A Simple Change: The Rasengan

By: Hideo Kazama (秀夫　風間

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and co. Nor do I own "See You Space Cowboy" by Mai Yamane.

I do, however, own this:

Sunrise brings Rebirth;

The dawn of a new day;

The Start of a new life,

Of a new beginning.

Plants and animals Flourish under the warm Sun;

Everything is calm, peaceful, happy.

But Sunset brings death;

The Terror of hopelessness;

The halt of life;

The end of the Beginning.

Famine ravages the land, leaving corpses in its wake.

The moon rises;

The only witness to the horror beneath its pale gaze.

Then Sunrise comes, and everything begins anew.

——Hideo Kazama

Chapter Two: The Bridge: Zabuza's Return

Kakashi bolted upwards, eye wide open, breathing heavily and clutching his left eye. He tried to calm his breathing, "S-something's wrong! Zabuza's not dead!"

A collective gasp swept the house, no one daring to dispute his claim. Naruto, though, had the courage to voice the question everyone wanted to ask, "What do you mean, sensei?"

Kakashi sighed, head hung, "Hunter-nin usually destroy the bodies of missing-nin on the spot, instead of moving it to another place."

Naruto didn't really understand the problem, "So?"

"Don't you see, Naruto? How did that masked boy destroy Zabuza's body?"

Naruto and his fellow Genin shared a look of enlightenment, "I see."

"So, in order to be prepared, we'll do some training tomorrow. You guys will learn some Chakra exercises."

The next day, Team Seven could be found in a small clearing in a large forest with tall trees. Kakashi, who was on crutches, lazily addressed his team of Genin, "Okay, guys (and girl), for training, we're going to do what's known as the tree climbing exercise!"

Sasuke looked surprised and agitated, "Tree climbing?"

Naruto and Hinata raised their hands, speaking in unison, "But, Kakashi-sensei, I already know the Tree Climbing exercise!"

Kakashi's eyebrow rose in mock surprise, "Oh? Naruto, I can understand Hinata knowing this exercise because the Hyuga are famous for their chakra control. But you? How do you know this exercise?"

Naruto put a finger to his lips, as if 'shooshing' his teacher, then looked around cautiously, "Big secret. Hush, hush. Not allowed to tell you."

Kakashi was undeterred, "Why's that?"

Naruto crossed his arms, "It's…"

The gray haired Jounin made a motion with his hand, "Yeah, yeah, it's what?"

Naruto frowned, "It's…classified."

Kakashi sweat dropped, "Umm…Yeah. Naruto, Hinata, since you two already know this, you may pursue your own training. Sasuke, follow me and I'll show you this exercise."

Sasuke scowled and crossed his arms, following his hobbling sensei to a different area.

When Sasuke had left, Naruto turned to Hinata, a large grin on his face, "Hinata-chan! Want to learn a cool jutsu?"

Hinata blushed at the suffix he had added, then nodded shyly, "S-sure, Naruto-kun, I w-would love to."

Naruto nodded happily, then relaxed his face and body, breathing slowly and meaningfully. He moved his right arm in a flowing circular motion, then repeated it, blue sparks trailing from his fingertips. After going through the same motion about four times, his hand shot forth, middle and pointer fingers out, and a large bolt of electricity flew from his fingertips, striking and singeing a nearby tree trunk!

Naruto remained in his position, the skin on his fingertips burnt slightly, breathing heavily. Small wisps of smoke rose from his fingers, barely visible. Through gasps and pants, he said, "Rakurai no Jutsu!"

Hinata's eyes were wide with amazement, "Sugoi, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto grinned, and then fell back on his butt, moving to sit Indian style, his legs crossed. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, "Rakurai no Jutsu is really strong, but really draining and very dangerous."

He held up his now healing burnt fingers, "If my control hadn't been as good as it was, I could have blown my arm to pieces."

Hinata gasped, her hands covering her mouth in horror. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

Naruto, seeing her face, reassured her, "Of course, I know better than to do something stupid like that."

