Chapter - 20 Haku (Rewritten)

Feeling frustrated with the constant nagging, Rath abruptly stopped the car, turning around with a growl.

"Listen here, you mother of Karin," he snapped, "Rath is the best driver. He doesn't need to go slow. Slow is for pussies, and Rath is no pussy. Rath is Rath, and he is the greatest."

As his transformation faded, Ben realized his mistake and quickly apologized to the mother. She couldn't understand the abrupt change in behavior since she'd met this boy.

With the car stopped, Karin, finally breaking free from her dazed state, turned a shade of green.

she pleaded, feeling nauseous. "Don't you dare sully this car with vomit." But it was too late as Karin emptied her breakfast, causing her mother to react in distress.

Ben stepped out, realizing they were on the path to the old Uzishogakure but still a considerable distance away. Transforming into Wildmutt, he sensed a village nearby, not willing to deal with the soiled car or someone else's vomit.

"Alright, both of you out of the car. We're heading to the village ahead. We'll find something soothing for your stomachs," Ben declared as they moved towards the village, Marin being supported by her daughter.

Roaming through the village, they tasted various foods from stalls—dumplings, ramen, and beef. Both Ben and Karin enjoyed the food eagerly. Seeing Karen eat so enthusiastically, her mother felt a pang of guilt for not providing enough for her daughter.

Grateful for Ben's help and kindness, she was filled with a newfound appreciation for the boy who had liberated and cared for them.

As she looked around, her eyes landed on a bony figure near a dustbin, scavenging for scraps. The child appeared dirty, thin, with haunting, empty eyes that no child should bear.

Feeling a pang of sympathy, she approached the child with some dumplings in hand, hoping to offer a small act of kindness without scaring him away.

---

In the desolate Land of Water, Haku's life was bleak, written in the darkest of tones. His days were spent wandering aimlessly, consumed by the cold night that mirrored the frost within him.

The burden of his abilities, a curse, weighed heavily on him. The memory of his mother's death haunted every step he took.

As he traversed the worn paths, villagers' scornful glances pierced his soul. They whispered accusations, branding him a monster—a constant reminder of the tragedy he unintentionally caused.

Haku's once-bright eyes now held a haunting emptiness, reflecting the desolation of his existence.

With slumped shoulders and eyes fixed on the ground, he trudged through biting winds, scantily covered by thin layers of cloth against the cold.

His solitary figure bore the witness of his daily torment. Weariness etched on his face, unkempt hair framing his visage in a veil of sorrow.

Each encounter with villagers only exacerbated his loneliness. Their fearful gazes and hasty retreats were a constant stab to his fragile heart.

In moments of hunger, he scrounged for scraps in garbage bins, enduring the pangs of hunger as a companion to his profound loneliness.

His hands, once embraced by his mother's, now trembled with fatigue and pain as he clutched a piece of bread, a rare find in the trash.

Haku longed for guidance, someone to illuminate the path of his life and reveal his purpose after causing his mother's death inadvertently. He was desperate for acceptance, even as someone's servant.

Amidst his thoughts, he heard a voice directed at him—an uncommon occurrence. He focused his blurry eyes on the figure of a frail red-haired woman, pointing at himself as if seeking confirmation.

---

"Yes, can you not hear me?" the woman said warmly, offering a dumpling. "Eat this; it's delicious. You'll surely like it."

Taken aback by her kindness, Haku's eyes welled up, reminded of his mother. Despite the emotions, he managed a reply, "Thank you, ma'am. But are you sure you want to give this to me? Don't you consider me a monster?"

With trembling hands, he gestured towards himself.

Amidst their conversation, Ben noticed Karen missing and found her conversing with an orphaned beggar. Empathetic and moved, he walked over with Karen by his side.

Hearing the boy call himself a monster, before the woman could respond, Ben intervened firmly, "Who says you're a monster? Just because you look rough and poor, does it really matter what others say about you? It's how you see yourself and what you do that truly counts."

Hearing Ben, Haku's hope waned. "Then I truly am a monster; I killed my mother."

The confession shocked them all. "Explain yourself; how could someone so young harm their own mother?" Ben inquired.

Haku conjured an ice spike with his ice release. "With this power, while she was serving dinner, my body shined white and coldness encompassed the room. She was pierced with ice, on seeing that sight my father accused me of her death, beat me, and cast me out, branding me a monster and forbidding me from showing my face to him again."

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