IMPORTANT NOTE, PLEASE READ!
Hey everybody! So I finally went back to the prologue and changed into from an Oc submission format thingy to more story and background on Hazaki. I just put that submission thing there to help me figure everything out. I would check it out if you haven't yet. I hope you like it!I'm also so sorry for how long this update took. Please forgive me :( My life has been super busy and I also had a severe case of writers block and lack of motivation to write this chapter. Also the fact that I have teachers who think that we need to breathe homework and assignments to get anywhere in life. Anyway, I hope this chapter is alright and just to let you know, I have edited some of the previous chapters a bit, nothing too serious that I doubt you would need to re read (basically that Hazaki shouldn't have remembered that she had a previous life so easily and i tried to fix up some grammar mistakes-but I probably missed some :(...)

Moonfur AVD: I got all happy and giddy when I saw such a long review! Seriously, I was like... ^-^ So thankyou! Thanks for telling me about my commas too. I know that I sometimes (Most times) put them in the wrong places, so I'll try and improve on that. I'm glad you like the name Hazaki. It's actually a little funny how I made that name too. And I agree with the OC profile at the start. To just use it as a starter. I planned to change it for a long time but never go around to it... But now I've changed it and I hope it makes sense! (and I hope this reply makes sense too)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I wish I did. But then, I'd probably ruin it.

Chapter 5: Dreadful Nightmares in a Cruel World

We finally arrived at the entrance of Shukuba Town. Some sweat was beading down onto my face as I waited in the blazing sun for Zabuza and Haku to catch up to me. I had been so eager to go off on my own and explore a new place that I sort of... left them behind.

But I couldn't help but ponder what those two were talking about before.

I wonder... What do they think of me? Are they... worried? My eyes glanced around until narrowing on the grey bruises on my arms and legs. I've been all alone on many occasions before, so I didn't understand the worry they may have felt. I've survived by myself all that time before. Then again, I was given food and water like everyone else... and I wasn't all on my own. An image of a boy with wavy black hair and fair skin, wearing an worn sweatshirt with brown pants flashed into my mind. It was the kind boy who had tried to stop the other kids from insulting me.

People were helping me from afar, and I didn't even realize it.

I closed my eyes in remorse. And I lashed out at those very same people. I sighed.

"You ready?" Someone asked. I looked up and was greeted by an unfamiliar face. He looked a little... different. His face was skinny and muscular, with big, gleaming, chestnut eyes. The boy had short, ruffled hair as black as the night, giving it a windblown look and two slightly bushy eyebrows. The gentle wind brushed through his hair, causing it to tangle with the wind. He wore the usual attire for a peasant- an old, worn suit with wholes and tears throughout it. He looked like he would have been rich to some extent. He stood in front of me staring at the ground.

"Zabuza?" I asked trying to hold back my laughter. From someone else's perspective, the man in front of me would have looked close to normal. But I knew that it had to be either Zabuza or Haku... and that was the funny part.

"No, it's me Haku." the man replied. I gulped down my laughter and tried to take on a more serious expression, but failed miserably.

"You had me startled." Haku looked at me and then blinked.

"A ninja must always be on alert." he replied and I sighed. That's all he had been saying recently, lectures on how to be a better ninja. Sometimes he can be just a little too serious for a nine year old.

"Sorry." I saw a small smirk creep across his face as he looked at me with his chestnut brown eyes. I smirked. "But I'm still just a kid, you know."

"As am I."

"But I'm a normal kid. Normal kids don't know how to put someone in a temporary death state at the age of nine." Haku was about to argue back at my playful insult when someone interrupted.

"Have you two finished?" an obviously annoyed, mysterious voice asked. My eyes wandered towards where the voice came from. There stood a tall, healthy, muscular man. He had spiky, brown hair that ended just after his ears and two cuts across his face which intercepted just above his nose. His eyes were a dark, raven black with a hint of blue.

I guess it was Zabuza. After all, he was still carrying his sword, except it had a few minor changes to it.

I hummed in agreement.

"Yes, let's go."

Upon arrival, we went to the village's gate entrance guard and were immediately questioned.

"State your purpose for entering the city." the guard demanded.

"If it really matters, we're just visiting a friend here, probably only for three days at the most." Zabuza said. A fairly reasonable excuse... good job. I inwardly praised Zabuza.

