Kagene, the leader of the group of kunoichi and ice release users of the Yuki Clan, hid in her hall of mirrors. The Kaguya clan was frothing at the mouth to kill her, but only the young heir of their clan, Kimimaro, could harm the ice mirrors she hid in. Unfortunately, much like the young mix breed, Kimimaro had been knocked unconscious by his clansmen.

"Yuki clan whore." The patriarch hissed. "What are you doing in this forest, and why did you attempt to take my son and that mutt?!" The Kaguya clan head looked about ready to kill, if not for the fact that the mirrors could not be harmed except by large levels of kneaded chakra or taijutsu, he would have already destroyed the mirrors and choked out the woman.

Kagene, who knew that it was only a matter of time before she ran out of chakra, began to concentrate on summoning a mirror a few hundred meters away, as she did, she spoke casually in order to distract the Kaguya. "I was given orders to kill the bloodline wielder. The 'mutt', as you refer him as, came to the boy's defense, I thought it amusing, so I decided to play with them both."

"Who ordered you?" Kaguya hissed in hatred.

"Who else, the Mizukage, he promised the release of our clan head if we killed the heir of the Kaguya clan, he said that it was only the heir keeping him from eliminating you all."

If the two children were still awake, they would have vehemently opposed what the woman said, but luckily, the Kaguya clan's own stupidity would lead them into her web of lies, even if she couldn't let them think an anbu of the Mizukage killed one of their own, she could trick them into thinking that the Mizukage was behind the attack, and with any luck, she could save her mother."

"You stupid bitch, you thought you could just eliminate my son? Kill my people? The Mizukage has truly gone insane…"

Shouts from other Kaguya clan members filled the air, calling for the Mizukage's head, for the woman in front of them to be torn to pieces, and for the matriarch of the Yuki clan to be burned alive.

"Silence!" The clan head shouted. "We are the Kaguya clan, we do not sit around prattling like gossiping women, nor do we scheme like the disgusting Yuki clan. The Mizukage has been purging bloodlines, this is indeed true, in fact, I had a meeting with Zabuza of the 7 a while back, he wishes to take the throne of Mizukage and right the wrongs Yagura has begun to enact, we clans would be restored to our former glory."

The people cheered, then the Patriarch screamed in anger.

"But we see now, some clans are treacherous, evil, and cold. The Yuki clan is likely not the only one that would betray us, but I will not allow them to cause our suffering! We shall remake Kirigakure into our image, it will become the true Village of the Bloody Mist, and then we shall take the land, end the petty civil wars we must partake in, we shall become the rulers of the Land of Water, then we shall become the Rulers of the Shinobi world!" His screams were matched only by the whooping of his subordinates. The next events took place in the span of 2 seconds.

The patriarch, alongside 5 elite warriors began to rapidly smash through Kagene's mirrors, she then jumped from her mirror into another mirror as she attempted to knead her chakra for the transportation, then, just as she gathered the chakra, the patriarch's fist collided with her face, and she was thrown from one of her mirrors. She threw forward several Kunai, forcing the Kaguya clan members to dodge or knock away the blows as she retreated into her final mirror. "Mirror Substitution!" Utilizing an advanced ability in her clan's Kekkei Genkai, she rapidly shunshined (body flickered) herself to the mirror she set up hundreds of meters away and began to retreat. As she ran, she shivered slightly, "there, Kaasan," she spits some blood on the ground, "I've fulfilled my debts, now leave my son alone." She fled the mainlands of the village territory as she made her way home.

…

Taiga awoke to the sound of screaming and looked in shock as he saw that the entire clan compound was on fire. Kaguya clan members were cut down left and right by vengeful Kiri-nin, women, elderly, and children were not spared, yet for some reason, it seemed that he'd been passed over.

"You're lucky I found you." Taiga flinched when he recognized the word, he turned shakily to stare into the eyes of the tearful Raiga, who flashed him an easygoing grin as he watched the blood bath before him.

