_._
The Story of Us
'For those who never gave up'
Naruto x OC
Friendship, Adventure, Romance
Chapter 16: My Friend
Together we stand, divided we fall.
"My Friend"- Naruto OST
Sasuke was never keen on teamwork.
It was with great hesitance and regret he would accept help from a teammate. A lot of the time it was because it was forced upon him, rather than him having elected to choose it. He'd never choose to get help if he were capable of completing the task on his own. That wasn't his style.
So when it came down to fighting the masked ninja Zabuza called Haku, things got a little bit interesting.
He hated to confess that, thanks to Hikari's training, he had kept a level head up until now. However, things were starting to turn for the worst when the boy began to show his true speed. The guy was a lot faster than he initially let on, and Sasuke simply didn't have the speed to keep up with him.
Haku would be in front of him one minute, the next he was flashing through a shard of ice created sometime earlier in their battle. The Uchiha did his best to keep up, managing to strike the boy once or twice, but Haku had landed several blows to him. What was worse was the boy seemed to be just toying with him. None of his strikes came anywhere near lethal points, and he was beginning to lose his concentration.
"Sasuke!" Sakura cried, only hindering his focus even more. She was blocking the bridge builder, while Kakashi was off fighting Zabuza. Naruto had been left at the house, having been found sleeping soundly on the docks curled up with his jacket as a pillow. No doubt Hikari's doing, from how tightly he was tucked in. They had left him thinking he would catch up.
'Yeah, like he would be helpful anytime soon.'
No! He needed to focus! To remember his training!
Sasuke found himself in a lock with Haku, and for a brief moment Hikari's words floated through his mind.
"Chakra is reactive to emotion. So if you get frustrated it's harder to focus it."
'Calm down, you can do this on your own.'
Sasuke steadied himself, managing to counter a slash from a senbon and kick the masked boy away. He'd be back though, and Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion he would hide from another real strike.
'Think! What can I do?'The opportunity presented itself in a rather… unorthodox way.
One second, Haku was barreling towards him, and the next another figure had cut through his path. The blur of orange struck out, sending one hell of a punch at the bigger boy. He went flying across the bridge, while the knucklehead did a poised landing in front of the Uchiha.
"Heh, heroes always save the day! Believe it!" Naruto said cooly while wiping invisible dirt from his chin before standing up. Sasuke wasted no time indulging the boy in frivolities like heroism, performing hand signs and stepping in front of the blond. He bumped him over in the process, sending the blond into a flurry of obscenities, none of which registered to Sasuke.
An onslaught of flames came from his throat.
'Fire Style: Phoenix Flame Jutsu!'
Haku dodged the multitude of flames. However, this had given Naruto an opening as he sprinted to the masked boy.
"I'm not going to be upstaged, y'know!" He yelled while swinging for Haku. He would've landed one hell of a strike, had Haku not flipped right overtop of Naruto and out of harms way. That had been Sasuke's hope though, as he was now in mid-air with nowhere to go. Sasuke wasted no time and closed the distance before kicking him savagely in the gut.
Haku flew across the bridge, righting himself after a short tumble and crouching.
Sasuke and Naruto stood side by side, the blond looking cocky as the Uchiha held discipline in his stance.
"Hey!" Naruto pointed to Haku. "Who do you think you are, attacking my friends?!"
Haku didn't answer, but Sasuke scoffed.
"Idiot, he's with Zabuza, don't you remember him?" Sasuke recalled the boy carrying the much larger Jonin away. Naruto glared at Sasuke.
"I'm not an idiot! Of course I remember!…. sort of." The Uchiha scoffed again.
"Loser." He said it under his breath, but Naruto heard him loud and clear. He turned to Sasuke with an indignant expression.
"SAY THAT AGAIN!"
"Loser." Naruto was losing it while Sasuke barely shifted his stance.
"SASUKE-"
"Naruto quit fighting with Sasuke!" Sakura called from across the bridge. The blond pouted, turning to look over at the girl. He saw no forgiveness from her, so Naruto turned his nose up at the both of them.
"He started it." The Uzumaki pouted. Sakura glared.
"And I'm gunna finish it!" She threatened. Sasuke gave the tiniest of groans.
"Can we focus here? We're not exactly done." He reminded, getting Naruto to focus on the task at hand.
"Right, so, Kakashi-sensei is fighting Zabuza then?" Naruto asked. The fog was gradually becoming thicker, and right now neither could see the jonin fighting. They could hear them now and again though as the battle went up and down the bridge.
