Naruto stepped closer, the mist swirling around their feet like uncertain thoughts.
"Haku," he said softly, "let's go. Karin and the others… they were worried sick about you."
Haku looked away, a soft sadness in her eyes. "It's okay," she murmured. "I'll visit… this evening. I just… wanted to see you. Just once."
Just once.Those two words hit Naruto like a punch to the gut.
Because it didn't sound like someone planning to return.
It sounded like someone saying goodbye.
And Naruto Uzumaki—red-haired, stubborn to the bone, forged by loss and friendship—was not about to let this moment end like that.
He leaned down slightly, whispering to Inari with a barely-there grin on his face. "Hey. Inari. Run back. Bring the others here. Karin, Sensei, everyone."
Inari blinked. "Huh? But—"
"Don't ask," Naruto said, still keeping his eyes locked on Haku. "Just go. Fast."
Inari caught the tone. The seriousness beneath the usual cheer. He nodded once and took off, the fog swallowing his small frame as he ran.
Haku raised an eyebrow, confused. "What was that about?"
Naruto folded his arms, giving her his trademark smile—mischievous, warm, and just a bit defiant. "You said 'just once,' like it's some farewell. I'm not into tragic goodbyes, Haku. So, I thought... let's flip the script."
She blinked. "Flip… the script?"
"Yeah," he said. "Instead of a quiet farewell, how about a loud welcome back?"
There was a pause. The mist hung silently around them.
Then Haku chuckled. A real laugh—small, but honest.
"You're unbelievable," she said.
"I've been told that a lot," Naruto replied with a wink. "Usually by people who end up sticking around."
And though she didn't say it aloud, a part of Haku wanted to stick around too.
Even if it made everything more complicated.
Even if Zabuza would never approve.
"Then, how are you doing these days?" Naruto asked, trying to keep it light, but there was a softness in his tone. The kind that slipped out only when he truly cared.
Haku turned slightly, brushing her hair behind her ear, and then spun fully on her heel—arms raised slightly like she was showing off an invisible outfit. "As you can see," she said, with a small twirl. "Do you see any problems?"
Naruto eyed her carefully. Her smile looked real, but her eyes—he'd seen too much pain in them before not to notice the flicker that remained. Still, he shook his head. "No… You look fine."
"Exactly," Haku said with a smirk. "That's it. I've been doing well."
She paused, then tilted her head at him with a teasing glint. "And you? How've you been?"
Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "You know how it would be."
Haku's brow furrowed a little. "That's not an answer."
"I know," Naruto said, his voice quieter. "But it's the only one I can give."
They stood there for a moment in silence, mist curling around their feet like the uncertainty that always followed shinobi. The bridge, half-built behind them, was a symbol of progress—unfinished, yes, but sturdy. Just like them.
Haku looked away. "You didn't have to come looking for me, you know."
"I didn't," Naruto replied, stepping closer. "But I wanted to."
She glanced up at him, eyes shimmering with something between guilt and gratitude.
"Kakashi stopped us," Naruto said, his voice softer now. "Said no one vanishes without a reason. So I decided to wait. Or at least… until I finish this damn bridge. You said you wanted to see it when it was done, remember?"
Haku didn't answer right away. She just smiled slightly—calm, unreadable. The same way she always had when hiding something behind that graceful mask.
Tazuna stepped forward, his expression a mix of relief and worry. "You really scared us, girl. Vanishing like that. You're lucky this kid never gave up on you."
Haku dipped her head politely, that small smile never leaving her lips. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to worry anyone."
As they continued to talk—more smiles, more jokes—the mist began to thicken again. It wrapped around them like a curtain, the kind that falls before a tragedy. The kind that swallows the world whole.
And then…
In one fluid, practiced motion, Haku stepped forward.
A flash of silver.
Naruto gasped, a cold pain blooming in his gut. He looked down—
A blade.
Buried on his side.
Tazuna's eyes widened in shock, too stunned to move. "Haku?!"
Naruto staggered back, clutching the wound, disbelief painting his face as much as the blood that now stained his dress.
"Haku… why?" he choked out.
For a moment, there was nothing—just the sound of the waves crashing faintly in the distance.
Then Haku finally looked at him.
