I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.
The reason behind writing this story isn't anything grand. I met someone who I discussed ideas with, and ended up writing it with his help.
Thanks, Metroid, as he was a big inspiration for the story.
I have things planned. Leave an honest review, any critique is highly welcomed and appreciated.
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
The Pivot of Destiny
I open my eyes; there is a white ceiling above me.
I am lying down; it hurts to breathe, my chest hurts on breathing
Where am I?
Right, I was fighting,
"Narutooo, LEAVE ME ALONE," she says, with her graceful technique, and beautiful face, she speeds towards me, wielding a blackened blade of lightning, with wings on her back, and a black star on her face. Those red eyes of hers, with three, were the tomoes as she called them, she comes to me with a speed that only the most experienced ninja can see.
"I can't leave you be, YOU ARE MY FRIEND"
I say, somehow, I am able to make a Rasengan without a clone, I feel angry, but another feeling keeps me in focus, what could it be?
"I can't let Orochimaru take over your body and let you die," I say, why doesn't she get it?
"I DON'T CARE, I ONLY NEED TO KILL HIM," she says with so much rage; why? Why can't she stay with me, with us, with Hinata, Sakura, kakashi-sensei.
"SATUSKIIIII", I scream
"NARUTOOO!", She screamed
I twist my arm, I can't hurt he-
"I see you have woken up. How are you feeling?" says a familiar voice. It's Shizune-san, Tsunade ba-chan's apprentice.
"I feel fine. My chest hurts a bit", I say while keeping my hand on my chest. The pain is still there.
"Your chest was pierced through, and it was a miracle you healed this fast due to the.." due to the, what does she mean?
"Due to the procedure, we used to use your cells to reconstruct the part of your organs lost", Ahh a special procedure.
"So when can I leave" I ask; I need to talk to Hinata, Sakura Kakashi-sensei and Ero-sennin too. I try to get up.
"SIT DOWN, your wounds may open up", I immediately lie down, shizune-san is scary.
"I'll be back. Meanwhile, you have visitors", she leaves and immediately, three people walk in via the door, and a person enters via the opened window.
"Narut-" Before anyone could say anything, the window interruption shouts
"I am Jiraiya the great toad sage of Mount Myoboku"
A man with white hair, and a toad, with a banner shouts
"Ero-sennin, I AM TRYING TO RECOVER HERE, AND YOU INTERRUPTED Hinata AND SAKURA, THEY WERE SAYING SOMETHING", I Huffed, this pervert, even if I call him that, I do respect him, I survived due to him teaching me, so much, I twisted arm to not hi- Stop it.
"Heh, these disrespectful kids have no respect for the adults"
"I WOULD RESPECT YOU IF YOU ACTED LIKE YOUR AGE
FOR ONCE, AND NOT BE A PERVERT"
"Naruto-kun" "Naruto," say two soft voices; I turn my head to see two beautiful girls, one with white eyes and dark blue hair in a hime-cut, and one with green eyes and pink hair that goes to her neck, they both say
"Are you okay" "How do you feel"
Seeing concern, I should give the appropriate answer and tell them how I am feeling,
"I AM PERFECTLY FINE, Naruto UZUMAKI CANNOT BE STOPPED", I lied?, no I didn't, Naruto Uzumaki doesn't lie, not to his friends, right?
They sigh in relief, but don't look convinced before they can say anything, Kakashi-sensei says, in a rare moment of seriousness and care from his general aloof nature, "I am glad to see that you are safe, Naruto", hearing a tender tone to his voice, I instinctively avert my face a bit, "Thank you sensei, I am glad to be here too", suddenly Hinata moves forwards, and holds my hand, she looks sad and trying to hold back something, "Well, we will come back later, why don't you two talk for a while", says Kakashi-sensei, Sakura seems reluctant, there is something in her eyes, pain? Relief? I don't know, "Well, Kid, I'll come by soon", says Ero-sennin.
"Naruto-kun.." that tone from Hinata, it's been so long since I last heard it, so full of pain and grief; Satsuki leaving hurt her just as much if not more, "Naruto-Kun, she left, was our promise mean nothing to her," promise, that promise.
"Heh, I am the strongest of us", I declared with complete confidence, "Shut up, you loser, you just hit more targets than me today, by chance, get off your high horse", back then I thought, she was jealous, but in reality, she was just pointing out the truth, "That's great Naruto-kun, Satsuki-chan you should congratulate him too", Hinata said with her usual sweet voice.