"How…"

"Oh please, don't think on how, think on why." Raiga grinned as he took out a scroll. He looked at Taiga. "This scroll reacts to Kaguya blood, but it has to be of a living member of the royal family, which, you, being child of the head's sister, makes you one of. I've saved your life, and I want my payment."

Taiga looked at Raiga's eyes, he looked cruel and cold, even a little sadistic. But even as tears dripped down Raiga's eyes, Taiga found himself distrustful of his master.

"You'll just kill me when I open it," Taiga muttered.

Raiga didn't answer, he didn't need to. "We have our orders, the Mizukage says that the Kaguya clan must be exterminated for their indiscretion, I can promise you an easy and painless death. But I'm not lying when I said I saved your life, the Kaguya clan was quite angry with you and Kimimaro. They dragged Kimimaro into battle, and they're probably all dead.

"He isn't dead," Taiga said with ferocity, he looked at his trainer. "And you aren't going to kill me…"

"And what makes you think you can order me?"

"Because you need me Raiga, if only temporarily. So, this is a mission, in exchange for me opening that for you, I need three things done for me."

The flames burned around them as the fire began to spread towards the forest they were in, smoke intermixing with steam almost interchangeably. Raiga burst out laughing at Taiga's words. "And why…"

The child of the Kaguya and Gobetsu clan interrupted him. "You have my weapons, gear, and several clan scrolls, including scrolls about the clan's Kekkei Genkai technique. If the point is to kill off the clan, you'd keep techniques but burn scrolls about the Kekkei Genkai, wouldn't you?" He asked quizzically.

Raiga nodded, tossing over the items, "fine. Fine… What do you want?"

"I need enough money to take me and at least 2 other children to Tea country, including 3 days' worth of food and water and 1 night's worth of sleep in a hotel or inn. Then, as we make our way towards the borders, there are two people we may encounter, you will not attack or harm them, no matter what, unless they are legitimate threats against your person."

Raiga laughed, "so you want money, a jonin escort, and two other brats to tag along? If I didn't know any better, I'd assume you're trying to form a team with genin and a jonin sensei.

"I mean." Taiga shrugged, "I don't think I'm at that level, yet."

"Well, fine, lead the way, boy, and… pray tell, how will you find your targets?" Taiga grinned as he reached into his pack and found several paper seals.

…

Kimimaro sprinted as quickly as he could from the massacre. His arrogant father had called for the Mizukage's head, and his people were cut down. There was little love for his clan, he lost his mother, his brothers, and his surrogate uncle long before the rest of his clan faced their deaths, but it was still painful to watch them die. He sprinted away as quickly as his legs could carry, cutting down the shinobi who chased after him. He ran until his legs and lungs burned, then collapsed to his knees. He had been forced to march for 4 hours, forced to fight for 3 hours, then ran for his life for 2 more hours. He was tired, but he kept walking, if he stopped he'd die. He subconsciously found himself making his way towards his clan's home.

"Oh, we found you already."

Kimimaro turned sharply at the voice, his eyes widening in shock when he saw a Kiri-nin wearing an anbu mask. He grabbed a bone sword from his shoulder and prepared to charge forward.

"Wait." A young voice called out, freezing Kimimaro in his place.

"T-Taiga?" He asked incredulously. His friend was dressed in a chain mesh shirt and simple long black pants, from the knees and down, the pants were tied down by thick black bandages. He wore thick combat boots with kunai strapped to each side. His fists were also bound in bandages, with knuckledusters covering his fists. Ballistic pads covered his shoulders, chest, back, thighs, and kneepads, acting as an additional layer of armor. Taiga currently had two thick short swords strapped to the left side of his body.

"Hey, hey, hey." Taiga raised his hands soothingly. "Calm down, we're leaving Kimimaro."

Kimimaro's eyes softened with relief as he looked at his friend, only to harden with hatred as his eyes met the black eyes of a young boy who just appeared in front of him. The boy's eyes widened in hatred, "Kaguya!" He hissed at Kimimaro as ice began to form around his fingers, forming claws.

