Emolette: Yeah! Chapter ten! Let's party!
Naruto: Meh, I don't feel like it.
Sasuke: I never feel like partying.
Emolette: Pfft. You guys are no fun. . .
Sasuke: Change of subject, how's the story going?
Emolette: Great, even though I'm late^^!
Naruto: How many reviews did you get?
Emolette: Ten^^!
Naruto & Sasuke: -anime fall-
Emolette: But alot of people read it! They added it to their favorites, story alerts, and me to their author alerts. I never thought that my story would be so popular.
Naruto: -starts clapping- Not bad for an amateur, huh Sasuke?
Sasuke: Yeah, not bad.
Emolette: Oh, and Thousand Tailed Holy FangFlash reviewed chapter eight and cried and said that it was awesome with CAPITAL LETTERS!!! He/she even killed him/herself because it was so awesome!
Naruto & Sasuke: -sweatdrop-
Emolette: Thank you for your kindness! And I hope I can update soon but I'm busy with school and stuff. . . And I can't kill off the banshee because she is vital to the story but there will still be bashing, though not so frequently. . .
Naruto: Hey, Thousand Tailed Holy FangFlash sounds like a cool move. Why don't you give it to me Emo-chan?
Emolette: Hm. . . Nine Tailed Holy Fang Flash. . . It does sound cool, but I'll have to ask permission first and also, "Holy" Fang Flash? Dude, you're a demon, there's nothing holy about you. . .
Sasuke: Then change it to Nine Tailed Demon Fang Flash.
Naruto: Nice -slightly evil grin-
Emolette: . . . Yeah. . . I'll think about it. . . Okay! Let's start chapter ten! Don't mind me if I rushed it a bit. I'm kinda excited on doing the chuunin exams^^. You'll be seeing Gaara and he's going to be OOC and stuff. . . Say hi to the readers Gaa-kun!
Gaara: -waves from afar-
Emolette: Ready. . . Set. . . Start!
Chapter Ten
" Mission to the Waves: Part II "
Three days has passed since Team 7 had met Zabuza in the forest. After the battle, they continued their trek to the wave country and got there at nightfall. They met Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, and his grandson, Inari and they have spent three days at their household, mooching off of them since it was the polite thing to do. Since Kakashi was out because of the poisoning, the genins have been taking turns in guarding Tazuna as the old man worked on the bridge that will hopefully make the country prosperous once more. On the morning of the third day, the genins sat around Kakashi's futon, hoping that he will wake up before they head off to do their respective thing. Well, their hopes were answered as Kakashi opened his one eye and groaned.
"Am I dead?" he asked and everyone sweatdropped.
"That was a really stupid question," said Sakura.
"I've heard stupider," said Sasuke and Naruto in unison.
"Ugh, where are we?" asked Kakashi as he struggled to a sitting position.
"We're in the wave country, in Tazuna's house," said Sakura.
"You've been out for three days," said Sasuke.
"Hm, that's the shortest time I've been unconscious," said the one-eyed jounin as he massaged his slightly aching head. "What happened to Zabuza?"
"He would've been dead, if it wasn't for his ANBU accomplice," said Naruto. "They'll be back soon. The ANBU said it himself."
"Crap. That'll make our job even harder."
"When was it easy?"
Kakashi sighed and rubbed his head. "So, who'll guard Tazuna today?" he asked. He didn't want to worry about that rogue ninja now. They'll worry about him when they face him again.
The three genins looked at each other, then they held out their fist and said "Rock, paper, scissors!". Sasuke and Naruto got rock while Sakura got scissors.
"Damnit!" cried Sakura, glaring at her hand.
"It's okay, I'll just have a clone guard him today," said Kakashi, smiling a little under his mask. "I want to train you guys anyway."
"Are you sure you're okay to be moving about now?" asked Sakura.
"I'm fine," said Kakashi, trying to stand up but almost falling over.
"Here, you can use these," said Sasuke, handing Kakashi a pair of crutches. "Your body will take some time to revert back to its normal state."
"Arigato," said Kakashi, steadying himself on the crutches. "Now, let's go and no buts about it or I'll kick it out there."
The genins glanced at each other before following their sensei outside and into the surrounding forest. After getting a good distance inbetween themselves and the town, Kakashi turned to his students.
"Alright then," he said, his eye curving upwards. "I assume that Sasuke and Naruto know both the wall-climbing and water-walking jutsu?"
"Hai," said both Sasuke and Naruto at the same time.
"And I'm sure you both know your chakra nature also?"
Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other with a smirk before nodding their heads.
"And what may they be?" asked Kakashi.
"Wind," said Naruto with a smirk. "But I can use more then one element."
"Fire," said Sasuke, also with a smirk. "And I can also use more then one element."
"Okay, then I guess I have nothing to train you in," said Kakashi with a shrug. "I don't even know why you're genin. You should be jounin by now."
"We like to keep our strengths to ourselves," said Naruto.
"And we'll become jounin when we want to be," said Sasuke.
Sakura, who was sort of left out of the conversation, looked back and forth from her teammates to her sensei with confusion in her eyes.
"Sasuke-kun and Naruto are strong enough to be jounin?" she asked, making the guys remember about her.
"Yes, but let's keep that between us Sakura," said Kakashi. "You, on the other hand, need some more training to even be halfway as strong as them. But don't worry, I'll help you."
"And so will we," intervened Naruto, laying a hand on Sasuke's shoulder to prove his point, and Sasuke looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"We will?" asked the Uchiha and Naruto nodded.
"We can't have her be weak forever," said Naruto, walking over to Sakura and circling her. "With the three of us training her, and with her brains, she'll be strong in no time."
"Are you really going to help me Naruto?" asked Sakura, looking at the blond with disbelief. "After all the mean things I've said about you?"
"That's all in the past," said Naruto, waving his hand around. "We're teammates now and we have to help each other through thick and thin, but we won't go easy on you."
"Speak for yourself," said Kakashi with a slight eye roll. "I'll train you in chakra control and ninjutsu."
"I'll train you in genjutsu," said Sasuke, crossing his arms.
"That leaves taijutsu for me," said Naruto with a smirk. "Maybe you should wield some sort of weapon also. Should I teach you kenjutsu or tessenjutsu?"
"I get kinda nervous around swords," said Sakura with a nervous look.
"Tessenjutsu it is."
"Alright, now that that's settled, time for your first lesson Sakura," said Kakashi as he walked over to a tree.
Sakura kneeled on the ground, sweat dripping down the side of her face and her whole body aching. It was past sunset now and she had been training the whole day with barely any breaks. Her first lesson was the wall-climbing jutsu with Kakashi. It was easy for her to master it because she had superb chakra control and was able to reach the top of the tree in under an hour. The water-walking jutsu on the other hand wasn't so easy for her since she had to constantly adjust the flow of chakra in her feet to the ever changing flow of the water. It took her two hours to get it right.