"Yeah, but we have to keep on our guard. Who knows how many might show up. But for now, let's finish this guy." Sasuke crouched slightly as Naruto gave a wolfish grin and pulled out a kunai.
"Finally, I can agree with you on something!"
They prepared themselves, but were throw off guard by Haku speaking for the first time.
"You both show promise, that's unfortunate." He stood up, staring eerily to the younger boys across from him. "I would rather not kill you, but if you do not stop this I will be forced to."
"Ha! I'm gunna take you down! Believe it!" Naruto pumped his fist at the enemy, but received no reaction. Sasuke tensed in preparation. There wasn't a huge distance of space between them, but enough that if Haku rushed Naruto he would be quick enough to react. He was banking for Naruto to think on his feet and not need too much instruction. He wasn't nearly as fast as himself, but his power more than made up for it.
"I see, so you have no desire to stand down, very well then." Haku performed a hand sign Sasuke had never seen before, and for a brief moment he allowed himself a hint of wonder. The air are cold, the boys breath now visible as the ground became frosted. Naruto looked at his feet in confusion, while Sasuke sensed something amidst Haku's chakra shift.
"Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors!"
Ice lifted from the water surrounding them, creating a dome of rectangular ice sheets. They had a smooth surface, one that didn't make strategic sense to the Uchiha right away, but when Haku stepped into one of the columns, he realized the mistake.
Haku's image reflected across the entirety of the dome, his image boxing them in.
"Now, let me show you what true speed is."
Sakura was getting anxious.
The fog had gotten so thick, she couldn't see the boys fighting. Kakashi-sensei was still in view, but not for very long. He and Zabuza had been fighting up and down the bridge, flitting in a out of the fog.
Her sensei skidded to a halt not far from her, breathing heavily.
"Sakura, how are Sasuke and Naruto?" Kakashi asked, keeping both eyes out for Zabuza. He couldn't let him near the girl or the bridge builder.
"I don't know! The fog got too thick. I heard them shout a while ago, but it got quiet again. Last I saw they were doing okay."
Kakashi grunted, not liking the sound of things. He didn't have a spare hand to afford them unfortunately, but there had to be something he could do. He was failing his team, again. First time he had gotten caught in that water prison on their way in to the Land of Waves, next he had to get Hikari to train his own students for him, and finally he was failing by leaving two of his students to fend for themselves against that masked boy. One with obvious talents that they simply weren't ready to fight against.
He growled.
Zabuza laughed ominously from the mist.
"I would focus on your own battle Kakashi. Haku will have those boys begging for mercy soon. He'd rather that than kill them, but he'll do it if he must. That's why he's my favourite weapon."
Dammit!
"Kakash-sensei!"
The man was snapped from his frustrations when another figure arrived, landing next to Sakura in a crouch.
Hikari was breathing heavily, but otherwise put together as she pushed her braid back offer shoulder from where it had fallen when she stopped.
"Hikari, why are you here?" Sakura asked, but even Kakashi could hear the hopefulness in her voice. Hikari stood, speaking in a rush.
"We were stopped on the road. Two chuunin like the ones you described attacked us. We took them out, but I was hoping to get here before Zabuza and his men. My team is clearing the forest of any other ninja that might show up." She said in a rush, and Sakura realized then that she would've ran all the way here, even across the water. That distance would've been a lot for anybody, and she looked like she ran hard.
"Good work Hikari, stay and watch the bridge builder with Sakura" Kakashi said, refocusing himself on the task at hand. Hikari nodded, taking her place to watch Tazuna from the opposite side as Sakura.
The ominous laugh returned, Hikari felt her hackles rise in response to the voice she had never heard before.
"Oh Kakashi, hoping to save your other students from the same fate?" The voice of Zabuza taunted. Hikari perked at that.
"What's he talking about? Who is this?" She asked. Tazuna glanced at her.
"That's Zabuza Momochi, the one who was tasked at killing me." He sounded nervous, obviously aware of the tight situation he was put in now. Zabuza's voice echoed again.
"That's right, two of Kakashi's students will soon fall prey to Haku, and there is nothing you all can do about it."
It was bait, Kakashi could tell the moment the man began to speak. He was attempting to lure the girls away, so that Kakashi would be forced to choose between them. He knew the girls weren't that stupid, but what he miscalculated, was Hikari's willingness to act.
