Chapter 11: Triumphs and Lamentations
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Normally, a blow of such force wouldn't have been anywhere near fatal, being just a simple, open-palm strike to the back, only enough to make someone stagger backward. The blow that struck Haku in the back was anything but normal. Inside of him, the organs and blood vessels that made up every human's body suddenly convulsed and shuddered. Haku staggered, his body paralyzed as it died. He fell to the ground with a thud.
Behind him, Hinata dimly watched as the boy fell. She let out the breath she had been holding. And just like that, she suddenly deflated, her thrusting arm trembled as the realization of what she had done hit her. I did that. I killed that boy.
Naruto too, was shocked by the turn of events. "Hinata?" He muttered to himself. And as the bloodlust in his mind was dispelled, the unnatural power that coursed through his body retracted back to its source. His eyes reverted from feral, blood red slits back to his normal blue. "Hey! Hinata!"
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata answered him uncertainly. Her mind was still on what she had done but reality quickly took hold. She turned toward the other boy lying on the floor. "Is he…?"
Naruto turned around to what Hinata was looking at. "Yeah. Sasuke…he's…" A lump formed in his throat. Hinata stepped into the house of mirrors, and together, they both walked over to Sasuke's body.
"I know." Hinata didn't know what else to say. That if only she had ran faster? If only… If only I killed him sooner? Is that it? She could only say the obvious. "I saw it."
But Naruto was unaware of her internal conflicts. His mind was preoccupied by its own turmoil. "I didn't even know him. We hated each other so much, but he…he saved my life. I think I would have done the same." There, he'd said it. He just admitted that the two of them had been more than rivals. "And now, he's dead."
A wheezing cough came from behind him. Hinata and Naruto both quickly turned around, startled but ready to fight. But there was only the masked boy, gasping futilely for his life.
"No..."
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"My future is death?" Zabuza said arrogantly, undeterred by the trap he had fallen into. "I'm sick of your bullshit."
"Don't be foolish. There's nothing you can do in this situation. You will die." Kakashi told him. "Zabuza, do you think that I have survived so long just because of the sharingan? This time, I'll show you something that's no copy, but my own jutsu." Kakashi formed seals until blue chakra crackled and sparked in his left hand.
"Raikiri!"
What? Enough chakra that it's visible around his hand! Zabuza thought. Indeed, he had never seen this jutsu before.
"You are too dangerous." Kakashi told him, the blue pulsating light from his hand highlighting his face. "Tazuna-san, who you're trying to kill, is this country's courage. The bridge he's building is this country's hope. Your ambition sacrifices too many people. That's not what a shinobi should be doing."
"I don't care about that." Zabuza retorted, sick of Kakashi's boring moralizing. "I fight for my own ideals, and that won't change!"
"I'll ask one more time," Kakashi said. "Give up. Your future is death." He waited for a response, but Zabuza said nothing and just stood there, impotent yet defiant.
"No, huh?" Kakashi charged toward, the left hand ready to deliver a lethal thrust. Zabuza saw him coming closer. So it's death after all? He wondered. So what? I have no regrets. A few steps away now, Kakashi lunged forward, and thrust out his left hand like a sword.
Goodbye, Haku. Live well.
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"No…" He repeated. " I was…" It sounded like he had more to say, but another cough cut him off. Naruto's hands balled into fists. He angrily stormed over to Haku's side and roughly flipped him over. Then, kneeling, Naruto tore the mask off his face. The unmasked face shocked much of his anger away.
"It's you." Hinata said, recognizing him. "You're that boy from…"
"It was you?!" Naruto asked, angry and confused as well as betrayed. "But you were…I mean, you could have killed me then…Why?!"
Haku desperately tried to speak, but he could barely open his mouth as his body shook and convulsed while he coughed up blood. Finally, he gathered the breath necessary to speak, just one word, because that was all he could say. His voice was no louder than a whisper.
"Alive…"
And then, he truly stopped moving. Naruto and Hinata were left in silence once more.
"Alive?" Hinata repeated Haku's last word. "What did he mean?"
"I don't know." Naruto answered her, feeling numb and drained by the turn of events. "I don't know." Both of them heard a loud crack. They looked around and saw widening cracks forming on every mirror, as if without Haku, there wasn't anything holding them together anymore. With a final crack, the mirrors fell apart with a cacophony. Naruto and Hinata covered their heads as blocks of ice rained down across the ground. The two of them got up, brushing the ice off themselves.
"There." Hinata pointed toward Kakashi's direction. Both of them saw Zabuza slump and fall, the dogs holding him up vanishing in puffs of smoke. Kakashi stood over him solemnly looking down. His left arm was covered in blood. "They're dead. They're both dead."
"Yeah." Naruto answered her softly.
"Well, well, so they both died? How disappointing." A unexpected voice called out from behind them. "I thought that little devil would kill at one of you, but I guess I have to do it myself." Everyone looked behind and was surprised to see a small army of armed thugs, with a short man in a business suit in front of them.
"Gatou." Tazuna said softly.
Kakashi looked at the boat docked with the unfinished end of the bridge. They must have snuck onto the bridge while everyone was preoccupied. Then he focused on Naruto and Hinata. Naruto didn't look or walk like he was injured at all, even though his clothes looked like they've been punctured everywhere by needles. But he supposed that wasn't surprising, considering that this was Naruto. Sasuke though… At least I didn't lose both of them. He solemnly told himself.
