WARNING: There will be character death in this story. :'( tears.

A/N: Hey guys… some of you might hate me for this (another story), but honestly this one has been bouncing in my head for ages and I've been a little stressed with characterization for my other story, Contracted, as well as the next step for TwentyTwenty, my OC story. So, to take a break from those two, here's another little side project that I'll be taking part in.

This IS a fem!naru story, and it will be treated like that's the most normal thing (because Naruto has been girl since birth, in this world). Pairings are currently undecided, though no Sasuke or Haku, so don't get your hopes up during this chapter no matter what.

Also, for this fic… I really want to take it to places that haven't been seen before and change the story into something completely new; a massive AU Because of that, in reviews or PMs, I encourage posting things you wish Kishimoto expanded upon in the manga or ideas you kind of wish you saw more. Or even better, if you wanna PM me and bounce ideas back and forth, it would be lovely! I don't have much of a plan yet for this story except I want it to be different :) Please feel no offense if I don't use your ideas, as I will most likely try to bounce off them instead of using them straight.

Unfortunately, as many reviewers pointed out... this chapter is slow because it's mainly canon (completely canon, almost) and I apologize for that but bear with me on this first one and give it a chance!

So, outside of that little rant, I'm proud to announce my new story: Current.

Please enjoy

*Don't Own Naruto*

Current: defined as belonging to a present time, being in progress now or being prevalent during a distinctive time. Also can be synonymous with circulating, running or flowing, passing from one to another. A general tendency; a steady onward movement.

Naruto would admit to herself honestly that she wasn't the sharpest kunai in the pouch, especially when compared to her teammate Sakura. That's probably why she hadn't thought about attacking from the outside in tandem with her other teammate, Sasuke. Neither was she the strongest or the most skilled, as Sasuke had proved himself to be, which is probably why they hadn't found a way out of their predicament yet. But, at the very least, she was hardy and determined and definitely stubborn, which was definitely why the girl was still standing, tired and beaten and impaled with dozens of senbon, sending clone after clone after clone at the damned enemy, even as they continuously died with increasing speed.

After all, she was Uzumaki Naruto, and she never backed down.

With a pop, the last of her clone minions poofed out of the realm of existence, leaving her and Sasuke still trapped within the enemy's jutsu of ice mirrors.

Panting, Naruto let a growl tear through her throat. Brushing back her red hair from her eyes, her gaze darted between the mirrors, fully intent of finding some kind of clue that would tell her which one the enemy was in. But none of the mirrors gave any hint, and the white porcelain mask worn by the enemy shinobi effectively blocked out any emotion or tell Naruto could observe.

Sakura and Kakashi-sensei were outside of the construct, protecting the bridge builder and fighting Zabuza, who should have been dead, and the mist from the battle blanketed the ground of their fighting space as well. At least if the mist was still there, it meant Zabuza hadn't completed his mission.

A light tapping noise came from all around Naruto in an echo, her ears perking at the sound. Turning with a stumble as her body protested the movements, she could see the ninja somehow retrieve more senbon—Naruto still wondered where the shinobi got all the weapons, even now—and slide them in between his fingers in an ominous sign that the next volley would soon begin.

What could she do to break free? Naruto was certain that, given the chance, she could slip a clone out of the dome to attack from the outside and break the dome or at least use the clones as a distraction, but it wasn't working out too well.

After all, the enemy ninja had just taken down her seventh barrage of clones.

"Dobe, try it once more, I think I have him this time!" Sasuke panted without looking Naruto's way. Instead, his intense, obsidian gaze was focused ahead of him, towards one of numerous reflections in a mirror. For him, also, a blank mask stared right back, threateningly fingering several senbon between fingers with ease and without tiredness. Sasuke and Naruto, who idiotically came charging in "to the rescue," had been trapped in the enemy nin's mirror dome for over fifteen minutes already, and Sasuke had felt the wear and tear of battle almost seven minutes ago. Now, his chakra was proving to be a very limited resource, something that didn't bode well.

The Uchiha knew this fight had to end soon, and he needed Naruto's help to achieve that.

Sasuke had no need to glance towards his teammate to know that the Uzumaki's pointer and middle fingers were held resolutely in a cross, despite the small rivulets of blood prickling from where needles penetrated her form. Sasuke had no need to glance sideways to see the sweat smeared across the unusually solemn face of the Uzumaki, her short and perpetually unruly red hair now matted down tight to her head. She, too, was out of breath, which was saying something.