"Where are they?" The blonde asked with a hint of panic as she looked to the only other female. She was doing well to keep her head, but Sakura could tell she was very worried for the boys. The pink haired teen could only point before Kakashi's attention snapped to his students.
"Don't! It's a trap! He's trying to divide us, stay right where you are." He commanded, but Hikari was practically vibrating on the spot.
"Sensei, are the boys really in trouble?" She asked carefully, with a great amount of discipline in her voice. Kakashi said nothing, trying to locate Zabuza while also keeping an eye on his students. Hikari took a breath.
"Sorry, Sensei."
Hikari went around Tazuna and Sakura, taking several long running steps. Kakashi spun around to stop her, when his eyes properly landed on the figure now right behind her.
Zabuza stood between him and Hikari, his sword poised to strike. The Momochi had actively given up a chance to strike Tazuna in favour of striking down his student. Hikari hesitated, looking over her shoulder and up. Zabuza grinned down at her, and he swung his mighty blade.
Sakura screamed as liquid flashed in front of her.
Water sprayed everywhere, splashing onto Sakura and Tazuna as Zabuza's blade met the ground.
He stood there, confused, before it dawned on him that the girl had pulled a fast one on him.
"A water clone?!" He growled, but it was cut short as Kakashi appeared behind him.
"And you fell for it."
Haku's barrage of senbon took down several of Naruto's clones at once before also striking the two boys that seemed practically idle in the centre. It was child's play to take them on, and it almost seemed wrong to prolong to inevitable. However, he aimed true for the non-vitals, hoping to scare them into submission, though he doubted it would affect them the way he wanted.
Haku was so wrapped up in his dealings that he missed a stray kunai flying at him until it was inches from his mask.
The weapon ricocheted off, sending his head in the opposite direction. He slammed into the ice mirrors instead of through it, giving the boys a second of peace when they realized the attack had halted.
Sasuke's eyes widened, and immediately he searched for who could have thrown that weapon. Was it Sakura? Kakashi? Whatever he expected, he hadn't thought it would be the blonde girl knelt just outside the mirrors.
"Naruto! Sasuke!" Hikari called. There was something off about the girl though, something Sasuke could tell but not quite explain. It was similar to Zabuza's water clones earlier.
"Kari! What are you doing here?!" Naruto sounded one part happy and one part confused. The happiness outweighed this confusion though as he grinned. Sasuke had to admit, the moment that she showed up the Uzumaki's spirits had lightened considerably, and he would be lying if he claimed he didn't feel the effect as well.
Hikari didn't hold that sentiment.
"Don't just stand there! Get out!" She shouted, and at once the boys remembered; this was a battle, and their enemy wasn't defeated. Both rushed for the edge, but Haku had recovered and reclaimed the mirror. They were both halted, as Haku struck again.
"Cover your heads!" Hikari called, and the duo crouched in the middle once again in defence. The onslaught stopped, and Sasuke was beginning to grow more and more frustrated with this repetitive cycle. Naruto's shoulders were full of senbon, aching and weary, but the tension wasn't affected in the slightest.
"Naruto! Sasuke!" Hikari called again. The Uchiha squared in on those eyes, molten, fierce. They reminded him of a fox telling riddles, but the rest of her face was too gentle to look conniving. She looked calm, though Sasuke could see the tension in her own body. She was keeping her facade intact for them.
"I need you both to keep calm. Sasuke, can't you see him moving?" She asked, which stunned Sasuke. He had seen a flicker of movement, but nothing concrete. Like Hikari, he could tell something was off but not what. He could see a pattern even when there wasn't one.
Could he be…..
Whatever she saw when she looked into his eyes, she was satisfied with as a confident smirk flitted over her lips. She turned to her best friend, who had watched the exchange with mild confusion.
"Naruto! Make more clones! And be ready." Naruto watched her for a moment, watched the confidence in her eyes, and reflected it straight back with a cocky grin.
"You got it, boss. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Haku struck the same time all the clones appeared.
"Why do you fight when there is no chance at success? I will defeat you." He said right before flying at the clones. He struck two in one fluid motion, then a third and fourth. Only one clone remained, and he quickly zeroed in on it.
The clone looked over it's shoulder at him, the same cocky grin as before evident on it's features. Haku felt stunned when the clone turned and easily caught his arm, before wrapping itself behind him and latching on tightly. The boy was forced into a mid-air spin, which resulted in the clone getting caught against the ice of the mirror Haku and been aiming for. Still, the clone did not let go despite a subtle cracking that Haku could hear.
