Previously:

"Sasuke-kun… UUWAAAH!!" Sakura wailed miserably. Naruto clutched at his chest when he heard her cries, trembling, as he fought to suppress his own tears.

"… Sakura-chan…" April said gently. "I don't know if this will work, but… there's something I'd like to try... and I'll need your help to do it." She didn't want to get Sakura's hopes up by saying too much, but… If there was even the smallest chance, then maybe…

"!" Tazuna said as he and Sakura both glanced at her in surprise.

"Wha… What is it?" Sakura asked, staring at her with teary eyes. She didn't know what April was talking about, but she looked like she might know something… "What do I have to do…?"

Chapter 28: A Tool Called Shinobi

"Why… Why can't I keep up with him…?" Zabuza wondered aloud, panting. He glared at Kakashi, who had just managed to stab a couple of kunais in his arm while simultaneously avoiding his attack. Why was that copy bastard still able to move around so well? "Damn it!!" He yelled, charging in again as he gripped his sword with his good hand.

WHAM!

Before Zabuza could land a scratch on him, Kakashi beat the missing-nin back with a simple backhanded punch.

"UGH! RAAA!!" Zabuza roared furiously as he quickly braced himself and swung his blade.

CRASH!

Kakashi easily sidestepped the attack and disappeared in a flash, reappearing just behind Zabuza as the blade smashed into the concrete where he had just been standing only half a second ago. He placed a hand on the back of Zabuza's neck.

"!!" Zabuza gasped, startled when he felt the firm grip of his enemy's hand.

"You can't beat me in your current state." Kakashi told him coolly.

"What!?" Zabuza exclaimed, sweating nervously.

"You haven't noticed…?" Kakashi asked, furrowing his brow. Ever since Haku's death, his movements had become more erratic and less controlled.

"Alright, that's good, Sakura-chan." April said as she watched her carefully remove the last needle in Sasuke's neck just like how she had described. "Now we need to elevate his legs. We can prop his feet up in my lap." She said, scooting over into position, while Sakura began lifting his legs for her. "Keep his knees a little bent. We don't want them locking up. Good."

"Now… Now what?" Sakura asked anxiously, starting to get nervous again. Sasuke still wasn't waking up.

"Now, we wait…" April said, biting her lip nervously. She hoped she was right about this. "If this works, we'll know in a few minutes…" Holding onto his legs, his skin still felt cold to the touch. "We need to warm him up more. Sakura-chan, can you try sharing some of your body heat with him?"

"Eh!?" Sakura said, blushing.

"Just lay next to him, or something. His body temperature is too low from being surrounded by all that ice." April explained calmly. "But be careful of the needles we had to leave in. We don't want to aggravate his wounds…"

"O-Oh, Okay…" Sakura agreed, nodding her head in understanding as she moved into position, laying down next to Sasuke. Her blush deepened as she tried putting one of her arms around him.

"Uhm… What is exactly is it that you're trying to do?" Tazuna asked.

"Well… Remember how Haku used these needles to put Zabuza in a state of temporary death before?" April asked, furrowing her brow. "… I'm hoping he did the same for Sasuke-kun."

"!!" Tazuna and Sakura gasped. Of course… If that was the case, then there still might be a chance that Sasuke…!!

"My martial arts instructor had some training in acupuncture and other forms of traditional medicine. He said it was dangerous for amateurs to mess around with, so he never taught me how to use the needles… but he did teach me a little about how to remove them and help someone recover in case of an emergency." April continued to explain. "What we're doing now is removing too much unwanted pressure from the vital points and encouraging the restoration of blood flow to the brain… hopefully that will be enough to bring him out of suspended animation, but…"

"But what?" Sakura asked. April bit her lip, looking troubled.

"Sakura…" She said seriously. "I need you to prepare yourself… for the chance that I might be wrong." Sakura stared at her with wide eyes. "I'm sorry…" April apologized as the crease in her brow deepened. "But I just can't be sure… I'm not an expert, and even Kakashi-sensei was fooled by this technique…" It might already be too late.

"No…" Sakura said determinedly, tightening her grip on Sasuke's body. "No, I'm sure you're right, April!! I believe in you… and in Sasuke-kun!!" April allowed herself a small smile.

"Yeah… Sasuke-kun isn't the type to die so easily." April said. That's why they were doing this. "Thank you, Sakura."

Keeping his grip on the back of Zabuza's neck, Kakashi swiftly drew two kunai and spun them around on his fingers before tightening his grip on them, preparing to strike again.

"!!" Zabuza gasped in alarm.

"This is goodbye… Demon!" Kakashi said as he attacked.