"Hinata, you are too kind with him; his head will blow up from this", Satsuki said as she brought Hinata close to her, they had definitely grown much closer than I thought, Hinata looked up to Satsuki's strength and Satsuki looked up to Hinata's kindness, after the massacre, I may have been the catalyst but Hinata was the one who gave something to both mine and Satsuki's lonely souls.
"It's alright, Satsuki-chan, the three of us will always support each other and be there for each other, because…. Mmh", Her going shy was always funny,
"What, Hinata you say something", I asked with my usual obliviousness, "WE ARE FRIENDS", she said with a RED FACE, she still seemed to have those.
"Friends", the girl with black hair and an attitude mumbled.
"Yeah, friends, IT'S A PROMISE, We'll always have each other's backs, as friends", I had said it with such confidence even though I was terrified that they'll reject me.
"Yeah, Friends," said Satsuki with a small smile, and Hinata said something that still reverberates in my ears to this day, "As Friends, As Family," those words, something really changed in me that day
'THERE IS NO FAMILY, NO FRIENDS. THEY WILL HURT YOU JUST LIKE HER'
Suddenly, I came back to reality. Why did I remember now, "Haku"
"Naruto-kun", she asked me with concern, "It's Nothing, Hinata, I just feel very tired, hehe", I lied through my teeth as usual, I am still too scared. "Naruto-kun….I'll let you rest", she leaves with her hair fluttering a bit.
"Got something on your mind, kid?"
"AAAAAAAAAAAH", I screamed like the life was sucked out of me, "OYE, ERO-SENNIN, STOP SNEAKING UP ON PEOPLE"
"Che kids, these days, no respect, so what's on your mind"
What's on my mind, TOO MUCH would be an answer but can I trust him?
"Ahh, it's nothing," I say, This is my problem, I need to handle-
"You know I have seen that face many times, 'It's my problem, I need to handle it' that's what you are thinking, right, let me tell you something kid. I have been through 2 ninja wars, and you remind me of myself, What's eating you up, you can lay it on me"
Maybe I should extend the hand stretched to me here, maybe, NO MAYBE's
"I am thinking about Satsuki going to Orochimaru. Me, her and Hinata promised each other we'll always be there for each other as friends, as fam-, and well she left just like that, it's just, It hurts too much, it hurts too much, just like it hurt when she- she"
"When who died, Naruto", How could he have known? I look at him, perplexed.
"How do you know? Who told YOU" I ask angrily
"No one kid, it's just your eyes, i have seen those eyes so many times on so many people, Kids, Adults, Friends, Beautiful women, and her too", he said somberly.
"So, who died"
"No One Died; I killed her, She was so kind"
I deserve the pain I am experiencing right now.
"Talk to me, Naruto"
"It was our first C-ranked mission.…..
We had been finally given a C-ranked mission, I was fed up of those D-ranks, So I made my issues with the situation known to the old man Hokage,
"I can't take this OLD MAN, GIVE US A REAL MISSION, I AM NINJA" I was right, you know, even Satsuki and Sakura agreed.
"We have trained extensively, Hokage-sama I am very proficient at Katon ninjutsu, and I am starting to learn ration as well. Sakura is proficient at genjutsu, even Kurenai-sensei praises her skill with the art, and the dumb blond over here is very good at trap-making, and he is learning about Futon techniques, too, he can make himself an army, and all three of us are great at Taijutsu, and Teamwork, isn't that right, Kakashi-Sensei", said Satsuki, and me, "Yeah What she said."
"Naruto, Satsuki, talk to Hokage-sama properly, though I agree with what they said Hokage-Sama, we have trained well, and under Kakashi-sensei's tutelage, we have grown a lot, so we deserve a higher mission"
"Kakashi, what do you think?" asked the old man, if Kakashi-sensei had pranked us again, I would have done SOMETHING.
"Hmm, they are ready.", said sensei. He was out of it for some reason, HE WAS SERIOUS.
"Very well, then send him in"
An old man, reeking of booze, walks in, I just feel dread.
"My name is Tazuna, the great bridge builder. Protect me with your lives"
Well, a lot happened, like, encountering some chunin mist ninja, tazuna begging for help, kakashi-sensei's sharingan, and a missing ninja called Zabuza. He was strong. Well, kakashi-sensei had already taught us Tree walking, so he demonstrated water walking and left us to train, Sakura did in 2 days, Satsuki used to leave to rest as well, but I was stubborn. Ohh, I had a spat with a kid, too, he was being too stupid and whiny
"Naruto, YOU ARE WHINY"
"Shut up, YOU OLD PERVERT"
"You Little"
"Anyway, let me continue…
As I was saying, one day, I exhausted myself while practicing water walking, the moment I got on land, I passed out.