Kimimaro's hackles raised as his face twisted into a snarl, the boy's face was beautiful and soft, looking almost exactly like the Yuki clan woman who killed their clan member. "Yuki!" He screamed, bones jutting from his body and covering him like a porcupine.

"Stop!" Taiga shouted angrily, stopping them both. "Shut the fuck up, both of you, before you get each other killed and all of us fucked over."

The Yuki boy, to Kimimaro's shock, retracted his hands as the ice melted from them.

"Now, our plan is simple, Raiga's going to escort us to a boat, and we're heading over to Tea Country, in exchange, I'm providing something for the guy."

"What?" Kimimaro asked as his eyes narrowed, "what does he want?"

"Nonya biz.." Taiga stuck his tongue out, "anyways, Kimimaro, meet Haku, Haku, meet my cousin, Kimamaro, if you try to attack each other again, I'll make you both experience awful levels of bullshit and annoyance, making you both half wish you just got killed by Kiri-nin."

Haku's face darkened, and he looked like he was about to say something rude, but one glare from Raiga caused the boy to quiet down.

Kimimaro turned to look at Taiga, watching as his dark-skinned cousin made his way through the forest, eventually, he retracted his bones and followed after, trailing behind the rest of the rag-tag party.

…

Kagene felt warm water wash over her as she turned her ladle, getting rid of all the sud and soap. She had spent the last half-hour scrubbing the dirt, grime, and blood from her body. She sighed contentedly, allowing the exhaustion to wash over her like the water she poured over herself. She cleaned her long, dark hair, drying and wrapping it with a towel as she cleaned the rest of herself, gingerly dabbing over her bruises. Luckily, due to her ice chakra, she was able to reduce the swelling caused by the Kaguya clan, and as long as she wore long robes, she would be able to hide her wounds until they fully healed. She clenched her fists, trembling as she remembered the children she tried to murder. They were around as old as her son, and she was thankful to the Kaguya clan for incapacitating them, hopefully, they would be unable to convince the clan that this was a trap, and her people could rescue her mother while the Kaguya clan threw itself at the Mizukage.

"Mother!" A bright voice cleared away Kagene's sour mood.

"I'm coming." She smiled brightly as she finished cleaning and changing. She put on an elegant robe and walked out to face her son.

"Mom!" Haku's face brightened as he hugged his mother.

Kagene couldn't help but feel her icy heart melt as her arms wrapped around the slender figure of her angelic child. She had once thought that she would never love anyone as much as she loved her clan, then her mother and her people broke her heart. Her husband healed as much as he could, but it was only when her son was born did all her wounds begin to fully heal. It was why she was so angry when the Yuki clan members snuck into her home, and why she agreed to help them, she did not want to be associated with her mother, nor with her clan, but they said they would take her son, and as powerful as she was, she could not face 10 of her clan members at the same time.

"I'm so happy you're back!" Haku rubbed his face over his mom's robe, causing her to giggle as his movements tickled her belly.

"Stop it you!" She tickled her son, causing him to giggle like a chirping bird. She squeezed him tightly, full of love and contentment, she was happy to be the simple wife of a farmer for the rest of her life and wanted her son to be safe, happy, and healthy, away from the wars and civil wars that she grew up experiencing and partaking in.

She turned when she heard the door to their home open and recognized the footsteps of her husband.

"Ah… Hiro-sam-" she was interrupted when a pitchfork stabbed her right chest and shoulder, she screamed in pain and reeled back, eyes wide in panic and disbelief as her husband stabbed her. She collapsed, pain keeping her from moving. She was low on chakra and stamina and hadn't yet recovered from her wounds, enough that her husband, despite being a relatively normal farmer, could seriously kill her. "W-why…" Tears brimmed in the corners of her eyes as she stared at the hate-filled eyes of her husband. His next words caused her to flinch.

"Yuki clan bitch… do you remember me? Or rather, do you remember my father, Hitoshi?"