"!" A vein throbbed on Zabuza's head as he strained to look over his shoulder while he forced his body to move, swinging his sword at his attacker. Kakashi's eyes widened slightly when he saw the attack coming and quickly changed plans, stabbing Zabuza in his good arm as he ducked.

"Ugh!!" Zabuza grunted in pain and frustration as the kunais pierced his muscles and his sword flew from his hand, while Kakashi got away unscathed.

"!" Naruto gasped as he watched. No way…

"Now both arms are useless." Kakashi stated calmly. "You can't even form a seal."

"Ergh…!" Zabuza groaned as blood dripped down his arms. Shit…!! This bastard…!!

THONK.

Both ninjas looked up at the sound of a cane taping against concrete.

"Ooh… You're getting your ass kicked. How disappointing…" A shady-looking little man in dark glasses and a business suit sneered. There was an assortment of armed thugs gathered behind him. "Zabuza."

"Gatō… Why are you here…? And what's with all these men!?" Zabuza asked, furrowing his brow.

'So he's…' Kakashi thought, narrowing his eyes slightly as he glanced at the corrupt businessman.

"Hehe. The plan has changed… Well, Actually, I planned to do this from the beginning." Gatō said ominously with a condescending laugh. "Zabuza, I'm going to have you killed here." Zabuza's eyes widened slightly.

"What?"

"I never planned on paying you any money. Hiring a normal ninja from a village is expensive, and they may betray me… So I get you missing-nins who are easy to take care of afterwards. I have the ninjas kill each other, and once they're weakened, I kill them off with numbers." Gatō explained with a smirk. "It doesn't cost me anything. Good plan, don't you think?"

'Geez, not only is he a mean bastard, but he's cheap too…' April thought with a frown, sweat-dropping. Why was his arm in cast? He didn't seem like the type to do enough of his own dirty work for something like that to happen… Was there some sort of freak accident while he was counting all the money he extorted?

"The only problem in the plan was you… Zabuza." Gatō sneered contemptuously. "The Demon of the Hidden Mist? What a joke, if you ask me… Hehe, you're just a cute little imp." He scoffed, earning a boisterous laugh from the rough men gathered behind him.

"We can easily kill you now!!" One of them boasted.

'Who are these guys?' Naruto wondered a bit nervously, furrowing his brow. 'So many of them…'

"Kakashi, I'm sorry…" Zabuza said calmly, surprising him. "This battle is over. Now that I have no reason to go after Tazuna, I have no reason to fight you."

"Huh?" Naruto said, confused by the sudden change of heart.

"Ah… You're right." Kakashi agreed, glancing between Zabuza and the horde of thugs in front of them.

"Oh, yeah…" Gatō said, stepping forward to stand over Haku's corpse. "I owe this one… you squeezed my arm until it broke…"

'So that's what happened to it…' April thought as she watched Gatō stare down at him. Good for Haku.

"Heh, he's dead." Gatō huffed as he gave the boy's corpse a harsh kick, disappointed he wasn't going to be able to enjoy taking his own revenge on him.

"What are you doing!!? You bastard!!!" Naruto demanded furiously, clenching his fist as a vein throbbed on his forehead. He tired to rush forward to attack, but he was thankfully stopped by Kakashi-sensei.

"Hey! Look at their numbers, don't just jump in!" Kakashi scolded Naruto as he yanked him back by the collar of his orange jacket. Naruto let out an odd sort of strangled sound, but quickly recovered.

"You say something, too!!" He shouted at Zabuza. "Weren't you friends!?"

"Shut up, kid." Zabuza said coldly. "Haku is already dead."

"Wha…!!" Naruto gasped incredulously. "Don't you feel anything at all!!? Weren't you two always together!!?"

"Like Gatō used me, I used Haku. That's all it was." Zabuza insisted, furrowing his brow. "I've already said it… In the world of shinobi there are only those who use and those who are used. We shinobi are only tools… What I wanted was his abilities, not him… I have no regrets."

"Hey… do you really mean that?" Naruto asked. April narrowed her eyes, but kept her cool. She knew she would just cause unnecessary trouble if she tried to rush the enemy in her current state. It was better for everyone if she stay focused on helping Sakura take care of Sasuke and Tazuna-san. Speaking of which, Sasuke should be waking up any moment now… Besides, there was something about the tension in Zabuza's voice and back that made her feel he wasn't being entirely honest with himself. Kakashi felt that as well.

"Stop it, Naruto." He said calmly, placing a hand on his student's shoulder. "We don't have to fight him anymore. Plus…!" Naruto abruptly shook him off.