After her chakra control training, Sasuke then begin teaching her basic genjutsu. It was tough for the Uchiha to teach the pinkette for she was all over him like ants on sugar. But after another scary sermon from Naruto (in which he had to flash his eyes red just to get the "if you aren't killed by an enemy then I'll kill you myself" point across) Sakura finally focused on her training instead of Sasuke and was able to learn, but not yet master, the genjutsu Sasuke taught to her.
By the time Sakura finished her genjutsu training, which was halfway through the afternoon, it was time for her taijutsu training. She had to do hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups, chin-ups, squats, laps around the town, and more while wearing weights on her arms and legs. These were, as Naruto said, to give her more speed, stamina, and endurance. She hasn't learned any taijutsu forms yet for Naruto wants her to have more stamina first. The two spent the rest of the afternoon training, up until now.
I can't believe that Naruto's such a tough teacher, thought Sakura as she struggled just to keep herself upright.
"I guess we can stop for today," said Naruto, looking up at the purple sky. "Let's go back to Tazuna's and get some dinner."
"Finally," said Sakura, heaving a sigh of relief. "Can I take off these weights now?"
"No."
"Eh? Why not?"
"This was how Sa - I mean, this was how I trained in my taijutsu. I wore weights twenty-four-seven until I forgot I even had them on. So you'll do the same. Never take them off for anything, even when you're taking a bath. And don't worry, they're water proof and they won't lace the water with lead or some other kind of metallic substance."
Sakura looked at Naruto with disbelief and stuck out her lower lip in a pout.
"But it totally clashes with my outfit." she whined as she followed Naruto back to the town.
"Either live with it or get a new outfit. That dress was getting old anyway."
"Shut up usuratonkachi."
"Make me fivehead."
At that, Sakura snapped and chased Naruto all the way back to Tazuna's house. Naruto burst through the door, followed by Sakura who had her fist raised, and Naruto hid behind Sasuke, using the Uchiha as a shield against the pink-haired fangirl.
"Hey, I don't appreciate you using me as a shield," said Sasuke as Sakura tried to get past him to (seemingly) get to Naruto by hugging the brunet.
"I don't need appreciation to do that," said Naruto with a smirk, amused at Sasuke attempts to push Sakura off of him.
"Okay, okay, enough of that," said Kakashi, beckoning the three to the table. "Let's eat and build up our strength shall we?"
The genins did what they were told and sat at the table to once again mooch off of Tsunami's delicious cooking. Even with the lack of food in the town, Tsunami was still able to make a delicious meal with the little food they had. They all sat around the table, eating and trying to strike up a conversation.
"Ano, Tazuna-san," said Sasuke and the old man looked up from his meal.
"What is it young man?" said Tazuna.
"I just wanted to ask if there were any ocean lilies around these parts."
"Ocean lilies? Well, there might be some if you circle the beach, I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"
"Uh, I just need some for something."
"Ah, I see."
The two returned to their meals after that. Sasuke glanced at Naruto who raised his eyebrows. Kakashi caught the gesture but didn't say anything about it.
Now what are those two up to?
"Ne ne, Sasuke-kun," said Sakura and her teammates mentally sighed, thinking Here goes the fangirlism again. "You and Naruto seem to be getting along really well. Why is that?"
Sasuke nearly choked on his mixed vegetables and Naruto nearly spat out the water he was drinking, but both were able to hold it back.
"Wh-What are you talking about?" asked Sasuke with a nervous smile.
"And you're more emotional then you used to be. What's up with you?"
Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other nervously, talking with their eyes.
What do I do? What do I do?
I don't know! Who am I, your mother?
Should we just tell them about our secret?
Maybe. . . I still don't trust her that much, and Kakashi also.
But they are our teammates. We should tell them the truth because sooner or later, they'll find out. And no one from Konoha is here to listen in on our conversation.
. . . Tch. . . Fine, but no dropping our henges. We can save that until the right time comes.
After their short mental talk, the two boys nodded at each other and put their bowls down.
"We have a confession to make," said Naruto, bowing his head a little.
"OMG, I knew it! You guys are gay and are secretly dating!" cried Kakashi, pointing at the boys with an accusing finger and everyone in the room sweatdropped.
"Uh, no," said Sasuke, looking at his sensei like he was insane.
"Nice try though," said Naruto and Kakashi withdrew his finger with a nervous laugh, mentally kicking his own ass.
How embarrassing, he thought.
"Anyway, back to the topic," pressed Naruto with another wary look at Kakashi. "To answer Sakura's question, Sasuke and I have known each other since we were seven, so we're really best friends. That's why we get along so well."
"No way," said Sakura, looking at her two teammates with disbelief. "But you guys always bicker and argue in the academy."
"That was just an act," said Sasuke. "We didn't want anyone to know that we're friends. It'll only spell trouble for Naruto."
"Why?"
This time, Kakashi was included in the boys glancing. They all knew Naruto's secret, but now wasn't the time to tell it to Sakura (or to Tazuna's family for that matter).
"I'll tell you when you're ready to take it," said Naruto, looking at the pinkette with serious eyes. "But you know that a majority of the village hates my guts, so if they see me hanging out with the last Uchiha in the village, they'll only hate my guts even more and they just might beat me to a pulp because of it."
"What? Why would the villagers beat you up?" asked Sakura.
"That's of no concern for now," said Sasuke. "But ever since I met Naruto, we have been secretly training with other with our sensei and that's how we got so powerful."
Silence. Then, "So that's why Kakashi-sensei said you guys should be jounin by now," said Sakura.
"Aa," said Naruto. "Do you believe us Sakura?"
"Well, it is hard to believe," said Sakura. "But you guys have no reason to lie, so I believe you."
"That's good," said Naruto, standing up. "So now that you know, please excuse me 'cuz I've got some things to do."
Naruto then left the house with everyone staring at his back. Sasuke sighed before returning to his meal.
"Sasuke, do you know where Naruto's going?" asked Kakashi.
"He's going to see our sensei," said Sasuke as he chewed on some vegetables.
"Ah, I thought so," said Kakashi with a nod.
"Eh? Sasuke-kun, the sensei who taught you to be strong is here too?" asked Sakura, her eyes lighting up.
"Aa, he's always with us. Wherever Naruto goes, he's always there." said Sasuke with a small smirk.
"Really? Do you think I can meet him?"
"Maybe, when you're ready."
"Ne, Sasuke-kun, when we get back to Konoha, would you like to go on a date wtih me?"
"No."
The night air was cool and it tingled Naruto's exposed skin as he walked through the dark forest. The wind rustled the leaves as it passed by and Naruto breathed in the fresh air. He always felt calm whenever he was in the forest. It was a peaceful place and it was perfect to being one with nature since you're surrounded by it. Whenever Naruto needed some alone time, he always walked through the forest to clear his mind.
