Yay! Now everyone gets to see what happens to Haku and Zabuza! Wheee!
I'll try to make this chapter longer than most of mine, but I don't think it's going to be NEARLY as long as the last one. I'll try for 4000+ words per chapter from now on instead of 2000+ like I usually do.
One thing I'd like to say regarding a review I got is that I'm really not too good at fight scenes… I'll try to do better next time, though.
And someone said that since he used a tail that makes him stronger than in canon. He IS stronger, but not that much. He used a tail because the seal is still weaker, and the Kyuubi practically FORCED his power on him, hoping Naruto would tear Wave Country to bits while he was berserk.
And my reasoning for making the fight with Haku and Zabuza so short was one simple fact that I feel is overlooked far too often; real combat doesn't last very long. Fights are usually decided in the first few blows… I don't think shinobi fights are much different. I'll try to make the next few fights longer, though.
Naruto woke the next morning wondering why his head felt like it'd been on the receiving end of Tsunade's fist. He only vaguely recalled what had transpired the past day, but what he did remember saddened and scared him. Oh well… it didn't really matter. He was obviously dead, seeing as the girl leaning over him was too… wait a second…
"HINATA!" Naruto yelled, leaping out of his cot and all but tackling the girl.
"N-Naruto! Are you okay?" Hinata asked, the look of surprise barely surpassing the blush on her face.
"I'm fine… what about you? I thought you were dead!" Naruto nearly yelled, tears flowing onto Hinata's jacket.
"No, I'm okay too… Haku never meant to kill us." Hinata said, realization donning on her face. "Oh yeah, I should check on her!"
"Well then… maybe I should co- HER!?" Naruto asked, muddling his words as he sat up. "He's a she!?"
Hinata nodded in confusion. "You… didn't know?"
"NO I didn't know!" Naruto said, nearly yelling again. "How did she… I mean.. she looked close enough to being a guy…"
"Well… she was very badly wounded when I came to… and I'm probably the best healer in Wave right now… so I had to… take off a few things…" Hinata said, a slight blush on her face. "She was masking her scent with musk, and bound her chest… rather painfully in fact…"
"Painfully?" Naruto asked.
"Well… a woman… can only bind her chest so tightly before it begins to… hurt…" Hinata answered, her blush growing brighter by the second. "I've… tried…"
"Why would you want to bind your chest, Hinata? You've got a grea-eh…ehhh… eheheh…" Naruto's blush easily matched Hinata's as he realized what he was about to say.
Hinata shook her head slightly, possibly trying to shake away her blush, or because she found some mirth in his words… "Naruto…" She started, trying to shift the conversation away from her chest. "Uhhm… would you like to come with me to check on her?"
"Yeah, sure!" Naruto answered.
Naruto knew why Hinata said Haku's bindings had to hurt. Her bust was nearly twice Hinata's. This was the focus of Naruto's attention for all of half an instant as he saw the condition of the rest of her body… Her left arm and both her legs were in casts, bandages covered every visible inch of her torso (aside from the small, loose shirt covering her breasts and the blanket over her waist and upper thighs) and her head was wrapped in several layers of bandages. "Wha… what happened?"
"She has a concussion, two breaks along her left arm, three in her right leg, and her left leg was nearly gone… severe internal damage along with eight cracked ribs, four of those simply broke off, and several fractures along her spinal column and hip…" Hinata said solemnly, almost glaring at the floor. "She's lucky to be alive…"
Naruto clenched his fists. HE did this… it was all his fault… Hinata was perfectly fine… "What about…?" Naruto started to ask.
"Zabuza is in better condition in a general sense… He's missing his right arm, and his left has fractures throughout… He also has a good number of cracked and broken ribs, but aside from that, he's fine…" Hinata answered, only to hear the missing-nin groan in his sleep. "He's just a big crybaby…"
"Hey, Hinata… You know where Aka-?" Kiba yelled as he walked into the room, instantly stopping dead when he saw the blonde standing next to her. "Oh… uh… h-hey Naru…to…" He said, waving sheepishly. If Naruto didn't know better, he'd have said Kiba was slowly backing away from them…
"Oh… hey, Kiba…" Naruto replied.
"Naruto…" Shino said, walking up behind Kiba. "We asked Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei about what happened the other day, and they told us they couldn't answer… that we had to ask you."
