Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Mirror ❯ Mirror ( Chapter 1 )

Zabuza twisted to avoid the hit of Kakashi, his mind frantic with a sense of foreboding as he fought the copy cat. He had a brief worry for Haku as the interruption of the loud blonde distracted him, but his charge quickly recovered and the fighting continued. Haku was reliable like that.

He growled as he refocused on his fight with the jounin and ignored the clenching of his heart and the trembling of his hand.

Their deaths were not here.

He was sure of that.

So why was this ache in his bloodstained hands?

…

Haku worried over killing the blonde, someone entirely driven and so sunny wouldn't have ever been his enemy if he had any say in the fates' plans. He swallowed this emotion, this regret and frustration, and coldly incapacitated the brunette developing his sharingan- he was a liability.

When only he and Naruto were left the blonde gave him those driven eyes and prepared to defend everything he stood for- every friend he worked so hard for and protected at his best and adored. Haku gasped quietly as he finally recognized those eyes.

No!

Suddenly Naruto was almost at him before the blonde choked, the mirrors failing at their original duty because of the chakra intent and the reality that they were, in fact, mirrors.

Mirrors were meant to reflect the truth.

Mirrors never lied.

Mirrors weren't gentle or forgiving- they were harsh and cold masters that admitted all if one cared to look.

Haku screamed as the blonde choked up and then spit out blood, his eyes tearing even as he stubbornly never let the tears fall, his form collapsing as he grabbed at his heart and Haku fell out of his hiding place- his knees scraping on the ground and his mask being ripped off as he tried to breathe and tried to scream and tried to cry.

…

Zabuza abruptly stopped his head long charge, his eyes widening as he cursed and was suddenly frantically looking amongst the mirrors, Kakashi sliding to a halt as the piercing scream broke through the fog and their narrowed focus on each other.

The fight didn't matter anymore- that scream did.

Zabuza cursed as he quickly made his way over, listening to that scream and cursing and yelling and regretting.

The mist needed a new graduation process, the mizukage needed to be thrown out of office, the corruption amongst the kirigakure veterans needed to be contained…orphans needed to be taken care of.

The children should never have to scream like that.

Zabuza was suddenly there, amongst the melting mirrors and his sobbing charge as the blonde genin moaned in despair and fisted his hand in his hair while lightly banging his head against the concrete of the bridge- the choking gasps of held in tears shook his small body, and Zabuza protectively kneeled over his charge as he snarled at Kakashi as he checked on the Raven brat's pulse, and then the mist faded for the new threat.

Zabuza moved to stand guarding Haku as Kakashi moved to do the same to his student, the shrill female firming her stance in front of what was once his target.

Zabuza watched the blonde child struggle to stand, stumbling and shaking his head as his arms flopped uselessly and he tried to glare at the new band of thugs. Zabuza didn't like his eyes- dead but driven and hurting.

He snarled at the petty Gatou, felt Kakashi tense beside him, before they were amongst the thugs and wrecking havoc to reach the cause of all this stupidity.

Gatou lay dead, his head feet away from his body and his men scattered by a new show of force as villagers showed up to back the two jounin and defend their future.

…

Haku woke up sobbing, his eyes unfocused as he reached out to meet nothing. He sobbed harder and then made move to curl into a ball, his hands coming up to cover his mouth before they were caught in large calloused hands and he was pulled into the warm side of his mentor. Zabuza shushed him before speaking.

“We are safe, nothing is wrong. The deal was cut short and I have no wounds.”

Haku sniffled and shook his head. “The mirrors”- he gasped out as he struggled for words and breath- “something went wrong- the boy Zabuza-san.” He cried slightly and shifted to look up into the swordsman's face, his eyes pleading. “The boy is still where we were.”

Zabuza gave him a strong look, his dark narrow eyes becoming storms before he consciously settled his muscles and regarded him with the air of expectation. “He lives in Konoha, it is almost perfect there, even for orphans.”

Haku shook his head, his loose hair slapping his cheeks and sticking to tear trails as he sobbed and clenched his eyes shut. “The mirrors were all wrong Zabuza-san. They reflected and it….he's so alone.” He looked up pleadingly to his mentor, trying to convey his urgency.

Zabuza sighed before pulling him back to him, his large hand holding his head to his neck as he murmured and allowed him to listen to his heartbeat. “The boy is not one of us Haku, even if he was there is nothing we can do about it.”