"Yes it does matter. Id's." he replied. I froze. Id's... I'm sure we don't have any... or me, at least I looked over at Haku. He seemed to be relaxed and calm about the whole situation. I then looked over towards Zabuza. He acted like everything was alright. How can he be so relaxed- wait... what do they have planned?

"I seem to have forgotten them, you understand though... right?" Zabuza then raised his hand in front of his chest and preformed a handsign.

All of a sudden, the guard stopped moving and froze. He began shaking and then stept aside for us. I smirked. So, Zabuza was just going to use a gen jutsu the whole time? Heh. That's something I probably could never do. In fact, that seemed like an established point. Haku and Zabuza had tried to teach me the basics of gen justu, but I just couldn't wrap my head around it. We spent two whole days trying until they had finally given up, deciding that we all could be doing something better then trying to do the impossible.

Maybe one day.

I sighed.

Shukubu Town actually seemed like a nice place. There were many high buildings and hot springs for visitors. Market stalls were lined up along the main path, cramped together an unaccounted for. Above all else, this place was incredibly clean.

We walked side by side, in a line of three. Once we were a fair distance into the town, Zabuza broke the silence.

"Do you two remember the plan?"

Haku and I nodded in unision.

"Good. We'll meet back up at here. Gather whatever info you can."

We both nodded again in agreement.

"Then go." he dismissed. At his word, we separated and went our different ways. I looked around for some places that seemed unnatural to examine but I couldn't find anything. None of the buildings looked intimidating or shady in the slightest way. Everything was so clean and well organized here. I guess you would expect the center of a town to be organized.

Then it hit me. Maybe in the outskirts of town? Well... I guess its a good place to start.

As I walked through town my breath was taken away by everything. I had only ever seen crummy, poor places, blanketed in snow, where the people walked straight pass you. But here, nearly everyone had a smile on. This must be a truly happy place to live in.

I had finally reached my destination- the outskirts of town. But to my dismay, nothing was here. No shacks or cabins or anything, just some beautiful, well nourished trees and fauna. I sighed.

Shukubu Town is just too much of a popular destination to have it tainted with anything foul.

"Damn it... You two must've known this. Here I thought you guys trusted me." I muttered.

"Might as well make the most of this peace." I sighed. I walked over to a large tree that was blossoming with purple flowers, and leaned my back up against it. The soft, calm breeze sent my bangs whipping onto my face. I closed my eyes and smiled. The sounds of the birds chirping happily and of the leaves rustling gently in the wind made me feel at peace.

My eyelids slowly drooped shut and I soon found myself dozing off to sleep.

Damn it, Hazaki! I inwardly scolded myself. I can't fall asleep! Please, eyes just open up! But it was no use. I haven't been able to sleep well for the past week due to the constant nightmares of me running down a dark corridor, watching as my friends are brutally killed in front of me. I hadn't even met these people before but yet, I cried whenever I saw them die. Was it just a normal thing? To cry when you see someone die?

I know them from somewhere...but where? I thought as I finally drifted off to much-needed sleep.

The blood curdling scream of a girl suddenly pierced through the once- peaceful sky. My eyes snapped open at the sound of the deafening noise. My head was ringing horribly and my breathing began to speed up. I had awoken in a dark forest. The skies were encased in huge, threatening, black clouds. Everything was dark. The only light that was able to pierce the darkness began fading away. Soon, it would be completely black.

"W-what?" I muttered as a stumbled to my feet confused.

"HELP ME PLEASE!" The girls voice screamed. I didn't have time to think and my body automatically reacted-someone needed help. Desperately.

I ran towards the sound at full speed. What's happening? I thought.

She began to scream for mercy. "ANYONE, HELP ME PLEASE! PLEASE S-STOP! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Her voice was my only guidance to where she was. I screwed up my face.

"I've got to hurry! She obviously needs help. All of a sudden, her screams began to cease. I knew all to well what that meant. I kept on running until I saw her. She lay there, face front on the grass, with a kunai knife sticking out of her back. The grass surrounding her was stained with blood.

"H-h-help-p m-me... pl-lease Ha-za-ki."The girl weakly turned her head to face me. "I-I don't want t-to die h-here." she begged.