In a poof of smoke the clone revealed itself to be Hikari. The water clone sitting outside the arena burst before falling into a puddle.
'She remained hidden, using the water clone to make me assume she hadn't moved, before using the transformation jutsu to hide amongst the clones!'
Hikari was stunned from the hit, both fell from the force exerted when they crashed into the mirror. She wheezed, but tried to get up despite the tangle she and Haku were in. The masked boy spun to strike, though his efforts were slowed by the same entanglement she suffered from.
"Oh no you don't!" Fresh Naruto clones jumped onto the masked boy and prevented him from moving while two yanked Hikari loose. She cried slightly from a pain in her right shoulder, but otherwise hoisted herself free with no issue.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called, and the Uchiha was already on top of things. He'd made his hand signs already, and blew hot flames to the clones and Haku. The real Naruto and Hikari stood by safely.
'Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!'
Even from a distance the flames were hot to Hikari as she shielded her eyes. That would become a downfall, as Haku escaped from the dog pile of clones just in time. His wrap and kimono singed in the process, but his strike was true as he aimed carefully at Naruto and Hikari.
Naruto pushed Hikari out of the way barely in time, the the Uzumaki was sent flying next to Sasuke. Hikari stood hastily and pulled out a kunai as Haku continued a strike on her. She kept up as much as she could using her left hand, though she wasn't to nearly as ambidextrous as she was training to become, and somehow hadn't fallen yet. They got into a lock, though Hikari knew Haku was simply holding her still. The boy could put his weight behind the strike and easily overpower her much smaller frame. Her hand shook, holding back even a fraction of his strength was taking everything out of her.
"I can see it, you're exhausted. You entered the battle exhausted, and now you've injured one hand." Haku broke the lock, kicking her in the gut. She put up a guard, but it was with her right arm which was already in pain. She flinched at the contact, and he broke through, sending her flying. She would've smashed into an ice mirror, had Naruto not caught her. He held her closely, tucked under his chin as a low growl escaped his throat.
"Don't you dare touch her!" He glared, using his body to physically shield the girl as much as he could. A growl emanated from his chest as he felt Hikari wince against him, but his grip didn't let up. He felt dizzy, trying to focus on Haku and also trying to focus on the girl he held onto so tightly.
Hikari.
He hurt Hikari.
How dare he!
"
Naruto! Watch out!" Sasuke called at the same time Haku vanished. The Uchiha's eyes widened as Naruto leaped out of the way a bare millisecond before getting struck in the neck by Haku. He still held Hikari closely as he slid several feet from where he had previously been. Sasuke felt a bit stunned, when did Naruto get that fast? He'd never seen the blond move like that.
The whiskers on the boy's face looked more prominent, now that Sasuke took a moment to note them, his once deep blue eyes had a darker look to them too. Was this really the same Naruto who was an absolute goofball? What changed?
Hikari.
Hikari was the one to do this. The tiny blonde in the Uzumaki's arms brought out this animosity in him.
"If I were to lose Naruto…."
They protected each other.
"Naruto, I'm okay." Hikari sounded small, her gentle voice settling something inside Naruto as he righted himself and gently let her go.
"You sure? He kicked you pretty hard y'know." Naruto checked her shoulder, not convinced by the darkening of her skin. He couldn't begin to fathom what her torso looked like.
Hikari knelt down, rolling her right shoulder carefully, before she gave him a confident smile.
"I'm fine, I promise," He helped her stand, and all three turned to look at Haku. "We need to finish this, we need to be quick about it too."
She was right, Sasuke thought, Hikari didn't have a huge amount of chakra, she had to pick her battles carefully. If this dragged out any longer they may end up having to protect her, making a victory that much more unfeasible.
Haku stood up, returning to the ice mirrors.
"He uses his speed to flit between each mirror, and we don't have the capacity to melt them either." Hikari started, Sasuke confirmed, thinking of his first instinct when the mirrors went up was to melt them. He couldn't though, barely did anything but heat the arena temporarily.
"So? What's the plan boss?" Naruto asked. Sasuke and Hikari both glanced at him from the corner of their eyes. "What? You always have the best plans Hikari. Remember when we beat Kakashi-sensei? That was your plan."
Sasuke smirked.
"Well, let's see you top that one."
They could practically hear the gears turning in Hikari's mind as she attempted to formulate a plan. They didn't have the skill set required to formally battle him, however each of the three had something that could play a key role in defeating him.