Naruto sat down under a tree in a small clearing, his back resting on the trunk, and he closed his eyes, slowly descending into his mindscape.
"Don't you know what time it is?" asked Kyuubi when Naruto landed in the bijuu's room. Said bijuu was laying down on his circular bed, his kimono spread out around him elegantly, and he looked sleepy.
"After the five years I didn't acknowledge your existence, I would've thought that you've got enough sleep," said Naruto with a small smirk.
"Shut up gaki," said Kyuubi with a swift turn of his head. "If I'm sleepy then I sleep."
"Yeah, I'm pretty exhausted also," said Naruto and Kyuubi had to jump out of his bed to catch Naruto before the blond fell to the ground. Kyuubi sighed and carried Naruto to his bed where he laid Naruto's head on his lap and stroked the sun-kissed hair that adorned his head.
"You should've told your friends that the kunai that struck you was poisoned," said Kyuubi, continually stroking the blond head.
"I didn't want them to worry," said Naruto, closing his eyes and enjoying the sensation of the strokes. "Besides, you healed me pretty quickly."
"I may be able to heal you, but I can't cure you of the poison," said Kyuubi, looking down at Naruto with worried eyes. "You still have it coursing through your veins."
"It'll be fine," said Naruto, breathing deeply as he tried to lull himself to sleep. "As long as you're still inside of me, the poison won't affect me."
But I may not be inside of you for the rest of your life.
Naruto's breathing slowed and his body went limp, signaling that he fell asleep. Kyuubi kept on stroking the blond's head, addicted to feeling the soft strands of hair running through his fingers. Naruto was like his own kit and he would do anything to protect him. He had never grown so close to a human in his thousand years of life. It just goes to show you that love does conquer all, no matter how cliched it sounds.
"But. . . will love be able to help Naruto in the battles to come?" Kyuubi asked himself, even though there was no answer.
It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and a refreshing breeze blew every few minutes. In the forest, a person wearing a sleeveless pink and red kimono, could be seen picking herbs from the forest floor. Though at first glance this person looked like a girl, especially with a head of flowing black hair, once you get a closer look, it's obvious that he's a boy. Well, one would have to be convinced first.
A couple of birds flew overhead the boy. One bird flew down and landed on the his shoulder. The boy smiled at it, really making him look like a girl.
The bird flew away and the androgynous boy watched it land on a body that was slumped against a tree a little way away from him. The body was that of a young boy, not much older then twelve maybe, and he wore black and red clothes and had bright blond hair that seemed to glisten in the morning rays. The androgynous boy went to the blond boy and knelt down next to him. When he saw the hitai-ate around the blond boy's neck, his eyes went wide. Slowly, the androgynous boy raised a hand to the blond boy's neck, intending to strangle him, but in a flash, his hand was caught by another, stronger, hand.
"Who're you?" asked the blond boy, who suddenly awoke, with a coldness, narrowing his eyes at the androgynous boy who he was holding by the wrist.
"M-My name is Haku," said the androgynous boy, trying to pry his hand from the blond's grip but it was too strong. "I was going to wake you up. You could catch a cold sleeping on the ground."
The blond boy studied Haku for another moment, brown eyes meeting blue, then he gently released his hold on Haku's wrist and sighed, closing his eyes.
"Gomen nasai," he said, sitting upright in a more comfortable position. "I had somewhat of a rough week."
"It's okay," said Haku, smiling in spite of himself as he rubbed his wrist. "I understand."
There was a silence for a moment except for the chirping of the birds.
"What's your name?" asked Haku.
". . . Namikaze Naruto," said the blond.
"Are you a ninja?"
"Sort of obvious with the hitai-ate I have."
Another moment of silence in which Haku stared at Naruto who still had his eyes closed.
"Naruto-kun, what were you doing out here alone in the forest?" he asked.
Naruto opened his eyes and looked at Haku. Haku was expecting another cold stare, but instead he got a small smile from the younger boy.
"I was training," lied Naruto.
"It doesn't look like you just finished training," said Haku.
"I was training my mind. I must've fell asleep halfway."
"That's a strange way to train."
"Yeah well, a shinobi has got to train his mind as well as his body."
"A ninja's life is so complicated."
"That's an understatement."
Haku was now feeling a little awkward. There was something in Naruto's eyes that made him nervous. It was like Naruto knew something about him.
"What are you doing here Haku?" asked Naruto, snapping Haku out of his thoughts.
"Oh, I'm here gathering medicinal herbs," said Haku, gesturing to his basket which was already full of leaves. "A precious friend of mine is ill and I'm going to make some medicine that'll speed up his healing."
"Ah. I'm not much of a medical ninja myself. Whenever I get wounded, someone else always heals me."
"It seems that you're precious to this person, that's why he always heals you."
"Heh, more like his life depends on mine, that's why he always heals me."
"I'm not sure what you mean by that."
"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it."
Naruto laughed nervously at this and Haku couldn't help but smile. Even though this child acted cold sometimes, he was still a child and thinks much like a child also.
Maybe I was just imagining that feeling, thought Haku.
"Tell me Naruto-kun," said Haku, fingering a herb leaf. "Why do you train?"
"I train because I want to be stronger and to be recognized," said Naruto matter-of-factly.
"So, are you only training for yourself, or for someone else?"
"I don't exactly get what you mean."
"Well, I find that you'll get stronger if you're protecting someone who is precious to you."
Naruto thought for a moment, then smiled.
"I understand and I think you're absolutely right," he said.
Haku smiled, then he took hold of his basket and stood up.
"Well, I have to get going now," he said with one last smile. "You get stronger Naruto, and we'll meet again."
"Yeah, we will," said Naruto and he watched Haku walk away.
Haku walked down the trail, basket in hand and looking very calm indeed. Sasuke, who had left the house moments earlier to look for his friend, was coming down the trail in the opposite direction. He eyed Haku as he passed and stopped for a moment to watch the androgynous boy walk out of sight.
"Who was that girl?" asked Sasuke when he approached Naruto.
"He's a boy," said Naruto as he stood up and Sasuke raised his eyebrows, as if skeptical. "And his name's Haku. He's Zabuza's accomplice, the ANBU I told you about."
"What?! Then why didn't you take him out when you had the chance?"
"Because he wasn't my enemy. He was just an ordinary boy picking herbs on a beautiful day."
Sasuke stared at Naruto in disbelief. "You know, sometimes I have no idea what goes on through your mind," he said.
Naruto chuckled. "Kyuu tells me that too and he can hear my thoughts," he said, walking back towards the town. "Come on, I'm starving."
"And that was the reason why I came all the way out here, because breakfast was ready."
"Then what're we waiting for? Let's go!"
"Hey! Wait up!"