"What do I do?" I asked, with obvious shock and worry. I need to save her.

"Just...h-help...me."

I dropped to my knees and examined her wound... but it was pointless. The kunai had gone through her back. I ripped part of my shirt off and held it aside.

"This is gonna hurt a lot, but it will help." I said. She smiled faintly. I don't know what to do! Should I pull the kunai out and apply pressure to the area or leave it in?... I hid all of my confusion and worry and plastered a look of your going to be ok on. If she knew that I was worrying, she might not survive.

"Y-you still d-d-don't know... w-what to do huh?" she cracked a small smile and tried to laugh.

My hand wrapped around the handle of the kunai knife. "Ok, I'm gonna pull the kunai out. You'll be ok!" I cried. One...two...three!

Her screams filled the air around us. I winced at her pain. I quickly grabbed my jacket and pushed it onto the wound. The blood soaked into it the moment I put it on her back. Then, I grabbed the torn off fabric from earlier and wrapped it around her back. Then I listened for a heartbeat...

...

budump! She was still alive! I sighed and breathed out.

"Th-thanks Ha-za-ki" she smiled weakly. We still weren't out of it yet. She was still in bad shape.

"Please, s-stand m-me up..." she begged. I carefully rolled her over and wrapped my arms around her. Her short, bubble-gum pink, wavy hair began to dance beautifully in the wind.

She looked up at the sky and smiled. "Thank you." she whispered.

"Your gonna be okay." I reassured. Tears were threatening to fall out of the corner of my eyes.

Just then, her body went limp and her arms fell down to her sides. The colour began to drain away fro her face. I gasped.

"Hey..." I said weakly as the realisation hit me. "Y-you can't die, not here!" I begged. "Come on, you can do it." but there was no response. I put my ear to her chest to listen to that familiar sound of a heartbeat.

...

...

But there was nothing. Her glass, emerald eyes were frozen, staring at my face.

I gently laid her down onto the ground and began to cry. "She-She died in my hands! I couldn't save her!" I yelled through sobs.

She was gone.

I hung my head down and let the tears roll down my cheeks. Whoever she was, she died in my hands...

But... she looks happy... why?

The last bit of day light began to fade away, leaving me in total darkness.

I didn't even know her name.

"AHHHH" I woke with a scream. Tears were boiling down my face but I didn't care. I was so scarred. I began to pace my breaths, trying to calm myself down.

Was it all a dream? Another nightmare? Why...

I scanned my surroundings. I was still in the same spot, under the huge tree at the outskirts of town. The purple leaves from the tree's branches above me began to fall around me in the graceful wind. They floated in the air and swayed from left to right before finally resting on the forest floor. The peace was finally back.

Slowly, I stumbled to my feet and began to walk with my head down. I looked at my hands... I was still shaking from the nightmare. I've never seen anyone die before in reality, so why do I in my head?

I tried to shake off the memory but I couldn't. It all seemed to real...

"Hold it miss!" a stern voice told me. I snapped out of my daze and looked up. There was an older man, about his thirties maybe, blocking my path.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Sorry for the interruption, but I was just wondering what a little girl like yourself is doing out here?" he asked. His voice sounded like that of a farmers.

"Umm, I just came out here for some fresh air." It wasn't partially a lie but it wasn't the exact truth either.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Well then, where's your parents huh?" His face...this man.

"I'm sorry, but mummy tells me not to speak to strangers" I lied.

"A stranger eh...well, your mother has some wise words then."

"Yeah...So um, whats your name? Just so that we won't be strangers..." That's when it hit me. This was one of our targets, Soziki Monachi! I froze.

"Hmph, my name is Sozika Mon-chiko. And what about yours, young lady?"

"Um...sorry, but I don't think I should tell you...or else mother might be mad at me."

"Really? Say, who is your mother?"

"I'm sorry, but I really have to go now! I'll be alright by myself from now on!"

I ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction to where we were heading, proving my lies to be false.

"Hey-wait!" he shouted. I heard him mutter something about a hard target, but I didn't care. I just kept running. I had to get back to Haku and Zabuza.

Suddenly, another man stood out from behind the bushes and blocked my path. He lunged at me but I dodged to the side just in time to escape him.

