A/N: This is it: the climax of the Wave arc. This is where it all ends. From here, anything can happen. Who knows what will come in the future of Rising Star? Even I don't have much of a clue. But I can tell you this: it'll knock your socks off.

This update came a lot sooner than I thought it would. That's the way life is.

I don't have too much more to say. Read on, and enjoy.

Chapter 21

Naruto walked warily by Haku down the bridge, with barely ten feet separating them. There was no agreed-upon time or place for their fight to start… Haku could attack at any time. Naruto thought that he could defend himself if Haku made a rush at him—but he didn't know. He decided to wait it out, let the peace between them play out. He wanted to avoid the fight for as long as possible.

No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get a read on the masked boy. Obviously, his face betrayed no emotion; it was hidden. But other than that, his body language exposed nothing. He seemed utterly relaxed and at peace with his surroundings. It was like he didn't have a care in the world.

Naruto decided to set the tone. He broke into a sprint down the bridge, and Haku followed suit, keeping the distance between them exactly the same. The bridge was vast—they ran for several minutes before Naruto stopped, not the slightest bit out of breath. Haku stood beside him, facing the same way they had been going, still just ten feet distant.

Naruto turned to him, Haku eerily mirroring his move. "Before we do this," Naruto said slowly, "I'd like to ask a question."

Haku nodded. "If you wish."

Naruto inhaled evenly. "You don't seem like that bad a guy. But you have to know how horrible your master is. Why do you work for him, when all he does is fight for the highest bidder?"

Haku stared at him through the slits in his mask. "Zabuza-sama took me in when nobody thought I was worth anything," he said. "He gave me a purpose, when before I had nothing. I was an orphan, living on the streets. I begged for scraps of food, foraged through garbage to survive. I would have died there, in the snow, if Zabuza-sama hadn't taken me with him."

Naruto shook his head. "And that's it? That's your entire reason for—for all this?" Naruto cast his hands wide. "Look around you! You're standing on the dream of an entire country! This is the dream that you're helping to kill, just by being here!"

"I know." Haku's answer took Naruto by surprise. "I've realized this since Zabuza-sama accepted the contract. But it is not my place to question him. He has his own dreams. It is my duty as his tool to strike where he tells me to strike. A tool is not allowed to deviate from its path."

Naruto sighed. "Not you, too!" he shouted. "Let me guess—Rule 52, right? That rule is complete and utter bull shit!"

Haku cocked his head to the side. "Rule… 52?" he asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. It's one of the rules taught to all Konoha shinobi, as a way of instilling discipline. 'A shinobi is a tool. A tool never questions what its use is for. A tool never says no to a task. A tool only completes the task at hand and is always ready for the next.'"

Haku was silent for a moment. "That is similar to what Zabuza-sama taught me," he said. "But it wasn't as a series of rules. It was a lesson taught to me long ago… when I still sometimes questioned him."

"And what happened when you questioned him?"

Haku seemed to stiffen. "He… would occasionally kill someone. He has no fear of using violence as a classroom."

Naruto ground his teeth. "Are you serious?" he shouted. "This is the guy you follow? Someone who would kill just because you want some individuality? Where is the choice in it? Where is the—the basic humanity?"

"Humanity? There is no humanity. He simply does what has to be done to achieve his dreams. For several long years, he's been working toward his dream. After this contract is completed, he can finally achieve it."

"And what is this dream that's so worth killing other's dreams for?" Naruto asked.

Haku contemplated Naruto, as if wondering if he could understand. "One day," Haku said, "my master wishes to gain enough money to hire every nuke-nin he can and overthrow the Yondaime Muzukage and end his regime. Under him, Kiri has lost much of its power and influence. He wishes to gain control—for a time, at least—and restore it to its lost glory."

That gave Naruto pause. This was beginning to sound eerily familiar. "The Mizukage… you're talking about the host of the Sanbi, aren't you?"

Haku nodded. "Yes. It is common knowledge that he is the jinchūriki for the three-tailed demon. Why?"

Naruto held up a hand. "Wait a minute, let me think." He turned from Haku, not even worrying that he could be attacked from behind. Dots were connecting in his head that he hadn't seen before now. Could it be a coincidence? What were the chances, exactly? What were the odds?

"What are you thinking?" Haku asked, genuine curiosity in his tone.

Naruto turned to him. "Haku," Naruto said evenly. "I don't think that we should be fighting right now. This is not the time or place for us to be at war."

"What do you mean?"

Naruto shook his head. "This is the second official mission I've been on," Naruto said. "My last one was a black op. I went undercover with my teammates to assassinate a lord that was betraying secrets to the Sand village."

"So?"

"So… one of his bodyguards was a former member of the Mist Seven… just the same as your master. I think that there's something going on here. Something that we can't see yet. But to run into two of that squad in two missions… there is no way that it can be a coincidence."

"Which of the Seven did you fight?" Haku asked sharply.

"The one called Yamamoto… the one who used his blood as a weapon. I and my cell killed him after he nearly did us in. He knew that we were after his employer, but didn't do anything to stop us. But he intercepted us before we could get away after the deed was done. We fought, and nearly died… but we beat him to the ground."

Haku turned his body slowly. "Yamamoto… we have recently heard of his demise. My master held him in high regard. He was to join us when we held our coup on the Mizukage."

Naruto nodded. "He asked me… all of my team, actually… to destroy him if we had a chance. We ignored his plea, even though it was his dying wish."

Naruto suddenly felt the killing intent flowing from Haku in waves. "If that is the case… Zabuza-sama would want you dead. It is my duty to fulfill his wishes."

Haku was fast—faster than Naruto. He whipped a spray of senbon at Naruto, who didn't have time to get out of the way completely. He dodged to the right, covering his face with his forearms. They, along with his left shoulder, were perforated with the acupuncture needles. One actually managed to slip by his guard and hit him on the plate of his hitai-ate; the sharp tone rung in his ear as the pain of the needles hit his brain. The dense mesh of his top prevented them from penetrating more than a half inch, but they were numerous, and hurt like hell.

He hit the ground and rolled, taking care not to brush the needles against the ground. He dashed to the side as soon as he got to his feet and ripped the senbon from his forearms as he moved, flinging them back at their owner.

It seemed that he didn't have nearly the skill with the needles that Haku did, however. They went wild, flying in a broad pattern which the masked boy easily avoided. Nevertheless, he ripped as many as he could from him before Haku could retaliate, tossing each and every single one away, hoping against hope to score a mark.