Days passed with no sign of Zabuza or Haku. The construction on the the bridge was nearing completion and the village was looking a bit more happy in some ways. Besides training Sakura to be stronger (because she is a useless banshee), Team 7 took turns in guarding Tazuna. On one particular day, nearly a week after arriving in the Wave Country, Kakashi decided that they would all go to the bridge and guard Tazuna, but unfortunately, Naruto wouldn't get out of bed.
"He has a slight fever," said Tsunami after feeling Naruto's slightly sweaty forehead. "I don't think he should be going out like this,"
"We'll just leave him then," said Kakashi. "Best for him to get some rest. Tsunami-san, please take care of him."
"Just leave him to me," said Tsunami with a kind smile.
Then Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna headed off that morning, leaving Naruto behind. As they made their way to the bridge, our little blond hero shifted in his futon, pulling the covers over his head with a groan.
I feel like crap.
That's what happens when you don't ask for help. The poison's getting to you again and I'm the only thing standing in it's way. When you see that androgynous boy again, force him to give you the antidote because I can not cure you!
Please, no more lectures. I wanna sleep and my head is killing me.
That's not the only thing killing you. . .
"Ne Kakashi-sensei, why did you decide to bring all of us to guard Tazuna-san?" asked Sakura as the little group walked across the nearly completed bridge.
"Well, now that the bridge is nearly complete, I figured that it would be the perfect chance for Zabuza to make his appearance," said Kakashi, looking bored as usual (but who knows what really goes on under that mask?). "So it's better to be safe then sorry."
"If Zabuza does show today, then Naruto would miss a great fight," said Sasuke with a slight smirk.
They arrived at the end of the bridge, but the sight that met their eyes was horrible. All the workers who were devoted to building the bridge lay on the ground in a pool of their on blood, either dead or dying, though the former might've been more preferable. Tazuna was horror-struck and Sakura's face went a slight shade of green, looking like she would faint any second.
"Wha-What happened?" said Tazuna, though it came out as a mere whisper.
"It seems he came earlier then I expected," said Kakashi just as a thick fog rolled in.
"It's his Kirigakure no Jutsu," said Sakura, looking around but she couldn't see through the thickness of the fog.
"Sakura, Sasuke, formation," said Kakashi as he readied a kunai and the two genins took their places on either side of the bridge builder, also holding kunais. "Now. . . where are you Zabuza?"
"Inari! Inari would you come down and help me?" cried Tsunami from the kitchen.
"Coming Kachan!" cried Inari from upstairs and a moment later, he appeared in the kitchen, next to his mother.
The two went on with their daily chores, totally oblivious to the dangers that a beloved family member and their guests were facing. But they were going to face dangers of their own as two men holding katanas to their sides stood outside their door. A second later, the door was sliced into pieces as the younger of the two men swung his katana through them.
"Knock knock, can we come in?" said the taller, more muscular man wearing on eyepatch as he stepped into the house.
"Who are you?!" screamed Tsunami, pushing Inari behind her. "Get out of my house!"
"Ooh, I'm afraid we can't do that," said the younger bandit. "We were sent here to take some hostages and they just happened to be you two."
The larger man approached the mother and son pair, but Tsunami wouldn't give up without a fight. She grabbed a nearby frying pan and aimed it the the bandit's head, but the bandit easily caught it and slapped Tsunami's face with so much force that she fell to the floor.
"Okachan!" cried Inari, tears already appearing in his eyes.
"Run Inari!" cried Tsunami but Inari was too afraid to move.
"You little bitch," said the larger bandit as he stood over Tsunami. "I'm going to punish you for trying to get away."
Then the bandit crouched over Tsunami, hands staring to grope her. Inari screamed for his mother while Tsunami just screamed, both afraid of what was going to happen next. But then, their screaming was cut off by a loud shout.
"OI!"
All four people in the room looked around and saw a groggy Naruto, who was still in his pajamas, standing in the doorway that led to the room where he slept.
"What's with all the screaming?" he said, his voice slightly hoarse and his eyes half-closed. "How's a guy supposed to get some sleep around here?"
"Tch, it's just another gaki," said the larger bandit. "Take care of him."
"With pleasure," said his partner and he approached Naruto, unsheathing his katana.
"Naruto-niisan! Look out!" cried Inari as the bandit swung his katana towards Naruto, but the blond just held up a hand and caught the bandit's wrist in a tight grip.
"What the hell?" said the bandit, staring down at Naruto with wide eyes.
". . . Hell. . . That's right," said Naruto, grinning evilly and looking up at the bandit with a red glint in his eyes. "That's where you're going soon. Right into the center of it!"
Then Naruto tightened his hold on the bandit's wrist and twisted it around, making him drop his katana, until there was a loud crack. The bandit screamed in pain, and Naruto forced him to drop to his knees.
"Give up now and maybe your death won't be so painful," said the blond, killing intent leaking from his body like an open water faucet.
"F-Fuck you!" said the bandit and Naruto sighed.
"You asked for it," he said and with a flick of his hand, he sent the bandit flying out the open doorway. Naruto then turned to the larger bandit, his face emotionless but his eye gleaming red.
"Are you next?" he asked, his voice eeringly sinister and the bandit felt a pang of fear.
"Don't come near me!" he cried, grabbing Tsunami and holding his katana to her throat. "Or she'll die!"
"Wrong," said Naruto and he disappeared from sight only to reappear behind the bandit, who froze with fear as he felt the blade of a kunai against his throat. "You should've said 'Don't come near me or I'll die'."
The bandit began to shake and he dropped his katana and let go of Tsunami, who crawled into Inari's arms. Mother and son watched as Naruto coaxed the bandit forward and out of the house.
"You shouldn't watch this," said Naruto to the two and they walked out of sight.
Tsunami and Inari waited. For a moment, there was only silence. Then they heard screams and two loud thuds. Tsunami and Inari clutched each other, waiting and keeping their eyes on the doorway, then Naruto appeared, but they were surprised to find that his pajama pants were splattered with blood.
"Sorry. I would've killed them right away, but I was worried that their blood might stain your floor," he said, stepping into the house while running a hand through his hair. "And don't worry, their bodies were taken care of and you won't know where I killed them if you feel that it would haunt you."
Tsunami and Inari just stared as Naruto walked up to them. The blond raised an eyebrow at them as they just sat there, staring.
"What the hell are you staring at me for?" he asked and the two jumped in surprised. "Don't just sit there, go out and get help. We might need all the help we can get, even if they're just bandits."
Tsunami and Inari nodded and shakily stood up. Inari glanced at the blood that soaked Naruto's pants and his face went pale.
"When you're a ninja, you have to live a life of killing," Naruto explained in a monotone voice as he walked back to his room and Inari decided right then and there that he would never even think of becoming a ninja.
Meanwhile, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke were about to fight themselves. They stood around the aged bridge builder, kunais at the ready and eyes scanning their surroundings. Sasuke had already activated his sharingan and he was waiting for Zabuza to move from wherever he was hiding from.