Naruto's eyes widened slightly before he sighed. "Hinata… you sure these two are out?" He asked, indicating Haku and Zabuza. When Hinata nodded, Naruto sat down in the seat next to Haku's bed. "Kiba... Shino… come in and shut the door." Shino walked in casually, but Kiba took it a little more seriously than he should've, and shut the door and leapt in front of Naruto. This took about a second…
"It's true, they couldn't answer y'know… It's kinda illegal to talk about it…" Naruto said, his friends' eyes widening slightly, even Shino, although you couldn't see it. "You all know about Kyuubi… right?" They nodded. "It wasn't killed… it was sealed…" Naruto lifted up his shirt, channeled a small amount of chakra to… anywhere… and showed the three of them his seal. "My birthday coincides with the attack. Irony, no?"
Silence reigned for several moments before Kiba's mutterings grew to an audible volume. "You're the… the… the…"
"I was born human then, and I'm still human now, dammit…" Naruto said, lowering his shirt. "So what if I've got a demon in my gut… it doesn't make me any less ME…"
"So… who all knows this?" Shino asked.
"What, that I'm Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki?" Naruto asked in return, striking a 'thinking' pose. "Uhhm… about everyone eighteen or so and older…"
"DAMMIT!" Kiba roared. "My sister… she KNEW… and… I even asked her why everyone older than us hates you… she lied to me…"
"She kinda had to…" Naruto said. "If she had told you, she would've been charged with treason, and thrown in prison… or executed…" He muttered the last part, scratching his cheek while smiling apologetically.
"Wait… then… what did she tell you?" Hinata asked.
"Well… She didn't really say anything…" Kiba muttered. "She said she didn't know…"
"And she may not have…" Shino added. "Naruto did say that there were those who did not know at all."
Kiba scoffed, internally admitting that his best friend might be right… "If you want…" Naruto muttered, almost to himself before glancing over to Kiba and speaking up. "I could ask your sister if she knows… when we get back…"
Kiba sighed. "I'd actually kinda' rather you didn't…" The Inuzuka said in an uncharacteristically solemn manner. "I think it might be better for me to just assume she didn't know than to admit she lied to me…"
Just then, then unconscious girl Hinata was treating began to stir, leaning up slightly before Kiba helped prop her up. While holding her head with her good hand, her eyes, or eye as one was covered by her hand, fluttered open and squinted at the group. "Welcome back…" Hinata said, bowing slightly and giving off a small smile.
"See? I knew you were a girl." Kiba said playfully from his spot next to her, his left arm still pressed against her back, holding her up.
"What?" Haku asked. "I'm a boy." This elicited curious looks from everyone in the room, and if she didn't know better, she'd have said she saw sweat forming on the side of each face she could see. Maybe her vision was impaired by the blow she took to her head… Then she saw that half of them weren't looking her in the eye any longer, but rather, down at something… on her chest? Looking down, she saw what they were staring at, and her eyes grew wide… her bindings were gone. "Don't look at me!" She shrieked suddenly, making absolutely no attempt to make her voice sound more masculine for the first time since they'd met, while covering her chest with her working arm, causing everyone in the room to jump back slightly.
"What's wrong?" Hinata asked, taking a step forward.
"Stay back… please…" Haku muttered.
"What's gotten into you, girl?" Kiba asked. "And why do you keep saying you're a boy?"
"You aren't, by chance, a transsexual, are you?" Shino asked emotionlessly while pushing his shades further up the bridge of his nose. His statement cause each of them to inch away from Haku, even Kiba seemed to be trying to put some distance between them, although he still held her up.
"No… I… I'm…" Haku started, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I'm just an ugly, weak, pathetic little girl!" She yelled, letting her tears fly free.
No one in the room knew how to respond… none of them believed any of that to be true, but only Kiba could actually say anything about it… sometimes lacking the ability to think before acting had its advantages… "Pah! Weak? I bet you could beat Kurenai-sensei in a fight, and she's a Jounin… You're not pathetic in any way and as far as ugly goes…" Kiba leaned un closer, taking her chin in his free right hand, turning her face toward his. "I think you may be the most beautiful girl I've ever seen…"
Kiba slowly moved himself forward, trying not to move quickly enough to startle her, as Haku might not be comfortable around boys, only to find that she began leaning towards him almost imperceptibly slowly as well…
"Kiba-kun, you're a perv…" Hinata stated bluntly, her arms crossed.
