~Scroll 33~
Haku… Zabuza mentally cried as he clenched his teeth tightly around the kunai hilt, I'm coming!
Then the grieving Nin charged.
"WHAT?" Gato squealed like a pig as he fled to the safety of his hired thugs once he realized that the beaten man was charging toward him!
"That's enough! What are you waiting for? Kill all of them!" Gato shrieked, causing his men to jeer and cheer 'Let's Go!' and 'Yeah!'
One hired thug foolishly stepped forward to protect his cowardly Boss.
"Even if you're a ninja, you're half dead, against all of us!" He jeered, "You don't stand a chance!"
The hired thug then gasped in surprise as he saw Zabuza's ma'ai, his warrior's aura, physically manifest itself into a horribly maw of a grotesque oni.
A… The thug and his companions froze in fear at the charging man's massive killing intent, A demon!
Gato, unaware of his men's frozen fright, sighed in relief, believing himself safe behind the wall of his hired men. Until he heard the screams and saw the fountains of blood painting against the blue sky.
Despite the sharp, biting pain that littered his body, Zabuza's mind was immune to the thoughts of his surrounding enemies. His only thought was Gato! Zabuza pushed past the last remaining barrier that stood between him and his prey. He lunged forward, jabbing the kunai into Gato's fatty chest.
"Why won't you die?" Bellowed three mercenaries as they stabbed Zabuza in the back.
"I-if you're in such a hurry…" Gato chocked out as blood spittle drooled pass his lips, "to be reunited with your little whore… go alone!"
"I…" Zabuza growled between pained breathes, "have no intention… of going to the same place… as Haku…"
"Wh-what are you babbling about? Ugh…"
"Heh…" Zabuza cruelly chuckled, "… I'm taking you with me… to HELL!
"Even an ogre in name only…" Zabuza gasped as he stepped back, "a washout from Kirigakure village… can become a real demon in how he meets his death."
"AIEE-!" Gato squealed as Zabuza charged with another slash to Gato's ribs.
"Once we're in hell, I can take my time and show you over…" Zabuza viciously growled, "and over… who is, or is not, 'a baby demon'!"
Then Zabuza swung his torso wide and fast as the sharp kunai gently whistled through the air.
And Gato's head flew across the bridge, landing with a dull THOP, THOP onto the ground.
Kakashi sighed in relief, knowing this nightmare would soon be over.
Naruto watched solemnly as he could hear Zabuza's Heart Song cease its horrifying wails and begin to fade.
And Zabuza… He ignored Gato's body as it dropped heavily to the ground next to him. The Mist-Nin was glowering at the cowardly hired mercenaries.
They gave out frightful shrieks as they looked upon the bloodied Demon of the Mist.
Then…
A sick and wet cough echoed painfully in the silence as blood pooled about the dying Nin.
Please… keep me beside…
Slowly the world lost its shades of reds and greens, leaving everything in a strange hue of blues and yellows.
Then slowly everything became grey and white…
Everything save for Haku's smiling face.
It's… goodbye now, Haku… Thanks for everything… And I'm sorry…
Zabuza's body collapsed on the ground while the mercenaries watched stunned.
"This was the end of a man who lived full out." Kakashi respectfully spoke, which caused Naruto to gently smile as he replied, "Yeah."
/
Darkness. Everything was covered in darkness. There was nothing in the darkness. It was as if he was floating free. He felt no pain. He felt no fear. Not even the Nightmares plagued him here. He sighed. Finally… finally, he was free. Here in the darkness, nothing mattered. The past, the present, not even the future mattered here in the darkness. It was as if he did not matter in the darkness, and he liked it!
He did not want to leave the darkness. Here, he felt no pain, no fear. He felt nothing, and he liked it! Here, he did not have to see the Nightmares, and he loved it! Here, no one bothered him. No one expected him to be better than the best. No one cared here, and he relished it! He sighed. He could stay here, and he will!
SOB. SOB.
LUBDUP.
"Sasuke…" A voice called, familiar, faint and very distant.
No! Go away! He growled at the intruding voice.
SOB. SOB. SOB.
Suddenly his body felt heavy. He felt pain screaming throughout every fiber of his being. He wanted to scream and cry! He wanted the darkness back! He wanted the freedom to feel nothing back!
SOB.
But he knew… He knew he could not go back. No thanks to her! Oh, how he hated her at that moment. How dare she!
"… Sakura…" Sasuke whispered his throat dry, parched and sore.