Naruto slid her eyes over to her self-declared rival, eyes shining with determination, as she hollered with a ruffled annoyance, "Don't tell me what to do, teme!" Despite her words, however, the chakra was already flowing through her coils, surging upwards and towards her hands before collecting in her fingers. The redhead rolled her sore shoulders back, heaving a light sigh when she heard a sharp crack echo across the bridge's expanse.

She shuffled her feet.

"Please, just surrender," the monotonous voice echoed from around the two, "I do not wish to harm you any further." Neither genin answered the enemy, but a growl from Naruto's direction said it all.

Fuck that.

Simultaneously, Naruto expelled the built up energy from her chakra nodes with a blush of smoke and Sasuke began to move his fingers through hand signs he had known since he was seven. Twenty clones pulled into the realm of existence, and without wasting any time, they leapt in all directions. Like a synchronized dance, each redheaded copy cocked her fist back with a roar.

Sasuke's fingers ended in a tiger seal, his heated chakra licking his at his throat as he continuously stoked it, waiting. Naruto flashed a glance at Sasuke, confusion flitting across her face when she realized he hadn't let the fire loose yet. But then she felt it, the first death of her clone mob followed by a soft poof, and was distracted from her mental questioning.

Naruto grit her teeth, barely dodging a senbon needle aimed at her shoulder in time and skidding across the ground painfully; scrapes were better than a senbon after all. She rolled away, dodging more and more projectiles as her muscles cried for reprieve.

Another clone down, and another. What was that teme doing, ogling the damn nin's skills or something? Another dive to the side, sharp projectile grazing her cheek, adding a fourth whisker mark to her usual three and drawing even more blood than what had already soaked her clothes. Naru sneered.

That masked bastard was just lucky she didn't scar, otherwise he would have been long dead by now for ruining a girl's face, believe it!

Throwing a kunai in a random direction with the hope of getting lucky and stabbing the enemy in the leg, Naruto was instead treated to another volley of senbon in her direction, a volley that she couldn't completely dodge. Several ice needles stuck out from her left thigh, one hitting higher up at her hip. The Uzumaki girl didn't take the time to pull them from her body, instead mentally cursing as she collapsed to the ground.

If the teme was going to do something, he better do it already. She only cared for being a pincushion for so long.

And then, she heard the shout: "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" The heat seared past her, just a foot away, and for a quick second the shinobi's reflection appeared almost startled before the senbon stopped and they retreated back to the ice mirrors. None of the clones remained, and Naruto had several more needles sticking into her, but none of that mattered.

A ferocious grin split Naruto's face when not even the resulting steam from the jutsu nor the ever present chakra-saturated mist could stop her from noticing that the enemy's blue robes were singed.

Guffawing, Naruto taunted from the ground, "How do you like that, you dumb masked person? I call it the Uzumaki Special!" She swiped at the blood trickling down her face and rubbed her nose with a wide grin.

"It wasn't even your plan, dobe," Sasuke grunted, flicking his eyes from mirror to mirror in an attempt to locate the real body. Not that it was any use: if he could have done that in the first place, they wouldn't be in this mess.

Naruto scrunched up her face in her version of a pout, which honestly looked more like a grimace than anything, but the two Konoha genin didn't offer any more repartee when the masked shinobi began to speak again. "You are… getting better, but you don't have a chance of escaping," the voice whispered, achingly close, "If possible, I don't want to have to kill you, nor do I want you to have to kill me. However, if you come at me…" The voice trailed off, simmering in the resounding silence.

Naruto whipped her head around, eyes wide. She could have sworn that was said next to her ear that time.

However, at the reminder that their sensei was not only fighting right then, but also fighting someone of Zabuza's caliber Sasuke's pride in his hit dwindled and Naruto's face grew darker. Kakashi-sensei could hold his own, she was sure, but what if Zabuza decided to go straight for Tazuna and Sakura instead? They had stooped to kidnapping Tsunami, sending bullish and disgusting men who were thinking of-

Naruto felt the anger simmer in her stomach.

"Naruto," Sasuke spoke up again, "can you do it again?" His eyes were still fixed upon one of the mirrors, narrowing minutely. The Uchiha's voice was calm and steady, though Naruto could see his erratic breathing in the way his chest pumped up and down, attempting to regain the air and energy needed to keep fighting.