Kiba and Haku both flushed red instantly when they realized that since Haku was supporting herself, Kiba had let his hand slide down lower, and was now resting on her hip, only a few hairs higher than what would leave him with a slap to the cheek. "ERK! Sorry!" Kiba yelled, pulling his arm back, and stepping just out of Haku's reach to avoid any wounds he might incur.
"But… why do you think all that?" Naruto asked. "Please tell us!"
"My… my mother…" Haku started, tearing up once more. "She was killed… by my father…"
Everyone was shocked, and stood with gaping mouths, although you couldn't tell with Shino… "That's… horrible…" Hinata muttered before Haku continued.
"If only I hadn't been… such a pathetic little girl… I could've…" Haku's shaking grew into violent sobs. "I could've… saved her…"
Once again, Kiba's complete lack of tact saved the group from an awkward silence. "Now that's a stupid reason to hate being a girl…" Haku looked up at him, tears still flowing down her cheeks. "I mean, honestly, periods or pregnancy, sure… hate away. All I've got are my mother and sister, so I know how hard those can be on everyone…" Kiba added, shuddering at the memories.
"Uhhm… you know all about pregnancy? But… you're the youngest, aren't you?" Hinata asked curiously.
"Well… my family breeds dogs… and my sister's a vet…" Kiba muttered. "I get enough pregnancy without the 'human' kind…"
"Aren't we forgetting the important thing, here?" Naruto asked. "…Haku?"
"Oh, right…" Kiba muttered, sitting right behind Haku on her cot, his left hand resting on her left shoulder, causing her to blush slightly. What surprised both of them however was how Haku closed the hand of her functional right arm around the back of Kiba's right hand, lacing their fingers together. It was obvious to everyone in the room except the two in question that Haku was in need of physical reassurance of her wellbeing, and Kiba was simply the best option.
This didn't last long, however, as Haku saw the second injured person in the room, previously blocked from her view by Kiba. "Zabuza-sama!" She yelled, trying to leap toward him with what was left of her strength, only to be held back by Kiba.
"He's not dead! Don't worry about him." Kiba said, trying to reassure her, and failing miserably.
"He's missing an arm, how can he be fine!?" Haku scoffed loudly.
"I never said 'fine' did I?" Kiba said, Akamaru barking in agreement from the doorway, having just found his way back to his partner.
"Why hasn't he woken up yet?"
"He lost a lot of blood…" Hinata answered Haku's question. "He should be out for another day or two."
"When are we heading back to Konoha anyway? Should be around then, right?" Kiba asked.
"We leave when the bridge is finished." Shino replied.
"Then why aren't we helping? I want to get home…" Kiba said, looking down at Haku's hand, still wrapped around his own.
"What'll happen to us, then?" Haku asked, indicating herself and Zabuza.
"You'll come too…" Naruto answered. "Assuming you're who you say you are, there's a wide range of things that the council might do… I'd put my money on selling the both of you to Kiri, though."
"…Selling?" Haku asked.
"Erm… returning you for the bounties on your heads…" Naruto said, lacing his fingers behind his head and looking off in no direction in particular.
"So… we're going to be executed then, huh?" Haku asked, new tears forming in her eyes, and running down her cheeks.
"Probably…" Naruto answered. "Sorry, but that's just what's probably going to happen…"
"No way…" Kiba muttered, before barking out his next words; "No fucking way are we going to let them just kill her!"
Seeing the blush that formed on Haku's face, Naruto sighed, and thought for a moment. "Haku… do you have a Kekkei Genkai?" At her nod, Naruto continued. "And what is it, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Erm… control over water… I use it to make the ice for my jutsu…" Naruto smiled, and began rummaging through his pockets.
Eventually, he brought out a small flask that looked suspiciously like those used by their elders to hold liquor, thus gaining Naruto a few quizzical looks. "What? It's water…" Naruto said, tossing it to Haku, who caught it in her good hand. "You never know when the canteen will run out, so I always have a spare…" Turning to Haku and Kiba, he smirked. "Now, if you wouldn't mind a demonstration…"
Haku looked between Naruto and the flask a few times before handing it to Kiba with an apologetic grin. After that Inuzuka boy opened it, and held it back to her. She held her hand over the mouth of the flask for a moment before slowly raising it, a small stream of water following close behind. When all of the water had been evacuated from the container, she turned her palm upward, and the water formed into a ball and slowly turned to ice, falling into her hand. "See?" She muttered, tossing it to Naruto.
"Yeah… that's pretty cool…" Naruto said while examining the ice sphere. "No way Konoha's just handing you over now…"
"Really!?" Kiba yelled.
