Mizu: Yasu's in another daze, brainstorming ideas for the third – yes, third – story in this series. That girl needs a life, honestly.
Haku: Mizu, lovely, be nice to Yasu. She created you.
Mizu: She didn't create you, though.
Umi: And THAT'S the whole reason for this disclaimer. Naruto – and Haku – aren't hers.
Yasu: Yo, Umi. Wrong story.
Umi: Oops. Sorry.
Naruto's eyes widened. He knocked the kunai away from her neck. Mizu slumped forward, her arms limp.
"no one is worth killing yourself over!" Naruto shouted.
Mizu looked up at him. the dead emptiness of her eyes scared him. "The will you do it?" she asked, her voice flat. "Will you have mercy on me and take my life, even if my blood stains your hands? Your last lesson from me. You will see your friends die, even if it is by your own hand."
She pressed the hilt of her kunai into his hand, positioning the blade over her heart. His hands shook.
She looked away, noticing her surroundings. There was a large group of people at the end of the bridge, and the well-dressed man was before them, standing next to Haku.
He kicked him.
Mizu, enraged, got to her feet and charged him. Kakashi grabbed her wrist as she passed. "Don't attack Gato."
She pulled away, but her momentum was shot. She stumbled to Haku's body, tears once more blurring her vision. She crouched over his lifeless form. Sasuke had come to, and Mizu envied her new friend. Sasuke had survived. Haku hadn't.
Naruto was shouting, shouting… the words never registered.
She cleaned the blood off Haku's face, still crying. Zabuza came up.
"Quite a bit more than a tool, Momo-kun."
"Not a tool at all."
"More of a son?"
Zabuza nodded. "Do what you want to bring him back, Mizu-san. He's a child, hasn't lived. Give him life," he said.
Mizu choked on a sob. "I will, Zabuza-san."
Zabuza gazed down at Haku, then turned his face away. He nodded to Mizu, then attacked Gato and his men. Mizu watched him attack, then looked away. She hoped the cruel man would get what he deserved, but there were more pressing matters.
"So beautiful," she breathed, stroking Haku's hair back. "Even in death." She pillowed Haku's head on her lap, still stroking his hair.
Zabuza was once more returned to Haku's side.
"Gato?"
"Dead."
"Thank you."
"Haku?"
Mizu hesitated. "I need the beat of a heart and the breath of another."
"Take mine."
Mizu dropped a kiss on Zabuza's forehead. "Thank you, Zabuza-san," she breathed. She placed one hand over Haku's still heart and the other over Zabuza's still beating one. Her right glowed green, her left blue.
Zabuza gasped.
"I'm sorry, Zabuza-san."
"Don't worry about me. Save Haku."
Mizu bowed her head, a newfound respect for Zabuza realized.
Zabuza's hand twitched up to cup Haku's face. "So beautiful…" he breathed.
His heart stuttered, then stopped. The glow disappeared form Mizu's hands. "No," she sobbed. Haku's heart had yet to start beating. "Haku, Haku…" she moaned. Her head bowed. "I'm sorry, Zabuza-san. So very, very sorry."
She stroked Haku's face. "Come back to me, Haku," she whispered desperately.
There was a commotion around her, and an arrow arced over her. A distant part of her mind noted it was shot by a crossbow, but she paid no attention. She cared only for the picture perfect face below her. She stroked his hair back, wanting nothing more than to feel him lean into her touch again. She bent over him, tears dripping on his face. She wiped them away. "I'm sorry, Haku. My Haku."
So how you like them apples? Sorry. Typing this up after two nights of practically no sleep – stupid Sand-it, stupid marching band, stupid football – is a very bad ideas. Wow, my typing's crappy when it's fueled by three Dr. Pepper's and six to eight slices of pizza. And we can't forget the liter and a half of Diet Pepsi. Jordan handed it to me. He should have known the consequences. *cackles maniacally* But anyways. Review, s'il vous plait! Vous connaissez…