She felt that she should be asking him that, but why wound his pride now when there would be plenty of time later. She stood on shaky legs, removing one or two hindering needles.

"Of course. Who do you think you're talking to, Sasuke?" she instead asked, running her fingers through sweat-soaked hair with a grimace. Most would assume that it was a rhetorical question and, like Sasuke, remain silent, but Naruto obviously felt the need to answer so the world could hear. "You're talking to the next Hokage!" she screeched with a confident grin, once again forcing chakra through her system and into her hands and outwards.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

The area of the demonic ice domes was flooded with a tsunami of orange and red leaping girls, all yelling and singing their prowess. And then the slaughter began once again. This time, the senbon came in large waves, taking out three or four clones at a time, dwindling the numbers. More than once had Naruto stumbled out of the way of said projectiles with a snarl, feet weighing her down in her exhaustion, and more than once had her clones covered for her, either with kawarimi or by playing human meat shield, or human shadow shield she supposed.

After all, summoning about nine rounds of mini armies in shadow clones was a tiring feat, even for her.

Naru flicked her gaze towards her teammate as she rolled away from another set of thrown senbon. He was utterly focused, not even moving and forcing her clones to jump in front of several senbon attacks to save him from his voluntary immobility. Whoever called him a prodigy had to be on something, because in her opinion standing still in the middle of a dome of doom mirrors was stupid even to her, and she was dead last in the academy.

Yet, as the Uzumaki girl watched the Uchiha's gaze in fascination, her eyes widened.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke hissed for the nth time since they were caught, however it was his first time with a victorious smirk upon his face. The grand sphere of chakra-bred flames hadn't simply brushed against the fake hunter nin this time, but rather consumed the shinobi's right half, forcing the enemy to take the time to douse their arm in water to counteract the flame before entering the mirrors once more.

Naruto watched as Sasuke prepared to let a kunai fly the second his jutsu was free from his lips, and she hurriedly followed on blind faith. She couldn't see the enemy jumping from mirror to mirror like Sasuke explained he did, but with assured grace the dark-haired boy threw the projectile and she followed in suit.

The girl blinked when the masked shinobi phased into existence in time for her to witness him twist in midair to deflect on knife while the other grazed his exposed arm, bright red from almost-burns. With a small halo of blood exploding with the movement, the shinobi was then gone, content to find solace once again in his ice constructs, disappearing. But the splatter of blood laid heavily, glaringly red against the cool grey stone beneath them.

Naruto's face pulled up in a bright and mischievous grin, whisker marks stretching to make room for all the teeth she was showing. They were just getting started.

As if sensing his gaze, Naruto turned to make eye contact with Sasuke, who had fallen to a knee to catch his breath. The look he was giving her said all that needed to be said between them as they both shifted into defensive stances, waiting for the next onslaught. The shinobi could waste their chakra away by concealing themselves as Naruto broke down every singled cursed mirror if they wanted, or he could attack. But when he attacked… Naruto rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck.

He better be ready for hell.

"Hey teme," Naruto chirped through her heavy breaths of air while her eyes roved her surroundings in hope of catching a glimpse of movement, "congrats on the eyes." She chuckled when Sasuke tenderly reached a hand to his eyes, touching them as if they had gone missing.

"Sharingan…" the masked enemy muttered, and Naruto could have sworn there was a bit of awe in his voice.

If it weren't for the dire straits they were in now, she would have called this a moment to take a picture: the ever stoic and brooding Uchiha Sasuke looked practically dumbfounded for a moment, jaw hanging and eyes widened in a weird look of happiness and pride. She figured he almost looked like a normal human instead of the arrogant asshole he truly was. At least until the usual arrogant smirk came back to grace their company.

Naruto laughed, ignoring the danger they were in, and her face split into a grin. Pulling a couple senbon from her body, Naruto slipped her orange jacket off her shoulders to wipe at her sweat-soaked face before dropping it to the ground, leaving her in her black tank top. "I'm telling everyone about that super uncool face you made just now," Naruto teased, tightening the bandages going down each arm resolutely. Her muscles felt stiff and sluggish, exhaustion setting in as if to ossify her arms. There was a tight burn in her throat as her body screamed for more and more air.

"As if," Sasuke grunted, though he was unable to mask the jubilation in his voice. He also, however, couldn't mask the pure exhaustion weighing his words and body down.