"Shut up!! My enemy is still him!!!" Naruto shouted angrily, pointing at Zabuza. He was breathing hard as he glared up Zabuza, who stared back at Naruto out the corner of his eye.

"…" Kakashi furrowed his brow. He knew how Naruto felt, but…

"Who is this annoying kid?" Gatō asked.

"He… He really loved you!!!" Naruto continued to yell as he pointed at Haku's body, ignoring him. He loved you that much!!!" Zabuza was quiet as he looked away. "Do you really feel nothing!!?" Naruto demanded as tears began to form in his eyes for Haku. "Do you really… really feel not feel anything!!?" Zabuza remained silent. "If I become as strong as you… Will I really become like you!!?" Naruto asked as the tears started to fall. "He threw away his life for you!!!" Naruto yelled, squeezing his eyes shut as they streamed down his face. "Without his own dream… to die as a tool…" Naruto sniffed as his nose started to run. "That's… just too sad…" April could feel her own tears threatening to fall.

"… Kid…" Zabuza said in a low voice. Naruto opened his eyes and saw drops of something wet hit the concrete in front of Zabuza's feet. "You don't need to say any more…" Zabuza told him as more tears streamed down his sorrowful face. Naruto stared up at him, feeling stunned… but also a little relieved for Haku.

"…" Kakashi said as he continued to stare forward. He knew all too well how it felt to loose a precious comrade.

"Kid… It pained him to have to fight you… Haku fought not only for me… He fought for you guys as well…" Zabuza said, surprising Naruto. "He was too kind."

"Sakura…" Sasuke said weakly, barely above a whisper. April's and Sakura's eyes widened as they looked back at him, and his finally opened. "You're heavy…" Tazuna stared down at the revived boy in amazement as Sakura started to tremble and tears of relief formed in her eyes. April smiled and let out a deep sigh of relief. Thank God. It really worked… He really was still alive!!

"Yo! Welcome back to the land of the living." She greeted Sasuke with a cheeky grin as Sakura threw herself on him again.

"!" Sasuke flinched, looking startled and bewildered, but he didn't push her away.

"Sasuke-kun!!! Sasuke-kun!!! Sasuke-kun!!!" Sakura bawled tears of joy, holding him tight. She was beginning to think she might have lost him forever! "Waaaah!!"

'That's great, Sakura…' Tazuna thought with a relieved smile.

"Sakura… That hurts…" Sasuke groaned.

"Ah! S-Sorry…" Sakura apologized. She quickly loosened her grip, but didn't stop embracing him. Sasuke sweat-dropped. April smirked at the slight hint of blush she could see glowing on his cheeks. It was nice to see some color returning to his face.

"What about… Naruto…?" Sasuke asked as he tried to sit up without wincing. "And that… masked kid…?"

"Don't move!!" Both girls snapped urgently as they quickly moved to hold him down before he aggravated his injuries by moving too much.

"Naruto is fine! And that masked kid is dead…" Sakura informed him.

"!!" Sasuke gasped, shocked. Just what happened while he was out? He looked at April. "Dead…?" She nodded solemnly in confirmation. "Did Naruto kill him…?" The way he asked that kind of ticked her off a little, as if he didn't think she was capable of finishing the job herself.

"N-No… I'm not sure, but he protected Zabuza." Sakura said with a sideways glance at April, explaining as best as she could while wondering why April suddenly looked so annoyed.

"I didn't see the moment it happened too clearly, but it appears he sacrificed himself by jumping in front of Zabuza while Sensei was attacking." April added with a small pout, deciding she would give Sasuke a pop on the head later, once he had a chance to recover.

"… I see…" Sasuke said, furrowing his brow, as he looked down. So in the end, it was Kakashi who…

"I… had faith in you." Sakura told him with a soft, happy smile. "It's impressive that you prevented attacks to your critical areas!!" She said excitedly, exuding admiration.

"… No…" Sasuke said as the crease in his brow deepened. He lifted his gaze to share a knowing look with April. 'He… from the beginning…' She closed her eyes and nodded again. After a moment of silence, she raised her head and cupped her hands around her mouth. There was something very important that they hadn't done yet.

"Hey, Naruto!! Sensei!!" April yelled, getting their attention so she could let them know. "Sasuke's alright! He's alive!!"

"!!" Naruto gasped as he spun around to look, surprised.

"…" Sasuke made an effort to raise his hand as proof. He didn't say anything, but April could tell he was relieved to know that Naruto had survived too.

