Chapter 17

A Gift for Goodbye: Promises for the Future

On a hill overlooking the Land of Waves, Team Seven watched in silence as oranges and pinks colored the sky around them with the rise of the sun. The moment of respite settled over the team like a warm blanket on a cold December night. Amari's body and posture remained relaxed; her right hand rested behind her back as she held onto her left forearm, her eyes gazed out at the horizon and the surrounding area, imprinting every little detail of this peaceful moment into her memories.

Today they would leave the Land of Waves behind and in all likelihood never return. Their departure was always inevitable. Once a mission was completed they were to return back to Konoha to debrief and, depending on the status of the team, receive their next mission or rest. Shinobi life was a life on the move, a life of constant missions and training until the end of their career; whether because of injury, death or old age depended on the luck of the shinobi in question.

Regardless of the connections made on a particular mission, no matter how attached one became with the client or location, they always had to return back to Konoha and pick up their next mission. In a way, Amari understood why some shinobi went out of their way to not connect with anyone outside of their comrades. Knowing they might never see the Land of Waves or Tazuna's family…it filled her with a deep sense of sadness that contrasted the tranquil environment surrounding her.

They hadn't been here long, not in the grand scheme of time…yet it felt as if they had spent several long months in the Land of Waves. So much had happened in their time here, as cliché as that was to say. For Amari, though, it was the truth.

Her time here in this land had changed a lot within her, to the point that she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was not the same kunoichi who came here. A piece of her had been sacrificed on the bridge, a piece she'd never be able to get back. What she lost wasn't a visible part of the structure, and it was possible no one except her would be able to see it, but resting in the foundations of the bridge was a piece of her heart and soul…but it wasn't alone. There was a piece of Haku there with her, and Zabuza, and her team.

All seven shinobi now carried a scar of some kind from that fateful battle. Some of those scars weren't visible like the ones across her arm; they were buried beneath the surface of their outer shells, etched into their hearts so they would never forget the events of that day.

The piece Amari lost wasn't something she could easily put into words. It was nothing as simple as learning her own inadequacies or losing what was left of her innocence to shinobi life or having what little arrogance she had shattered. Those moments did happen, but they were small parts of a whole picture words weren't capable of explaining. They were too mundane, too bland to describe what she gave up in her soft heart's attempt to bridge the gap of friend and foe.

On that day her walls had crumbled and her heart was laid out on the line to her enemies for them to see the kind of suffering she was experiencing. She had expressed feelings and emotions that could have been easily disregarded by her enemies by cutting down her weakened form right then and there.

But they didn't.

Haku had felt her pain, had shed tears with her over their shared agony. Zabuza had hesitated to continue the fight at seeing her broken form and at hearing Haku's refusal to keep fighting her. Even Kakashi hesitated to strike them down when he had every right to as both a shinobi and as her mentor.

But…perhaps by leaving behind those pieces of themselves in the foundations of the bridge they opened up space within their hearts and souls to become better, to grow as people and shinobi. To become more than merely tools. Amari couldn't speak for the others; each of them had gone through their own experiences and had their own demons to fight, but she wanted to believe more good could grow out of this experience.

The bridge for the Land of Waves wasn't just a structure or even a foundation for their new future as it was meant to be, not to her anyways. To Amari it would always be the place where wills had collided and two threads of fate entwined.

Because of that, leaving behind the Land of Waves was far more difficult than she ever imagined. This place would always be special to her due to the many first experiences she encountered. Her first real mission. Her first time in an extreme life or death shinobi battle. Her first memory from her past. Her first critical injury. Her first friend from beyond the village.

Alas, the bridge was finally finished and that meant they were homeward bound. Home. Although she was sad to leave, the thought of home brought a smile to Amari's face. She missed Konoha and the people precious to her. Lord Third, Iruka, Shikamaru, the quiet sanctuary of her home, she missed them all, but the person she missed the most was her mother.

Kurenai's presence was one of protection, peace and love—feelings she had desperately needed since jumping in front of the Lightning Blade. Not to take away from everything Kakashi had done for her; ever since that day he had been the lifeline that pulled her back from the raging storm of terrible feelings she was overcome by. Out of her entire team, Kakashi was the one who truly understood everything she was going through. When she woke in the early hours of the morning from her frightening nightmares, he was there as a pillar of support, sitting with her as she fought to regain control of her emotions and trembling hand. He grounded her back in reality, kept her from falling back into the memory and did his best to be a soothing anchor away from the psychological and emotional trauma.

Amari couldn't properly express her gratitude for his patience and comfort without a hug, but she promised herself not to force him into that awkwardness when she was most vulnerable. As wonderful as Kakashi was, he wasn't Kurenai. She couldn't just latch onto him and never let go and expect him to hold her back. Generally speaking, he wasn't one for physical contact or her brand of hugs. No matter how much she admired him and appreciated his presence in her life, Kakashi wasn't her father. He was her mentor and squad leader who had already done more for her than what was expected of him by shinobi standards.