Naruto wasn't sure how much longer he could go on with this, let alone how much longer she could. Her body ached and burned, and it honestly took way too much energy to simply not sway or fall. If she took another step, Naruto wasn't sure she could take a second. She winced as her arm spasmed on its own, upsetting on cluster of needles in her bicep. She clenched her hand in an attempt to stop it.

Through eyelids threatening to fall shut, her gaze slid over to Sasuke's form, still smirking despite her words as he searched the mirrors with his dojutsu. He looked as if he had gotten a second wind, energy and chakra thrumming to be used. She laughed again, closing her eyes briefly for a foxy grin. "And when we get out of this-"

It was the sudden splash of warmth that halted her words and the grunt of that made her open her eyes. But it was what she saw that made her break.

Sasuke was looming in front of her, shielding her from a bombardment of senbon that now sunk deep into his body as she stared at his back. Blood dripped down his form in steady streams from the needles perforating his body. They stuck into his neck, his chest, his abdomen, and all over his limbs. There was even a needle that sat precariously close to his new found eyes, one that moved up and down when the Uchiha blinked. Sasuke stumbled, but remained standing.

"Wh-why?" Naruto asked, falling to her knees.

He was bleeding, and Naruto knew that blood was on her as well, sprinkled lightly across her face and neck. She could smell it.

However, Sasuke didn't answer her question, instead taking his time to flicker his gaze back into Naruto's eyes with a contented smirk.

"What's with that stupid face, dobe?" he asked rather than answering the redhead's question. Another sway, but his feet anchored firmly onto the ground to hold him up. Naruto couldn't look away, and she wouldn't, from his back and the Uchiha crest stitched into the fabric.

"Why?" Naruto demanded again, trembling. "Why would you save me?" She felt a fresh tear slip down her cheek.

There was a pause, and in the back of Naruto's mind, her instincts were telling her to pay attention to the killer in their midst, not the dying comrade. But Naruto couldn't and she wouldn't. Instead she numbly stared.

"I hated you," Sasuke proclaimed with a pained smile. When he spoke, blood was released from his mouth the pour down his chin. Coughing with a wince, the boyappeared almost pensive for a moment before a few stray tears fell from his own eyes. Eyes the same color of the blood flowing from his body. Eyes he had just awoken, taking another step towards his goal and ambition. Eyes that softened while focusing on her. "I hated you all, for being happy and for having what I don't," he whispered hoarsely.

Naruto's breathe puffing outwards erratically and in panic. "I didn't ask for your help!" It was a desperate screech, accusing almost. Why… How could he…?

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes only to open them up as obsidian. "I don't know," the boy confessed. "My body just moved on its own…" His face was losing the peacefulness, instead scrunching up in pain and fatigue. His breathing began to slow, little by little, until Naruto could barely see his shoulders and chest rise. She reached a hand forward in fear.

Then a violent cough, blood bubbling from between his lips, Sasuke forced out a few more words with his eyes up to the sky. They were pondering, almost nostalgic in how peaceful he sounded as he said, "That man… My brother, I told myself I wouldn't die until I killed him…" Closing his eyes again, Sasuke muttered just loud enough to be a breath passing through his lips, "Don't die, too."

And then he fell in Naruto's arms.

"Jumping without hesitation to save a precious person despite knowing it was a trap," the masked shinobi intoned with a certain amount of sadness, "he is a shinobi that deserves respect. You have my apologies."

When Naruto didn't answer, the ninja melted out of the mirror, his sandals tapping solid ground before speaking again. "Is this your first death of a friend?" he asked curiously, but still not a response.

Naruto's body was bent over her teammates in mourning, shaking and trembling in sadness. Naruto hugged him closer, barely minding the needles sticking out of Sasuke's body.

"Shut up," Naruto whispered, staring down at the restful face of her comrade. Brushing a careful hand through his hair, Naruto commanded a trembling hand to remove the senbon near Sasuke's eye. She needed to protect his precious eyes like he would have wanted: he was always grossly prideful of that stupid clan of his and their eyes.

The eyes that could see the future, people had said, and remember everything they had seen. He had always told her, tauntingly, that when he got the sharingan she would have no chance in getting even close to his power.

"This is the shinobi way; the truth."

"Shut up!" she roared, clenching her fists and eyes, attempting not to cry and failing miserably. A sob fluttered past her lips without her permission.

