A/N: Battle with Zabuza finally. I was getting tired of fillers. Poll is closed, obviously. I'm saying Haku doesn't know about the infamous Yondaime Hokage because she was too young, and they were already embroiled in civil war, and after that, Minato died, so he was most likely taken off the later editions of the bingo books. I don't think anyone would go bounty hunting for a dead man.
Tikitorch559: I don't think I wrote that he used Hiraishin in front of Iruka. Minato is naturally fast, so being able to kill Mizuki so quickly has nothing to do with Hiraishin. After all, he was able to catch a baby Naruto who was in freefall nyan…
Chapter 13: Bridge
Haku had returned from gathering herbs and noticed that her master was up and about. He was reading an old bingo book that he'd found, probably out of boredom. "Are you going to attack the bridge tomorrow?" She asked, setting down the basket of herbs. Her master just grunted, which probably meant a 'yes'. "I met this man in the forest today. He was from Konoha but I don't remember seeing him with the bridge builder." She said serenely, and her master grunted again.
"You're so inattentive. Just tell me what he looks like." Zabuza finally spoke.
"Well, he's blond," she started.
"Must be that blond gaki. He damn near broke my arm with that weird windmill shuriken of his." Zabuza concluded, flipping another page of the bingo book.
"He's definitely not the kid. He looked older than me, and a bit girly too. I mistook him for a lady when I saw him." She contradicted. "He also doesn't have whisker marks on his cheeks. The only similarities he has to the blond kid are his hair and his eyes." She continued. Zabuza's eyes widened a bit and he flipped pages frantically, trying to find something.
"What weapons did he use? Did he tell you his name?" Zabuza asked, staring at something in the bingo book.
"Well, he didn't have any weapons with him, but he did tell me his name. He said his name was Minato." She concluded. "Why?" she asked, turning to her master. He was staring wide-eyed at the bingo book, his hands shaking. He turned the bingo book around for her to see.
"Did he look like this?" He asked, showing her a picture of the man she'd met that morning.
"Namikaze Minato… So he's in the bingo book. What's so scary about it?" Haku asked, puzzled.
"He's dead. He died twelve years ago." Zabuza growled, throwing the bingo book across the room.
"But he was clearly there. He stopped me from stabbing him and he even picked herbs with me. I saw him with my own eyes." Haku argued lightly as she boiled some water. "Never mind. There must be some good explanation for this, but if you see him again, never engage him in a battle." Zabuza cautioned.
"Why are you so worried about me all of a sudden? I'm your tool, nothing more." She said earnestly without a hint of sarcasm. Zabuza was at a loss for words. He settled for picking up his book and resuming his reading. That night, Haku lay in bed, listening to his master's snores. 'That man in the forest didn't snore.' She thought, her cheeks heating up. 'Why does it get so hot every time I think about him?' She wondered, as an image of him surfaced in her mind and her cheeks flushed again. 'Forget it. I'll think about it tomorrow.' She turned over and went to sleep.
Night gave way to morning as the sun rose and the moon relinquished its throne. Twilight was chased away by the warm rays of the sun as people awoke and went about their days. Tazuna's household was no exception. The team had gathered for breakfast in the dining room and Inari was looking a lot less sullen. After having their breakfast in silence, Tazuna and Team 7, with the exception of Minato, went off to the bridge. Minutes later, Minato left as well, leaving Inari and Tsunami alone in the house.
Minato set up alarm seals around the house before leaping off into the forest to train. A mere 5 minutes later, something tripped the alarm seals he'd set up. He jolted and used Hiraishin to get back to the house. He appeared in the bedroom he shared with Sasuke and flew out the door, tanto in hand. He raced down the corridor and appeared in the living room, where Tsunami was just opening the door, enough to reveal two people armed with katana. Minato dashed towards the door and beheaded the two samurai before anyone could react.
Tsunami was just opening the door when something warm and sticky made contact with her body. She looked out the door and screamed. The two people outside were now collapsed on the ground, blood pooling from their necks and missing their heads. She put her hands over her eyes and screamed as hard as she could. A hand suddenly went over her mouth and she peeked out from between her fingers. Upon seeing who it was, she heaved a small, shaky sigh of relief. It was the blond one… Naruto was it? Then she noticed that he was holding a bloody tanto in his hand, scarlet liquid dripping off of the gleaming blade and onto the floor. Her eyes widened at the sight but she managed to keep from screaming again.