It wasn't to be; Haku actually caught the last volley of needles bare-palmed and calmly examined them. "There isn't much blood," he remarked stoically. "You must have some armor under your clothes."

Naruto nodded slowly. "My armor is my clothes. Nearly impact-proof, disperses blows, even stops kunai from penetrating, under the right circumstances."

"Ah. The head it is, then." He pulled a double-sided kunai from his pouch and dashed at Naruto, aiming a swipe at his left temple. Naruto pulled his own standard-issue kunai from his hip holster and blocked it, bare inches from his head. Haku withdrew it and aimed for a slash at Naruto's throat with the other blade, but Naruto fell back in time to avoid it. He moved to the offensive, swiping at Haku's arm, hoping to cut him too bad there to hold his weapon. It came to him that he didn't want to kill the masked boy—he wanted the chance to talk to him. But to do that, he'd have to beat him, and doing that without permanently injuring him would be much more difficult than outright resorting to killing.

Haku chased Naruto as the latter backpedaled, attacking almost more swiftly than his eye could follow with his unusual kunai, stabbing, thrusting, slashing, feinting, always looking for a way to get past Naruto's defenses and puncture him in the throat or head.

Naruto was barely able to keep up. Haku clearly had the advantage in speed, and the fight had barely begun. If he was going to have a chance to fight back, he'd need some space and time to work out a strategy.

After deflecting yet another thrust aimed at his eyes, the leapt straight into the air and tossed his kunai down at Haku. The masked shinobi deflected the dagger with ease, but in the split-second distraction it afforded, Naruto formed his signature cross-shaped hand sign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he said aloud, a dozen clones surrounding him. He grabbed one by its feet, who did the same to the one above it, who continued the chain until most of them were linked in a long line.

The real Naruto landed first, then twisted into a rotation that spun the whole chain in a tornado-shaped funnel above him. The remaining clones dashed at Haku, their hands clutching phantom kunai that they attacked with. They were each dispatched easily, but the haze that surround him was just enough to distract him from the real purpose of the attack; with a heavy snap of his body, Naruto launched the entire chain of clones at Haku at a high speed, one following right behind the other.

Haku sliced the first clone, then the next, then the next, one right after the other, his superb speed allowing him to handle even this level of technique. Naruto burst through the smoke after the last clone had been defeated, his sword drawn from over his shoulder. The added reach was enough to startle Haku, who was now suddenly at the defensive. Naruto slashed at Haku's head from above, but Haku caught it on his kunai. Naruto still continued to press against him, instead of disengaging, pushing him across the bridge concrete until he was against the railing.

That's it! Naruto thought triumphantly. That's how I'm going to beat him! He's fast, but his physical strength is shit! If I can eliminate his godlike speed, take it out of the equation, this fight is mine! He quickly readjusted his grip on his sword to apply more pressure forward, forward, forcing Haku down onto a knee as he struggled to hold Naruto at bay.

Haku let go of the kunai with one hand, maintaining it with the other, bracing it with his right hand. "Concede!" Naruto barked as he put yet more of his weight on his sword. "You can't do anything from there! I'm stronger than you, and you aren't going anywhere!"

Haku looked up sharply. "There is no need to go anywhere," he said. "I have you right where I want you!" With the hand that wasn't gripping the kunai, but bracing his other, he flew through a swift set of one-handed hand signs.

What the hell? That's not possible! Naruto flew backwards, backtracking as quickly as possible. If this wasn't a bluff—

"Hyouton: Sensatsu Suishou!" Haku shouted. Naruto actually saw the moisture in the air rush together to collect on the ground and form a puddle. From that spot of water, dozens, if not hundreds of needles made of ice came flying at him, even more quickly than the thrown ones had.

Again, Naruto couldn't get away in time. He shielded his face and neck, but his entire front, miraculously save for his groin area, was punctured with the deadly icicles. He felt them hit the bones in his arms and legs, puncture his abdominal region, and actually speared through the flesh on his upper forearms to poke out through the side. His mesh body armor did no good—these needles were sharp all along the length, not merely pointed like the senbon he'd previously faced.

He cried out in pain; aside from the punctures, the needles were ice cold. With that many dozen perforations, it was impossible to ignore the pain. It was a miracle that he wasn't dead from the blows; how they'd missed puncturing his heart, he didn't know, but several were grouped together in his chest, too close for comfort.

It was the pricks in his gut that caused him the most pain. They'd hit the seals that, in order, kept the Kyuubi inside of him, and kept the fox's chakra from intermingling with his, kept it away from any interaction with him at all.

Naruto suddenly felt a surge of chakra come from his gut, and an intense burning sensation said that the seals were straining to contain the massive reservoir of power restrained in him. Not now not now notnownotnownotnow he thought irrationally as his tenketsu went into overdrive to protect his body from further harm from the demonic chakra that was beginning to surge through him. Thiscan'tbehappeningthisisn'thappeningnonotnow—

Finally, the dam broke. With one final gush of force, the seal the Hokage had placed onto Naruto broke. A red aura of chakra encased Naruto for a split second; in the next, it surged outward in a massive dome of crimson. "AAAARRRGGGHH!" he shouted, throwing his arms to the side, arching his back. The needles flew out and away, a spray of blood following each closely before the wounds closed as the Kyuubi's chakra healed him automatically. He screamed in primal rage as the power of the fox overtook him. He was beyond reason or rationality now; this time, his base instincts had taken over his thoughts.

The Kyuubi himself hadn't yet surfaced. It was merely the power of the chakra itself that drove Naruto wild. It was too much to handle, too much for anyone to handle, it was impossible to reign it in, to control.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, in the one small part that was rational, he told himself to get a hold of himself or he would be lost to the beast inside of him. Focus! he shouted at himself. Don't let it take over! If the Kyuubi takes you, you may never be yourself again! They might have to kill you!

But there was no chance for control. He was wild, unrestrained, unfocused. There was all this power inside of him, with nowhere to go. It was slowly destroying him from the inside out, but he didn't care, he was finally free—

No! Naruto shouted mentally. This isn't happening! Focus! Pull it together!

Naruto felt the beginnings of control appear, as if threads of hope came before him. He visualized the inner workings of the cave where the Kyuubi resided. Using the meditation techniques taught to him by Sando, even in the midst of this torture he was able to put himself at the gates of the beast in his belly. There, for a few brief moments, he knew that he'd be disassociated from the pain he felt on the outside. He intended to take advantage of every second here he could. Time was of the essence.

"Hey, Kyuubi!" Naruto shouted through the bars of the cage. "Wake up! I know you're there! We're in some deep shit right now and I need your help!"

