I'm sorry for my other chapters being short, I'm trying to write longer chapters now though.
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Now... onto the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 3: The Rogue Nins

Haku's POV

As we continued trudging through the snow, I noticed that the village was giving off a cold and unsettling vibe. It had a strange aura throughout it... I could feel it. Something wasn't right.

There was a very thick blanket of snow covering the ground, making travel through the village more challenging than usual. And I just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen soon.

"Zabuza, I think we should maybe try to leave this place as soon as possible... I ha-" I was interrupted mid sentence.

"Haku, I feel it to..." he began. " But we are just passing through this village. Soon, we'll be long gone. We don't have any reason to be here so no one should bother us. " He paused and scanned through the village's streets.

"But be on guard... just in case..."

I stiffened. Zabuza thinks something might happen? This can't be good. I was already alert the moment we stepped into this village, but when Zabuza told me to keep my guard up, I couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

It must be something important if it has got Zabuza worried I thought.

My eyes scanned the area while my ears listen intently for even the quietest noise. If we were to be caught off guard, the tide of the battle could turn in an instant. But there was nothing...

...not even the slightest noise...

THUMP! I whipped around facing directly where the noise came from. It was definitely too loud to be a rat or another animal. The noise came from a bunch of crates gathered in a corner of a house. I looked at Zabuza. He already had his hand clutched onto his sword, ready to attack if need be. We cautiously edged closer towards the mysterious foe.

I gasped. What we found was no foe. There was a little girl, about six, maybe seven years old, sleeping curled up to the boxes.

"Hm, a waste of our time." Zabuza stated, clearly annoyed.

I crouched down in front of the girl and examined her closely. She was quite skinny for her age, probably due to not having any food to eat. She wore a pair of torn rags which were covered in a mixture of dirt and mud and had some bruises on her face and arms. Her hair was ruffled and clearly uncared for.

How long has she been here? The memories of being stranded on the side of the street came flooding back to me. I clutched my head with one of my hands and closed my eyes. She reminds me of me, before I met Zabuza I thought.

"What a pitiful life she must live..." Zabuza began. "No doubt she would die sooner or later due to the cold."

"Y-Yes" I replied. "But isn't there something we can do?"

"Haku" Zabuza began with a sigh. "Lets just keep going. Come on"

I looked at him with pleading eyes. "Zabuza, I'm sorry... but isn't there anything we can do? Just to help her... please?"

"Haku, shes beyond help and of no use to me as you are."

Zabuza looked turned back around and looked at me. He saw the pain on my face and sighed.

"Haku, there is one way. To put and end to her misery." I looked down at the ground. Zabuza lifted his sword off of his shoulder and gripped it with his hands.

I shut my eyes tightly and clenched my fists, waiting for Zabuza to put her out of her misery. This is just something I couldn't watch...

Zabuza's POV (Attempt)

This girl was a complete waste of our time. She had us startled for nothing. I do feel a little sympathy for her, living a horrible life... but not enough. She did remind me a lot of Haku and his past.

I imagine Haku must be having a hard time right now... I inwardly sighed.

"Why don't we look after her?" I heard Haku pipe up. "Just like you did with me..." The hope on his face was

"Haku..." I closed my eyes. I'm sorry, but she is of no use to me as you are...

I positioned my sword and raised in just above my shoulders. I opened my eyes and glimpsed at Haku. He was looking at the ground with a softened expression on his face. Don't resent me for this I thought to Haku. I then looked at the girl in front if me. Her face looked as though she was in pure agony. Same to you, brat I thought.

Then I sliced diagonally downwards at the girl, ending the brats miserable life.

However, just before my sword could make contact with her helpless body, a crystal wall separated her from us. I gasped and widened my eyes in shock. I tried to pull out of the attack but the force of momentum was just too strong. There was no pulling back.

I managed to change the course of my aim, thus making my sword hit the ground next to her.

"What?!" I grunted. Crystals?... What is this?

"Zabuza? What happened?" Haku asked looking up. "What is that? It is...crystal?"

I ignored Haku and crouched down in front of the girl. Is this the kekkai genkai of the Tsuemanokun clan. Interesting...the Tsuemanokun clan was wiped out years ago, with the last person being publicly executed. And now this...

Haku was standing behind me, looking at the brat in front of us. This girl... has a rare kekkai genkai just like Haku and no doubt has no family. Easy to teach...

This girl could make for a good weapon as well... Perhaps she is of use to me after all...

Meanwhile in Hazaki's dream/mind
Hazaki's POV

I was running as fast as I could down a dark corridor. The darkness was forever chasing me... pursuing me... wanting to catch me. But I wouldn't let that happen. The darkness was no friend of mine.