Kagene closed her eyes in realization, grief filling her. The last mission she ever took under the orders of her clan leader was to assassinate the retainer of a noble who carried secret intelligence that could compromise the Water Daimyo. She had been given the profile of her target, as well as his habits and cover. She went and assassinated the target, only to learn that he had a son around her age, a son she would have finished off, if not for realizing that the man she was sent to kill was guilty of one sin and one sin alone, abdicating his duties to raise his child. She had put the child's tear-filled face away from her mind, only to meet him a decade later after she had fled her clan. He had come across her broken and weakened body and healed her. He didn't recognize her, while she was too guilt-ridden to admit who she was, despite herself and her feelings, she fell in love with his kindness and his strength and his ethic, and loved his hatred of violence, but now, he knew.

"Dad!" Haku collapsed in shock, "what are you doing?!"

Hitoshi ignored his son as he looked at Kagene.

"W-when… when did you f-find out…" Kagene mumbled.

The man frowned, his face a mix of grief and anger, "I found the damn mask... that damn mask and the dagger you plunged into my father's neck." He tossed the kunai and hunter-nin mask in front of the woman, the belongings of her old life, items she had to re-use.

"I… I thought I burned them." Kagene muttered. Her eyes could only moisten as she saw the several conflicting emotions in her husband's eyes as he lifted the pitchfork.

"Why didn't you… why didn't you just kill me too? Why would you have me fall in love… have a child, with the demon who killed my father, who ruined my life, left me homeless for nearly a decade…"

"But… you…"

"You lied to me! I asked you what happened to your family, you told me, you told me you lost them to the Yuki clan, I… I thought you shared my pain." His eyes narrowed in grief. "But you…"

"Dad! Stop!" Haku leaped up, ice forming around his fist as he attempted to push his father away.

Hitoshi's eyes narrowed as he took on a feral snarl, "tainted demon's bloodline!" He pushed his son away, hard, causing him to slam his head into some cabinets.

Kagene's eyes widened, fury replaced grief as she charged her husband. "You can hate me, I'm a monster, I admit that!" She screamed, "but don't hurt our baby!" Hitoshi turned, impaling his wife with his pitchfork, she collapsed against his weapon, falling over.

Hitoshi's hands trembled as he stared at his dead wife before he could overcome the shock, cold ice filled his veins as he turned to see his son, his darling boy Haku, screaming with vengeful hate as a burst of ice annihilated the building the family had once called home.

From a distance, Momochi Zabuza watched, he had been hired by the Yuki clan to finish off Kagene and looked on in surprise as her husband discovered the truth out of the woman's own carelessness. "Well, to think I'd gain both good pay and a useful tool." His plan was to fake her death, gain for himself an ally, and gain funds he could use for his rebellion, but now, it looked like those plans were mostly dashed. He began to walk forward, only to sense the chakra of Raiga Kurosuki. "Hmm?!"

At the same time, Haku looked as if he would collapse from exhaustion. He fell to his knees, staring at the shocked expression of his dead father. He turned, hearing the foliage break apart.

"Shit! We're too late." A young boy with dark skin muttered a string of curses. The boy turned his teal eyes to Haku, causing the young child to flinch. "You, you're Haku, right?"

The boy's eyes widened, daggers of ice formed in his hand.

"Shit! A Yuki?!" Raiga laughed as electricity formed around his body, "this will be…"

"He's the first one, Raiga." The boy raised his hand.

Zabuza narrowed his eyes, "The first?" He murmured, he was surprised that Raiga would be humoring a child, let alone a foreign-born child.

"Damn brat, fine." Raiga sheathed his blades.

The boy turned to Haku. "Hey, chill… bad words, umm, calm down."

"Calm?" Haku said quietly.

"Oh shit, he's broken." The boy nodded, "Okay, umm… Haku, your father killed your mother because… your bloodline is considered cursed, I want to leave, find a place where… bloodlines aren't considered cursed or evil, will you come with me? My name is Taiga."

"How…" Haku looked at the boy, "how do you know me…"

The boy flinched, "shit… I shouldn't know that…"

"Did the bad people send you?! You… you ruined my life!" Ice formed around Haku. "I'll!"