For a moment, nothing stirred in the darkness. Then, a heavy thump and the sound of nails scratching on the floor resounded and echoed through the cavernous cage. From out of the darkness came the massive body of the fox, gleaming slitted eyes shining in the gloom. "There you are," he grumbled. "I've been expecting you long before now. That treasonous Hokage of yours seals me from you. Me! The great Kyuubi!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" shouted Naruto. "You can be pissed off later! But right now, we have a situation, and I can't handle it on my own!"

The jowls of the fox seemed to curl up into a smirk. "I can feel it from here. The seal placed on you broke, and you can't contain the pent-up flow. That's what happens when you tamper with a seal as strong as the one placed on you by your father."

"Enough of that!" Naruto said. "We can argue later. Just help me right now, and you can bitch all you want when this is all over!"

The Kyuubi turned his head to the side. "Help? Now, why would I go and do a thing like that? If you die, I'll be released. Do you think that I like sitting in this cesspool the Yondaime created for me?" He cackled. "I'll be free to rampage as I see fit. That's what I love to do!"

"You idiot!" Naruto shouted. "That's the worst possible scenario! If you go free, anybody with the right knowledge could pick you up and use you for their own purposes!"

In a blitz of motion, the fox had pressed his muzzle against the bars of his cage, teeth bared, saliva dripping out of his mouth in splashes. "Don't you dare speak to me of purposes!" he growled. "I am the Kyuubi! I am a living mass of chakra, a living engine of destruction! My purpose is war! Destruction is what I exist for! You, you would leave me locked up forever in this pit, never to escape! At least if I got another host, I would be free to fight, to destroy, to wreak the carnage that I truly desire!"

"You want carnage? You want to fight? You want war? I'll give you your fucking war! I'll work to master your chakra, I swear to you! When I do, you, through me, will be unstoppable! When you're unleashed on my enemies, there won't be a man or woman alive who won't fear your name!"

The fox laughed. "You fool. The very gods fear me. What more could you do?"

"I can give you an outlet to fight," Naruto said. "Face it—without me, or any other host, you're just a dumb brute. It takes a host to give you the intelligence you have right now. But if we work together—if you give me the power to use you—we can make the world tremble. Tell me, Kyuubi… when was the last time you were really given the chance to let go?"

The fox thought for a moment. "It has been a long, long time," he said contemplatively. "Since before you, or your father, or even his father was born. I remember things from when I was outside… though I was, as you say, a dumb brute. Then… ah, then I was a monster. I raged across the world, destroying everything I saw that displeased me. Nations fell before me. What more can you offer?"

"Purpose," Naruto said. "I can give you direction. Focus. Without me, you'd just as soon be captured and used against your will. But with me, we can work together. Right now, I don't want your strength—I need it. If you don't get your chakra under control, I could die. I don't want to lose control right now. Too much is at stake. But I swear, I'll let you out soon enough."

The fox moved away from Naruto and paced in a tight circle, his multiple tails billowing out around him. "I liked you better when you listened to me more," it finally said. "Go. When you return, the surge will have subsided, but there will be residual chakra. It won't go away until you burn it all off. It's much more easy for me to send chakra into you than take it back. You'd better put up one hell of a fight, kit—if you don't you could kill yourself regardless."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks, Kyuubi. I am in your debt." Naruto turned to go, but the Kyuubi stopped him.

"Don't think I missed the other presence inside of you, boy," he growled at Naruto's back. "We will discuss that later."

Naruto gulped. That was something that he'd been afraid of. "Understood," he said. Before the fox could interrupt him further, he closed his eyes and released the meditative spell he'd put himself under.

He returned to his senses, fully aware of the outside world once again. It seemed, much as the time he spent with the fox when he fought Mizuki, only a second or two had passed in the time he'd been inside his head. The bestial drive that had plagued him for a few scant seconds was subdued; though it remained, his human reason was once again in command.

The demonic chakra no longer raged out of control. It surrounded his body like a living cloak, billowing as if it was solid fire. It encased his entire body, emanating from his tenketsu in waves and waves.

He felt the massive pile of chakra in his gut. I need to work this off? he thought with wonder. This is more chakra than I usually have! How can I burn this all?

He shook his head. Worry about that later! he told himself. Beat Haku now!

Haku was still on the concrete ground, having been knocked aside by the shockwave of demonic chakra release by his needles. "What… what are you?" he asked in an awed voice.

Naruto took a slow step forward. The cement at his feet chipped and flaked with his movements. "I am… the last thing standing between you and the hopes and dreams of thousands of people," he said, a trace of the Kyuubi's guttural growl in his voice. "I am… the justice of a nation. But before all of that…" He smiled wickedly. "I am the host of the most powerful of the Bijuu… the Kitsune, the Kyuubi." He pointed a finger at the masked boy. "And you—you're out of luck." Naruto's body became a blur as he ran at Haku, fist cocked to deliver a devastating blow at him.

Haku leapt backwards, but Naruto was too fast for him. He punched Haku in the chest with a chakra-shrouded fist, catching him in mid-leap, sending him out and off the bridge, rocketing him toward the water in the distance. Naruto leapt off the bridge after him, his chakra forming a tail behind him that had some substance. It kept him flying in a straight trajectory, and with a half-second of experimentation, found that he could control it, ever so slightly, to change the angle of his flight.

Haku hit the water and skipped across it, forming great ripples in his wake in the ocean. Naruto hit the waves just after Haku touched down and ran after him, a large V rising up behind him from the force of his footsteps and the aura of chakra around him. He curved off, anticipating the place where he would land next, and dashed to it before Haku could touch down.

Haku was startled to see Naruto there before him. Recovering from the blow to his chest, he pulled two of the double-sided kunai from his pouch and wielded them with both hands. He slashed at Naruto's face, but was shocked when the chakra cut two inches off the tip—the area that his aura extended to from his body.

Naruto plunged his shoulder into Haku's gut and wrapped his arms around his torso, squeezing the boy mercilessly, and leapt into the air with all of his might. He put more power into the leap than he thought possible; higher and higher into the air they went, until Naruto realized that it wasn't just the force of the leap that was propelling them—the trail of chakra behind him was doing some work too.

Interesting, Naruto thought surprisingly calmly. I could use this. He threw Haku off of him, up higher than him, and delivered a set of punches to his gut, then his chest, then all over the place, tumbling him end over end above him, his back and sides getting the same punishment that his front was.

Naruto caught him by a foot. Pivoting in the air, taking advantage of his slightly larger mass and massively greater physical strength, he twisted and threw Haku straight down at the water below.

