26 Chapter 26

With heavy steps from my golem, it made its way through the forest, creating a straight line clearing to mark these lands permanently. Within moments, I had reached the clearing: Haku and the other Kiri shinobi paused as they took in the golem's towering form.

My clones took that chance, rushing them and putting them on the defensive. Body flickering around, they managed to cut the masked shinobi who had been littered with wood spikes.

I looked over at Naruko who eyed me with fascination and a small bit of fear, then I looked over at Tazuna, my heart dropped instantly.

"...Satsuki."

"You damn ba-"

That's all he managed to say before the wood dragon wrapped around the wood golem's neck was launched down upon the Kiri nin, killing him instantly. The wood dragon chewed the man, before spitting out his crushed body and returning to its place as the golem's scarf.

My cold gaze looked onto Haku who had fallen onto her knees, looking up at me, her body visibly shaking.

I raised my hand, the wood dragon eyeing her hungrily.

"Wait!" Naruko shouted. I raised an eyebrow at her as she opened her mouth and closed it, her fists clenched. "She's not much older than us, and I don't think she was giving it her all!"

I already knew that much, but there was a chance she would be an issue later. I toyed with her and because of that Satsuki got hurt.

"...S-Seems like you've all finished up here then?"

I looked down at Kakashi who looked like shit. Dark bags under his eyes as he stumbled into the clearing.

Haku stood up at the sight of Kakashi, her shaking growing as she ran towards Kakashi. My clones quickly jumped in front of the man, but she just ran past them. Her concern was elsewhere.

A flex of my sensory chakra told me the tale of Kakashi's fight. Zabuza Momoichi had been slain by our jonin-sensei.

'Follow her.' I ordered one of my clones. I had the decency to feel bad, but I wouldn't let her out of my sight.

I dismounted the golem, both it and the wood dragon scanning the battlefield for enemies. I had my clones stop gathering natural energy, instead storing what they had. Without a battle occurring, there was no reason to draw any more energy into me.

I stepped over to Tazuna who was holding Satsuki. He slowly took his eyes off of my golem and looked at me. As I approached, he offered the girl to me. I didn't hesitate to take her, placing her to lay on the ground.

'Mystical Palm Technique.'

A green glow lit up around my hand. I wasn't proficient in this jutsu, Satsuki being much more skilled than I, and Hinata excelling further beyond her. I scanned her body for damage and winced as I scanned her left kidney. It had sustained a significant amount of trauma which had led to some internal bleeding. It was nothing life-threatening, at least not right now.

The green glow intensified as I tried to provide some relief to her. I definitely wouldn't be able to heal her completely, but perhaps our reinforcements could.

Wishful thinking.

"How is she?" Tazuna asked, concern all too apparent in his aged features.

"She'll live, it's nothing life-threatening."

Relief flooded his body as he dropped down to his knees, relief flooded him as he physically relaxed.

It was bittersweet seeing that he cared enough about her. I knew I shouldn't be mad at him, our mission was to protect him after all, but Satsuki and Naruko wouldn't even have had to fight if it wasn't for him.

What a hypocrite I'm being.

My face hardened as I looked over to Kakashi who was heading over to us, aided by my clone.

"You look like shit." My words earned a very tired chuckle from the Jonin man.

"I feel like shit."

"You'll be okay though, right Kakashi-sensei?" Naruko asked, clearly worried.

"Yeah, just a little rest, and I should be good as new." His lips twitched upwards through his mark.

A little rest he says. The man is gonna be knocked out for a few days at least. He's nearly exhausted his chakra completely, such strain on one's chakra coils will leave him bedridden for days.

"That's good." Naruko smiled, believing his words. I decided against telling her the truth, Kakashi, as much of an asshole as he is, didn't want her worrying about him and I agree with those sentiments.

"We need to get lost, Tazuna. Our battle was pretty noisy, and I'd rather not have to worry about that Sento guy you mentioned." I looked at the old man who had a flash of fear gleam in his eyes, his body instantly lurching forward.

"Follow me."

—

It didn't take us long to make our way out of the forest and into town. We were immediately noticed by the populace, who were looking us up and down. It was annoying to walk with a destroyed left sandal, and my clothes were torn in various places, some of them uncomfortable.

The civilians, although wary of us, didn't seem afraid. I chopped that up to Tazuna leading the way.

"Father!"

We stopped, turning towards the black-haired woman who dropped a basket of fruits and ran towards Tazuna. The older man scooped her up in a warm hug.

"Tsunami."

They held the embrace for half a minute before Tsunami broke away, getting a good look at her father's face.

"W-We thought…we thought you'd never come back." She started tearing up, Tazuna using his hands to wipe the tears away even as they continued to spill.

"I'm a lot tougher than that, my little wave. Not to mention I got some pretty kick-ass shinobi to escort me back." He grinned, gesturing towards us.