"Alright, are you ready?" She asked, and both boys assumed a fighting stance.
Haku noted they were no longer attempting to escape the mirrors. Rather they seemed to think they had a fighting chance against him even inside the ice. They would lose, and he felt it was a pity. Killing the girl would be hard, she was so small, though she was fierce. He felt slightly unnerved staring at her eyes. They were fierce, like a flame was dancing right behind them, like she was ready to strike even if he attempted to take her off guard. For such a small girl she had an air of intimidation around her he didn't think she knew about.
Haku prepared for another round fo strikes. He would aim to strike her first, considering the fact that both boys confessed her to be the strategist fo the group. Their spirits and will to fight had increased significantly after she arrived too. He couldn't have that, it would counter-productive for him.
"I will not let you escape." He darted at them, and to his surprise it wasn't just the girl to catch up with him.
Hikari could see Haku moving as though this were a regular training session. Her body practically vibrated as she pulled out wires from her pouch and shoved one end into Naruto's hands. The other end travelled with her as she dodged a strike by Haku and wrapped the wire around his leg. In the same movement that Haku made to pull the wire off, Sasuke appeared in front of him and kicked him in the back of the head, knocking him into the ground.
Something was wrong though, both Sasuke and Hikari felt like there was more at work here as they each sensed something different. Hikari sensed the water and wind chakras being molded together, while Sasuke noted the body of Haku felt harder than simply skin and bone.
They got their answer when Haku's body smashed to pieces on impact with the ground. Ice flew everywhere, some pieces blinding them as they shielded themselves.
"What?!" Hikari immediately searched for him, a shard of ice almost cutting the corner of her eye. She tried to turn, but failed to move her feet. Her body felt cold as she looked to the ice shards.
The ice didn't simply shatter, that was a cover up. The ice had collected around her feet, freezing instantly to grapple onto her legs. She rushed to try and free herself, panic rising at an alarming rate.
Gotta get free!
Gotta get free!
Gotta-
Her heart stopped as she sensed someone behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw the senbon coming for her. Hikari tensed, her body wanting to move but frozen.
Think!
You can do something! Hikari THINK!
An arm broke her vision as the senbon struck. A body had shoved itself between her own and Haku's.
"Bastard!"
Naruto punched Haku so hard the boy went flying back and cracked one of the ice mirrors. But it wasn't Naruto who stood between her and Haku.
Sasuke was breathing heavily, his body felt weak as he fell to a sit, revealing the senbon locked into his neck to Hikari. Her eyes widened as she was forced to simply stand there and watch as Sasuke fell backwards.
"Hikari! Sasuke!" Naruto raced to them, but stopped next to them both when he saw the prone form of his teammate.
"…Sasuke…?"
The Uchiha wheezed, breathing sounding heavy and difficult. Hikari continued to stare.
"Why…..?" The black haired boy stared at her, he could see tears in her eyes. "Why would you do that? Throw yourself in front of me? Why?"
She was crying, but Sasuke could hear the last conversation they had.
"Naruto, he never got to know what it was like to have parents. Kakashi-sensei has lost a lot too. You…. You know pain greater than mine…. I… I was fortunate enough to know what parents are like, even for a short time. I….. I'm so lucky to have all the friends I have now. And Naruto-"
Sasuke coughed, Naruto knelt beside him and carefully raised his head off the ground. The Uchiha stared into the blue eyes of Naruto Uzumaki. He wondered what it was that Hikari saw that made her so hopelessly loyal to the brat.
"I would be lost without Naruto."
Perhaps he would never know.
"I just moved," he groaned, taking a few breaths. "I did…. My duty….."
It was a lie, this wasn't his duty, his job. This was his choice, and in a strange way he didn't regret his decision.
"You two…. Two…. dorks…. In a…. pod." He flinched, looking back to Hikari again shortly before focusing on Naruto. The boy looked lost, devastated. Sasuke didn't want him to look like that, because he now knew the sort of pain Hikari likely protected him from everyday.
"Naruto…. Hikari…. Don't….. don't ever give up…. On your….. dreams…."
His body gave in on him, he felt cold. Sasuke couldn't fight it any longer as everything went dark around him.
Hikari had maintained her composure the best she could, until he went silent. Her tears fell freely as she looked away.
Naruto stared at Sasuke, stared at the guy who he picked petty fights with, the guy who acted like he was better than the rest fo them and yet…..
He saved Hikari.
And he died for it.
He saved Hikari because Haku was trying to kill her…..