Suddenly, laughter rang in the air. It was Zabuza's unmistakable raspy laugh. It sent chills up Sasuke's spine and he started to shake.
"Sorry I'm late Kakashi," said Zabuza from somewhere in the dense fog. "Looks like you still have your gakis with you. And this one is shaking."
Then suddenly, the little group was surrounded by Zabuzas (all wearing shirts this time). But Sasuke just smirked and the Zabuza in front of him looked slightly surprised.
". . . I'm shaking. . . because I'm excited," said the Uchiha, his sharingan flashing red.
"Go get him, Sasuke," said Kakashi, his eye curving upwards.
Sasuke then disappeared from his spot. There was a whooshing sound and the Zabuza disappeared in a swirl of water just as Sasuke reappeared in his spot again.
"Oh, he knew those were mizu bunshins," said Zabuza and the fog dispersed just enough for the little group to see him (not shirtless) and his masked accomplice standing a few feet away from them. "And he has quite the speed too. Looks like you've got yourself a rival Haku."
". . . Looks like it," said the ANBU, Haku. "I would like to fight him, if that's alright with you Zabuza-san."
"Don't ask me for permission," said Zabuza. "All I want is Kakashi."
"Hai, then I will go now," said Haku and he took a step forward.
"Kakashi-sensei, I'll take on the ANBU," said Sasuke, stepping foward.
"Sure thing," said Kakashi.
"Kya! Sasuke-kun, you're so cool!" cried Sakura and Tazuna, Kakashi, and Sasuke sweatdropped.
Pink-haired slut, they all thought.
"Well, shall we start then?" asked Haku.
"Ladies first," said Sasuke with a smirk.
Haku froze for a moment, his brain probably processing what Sasuke meant just then, then he took a step forward. Then another step, then he turned around and around and around. Haku was now spinning so fast that the others had a hard time keeping up with the spinning, but Sasuke didn't have a hard time. Haku spun towards the Uchiha and just as they were a foot apart, Sasuke stuck out his arm just in time to block a long and thick senbon with his own kunai.
"Is that your only speed?" asked Sasuke with a smirk.
"Oh, you are good," said Haku and he spun around again, another senbon in his other hand, but Sasuke blocked that one also. "You are very good indeed."
"Thanks for the compliment," said Sasuke and he proceeded to throw a flurry of kicks and punches at Haku with incredible speed.
The others watched in awe as Sasuke soon overpowered Haku and gave him a powerful kick in the face. Haku was thrown to the ground, but he quickly got up and used a senbon to block Sasuke's kunai.
"You're not so bad yourself," said Sasuke with another smirk.
"Indeed," said Haku. "But it seems I have two advantages here."
"Nani?" said Sasuke.
"Yes," said Haku. "One, is all the water spilt here, and two, is I can block you with only one hand, which means you can only defend yourself and that I can also do this."
Haku then started to make hand signs with his free hand, but everyone was shocked when they saw that he was only using one hand.
He could use one-handed signs?! thought the ninjas except for Zabuza.
"Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishou!" cried Haku.
The water around him and Sasuke started to stir, and then it floated up into the air around the pair before coming together and forming long, sharp needle-like icicles. Sasuke looked around, surprise showing on his face, and the needles rushed towards him at high speed. Fortunately, Sasuke was fast enough to jump away before they found their target. The needles struck the ground and returned back to its watery form around Haku's feet. Sasuke landed a few feet away from the masked shinobi and readied his kunai, his eyes narrowing.
Didn't see that coming, he thought.
"You impress me Konoha shinobi," said Haku, taking a step forward and raising his hand. "But now's the time to stop playing games."
Haku's hand formed more one-handed signs and Sasuke gripped his kunai even tighter.
"Hijutsu: Makyou Houshou!" cried Haku.
The water around Sasuke churned and started to form multiple mirror-like blocks of ice. Sasuke was trapped in what seemed to be a house of mirrors, but he kept his eyes on Haku, waiting for his next move. Haku stepped into the closest mirror, sinking into the ice like it was water. His reflection was shown on the mirror and the other mirrors copied his image.
"Now, we can really start," said Haku, raising a hand holding a couple senbons. "And I will show you my true speed."
Sasuke readied himself. Haku threw the senbons with so much force that they were just blurs as they sped through the air. Sasuke tried his best to dodge them, but many had found their target, sinking their sharp points into Sasuke's flesh. Sasuke bit back his cries of pain and in a few seconds, he became a human pincushion. Sasuke dropped to his knees when the rain of senbons stopped and he looked around the many Hakus, trying to find which one was the real one.
"I'm surprised that you're still alive Konoha shinobi," said Haku, his soft voice ringing through the air.
"Just shut up and continue the fight bastard," said Sasuke, hoisting himself off the ground. "But if you don't wanna, then I will!" Sasuke made a series of hand signs and held two fingers in front of his mouth, leaning backwards to release the build up of chakra in his mouth. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!"
Multiple blasts of fire were shot from Sasuke mouth and each shot struck each mirror that surrounded Sasuke. But once the smoke cleared, Sasuke saw that the mirrors were still standing.
"So, katon jutsus won't work on your kind of ice," said Sasuke.
"Correct," said the Hakus. "My element manipulation is my kekkei genkai, so it is impossible to melt my ice with a mere katon jutsu nor is it possible for your sharingan to copy it."
Sasuke scowled. Oh great, just great. What the hell am I going to do now?
The Hakus held up more senbons and prepared to throw them.
"Say your last words. . . Konoha shinobi. . ." he said before throwing the senbons.
And from outside of the house of mirrors, the others heard Sasuke screams of pain.
When Sakura heard Sasuke screams, she felt fear flood her body and she started to shake.
"Sa-Sasuke-kun," she whispered and Tazuna looked down at the young genin, feeling pity towards her.
Is this really the life of a ninja? he thought.
"Sasuke!" cried Kakashi when he heard the screams and he ran towards the fight, but unfortunately, Zabuza blocked his way..
"Sorry Kakashi, but your fight's with me," said the rogue nin, grasping the handle of his sword.
Damn!
"Fine Zabuza," said the jounin readying his kunai. "Let's finish this once and for all."
"Let's," repeated Zabuza, a gleam in his eyes.
Sasuke's screams stopped and Sakura felt like her heart skip a beat. Kakashi went to Sasuke, but was confronted by Zabuza. Naruto wasn't here to help her protect Tazunza nor was he here to help Sasuke and Kakashi fight. Sakura was alone, completely alone, and not only did she have to watch out for herself, but for Tazuna also. It was like what Naruto said when they had their first drill.