It seemed to be all the brunette needed to calm down because a small smile graced her lips. She set her eyes determinately, her face firmly set into a determined look, "Teach me, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto grinned, jumping up excitedly. He circled her, adjusting her stance for a first timer. When he finished, she stood with her legs shoulder width apart and her knees bent, her torso turned slightly towards the same tree Naruto's attack had struck.

According to him, the chakra needed to be charged to a specific spot on the body slowly until it was of significant power. From there, it needed to be shoved from the user's body quickly and evenly, so as to prevent any nasty side effects. If it was performed correctly, the chakra turned lightning should gush from the spot towards the target. If the chakra was of significant power, the target would receive a nasty shock.

"As you continue to use it, gathering the chakra necessary should take less and less time, until you can do it instantaneously. As you can see, right now, it takes a while to gather the Chakra without hurting myself," Naruto grinned happily, "But I did just create it not too long ago."

He cleared his throat, "Now, you try Hinata-chan."

Nodding, the Hyuga heiress took a deep calming breath. Slowly, she brought her right hand up, moving it in a flowing motion side to side. She gently gathered chakra into her fingertips, willing it to stay where it was. As she continued her movements, she could hear the gentle buzz of electricity coming from her hand. She calmed herself, forcing her concentration on the task in front of her. When she thought she had gathered enough chakra, she shot her hand forward, pushing the gathered energy from her body!

Zzzt! A small bolt of lightning flew from her hand, impacting with the same tree Naruto's had!

She looked disappointed, her lightning bolt hadn't even made a scratch! "I knew it!" She told herself, "I'm a loser! I don't deserve to be on the same team with Naruto-kun!"

She was broken away from berating herself by Naruto's voice, "Good, for a first try. But you need to put more chakra into it; this is more of a finishing move than a regular combat Jutsu."

To demonstrate, he mimicked his early movements, electricity buzzing around his fingertips. With a sharp jabbing motion and a soft "Bang!" a large lightning bolt jumped from his fingers, forcing a part of the tree trunk to explode on contact!

Panting, he told her, "Not only is it very effective, but by practicing it, you can easily increase your chakra stamina!"

Nodding excitedly, Hinata copied his movements, allowing much more chakra to gather than she had before. With a battle cry, she thrust her fingers forth, forcing the chakra from her fingertips! A large bolt of lightning, about a fourth the size of Naruto's, leapt from her fingers, creating a scorch mark on the tree it hit!

Naruto cheered happily, hugging her excitedly, screaming, "You did it! You did it!"

He stopped when he noticed she had fainted, partially from his close proximity, partially from exhaustion. He set her down gently, and worriedly checked her vitals. He let out a sigh of relief when he could find nothing seriously wrong with her.

Smiling warmly, the blonde haired Genin put an arm beneath her knees and one behind her shoulders, picking her up bridal style. He slowly walked back to Tazuna's house, ignoring Sasuke as the dark haired boy continued his training.

Dinner was quiet that night in the Tazuna household. Naruto and Hinata sat side by side, just enjoying each other's company. Sasuke was gulping down food, desperately seeking the energy needed for the tree climbing exercise he had yet to finish. Kakashi had condiments and bottles placed strategically around him, keeping his face hidden from view.

Taking his time to inspect the food in front of him, the blonde haired Genin noticed that everything, though filling and delicious, was something anyone could buy off of a kid's allowance in Konoha. It suddenly hit him very hard how precious little the people of Wave had. He frowned, setting down his chopsticks. Hinata was the first to notice something wrong with him.

She leaned closer to him, whispering, "Naruto-kun?"

The blonde's eyes were downcast, staring at his knees, "Tazuna-san…are things really so horrible?"­

The bridge builder stared at Naruto, sorrow written on his features, "Yeah…"

The old man sighed, for once looking his age, "Things weren't always so bad. Inari wasn't always so reclusive and cold. Everything was peaceful and pleasant…"

His fist clenched, "Then he came along and ruined it all! If he hadn't set his cold, frigid sights on our little country, things would be great! But he had to ruin it all! He took our money! He took our freedom! He took Inari's father from us!"