Haku tensed and tried not to cry again, “But Zabuza-san, he'll have it worse. I don't know why…but the villagers are so mean, he has trouble simply taking care of himself because they won't allow him to buy things from the stores and they chase him and…” he broke off to bury his head further into that heart beat, wishing that there was no such thing as orphans and wars.

…

Zabuza sighed as he regarded the recovering genin, his Raven hair soft on the pillow as the pink haired shinobi wiped at his brow tenderly with a soft wet cloth. He growled as he saw the blonde shift uneasily in his rest several feet away, his movement ignored by his team mate as he suffered.

He scowled and slowly left the room.

She hadn't noticed his presence anyway.

He walked down the hall to find a quiet room; instead running into that little Inari kid as the boy worriedly looked about instead of looking where he was going. The child looked up at him in confusion before his eyes smoldered. “What's wrong with Naruto-nii-san!?”

Zabuza felt his forehead furrow as he regarded the slight child, wondering before he spoke. “He rests and shifts, no one is bothering him.”

The boy scowled, “You mean no one is bothering with him,” before he scuffed his toe in the floor and stared at it as if it were the source of this monumental problem.

Zabuza sighed and then crouched to regard him face to face, the little boy staring straight into his eyes and frowning before he tilted his chin up with stubborn will. “What makes you say that?”

The boy deflated, his eyes tearing as he tried to smile. “He yelled at me and he was right, but the others didn't know he was. They don't know him, I don't know him! But he's great; he knows to cry when it's happy! He's so cool but they're mean to him!” he settled and then scuffed his toe, his eyes drifting got look out the window. “I heard he had it hard, and I don't want him sad here.”

Zabuza would have smiled if he wasn't so shocked, instead he ruffled the child's hair, knocking his hat to one side as the boy finally grinned and then dashed off down the stairs.

Zabuza went to go find that copy cat.

He found the pervert giggling over some trashy fiction, Zabuza felt his lips snarling before he calmed himself and spoke. “How long have you been staying at the builder's house?”

The man gave him an easy `hmmm?' before bothering to reply. “Mah, over a week, they've been training out in the forest almost all day.”

Zabuza nodded his head and cursed. “He is recovering nicely?”

Kakashi waved his hand dismissively, “Sasuke is all taken care of.”

Zabuza bristled. “I was speaking of the blonde brat.”

The head finally moved from the book to regard him with ill hidden surprise, and Zabuza held in his snarl as the man recovered and gifted him with a solid look. “Naruto has excellent healing abilities; he'll be fine in a few days.”

Zabuza didn't bother looking back to meet the curious gaze of the konoha jounin as he stormed into the house and to Haku.

…

Haku smiled softly and helped Naruto sit up, his hands gentle on bruised ribs- injuries almost completely healed though on anyone else they'd be black and purple. He wondered if the silence of the blonde was with anxiety over Haku's close presence (they had been enemies after all) but he looked up to see the blue eyes watching his hands with the avid interest most children had when looking upon something new.

Haku choked.

He held in a sniffle as he slowed down his hands, making sure that every touch was gentle as Naruto held still and avidly watched this strange occurrence. Then Haku's face firmed- “I don't know where I'd be without Zabuza.”

Naruto smiled oddly, his attention not fully on what he was saying as he watched fingers prod even more bruises and carefully avoid white gauze. “You're lucky; my precious people are busy right now. Zabuza worries over you.” His eyes glazed over, Haku recalling how Sakura had approached to explain the happenings after the fog had cleared, how Zabuza had cried…

Haku didn't like the pink aired girl; she only approached on the basis of finding out more information, if he was a threat to her and Sasuke's `relationship' (under the misguided notion that he was a girl), and then she never bothered to inquire if his medicines were working on the blonde. He sighed and quickly finished patting an ointment upon the last bruise; sitting back on his heels to look at Naruto as the blonde tentatively touched the bandages with a curiosity he shouldn't have- especially if anyone else had ever wrapped his wounds.

He turned slightly at the sound near the door, watching as Zabuza moved from his leaning position. The bulk of his form moved though the shadows of the quiet room, approaching the suddenly defensive Naruto- his blue eyes squinted to hide that dead light and his form hunched to protect himself from blows.