"Yup… Haku, are you by any chance the last of your clan?" Naruto continued his questionnaire.
She looked to be deep in thought for a moment before answering; "Yes, I believe so…"
"No way in hell Konoha's letting her go, then…" Naruto said, excitement flushing through the room only to be crushed by his next words. "If nothing else, she'll be used as a breeder for her Kekkei Genkai…"
"A… breeder?" Haku asked, her face pale.
"Sad, I know… but I wouldn't put it past those bastards on the council…" Naruto muttered, crossing his arms, closing his eyes, and leaning his head forward as if looking at the floor.
"Hey, my MOM is on that council!" Kiba snapped.
"I said bastards, didn't I? Your mom doesn't count…" Naruto responded, never leaving his 'pose'.
"Erm… my father is on the council as well…" Hinata said shyly.
"As is mine…" Shino muttered.
"Okay, okay… so I didn't mean EVERYONE on the damn council, okay?" Naruto whined. "Besides, I know old man Sarutobi personally. I've got a few strings I can pull…"
"Old man… Sarutobi?" Haku asked, quite confused.
"Sandaime Hokage-sama…" Hinata answered, causing Haku's eyes to widen significantly. "He and Naruto are quite close…"
"How did we get here from 'I wanna go home'?" Kiba groaned.
"So, why not help the people finish the bridge, then?" Hinata asked. "It'd go by far more quickly…"
"YES!!!" Kiba barked. "Okay, Naruto and you guys can go, I'll keep an eye on Haku and… erm…"
"Zabuza-sama…" Haku said, her left eye twitching slightly.
"Right… if there's any trouble I'll send Akamaru over right away to get you guys." Kiba said, and the others nodded and reluctantly left to aid in the repairs. "So, now that we're alone, why don't we get to know each other a little better?"
Haku blushed. "I… uhm… I don't think I'm ready for that yet…"
Kiba easily matched her hue. "MNEH!? I was talking about actually getting to know you! Favorite colors and books and other shit like that, not… THAT…"
"Oh… well… I'm sorry…" Haku said, fidgeting as she turned herself away from him. "I've never really talked about myself before…"
"Well, let's start with where you're from, eh?" Kiba smiled, turning Haku back towards him, showing that she was smiling as well.
---
It took them a total of eight days to finish building the bridge. The first order of business was dismantling the section of the bridge Naruto damaged when he killed Gato and his mercenaries, as well as repairing the minor damage incurred in the other battles. Naruto's Kage Bunshin and Shino's Kage Kikai easily made up the time lost alongside the hundred yards or so of bridge Naruto destroyed… after the workers got used to all the bugs, that is… Needless to say, Kakashi and Kurenai simply passed it off as 'physical training', with Kiba staying back every day to spend more time with Haku. Since she continually requested he stay, they didn't see much problem in it. After about five days, Haku's injuries healed to the point where she could accompany them to the bridge, leaving Kiba without an excuse to shirk his own share of the labor. Zabuza himself was conscious by the time they returned that day, as someone had forgotten to give him his sedatives as he left with Haku that morning, and the old missing-nin insisted on accompanying them on their daily trek to the bridge as well. Surprisingly, it was Haku and Zabuza who laid the final stone for the bridge… Tazuna had an odd love for irony, to say the least…
"There… done…" Haku muttered, breathing heavily.
"Well done." Tazuna said, glancing between the young woman and the one-armed missing-nin. "So, do you two have any ideas as to the name we should give the bridge? It does need one, after all…"
"The Great Kiba Bridge!" They heard from somewhere within the crowd, causing Haku to giggle softly.
"Heh… I think someone deserves it a little more than mutt-boy…" Zabuza said, smirking under his bandages as he turned to Tazuna. "Who helped the most in the construction of this bridge? Not simply building the thing… who did the most to make it happen?"
"I do believe it would be young Naruto…" Tazuna said, just loud enough for each of the ninja present to overhear.
"What, why me?" Naruto asked.
"So… Naruto…" Tazuna muttered, turning to the blonde. "What should we call it?"
Naruto was dumbstruck for a moment, before turning around, facing the road they were to take back to Konoha, and struck a thinking pose. 'Naruto'? No… too tacky naming it after myself would make me look egotistical, so that and 'Uzumaki' are out… I could name it after Hinata… or maybe Haku? She deserves it… I still think I should- And then it hit him… it was so perfect he could barely keep himself from laughing… "Kazama…" Naruto said as he started walking forward, and stepped off of the bridge.