The entire Tazuna family froze at his last words, each for their own reason. The old man himself froze because he just realized what he had said. Tsunami froze because she was concerned over Inari. Inari himself froze because the words of his grandfather had caused a pang of anguish and fury to cut through his heart.

The dishes at the table clanged lightly as the young boy slammed his chopsticks down in front of him, his eyes invisible behind his hat. He stood abruptly, his head down and his arms tense at his sides. Without uttering a single word, he turned on his heel and ran from the room, leaving the rest of the people there to look at his retreating back.

Kakashi (with his mask on) turned to Tazuna, "Tazuna-san, what happened?"

Tazuna turned away, a grim, sad look on his face, "It's best you don't know. Suffice to say that the courage and bravery of this village was killed by Gatou. And in the same day with the same person, Inari lost the most important thing in his life."

Naruto laughed mirthlessly, "At least Inari had a father."

Seeing his distress, Hinata reached out and squeezed his hand reassuringly. She blushed lightly when he smiled at her and squeezed back.

Standing and bowing, Naruto said, "Excuse me, Tazuna-san, Tsunami-san, I've lost my appetite."

Soundlessly, he left the room, Hinata following him a few short seconds later.

Sighing, Tazuna went back to his food, "I wonder how long it is until they figure it out?"

Chuckling good naturedly, Kakashi said, "It all depends. When will Naruto figure out that Hinata likes him and he likes her back? It might take a while…"

The gray haired Jounin sighed sadly, "…because Naruto has never had someone love him ever before. He doesn't know what love is…"

It had been a whole week since Kakashi had first taught Sasuke the Tree climbing exercise, and after those seven days, he had finally mastered it. It was night, and dinner had already been eaten. Everyone was relaxing when, for the fourth day in a row, Naruto walked in with Hinata in his arms. The shy brunette was unconscious again and Naruto didn't even bother telling Kakashi why. He simply climbed the stairs to the room he and Hinata shared, (Kakashi didn't even remember how they had convinced him to let them do that) his eyes half closed.

Kakashi had an idea as to the cause for such exhaustion, but…he'd keep that to himself. (A perverted giggle escaped his lips).

Before he knew it, Kakashi was awoken by the bright rays of the sun the next morning. He gently nudged Sasuke awake (they shared a room), rising from his beddings and making his way to the room next door (Naruto and Hinata's room). He gently rapped on the sliding door, still clothed in nothing more than a yukata and some pants.

When he received no response, he quietly slid the door open, peering inside the darkened room. What met his eyes was a very cute, yet very…lewd scene. Or at least it would have been, had less clothing been involved.

Naruto was asleep on his back, one arm beneath Hinata's shoulders, and the other lying on the floor beside him. Hinata was sleeping on her stomach, almost fully clothed (her jacket was missing) with her left arm thrown around Naruto's torso (which was lacking the usual haori). The dark haired girl's left leg was intertwined with the blonde's, which hinted that Naruto had probably fallen right to the floor as soon as he had reached the futons within the room.

Deciding that the scene was too cute to disturb, the gray haired Jounin slid the door closed, chuckling lightly. He headed back to get Sasuke back up (he was a heavy sleeper), then headed downstairs for breakfast.

Before long, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Tazuna left for the bridge, stomachs full and heads clear. Kakashi had left instructions with Tsunami that Naruto and Hinata were to follow them after they had woken and had breakfast.

Barely fifteen minutes later, Kakashi and his group had reached the bridge, only to be met with a horrible sight.

Bodies littered the ground, broken and bleeding. Machinery and equipment were bent and broken, unusable. Blood splotches followed the corpses, staining the smooth concrete and dark wood.

Tazuna had barely been able to utter the question on everyone's mind before a thick, artificial mist rolled in, blocking their long distance sight, "What the Hell happened?"