Zabuza rolled his eyes to the heavens, Haku smiling a he noticed the look- the one where Zabuza cursed the ignorant masses and then asked the gods for a reason he had to deal with all the consequences…the little children that were lost and dead but going on and on and on…

He kneeled in front of the blonde- blue eyes opening with surprise to stare at the large form bewilderingly close.

Zabuza sighed and then plopped into a more comfortable position. “So kid, what do you dream of?”

…

Haku giggled behind his hand as he walked beside Zabuza, the blonde they were now well acquainted with bouncing about as he talked and asked questions and only paused, when his eyes caught something in nature, to tilt his head with his wide inquisitive eyes before he was off asking questions again. Haku thought he was like a little puppy, all big eyes and attention seeking antics.

Zabuza sighed and caught the boy by the scruff of his shirt when he attempted to dart past again, his bright blue eyes looking at them with a glaring pout as he crossed his arms over his bright jacket and huffed. Haku covered his giggle- though Zabuza still gave him a dry look. “Calm down brat, tell us about Konoha.” He grimaced as Haku watched the boy light up even more, his eyes impossibly bright before he was suddenly out of the grip Zabuza had on him and jumping about excitedly as if he'd never been interrupted.

“It's great! We have these great big trees and an awesome hot spring, but the better one is behind the mountain off a trail! And there is this Old man Ramen- he makes the best and always gives me extra naruto!” He grinned cheekily, his eyes crinkling with his whisker marks.

Haku laughed and paced himself closer to the comforting form of Zabuza, watching the boy excitedly yell out all the virtues of his little shinobi town- Haku fell in love with the Konoha Naruto talked about.

…

Zabuza narrowed his eyes as he watched Hatake send the blonde boy a judging glance, as if wondering how the things he said could be true. But they were true- at least to the boy. But for the man to doubt the truth behind the boys yammering invited an entirely different set of circumstances for Zabuza to contemplate. He snarled and returned his attention to the sunshine currently bouncing at his elbow, talking about the little girl who worked with her mom in the bakery and always ended up covered in flour and giggling. Haku laughed along easily, and Naruto lit up even more as they paid attention to him.

Zabuza sighed as they continued walking, looking ahead to see the pink haired girl give them odd looks while fawning over the Uchiha, the jounin seemingly engrossed in his hentai book as the gates suddenly loomed from the forest trees, hidden until they were closer then 500 yards. He felt brief respect for the creator of such powerful looking landmarks, the security tight as they were checked in with the standing guard before the streets were suddenly theirs to walk in all the bustling, living, chaos that healthy towns were.

If only kiri could have been like this.

But instead he had been born into a town with a corrupt government, kiriigakure harsh on their shinobi even as they sent them to suicide missions- failure meant you would lose your life. For the mist and the water, lands closely related due to their trade relations and their necessary alliance against the power nations, the corruption was two fold.

Konohagakure seemed to have none of that- no corruption with governments allied against soldiers or secretly plotting each other's demise, no street scum hiding around the corner ready to kidnap your children or steal whatever you held precious, no dilapidated buildings ready to collapse on the street rats using them for refuge, and no shinobi looking at each other with the predatory patience of one who knew they were to kill the other.

But then, as he walked in the curious but not hostile gazes of the villagers and off duty ninjas…he got to see their eyes as they landed on the blonde bouncing along beside them, his eyes squeezed shut even as his smile showcased all his front teeth in a blinding display.

Cold disdain curled into civilian eyes, hands clenching before eyes were forced away with the disgust they couldn't deal with while looking at the child. Shinobi looked at him blankly, smiles at the corner of their lips as if asking themselves whether to snicker at the dunce or sneer at the pathetic waste of life presented in orange.

Zabuza growled and stalked forward, glad that Haku was at his side and protected from the actions of the village should they attempt to try anything. The blonde was roughly pulled to him by the scruff of his jacket, his eyes blinking open - bright and burning with the need to prove to these people who doubted his existence that he was human and special - to stare at him in confusion before Zabuza sighed and placed him firmly at his side. “Walk with us.”

And he did.

Zabuza once again praised his insight for insisting on the covering of his face, it hid his glowering smirk from the confused populace and the curious jounin.

Fine- if they were going to be demons, they'd be demons.

But to each other- they'd be human.