"Do you think ths is a game?! You think that just because Sasuke's with you, you'll be alright? News flash pinky! He's not the one going to save you all the time. You have to save yourself! Just think about it for a moment with that large forehead of yours! In a battle, one wrong decision will lead to your death! In a battle, there is always a death! Sasuke won't be helping you all the time just because you say so! There are people out there stronger then Sasuke, stronger then me, and stronger then our sensei and those people just might kill us all if we had the misfortune of meeting them! So you better suck it up, stop thinking about Sasuke, start thinking about yourself, and become stronger, not to impress him, but to survive because in the state you're in now, your head would fly off your shoulders before you even enter a battlefield. Look at you, losing to such a simple genjutsu just because it looked like Sasuke. You don't deserve to be a kuniochi."
No matter how harsh it was, it was the truth and the truth always hurt. The shocking truth that Sakura was weak and couldn't do a thing to help her team made Sakura afraid. She couldn't even defend herself. She knew she doesn't deseve to be a kunoichi.
But no more.
Sakura clutched her kunai and narrowed her eyes at the mirror house.
No more am I gonna stand by and be the weakling I am. Everyone is helping me to become stronger and I have to do my best to help them too. We have to have each other's backs because no one else will do it.
". . . Tazuna-san," said Sakura and Tazuna looked down at Sakura again.
"Yes?" he asked.
". . . I'm sorry. . . I have to leave you for a while. . ."
Tazuna closed his eyes in understanding. "Go do what you have to do," he said.
Sakura nodded, then ran towards the mirror house and jumped up.
"Sasuke-kun!" she cried, getting Sasuke's attention, and she threw the kunai towards him.
Sasuke was ready to grab the kunai as it flew towards him, but unfortunately, Haku leaned out of one of the mirrors to grab the kunai. Sakura landed on the ground and her eyes went wide with shock.
"Oh no! He grabbed it!" she said.
Sasuke looked up at Haku with one eye open. Haku flipped the kunai in his hand, almost pitying the boy in resorting to such meager methods, but in the blink of an eye, a shuriken found it's way around the mirror house and struck Haku right in the side of his face, causing the masked shinobi to fall out of the mirror and onto the ground.
"Nani?" said Sakura, her eyes going wide.
"Nani?" said Kakashi, his lone eye going wide.
"Who the hell did that?" said Zabuza, narrowing his eyes.
"I did," said a voice and out of the fog came a figure clothed in a red shirt and black shorts. He walked towards the small group, hands in pockets, and sighed indifferently as his blue eyes sweeped the scene.
"Naruto!" cried Sakura, both surprised and relieved.
"Naruto, thought you'd never come," said Kakashi, smiling a little under his mask.
"So, the third gaki's here as well," said Zabuza, his dark eyes scrunching together.
"Yup, I'm here Zabuza," said Naruto.
"I'm over here too," said another Naruto from in between Tazuna and Sakura (both of which who jumped in surprise).
"And here also," said a third Naruto from inside the mirror house, crouching down next to Sasuke.
"Hn, damn kage bunshins," mumbled Zabuza.
"Naruto, what took you so long?" asked Sasuke as Naruto helped him stand up.
"Well, in case you forgot, I'm not feeling very well today," said Naruto matter-of-factly. "And some bandits tried to kidnap Tsunami-san and Inari, but it's all taken care of."
"As always," smirked Sasuke.
"But, now that I've arrived, I see that you're getting your ass kicked," said Naruto, looking at Sasuke as if he was giving him a lecture. "What happened Sasuke? I feel like a giant hand will take those senbons out of you and start sewing or something."
"Shut up," said Sasuke with a smile, removing all of the senbons from his body. "This guy's something, and I can't defeat him on my own with the power I have now, so I was waiting for you to come and help me."
"Oh," said Naruto, realization hitting him like a ton of bricks. "I get what you're thinking. You want to use that don't you?"
"Right, so let''s do this," said Sasuke, his body finally free of senbons and taking up a fighting stance.
"Yosh," said Naruto, grinning his familiar fox grin and doing that same fighting stance as Sasuke. He chuckled to himself as he watched Haku stand up, knowing that their next attack will blast Haku off of his feet.
Naruto is here and with Sasuke, I know they'll be able to defeat Haku, Kakashi thought as he carefully watched Zabuza's every move. But now is not the time to think about their battle. Now, I have to think about my own little battle with Zabuza.
Kakashi was feeling a little restless. He carefully looked over his shoulder at Naruto, who was only a kage bunshin, and he curved his eye upwards.
"I've got this Naruto," he said.
"I know," said the Naruto clone with a grin. "But I have to watch your fight because the original wants to see it."
"Ah," said Kakashi, giving him a nod and he turned back to Zabuza. "Well Zabuza, I don't really want to fight you, so I think I'll have to resort to a meager jutsu."
"Don't give me that crap Kakashi," said Zabuza. "The only thing you have to give me is all that you've got."
"But if I did that, then you'll be dead," said Kakashi, reaching into on of the pockets of his vest and taking out a scroll.
As quickly as he could, Kakashi used his kunai to cut open his palm and blood started to flow out of it. Then, just as quickly, Kakashi opened the scroll, spread some blood on it, twirled it around his head a bit, then tied it shut again.
"Let's see you dodge this Zabuza," he said to himself and he did a couple hand signs (with the scroll in his hands) before slamming the scroll into the concrete ground. "Doton: Tsugai no Jutsu!"
Seals left the ends of the scroll like it were alive and spread out across the ground, burying deep into the concrete like some concrete-eating worm.
"Enough of this! Let's fight!" cried Zabuza, swinging his sword around and rushing towards Kakashi, but suddenly, there was a rumbling sound from beneath his feet and in a flash, seven large dogs burst out from under him, latching their mouthful of fangs on any body part they could reach. Zabuza found himself immobolized (and having a hundred pound dog laying on his back) and he narrowed his eyes at Kakashi.
"Cheap trick Kakashi," he growled.
"Sorry," said Kakashi, his eye curving upwards. "But I'm lazy and I'm kinda excited about what Naruto and Sasuke will do to your subordinate."
Zabuza chuckled. "To tell you the truth. . . so am I," he said.
Haku stood up and faced the two genins. There was a small crack in his mask, but it wasn't important. Sasuke stood there, smirking and Naruto couldn't stop grinning.
"Just because there are now two of you doesn't mean you will win this battle," said Haku.
"Oh, he's underestimating us Naruto," said Sasuke, looking over at his friend.
"I don't like that one bit," said Naruto, his grin unfaltering.
"Let us continue," said Haku, stepping backwards to sink into the nearest mirror, but in the blink of an eye, the mirror shattered like glass. Haku gasped in surprise when he saw that Naruto was gone and he turned around to see him standing where the shattered mirror previously was.
"Well, that wasn't a very strong mirror was it?" asked Naruto, flexing his hand which sported long sharp claws.
"What. . . What are you?" said Haku, visibly taking a step backward when he saw Naruto's face.
Naruto grinned again, showing off his long fangs where his canines should be. Naruto's eyes were now a blood red color and his whisker marks on his cheeks were more defined and sinister-looking. And not only that, Haku could sense a dark aura surrounding the young genin.