Of course, even though she couldn't wait to see her mother again to hug her as tightly as she could, that didn't mean she was looking forward to explaining the scars on her arm or the nightmares. That particular part was going to be a huge drag. "Hey mom, just back from our mission and look at the new scars I gained!" Amari groaned internally. She may never let me out of the house ever again.

"Kakashi," Zabuza's voice dragged her out of her thoughts. Turning around, she saw the pair of rogue Mist shinobi arriving. Haku carried two crosses made out of sturdy, cylinder shaped pieces of wood. He offered her a smile that she returned before walking across the grassy hill to place the crosses near the edge.

Amari moved to meet him and silently took one cross to help him set it on the hill. This was all part of a ruse Zabuza was hoping to perpetuate to throw the tracker shinobi off their trail. The villagers were in on it as well, helping to spread the story of their battle with Gatō and his thugs but twisting it just enough to make it sound like Zabuza and Haku met their end.

When the pair was finished, Haku wrapped a spare obi around one and tied it so the wind wouldn't take it. He cast his eyes out to the horizon and smiled at the sunrise. "Had our battle ended differently, I would have liked to be buried here," he said.

"I…" Amari lowered her eyes and looked at the cross she planted. It wasn't a bad spot, she had to admit. There was a nice view and it was unlikely anything would ever be built up here to ruin the peaceful nature surrounding it. But…"I'm happy no one had to be buried."

"As am I."

Haku stood up and offered a hand to her, the kindness in his eyes and warmth from his smile lifting her spirits in the same way he lifted her from the ground. "Thank you," she thanked, smiling at him as their held hands lingered together longer than necessary before he returned to Zabuza's side. I'm going to miss his smile and these fuzzy feelings our connection gives me.

"So this is where we part ways, eh?"

Their Sensei nodded in agreement but Amari was the one to speak, her heart sinking at the reminder. "I…I guess this is goodbye then." To say both groups had started off on the wrong foot was a massive understatement, like saying the sun was only a little hot or that being engulfed by a Fire Ball Jutsu would be a drag. But now they were basically allies…and Haku was a friend she'd miss more than she could admit out loud.

Naruto would always be her best friend and the warm, fuzzy ball of energy she desperately needed in her life…but in Haku she found understanding she could scarcely describe. What Naruto experienced growing up in the Leaf was far different than her own experience. She hadn't grown up hated and ignored by an entire village. She never faced their ridicule, and no matter how her life turned out, the likelihood of their paths being the same was almost impossible.

With Haku though…the lives they lived were one critical life moment away from leading them down the others path. The connection they made on the bridge and how they were able to build it since their battle fulfilled something in her, in them. It made giving up that piece of her heart on the bridge worthwhile. She wanted it to keep growing…she didn't want to lose this brand new connection she had, but there was no way to avoid it.

No matter how she worked it in her mind, their status as rogue shinobi—especially Zabuza's part in the assassination attempt on the Mizukage—made any chance of bringing them back to Konoha impossible. Shinobi of the Leaf wouldn't just open their arms to them as Amari and Team Seven had. They'd want to interrogate them or kill them on sight, and if the Mist caught wind of Konoha harboring them within their walls, they might ask for them to be turned over on the threat of war.

In the end this was the only option where they could stay alive and possibly have a chance at meeting one another again.

An unlikely chance, but a chance all the same.

"Don't tell me you're going to get all emotional, little girl," Zabuza taunted without his past malice.

Well…she should have known her soft heart would have been met with that response. Zabuza wasn't going to get all cuddly on her, though the thought of the Demon prancing around hugging random strangers was enough to make her lips quirk up in a smile. "Not a chance, old man. I was just wondering if I had enough time to pulverize you again."

"Heh," he chuckled at her. "When you can back your bark up with actions then come see me."

"Sensei…" Sakura's quiet voice caught everyone by surprise and made them all turn to their attention to her. Her normally fiery emerald eyes were downcast, deep in contemplation on the question she was hoping to ask. "Is…Is the way of the shinobi really just to use and be used as tools until we're worn down or broken?"

A serious question befitting of the troubled sigh from Kakashi. Unlike Amari, her teammates hadn't had the luxury of time to search for their ninja way or sift through their own questions about shinobi life. Yet a quick glance around to the thoughtful and even downtrodden features of her three teammates was all that was necessary to see they were all wondering the same thing: what was the way of the shinobi?

"In the hands of destiny, all shinobi are merely tools," Kakashi started. "Right or wrong, it's just the way it is regardless of what village you call home. It's been that way for as long as shinobi have existed."