A dark, creepy voice rang through the mist, laughing at them mockingly, "Long time no see, Kakashi. I see you're still with those brats. But what's this? Two of them are missing! What's the matter, did I scare them away?"

Kakashi smirked, "No, they're simply resting after a long day of hard work."

CRASH! BANG!

Naruto bolted from his futon, eyes wide, "Who, what, where?"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaa!" a woman's scream came from downstairs, stirring Hinata from slumber as well.

The shy Hyuga rubbed the sleep from her eyes, rising next to Naruto, "Naruto-kun?"

"MOM!"

Naruto was on alert now, "That voice belonged to Inari."

Keeping his voice low, Naruto helped Hinata stand, "Get dressed quickly, Hinata-chan. We've got intruders downstairs."

Nodding firmly, Hinata followed his example, putting her jacket back on swiftly and quietly. Naruto himself pulled his haori back on, tucking it back in like it was meant to be. When they had both gotten dressed, Naruto pulled out a couple smoke bombs from his kunai pouch.

Without another word, they both disappeared into the shadows…

"MOM!" Inari shouted, surprised and fearful of the samurai standing his kitchen.

"Run, Inari!" she warned, struggling in the grip of one of the sword carrying thugs.

The first samurai, who had an eye patch and his hair pulled into many topknots addressed his partner in crime, who wore a rain jacket, "Should we take him too?"

The other gave a slight shake of his head, "We only need one hostage."

The first samurai grinned, "Knock her out, I'll take care of him."

"Inari!" with the hilt of his sword, the second samurai (Zouri) hit her in the back of her head. She fell to the ground, out cold.

The first Samurai (Waraji) advanced on Inari, drawing his sword, "Heh. Say your prayers, kid."

Just as he was about to strike, four smoke bombs fell into the room, filling it with smoke. Waraji, surprised, tried to fan it away with his hands, "What the hell?"

"You shouldn't pick on someone smaller than you," said a voice from behind him.

"What?" Waraji said, whipping around to meet a fist in his face! With a loud "THUD!" he fell to the floor, undeniably unconscious. Not three seconds later, a man's scream could be heard as Zouri fell to the floor as well.

When the smoke cleared, Tsunami and her son, Inari, saw the two previously sleeping Genin tying up the two samurai thugs Gatou had sent to kidnap Tsunami. Naruto was wearing his usual old school shinobi uniform while Hinata was missing her jacket, leaving her in a black tank top, mesh shirt, and black pants. Around her neck was a small, teardrop shaped sapphire on a small, black string.

Straightening up, when Naruto saw how scantily clad his partner was (at least, in his opinion), he blushed a bit and looked away. Clearing his throat to distract himself and catch her attention, he spoke, "Hinata-chan…umm…your coat…"

The brunette Hyuga smiled at him, "Since we're going to fight a Jounin, I figured I'm going to need as much mobility as possible. Without my jacket, I have that."

Looking surprised and slightly embarrassed, Naruto nodded dumbly, "Right. Well, we should get going now. If this place was attacked, then the bridge is probably in need of defense as well."

Nodding, Hinata followed her partner to the door, her and Naruto stopping for a second when Tsunami's voice reached out to them, "Thank you! For everything!"

Naruto turned around, flashing the twenty nine year old woman a foxy grin, "No problem! Just doing our job!"

Spinning back around, the two remaining Genin of Team Seven leapt into the trees, intent on reaching the bridge as quickly as they're legs could carry them.

The dull thud of Senbon sinking into the concrete met Sasuke's ears as he dodged them, escaping his enemy's assault on him. The brunette Uchiha growled in frustration, coal black eyes narrowed angrily. A sharp whistle met his ears, warning him of the incoming attack. With a short grunt, he jumped out of the way again, his frustration growing as he failed to see where his opponent was.

With another growl, Sasuke muttered, "Bastard."

The emotionless voice of the masked boy portrayed in all of the mirrors surrounding him met his ears, "I don't want to kill you. Just give up."