"If you were there when I fought Zabuza," said Naruto, stepping towards Haku with his head bowed a little. "Then you would've heard it when I said. . . I'm a demon!"
Then suddenly, a huge wave of chakra burst out of Naruto and Haku was blown off his feet. The chakra swirled around the blond, red and sinister like his eyes, and all the mirrors surrounding the three shattered as easily as glass, reverting back to its original form as water. As soon as the mirrors disappeared, the wave of chakra did also and Naruto's red eyes returned to its normal cerulean color.
"All yours Sasuke," said Naruto, putting his hands in his pockets and Sasuke smirked.
"Thanks alot, you've made this easier for me," he said appearing in next to the fallen Haku. "I suggest for you not to struggle. It'll only hurt more."
Haku clentched his teeth as Sasuke removed his cracked mask. And of course, it was the same Haku the two boys saw in the forest a couple days earlier. The adrogynous, soft spoken boy with the kind brown eyes.
"I'm sorry I have to do this," said Sasuke, his sharingan eyes dark and solemn. "But you're a danger to every innocent person around here. I'll try not to put you through too much pain."
Sasuke activated his Mangekyou, his three tomoes merging together into an atom-like form with three hoops, and Haku looked into those two eyes, his own brown ones going wide.
And the fog was pierced with another scream of pain, this time, coming from Haku.
Zabuza gasped when he heard the scream. "Haku!" he said, sensing Haku's aura weakening.
"Looks like my subordinates defeated yours," said Kakashi straightening up and pocketing his kunai. "Give up Zabuza, it's over. You lost."
"I will only lose this battle when I lose my life!" cried Zabuza and he used all of his strength to throw off the ninja dogs, who disappeared in clouds of smoke. He grabbed his sword, swung it around his head and charged towards Kakashi.
Kakashi managed to dodge Zabuza's sword as it crashed down onto him. The silver-head jounin jumped backwards, getting a good distance away from the rogue ninja. As Zabuza struggled to get his sword out of the ground, Kakashi quickly made the ox, hare, and monkey signs, then molded chakra into his hand in a mass of electricity.
"Raikiri!" Kakashi cried as he rushed towards Zabuza.
"Bring it Kakashi!" cried Zabuza, finally freeing his sword, and he too charged.
It was the clash of the titans as the two jounins met, sword against jutsu, and there was a huge explosion. Sakura and Tazuna shielded their eyes and Naruto and Sasuke stared at the spot, sensing the large amount of chakra that Kakashi released. The fog started to disperse, the sun's finally shining through, and everyone strained their eyes, trying to see through the smoke that engulfed the two jounin.
And when the smoke cleared, the result was mildly surprising. Kakashi was bleeding heavily, Zabuza's sword digging deep into his shoulder, but Zabuza himself was in a more worst state. Kakashi's hand was clutching the fabric of his shirt that was over his heart and that part was spewing blood like no tomorrow, splashing onto the ground. Both jounin's faces were flecked with blood also, but Kakashi's eyes still had life in them while Zabuza's were slowly dulling, the life fading from his body.
"Sh. . . Shit. . ." rasped Zabuza, the bandages covering his face soaking up the blood that he coughed up. ". . . Seems like. . . I really have. . . lost. . ."
". . . You are a threat to the world Zabuza. . ." said Kakashi, feeling himself weaken also. ". . . But I was honored to fight you anyway. . ."
"Yeah. . . So was. . . I. . ." rasped Zabuza before falling forward and being caught by Naruto. Kakashi fell forward also, but he was caught by Sasuke.
"Rest Kakashi-sensei," said the Uchiha. "I'll fix you up soon."
Naruto was silent as he laid Zabuza down on the ground. He removed the bandages off of the rogue ninja's face and closed his unseeing eyes. The blond sighed, then looked over at Haku who was laying on the ground a few feet away, unconscious because of Sasuke's sharingan.
". . . If only you knew how precious you are to him," he said, feeling a little pity in his heart.
The next day, everything went back to normal. Or at least, as normal as normal could get in the Land of the Waves after the confrontation with Zabuza at the bridge. After Kakashi killed the rogue nin, Gato (the goon who hired Zabuza) came by with an army of bandits to try and kill Tazuna, since Zabuza had ignored his direct orders. Long story short, Gato made some long and boring speech on how Zabuza and Haku were worthless, that got Naruto mad and the blond summoned an army of kage bunshins which scared the crap out of the bandits, and there was a not-so-actiony fight in which the villagers came by to fight also, carrying weapons such as frying pans, pitchforks, and basically anything that could lay the hurt on a human being, and the bandits were so scared out of their wits that they just ran away. The only one left was Gato who was nearly killed by the villagers, but being the good-hearted boy he is, Naruto convinced the villagers to let Gato live so he could atone for his sins. Unfortunately, probably because of his own stupidity, Gato tripped on his own feet and fell over the edge of the bridge where he splashed into the river below and drowned because he didn't know how to swim.
Well, after a heated battle and a strange turn of events, Tazuna and his crew returned to completing the bridge and Team 7 stayed for a little while longer, partly because there still might be someone who wanted to kill Tazuna and partly because Kakashi was out once again along with a new member to heal, Haku.
"I hope Haku wakes up soon," mumbled Naruto, laying his head on the table with a groan (in Tazuna's household a few days after the battle).
"Why do you want him to wake up soon?" asked Sakura, sipping her tea.
"Because that day he nearly disabled my hand, he poisoned me also," answered Naruto oh so casually.
Sakura spit out her tea in surprised and Sasuke's mouth fell open.
"He WHAT?!" they cried.
"Don't worry about it guys," said Naruto with a lazy wave of his hand. "I can't die with poison alone, but it's really annoying and my body can't function properly with it flowing through my veins."
"Why didn't you tell us you were poisoned?!" cried Sakura.
"I didn't want you to worry," said Naruto, not looking at her.
"Worry?! Worry?! You could die right now!"
"I won't die."
"How could you be so sure?"
"Because."
"Because what?!"
"Just trust him Sakura," said Sasuke, understanding what Naruto was saying. "He'll be fine."
"But Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke looked at Sakura, telling her to calm down and not let it bother her in a glare and Sakura gulped before sitting down. Even she had to admit that Sasuke's glares were scary.
The creak of a floorboard made everybody turn around and they saw Haku standing at the doorway to the kitchen, his flowing black hair gently framing his face and his gentle features looking shy and a bit confused.
"G-Gomen nasai," he said in his quiet voice. "I-I woke up and I don't know where I am."
"You're the village," said Naruto, standing up from his seat. "Come, sit with us."
Haku seemed relunctant, but he joined the three genins at the table, sitting down next to Naruto and in front of Sasuke. His brown eyes looked around the small kitchen, but it was only out of curiousity instead of nervousness.