"Just because something has been one way for a long time doesn't mean it has to be that way forever," Amari stated firmly. The way of the shinobi was changeable because people themselves could change. All it took was the desire to try and the will to follow through with it.

"If you ask me, if being a tool is all shinobi are meant to be then something is seriously out of whack," Naruto piped in, a pensive frown on his face. "I mean, what's the point of all our training then? To end up tearing ourselves up internally just like Haku and Amari were?"

"What is the reason for that?" Sasuke questioned.

Kakashi exhaled a long sigh for a reason Amari wouldn't have comprehended until recently. What they were asking for was a straight answer, one that was written down somewhere to give a shinobi in their current predicament the guidance they needed. Unfortunately, there was no answer, not any that was written down in a book at least. If there had been she wouldn't have had such a hard time finding it herself.

Feeling like she could offer some advice here to help guide them through the fog she recently came out of, Amari grabbed her left bicep to ease her nerves and spoke up. "Guys…there's no written down answer for anyone to give you. Shinobi life is…" Cruel, unforgiving, painful. "There is no easy path to follow," she decided on instead of the first three words to come to mind. "But that doesn't mean we are bound to follow the kind of life where we are fighting for reasons we don't understand or purposes we did not choose. We can find our own ninja way and choose a path that keeps us true to ourselves."

Looks of praise for her answer crossed Zabuza and Kakashi's features, inadvertently causing her to turn her eyes back to her toes in shyness over their approval. She still really wasn't good with this stuff. Guess I still have some room to grow.

A contemplative silence fell over her three teammates until…

"Okay!" Naruto suddenly declared, startling Amari thoroughly. A bright grin had pulled onto his lips as he looked out at the sunrise. "I've decided that from now on I'm going to find my own ninja way. A way that is straight and true and won't leave me with any regrets! From now on, I'm following the Way of Naruto!"

His proud declaration made the dōjutsu wielder's lips split into a fond smile as it brought out smiles and smirks from the others. It had taken her days to figure out what she wanted to do and dissect what she wanted out of life. But not for her best friend. Nope. He was too special and strong willed to let himself be held down by the same questions that had kept her chained in doubt after the battle on the bridge.

You really are one of a kind, Naruto.

"Heh, for a bunch of brats you aren't half bad," Zabuza said, chuckling at the Leaf Genin.

He walked forward to his fake grave and took his sword off his back. Swinging the blade once, he impaled it into the ground so it sat at a diagonal angle.

"Leaving your sword behind?" Amari asked in slight confusion.

"The Mist Tracking Unit won't just take the villagers at their word, and it's possible a few might slip up with insignificant details about how we scared off Gatō's thugs. Leaving this may throw them off our scent permanently." He looked out at the horizon. "Who knows, maybe it'll serve as a reminder to these people to honor the sacrifice you made to spare our lives and theirs."

A humbled smile formed on her lips as her eyes fell to the ground. He hadn't said it, but she could hear the unspoken 'thank you' behind his words. As for his sword, again he hadn't said it but it was essentially the symbol of their truce and alliance as he put his past behind him.

"When we next meet I'll be even stronger than last time. So you better prepare yourself, old man."

Zabuza flicked his eyes over to her, a smirk clear on his face under his bandages. "Challenge accepted, little girl."

"Don't forget about the rest of us! Next time we meet we won't go so easy on you," Naruto boasted. Sasuke smirked and hummed in agreement to the deal being struck. Even Sakura nodded confidently to the promise they were making. Kakashi, on the other hand, was rubbing the back of his neck in exasperation.

Next time. Amari liked the sound of that. It felt like a promise that they would be able to keep. Maybe we will meet again. Maybe it isn't unlikely as I think.

"Looks like you've got yourself a lively bunch, Kakashi," Zabuza said as he left the sword and grave behind, walking past their sensei. "Try not to let them get killed."

"You didn't make my job any easier giving them that challenge," Kakashi replied.

The rogue ninja chuckled and dipped his head in a small nod. "Good. It'll keep you on your toes."

Before they departed for good, Haku approached Amari. "In case we never meet again." He pulled out an object her eyes first recognized as a flower, but when she really looked at it her eyes widened in astonishment. While the object was in fact a flower, it wasn't any normal flower that could be found in a rose garden or in the wild. Crystalline icy blue shimmered as the light hit it, sparkling as she awed over the beauty of the ice crystal flower he was offering her.

The gift was captivating, and oh kami she could feel a blush coming on. Amari gently took the flower from him, though based on how tough his mirrors were she was certain it could withstand more damage than a small fall. Haku bowed to her. "Thank you for saving my life."

There was a faint blush on his cheeks as well, and the chuckles from Zabuza and Team Seven were telling signs they were going to be teased all the way home. What a drag, she thought without really meaning it.

Totally worth it.

"I- I wish I would have been thoughtful enough to get you a gift in return. This is magnificent," Amari awed as she twisted and turned the crystal flower to examine every inch of it.