Haku flew head-first toward sea level from hundreds of feet in the air. He had the presence of mind to form hand seals, and an instant later, just a few feet below him, a mirrored wall of ice came into existence. He hit it—

No, Naruto realized as he began his fall. He went through! He adjusted the tail of chakra behind him to navigate to the mirror below. He didn't have enough thrust to truly fly—but more than enough to land where he wanted. He hit the mirror, but landed softly enough to not crack it. He looked down at it, to see what appeared to be a reflection showing in it… Haku's reflection.

"Hey, Haku! Is that you in there?" he asked the reflection.

Surprisingly, the figure responded. "No," came a voice, as clearly as if had been the real thing. "No, this isn't me that you see. My mirrors can teleport me to another mirror; as long as there are two existing, I can go anywhere… inside certain limits."

"Hmm… certain limits, huh?" He rubbed his chin. "I know that teleportation jutsu, especially space/time jutsu, are dependent on the chakra of the user." He snapped his fingers. "This is why Akamaru reacted the way he did. This is a Kekkei Genkai, isn't it?"

Haku slowly nodded beneath the glassy ice. "Yes. It is my inheritance from my mother… and the reason that she died."

Naruto looked down at the boy's reflection. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Why did she die?"

"For years… for years, those with the power of a Kekkei Genkai have been seen as heralds of war. In the Mist, we are considered tools of war. We have few rights… we are strictly and harshly monitored and judged.

"My mother… she escaped from her clan, fled to a life on anonymity. She married a farmer, and eventually, I was born. For five years, we were a happy family. Until, that is…" He stopped talking and sighed.

"Until?" Naruto prompted.

"Until… the day my Kekkai Genkai manifested. I was by a pond, when I discovered I had the ability to manipulate water. My mother beat me severely, and told me never to ever do it again. But it was too late—my father saw everything.

"He was a zealot in lines with the Mizukage. He gathered villagers from around the area… and they brutally murdered my mother. They were coming after me, too… but in my fear, I used my first jutsu, one that was apparently programmed into my blood. In an instant, my father and his mob were cut to ribbons by a mass of ice spires. I walked away from that house, covered in blood, cold, lonely, without anyone in the world.

"A month or so later—I didn't have the energy to count the days—Zabuza-sama found me. He knew me for what I was. He didn't care that I was a monster in the eyes of all of the others. He accepted me. That is why I fight for him. I love him. I'd do anything for him. That is why I am going to fight until I die for him."

Naruto felt the insane amounts of chakra begin to die down, but he still had about half of what he'd begun the fight with. "I understand," he said, closing his eyes. "I know what you went through. I've been called a monster more times than I can count. I've been insulted, threatened, badgered… I've been through it all. But you know what?" He slammed a fist against the ice, doing no damage at all. "I rose above it! I have people who depend on me now—people who trust me—and me them! I have a purpose besides blind obedience! I'll admit, at first, when I was assigned to the team I'm with now, I had a kind of hero worship to my Hokage, but I've learned some things since then. And you know what? Nobody is ever as perfect as you wish they were. Nobody. Zabuza? Guess what? Beyond all that ass-kissing you do, you fail to realize just how horrible he is! He's damning a country! He could find work anywhere—he could even join another village, if he wanted to. But he isn't! He's working to destroy the dreams of hundreds of thousands of people, merely to advance his own! Think outside your mind for a second—is that really, really the kind of person who deserves your admiration… or your fealty?"

"I understand what you are saying," Haku said slowly. "I also know, from your standpoint, that you are correct. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that I do what I am ordered. And right now, my orders are to kill you." He held up a hand and flashed it through the half-hand signs he'd demonstrated before. "Goodbye, Naruto-kun."

Hundreds of the ice-made needles erupted from the mirror's surface. Naruto had to dodge to avoid them. It sent him off the edge of the mirror, into open air. Damn it! he cursed himself. I have no idea where he is! He pushed his chakra behind him and directed his tail to steer him to the bridge; he had just enough altitude and thrust to make it to the bridge's surface.

Where is he? Naruto thought. Where did he go? Naruto extended his senses to the maximum, but he couldn't find Haku's scent, or hear a thing. He's gone… gone. But where to—

Naruto heard a delayed thud in the distance, followed quickly by a sudden charge in the air. "Sasuke!" he said, surprised. "He's actually using the freaking Chidori!" Realization dawned on him. He knew where Haku was going. "FUCK!" he shouted as he ran down the bridge to where Zabuza and Sasuke had stayed. If Sasuke's using that technique, then it means that Zabuza is stuck—that's the only way it'd work without the Sharingan… or that technique. If Haku sensed his master was in trouble, that's where he would go.

Naruto put on a burst of speed. Each step tore a gaping hole in the surface of the bridge, making chunks of gravel and clouds of dust billow into the air. But that didn't matter—the only thing that mattered was getting to Sasuke before Haku did. Sasuke had no idea what Haku could do—he wouldn't stand a chance in a two on one situation.

Up ahead, he saw Haku standing in the middle of the bridge, a mirror before him. Naruto knew what he was going to do a second before he made his move. He flashed some signs, and a shower of needles flew directly at his face.

"FUCK THAT!" Naruto shouted. He didn't know how he knew to do what he did, or whether it would work—but he inhaled, deeply and fully, and let his lungs out in a mighty roar fully fueled by the chakra in his aura.

The needles were shattered and scattered, so powerful was Naruto's bellow. Haku, over fifty meters away, had to brace himself to stop from being knocked asunder.

Naruto came to a dead stop less than ten feet from Haku. "You aren't getting in that mirror," Naruto said evenly. "I'm fast enough and strong enough to stop you. So, step away, slowly, and put your hands in the air. Now.

Haku looked at him through the mask. "That is not going to happen, Naruto-kun," he said. "I've already given what assistance I can to my master. Besides teleportation, I can create an ice mirror anywhere in my range, at any time I want. I am so attuned to my master, I know where he is at all times. I blocked a fatal blow from your friend. He should be dead in seconds. There is nothing you can do." Haku pulled a handful of senbon from his pocket.

Naruto felt rage build up inside of him. "You don't know Sasuke like I do!" he shouted. "Whatever happens, he always has a way out! So bite me, shut up—and suck on this!" He reached into his bum pouch to pull out a handful of shuriken—but his palm closed in instead on the strange black kunai he'd grabbed shortly before. What the hell, he thought. This is as good as anything else. He pulled it out from his pouch and held it at the ready.

