Chapter 22: Redemption's Edge
"You… why didn't you let me die?"
Naruto stood, brushing himself off, his expression tight with a frustration he didn't fully understand. "You held back against me," he accused, his voice low but sharp. "You threw the fight. And now you try to die by my hand? Do you have so little regard for your own life?"
Haku, still on the ground, looked up at him, their beautiful face a mask of weary sorrow. "I have never enjoyed battle. I never wished to stain my hands… and we have no true enmity. You won by your own strength. But I cannot… I will not be the reason Zabuza-sama fails." Their voice broke on the last word.
SMACK!
The sound was shockingly loud in the sudden quiet. Naruto's hand had moved on its own, a stinging slap that left a red mark on Haku's pale cheek. He stared at his own hand, then back at Haku, his own anger surprising him.
"You disappoint me!" he shouted, the words torn from a place of furious empathy. "A person's worth isn't defined by someone else! You have to live for yourself!"
Haku flinched, not from the pain, but from the raw intensity in Naruto's blue eyes. Those eyes, so clear and burning with a conviction they themselves had lost, seemed to see straight through their mask of duty. Why? Why save me? Why care about the meaning of my existence?
"Live… for myself?" Haku repeated, the concept foreign, almost terrifying.
"Worthless weakling!" Zabuza's roar cut through the moment, full of scorn for Haku's hesitation. He was on his knees, his massive sword out of reach, his body a tapestry of wounds. "Useless trash!"
"Well done, Naruto!" Kakashi called, his tone one of approval as he kept a wary eye on the subdued Zabuza.
Their moment was shattered by harsh, gloating laughter.
"Hahaha! Well done, indeed! Look at the great Demon of the Mist now!"
Gato swaggered onto the bridge, flanked by a small army of thugs and two new, sleekly-dressed shinobi—his hired reinforcements. He pointed a stubby finger at Zabuza. "Failed contractors don't get paid! In fact…" He nodded to one of the new ninja, a man with a cruel smirk. "Yoshino Masamori. Clean up this garbage. Consider his fee yours."
The ninja, Masamori, vanished in a Body Flicker, appearing before Zabuza. Before the wounded man could react, a brutal fist slammed into his face, lifting him off the ground and sending him skidding across the concrete.
"Zabuza-sama!" Haku cried out, surging to their feet, only to be immediately surrounded by Gato's other men.
"Get out of my way!" Haku's cry was fierce, their movements a blur as they dispatched two thugs with precise strikes. But Masamori was already before them, a wickedly curved scimitar in hand.
"The Ice Release of the Yuki clan," Masamori mused, his voice a lazy drawl. "A rare sight. Let's see if it's as pretty as they say."
Haku's focus was split, their eyes darting to where Gato was now personally kicking Zabuza's prone form. "Pathetic! Who's the dog now?!"
Zabuza, fueled by nothing but sheer, hateful pride, roared and lunged with his last strength, headbutting Gato square in the face. The mob boss shrieked, blood pouring from his nose.
"KILL HIM! STAB HIM! NOW!" Gato screeched, clutching his face.
The surrounding thugs obeyed, blades plunging down again and again into Zabuza's back and sides.
"Zabuza-sama…!" Haku's world narrowed to that sight. Their body went rigid, a wounded sound escaping their lips. Their defense faltered.
Masamori saw the opening. His scimitar flashed in a horizontal arc aimed to decapitate the distracted Haku.
Naruto was already moving. He shoved Haku hard to the side, the blade slicing through empty air where their neck had been. He grabbed their arm, pulling them back as he faced Masamori.
"Deal with the others," he hissed to Haku. "I've got this one."
Haku stared at him, gratitude and fear warring in their eyes. "He's strong… a jonin. Be careful."
Naruto just tightened his grip on his kunai. "I know."
Masamori sneered. "Sentimental fools. Trying to protect each other?" His hands flew through seals. "Water Release: Water Dragon Whip!"
A torrent of water erupted from the sea below, coalescing into a whipping, multi-tailed monstrosity that lashed down at them. Naruto and Haku dove apart, the water tails cracking the bridge surface like gunshots. They were fast, but pinned down, unable to counterattack.
Seeing an opportunity, Masamori dismissed the jutsu and charged, his scimitar a silver blur. Naruto met him, kunai against blade.
CLANG!
The impact was monstrous. Naruto's arm went numb; he was thrown back, skidding on his heels. Jonin-level strength. No head-on clashes.
Haku, seeing Naruto repelled, reacted. A one-handed seal, a puff of frigid breath. "Ice Release: Thousand Flying Water Needles!" A spray of icy needles shot toward Masamori.
The jonin merely flicked his wrist, his chakra flaring to deflect most of the needles, the rest shattering against his blade. "Annoying."
Haku's attention, however, was fracturing. Across the bridge, Gato's men were still stabbing at Zabuza's motionless form. A low, animalistic keen of pure grief began to build in Haku's throat. Their attacks became wilder, less precise.
Masamori capitalized, pressing a fierce assault that drove Haku back, step by step, their defense crumbling under the weight of their despair.
Naruto lunged back into the fray, kunai stabbing to draw Masamori's attention. The three became a tangled whirl of steel, ice, and taijutsu. But Haku was breaking. Every glance toward Zabuza was a knife in their own heart.
Then, Zabuza, in a final, defiant act, roared and slammed his head into Gato one last time before a dozen blades found his heart. His body went still, his eyes staring sightlessly at the grey sky.
The world stopped for Haku.
"ZABUZA-SAMA!" The cry was a raw, soul-deep wound.
In that instant of shattered focus, Masamori was upon them. His scimitar swept for Haku's neck in a killing stroke.
Naruto threw himself between them, shoving Haku out of the way and parrying the blow at the last second, the force driving him to one knee. "Haku! Snap out of it!" he yelled, but their eyes were glazed, lost in an ocean of loss.
Seeing them catatonic, Naruto knew he was on his own. He created a single Shadow Clone, which moved to stand guard over the unresponsive Haku. The real Naruto rose, facing Masamori alone, his mind clicking into a cold, analytical space. The jonin smiled, a predator toying with its meal.
"So the pup wants to play alone? How quaint."
Naruto didn't answer. He assessed. Head-on is suicide. Speed? His is greater. Ninjutsu? His is stronger, more varied. Options… there's only one. Misdirection. Exploit overconfidence.
He settled into a defensive stance, kunai held low. He would make the jonin come to him. He would make him believe the fight was already won. And in that belief, Naruto would plant the single seed of a mistake that could, against all odds, grow into victory. The bridge, slick with water, ice, and blood, became his arena. The life of the person behind him—a person who had just learned they had no reason to live—depended on a gamble only a fool, or a dreamer, would take.