I kept running. The darkness pursuing me was gradually closing the gap between itself and me.

I hastily turned left to continue down the connecting corridor, only to end up running into the wall. After a second of realization on what happened, I pushed of off the wall for a small boost of speed and started running again.

Sweat was beading down my forehead and I was panting furiously. My mind was hazy and my head was spinning. Adrenaline and fear were the only things that kept me going and stopped me from collapsing to the ground.

That's when I heard the familiar taunts and insults coming from behind.

"Your just a hopeless stupid girl who is good for nothing!"

"Little demon monster!"

Tears began forming in my eyes as I remembered where I had heard those remarks before.

Suddenly, it was night and I was running home. There was fires and smoke all around me. Confused, I glanced over my shoulder to see a mob of angry villagers chasing me with pitchforks.

"We're gonna get you now!" they yelled.

Then with a flash of white, I was back in the corridor running from the ever-growing darkness.

I kept on running until I saw something that sealed my fate. Something that would demolish any chance of running away... a dead end.

I gasped. What!? A dead end!... how original. But why here?

I desperately turned back around to look for any other possible escape routes...but there were none. Helpless, I rested my back against the cold wall and stared into the darkness. It was like a running river coming straight towards me. Tears were in my eyes. I closed them and braced myself for the impact of the dark river.

It happened so fast... like when a wave in the ocean forms and hits your legs. But this wave was much bigger...and much deadlier. Immediately, I was thrown back and pushed against the wall. The pressure from the rush of the darkness hammered against my body, causing insufferable pain. Everything that surrounded me was black...I didn't even know which way was up or down. The hammering of the darkness then suddenly ceased, but there was no time for relief as the current of the darkness sent me spinning and tumbling around. With my body spinning, I began to gag and gasp for much needed air. I closed my eyes and just waited for the suffering to end...But it seemed to go on forever.

Then suddenly, everything stopped. For a moment there was peace. No sound of the raging storm above, no pain from the rampaging darkness, just the cold calm world beneath. I was in complete silence. But then the panic set in-I needed air! The realisation came to me with a searing pain in my lungs and a massive throbbing in my head. I tried to move but found that I couldn't. My lungs burned with pain as I tried to struggle against the darkness, but it just tangled itself around me. My lungs felt as though they were going to explode!

I have to...get...air

I thought, struggling to remain conscious. But it seemed impossible. All of a sudden, I felt a cold, yet hard surface up against my back as the pressure in my head began to lighten. Still flailing my limbs, I opened my eyes and gasped for air. I'm able to breath!

I began to pant, filling my lungs with the sweet air. The pain in my head and lungs began to lighten and soon, I was able to stand up. I realised that the hard surface I felt against my back before was the floor. I sighed in relief. I was alive! But...am I safe? I thought.

The room was like a void. Never ending, as it seemed. At first, all I could see was a blurred golden line of light. But as the stinging stopped, through my watery eyes I saw that there was a colourful, crystal path to follow. That path acted as my guide.

Soon I heard an ear-piercing laugh engulf the room. A laugh that was murderous, cold and full of hate. It belonged to her. That girl from before...

"Ahahahahahaha! What a miracle! You didn't drown in the darkness...big whoop."

My body froze in the middle of the path. The girl was standing right there in front of me, blocking me from going any further.

Unbeknownst to me, the darkness had begun to creep up behind me. It slowly wrapped itself around my legs and arms. I gasped and tried to move but I couldn't.

"Don't try to fight it Hazaki. It's fate. It won't work." The girl said mockingly. I was so scared. My heart was pounding rapidly and I could hear a high pitched ringing sound in my head. My legs collapsed to the ground and I could feel the life inside of me slowly being drained away.

The darkness began to entangle itself around my body.

"All hope is lost for you. Your mine know, Haza-" Just then a blinding light filled the room, cutting the girl off. The darkness shrouded away in fear and the girl in front of me started to fade away.

"Noooo! Why?' she wailed. But then, the girl began to giggle maniacally. "Well, I guess I'll see you next time...Ha-za-ki!" she sang.

The path beneath me started to crack. I staggered to my feet and started to run towards the door that had appeared behind me to escape falling into the abyss. But it was to late.

I was so close to safety, and yet so far.

As my hand touched the doorknob, the floor beneath me shattered. I fell, closing my eyes and screaming at the top of my lungs. The glass shards were cutting me all over my body as I fell into the abyss. All hope was lost, it seemed.

"Is this what it feels like to die?" I murmured weakly. Its different...from before...It's painful... It hurts so much...but... I sort of feel relaxed... like there is nothing to worry about anymore....