Sasuke snarled angrily, obsidian eyes narrowed in hatred, "Damn you!"

The dark haired Genin's ears twitched as he caught the sound of something flying through the air. Whipping around, he caught sight of a three pronged kunai flying in his direction!

Haku, for that was the masked boy's name, leaned out of the mirror he was in and caught the Kunai, slightly confused at its design. He was even more confused when a hard roundhouse kick suddenly slammed into his jaw, sending him flying from his mirrors!

Haku blinked when he saw someone standing over him, grinning like some kind of maniac. The masked boy's eyes widened when said person brought a foot up above his head, then brought it slamming down!

Rolling out of the way, Haku sprang up from the ground, dashing back into his mirrors. Naruto, the one who had kicked Haku (If you haven't figured that out, you're really stupid), frowned and jumped into the prison of mirrors, ready to help Sasuke.

Grabbing a Senbon, all of the Hakus in the mirrors suddenly flew at the pair of Genin, too fast for even Naruto's eyes!

The blonde Genin fell backwards, cuts and protruding senbon covering his body and tearing his clothes. Sasuke was in worse, but similar, condition. Their eyes flickered over the mirrors, seeking out a weakness.

Haku scoffed at their efforts, "It's no use. As long as I'm inside these ice mirrors, you'll never be able to follow my movements."

Suddenly, they both had an epiphany, their revelation occurring almost simultaneously, "His mirrors are made of ice!"

Sasuke flickered through hand seals, a confident smirk planted on his face. He stopped on tiger, pausing momentarily to watch Naruto charge up electricity into his right fore and middle fingers. "What in the name of…?"

Ignoring his curiosity, the dark haired boy shouted, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" while Naruto yelled, "Raiton: Rakurai no Jutsu!"

Fire and lightning lashed out at the mirrors, sometimes mixing and breaking a mirror, but otherwise unsuccessful. The two Genin cursed almost in unison, "Damn! It didn't work!"

Haku attacked again, burying more Senbon in the two teammates. When he was safely back in his mirrors, he was warning them again, "Just give up now. I do not want to kill you!"

Wiping a bit of blood from his mouth, Naruto stood, "Bah! I wanted to save this Jutsu for a more skilled opponent, but I guess I have to use it on you!"

Naruto held out his hand, chakra gathering into a swirling orb a few inches from his palm. In under ten seconds, it was finished, a glowing blue ball of chakra whirling above the blonde's hand.

Naruto grinned, wholeheartedly convinced of his victory, "Now, Rasengan!"

He made a mad dash for the mirror in front of him, running as fast as he could. Unfortunately, with his chakra focused into the Rasengan, he couldn't fling a Kunai and use the Hiraishin. Thus, Haku easily outran him and knocked him backwards, sending the Rasengan into the concrete. A large hole was created, exploding bits of cement into the air!

With a pained yell, Naruto clutched his now bleeding right arm, glaring at Haku angrily. He cursed under his breath, "Bastard!"

"Sorry, Zabuza," Kakashi said, pulling his hitai-ate up, exposing his Sharingan, "But I have to end this now!"

The ex-mist-nin chuckled, "Sharingan? Is that all you can do, monkey boy?"

Zabuza chuckled darkly, "Hehe, a shinobi's supreme technique is not something that should be showed to the opponent over and over…"

Kakashi interrupted him, "You should feel honored. You're the only person to see it twice. And there definitely won't be a third time."

Zabuza wasn't fazed, "Heh. Even if you beat me, you'll never beat Haku. He's even stronger than I am!"

Kakashi snorted, "There's nothing as boring as a man's bragging."

"Hehehe. I've figured out the trivial system of that eye. Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu!"

"Damn! All we're doing is running around!"

"Shut up, Naruto! Just try to avoid a serious wound!"

Sasuke was kneeling next to his comrade, a kunai in his grip, "Why the Hell can't you use that special speed Jutsu of yours? We could sure as hell use it!"

Naruto snarled, "Because, Dumbass, I don't have enough Chakra! And you're supposed to be the genius!"