"Just what kind of kunai is that?" Haku asked, a faintest trace of sarcasm in his voice.

"This? This is the inheritance from my father—the Yondaime Hokage himself!" Naruto roared and charged the startled boy.

Haku was too stunned to react in time. This boy—the jinchūriki of the most vile of the great tailed beasts—was the son of one of the most revered shinobi in history!

It was then that he remembered something he had once heard about the man—his nickname, the Yellow Flash, and how he'd gotten it. "No!" he shouted as he dived backwards through the ice. He managed—just—to get through the mirror before Naruto's kunai struck him.

But something that neither of them expected happened just then: when the point of the kunai struck the mirror, the seal tag on the pronged kunai glowed a bright yellow. Without resistance, Naruto fell through the ice to tumble into the startled Haku at an extremely high velocity, knocking the both of them end over end—

Without realizing it, Naruto was tumbling over the ground, skipping from shoulder to feet and back again. With a glance he saw Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, slumped on the ground against the rail of the bridge, cradling his left shoulder with his blooded right hand. Naruto got another quick glance to where he was going to crash when he next landed, and saw with horror the shocked face of Momochi Zabuza two feet from his own face.

Naruto crashed into the nuke-nin, his gigantic sword raised in ready to split the defenseless Uchiha in half. His speed was much too great to allow something like the mass of Zabuza to stop him. After hearing a sickening crunch on impact, he deflected away from Zabuza's body and skidded along the concrete. His cloak of chakra prevented him from harm—it was more like an armor, in that case—but momentum was momentum, and in mid-air there was nothing he could do to stop his movement through the air.

Or was there? He reached out with his consciousness to his chakra—the demonic chakra. He flared it in bursts to stop him from flying away from the others, and inside of a few seconds, he was standing shakily a hundred yards from them.

"What the…" Naruto said softly. What just happened to him? He looked at the kunai in his hand. How he didn't lose it through the fall, he didn't know.

"IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME!" Sasuke roared in the distance as he struggled to stand up. "He was about to cut me in half!"

Naruto wiped a trail of blood from his lips. Apparently, the armor was thin enough there that he could get scraped, at least. "Sorry to keep you," Naruto said sarcastically. "I was kinda busy for a while. Haku was more trouble than I thought. But, hey… check this out." Naruto held up a hand. For the first time, Sasuke noticed the red chakra surrounding him.

"The Kyuubi—it's out?" Sasuke bellowed. "How the hell—"

"Later!" Naruto shouted as he rushed to his partner's side, taking care not to touch him. "Right now, we've got to take care of these two. How'd it go with Zabuza?"

Sasuke grunted as he righted himself. "What do you think?" Sasuke asked grumpily. "I tried everything I could—even the cigarette trick to screw with the water. I almost had him—he was strung with about five pounds of wire and sandwiched between two earth walls. I almost got him with the Chidori, but this mirror just appeared before I could get him. That took most of the strike out of the lightening… in the end, I didn't even touch him. He tore the wires apart, then…" He indicated his shoulder. "Tore me apart." This last he said with a grimace of pain. He jerked his head to the side. "He broke my sword with one swing. Against that monster blade, it didn't stand a chance. He was just about to get me before you showed up."

"You're welcome, by the way," Naruto said. "How are you holding up?"

Sasuke grunted. "It's just a flesh wound. I've had worse." Sasuke took his blood-covered hand from his wound. It was a two-inch gash, cleanly cut, and shallow. "It looks worse than it is," he said.

"Right. Can't let that stoic front of yours get broken. Can you fight?"

Sasuke lifted his wounded arm experimentally. With a cry, he clutched it once again. His face paled—paled more than usual, anyway—and he undeniably cringed in pain. "I'll take that as a no," Naruto said evenly. "Just stay there and don't die on me. I can't let my best friend go out like a punk."

Sasuke laughed through gritted teeth. "No way in hell I'll go before you," he hissed.

"That's the spirit," Naruto said. "Just keep the image of yourself dancing on my grave in your head and take care of yourself. I've still got enough juice to handle Haku—and maybe even Zabuza to boot."

"Then quit talking and do it!" barked Sasuke.

Naruto sighed as he gently lowered Sasuke to the ground and propped him against the rail. "Don't you ever shut up? I have a fuckin war to fight here."

He turned and left his friend, bloody, injured, helpless. But he knew that the Uchiha's pride wouldn't let him take any more assistance than he already had.

Naruto took stock of Zabuza and Haku. The boy was kneeling at the older man's side. "How ya doin over there?" Naruto called as he put a hand on his sword's hilt.

Haku turned his head swiftly at Naruto. "Stay away," he warned. "I will not hesitate to attack if you threaten Zabuza-sama."

"And we know how well that worked out the last time you tried it," Naruto said. "I've been trying not to kill you this whole time—we could have been over and done with a long time ago. But you don't deserve to die. And, honestly, after what you told me… I don't think he does either."

Zabuza's eyes widened in surprise at Naruto's words. "Who are you to be my judge and jury?" he asked.

Naruto sighed. "As I told your apprentice… your former colleague, Yamamoto, fought I and my team just over a week ago."

Zabuza narrowed his eyes. "So… it was you who killed him," he said.

Naruto shook his head. "I was there… but I didn't deliver the killing blow, not exactly. My friends, and comrades, Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke—the kid who'd been trading licks with you for the past ten minutes or so—we hit him with an almost unstoppable combination of long-range, widespread, high-powered jutsu. We wore him out, and he died while talking. His last words… Well, in so many words, he asked, if we ever got the chance, to take out the Mizukage. He didn't say why… I didn't know the whole story. But if I had the chance, knowing the laws he passed down—I don't know."

Haku pulled Zabuza upright. The man's shoulder looked crushed where Naruto had slammed into him. Even to his untrained eye, Naruto could tell that it was destroyed almost beyond repair. It would take some incredibly talented medic-nin to repair him to where he could even have basic mobility. "That man—ugh!" he said with a grunt. "That man is destroying a whole nation with his irrationality. Yamamoto was to lead our army against the current Mizukage. One of us was going to take the title—we didn't care who. Our goals were the same. With him dead… it will take a long time to find someone to replace him. His skills were invaluable."

Naruto sighed. "Just abandon this dream!" he shouted. "Can't you see that you're in no shape to fight? Even if you get patched up—you will still probably die going up against one of the jinchūriki! Why do this at all?"

Naruto stepped back as Zabuza rose to his feet. It wasn't until he was erect that the boy saw that the man's arm opposite his torn shoulder was broken just below the elbow. There was no way for him to hold his sword… no way to execute his jutsu. He was indeed a broken man.