He felt hot, like a flame was lit in his chest. It wasn't warm and inviting, it burned. The pain was intense, and he didn't understand it, but he didn't care. He welcomed this physical pain in place of the emptiness. His anger roused, his heartbeat become more erratic.
The ice around Hikari's feet began to melt from the heat of Naruto's chakra. She looked at him, saying nothing as she stared.
Red chakra spiralled around him, the energy so intense Hikari flinched away the moment her feet were free.
"N-Naru-"
His gaze snapped up, eyes zeroing on Haku. The masked boy prepared himself, uncertain of what was happening. Hikari froze, seeing the redness of his eyes, the intensified whiskers and the claws and fangs.
He looked demonic.
"I'M GUNNA KILL YOU."
The mist was so thick now Sakura had to go by sound along to know what was happening. An immense burst of chakra came from the direction of Haku and their team's fight, making her worry more.
Kakashi sensed it too, sensed the animosity and intensity of the strike and felt bile rise in his throat. Had the seal been broken? What caused Naruto to go into such a blind rage? A sick feeling settled in his gut that perhaps he knew the answer.
Hikari….
He forced the thoughts away, he couldn't prolong the fight any longer and would have to take immediate action.
I had escaped the wrath of the ominous chakra, pulling Sasuke with me the best that I could as we skidded out of the fog and closer to safety.
My eyes stayed fixed on the direction of the attack, the burning chakra could be felt even from this distance. My breaths were laboured, eyes wide, I couldn't look away in case that… that rage reached us here somehow.
"Hikari?" Sakura's voice made it to my ears. I flinched, turning to look at her. She stared at me, frowning. "You're shaking- Hikari what-"
Her eyes finally settled on the body resting half way in my arms. She froze as I set him down before she came closer and touched his cheek.
"He-He's still warm. Did- Wh-" She couldn't speak, instead she collapsed on him and started to cry. It took all of my will power not to look down at the dead boy in front of me, because if I did I would be a sobbing mess as well. Instead I remained fixated on the direction I had come from. The air was growing warmer, hot even, and the mist was slowly dispersing. I could faintly see wisps of that red chakra from this distance.
It was growing stronger.
"And Naruto?" Tazuna voiced. I felt my shaking increase as I looked up to the man. Whatever he saw in my eyes made him hesitate, but he didn't look away. I felt cold tears roll down my cheeks, my mask slipping as I remembered the look on Naruto's face.
"I'M GUNNA KILL YOU."I choked on my own sobs. The fear overriding anything else I could possibly do now. The animosity that was coming from Naruto, of all people…..
I'm scared…..!
"You….. I helped you the other day, right? You're that tiny girl." Naruto said, and despite his loudness, I somehow didn't mind the tone of his voice.
"Yeah, my name's Hikari. You?" I asked politely. Naruto grinned.
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
Naruto… You…
"I will always take care of Kari! She's my best friend! Believe it!"
You've always been there for me…..
"Well….. I would've shared my last name with you…. If you wanted." Naruto said, turning a light shade of pink when I looked up at him. "I mean, it's nothing fancy or anything, but….. what's mine is yours, y'know?"
Given everything to me….
"Then I promise to be somebody you can be proud of, someone you can believe in."
My shaking stopped as I stood abruptly. I turned to the mist, seeing the red chakra moving away. My fists clenched, I was still terrified, but I would ignore it. I would go head first into the fire because my best friend was in there. I didn't understand what was going on or why this was happening but there was no way I was leaving Naruto alone like this. I wouldn't let him become a monster.
Because I still believed in him.
Fury.
Rage.
Blind hatred.
That was all he felt as Naruto slashed and struck at Haku. It wasn't even Haku that angered him anymore, he was simply a target. The masked boy was no match, and now Naruto was striking him without a real reason. Haku had been defeated, but the rage followed Naruto and held on in a vice grip.
He couldn't calm down, wouldn't calm down.
He shattered all of the mirrors with a flush of chakra, pushing the energy further. It burned his skin, yet left no marks as far as he could see. Naruto sunk deeper into that anger, feeling himself staring down at Sasuke still as the boy drew his final breath before dying in his arms. Naruto could see it playing over and over again, the final moment where Haku tried to kill Hikari.
If Hikari had died…..
His rage held on tighter, he felt laughter pooling in the back of his skull. From the deep pit that was the current state of his mind he felt glee. Something was laughing at him, but he didn't care.
