SUMMARY: The Wave Arc comes to an end.
Ra and Ru don't like this.
It's made even worse by the fact that they don't know what's going to happen to Re.
And that Haku is such a nice person!
How is he Zabuza's apprentice?
He's too nice for the job.
It makes them uncomfortable.
Is he pretending?
Or is this his true nature?
They think it would be more disturbing if it is.
He's too kind for this.
Life.
World.
He deserves better.
He's even gentler than Re and Re's the gentlest person they know.
Haku wins because they haven't seen his temper yet.
Re is sharp and raging all the time.
Haku is mild and calm.
Perhaps not all the time.
How would they know?
Do they even want to know?
Ra and Ru like the boy, like his kind soul but he is not Re.
He cannot be.
Tazuna awakes groggily.
The last thing he remembers is being pushed out of the way of a giant sword.
Did he faint?
He can't believe he actually fainted!
Oh well, he'll blame it on his age.
He has been weakening.
If he's honest, the bridge is the only thing keeping him going.
Once he completes it, he will be satisfied.
The people of Wave need this bridge.
He feels guilty about only paying for a fresh Genin team but that purple girl turned back because she was scared and the one who came to replace her brought another person with them.
They will be fine.
In the grand scheme of things, what's five people for this bridge that will save all of Wave?
If they do fall, they will live on as heroes of Wave, as they people who helped free them from Gato.
He invites them to spend the time at his house and they consent.
Maybe they will die for this.
Maybe not.
He might care but they are trained Shinobi.
Killers.
Still, they are children.
The least he can do is make sure that they are well fed.
Re thinks she likes Zabuza.
He has a gruff manner and he seems liable to bite her head off any second.
But she thinks he's actually a real softy somewhere underneath all that.
He clearly cares for Haku, even if he calls him 'his tool'.
"So, brat, where do you come from?"
"Konoha."
"Look, brat, I've met a lot of kids from the streets and you remind me of them. So I'll ask again, where do you come from?"
She decides it's better not to test his patience.
"The Red Light District." she answers calmly like it's the most natural place to come from.
If he hadn't been such an experienced Shinobi, Re thinks Zabuza might have tripped.
She only knows because she's become an expert at reading body language.
She's had to.
"Brat...".
Neither her nor Zabuza say anything more.
She can practically hear him drawing conclusions.
She has stayed away from him after all and flinched when he got a little too near.
She had hoped he didn't notice.
He probably did.
(He did).
They complete the rest of their 'mission' without a hitch.
Anko and Kurenai keep the stray bandits and thugs away as Ra, Ru and Haku get to work building the bridge.
Originally, all five of them had been protecting the builders but when one by one, the others left to go home and be with their families, they stepped in.
They don't care about Tazuna and Tazuna doesn't care about them but they all care about the bridge.
The bridge gets built when Gato arrives.
Ra and Ru sense Re nearby but there is no movement.
They can't see her or Zabuza.
Behind Gato, a real monster, there are rows of thugs.
Ra elbows Ru to make her point about monsters.
Ru's working on it, okay!
Gato sneers, "So the Demon of the Mist failed, huh? Oh well, I'll get him killed anyway. It would have been good if he killed you first but it's not a major setback."
Everyone knows Zabuza's not going to like that.
Well Gato and his blockheads don't know that.
Actually, maybe they do now.
Re's tagging people like mad and Zabuza's covering for her.
The thugs don't stand a chance.
The two fight their way out and Naruto happily screams "Hai!"
Ra can't call it a blood bath because there's no blood.
But all of them are soaked.
Gato laughs.
It's not quite enough water to drown him so he thinks something's probably gone wrong.
Ah the power of denial.
Gato smirks.
Then the lightning strikes.
The bandits have no chance.
Next is fire.
Then wind.
It's over in less than a minute.
The bandits are soaked, electrocuted, cremated and scattered.
Neat and tidy and bloodless.
Just like Re prefers.
Gato looks behind him but there's nothing to see.
His face falls.
There is no one to help him keep control of the Wave.
And now he must face the mercy of the very people he showed none to.
Even Zabuza steps down for the people to exact their own justice.
Execution.
Zabuza has the dubious honour of swinging the blade - mostly because the townspeople are a little bloodthirsty and he probably knows how to do it best.
Or maybe worst in this case.
Even Haku and Re can't deny that the man deserves it.
No one turns away.
They don't manage to retrieve any fortune but Kurenai is secretly glad.
She'd like to have more money, sure.
But she doesn't want to leave their rooftop, their home.
There is no one to have to put a front up for, she can be as savage as she likes.
Re doesn't even use cutlery.
Ru skins with his teeth.
Ra hates clothes.
She is allowed to run wild and selfishly, she doesn't want to let it go.
Do they really need more money?
Isn't what they have now enough?
She doesn't know for sure.
But she is happy.
For now.
"What are you going to do after this?"
"Got anymore space in that District of yours, purple? Might just come for a visit."
"Why not?"