Taiga charged forward, shocking the Yuki clan child with his speed. "Calm down… okay? Look…" Taiga sighed, "I heard what happened."

Haku's eyes narrowed. "How did you…"

"Your mom's dick of a clan ordered her to kill several members of the Kaguya clan, pretending to be anbu of the Mizukage in order to get them to kill themselves attacking the Kage and dying long enough to distract the Kirigakure forces and rescue their patriarch, your grandma. Given what I know, they probably failed."

"Why did…"

"Don't ask me why your dad did what he did," Taiga muttered, getting off of Haku. "You're older than me, and you clearly heard everything they said, didn't you?"

"Why… why did you come here…" He asked quietly.

"Well… I was going to punch your mom for trying to kill me and my cousin, and invite you guys to come with me."

"What?!"

"Well, three kids running through a foreign land is suspicious, but a grown woman taking care of three kids is way less suspicious, wouldn't you say?" Taiga shrugged, "but… unfortunately your mom couldn't save herself, or… she didn't want to save herself."

"How dare you!" Haku's grief and emptiness from the horror of what he had witnessed and done were replaced with hatred towards the Kaguya clan boy before him. He prepared to attack again, only to be knocked back by a flying kick. He puked, coughing painfully as he rolled on the ground.

"Kid…" Raiga smirked, "you don't realize the grand hypocrisy, do you? You killed your father after he killed your mother, how did you feel when your mother died? How do you think your father felt when his dad died, or do you think you're the only one who can feel sadness, or… even better, do you think you are somehow better than your dad? Unfortunately, you're no better anymore, as you stained your hands with his blood, for the same reason, you killed the one who killed your parent." He laughed as the tears streamed down. "And even better, it was your own relative!"

Haku's mind swam with pain and hate as he glared at Raiga.

"Shut up, Raiga, you aren't helping." Taiga sighed. "Look, we're… I… I know what you feel, you feel pain, betrayal, you think, was all our years a lie? You look at your dad and wonder whether the years you guys loved each other meant anything if he could so easily kill your mom." He closed his eyes. "You now think, 'am I any better? The years I spent with dad… I killed him, he's gone, what worth am I?' Then…" Taiga turned to Haku, "now, because you feel that there's a chance to hate someone else, you think, 'YES! NOW I CAN HATE THEM!' because otherwise, could you live with yourself? Could you… have a purpose?" Taiga shook his head, "that's not going to help you, all it will do is distract you from your grief, you don't need a purpose all the time, you can continue on without it, and keep pushing until you find out what to live for."

"Do I… live for you?" Haku asked, hope in his voice.

"Hell no, do I look like someone trustworthy?" Taiga burst out into a fit of giggles, "I'm younger than you, and you look so girly that in a few years we might run into problems if you want to 'live for me'." He laughed at the older child's angry glare. "No, no, live for yourself, live for your mother's memory, the idea of your mother as a cruel, vicious assassin who killed your grandfather in cold blood, and the loving woman who in her last moments attempted to defend her son, live for that, to make sure that at least one person in the world remembers her. Don't allow the idea of 'cursed blood' to catch on, defy what everyone else calls fate. Oh… and… also follow me, I'd rather you not die, or… get killed later…"

Momochi Zabuza looked at the group, he would have finished off the Yuki boy, or perhaps recruited him if he still had that empty look in his eyes that was broken from the boy speaking his name. He watched them and Raiga with interest, deciding to tail after them quietly. Each of the Seven Swordsmen had different skill sets, Zabuza was known as their most skilled combatant, with specialization in infiltration and assassination, while Raiga was known for his raw power and excessive damage to enemies in melee and mid-range with his lightning cloak. If he approached them in a straightforward fight, he'd get quite injured, he needed to figure out their goals and see if they were a threat, Raiga always seemed the least receptive to his ideas on liberation.

"That boy is quite interesting." He looked at Taiga with a bit of interest, his red dots signified his belonging to the Kaguya clan, but otherwise, his features pointed to him being a member of Kumogakure. "Quite interesting…"

Afterword:

Took a long time, sorry about that, just work and writer's block.