"Go back inside and stay there until either of us gets back. I'm going to set up some traps. Wash the blood off and make sure Inari doesn't see you like this. He might freak out." Minato told her gently, smiling reassuringly. He then went back outside and made a few hand seals before burning the bodies with a "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu." After making sure the bodies were charred beyond recognition, he scattered the ashes and began working furiously around the perimeter of the house, setting up various traps that would prove fatal to anyone with hostile intentions.
After making sure the house was secure, he performed Hiraishin yet again and found himself in a giant dome of ice. Sasuke was facing off against Haku. Haku was winning, if Sasuke's uncanny resemblance to a hedgehog was any indication. Minato saw Haku preparing to launch another attack and deflected all the senbon before they could reach Sasuke. When the barrage stopped, the deflected senbon clattered to the floor, causing the occupants of the dome to freeze out of shock. Sasuke looked over to Minato and berated him, "You idiot! Why did you come in here? You could have helped me from outside!"
"Well, I thought I'd have been of more help inside rather than outside." Minato lied, smiling sheepishly, noticing the Sharingan spinning furiously in his team mate's eyes. Sasuke turned away, mumbling something that sounded like "idiot". Minato smiled at his team mate and sealed his tanto. They stood back to back, waiting for their opponent to make her move. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Haku emerging from her mirror to attack him. For what reason, he didn't know. Perhaps because his vibrant hair was an easier target. Minato waited for her to approach, keeping his eyes on her the entire time. When she got close enough, he grabbed her wrists, twisted them behind her back and pushed her to the ground in one fluid motion. The end result was him straddling her back, still maintaining a tight grip on her wrists. The senbon clattered out of her hands and fell to the floor.
Haku was shocked beyond belief. The blond could actually keep up with her even in the ice dome! His grip caused Minato's face to surface in her mind's eye. She turned her head to look at her captor, noticing that the raven haired boy had turned around, his Sharingan still active. There was a look of shock and… was that jealousy? 'I cannot allow myself to become obsolete!' she thought, kicking both her legs towards her captor's back, but it was all in vain. He grasped both her wrists in one hand and stopped her legs with the other. Haku struggled and bucked, trying to get him off her back or at least get her hands out of his grip, but he was too strong. Suddenly, she felt something make contact with her neck, but had no time to register what it was before darkness rushed to greet her. She was unconscious before her head hit the floor.
'Naruto' watched as the ice mirrors shattered and disappeared. Sasuke was still staring at him in shock, his kunai still in his hand as his blond team mate unmasked the Oi-nin to reveal the pale face of the girl he'd crossed paths with in the forest. "So we've won. Let's go help Kakashi-sensei." Said raven haired boy concluded, turning in the direction of their sensei's battle. The sound of metal assaulted his ears and he whipped around in time to witness 'Naruto' positioning his tanto over the fake Oi-nin's heart. "What are you doing Naruto!" he questioned, panic slowly ebbing into his voice.
"Killing her. What does it look like I'm doing?" 'Naruto' replied, his voice devoid of all emotion.
"Have you gone mad? We can't kill her."
"She's an enemy. She has to be killed. That's the way of a shinobi."
"Fine. Do whatever you want to do." Sasuke turned away.
Minato repositioned his sword and jerked his tanto downwards, feeling it pierce through flesh. Only, it didn't belong to Haku. Zabuza was impaled on his tanto, his body full of wounds, possibly sustained from the fight with Kakashi. Minato withdrew his tanto, watching a growing pool of blood spreading around his enemy's body. Blood stained the pristine white bandages around the Mist Jounin's face.
Kakashi was glancing around the mist, searching for Zabuza, his Sharingan spinning wildly in his socket, when he felt Zabuza's chakra spike. The mist started to clear and he noticed a crumpled figure on the ground. He walked over, a kunai in his hand. He made out the face of a girl and brown hair, stowing his kunai when he noticed that Zabuza's assistant was unconscious. He bent down as the fake Oi-nin started to rouse, groaning as she struggled to get herself up. "Awake, sleepyhead?" he teased.
She stared blankly into his face before uttering, "Where is Zabuza-sama?"
"I don't know. Come with me, we're going to see my students. Make one wrong move and you're dead." Kakashi said, helping her up on her feet and leading her towards the three Gennin.
The first thing Haku saw when the group came into view was the four of them clustered around something. "Oh my god I think you killed him!" the pink haired girl squeaked, before running to the side of the bridge and balking. The raven haired boy just stood by the bridge builder apathetically, looking down at something. The group parted when they saw the two, revealing Zabuza's body, bleeding out onto the bridge, his life blood seeping into the cobblestones.