Then suddenly, I was shaken awake, and probably the most beautiful girl was saying, "You'll get a cold like this, your clothes are wet too", It was morning, and I hadn't even realized. I had never gotten sick once in my life, but she insisted on helping me and drying my clothes. She was kind, a form of kindness that I hadn't experienced. There wasn't an ounce of hostility or apprehension from her from the moment I met her, just like the old man.
"Apprehension, Hostility, What kind of words are you singing, this isn't you. And was she a looker?", Said the pervert
This PERVERTED OLD MAN
"The old man gave me books to read, I slacked, but Hinata and Satsuki made me read them, get those WEIRD THOUGHTS OUT OF YOUR HEAD, YOU OLD MAN. You are old, go and talk about the sky being blue today. And back in your day, you were great at something, as I was saying…
There was no hostility, "Ahh, thank you, umm, what's your name, angel girl?" I had asked that with no shame, now I feel like an Idiot.
"You are an Idiot"
"SHUT UP"
"My name is Haku, and I am a boy. What is your name, whisker-kun"
"WHAT, YOU TOLD ME SHE WAS A GIRL, BUT HE'S A BOY"
"SHUT UP, DON'T INTERRUPT ME"
I was stupefied, flabbergasted, any way to describe dumbstruck that was me at that moment
A boy, no, I refuse to believe that. She was too beautiful and too feminine for that,
"Haku-San, are you pretending to be a boy to avoid Gato's thugs?" I asked because she was too beautiful and could easily be preyed upon.
"You are correct, whisker-kun, I don't want to get in trouble" " she said with a smile, I didn't even notice the nickname, that smile, I had seen it so many times, in the mirror, on Satsuki's face.
I recovered fast and said, "My name is Naruto UZUMAKI, THE STRONGEST NINJA TO GRACE THE ELEMENTAL NATIONS", I had harrumphed to change the mood.
"Pfftt…., hehehhe HAHAHAHA", she had laughed so melodiously at my declaration, I started to laugh as well.
"Well, Naruto-Kun, I am haku, and yes, I am a girl, and it's nice to meet you.", I wondered why she was here.
"I am here to collect herbs for a loved one who's injured", I was compelled to help her. So I just blurted out
"I'll help you"
"Just like that, you, direct approach, works, I guess"
This Pervert, how is he a teammate of that Villainous Orochimaru and that angry granny? I am stupid; of course, someone as weird as him would be their teammate.
"OK YOU KNOW WHAT, I AM DONE, GO AWAY"
"Hey, wait, I'll treat you to ichiraku ramen"
"LET'S GO NOW," Ramen he used, fine I'll bite and go with him.
"So go on from where you left off," He says while we both walk towards Ichiraku after sneaking out from the hospital.
"Fine, but no more interruptions….
"I'll help you," I blurted out; I still don't know why
"I see, thank you, Naruto-kun, now these are the herbs…."
I had a wonderful time picking out the herbs with her, she told me what each herb was useful for, but I didn't understand any of it.
"Well Naruto-Kun, it's time for me to go; I wish you good health"
She was leaving.
I couldn't let her go
My heart felt heavy at the prospect of not seeing her again
I had to do something
"So, tomorrow at the same time?", yes I said that, thinking it might be a good way to see her again.
She had stopped and then turned around to look at me, and for once, I didn't hide behind my facade and just smiled.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning," she said with a smile and left.
I was stupefied, and then I RAN back to Tazuna's house with a smile for breakfast, so it became a routine for me to wake up early and show up to meet Haku. I loved talking with her, and I think she felt the same.
Then One Day, she asked me, out of the blue, a question that changed how we interacted and how were towards each other.
"Naruto-kun, what is your dream" That's a hard question, My Dream, My dream is a simple one, "I want to be Hokage and be the strongest ninja in the world", She looks at me with a sad smile, "Naruto-Kun, you don't need to hide from me", I was stuck, I was confused, I was scared…. Scared if I said what I truly wanted, she would find it weird. She was always so welcoming, even after being friends with Hinata and Satsuki for so long, I still get scared.
Scared, that I will be rejected, abandoned.
I didn't want that.
"No, that's really my dream, Haku-san," I said with a smile, I felt a pain in my chest, I didn't know it was as if my reading my mind.
She said a few words.
"A false smile brings pain to oneself"
As if struck by a spear through my chest, my knees had buckled; suddenly, I felt my head being pulled into Haku's lap.
"Naruto-kun, you can stop being so strong for once," she had said with that smile.