Tazuna thought for a second, "The Great Kazama Bridge, eh? It does have a nice ring to it…"
Kurenai could barely contain her mirth when she heard it, clapping her hand over her mouth in a failing attempt to keep quiet. She was, after all, one of the few people privy to the knowledge of Naruto's lineage… she doubted even Kakashi, the boy's father's student, knew his parentage. After the initial shock of it wore off, Kakashi asked, "What's so funny?"
Kurenai thought for a moment, before leaning towards him and whispering in his ear. Kakashi's one visible eye shot wider than it had ever been as realization donned on him. By Kami… it makes so much SENSE! After about half a minute of imitating a statue, Kakashi too could barely keep his laughter bottled up. So, he named it after himself after all, huh?
"What's so funny?" Nearly all of the Genin asked at once.
"We'll tell you when you're older…" Kakashi said, giving them a general 'you'll find out on your own' excuse.
---
A few hours later, and the scene looked quite similar to the one when they were travelling to Wave… Naruto and Hinata were lost in their own little world, conversing about anything and everything, Sakura was doting on Sasuke, Kakashi and Kurenai were comparing the progress of their respective teams, Haku was giggling at something Kiba was telling her, and that left Shino walking next to Zabuza in the rear. "Tell me…" Zabuza muttered. "What do you know about the Inuzuka boy?"
Shino's eyes wandered over to Zabuza, and followed his gaze to Kiba and Haku. "I'd surmise… nothing she hasn't told you already." Shino answered, looking straight ahead once more.
Zabuza nodded as he remembered what had transpired only two days prior…
Haku was sitting at the side of the bridge, as she always was, wearing a rather loose yukata borrowed from Tsunami. "Haku… you've changed…" Zabuza muttered, sitting down next to her.
"Erm… Zabuza-sama! I… don't know what you mean…" Haku said sheepishly.
"Your chest…" Zabuza said, causing Haku to blush slightly. "You've left it unbound…"
"My apologies, Zabuza-sama… I will return to the house and do so immediately…" Haku said, her voice cold and monotonous, before standing up and preparing to walk away.
"Wait…" Zabuza muttered. "I merely noted a change, and wondered what had brought it about… you need do no such thing."
"Well… I… erm…" Haku muttered as she sat back down.
"Have you done so to attract the eye of a young man?"
Haku flushed red. "N-no! I just… I didn't feel like doing it today…"
Zabuza smirked. "I knew this day would come… I never thought it would be before my death, however… but I had wondered…"
"Zabuza-sama?"
"You are finally growing into who you were meant to be…" Zabuza said, almost chuckling. "When I see you like this, it reminds me that you are just another girl… no matter how thoroughly I train you to be a weapon, you'll always be that same little girl deep inside…"
"Zabuza-sama… please, don't speak like that… we'll-"
"Haku… 'we' are over. A broken man like me has no use for a weapon, no matter how powerful that weapon is…" Zabuza sighed heavily before continuing. "I can't stop you from doing anything, nor tell you what to do any longer. I do have one question, however… if you would permit me to ask it." At Haku's vigorous nod, Zabuza spoke; "What has made you change so much?"
Haku blushed. "K-Kiba… Zabuza-sama… Inuzuka Kiba."
"I knew it was a boy…" Zabuza smiled broadly, more than enough so for even the average civilian to see it from under his bandages… "Which one is he?"
Haku giggled. "The loud-mouth with the dog…"
He had to admit, it felt good to hear her laugh and giggle as she did now… Then he remembered what happened next, and outright chuckled…
"I guess I'll have to forgo my plan to kill the brats and escape then, huh? Seeing as you're dating one of them…" Zabuza said, causing Haku to blush a shade of red the man hadn't even thought possible.
---
When they'd finally arrived at the gates of Konoha, no sooner than stepping foot within the gate, two ANBU squads encircled them. "By order of Hokage-sama, Momochi Zabuza and his accomplice are to be imprisoned immediately until further notice…" The leader stated. "For the safety of the village…"
Wow, huh? Yeah… I think I did good with this one, AND I hit my 4K+ mark. (AN included, of course…)
My apologies to everyone who had expected something else, only to be disappointed by this chapter… I honestly don't care, seeing as this is how I had intended for the fight and such to go from practically the start of the fic, but still, I hate letting people down…