The final blow as coming as Naruto put all of his energy into a punch. It would shatter every bone he hit on Haku's body. The body knew it, both did. Haiku stood there, frozen. He made no move to defend himself, seemingly coming to terms with this defeat. Naruto gave no reprieve to the weakness, and instead sped faster in case it was a trap.
A small figure suddenly jumped in the way of his trajectory. For a split second he considered bowling right through them, but his eyes zeroed in on the golden orbs and her froze in place. A second later and he would've punched through her.
Hikari….
She stood in front of Haku, on the balls of her feet and a hand out as if that would be enough to stop him. Fresh tears were in her eyes as she looked at him, a fierce resolve in those eyes. Naruto held his stance, his fist inches from her outstretched palm. He could've shattered her arm!
"I know he killed him. I know he killed Sasuke, but…. Naruto please. Not like this. This…. This isn't you."
She closed her eyes in an attempt to stop fresh tears, but seconds later opened them when she felt a hand on her cheek.
"Kari…. Why are you crying?"
Hikari stared at Naruto. In an instant the demonic features had vanished, and in front of her stood just Naruto. Her silly and goofy best friend. He looked confused, which he was. It felt like there was a gap between his memories, like he had done something important but couldn't remember what it had been.
"Naruto…." She stepped forward and hugged him tightly. He could feel her shaking and immediately held her close, but he couldn't understand what had happened. Hikari sniffled into his shoulder and he remained still as his arms tightened around her.
"Why did you stop him?"
The protectiveness grew as he realized Haku stood not ten feet away. Haku didn't move though, and remained completely idle the entire time.
"I'm your enemy, why would you protect me?" Haku asked again, making Hikari pull away from Naruto to see him again. She didn't have a real answer as to why she stopped Naruto then, not one she wanted to say in front of the blond at least. Haku sensed the unease and lack of conviction, and removed his mask. Both blondes were shocked to see his face; he barely looked older than them.
"You see me now, does this change anything for you? You should kill me, it is part of your duty as a shinobi." He felt no rage build in them, and so he prodded. "I killed your friend, is that not enough?"
"Shut up!" Naruto shouted, stepping in front of Hikari. He jabbed a finger at Haku. "Why would you work for a guy like Zabuza? You're just a kid too y'know! Why would you choose this?"
"Choose?" Haku was intrigued as he looked between the duo. "Did you choose each other then? Or was it fate that you met?"
Hikari perked a bit at this, though Naruto looked confused. She understood what Haku was getting at, even if she didn't agree. She and Naruto did choose each other, didn't they? Or was there some bigger scheme that pushed them into choosing each other? She looked to Naruto, only seeing his profile.
"Look buddy, I don't know what you're trying to say here but it ain't cutting it. Believe it!" Naruto jabbed a finger at himself. "I don't care what it was, Hikari and I are best friends now and that's all that matters! Believe it."
Haku gave a weak smile, but it held no joy. He could remember the cold, the streets, and the moment Zabuza looked down on him. Took him in. Trained him. He looked to Naruto, and saw the fierce look in his eyes.
"I too know that feeling. There is only one precious person to me in my entire life, and I will do whatever I must to see his dreams come true."
Hikari's eyes widened, her emotions running wild beneath a silent mask. She understood him, understood exactly what he meant when he said this. He thought like her, she saw in Naruto what Haku saw in Zabuza. She hated that she understood him, but she did. Naruto on the other hand, was still furious.
"But that's-" Hikari put a hand on his shoulder. He looked down at her, and she gave a gentle reassuring smile. He took a breath and let her step forward. Haku and Hikari sized each other up, Haku's gaze much more subdued than her molten torches.
"I'm not agreeing with you, but I understand where you're coming from. I just-" Hikari's gaze sobered, she looked exhausted in that slit second. "I wish you didn't feel that way. I wish you didn't feel that pain."
Gentleness. It was unfamiliar to Haku. He'd never felt that gentleness from another person. Haku had always touched the world as though it were made of glass, but never had he received the same treatment. Yet here was this girl who was willing to do it for him, after what he had done.
"He's not dead," Haku blurted out before he could stop himself. Did it matter though? It wasn't like he was surviving this fight. Haku had already come to terms with the fact that he was no match for these kids. He felt a nagging sensation in the back of his head, like he needed to be somewhere.
The duo looked up at him with surprise. Suspicion was also on the girl's face, but Haku just smiled.