He began to count the reasons on his fingers, "A Rasengan, a long distance Hiraishin, and a Rakurai no Jutsu! Hell, if I was normal, I'd have died of chakra depletion after the first two!"

As they dodged another barrage, Sasuke yelled back, "Well, then help me think of a plan!"

Another swarm of Senbon, another dodge, and more chakra used up, "Dammit, Naruto! C'mon!"

"I can't think of anything right now, Bastard!"

"With the mist this thick, Zabuza shouldn't be able to see either."

With a few loud clangs, Kakashi batted away a group of shuriken using a Kunai!

"Hehehe, impressive, Kakashi. But the next time you see me, everything will be over! Your Sharingan is overrated! With the mist this thick, you can't see me to copy my movements, and with my eyes closed, you can't use that eye of yours to cast a Genjutsu on me!"

"But then you're not able to see!"

Zabuza laughed, "Have you forgotten so easily? I'm a master of silent killing. I can take my target out by sound alone!"

"Calm down, Kakashi. Now, where would he attack? …Oh, no! Tazuna!"

"Calm down. Concentrate. And see through it!"

With a burst of speed, Sasuke pushed Naruto out of the way and dodged Haku's latest slash, rolling when he hit the ground! Sasuke lifted his head to glare at Haku.

"Those eyes! The Sharingan! I must finish quickly!"

Intent on catching Sasuke off guard, Haku rushed at the exhausted Naruto, Senbon at the ready. Realizing his target, Sasuke dashed forward to intercept.

When Naruto opened his eyes again, Haku was laying on the ground a few yards away and Sasuke was standing above him, shaking slightly. Feeling an onrush of relief, Naruto said, "Sasuke, you did it!"

Coughing up blood, Sasuke fell backwards into Naruto's unprepared hands, "What? Why?"

"D-don't know. M-my body m-moved on its own," Sasuke's voice was hoarse and weak, "Don't die, N-Naruto."

With a final sigh, Sasuke's eyes closed.

Hoping to finally defeat his enemy, Haku rushed the blonde, who was too tired, emotionally and physically, to move, "This is the end!"

"Naruto-kun!"

With a rough shove, Naruto was thrown away from a lethal blow yet again, this time by Hinata. When he realized who had pushed him, he scrambled over on his hands and knees as she fell, a vital artery broken and slowly bleeding, "Hi-Hinata-chan!"

He picked her up and set her head on his thighs, trying to stem the bleeding with his fingers. Tears clouded the edges of his vision, making the injury seem less serious than it was.

Slowly, Hinata rose her hand to his face, stroking his cheek softly, "T-tatoe ino-inochi tsu-tsukite mo, kono ai o ke-kese wa shinai. S-sore wa tow-towa o i-ikiru ko-koto."

The damn broke, and Naruto wept, tears of sadness flowing from his eyes. Throughout it all, he held her close. Close enough to hear her final words, "Aishiteru, Naruto-kun…"

Subete wa mou owatta to
Mimi o fusaida mama de kimi ga iu

His heart stopped, his tears dripping down his face and onto her wound as she closed her eyes one last time. With her, he felt a part of his soul disappear into nothingness.

Kotoba wa tada nagarete'ku
Yasuragu koto no nai ashita e

Red chakra gathered, condensing around his form. It whipped around, lashing out at the ground and his surroundings, forcing Haku to wince at its intensity.

Inori sae mo kieta yoru
Nani o shinjite doko e kimi ga yuku
Namida-iro no ryuusei ga azawarau you ni ima sugite'ku

As crimson bled into his irises, Naruto raised his head to the sky, roaring at the heavens, "Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Kawaranu mono nado ari wa shinai sa to!

Naruto roared out his anger and frustration, tears streaming down his face, until he was out of breath (a very long time). It sent vibrations through the bridge causing Tazuna to fall on his butt, surprised.

