all. She continued to watch the Hyuga estate, losing track of time as she daydreamed about the people who lived there. Finally, a soft noise shook her out of her reverie and she turned to find someone looking at her, obviously surprised.
"I-I'm sorry!" her younger self stammered, "I didn't know anyone else was here. I'll leave you alone…" she said, backing away.
Naomi chuckled, "I'm fairly certain there's enough room on this mountain for the both of us, Hinata-san. Come sit," she patted the ground beside her. "Honestly, I could use the company."
Hinata seemed to consider the offer for a moment, then scampered forward and sat down next to the older woman.
While Naomi had seen her younger self before, even going so far as to help train Hinata and the rest of Team 8 at Kurenai's request, she wasn't quite sure what to say, since she hadn't actually been alone with the young girl yet.
"So what brings you here?" Naomi ventured.
"I…," the girl trailed off, "I j-just wanted get away from the Hyuga compound for a little while."
Naomi was silent for a few minutes before glancing to the side. She noticed Hinata sneaking peaks at her while twiddling her thumbs.
"You don't have to tell me why," the woman assured. She knew her younger self wouldn't appreciate nosiness. Not that she needed to ask, of course; she could easily think of a few explanations for why the girl might have come here.
"Thank you…"
Naomi hummed noncommittally, satisfied to simply sit and continue to watch the village.
"How did you become so strong?" Hinata asked suddenly.
"An odd question. But you're actually asking how you can become stronger, aren't you?" Naomi shook her head, "I apologize, but I'd rather not say."
Hinata looked away, an expression of hurt on her face, but Naomi held up a hand to silence her before the girl could jump to conclusions. "Please do not misunderstand," Naomi said. "I have nothing against you." She paused for a moment before speaking again. "There was nothing specific thing I did, no training regimen I followed, to become strong. I became stronger because I had to. The circumstances that made that necessary…I would not wish that burden on you."
Naomi turned away from Hinata, waiting patiently for a response. "Then…c-could you help me, instead?" the girl asked timidly, "To become stronger, I mean."
"What?" Naomi frowned to herself. Well that's not what I expected, she thought, looking at the girl. "Why would you want my help? You barely even know me."
The girl looked down for a long moment before responding. "Kurenai-sensei has been a great help, and I've gotten stronger since she started teaching me, but…it s-still isn't enough. I need to do more." Hinata looked up at her. "You don't t-treat me like most people do; like I'm a disappointment that isn't worth the effort to teach. I think you can help me become stronger than I could just by myself. So please…if you aren't too busy…would you help me train s-sometimes?"
I suppose I it would give me a good excuse to knock some sense into the girl. Naomi grinned at her younger self, "When would you like to begin?"
It had been a few days since they had left wave, and although Kakashi doubted his students could notice it, the atmosphere between him and Sora had been tense ever since their last battle. While the jonin was normally fairly suspicious, he usually avoided asking invasive questions of his comrades. Right now, however, he felt he had no choice. Kakashi had many things he wanted to ask: about Sora's motivations in saving Haku, the man's strange behavior, and more, but most of that could wait. There was only one question he truly needed an answer to right now. Kakashi took one last scan of the campsite to ensure his students were asleep, before walking towards Sora.
"We need to talk, Sora-san," Kakashi said quietly.
"I guess it was only a matter of time," Sora sighed. "We aren't talking about it, Kakashi-san."
"That technique…" Kakashi pressed, knowing that Sora understood what he was asking.
"I said we aren't discussing it!" Sora growled, rounding on him. "Let me make something clear: I will train your students, I will be your friend, I am willing to fight and die alongside you, and I promise you that I'm not a threat to the village," the man shook his head. "But that doesn't mean I need to give you answers. If I'd been serious about hiding all of my abilities from you, then Sakura-san would be dead right now. Just…leave me be, Kakashi; you owe me that much"
The jonin watched as Sora moved back towards their camp, ostensibly to keep watch on another area. He scrubbed a hand over eyes and looked away, Well that went about as well as could be expected, he thought. If he was being honest, he had to admit that Sora had a point; the man had saved one of his students, even though he'd obviously known that it would raise some questions. What annoyed Kakashi, though, was how improbable this situation was. It would be easy if he could simply be suspicious of Sora of being a thief or a liar, but he couldn't. Unless the man had studied with Jiraiya behind his back, it should be impossible for him to know the Rasengan.
Kakashi shook his head. For now at least, he also wouldn't expose Sora's use of the Rasengan to anyone else unless it became necessary. He really did owe the man that much at least, since he'd only used it to save Sakura. It doesn't matter though, he told himself, I also owe it to Minato-sensei to get to the bottom of this. Ally or not, friend or not, I will find out the truth, one way or another, Kakashi promised as he walked away.
A messenger hurried into his dim room with a worn look on his face.
"Report," Orochimaru ordered.
"We've just received word from Kabuto-sama. Kimimaro-sama…h-he still hasn't reported in," the messenger said shakily.
Orochimaru didn't answer. Kimimaro had never been late, let alone fail, before now. While he doubted that it was possible for his strongest follower to be defeated on a routine mission, the possibility was troubling.
"Orochimaru-sama?" the messenger asked hesitantly.
"Leave," he hissed.
The messenger scurried out of the room, leaving the man alone.
My body, he thought with annoyance, if Kimimaro lost my next body without even finding any information on Sasuke…Orochimaru thought, slamming his hand into the desk in front of him.
The ninja struggled to calm himself, trying to determine the next steps he needed to take. While Orochimaru was certain that the leaf would never obtain even the smallest hint of his attack plans from Kimimaro, even if his follower had been captured, he'd still been relying on Kimimaro's skills to ensure his invasion ran smoothly. Now that he wasn't certain whether Kimimaro was dead or alive, his plans would have to change; he wasn't willing to waste time or rely on chance. He'd certainly have to consider finding additional ninja to resurrect for his battle against the Third Hokage, but first…
"Guard!" Orochimaru barked.
A man appeared immediately, kneeling before Orochimaru.
"Send a message to Kabuto, as well as the rest of my laboratories." A wicked smile appeared across his face, "Tell them I'll be needing the prisoners and failed experiments."
Author's Note:
Phew, and here we are with chapter 11. This definitely took longer than I'd expected, but I just moved and started a new job, which wasn't terribly conducive to writing. Just to reassure everyone, though, you don't have to worry about me abandoning this story anytime soon (especially since I haven't even gotten to some of the more interesting ideas and scenes I've been wanting to write yet)! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it, please feel free to let me know what you think or if you have any questions!