Crap! They're after me! I need to get away... I looked back over my shoulder to see the two men had easily caught up to me. Of course, I had the strive of a six year old while they were fully grown men. My hand reached down to my kunai holster Haku had given me and pulled out a kunai. Still running, I raised the kunai just below my face and gripped the handle. It looks like the same one from my nightmare! It has the same markings and...

But I couldn't let that bother me. The two men had finally caught up to me, their eyes locked onto me like I was a sheep for a hunt.

"Just come with us and we'll take you back to the vill-" he began.

"If you just want to take me back, then why are you chasing me?

"We just want to take-"

"What?," I yelled. "Cut the crap and tell me the real reason!"

"Such bad language for such a little girl" one scolded.

"Agreed. Anyways, your in our bingo book missy..." Soziki began, ending with a slight snicker.

"And you've got yourself quite a high bounty." the other man stated, finishing the others sentence.

"So, we wouldn't want you to get hurt." the first one said, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Bingo...Book? Bounty? What did I do t-?" These people are bad. Stay away from them at all costs. "No, I know who you guys are."

Both of the men began to grin wickedly. "Is that so? Then you should know that we like to travel around in groups of three..."

Realization hit me all to late. I felt the hand on the back of my neck. I gasped and turned around to see a third man, holding onto me. I tried to brake free of his grip but I couldn't. He was too strong. I felt another hand slam down onto my neck and I dropped to my knees and began coughing up blood. Everything went hazy as I began to lose focus.

Damn it Hazaki! Focus... I have to get up! Using all of my strength, I struggled to get onto my hands and knees. But it was pointless. One of the men saw me and placed his foot on my back and kicked down. With a gasp, I fell to the floor. Its...no good.

I slowly moved my trembling left hand. I tried to write the letter 'H' in the dust, but the three towering men above me noticed.

"Stop that" one yelled and I felt another kick into my back. He then stepped onto the mark I had tried so hard to draw, and rubbed it out with his foot. My last hope was rubbed away from existence just like that...

My eyes slowly began to close and I was welcomed by the darkness. (AN: Again...sorry)

"Ugh- To much of a hassle. How high was her bounty again?."

"High enough to fetch a good price. Now grab the girl and lets go!"

Haku's POV

"Have you heard of a man named Tairgare Kizimane?"

"Uhhh, the name doesn't ring a bell, sorry" the man replied casually.

"What about A Soziki Monachi?"

"N-never heard of him" he replied with a slight stutter. That was all I needed.

It seems that this Soziki guy is either expecting us and has hidden well, erasing his name from the public or that... he has bribed people to keep their mouths shut... or threatened them. I thought while narrowing my eyes at the stranger, making him feel uncomfortable.

"Umm can you stop staring at me like that, you little brat!" the man said, raising his voice.

"My apologies."

"That just doesn't give you-hey!" I swiftly turned around and walked away, not giving a damn about this guy.

No one is owning up that they've heard of either Soziki Monarchi or Tairgare Kizimane. That doesn't make much sense. Surely someone would have known or heard of them.

"To bribe an entire town would be near impossible, especially for two low-life thugs. Maybe they've hidden well." I muttered. I should probably find Zabuza, I'm sure he has find something. Hazaki too.

Then I remembered our clash with the guard at the entrance to town.

He was about to write our names in a book, before Zabuza used a Gen-Jutsu. So in that book there is probably a record of anyone who has ever stepped into Shukubu Town recently- like our targets. I smirked.

If I can just get my hands on that book, then I might know where Soziki and Tairgare are hiding.

I took another step and swiveled around on my foot and changed my direction. I was now heading towards the only entrance of Shukuba Town.

I might finally find some information on our targets and then I can go meet up with Zabuza and Hazaki.

I thought. I know Zabuza would have found some useful information but I wonder if Hazaki did. She only had very few places to check, that's why we let her go.

But I couldn't shake down the feeling of dread and guilt that was rising inside of me. Should I have let her go by herself? I sighed.

Hazaki... my friend...

Just don't do something foolish.

Another chapter.

I wonder what will happen to Hazaki? (I know she keeps blacking out-its a thing, I'm sorry. Won't happen again so much.)

Anyway, I hope you liked it! Please tell me what you thought of it. And congratulations if you are reading this right now-it means that you have somehow read and made sense of the previous chapters!...maybe

Thank you everyone for all of your support!