"It hurts, killing. I didn't want to, but I do it when I must. But you three….. I see great potential in you three." He made a hand sign, and both were slightly on edge, but Haku just continued to smile as he realized exactly where he needed to be.
"Perhaps the future will be bright, if people like you are in it."
Haku disappeared.
What's up my dudes? Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
So... Fanfiction has been... weird.
I tried to upload this a few days ago. Formatting failed me. Then I tried again yesterday. It wouldn't save. I got mad and decided to just wait for a bit. I tried today and suddenly 5 reviews showed up (never even got a notification that they were submitted) also the formatting has been a fight, so I apologize if the italicize words don't seem right, they keep changing on me when I save.
Gunna be completely honest, I am NOT going to write a whole chapter on how the battle ends, because from here on it's pretty verbatim to how it happened in the original story. Everyone will be home, and it may be a little jarring but that's kinda the point. In all honesty if I were reading this story i would skip over the battle ending too. We are entering a mini-arc where we learn a lot more about Hikari's teammates and then it's the Chuunin exams! Gosh I'm so excited! The Chuunin exams are gunna be very weird tbh, or at least my original plan was 'how can I fuck this up more?'
And thank you to all the lovely reviews. they are always very appreciated!
Guest: Yeah I can differentiate your reviews usually by typing patterns, but I just don't want to reply and you not know which one might be yours, make sense? Anyway, I'm happy people believe hikari really is part of the story! It's my favourite thing to write them doing silly things a lot of the time. I hope you will like my newer OC's, they will be coming in a few chapters! It's a good point that Hikari and Naruto might be competitive actually, and I PROMISE before this story is done we will have one hell of a Naruto vs Hikari fight, but nothing so soon. Romance definitely won't happen in a solid sense until they're older, but it's a bit more complicated than that. I think they are actually in love, but they don't have a hot clue what romantic love is. Besides, they're trying to navigate a scary world as kids, it's gunna be tough to really sot out their emotions, though I think, from a writer's perspective, they are already somewhat aware of this. The separation will definitely bring this to the front of their minds!
lovinurbuks: Yeah, Hikari speaks her mind, sometimes to her downfall. i like to think this chapter will define Hikari, which we will see in the following chapter.
YaoiLovinKitsune: Yeah, I always thought they were whiskers, I've been told they were marks, but honestly? Whiskers are too cute man. It also it's a weird thing to me, considering we have a half fish guy and nobody says anything. And yes! There are very few good Naruto x OC stories out there! Which is why I wrote this! Know any good ones?
Simmaris: Thank you! Hikari and Gaara are going to have some pretty interesting interactions for sure, but not initially. Yes she and Sasuke have a huge story arch of their own once I get to it. Hikari is gunna shake some boots! Being frank, I don't care for Sasuke's character at all. I understand he's a lost soul, but he's also extremely selfish and I don't believe the transitions and character growth at all to be frank. I think it's thee factors that made him and Sakura my least favourite characters. Hoping to fix that, as they both have wicked character growth potential.
Unamed: Ok, so I need to explain this a bit, hopefully it will make sense.
Hikari's abilities lie in nature. She is able to draw each nature and mold it with her chakra. So, by compartmentalizing it, she can combine multiple chakra natures, thus the Wood Release. So theoretically she could do the dust release, but I'll be frank, she won't. It's something passed between master and pupil only, and is extremely rare. While Hikari is a quick study, she can't simply watch someone do a justu and know it, like someone with the Sharingan. She'd have to do it a lot, and figure out exactly how they formed it. yes her senses would give her an advantage, but she still needs to learn it.
Deidara's hands are not a kekkei genkai, they are a kinjutsu, or forbidden technique. It's designed to mold chakra into an object (Like Deidara does with his clay, he infuses it with chakra which is why he has to wait so long to strike.) Technically anyone can do this. She could, theoretically, to the explosive release though if taught, yes.
I think Hikari understands that this is not normal, especially considering both Tenzo/Yamato and Kakashi explicitly told her never to reveal it except in a dire situation. More on that later in the story!
The summons will be coming in eventually, don't you worry! Fun fact: I have an irrational hatred for monkeys. I cannot look at one without getting upset and I don't know why. I've never even met one but I hate them so much. So I promise you it will never be a monkey or anything similar. As a hint, think of something small in nature, and imagine it huge. IE: Toads IRL are so much bigger than the ones in the Narutoverse. Even the small ones.
Anyway, hope you're all doing well! Wash your hands, and STAY SAFE!
Iland Girl