"So, you hungry?" asked Naruto with a slight smile.
"Huh?" said Haku.
"I said, are you hungry?" repeated Naruto. "I can get you something to eat if you wanna."
"N-No, I'm fine," said Haku with a slight smile and there was silence again.
"Okay, what're we doing?" asked Sakura.
"What do you mean what're we doing?" asked Naruto.
"He tried to kill you and Sasuke, so why are we helping him?" asked Sakura, her eyes narrowing at Haku.
"Because, he's not our enemy right now," said Naruto and Sakura looked at him with confusion in her eyes. "Right now, he's a confused boy who has just woken up from the torture of a lifetime."
Again, Sakura looked confused, but Haku trembled and he held his arms in an attempt to stop it.
"Th. . . There was so much suffering. . ." he said, his eyes showing fear. "So much. . . blood and chaos and fear. . . I never thought that that would happen if Zabuza-san actually. . . went along with his plans."
"So, I'm guessing what Sasuke showed you made you have a change of heart," said Naruto, smiling at his friend who smiled back.
"My. . . My only dream was to fulfill Zabuza-san's dream," said Haku, lowering his head in shame. "But I guess, if that dream was fulfilled, then it would shatter other's dreams."
"I know you're not that kind of person to kill relentelessly Haku," said Naruto, putting a hand on Haku's shoulder. "And I'm sorry that Kakashi did what he had to do."
"What?" asked Haku, looking up at Naruto with confused eyes. "What did your sensei do?"
It was sunset. Four people stood on a hill that overlooked the village. On that hill, a small cross made out of wood and a large sword was stuck into the ground. The words Momochi Zabuza were etched on the wooden cross and Haku kneeled next to it, laying flowers on the foot of the cross with tears flowing out of his eyes.
"Goodbye. . . Zabuza-san," he said, smiling a little because he wasn't the sort of person who would stop smiling. "You were, and still are, precious to me."
Naruto stood behind Haku and he laid a hand on his shoulder. "I hope. . . you don't have a grudge against us or anything," he said.
"No," said Haku with a shake of his head. "I understand your motives and I'm not the kind of person who would hold a grudge anyway. If death was his fate, then I accept it."
Naruto nodded, then retracted his hand and returned it to his pocket.
"So, what're you going to do now?" he asked.
"I don't know," said Haku, wiping his eyes before standing up. "I've been with Zabuza-san most of my life and everything I did was for him. I never really did anything for myself."
"Then why don't you make a fresh start?' asked Sasuke with a slight smile. "You can come to Konoha if you want."
"EH?!" cried Sakura, looking at Sasuke as if he was crazy (first time for everything). "What're you thinking Sasuke-kun? You're bringing a criminal into Konoha?!"
"That's not a bad idea," said Naruto with a smirk.
"Not a bad idea?! Not a bad idea?!" repeated Sakura, looking around as if she was the only sane person there.
"I'm sorry, but maybe Konoha is too big for me," said Haku with a kind smile. "Maybe I should start small."
"Maybe you can here," said a voice and everyone turned around to see Kakashi walking up that path towards them, left arm in a sling and eye curved upwards.
"Kakashi-sensei," said he three genins.
"You're up early," said Sasuke.
"Well, I woke up and saw that you guys weren't around, so I thought I'd go looking for you and I found you guys here," explained Kakashi as he went to stand at Zabuza's grave. He lifted a hand in prayer for a moment before turning back to his students. "Anyway, Haku could start anew here, along with the village."
"But do you think it's okay to leave him here?" asked Sakura.
"You should know just by looking at him that Haku is a gentle person," said Naruto and Haku blushed a little.
"I trust him staying here," said Sasuke with a smirk. "I mean, since this village is picking up the pieces. What better place to start?"
"But Haku is - " started Sakura but Kakashi cut her off.
"Haku is a boy who has lost his way and is looking for a fresh start," he said, his eye curving upwards at Haku. "As far as I can tell, Zabuza's subordinate was a masked shinobi and I don't see Haku wearing a mask."
Haku smiled at Kakashi and bowed at him.
"Arigato gozaimasu," he said, his eyes threatening to release tears again.
"Well, I guess you're right about that Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura, finally getting it (emphasis on finally). "I wonder what happened to that masked shinobi?"
"Who knows?" said Naruto, looking out over the hill where the sun was setting on the water. "But let's not let it bother us."
The little group all looked out over the hill, admiring the sunset and knowing that another chapter of their life is closing, and tomorrow, a new one will begin.
"Let's just. . . keep on moving forward," said Naruto and everyone silently agreed.
Emolette: Finally! I got this chapter done! After weeks and weeks of not updating!
Sasuke: Hey, the ending made me feel like I was watching an episode or something.
Emolette: Yeah, I'm kinda like that sometimes. Whenever I write, I fell like it'll be made into an episode or something. I even imagine it like I was acutally watching it on tv. Wierd huh?
Naruto: You said it. When have I been such a philospher?
Emolette: Ever since I began writing your life story -evil laugh-
Naruto: -sweatdrop-
Emolette: Oh, have you guys read my oneshots?
Sasuke: Yeah, and it was mostly SasuNaru.
Naruto: She made a Bevin one too.
Emolette: XD Kya! My Bevin fic was so fun to write! My first yaoi with a sex scene in it!
Sasuke: You've made other yaoi.
Emolette: But those were mostly kissing scenes. Bevin actually had a sex scene! -goes all fangirly-
Naruto: And for those who don't know, Bevin is a the yaoi pairing between Kevin Levin and Ben Tennyson of Ben 10.
Emolette: Alien Force! You forgot Alien Force because if you just say Ben 10, then it'll seem like I like the younger pairing when Ben was 10 and Kevin was 11! I only like their teen versions!
Sasuke: That's so wierd. Their names correspond to their aliases.
Naruto: Alia-what?
Sasuke: -sighs- You know, Ben Tennyson, Ben 10. Kevin Levin, Kevin 11. There was even their adult selves. Ben 10,000 and Kevin 11,000.
Naruto: -makes an 'o' with mouth- Oh. . .
Emolette: Enough talk! Must get onto writing chuunin exams! And I'm sorry that I'm so late! School and stuff, the usual.
Naruto: Not to mention a serious case of writer's block.
Emolette: Hey! I had a tough time trying to think up of the fight scenes and the dialogue! I actually had to watch the episodes again to get the dialogue, but since my family always hogs the tv, it took me weeks to actually do it! And I ended up writing my own dialogue anyway!
Sasuke: Why couldn't you just watch it on your laptop?
Emolette: -pouts very childishly- The damn dvd won't work on my laptop because it was so scratchy. . .
Sasuke: But it worked on your dvd player?
Emolette: Ironic ne?
Naruto: -nods head- Very.
Emolette: Anyway, thank you for reading^^! And stay tuned for the next chappie. I promise, it won't take long at all! -waves goodbye-