"Your kindness is gift enough," he said as he came up from his bow, his warm smile reaching his eyes and keeping her smile on her lips.

Oh man, why does he have to be so kind? She could feel her face flushing, and that meant the teasing was going to be even worse than normal.

Totally worth it.

"Stay true to your Nindo, Amari. I hope we meet again someday."

"Me too and I will. Try not to let the old man fall back into old habits. If he does, find me and I'll kick his ass again."

"More like jump in front of a deadly jutsu again," Zabuza deadpanned.

Haku nodded and gave her one last heartwarming smile before returning back to Zabuza's side. After one final farewell, the pair of Mist shinobi headed off to wherever they decided to go. Don't be troublesome, Haku. I want to meet you again someday, she thought as she watched them walk away.

"All right guys, let's head home," Kakashi said.

"Right," the four agreed.

On the walk to the bridge Amari kept the crystalized flower in her hands, smiling softly at it and enjoying every bit of warm fuzziness filling her heart. Someday…

She'd make sure they met again at some point in the future. That was a promise.

Tazuna, Inari, Tsunami and some of the villagers who had joined them to scare off Gatō's thugs met them at the bridge, all there to see off the heroes who saved their land.

"We could have never finished the bridge without you. I can't tell you how much we're going to miss you," Tazuna said, looking torn between happiness and sadness.

"Do be careful," Tsunami said.

Amari nodded. She doubted there would be any trouble on the way home but it was always good to be careful.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Kakashi thanked.

"Now now, no one shed any tears. We'll come back and visit real soon," Naruto declared for the rest of the team.

Guess there is no choice in the matter now. Not that she didn't plan on visiting again someday anyways, but now she could drag along her team thanks to Naruto's promise.

A win-win in her opinion.

"You swear you will?" Inari's choked up voice hit her heart strings hard. Tears were welling up in his eyes as he fought to not shed any tears.

Damn it, please don't cry. I don't think my heart can take it.

Tazuna rested his hand on the nearly crying boy as Naruto too began holding back his tears. Seeing them on the verge of breaking down awoke Amari's tender heart to begin unlatching every emotion she had been trying to hold back.

"Of course. You know, Inari, it's okay to cry if you want. There's nothing wrong with that, go for it," Naruto coaxed, trying not to be the first one to shed tears between the boys.

"You first!" Inari returned, still holding back his tears as a bit of snot tried to escape his nose.

Too soft-hearted to hold it back any longer, Amari let a single tear fall that she immediately wiped away. "We'll be back, Inari, don't you worry," she reassured.

"Forget it!" Naruto choked out a sob as he turned and allowed his tears to flow out of sight. Inari's tears fell immediately after; it might have been funny if she wasn't fighting against the urge to run over and hug the boy before running back to hug Naruto.

Luckily for her, they took their leave before her tender heart could take full control of her actions. One last time Team Seven looked back and waved goodbye to the people of the Land of Waves and the Land of Waves itself, unaware of Tazuna's decision to name the bridge after the two young shinobi who helped to renew his grandson's spirit and stopped his assassins.

The Great Amaruto Bridge it would be called, a symbol of unwavering hope, strength and friendship.

It didn't take long for Team Seven to fall back into familiar banter, with Naruto specifically rambling on about getting Iruka to buy them some ramen and how Konohamaru was going to nearly worship him over the stories they had. What the three Genin didn't notice was Amari slowly coming to a full stop as they passed the very spot where she had jumped in front of the Lightning Blade.

Memories of mist began to cloud her eyes, the sound of crackling lightning tickled her senses, bringing with it needle-like pricks across her left arm while voices whispered their once heated words in her ears.

"I- I can't do it, Cousin! I can't find my strength or the will to go on anymore! Every- every step I take brings more pain! I don't- I don't know what to do! Please, I beg you, make this pain stop! I just…I just want it all to stop hurting so much! Please!"

The weight of a hand resting on her head woke Amari up with a gasp. Her head snapped up in the direction of the owner of the hand, finding Kakashi standing next to her, his worried eye analyzing every little detail about her. "You okay?"

"I…" She held the crystal flower in her hand just a little tighter, using it as a source of strength to push those memories away. When the mist receded fully, she managed to smile genuinely at her sensei. "No matter what awaits me in the future, I'll never regret the decision I made on this bridge. He is worth the pain."

Kakashi eye smiled and ruffled her hair. "I have a feeling he'd say the same about you." He returned his hand to his side and lifted his chin in the direction of the others. "Come on, let's head home."

She nodded firmly. "Right."

Home.

Yes, she was looking forward to seeing the village again.

Review Responses to Guest and ItsMeMarissaaa: Glad you loved it! Hope you enjoy the new update and end of the Land of Waves Arc!