And I had let go.
"I… I. I am NOT STRONG, I AM WEAK, I AM UNTALENTED, I AM NOT GOOD ENOUGH, NO ONE CARES, I AM SCARED, SO SCARED, I DON'T WANNA BE ALONE, NO ONE EVER TALKED WITH ME, SHINO IS MY FIRST FRIEND, BUT I AM STILL SCARED, HINATA AND SATSUKI ARE FRIENDS, WE MADE A PROMISE, BUT BUT, I AM SCARED THEY WILL GO AWAY TOO"
I had let go of the 13 years of pain inside my soul, and Haku had just smiled and stroked my head.
"Naruto-kun, I know the pain of being alone; I, too, once had been alone, unloved, scared. It's not easy, I know. I…still suffer from that pain at times"
I was blown away. How can someone strong like her have gone through something like this?
"What do you mean? I was always alone, I had no parents, and everyone despised me, How do you know this feeling so well" I had asked in such a small voice that it was almost inaudible.
"In the village where I lived, my mother's ancestors had done something really bad, so they were hated, my mother hid that fact and married my father, but somehow due to me finding some kind of symbol belonging to those people, my father learned of who my mother was, and he went mad in anger, he killed my mother, said he will kill me to and then kill himself for this mistake. But before he could, I wasn't thinking straight, I didn't mean to. By the time I realized He was dead too. My entire family, gone."
"That is when I realized that in all of the world no one needed me. I was alone."
I was stunned
"Then how are you strong? How do you smile truly"
"Naruto-kun, someone saved me, he gave me a purpose, he gave me worth, and I live for him now."
"It is only through the eyes of others that our lives have any meaning."
"Through the eyes of others?" I had asked, astonished.
"I want to protect the person important to me, and I want to work for that person. I want to fight for that person, and I want to make that person's dream come true. That is my dream."
she said; I could barely even understand it.
"As for your question, Naruto-kun, it's simple"
"When people are protecting something truly precious to them. They truly can become... as strong as they need to be"
"That girl, a few years older than you, said that", the old pervert asked, well, I was shocked too.
"Yeah, She did, she was.."
"But I don't understand, everything's going good, you know, where does the … betrayal.. come …. in"
"What do you know?"
"Nothing, carry on"
"So as I was saying…..
"Protecting someone makes you strong?"
"Yes, Naruto-kun, do you have someone you love, you want to keep safe, someone you want to keep away from harm" she said with a small smile, My tears that had leaked during my letting go were so noticeable at that moment.
It was like everything was slow.
I couldn't say anything for a second, then faces flashed in front of my eyes, Shino, Hinata, Satsuki, Iruka and Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, the old man Hokage, and there was another face there for some reason, it was Haku, in only 4 days, she had made a place in my heart as someone I cared for.
"Yeah, I do have people I care for, I protect and…. and you are one of them too now" I still feel embarrassed to this day from that statement.
She was stunned by that.
"I'll become strong and get rid of Gato so that you can live safely and happily with your loved one," I had said it with a bright smile.
Haku had looked stunned; something had crossed her eyes, I didn't know at the time what it was.
Then she had smiled
"Thank you, Naruto-kun, though I won't be able to meet you tomorrow, I will be busy with something"
I was saddened, but I took it with no fear
"Don't worry, I'll see you later, When we free this island from Gato, We'll have ramen together, BYE!"
She had turned back while walking, giving me a wave and a smile; she had left.
I was happy as she had given me some sort of feeling that I had no idea what it was, but I wanted to preserve it.
Yeah, I was happy.
But it was not to be, you know, the next day, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, and I left for the bridge. Tsunami and Inari were being protected by Satsuki.
We arrived on the bridge to find the workers lying cut up on the bridge and the bridge painted red with blood, With Zabuza and the hunter ninja there.
Kakashi-sensei gave the orders, Sakura to protect Tazuna, I would fight the hunter ninja, and Sensei would fight Zabuza.
"So you are the one who took him away, You look weak," I was saying it with a weird mix of confidence and false bravado.
"Looks are deceiving, konoha ninja"
And then it was us fighting; the ninja was more agile than me, had better control of their body, and I was barely keeping at all. I was just surviving, and when I felt it was over with, those senbon sailing towards me. She showed up. "Satsuki!"
I was stunned and relieved by her arrival. And, well it made me happy.
"So, you are getting manhandled by this little guy, you still are a loser"
"Shut up, you haven't seen what he's capable of"
"I see; I need to end this quick to help Zabuza-sama"
With that, she did some Ice Mirror dome jutsu thingy, It was called a kekkei gen... Kekkei genk...