Kakashi glanced at the body, then at his students, and was shocked to see Zabuza on the floor with a stab wound near his abdomen, just below his heart. The most shocking thing was Naruto. His visage was expressionless, and his eyes that were normally spilling over with warmth were now ice cold. Although he was relatively spotless, he held a bloody tanto in his grip, dried blood crusting on the blade. Scarlet liquid was running down it and collecting at the tip, where it slowly dripped onto the floor.
Minato looked up at the new comers from the stab wound he'd made. It was slightly below the heart, Zabuza being larger and taller than Haku. "Kakashi-sensei." He greeted, the warmth slowly returning to his eyes.
"Haku." Zabuza groaned from his position on the floor. Haku left Kakashi's side to kneel beside his fallen master.
"Zabuza-sama!" she cried, her hands flying to Zabuza's wound, before Zabuza stopped her.
"Don't. I know I'm going to die anyway, so save your energy for something else. You always were too soft for your own good Haku. You left those brats alive to kill you." Zabuza rasped, the red on his bandages spreading.
"No! Let me heal you! You're all I have now! I can't let you die! You won't die! Zabuza-sama!" she cried, ignoring the jab, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"He nicked my heart and you're not Tsunade, so don't fool yourself." He growled, before coughs wracked his frame.
"Then tell me why." Haku choked, tears still rolling down her pale cheeks.
"I guess it's because I always thought of you as my daughter rather than a tool. I couldn't let you die." Zabuza coughed.
"Hey Kakashi, think you can let Haku join your village? She isn't registered in the bingo books so she's basically a wandering freelance ninja. Could you do me a favour and let her go with you to Konoha?" Zabuza asked, pulling down his bandages to cough another mouthful of blood, splashing across Haku's cheeks and mingling with her tears.
"I can't guarantee you that the Hokage will accept, but I'll try." Kakashi said placidly, shooting the Mist Jounin an eye-smile.
"Good. Haku, don't waste this chance." Zabuza said shakily, before a sound of clapping filled the air. They turned their attention to the head of the bridge, where a horde of bandits and samurai were standing, and at the helm was Gato.
"Looks like the big bad Demon of the Mist was just a little baby demon in the end. I wasn't really going to pay you. I was just going to let you and those ninja kill each other and my problem was solved. No ninja, no money loss." The midget taunted, leaning on his walking stick.
"Gato… you… bastard…" Zabuza said, before going silent. Kakashi pressed his fingers to the man's neck, before shaking his head. Zabuza was truly dead this time. Haku got up, using the technique her master so adored, "Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu." The area was flooded with mist and one could barely see one's own nose.
Minato, who was standing nearest to Haku, noticed her muscles coil, getting ready to attack the bandits. He grabbed her arm, "Don't even think of stopping me." She hissed, showing her emotions.
"I'm not. I'm going with you." He said serenely, his crystal eyes becoming pools of ice once more. She shivered and nodded, feeling his hand release her appendage.
Minato couldn't see her through the fog after she dashed off, but her chakra signature was very distinct, cold as ice but with warm undercurrents, so he was confident that he wouldn't accidentally kill her or lop off an arm since Kakashi was willing to accept her. He ran into the mob, Gato having retreated to the safety of his hired guard. The samurai and bandits were in a state of confusion, the muting of all sounds only elevating their fear to the point it was almost palpable. He ran through the crowd, decimating the troops. Blood was spilt but not a single drop touched his person. He felt detached. He couldn't allow himself to feel anything for those people, nor could he allow himself to lose himself to blood lust.
He cut through the men, ignoring the screams of agony and fear.
Eventually, he reached the edge of the bridge where Gato was. He decapitated another samurai and cornered Gato, who was trying desperately to talk his way out, "I'll give you double these people give you if you join me. Triple! Quadruple! I'll give you all the money you want!" Minato continued advancing until Haku burst from the mist.
"He's mine." She told him apathetically. He stepped back and watched as Haku stabbed his neck with senbon.
"Zabuza was right. You really are too soft." Minato told her, ending the businessman's life. He walked back to where Zabuza lay, leaving Haku alone with Gato's body to ponder his words. The mist lifted just as he got back to the group, allowing him to inspect the damage he'd done. He noted that all of Haku's victims were not dead, merely incapacitated. He sealed his tanto and joined the others, none noticing that he'd been gone. They were all gaping at the bodies that were strewn all over the bridge and Haku who was covered in blood, standing over Gato's body. She walked back to the group and approached Minato. "Kill me." She requested simply. "I know you can do it. Kill me." She repeated.
"Why?" Minato asked, perplexed.