She had hated him, too, and his damned arrogance. Everyone admired him, yet he always brushed them off. He had the skills she dearly wished for every night, yet wouldn't accept anyone's praise. He was an orphan, just like her, alone in the world with a dream he had to achieve, yet he died saving her. Because she couldn't do anything.

No. Sasuke died because of him.

Naruto felt something break in her, something give way, but she embraced it when the power and anger surged throughout her body like poison.

Sasuke was dead because he killed him.

The malevolent heat pulsed, expelling the needles from her body and sealing up the holes and scratches. Naruto felt a burn in her eyes that went further than tears, and searing pain in her fingers as things cracked and rearranged. A sharp sting spread across her gums as her teeth grew and sharpened, splitting a think cut in her lips that quickly sealed shut.

He was going to fucking die.

With an explosive burst of chakra, the energy curled around her body as if a small tornado and pulled at her shirt and pants. Naruto's crimson hair whipped around her head as if a bloody halo, and she raised her face so her eyes could meet the mask. They were crimson with slit pupils; they were primal. As one last tear made a clear track through the dirt and blood on her face, Naruto jolted forward on all fours.

Kill, she thought angrily, roar ripping from her throat in an ethereal scream. He killed one of hers, so she was to kill him, that was how the world works. That was how she worked.

Her claws scraped the ground as Naruto pounced at the masked shinobi attempting to escape to the mirrors, but this time he was too slow. This time Naruto was faster and this time Naruto was the predator and nothing brought more vengeful happiness to the redheaded genin than that.

Gripping a fistful of the enemy's battle kimono, Naruto flipped him over her shoulder and violently into the ground, small cracks forming underneath the pressure. The shinobi's moan in pain was like music to Naruto's ears. Just one more small step for Sasuke.

Sharp canines were exposed in a cold, malevolent smile on Naruto's face. Oh yes, he would suffer.

And that's all Naruto could think about. Images and wishes for the person below her to be at the mercy of her power and for her hatred to run free. A blurred face with red eyes and black hair, smirking with self-assured pride, shimmered across her vision before another moan sloughed through her being. A wave of dark pleasure rippled up her, and Naruto had to force herself not to bite her lip in ecstasy.

Yes, death for the moronic meat bag who had dared upset her and attack her kin. A sharp elbow to the shoulder, and an agonized yelp from behind the mask sang to her blood. Naruto felt like fluffing up her fur in pleasure.

Her eyes locked on to her quarry with animosity and lust.

While reaching for her prey again, Naruto watched as the enemy scrambled hastily to his feet and jumped away, hurling senbon at her. However, Naruto simply opened her mouth and roared.

High-pitched and screeching, like several different voices screaming for mercy, the sound was accompanied with a shock wave of chakra that blasted the needles away in all directions. The pulse of chakra also pushed the masked nin, attempting to flee, directly into one of his mirrors.

Still, the ninja was granted no respite as Naruto quickly launched after him, arm cocked back, thick whiskers full and thick and stretched with a growl, blazing crimson eyes narrowed in sorrow and hate, and a spinning blue ball of swirling chakra humming in her hand.

The shinobi didn't even have time to widen his eyes in surprise as he flew, spinning, away from the now shattered mirror. All at once, the dome collapsed in a cacophony of glittering shards, raining down onto the bridge's ground with the tinkling of a wind chime. If one hadn't known that it was the result of a deadly battle, it could have been described as beautiful and melodic.

When the last shard found rest upon the bridge, silence blanketed the area just as thickly as Zabuza's chakra-induced fog. Only the far away sound of metal kissing metal swam across the air, and the enemy shinobi dare not make a sound, else risk the wrath of the tiny redheaded berserker.

After a lapse in battle, a time in which the fake hunter ninja utilized to assess the injuries and plan for a counterattack, the hateful presence slowly diminished, whittling away into nothingness. Even the unnerving red glow that had exuded from the Konoha genin's being had begun to die down until nothing was left but the light of a clouded sun. However, he knew that the redhead wasn't dead or gone.

Hesitantly rising to his feet, the enemy shinobi placed tender fingers on his mask, feathering light touches across the surface. He winced when he felt a shallow indent, carved into the porcelain as a circular pattern.

That girl was strong; he knew he couldn't beat her. He had failed his master and for this, he should be killed. The shinobi searched his jutsu's wreckage intently, waiting for her figure to appear and take his life.