And her eyes—usually so serene—were filled with pain.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't want this."
Before anyone could speak again, a sudden boom of laughter echoed through the mist.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
The sound wasn't human. It was gravel and thunder, soaked in malice and satisfaction.
Naruto's blood ran cold.
"YOU DID GREAT, HAKU."
The voice came from nowhere and everywhere. It bounced off the fog, wrapping around them like a predator circling prey.
Then… click.
The soft, familiar snap of porcelain against skin.
Haku's fingers lifted the white hunter-nin mask and placed it gently back over her face.
Gone was the soft-spoken friend.
Gone was the girl who smiled at dinner and shyly took second helpings.
In her place stood a shinobi of Zabuza Momochi—expressionless, unshaken, and deadly.
Tazuna stepped back as if struck. His face contorted—not with fear, but heartbreak.
"You… You were one of them all along…" he whispered, voice trembling, finger pointing to Haku like the betrayal itself burned his hand.
Naruto didn't even flinch at the blood dripping from his side. He moved forward, shielding Tazuna with his body.
"Sensei, stand back," he said, gritting his teeth, his hand pressed to the wound.
He wasn't defending against Haku.
He was guarding against him—the voice in the mist.
The demon.
And from within that suffocating white fog, two glowing red eyes emerged. Slits like a serpent. Heavy footsteps echoed across the wooden planks of the unfinished bridge.
Zabuza had entered the field.
His massive blade rested across his shoulders like a guillotine waiting to fall.
"Let's finish what we started, boy."He grinned.
And the mist thickened.
Naruto's knees threatened to buckle under him. The pain from the wound pulsed with every heartbeat, but he stood tall—red hair matted to his forehead, breath ragged but steady. His eyes locked on Haku.
"Wait…" he muttered, his voice hoarse. "I need to speak to Haku. Just for a second."
Zabuza raised an eyebrow, amused by the boy's audacity. His blade rested lazily on his shoulder.
"Your last wish, brat?" he asked with a smirk, the fog curling like snakes around his feet.
Naruto didn't respond.
Didn't blink.
Didn't move.
He simply stood.
Unyielding.
Unshaken.
Zabuza let out a low chuckle and glanced at Haku.
"Give him his last wish."
Haku hesitated—not for long, but just enough for someone who knew her to catch it. Then, with slow hands, she lifted her mask and placed it to the side.
Her face was calm.
Impossibly calm.
But her eyes…
Those eyes screamed what her mouth could never say.
Guilt.
Sadness.
A pain that went deeper than the blade she'd buried in his side.
She stepped forward, slow and deliberate, the mist parting for her like it, too, felt the weight in the air. Each step sounded louder than the last, echoing across the unfinished bridge like funeral drums.
And Naruto… he didn't move an inch. His arms were limp. His eyes didn't narrow in anger. They didn't flinch in fear.
They softened.
As she came to a stop just in front of him, he looked at her—not the mask, not the blade, not the shinobi.
But her.
Naruto staggered forward—not to strike, not to escape—but to embrace.
His arms wrapped around Haku with what little strength he had left, and he whispered into her shoulder, voice barely audible through the pain.
"Don't worry… I'm not angry with you."
Haku froze, stunned. Her breath caught in her throat as her fingers trembled at her sides.
"…Why?" she asked, barely managing the word.
Naruto gave a weak, broken smile against her shoulder.
"Because you know me. I don't turn my back on friends."
His words struck deeper than any blade.
"And you're one of them, Haku. Always were."
Her eyes widened. Tears slipped free—silent, unstoppable, like the guilt she'd tried to bury beneath her duty.
He gently pulled back, enough to meet her gaze, his own eyes fogged with pain but full of clarity.
"You must really care about him," he said softly, a bitter smile playing on his lips. "So much… that you were willing to kill me for him."
He didn't say it with anger.
He said it with understanding.
And that—that—shattered her.
Her knees gave way. She clung to him, not as a weapon, not as an enemy, but as someone who had just been forgiven for something she hadn't even forgiven herself for.
Because at that moment, Naruto wasn't a shinobi.
He wasn't even a victim.
He was a friend.
One who loved so deeply, even betrayal couldn't poison his heart.