"Kekkei Genkai, a bloodline limit, is Basically a method to combine two different chakra natures to create a new one. It can only be possessed by people of certain heritages"
"Yeah, That, now shut up and let me continue"
And we fought, tried our best, Satsuki awakened her sharingan, and still it wasn't enough, my Futon wasn't good enough that I could perform it in the heat of battle.
She took the senbon meant for me. I thought she had died.
I lost it, the nine-tails chakra bubbled out of control, and I attacked the ninja in a lost frenzy.
And when the mask shattered, it was like something deep shattered inside me. I was over her holding a fist posed to strike, but I couldn't move a muscle, and my hand fell down. Only one thing was going through my mind.
"Why? Why? WHY? WHY? WHY?
WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?
WHY?WHY? WHY IS IT YOU?"
I was staring at the most beautiful face I had ever seen, long lustrous black hair, those sad eyes. It was Haku. Why did it have to be her?
I still ask myself this.
"Naruto-kun, you know my story, but there were a few lies. I can't move my body, I am too hurt now. So before you do your duty as a ninja, I have to tell you. In the Hidden Mist village, people with kekkei genkai were hated and called demons"
Demon, a word I was so familiar with.
"My mother hid that fact, and by mistake, one day, I discovered my hyoton, And you know the rest. Zabuza-sama saved me. I will forever live for him"
WHY? That word kept resounding in my head, why did this have to happen, WHY?
"Naruto-kun, these 5 days were some of my happiest ever, I can't even raise my arm, Please Kill Me, I can't stand to be a failure for Zabuza-sama."
I cared for her, I respected her, I —- I... I
"Naruto-Kun"
Without hesitation I took out my kunai and held it above her chest in front of my face.
"Thank you, I–"
And I slammed the blade. I couldn't bear to hear another word.
There's no resistance.
The blade easily pierced her chest, all those memories of the 5 days.
I throw them away, or I won't be able to bear it.
Who am I lying to, It's burned in my mind now.
I will not be forgiven.
This pain will always stay with me. I wanted to protect her. How can I be strong?
The care and "Love" I held in my heart, this betrayal will always haunt me. I—- I won't forget you.
"You saved me, yet you cursed me too"
There was no response, her eyes held no light, Haku was gone, dead.
"Naruto", the old man gives me a napkin, ahh I am crying.
The tears keep falling.
"Naruto, I do understand your pain somewhat, I can't say for sure, what she felt, but she wouldn't have felt the need to ask you to release her if she didn't care for you."
"Did I love her?"
"You probably did; she gave you her love too, Love it's quite the feeling. You accept the person for what they are and take responsibility for that; you just love them for no reason other than them. Only you know if you loved her like a girl or like a family member or a sister. But does it matter? Not really. The love you hold is all that matters."
"The love I hold is all that matters?" I asked uncertainly, not understanding this.
"There's love in this world, but there's hate too, burning hatred, I wish that we could do something about this hatred and have people come together so that, no more meaningless deaths have to come about due to meaningless conflict, So that we could have peace"
Peace, yes if the world was a peaceful place, then maybe Haku would never have lost her parents, and maybe I would have parents and loved ones too. Maybe Haku and I could have been true friends.
"Hey, ero-sennin, I want to help, I want to help you achieve this peace you desire. I want to see it for myself."
I am determined to make this happen in any way possible.
"Heh, shut up, kid, you are still too earl- I see, very well, two days from now, we leave on a training trip for the next 3 years, say your goodbyes by then"
"Got it"
He leaves after paying the bill.
And I wander around until I hear a monotone voice.
"You escaped from your hospital room while being injured and not fully recovered. That's the height of irrationality."
I was like a kid caught red-handed.
"Hehe, Shino, you know, I just had to get out."
I turned around to see my first friend.
"Naruto, by getting out early, not only are you simply increasing the time that will be required for you to reco-"
He's gonna start again with the rationality stuff.
"OK, FINE, I got it, let's go back, I'll tell you what happened on the way", I had to say it to not get another lecture.
"Very well then," he said in his same monotone voice.
Man, I am glad to have him; if I hadn't asked that question that day, what would everything have been like?
"Hey, you can control bugs, cool. How do you do that"
"I can do it because…..
Thank you, Shino, Thank you, Haku, Thank you Hinata. I'll forever keep this love that you have given me alive and safe.
Satsuki, I'll save you somehow, you mean too much to us, to me.
I won't let you die. Until then, let's have fun and rest.
Now that was something, I'll see you in the next one.