Her eyes scanned us, taking more time to look at the exhausted Kakashi and the unconscious form of Satsuki in my arms. Her eyes went back to her father in worry.

"Are you okay?"

The old man grimaced, regret flashing through his eyes. "You should be asking them. I'm unharmed, they were hired to protect me and did a damn good job. Let's head home before any of those bastards decide to head into town."

Tsunami nodded and Tazuna continued walking, us trailing a few feet behind them.

We arrived at a decently-sized house and stepped in. Tsunami turned around to address us.

"Thank you, kind shinobi, for escorting my father home, you're all welcome to rest and tend to your injured upstairs."

"We appreciate your kindness." Kakashi bowed. Taking off our sandals (or what was left of mine) we moved up the stairs.

She didn't tell us which room we could use, so I started opening doors until I found a room devoid of anything besides a few futons. Seems they planned to have Shinobi staying here.

We settled into the room, Kakashi and Satsuki taking the futons. The moment Kakashi's body hit the futon, he was out like a light. Naruko giggled about how easily he had fallen asleep, and I took that moment to wrap her in a hug. It very obviously surprised her, but she didn't shy away from my affections.

We sat down, just watching Kakashi and Satsuki rest and enjoying each other's warmth. It didn't take me long to learn that Naruko was my most clingy girlfriend, and I'd never reject her cuddles. The smoothness of her blonde hair was relaxing to play with, and I sent a silent thankful prayer to Kushina for giving her the same hair texture.

"Lei."

I looked down at the adorable blue-eyed girl who seemed like she had a lot on her mind.

"Yes, Naruko?"

"What happened to that Kiri girl?"

I sighed. I knew she was gonna ask that sooner or later.

"I'll tell you if you want to know."

Seeing Naruko nod against my chest, I began explaining what had happened from the information my clone had sent me.

—

Clone #2

I followed the girl through the forest at chunin speeds. It only took a minute and some change before we reached the Jonin battleground. Lying on the forest floor was Zabuza Momochi, completely lifeless.

Haku stepped forward with slow, shaky steps. She dropped to her knees, checking his pulse and immediately wrapping her arms around him, pulling him up to her chest. Loud sobs escaped her lips behind her mask.

I felt bad for her. Things could have gone differently. Had it just been her and Zabuza, perhaps they could have captured them and convinced them to abandon their mission.

More than likely, the result would have been the same, but that didn't mean I had to like it.

It had taken several minutes for her sobs to die down, and then eventually stop completely. The corpse of the Demon of the Mist was still firmly held in her arms.

Slowly, she put down the body and stood, turning towards me. Her small, delicate hands were raised to her mask, slowly pulling it off.

She looked very similar to what I remembered, only her beauty was multiplied. If she was a beautiful man, then now she was an absolutely stunning woman. Even with the dried tears and dead look in her eyes, it didn't subtract from her grace. Men have worshiped much uglier women.

"Kill me."

I drew a kunai from my pouch instantly. With slow steps, I approached her. Her dead expression remained unchanging as I stopped directly in front of her.

—

Haku

Her master, her savior was dead, and so was she. Her purpose for existing had been snuffed out and now she no longer had a use in this world.

Zabuza Momochi. To most who know that name, they think of a nasty man who took pleasure in killing, who thrived in it.

They didn't know him. Not like she did.

She had been an orphan, after watching her father murder her mother simply because of her kekkei genkai. She was forced to run away, out of fear that if she didn't she would be next.

Stuck in the cold streets, she had no reason to live, so she let herself waste away. Whether it be dying of hunger or cold, she didn't care anymore.

…Then he came along. A criminal, a wanted fugitive, a demon. That's not what he was to her. At that moment, he offered her a place beside him. To follow if she desired to live with purpose, or to stay and die without ever having a reason for existing.

She wanted a purpose. She wanted a reason for existing.

So she followed.

He trained her to be his tool, to slay his enemies, and to serve his every whim. As long as she had use he would never cast her aside. She was a fast learner, a good tool, a useful one, and she was happy with her existence.

Then they were approached by the Kiri Rebels.

It had been Zabuza who had attempted a coup against the Fourth Mizukage before he picked her up, he failed and was labeled a missing-nin, which were exactly the type of people the Rebels liked picking up.

They joined and managed to live better lives than they had been before. No more having to steal for their next meals and a place they could stay without being pursued. Though, it came with a cost. They needed to fight against the Kiri forces and serve the Rebels as they saw fit. Zabuza was happy with doing just that, and if he was happy, so was she.

All good things must end, the story of her life.

They were assigned a mission by Sento, one of the higher-ranking people within the Rebels. Most of the Rebel's income had come from him and his compatriots, so turning down the mission wasn't viable.

The mission? Assassinate the bridge builder.