But the fire remained in his eyes. "Because some dreams are worth killing for! Worth dying for! What would you know of sacrifice, brat? I gave my life multiple times for my village and earned it back through battle and bloodshed! To make my dream a reality, I will fight and die a thousand times over to take it just a single step closer to realization! To hell with you and your preaching, your nay saying. The only one who can make my dreams come true is me! If I have to fight to my last breath, then fight I will! If you stand between me and my dream… I'll fucking bite you to death if I have to!"

There was a single clap in the distance. "Bravo, bravo," an ugly voice said through the remaining mist on the bridge. "That was such an excellent performance," it continued as a figure emerged through the lone cloud of mist.

It was a short, ugly, rather pudgy man in a suit. He had a cast on one arm, and a simple wooden cane in another. "Gato," growled Zabuza as he turned his weary gaze upon the man. "What are you doing here?"

The man smiled at the shinobi. "After all this time," he said, "I got tired of waiting on you to deliver on your word. You promised me the head of the bridge builder, and thus the hopes of the country… but instead all I get is a wounded ninja who can't do anything without his punk bitch sidekick." Gato shifted his gaze slightly to Haku. "I haven't forgiven you for breaking my arm, boy," he said. "I promise you, you'll pay for that."

"What have you done, Gato?" Zabuza asked wearily.

Gato placed both hands on his cane. He looked rather smug. "I've sent over a hundred of my soldiers to the house that Tazuna and his family live in. Even with the extra shinobi there, there should be enough of them to make sure that nobody not on my payroll makes it out alive. Of course, if some of my men die…" He shrugged. "The bottom line is healthier for me. Less out of pocket."

He smiled. "They should all be dead by now," he continued. "Zabuza, our deal is off. You will not, I repeat, not be getting a single ryu out of me. You failed, utterly and completely, as an employee. I expected a demon. To me, all it looks like is a baby demon, if that."

"You bastard!" Naruto shouted. "You never intended to pay him in the first place, did you?"

Gato smirked. "Hiring shinobi from the major villages can be a bit of a hassle for people like me," he explained in a condescending tone. "When they realize what we do to get by…" he shrugged. "They seem to take offense. But nuke-nin like Zabuza and Haku here… they're a dime a dozen. They can't say no to a job, especially when they have these so-called 'dreams' to work for. You ninja just love to beat on each other; it's so much easier to hire thugs to take them out when they're all worn out than pay their excessive fees. My way makes so much more business sense."

He raised his good hand and snapped his fingers. From out of the mist came dozens of thugs, most of whom had swords, or spears, or clubs, with a few other weapons thrown into the mix. They looked ragged, hungry, and dirty—but strong and mean. In short, the perfect shock troops for a cheapskate like Gato. "These guys don't cost nearly as much as you shinobi do," Gato said, "even when you put them all together. I get the results I want, and pay less than I have to. Any way you look at it, I win."

Naruto shook his head. "Not a chance," he said. "How many of your goons did you say you sent to attack Tazuna?"

Gato frowned, the tips of his mustache pointing toward the ground. "Well over a hundred of my best, boy," he said. "Why? Are you worried about them?"

Naruto shook his head, a slight smile creeping onto his lips. "No… not at all." He turned to his partner. "What do you say, Sasuke? How many do you think Hinata killed before it was all over?"

Sasuke seemed to seriously consider the question. "I don't know… maybe about twenty? Maybe more? She isn't the kind to hog all of the fun… she'd spread them out to the rest."

"Yeah… that's about what I thought, too," Naruto said.

"Wait! Wait, what do you mean?" Gato asked, panic creeping into his reptilian voice.

"You little idiot," Naruto said. "Do you have any idea who came here with us? Who's standing in front of you? No, shut the fuck up. In order—you have Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura, Yuuhi Kurenai, and Izumi Honoka. These are some of the strongest clans represented in Konoha. And you sent… thugs? They're dead. The men behind you are dead. And guess what, you idiot? Now you're dead. Because right in front of you is a seriously pissed off Uchiha… and the jinchūriki of the Kyuubi. I can personally guarantee you that none of you will leave this bridge alive. Sorry guys… but your boss is a dick. He just got you killed."

Naruto made as if to jump at the cluster of men, but suddenly Zabuza stood in his way. "Hey!" Naruto shouted as he barely avoided colliding with the heavily-muscled shinobi. "Get the hell out of my way! You're in no position to fight!"

Zabuza slowly turned his head to look down at Naruto. Though he knew that Zabuza no longer posed a real threat to him the look in the man's eyes made his blood run cold. For the first time, he realized what kind of monster the man could be when he wanted to. "Step away, boy," he said evenly. "Our fight is over. We don't have any more reason to be killing each other. So do not make this personal. I have a score to settle with Gato. So stay away while I do this. You don't want any part of this fight."

"Are you really that stupid?" Naruto shouted. "Your arms are destroyed. You can't fight in this condition!"

Zabuza turned around. "Pull off my bandages," he said. "The ones over my mouth. Come on, I don't bite."

Naruto hesitated for a second, but finally did at the man asked. He gripped the linen bandages and pulled down, exposing two rows of gleaming-white pointed teeth. "Boy," he barked at Sasuke. "I apologize for your sword. But I was wondering if I could borrow it for a minute."

Sasuke looked down at the broken blade at his side. It had shattered halfway up the tip—it was no longer than a tanto now. "Are you kidding?" he said. "What are you going to do with no hands?"

Zabuza turned to him and grinned, somewhat maniacally. "My people have a saying… 'If you tear my arms off, I'll kick you to death. If you tear my legs off, I'll bite you to death.' Well, I'm skipping step two, and I don't think I can bite that many people. But who needs hands to hold a sword, when a mouth can do it just as well?"

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then decided that he'd do the man who'd almost killed him one favor. He threw the blade at him, as straight as possible; with what looked like practiced ease, he caught it in his teeth. "Thanks," he said around the handle wrapping. "You won't want this when I'm done with it. Take mine if you want. I won't need it when I'm done."

"Zabuza-sama!" Haku shouted, finally breaking the silence he'd held. "Let me do this! I can kill them all more easily than you right now! You can still be saved!"

Zabuza turned to his apprentice. "No," he said softly. "No. I won't let you fight on my behalf anymore. You've failed me as a tool. If you couldn't beat the brat… I have no need for you anymore."

"Zabuza-sama—" Haku began to say, but he was interrupted by the man.