I was falling, but it felt like I was floating on my back too. My neck titled back, allowing me to look up. The shattered shards from the glowing path rained down on me. They appeared to be floating as well. It was truly a beautiful sight. All of the different colours were shimmering and mixing in with the light. It's so pretty...wait...where is the light coming from?

I noticed some glowing dust began to rise up and float away above. I noticed that the dust was coming from...my hands. They became shrouded in light and then drifted away ever so gracefully as dust. The light then began to creep up my arms. I was afraid. I didn't like the thought of becoming dust.

Actually, looking closer, the dust appeared to be tiny shards of crystals.

Now, my whole body was shrouded by the light. My legs and arms were fading away into dust shards. My terrified, heavy eyes began to droop down and closed. I was in complete, utter peace.

But then, that beautiful, peaceful silence was broken by a mysterious voice."Don't give up hope, young one. You were given a second chance for a reason. You can't die now..." it said.

"So wake up."

My eyes suddenly snapped open, causing me to wake up. I saw two blurred silhouettes standing over me.

Outside of Hazaki's dream/mind
Hazaki's POV

"Zabuza? What happened? Are those... crystals?" I vaguely heard a young boy say.

My eyes snapped open. Before me, I saw two dark, gloomy figures leaning over me. My body stiffened and I held my breath at the sight of them.

Zabuza? Why does... that sound familiar...? I thought.

One of them were now crouching down in front of me. I could tell by his outline that he was a male adult with slightly spiky hair. But for some reason my vision wasn't that clear.

Then it dawned on me that there was a shimmering, crystal dome separating me from them. I let out a small yelp in surprise, alerting the strangers that I was awake.

Are those crystals a good thing or a bad thing? I guess they are my only defense against these two strangers...

Suddenly, the crystal dome began to crack and shatter into a million pieces. My one and only defense literally just dwindled away before my eyes. I shut my eyes and curled up into a ball as I waited for the sharp shards to rain down on me and cut me. But the pain never came...

I looked up and and saw that the crystal shards were floating away in the breeze as dust. Just like before... I thought.

I started to tremble in fear as the man reached his hand out to catch some of the falling dust shards that didn't get swept away in the wind.

"Who are you? " I asked.

His hand tensed slightly in surprise but then relaxed.

"Hrm... your awake now. Pathetic little girl." he began. "No one wants you, no one cares about you. You live a life with no meaning."

I looked down at the ground with a smile. Even if his words were meant to sting, I took them as a compliment. He was the first in a long time to notice my problems. In fact, this man was the first who actually seemed to go out of his way to speak to me in a long time.

I heard the shuffling of a pair of feet and looked up. Behind the man there was a young boy. He was wearing a short blue kimono with light blue edges and a dark, grey, split skirt. But that didn't matter. Whenever I see someone knew, I always look into their eyes. It was nearly always what I noticed first about a person.

When I looked into his eyes, I saw determination, hope and amazement. But underneath all that, there was a hint of sadness and sorrow. There was something strangely familiar about him... in fact, there was something strangely familiar about both of them.

But that didn't matter. I tilted my head sideways a little, closed my eyes and smiled."Your the first two people to notice me." I said happily.

The young boy widened his eyes and then looked down at the ground. Did I...upset him?

"Zabuza," the boy began. "This girl reminds me of myself."

"Mhrm."

There was an awkward silence for some time. I stared up at the man in confusion. Why would he care about me?

"I'm here to make an offer for you." he said.

"Hm?"

"Your life at its current state is pathetic. You won't even survive to the end of Winter, and you will die alone."

I blinked at him. What's he getting at here?

He continued. "Without anything."

"But, if you come with us, you'll have a purpose and won't die with nothing. We'll train you as a weapon for me to use. As a ninja."

I gasped. He wants me to come with him?

I was scared, all alone, and hungry. He was right. I won't be able to survive till the end of winter by myself. I stared at the offered hand and then up at his face. He seemed scary, but he couldn't be that bad. He's giving me a purpose, a reason to live. But that look in his eyes... He has killed countless people before.

Should I really place my life in his hands.

But then, my eyes drifted over to the boy. He looked kind and friendly. And very innocent too. He had a small smile on his face with hopeful eyes. He seemed to trust this 'Zabuza'. If he trusted this man, then he mustn't be that bad.

I hesitantly reached out and grabbed Zabuza's hand. I could see a small smile form behind his bandaged face. The young boy looked very pleased to see me accept their offer and join them. He had a big grin on his face.

The boy gave a small laugh. "So what's your name?" he asked.