The sobbing mass of pink looked up as she stared in disbelief at the young man laying on the ground.
Tazuna gasped in surprised.
Before Sasuke could say anything else, Sakura suddenly clutched on to the raven-haired teen.
"SASUKE! SASUKE! SASUKE!" She cried over and over, faintly mindful of his injuries.
The old bridge-builder smiled in relief as he watched the two children before him.
I'm so happy for you, Sakura.
Sasuke hissed as the young kunoichi accidentally brushed against one of the many senbon nestled in his lithe frame.
"Oh! Sorry!" She stuttered then gently let go and made a mental note of which injury should be tended to first.
Sasuke lowered his eyes to hide not only his pain but also his hatred toward the pinkette, who dared to bring him back from the darkness. Slowly the Uchiha tried to get to his feet, only to drop to his knees as his body quaked in pain.
"Don't try to move!" Sakura scowled, which Sasuke ignored as he suddenly remembered.
His Naruto was left alone with that Ice-Nin.
"Naruto! How's Naruto?" Sasuke demanded.
"Naruto's fine!" Sakura assured her teammate as she tried to keep the brooding teen from moving, "And the boy in the mask is dead…"
Sasuke was stunned.
"Dead-?" He questioned, "Did Naruto..?"
Sasuke had to know. He knew that his blonde was powerful, untapped but powerful nonetheless, and if Sasuke could properly get the blonde bound to him then…
"N-no…" Sakura shuddered at the horrifying thought of her otouto killing anyone. "I mean… I'm not sure. I didn't see it very well. But the boy died trying to protect Zabuza."
"Hmm." Sasuke grunted in understanding. He was a bit disappointed that it was not his blonde, who killed the nuisance, but then again, he looked at it as a mixed blessing. The raven-haired teen wanted to see and be there when the blonde made his first kill. Sasuke did not doubt that it would be a beautiful sight to behold.
"I… was afraid…" Sakura quietly whispered, " I thought…"
"SASUKE!" Naruto's voice echoed over Sakura's soft voice.
The two teens looked up to see a stunned Naruto staring at them, more specifically at Sasuke.
"NARUTO-!" Sakura cried back in joy, "IT'S SASUKE. HE'S ALL RIGHT! HE'S ALIVE!"
Naruto could not believe his eyes or ears and yet they presented him the truth.
Slowly standing to his feet, ignoring Sakura's persistence to help, Sasuke gave the blonde a weak wave.
A thousand watt smile broke on the blonde's face as he felt his heart and soul rejoice at the sight of a friend, thought forever lost, was indeed alive.
~KA'A!~ Naruto happily send.
Despite his distrust toward the young Avenger, the ancient Kitsune could not begrudge his Host of his joy.
~But..? How?~ Naruto send in confusion.
~Haku.~ Was all that Ka'a send.
Naruto then turned and looked at the fallen Mist-Nin.
Haku… while we fought, he broke his heart… Zabuza's words echoed in his mind and his heart, over you… and your friends. That's the truth. He was too kind… too gentle. Naruto shyly smiled. I get it… He…
"I've been worrying since the fight began…" Kakashi heavily sighed, "but…"
Naruto smiled gently at his sensei, who found himself unable to speak. The silver-haired ninja could not take his eyes off of the young shinobi. Despite the haggardness of Naruto's appearance, the young blonde still held a presence of calm and peace. Much like an unearthly angel, who descended upon chaos to bring hope. It made Kakashi wonder if this was the reason why the shinobi world feared Naruto's holy kind. The Jounin did not know, but he would be damned before he would let anyone harm the blonde, who gave him peace in his heart and soul.
"HEY!" A voice bellowed, interrupting Team-7's respite and surprising Kakashi and Naruto, "Aren't you sweethearts forgetting something?"
One of the surviving thugs stood before the two exhausted Nin. He was an odd looking male with a strange hair-do and a single red stripe war-paint across his face. He looked rather comical rather than frightening.
"You ninja killed our meal ticket! And now you're gonna die! The only way we can break even now…" The mercenary bellowed, "is to overrun the city and loot every business and home!"
"Oh yeah!" A hired thug cheered from the back, causing a sudden mob of cheers.
"LET'S GO!" Then they charged.
"Uhhh…" Kakashi grunted mostly in annoyance rather then in apprehension, "This isn't good.
"I'm afraid… with the Lightening Blade, the illusions and conjurations… for the moment, I've exhausted my chakra."
Naruto cantered his head to the side then gave an impish grin to his bedraggled sensei, who arched a brow curiously.