"Zabuza's dead now. I don't have a purpose. I'm just a tool without a master. A broken tool without a master after being defeated by you, so kill me." He begged. Minato had wanted to kill her because she was an enemy but after Gato turned on Haku and Zabuza, that no longer applied.
"I understand how you feel, but Zabuza saved you and gave you another chance to live your life in Konoha. I'm sure he'll be very disappointed if you wasted the chance he gave you by killing yourself. If you can't bear to live like this, then think of it as living for your master's sake, as his tool, no, precious person." Minato told her.
Haku let a few tears slide down her cheeks and walked towards her mater's abandoned zanbatou. "Kubikiri Houcho." She whispered, dragging it back to the group with her. Just then, another mob arrived, only it was comprised of villagers wielding various items ranging from brooms to discarded katana with Inari at the helm.
"We've come to help!" Inari shouted down to them, before noticing the bodies strewn all over the bridge. The villagers' eyes fell on the prone body of Gato and cheers went through the crowd, carrying Inari on their shoulders. Though he hadn't done anything, he'd had the courage to gather them and oppose Gato despite him being the youngest of them all. That in itself was an impressive accomplishment. Tazuna and the team couldn't help but smile at the display, gathering everything and heading home for the day.
Minato carried Kubikiri Houcho but left its owner's body to be carried by Haku. Haku stared down at her master's body for a long time, as if not believing he was actually dead. Minato walked over and put a hand on her shoulder, smiling at her when she turned to look at him. She slung his body over her shoulder and fell into step beside Minato, mourning her master's death the whole trip back to Tazuna's house. Upon reaching the house, Minato set the zanbatou beside the door, noticing that none of the traps had activated. He walked around the house, disabling the seals and traps.
He saw Haku as he wandered around the house, never leaving her master's side. They went about their day, Kakashi disposed of the bodies, Tazuna staying at home for the day. Dinner was a quiet affair. Haku had refused to talk to anyone and ate her dinner. Not a sound escaped her as she took her position next to her master's body yet again. Minato watched her as she stayed by his side, never once leaving except to go to the toilet.
That night, when he had made sure everyone was sound asleep, he exited his room and made his way down the corridor. He stood at the entrance of the corridor, staring in silence at Haku. He walked up to her and whispered tenderly, "You wanna talk?" Haku looked up at him and got up, following him up to the roof. They sat on the tiles just gazing at the stars. "I know how you feel. I've lost many precious people, but you have to move on sometime. I'm not asking you to forget about him, but live to become someone he can be proud of." Minato broke the silence. Haku remained silent.
Minato smiled gently saying, "I know this sounds cliché, but Zabuza will live on in your heart, as long as you never forget him. Find a new purpose in life."
"How would you have lost many precious people? You're just 12." Haku whispered hoarsely. Minato considered showing her. They were kindred souls after all. Both of them having lost precious people and given a second chance at life.
"I don't trust you enough to tell you so all I can say is that the truth is stranger than fiction." he replied teasingly, deciding against it. Haku turned to him, tears glistening on her cheeks.
"What?" she asked, her voice cracking.
"Nothing."
They continued to stare at the stars until Haku broke the silence, "I'm going to bury Zabuza-sama tomorrow."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I don't know."
"I'm sure you have your reasons. So, what are you going to do with Kubikiri Houcho?"
"Grave marker."
"Okay."
"Help me."
"What?"
"Help me bury him."
"Why?"
"Because I trust you."
"I wanted to kill you only hours ago and now you trust me?"
"You're a nice person. I can see the warmth in your eyes. You also comforted me."
"I could have easily killed you."
"But you didn't."
"Touché."
"So will you?"
"We'll see." Minato said, getting up and working the kinks out of his body. "Goodnight." He leaped down from the roof and landed on the ground with cat-like grace.
"Naruto."
"Yes?" Minato looked up at the girl from his position on the ground.
"Thank you."
"I don't really deserve that thanks." Minato whispered softly but loud enough for Haku to hear, remembering how he'd killed Zabuza, Haku's surrogate father of sorts. He stalked off towards the house, leaving Haku on the roof.
A/N: Sorry I made Haku so frail. Her life revolves around Zabuza so losing him would be traumatic for her. I also made Zabuza nice. Yeah. And Minato is naturally so fast that I think that anything slower seems seriously really slow and Minato is like… how many times faster than Haku? I'm sorry. I just felt that Minato should sympathise with Haku and some such… Please don't hate me! I'll try harder not to disappoint. Please review and point out my mistakes. Thank you for your support.