_C_U_R_R_E_N_T_

Her head felt funny, Naruto realized after picking herself up from the ground. Bits and pieces of what appeared to be glass were embedded into her palms and dusted throughout her hair.

Brushing the tiny knives off her palms, Naruto paused. Examining the frosted shards that were cold to the touch, she realized that the slivers were ice.

Brows drawing together in confusion, Naruto looked around only to be gazing into a thick wall of impenetrable mist, which was weird since mist in Konoha was pretty much unheard of.

A splitting wave of pain tore through her head and Naruto groaned, closing her eyes. The ache moved down her neck and across her body in an agonizing pulse as images flashed behind her eyelids. A great dome made up of several mirrors. A masked shinobi staring at her. Sasuke sitting on a tree branch, flipping a kunai on his finger with a triumphant smirk. An old man with a straw hat, pouring booze down his throat with nervous abandon.

Right, they were on protection detail for Tazuna, and she and Sasuke were fighting-

Her eyes snapped open. Sasuke!

Panic springing through her veins, Naruto clawed her way up from the ground, never bothering when more ice shards bit into her exposed and aching skin. The sudden climb to standing had left her head spinning and her mind woozy, but through the dots and blinking lights usurping her vision Naruto squinted her eyes to search the vicinity for her teammate.

They were fighting that masked hunter nin—no wait! Fake hunter nin who had helped Zabuza who was currently fighting her sensei! She needed to find him so that they could help protect the bridge builder!

On swaying legs that threatened to collapse any moment—why did everything hurt so much? And why did her head decide to torture her right now?—Naruto's sandaled feet shuffled through the ice debris.

"Oi, teme!" Naruto called loudly, wincing at the sound. The noise pierced straight through her ears and sent a fresh stab of pain to her head.

Kami, what had happened? Naruto scrunched her eyes shut in an attempt to collect her memories, but all she got was flashing scenes and blurred lights spinning through her head. Images seared in her mind and fluttered across her consciousness like a dream all at once; images she had no remembrance of. They chased each other in her head like a circle, but she couldn't solidly catch one, only glimpses: A giant toad smoking a pipe. A redheaded boy with dark circles around his eyes, wearing a Kage hat. A giant, red moon hanging in the sky. A young man, resting his chin on her shoulder, bloodied spikes sticking out from his back. An orange, spiraling face.

There were a couple she recognized, as well, she realized. Like Iruka yelling at her in class, throwing a piece of chalk at her face, or the Hokage monument, graphitized with neon paints. She could even pull back an image of that lazy bum Shikamaru, crouched with his hands in a funny position, his eyes opening to reveal a dead serious gaze. Pink hair billowed in her sights as Sakura, hair cut short, smiled endearingly at her, Sasuke and Kakashi standing in the background at ease. They looked different, somehow though. Older maybe? And since when did Sakura look at her like that?

Naruto could feel the depiction slithering away, grains of sand slipping through her fingers. The redheaded girl tried to grasp on to it, anchor it to her, but the second her mind focused in on the image, it snapped and crumbled leaving bright red and agony.

"Gah!" she screeched, her search for her missing teammate halting as she fell to her knees, clutching her head in excruciating pain. Her neck muscles were spasming uncontrollably and her mind turned to mush as it felt like kunai after kunai was stabbed into her brain. Naruto bit her lip to block her scream.

Just as quickly as it arrived, the red and pain evaporated, leaving a dull pounding hum of pain behind her eyes. Blackness returned to her eyelids. Another moan escaped her lips as she pried her eye lids apart.

It was still misty and gloomy and grey with no sign of anything she had witnessed within her own head. However, when she twisted her neck in an attempt to crack it and alleviate the pressure she knew was building there, Naruto noticed something in a pile of ice just out of clarity. It appeared to be a person, almost, laying still on the ground. It appeared to be Sasuke.

Scowling, Naruto dragged herself up and hobbled over. Damn Uchiha, thinking that he could take a nap now that he had awakened his… sharingan…

Naruto's stomach plummeted into her bowels and she was left with a distinctive queasy feeling.

"No," she whispered, striding cautiously to the limp figure, "That didn't happen, just like those other things." She gulped at the thick air greedily while her throat closed up in grief. Her pulse rate soared, and the bounding of her blood pressure trilled against her temples. "It's some stupid fucked up thing my mind made up," she assured herself, planting a foot next to her teammate's stomach.