"Didn't you hear me?" Zabuza growled. "You aren't my apprentice anymore. Boy," he said at Naruto. "Make sure he doesn't follow me. If he does—I will turn around and come after you instead. Understood?"

Naruto gulped. The menacing aura he was giving off was almost palpable. "Yes… sir."

Zabuza smiled. "Good. Haku… Go somewhere. Live your life. Find something other than fighting. You were always a second-rate tool at best anyway." He turned toward the terrified Gato. "Your turn," he simply stated.

He rushed at the mob of men, cutting them down with the broken blade in his mouth, sometimes deflecting their weapons with it as he steadily made his way towards the trembling man standing behind all of his goons. "Kill him, you fools!" he shouted. "I'll double—no, triple the salary of any man who kills him!"

Zabuza was cutting a bloody swath through the mob and leaving a trail of destruction behind him. Through it all, knives, swords, and even a sickle had been thrust into him before he cut down the owners of the weapons. He had no way to remove them; he ignored the pain and pushed through with dogged resolution. "Money can't save you now!" Zabuza bellowed as man after man fell before, behind, and around him. Blood sprayed in great geysers into the air as he deftly worked the broken sword. "Nothing can save you! Who needs money? This is my payment to you, Gato—the payment of betraying a demon—the Demon of the Bloody Mist!"

Haku cried out in panic as Zabuza fell under the weight of dozens of goons before he could reach Gato. With a cry of triumph, the man pointed his cane at the massive dogpile of bodies. "I—he's not so tough!" he shouted. "Nothing more than a bab—"

His words were interrupted when the entire pile of bodies erupted, each thug flying away as if and explosion had thrust them through the air. Using nothing more than his leg and back strength, he'd sent almost two dozen men flying away. For a second, it seemed as if it was a whole dome of men over Zabuza… half a second later, Zabuza ran on to close the empty gap between him and Gato.

For just a second—maybe Naruto's eyes were playing tricks on him—but it seemed as if Zabuza had a shroud of chakra around him, something like what he'd had before, in the shape of a demon. The next instant, it was gone, but Naruto was pretty sure he saw what he saw. Somewhere in his bloodline… he just might have had a demonic ancestor. He was sure Zabuza had done his ancestor proud.

Gato scrambled to get away from Zabuza, but there was nothing to be done. Before he could even scream in terror, Zabuza swiped his head from his shoulders, sending it flying into the air, over the edge of the bridge he'd struggled to destroy, and into the sea below.

The body stood for a moment… then, with a spray of blood, it fell forwards in front of Zabuza.

Zabuza was hunched over in pain and exhaustion. His lungs rose and fell as he labored to breathe. Something had been damaged inside of him—and it was obvious that he didn't have long to live, not in his state.

He fell to his knees, but before he hit the ground, Haku was there to support him. "Zabuza-sama!" Haku cried as he caught the man by his broad, toned shoulders.

Zabuza grunted. The light was going out of his eyes. "Ha…Haku…" he said through labored breaths. Blood was trickling from his lips. "My most faithful tool. Tha…thank you for being by my side." In his final moments, he seemed at peace, and didn't look like such a bad guy. He had a pleasant face, with a narrow chin and a medium-sized nose.

"How could I b-be anywhere else?" Haku said, a crack in his voice. "You were the only one who cared for me… who accepted me, ever… ever looked at me as anything but-but trash."

Zabuza looked at his apprentice with a small smile. "You were never trash," he said softly. "You always… always were a good boy. Too kind… too gentle… This was not the life that was meant for you."

Haku cradled the big man's shoulders in his lap. "Don't say that…" he whispered. "All I ever wanted was to be by your side. You gave me a purpose. Nothing can replace that."

Zabuza coughed, a wad of blood flying from his mouth. "Don't talk like that," he said with a rasp. "You never needed me. I… needed you." He smiled weakly at the boy. "Thank you… you helped me… day by day… find my soul. Haku… let me see your face… one more time."

Haku slowly removed his mask with a hand stained by Zabuza's blood. It smeared slightly as it came away from his face. Tears flowed freely from his eyes, without shame, without disgrace. They were tears of love for the man. "You're… crying. Stop it."

Haku closed his eyes, but the tears came still. "I c-can't stop, Zabuza-sama," he sobbed.

"Useless…" Zabuza said with a stunted laugh. "Stop calling… yourself… a tool."

"Yes, Zabuza-sama," Haku said through his tears.

"Be a good… boy…" Zabuza rasped. He fell silent, then limp in Haku's arms. Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Bloody Mist… was dead.

"No!" Haku shouted as he clutched his master's body close to him, not caring if he got blood over him. In his arms was the only person in the world who cared for him… gave him a purpose… gave him a life. And now he was gone, never to return

Naruto and Sasuke respectfully kept their silence, a silence that was broken by a rude interruption. "This is heartbreaking," a voice called out from behind Naruto. He turned to see the remaining thugs, some thirty or so, standing together brandishing weapons. "Gato was our meal ticket. You killed him, so the cheap bastard can't pay us what's due! We'll have to kill you lot and raid the village to make this all worth the effort!"

Naruto drew his sword. "I don't think so!" he shouted as he pointed its tip at the speaker, a shorter man with a spear. "Sasuke, stay back. You're in no shape to handle this. Haku… I know that you're going through a lot right now, but I might need you to help me with this. I used almost all of my chakra fighting you, and I'm nearly burnt out."

Haku didn't respond; he merely held onto Zabuza's body, tears still flowing down his cheeks. Shit. He's in shock. Why does that always happen? He shook his head. If he stuck to his sword and used his remaining chakra to increase his speed, he had a chance to kill or injure most of them… but he couldn't do that and protect Sasuke and Haku. I'm fucked, he thought to himself. What can I do?

A whizzing sound, followed by a cry of pain, broke the tension. A man at the back of the pack fell to his knees, an arrow embedded in his calf. The mob turned as one to get the shock of their life: almost all of the men of the village were assembled, each armed with a crossbow and a full quiver of arrows apiece.

At the front of them all stood Tazuna and Inari. The boy, it seemed, had been the one who'd sent the bolt, as he stood with an empty weapon when all of the rest of the group remained fully armed. "Hey, dummies!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "We're not gonna be pushed around anymore! If you don't get out of here right now you're all gonna look like a pincushion!"

A smile sprang to Naruto's face. "Inari! What the hell are you doing here, kid?"

Inari grinned. "Well, I couldn't let you be the only hero around here! After the goons showed up at my house, all of your friends beat them around pretty easily. Most of em are dead, but a few managed to escape. One we caught alive said that the rest of them were with Gato on the bridge. After hearing that, me and Grandpa rounded up all of these guys and decided to come on down here to give you a hand."