"…" Naruto said as he stared at them, stunned. April smiled reassuringly at him, knowing how worried he must have been. Naruto began to tremble slightly and let out a small laugh as tears of relief began to form in his eyes. He glanced back at Zabuza, remembering what he had just said about Haku being too kind. 'I see… He…' Naruto thought, feeling extremely grateful to Haku. He let Sasuke live on purpose.

'I've been worried, but… Sasuke is also all right. That's great." Kakashi said, also relieved.

"I'm glad I got to fight you guys in the end." Zabuza said, as he looked away. That was just like Haku… He didn't hold a grudge against the kids for surviving, but watching Kakashi's close relationship with his with his students, he felt a small pang of jealously. He should have done more for Haku while he had the chance… "Yeah, kid… you may be right…" He told Naruto.

"!?" Naruto said, taken aback. "Huh?" Right about what?

"A shinobi is still a human… We may not be able to become emotionless tools." Zabuza admitted. "I've lost…" Since he could no longer use his arms, he bit the bandages covering his mouth and somehow managed to rip them away. "Kid, let me borrow your kunai!"

"!!" Naruto gasped, surprised the sudden urgency in his voice. "Huh? Oh…" Naruto furrowed his brow as Zabuza's words sunk in. "Yeah." He agreed, tossing it to him. Zabuza caught the weapon with his pointy teeth and bit down, gripping it tightly in his mouth as he took off like shot, heading straight for Gatō.

"Wha…!!" Gatō shouted in alarm, quickly turning on his heels to run away. "That's enough, kill them!!" He shouted at the armed thugs.

"Yeah!! Sure thing!" They jeered as they stepped forward to protect their meal ticket. "One badly injured ninja against these numbers? Does he think he can win?" They all gasped, freezing in their tracks, as Zabuza continued to charge towards them without hesitation, startled by the wave of bloodlust that had just hit them. Was it their imaginations, or was the faint mist rising up behind him swirling into the form of some kind of vicious beast? 'A… A demon!!' They all cried internally as he reached them, startled by the ghostly apparition. Zabuza blitzed through the wall of men, kicking away and stabbing anyone who dared to get in his way. A few of the men managed to stab their swords into his back, but Zabuza kept going, charging forth unrelentingly.

"!" Gasped in alarm as the Demon of the Hidden Mist reached him and stabbed him the chest with the kunai in his teeth before he had a chance to even think about dodging.

"Die already!!" Some of the thugs yelled as they stabbed Zabuza in the back, trying to stop him before he could do any more damage.

"I… If you want to go where your friend is that badly… then go… by yourself…!!" Gatō coughed angrily as blood dripped down the side of his mouth.

"Unfortunately… I don't plan on going to the same place as Haku…" Zabuza told him.

"Wha… What?" Gatō said nervously. "You won't survive… Gah…!" He cried out in pain as Zabuza pushed the kunai in deeper.

"Heh. You and I together… are going to hell!!" The missing-nin declared. "Even the unremarkable Demon of the Hidden Mist… can die and become a real demon in hell…" He staggered back a coupled of steps, pulling out the kunai.

"Ugh!!" Gatō grunted in pain. "GAH!!" He yelled as Zabuza lunged forward again, slashing him.

"This will be fun!!" Zabuza laughed. "We'll have plenty of time to see if I'm just a cute little imp or not down in hell!!"

"!!" Gatō let out a strangled cry as the ninja spun around and attacked again, carving deep into his throat.

"UWAAHH!!" The thugs cried out in fear and alarm as Gatō's disembodied head sailed through the air and landed amongst them with a sickening smack. The men scrambled out of its path in a panic as it rolled along the ground.

'He… He cleaved a man's head off with just a kunai… using only his teeth!!' April thought as she stared at the gruesome scene before her with wide eyes, stunned. Naruto bit his lip nervously as he broke out in a cold sweat. No wonder people called him a 'demon'…

"…" Kakashi said as he closed both eyes for a moment, unsurprised. Having crossed blades with him, he knew better than any of them how absurdly strong Zabuza was. For a moment, Zabuza just stood askance next to Gatō's headless corpse. Blood was dripping onto the ground by his feet, running down his arms from the wounds on his back. He looked like some sort of macabre voodoo doll with all of those swords sticking out of him. Zabuza's eyes suddenly shot up from the blood pooling on the ground to glare at all the thugs.

"AHHHH!!!" The men shouted in alarm, reeling back in fear. But Zabuza was done. His body was ready to collapse. He staggered forward as he let the kunai drop from his mouth.

'This is goodbye, Haku… Thank you for everything…' Zabuza thought as he fell forward, crashing into the ground. 'I'm sorry…'