Tatoe inochi tsukite mo
Kono ai o kese wa shinai

It even reached the fight between Kakashi and Zabuza. "What? What is this Chakra? It isn't Haku! And it's too strong to be Kakashi!"

"NO! The seal! Is it intact?"

Sore wa towa o ikiru koto
Yume wa yami ni kakurete mo

"What is this horrible Chakra? How could he produce such a thing? And in such a huge amount!"

I GOT A RAINBOW
IN MY HANDS…

"NO, NO, NO, NO! HINATA-CHAN! HINATA-CHAN!"

Mune no oku o wataru koe ga
Kesshite kawaranu mono mo aru to iu
Shinjitsu no mae ni inoru asa

"I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" As Naruto stood, the cuts on his body healed and the protruding Senbon were forced from him. The chakra condensed around his body, forming a translucent fox that had one, bubbling tail.

Ai wa futatabi koko e modoru darou

"Zabuza! This might not suit your style, but," Kakashi unrolled a scroll, wiped some blood on it, then flung it up in the air as he did hand seals, "Let's end the fun!"

Love never dies
Love never feigns
Love never ever fades away!

With an unexpected burst of speed, Naruto dashed for his enemy, running on all fours like an animal!

"What monstrous killing intent!"

Haku backed away towards his mirrors, tossing a handful of senbon to slow him down! They bounced off of the silhouette of chakra, melted and bent. When he had made it back into a mirror, Haku immediately took off for another in hopes of evading any attacks.

Itsuka inochi tsukite mo
Kono ai o kese wa shinai

Unfortunately for Haku, he wasn't fast enough, and Naruto grabbed him by the ankle, throwing him through a mirror.

Sore wa towa ni ikiru mono
Yami o yaburi

As Haku flew through the mirror, a hard fist collided with his mask, cracking it and sending him back into his mirror prison!

Toki no naka de kooritsuku
Maboroshi o oikoshita toki

As Haku stood, Naruto came flying through the space left open by the destroyed mirror, hand poised to make the final blow…

Niji no kanata ai wa matsu
Ikusen no hikari ga matsu

"Naruto-kun!" a soft voice cried!

You got a rainbow
Rainbow in your hands…

Naruto stopped, hand inches away from a fatal blow to Haku's heart. Slowly, as though afraid of what he would discover, he turned, his crimson gaze a bit lighter than before.

There, on the ground where Hinata had said those meaningful words, was the girl herself, pale from blood loss and struggling to stand. The lack of blood had weakened her significantly.

"Hi-Hinata-chan!" Naruto whispered, as if he was unable to believe what he saw.

As Hinata fell back to the ground after another attempt at standing, Naruto was at her side in an instant, picking her up and swinging her around happily. Over and over he screamed, "Hinata-chan! Hinata-chan!"

Kakashi sighed as the malevolent chakra vanished almost completely, returning his attention to Zabuza in front of him, "The mist has cleared, your future is death."

Going through three quick seals, Kakashi braced his right arm with his left hand. Chakra began to crackle around it, buzzing like a thousand angry birds, "Raikiri!"

With the chakra under his control, Kakashi prepared to make a dash, "You are too dangerous Zabuza. This is where it ends!"

A low clapping brought everyone's attention towards the other end of the bridge, where a man with gray hair in a business suit stood. A hundred or so rogue samurai stood behind him, all grinning victoriously.

The gray haired businessman, Gatou, stopped clapping, his glasses gleaming in the now revealed sun, "I came here to get rid of you, Zabuza, but I got something more in return. I got to watch you and your snotty partner get your asses kicked!"

Zabuza turned towards him, "Kakashi, now that I have no reason to go after Tazuna, I have no reason to fight you. Our battle is over."

Kakashi nodded, then looked over to Naruto, who was standing with Hinata a few yards away, "Naruto! You have enough chakra to give Zabuza a hand? I'm sure he could use some quick and speedy help!"

"Haku! Let's take this bastard out!"

"Hai, Zabuza-san!"