"No need to worry, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto calmly stated, "Friends have arrived!"
THUKK!
Landing in front of the mercenaries' path was a crude-looking but still very effective bolt.
"Heyy -!" The hired thugs skidded to a halt.
"STOP WHERE YOU ARE." Inari's boyish voice commanded as he stood before his fellow villagers. Each armed and each determined to protect their home. "THIS ISLAND IS OUR HOME. ONE STEP FURTHER…" Inari warned as he took aim with his crossbow, sighting in a mercenary into his line of fire, "YOU'LL DIE WHERE YOU STAND!"
"Inari…" Tazuna whispered as he noticed his grandson, standing battle ready, then he saw the rest of his village, standing tall and proud behind his tiny grandson, "All of you…"
"INARI!" Naruto happily greeted.
"NARUTO-NII!" Inari smiled, completely losing his sober warrior demeanor in favor of his happy-go-lucky one.
The stand-off was pronounced. On one end were the mercenary, hungry for blood and treasure and yet also very wary from the heavy loss of their companions. And on the other end were the villagers, tired and fed-up with the abuse that they had endured and suffered from Gato and his men. Despite their inexperience in battle, their determination made them stronger than any experienced warrior.
Naruto was pleased and happy that the village had finally banded together to fight; however, Naruto felt that a good bluff was needed more than bloodshed.
The blonde teen brought his hands up, borrowing a little strength from Ka'a, who happily gave it to the kit-ling.
Art of Shadow Doppelganger!
The air echoed with a series of tiny explosions as than a half of dozen Narutos appeared before the army of mercenaries.
The hired thugs paused for a moment, thinking about their odds.
Kakashi smirked at his clever little blonde.
I can't manage anything solid with my chakra so low. Kakashi thought, But a bluff should be enough for these bozos!
Art of the Shadow Doppelganger: Kakashi Style.
Then a small platoon of Kakashis appeared from the smoke.
"AIE - !" The cowardly thugs shrieked as they watched the army of ninja appear.
"Now… shall we?" One of the Kakashi shadow clones asked menacingly.
"NEVER MIND!" The mercenaries cried, "RUN AWAY!"
The mercenaries scrambled back to their ships so fast that many of them had dropped their own weapons for more speed. And as the cowardly group of thieves and looters fled, the villagers cheered. It was then that Naruto approached Zabuza's body. It was barely audible, but the blonde still heard the faint hum of Zabuza's Heart Song.
Kakashi tensed as he watched Naruto gently knelt beside the Mist-Nin.
"… looks like it's all over…" Zabuza's voice was soft and weak, "… eh, Yoko..?"
"Hai." Naruto replied with equal softness as he gently brushed away the Nin's bandages.
"Yoko…" He sighed peacefully, taking comfort from the teen's gentle caress, "Do me a favor?"
"Hai, Zabuza-san."
"… I want to… see… his face."
"Hai." Naruto whispered then looked up to his silver-haired sensei.
Naruto did not need to ask for the Jounin heard everything. Kakashi quietly bent down and gently cradled Zabuza's cooling body into his arms. Naruto just watched then noticed something white and pure floating gently from the heavens.
"It's snowing." The teen simply stated as he looked up then gracefully rose to his feet and followed his sensei, ignoring the villagers' mutterings about it being the middle of summer.
Meanwhile Zabuza watched with fondness as the tiny fluffs of snow danced against the grey-blue sky.
My dear Haku… are you crying?
"… thank you… Kakashi…" Zabuza whispered as he gazed lovingly at the seemingly sleeping face of his beloved.
You were at my side right from the start… and I'm at your's, now, at the end…
His entire body trembled with pain, but he ignored it as he gently caressed his mate's lovely face.
"… if I could…" Zabuza whispered tenderly, ignoring the blonde Leaf-Nin who knelt down between the two Mist-lovers, "… if I were able… I would want to go… to the same place… on the other side… as you."
The snow silently fell about them without care. A single snowflake then gently landed on Haku's right eye. It melted as it trailed down the teen's face, giving him the appearance that he was crying.
"… he…" Naruto quietly whispered, "was born in a village where it snows a lot…"
I see… Kakashi thought as he watched his student place a hand on Zabuza's and Haku's head.
"He was a pure spirit - as true and clean as a newly fallen snow." Kakashi said, which made Naruto smile.
"{You can go with him, Zabuza-san…}" Naruto whispered with that special timbre of his, "{… go to that place… together.}"