A simple mission, all they needed to do was kill a single civilian, but it became much more complicated when they learned he had managed to escape waves undetected. The Demon Brothers who were trained under Zabuza along with her, Gozu, and Meizu, were sent after him. When they didn't return, everyone knew the bridge builder had made it to a hidden village. The closest one being the strongest of them all…Konoha.

Sento didn't back off, insisting they needed to take his head regardless of who took the mission. It was clear the bridge builder didn't have much in the way of funds to afford a powerful team of jonin, so it wasn't even a surprise when she and Zabuza spotted the Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake, and three kids younger than her escorting the bridge builder.

Their plan was simple: catch Kakashi off guard and take his head, then dispatch the unlucky kids who were in over their heads.

Yet here she was. Staring at one of the kids.

No, it was a clone.

She had been held up by a few of his clones. They completely underestimated their opponents and it led them to this situation. This kid was a monster. One who could have killed her master if they fought head-on against one another.

Their defeat was inevitable, and so was the loss of her purpose.

"Kill me."

Simple words that truly meant nothing. She was already dead. Just a bag of meat still breathing.

He drew a kunai and approached her. Stopping a few feet from her.

"You truly wish to die?" He asked, his eyes were cold, he didn't look like a kid, but a shinobi. Perhaps that's how she should have treated him, not that it would have changed anything.

"I'm already dead." She answered with finality.

His kunai came to her neck, the blade drawing a small amount of blood as his eyes softened and then hardened before softening again.

Perhaps he was just a kid after all. A monster of a child, but a child nonetheless.

Then he withdrew the kunai and placed it back into his pouch.

"I can see it."

Her dead face didn't change as she processed her words. What exactly did he see?

"I don't understand it. I've never gone through a serious loss in my life. I was born an orphan, and from there I lived a good life, never understanding true suffering…but I can see your pain and I feel for you."

"If you're not gonna kill me, please hand me your kunai."

She would see herself out of this world if she had to. It wouldn't be ideal, but she couldn't find it in herself to care anymore.

"You truly did care about him, didn't you?" He asked, and that did give her pause.

Of course she did, he saved her, trained her, and fed her. He gave her use, how could she not care for him?

"Now you want death because he's gone. The only person in the world you cared about is dead, right?"

Again she didn't answer, yet the tears budding at the corner of her eyes spilled her thoughts to him.

"Let me ask you this, do you think he would want you to do this?"

"I am a tool who has lost its purpose, a broken tool he wouldn't want me by his side as I am now!" She shouted at him, anger and deep sadness burning in her brown eyes.

He didn't speak as her tears returned. She dropped down to her knees, her hands coming to cover her eyes.

She flinched as she felt his hand on her shoulder. She slapped it away, anger consuming her sadness and bubbling at alarming rates.

"Who the hell do you think you are!? You, you're why he's dead! If you hadn't kept me fighting those troublesome clones of yours, I could have…I could have saved him." She slammed her forehead on the forest floor, loud sobs escaping her lips once more. "He's all I had."

Again silence descended on the forest, her sobs being the only noise heard.

"Hypocrisy."

She forced herself to wipe away the tears and look back at him, stilling at the cold anger in his eyes.

"Had I let you go, my sensei would have died." He growled. "If my sensei died, you both would have made your way to Naruko, Satsuki, and Tazuna, killed them all, and then came to gang up on me."

She paused at his words, she wanted him to be wrong, but she knew he wasn't. That's exactly what they would have done. Prioritizing the mission over Ao and heading to the bridge builder to deal a killing blow. Either way, someone would lose their loved ones.

"So stop your fucking crying and get up. We won and you lost. Live to fight another day, find another purpose in your life, but to give up when you're still alive is the height of cowardice."

His words mixed with the coldness in his jade-green orbs left her in a haze.

"Live…find another purpose?" She asked, the boy gave a curt nod, crossing his arms. She could hear heavy stomps, but such noise was distant in her mind as she pondered his words.

"The choice is yours. I won't hold your hand, and I won't baby you." He frowned as he began to walk away. He stopped five meters away and turned around to look at her. Killing intent leaked off him as the massive wood golem wearing a wood dragon as a scarf glared at her. "If you decide to finish your mission, I'll snuff out the memory of Zabuza Momochi along with your life."

Then he dashed off towards the town. The massive wood golem followed after him.

She sat there for hours after he had left. So long that it had grown dark. She looked over to the body of her master, seeing bugs of all sorts taking bites out of his corpse. She grimaced, releasing a burst of ice chakra and freezing his entire body in a block of ice. With some earth, jutsu Zabuza had taught her, she dug a shallow grave before letting the block of ice fall into it. Then she covered it with dirt, placing his sword down as the headstone.

A sad smile graced her lips as she took off into the trees.

Find another purpose? She didn't think it was possible.

But for the sake of her continued existence, and the memory of her savior, she vowed to try.