Kakashi turned his head and closed his eyes as Naruto defended the mist duo while Zabuza and Haku plowed right through the ranks of the Samurai and killed Gatou!

With the entirety of Gatou's hired men too shocked to prevent their escape, Naruto, Zabuza, and Haku returned, out of breath and tired, to stand next to Kakashi. Hinata rushed over as fast as her legs would allow and clung to Naruto's side, concerned and fretting over his new flesh wounds (Not that she was in much better shape. She had lost a lot of blood, regardless of the missing cuts).

Kakashi eye smiled at his pupil as Sasuke stirred where the previous ice mirrors were, "Good job, Naruto."

"Hey, hey!" one of the samurai yelled, "You killed our meal ticket! The means we have to pillage the city and take everything of value!"

The group behind him shouted in agreement.

Just as they were about to charge, a crossbow arrow landed in front of them, and, when everyone looked to see where it came from, they saw the whole village standing on the bridge with whatever weapon they could have found (pots, pans, pitchforks, etc.).

"Don't come any closer," one said, "Or heads will roll!"

Grinning, Naruto turned to his teacher, "Kakashi-sensei! You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Kakashi grinned back through his mask, "I think I am!"

They made a hand seal in unison, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The Kakashi clones flexed their muscles, "You want some of this?"

All at once, the enemy samurai fled as fast as they could from the bridge.

"Kakashi…" Zabuza said.

"Yeah," the Jounin answered.

"I think…I think it's time Haku and I stopped running. If you and your village would allow it…I think Konoha would be a good place for us…for Haku."

Kakashi smiled, "I'll escort you to Hokage-sama personally."

Two weeks later…

"Thanks to you, we've completed the bridge," Tazuna said, ruffling his grandson's hair.

"Thank you for everything, Tazuna-san. We'll be seeing you later." Kakashi smiled before he and his team turned heading for Konoha.

Tazuna smiled, "Let's call this bridge…The Great Naruto Bridge…"

As Team Seven and the mist duo headed back to Konoha, Naruto and Hinata fell behind, walking together. Blushing, Hinata asked, "Ano…Naruto-kun, about what I said…do you…Ano…do you feel…the same?"

Naruto sighed, "Hinata-chan…When I thought you had died…That's the saddest I've ever been in my entire life. I felt as if I'd lost a piece of my soul. It felt as if my heart was ripped out and shredded to pieces."

Hinata looked at him, understanding in her eyes. She hung onto his every word as he continued, "But…but, I suppose I'm glad that it happened, because…it opened my eyes…"

He sighed, "If you…If you had really died, I don't know what I would have done. I don't think I'd have wanted to live without you. In that instant, I realized…"

He laced his fingers with hers, squeezing her hand, "I realized that I finally understood what love was…and that I was in love already, I just hadn't known."

Leaning down, he planted a soft kiss on her cheek, "Aishiteru, Hinata-chan."

Laying her head against his shoulder, she smiled lightly, "Aishiteru, Naruto-kun."

A/N Yeah, in case you didn't recognize it by the song lyrics, I'm a "Cowboy Bebop" fan. That song just seemed to fit into that spot. And I know many of you are wondering how Hinata's fatal wound healed. I'll reveal that next chapter during Naruto's talk with Kyubi before the Chuunin Exams.

I just couldn't kill Haku and Zabuza. All right, guys and girls, how many of you cried when Hinata-chan 'died'? I know I almost did, and I knew what was going to happen.

It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that Kyra-chan will not be able to beta read because of a stupid internet problem I'm having. I hope it's fixed soon so that she can proofread the next couple chapters for me. I still have enough contact with her to have "Kyra-chan's Corner" as I've come to call it, but that's it.

Translation time!

Tatoe inochi tsukite mo, kono ai o kese wa shinai -Even if my life ends, this love will not disappear.

Sore wa towa o ikiru koto -It's something that will live forever

Aishiteru -I love you

Rakurai -Thunderbolt/Bolt of lightning

Right then! Read and review!

Ja ne!

Hideo Kazama