"M-my name is Hazaki...Kominoka"

"My name is Haku...Yuki"

Haku... and Zabuza... those names just sound to... familiar I thought.

"Glad to see that your coming with us. Now that introductions have been taken care of, we should leave this village before th-" Zabuza was cut of by angry shouts coming from the eastern side of the village. We heard running footsteps coming towards us. Soon enough, there was a crowd of angry villagers holding pitchforks and hoes in front of us. (AU/ it was a farming village)

"Zabuza Momochi!" one of the villagers, presumably the leader, called out.

"Can I help you?" Zabuza asked annoyed.

"Yeah, hand over the two kids. You have no right to raise any children. Who knows what you will change them into." he said.

The crowd started to shout agreeing comments with their leader.

"Is that so? Haku and Hazaki... is that how you two feel?" Zabuza asked in a matter-of-factly voice.

Everything went silent.

I tucked behind Zabuza, clinging to his leg, while Haku stood in a fighting stance.

He smirked "I believe they have made their choices apparent." Zabuza said while clutching onto the handle of his sword.

"What have you done to them?" Shouted the villager's leader. The other villagers were shocked at first but they weren't going to give up either. I could see them clenching their fists and readying their weapons. A fight was expected.

Suddenly, a mist rolled in and surrounded us all.

"What? I can't see!" I heard a man yell.

I could feel Zabuza was about to charge at them all, so I released my grip on his leg. Once I did, he charged at a speed that I could not follow.

"Its his Silent Killing Justu! We're done f-" that man never got to finish his sentence.

There were screams of mercy and fear echoing throughout the mist. Those screams came from where the villagers were...

"You...You truly are a demon!" another shouted. I cupped my hands over my ears to block out the blood-curdling screams of agony.

I can't see a thing! I guess that's also a good thing because people mustn't be able to see me either. But, what is with this mist? I thought. I remember it from somewhere... but-never mind, just focus!

As Zabuza struck the last villager down, the mist started to clear and I could see the beautiful night sky again.

"Hazaki?" I heard Haku call. I looked around to see him and froze. There was about 30 corpses lying on the ground, all of them lifeless. I held back a scream, not wanting to look so pathetic and give away our location. Instead, I collapsed to the ground and vomited.

"Hazaki? Are you alright?" Haku asked, rushing over to me. Gasping, I looked up at his face.

I got up and wiped my mouth clean. "Yeah I'm fine, its just... I um... haven't seen a dead body b-"

"I understand."

"D-did that man do this?"

"That man... you mean Zabuza right?"

I nodded in confirmation.

"Yes."

I widened my eyes. He is...a killer! How could... My eyes wandered down to the lifeless corpse nearest to me. It has a deep slice running under its neck. Blood was still oozing out of the wound, soaking into the victims already blood-drenched clothes. He... killed them all. Just so easily. Like their lives were just nothing.

"Don't worry." the boy in front of me said. I looked up at him. The horror on my face must have been easy to see.

"That man is a...." How can this boy be with this man!? Are they...related in some way?

"Zabuza isn't that bad. He just protected you from them."

"But-" I began to protest, but the boy, Haku, cut me off.

"You may be scared right now...heck, this was a bit...unsettling. But its the world we live in. Surely you've experienced the loss of someone close to you." The pain in his face just made me feel horrible. This topic clearly upsets him. He must've lost someone before...

"I've never been close to someone to lose." I replied This took the boy by surprise, even at the slightest. His saddened face deepened slightly.

"You'll just have to trust me, okay. Zabuza is a good man." he said, his face regaining some happiness.

Staring into his eyes, I could tell that this is what he truly believes. "I'll...take your word from it. Besides, you two were the first to help me...ever."

Haku began to smile. After seeing his smile, I couldn't help but return it. We just stood there, smiling.

"Anyway, Zabuza is waiting for us up ahead. We should probably hurry to him." he explained.

"A-Alright then, lets go."

After meeting up with Zabuza, the three of us began to walk out of the village, leaving behind all of the ruined lives and misery of the townspeople. But that day will forever be in my head. The day when I met the two people who would change my fate.

But the memories of those many lifeless corpses, bloodied and mangled, will be something that I could never forget.

Author Notes
There we go, the next chapter. I found this one a little hard to right and I did have a little writers block at some points. I hope this is okay. Sorry if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes. You see, My keyboard has been stuffing up and all that. Some keys are faulty and such.
Anyway please tell me what you thought of the chapter and if you liked it.

By the way, for now Haku is 10 years old and Hazaki is 7. Also, Hazaki is mentally twelve from her past life but physically seven...but that may change later on...^;-;^ (Its a plot, deal with it)

Anyway, till next time.
Bye!