"Inari's right," said Tazuna. "It's about time for us to stand up for ourselves. As a nation, it's our responsibility."

Naruto laughed. "Good going, little brother!" he said. "You guys take that half, and leave the rest of them to me!"

The mob of hirelings began to look nervous. "We didn't sign up for this!" one of them shouted. "I'm out of here!" He tried to run around Naruto, but in a flash, Naruto was right in front of him, his sword tip half an inch from his throat.

"Try again, bub," he said, "and you'll see what color you are on the inside."

The man dropped his weapon from trembling hands. "P-please, don't kill me," he rasped, afraid to move.

Naruto smirked. "Hey, Inari! How far are we from shore from here?"

The boy caught onto what Naruto was thinking. "About two miles," he called back.

Naruto nodded. "Okay. Everyone who wants to survive tonight… I hope you can swim." In a blur of motion, he spun around, caught the man by his collar, and tossed him into the ocean. He screamed as he plunged down and hit the water with a resounding crash. "You can jump, get tossed, or die!" Naruto shouted. "The choice is yours!"

Without another word from him, the thugs dropped their weapons and dived over the rail and into the water below. Naruto couldn't help but smile; some of them wouldn't make the swim to the shore, he knew. They would drown, or get eaten by sharks, perhaps. They deserved no less.

Inari's group came to meet Naruto in the now-vacant space. "Thanks for coming," Naruto said. "But where are my friends?"

Tazuna answered. "I told them to stay there," he said. "This had to be something that we dealt with on our own."

Naruto nodded, knowing what the man meant.

"Is that… him?" Inari asked, pointing to Zabuza's body cradled in Haku's arms.

"Yes," Naruto said grimly. "That's Momochi Zabuza. He died from injuries, but I didn't kill him. Gato betrayed him. He fought off and killed a lot of his thugs to get to Gato." Naruto pointed to his right. "There he is."

The entire assemble looked towards where Naruto pointed. "That's Gato?" Tazuna asked over the murmurings of his men. "Where's his head?"

Naruto smiled slightly. "Somewhere below your feet," he said, "or somewhere else. Who knows? The waters here are precarious. It could be anywhere by now."

Tazuna nodded in understanding. "I see." He looked at some of the men beside him. "You two—please dump him over the edge. The rest of them, too," he said, indicating the bodies of the dead goons. "But not Zabuza. We will treat him with the respect he is due. He will get a proper burial. We will not take our ire out on his body—do I make myself clear?"

The men nodded. Zabuza was fairly new—but they'd hated Gato for years.

Naruto went to Haku's side while the men tossed bodies into the waters. "Haku? Haku, listen to me. Zabuza's dead. You have to live on, for him. It's what he wanted. So don't go and do something stupid, ok?"

Haku slowly looked up. He'd stopped crying, but the tears had dried and stained his cheeks. "I… I know, Naruto-san," he whispered. "I won't kill myself, I promise."

"Good," Naruto said. "I wouldn't let you." He gently pried Haku's arms from around Zabuza's corpse. "Come on. I'm taking you back to Tazuna's for a while, at least until you get yourself cleaned up. I don't want you out of my sight for now."

Six of the village men approached the boys. With a nod of respect, they slowly lifted Zabuza onto their shoulders in a pallbearer carry and began the slow trek down the bridge. Naruto had to physically restrain Haku from reaching out to his fallen master. "There's nothing you can do," Naruto said, pinning the other boy's arms to his side. "He will be given a funeral, will full respects. Don't make this harder than it has to be."

Haku began crying again through bloodshot eyes, but his tears were softer and slow this time. "Ok," he whispered. "Ok."

Naruto stood up and gently pulled Haku to his side. "Let's go," he said, leading the boy behind him. "Sasuke, can you walk?"

The Uchiha grunted his affirmation. "My shoulder is hurt, not my legs," he said. "Honoka should be able to heal that in no time."

"Good. Let's get out of here," Naruto said. "I think I'm about to throw up."

Two days later

Naruto knew that he'd find Haku at the grave of his fallen master. Sasuke had refused to take the massive cleaver that was called a sword as his own. He had said that it just wasn't his style, but Naruto knew that it was his way of showing respect toward the man. Instead, they'd planted it at the head of the nuke-nin's grave in place of a headstone; a fitting tribute to a true warrior.

"Are you ok?" Naruto asked the boy.

Haku looked over at him. "I don't know," Haku answered. "After all this time, I always thought that I knew what life was about. But without Zabuza-sama… I just don't know what I'm going to do."

"Come with us," Naruto said, for the umpteenth time. He'd been pressing Haku to return to Konoha with him, at least temporarily, until he found something worth living for. He knew the depression Haku was going through—he'd experienced it before, himself. "We'll take care of you. Hell, you can live in my house if you want. I have room to spare."

Haku merely turned back to stare hauntingly at the grave. "I—I don't know," he said.

"Do it," Hinata said from behind Naruto. She'd come to know and like the boy in the two short days since they'd formally met. "I'm not going to take no for an answer."

Haku looked at her. "You won't?" he asked with a small smile. "What makes you think you can make me?"

Hinata grinned. "Naruto kicked your ass—I can kick his. Do the math."

Haku laughed a genuine laugh. "If you put it that way… perhaps. But… I don't want to fight. Not right now, anyway. I need time to mourn."

Naruto nodded. "I know," he said softly. "Take all the time you need. We'll be there for you. There is one condition to living with me, though, and it's unbreakable."

"What is it?"

Naruto stared hard at Haku. "If you ever, ever call yourself a tool again, I'll punch you as hard as I can. Understand?"

Haku paused… then nodded. "Understood," he said softly.

Naruto beamed. "Good," he said. "Now, let's get out of here. The others are waiting. Next stop—Konoha."

A/N: So… that's it. It's all over. Zabuza's gone, Gato's gone, the fox is unleashed, and all hell is about to break loose at the village. Konoha is in for some wild times coming up.

As I said in the last chapter, I'm beginning a new story. Keep on the lookout for it—it'll hit the net inside of a week. I'm gonna work solely on this project until then. I hope all of you check it out.

The contest for the new characters set to appear during the Chuunin exams is still open, and will be for a while to come. Any ideas are welcome. Hit me with what you got.

I'm so burnt out right now, I can hardly keep my eyes open. This is all I've got.

Take care, people. Help a little old lady cross a street or something. Do something good with your lives.

All my best.

dead witch