"All right, men!" Gatou shouted while pointing his cane toward Tazuna and the ninja in front of him. "Kill them all and you get paid. It's that simple. Now charge!" The mob shouted in glee and brandished their weapons, eager to do violence for cash.
I have to diffuse this quickly. Kakashi thought as he watched the thugs charge past Gatou toward them. And I know how too. "Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu!" A second time today, thick mist formed out of thin air, obscuring everything more than a few feet away from view. The mob's roar of bloodlust was reduced to confused and worried murmurs as the charge slowed and then halted in its tracks in confusion. Then, just as quickly, the mist dissipated.
"Over here." Kakashi's voice called out from behind them. The mob turned around. Of all of them, Gatou was the most surprised. Understandable, considering that Kakashi was standing behind him with a knife at his throat. "Okay, here's what's going to happen. You call off the men, and I won't have to kill anyone else today."
In front of him, Gatou gulped. Suddenly having his life threatened by an armed and dangerous man deflated all the bravado out of him. "D-Do it! Men, stand down!" Generally, if a snake's head was chopped off, the body dies. The same happened here. The mob just stood there, impotent. Then, someone decided he had a better idea.
"To hell with this!" He yelled. "Let's just loot the damned town!" And just as suddenly, the mob was back in action under a new direction. They cheered and started charging forward once more.
"No! Stop!" Gatou commanded them futilely. His life was on the line. Kakashi growled in frustration.
"Naruto! Hinata! Get ready! Tazuna-san, get be-" Kakashi stopped in mid-sentence as the mob stopped again. In front of them, there stood another mob. But this mob wasn't a pack of would-be looters. Instead, they were dressed as ordinary fishermen and construction workers, armed with an assortment of weapons. There were just as many spears as there were shovels, picks, pitchforks, and even wooden clubs and oars. Nonetheless, they resolutely stood their ground. And in front of them was one familiar boy armed with a crossbow.
"Inari!" Naruto shouted happily.
"A hero shows up at the last second, right?" Inari answered with a grin. The mob of looters grew indecisive once again. They came looking for an easy meal ticket and just didn't have the will to put their life on the line. The villagers disagreed on that.
"If you take one more step toward our island, we'll stop you with everything we've got!" One of them shouted. Watching from the sidelines, Tazuna was moved to tears by the sight of these people, whom he all knew.Everyone… How long had he been wishing for something like this? For everyone to grow a backbone and fight instead of letting Gatou get away with everything? I'm proud of them. I'm proud of my people. Especially you, Inari.
Watching the two sides at a standstill, Kakashi turned to Gatou. "Order them to get back on the boats, now." Gatou was all too glad to comply with him.
"Men! Listen to me!" Gatou shouted fearfully. "Get back on the boats! I'll pay you! Just go back!" And with that, the mob made up their mind. A few grumbled that they didn't get to spill any blood, but most just shrugged. If they got paid, so what? They marched back to the edge of the bridge, where their boat was anchored, and boarded. Watching them, the citizens on the opposite side cheered. They had won!
Unnoticed by everyone, Sasuke opened his eyes. The first thing he saw were the backs of his two teammates as they watched the crowd cheering. "Naruto…Hinata…"
Startled, they both turned around. For a second, they stared at him, shocked. "Sasuke!" Naruto shouted and gave him a great bear hug. "You're alive!" Sasuke winced from the sharp pain as Naruto drove the needles further into his body.
"Get off of me." He demanded without much energy. "You idiot." Naruto just laughed and moved off, too happy to feel apologetic. Hinata smiled. Alive…I get it now. That was what the boy was trying to say. Then her eyes widened. Wait a minute…
So, Sasuke was alive after all. Kakashi smiled. "A happy ending after all." He noticed a couple of villagers walking purposefully towards him. They seemed to be paying a lot of attention to his hostage. He turned to Gatou. "Well, maybe not for you." Unnoticed by all, Hinata silently stood, her mind oblivious to the noise around her.
He was trying not to kill us from the start. That realization rocked Hinata. He could have, I know it. That day back in the forest…
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Flashback…"It's nothing. I'm glad to help you. It's good that you care about your comrades. In this world, sometimes those people are the only ones who you have to care about. Nobody else matters." The girl looked down, deep in thought with a sad smile. Then she brightened and walked away. "Goodbye. Let us meet again someday."
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…And later at the bridge…
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Flashback…Zabuza glared at Haku, whose masked face revealed nothing. "Haku, what is the meaning of this?" Haku didn't flinch the slightest under the murderous glare.
"Zabuza-san, please let me fight them my way." Haku sounded humble and respectful, but his voice was firm and adamant. There seemed to be a power struggle between the master and the student for a second but in the end, Zabuza backed down.
"So you don't want me to interfere? You're as soft as always." Zabuza chided him.
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Mercy, she realized. He had shown them mercy. But they didn't know that. They couldn't have known that. It didn't have to end this way. I did what I thought was right. But… Instead, she had been the one to kill him. She of all people.
And so what? Another part of her brain muttered. What's so innocent about you?
Hinata remembered how the thought of Naruto dying had brought out something in her that she didn't think she had. She remembered the predatory rush she had felt when each stride took her closer and closer to the boy's unsuspecting back. And the immense satisfaction as the blow was delivered perfectly and the boy suddenly staggered and fell. It was only later when the rational part of her realized what she had done that the experience had left her feeling disturbed. But she still believed that she had done something that was necessary. But now, who knew?
If only, if only, if only… Doubt crept into her mind like a slow rot. Behind her, the cheering went on.
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To be Continued