Sasuke's eyes were closed, a serene look upon his face if not for the needles pricking him like a porcupine. Remnants of salty tears crusted at his eyes like blood crusted on her limbs and torso. He was just sleeping, Naruto guaranteed, like the arrogant bastard that he was.

Her fingers found their way to his carotid without her even knowing, trembling against his still warm skin. There was no pulse, no beat.

The girl hiccuped, the cries held back through bravado slowly breaking through. The masked shinobi had killed Sasuke by using her as bait. Their first C-rank mission, their first time being even close to friends… and he was gone.

But Haku wouldn't kill anyone, he never wanted that.

Stilling, Naruto retraced her thoughts. Haku was the boy from the forest. What did he have to do with any of this? Recognition glimmered behind the redhead's eyes.

Eyes narrowing, Naruto shoved her arms under his, dragging him through the destroyed mirrors; she couldn't just leave her teammate lying there, after all. But why would Haku be behind the mask, and how did she know? How did she know that he didn't kill Sasuke?

Grunting, the genin pulled her teammate from the debris and eyed him critically, mind racing. Sasuke had no pulse; he had to be dead, she mused sadly, more tears threatening her eyes. Her mind had to be screwing with her if it thought she would believe that Haku, if he was the masked nin, could place Sasuke in a false state of death.

The glint of a needle attracted her attention. Senbon, Naruto realized with a stuttering hope. The ninja had used senbon before to make it seem as if Zabuza had died, why not do the same with Sasuke?

Naruto's mind pulsated angrily again, pulling the last dregs of her previous headache up to the surface.

Maybe it was her belief in her brief friend or maybe it was foolish hope, but more likely it was just that Naruto was struggling to run away from reality, but she didn't question her new revelation. If Naruto was anything, she was stubborn to a fault.

And with confidence that was grossly ill befitting of her current predicament, the redheaded genin of Konohagakue who was known as the most unpredictable knuckle-headed ninja walked in the direction her gut lead her. Coincidentally, it lead her directly to who she wanted to see.

His mask was different, no longer perfectly smooth porcelain. Instead, a circular indent was inscribed into the surface looking almost like a spiral. Naruto couldn't recall how such a blemish came to be.

The two stood in silence: one in consternation and the other in surprise. Naruto, for once in her thirteen years of life, felt no need to open her mouth and talk, instead contented to simply scrutinize the boy in front of her. Because now she realized he was just that: a boy. Most likely a few years older than her, possibly sixteen, despite his generally frail and diminutive figure, and while his hair was up in a clothed bun with only a few tresses loose—a particularly feminine hairstyle—one could tell he was male from the protrusion of his Adam's apple, no matter how small it was. Still, Naruto could easily imagine him being mistaken for a girl, like she had done not five days ago.

"Why haven't you killed me, yet?" came the ever monotonous voice from behind the mask. It wasn't said out of fear or even curiosity, rather simple anguish. Naruto tilted her head in puzzlement at the question. The masked shinobi clenched his hands until they were pale white. When he spoke again, his voice had risen, and anger and hysteria leaked into his words. "You are stronger than I am and have beaten me. I am no longer a useful tool for Zabuza-sama."

He paused, almost as if steadying his breath, and Naruto couldn't help but abhor that mask that hid his face. It made him seem inhuman.

"Why should I kill you?" Naruto countered, averting her eyes to the sound of fighting away on other parts of the bridge.

"I killed your friend." His voice was strong and confident when he delivered those words, so Naruto couldn't help but wonder why she couldn't believe them in her heart. She simply knew he was lying. Her head, despite how it had pounded and protested against her earlier, was telling her that Haku was lying.

"No, you didn't kill him, Haku, you couldn't," she mumbled gently. The ninja in front of her stiffened in shock, never moving even when Naruto's fingers hooked underneath his mask and removed it. The object dropped to the ground and shattered on impact, just as the ice mirrors had.

Haku's delicate features were twisted with amazement when revealed, tear tracks staining his cheeks in a steady flow of liquid. His slate eyes wavered, but held firm onto Naruto's own. They were resolute in their decision, peaceful in his conclusion.

"But I will," he whispered hoarsely, "I will kill him if it means aiding Zabuza-sama in any way. Even if it means killing my heart with a blade and becoming a true shinobi." There was no hesitance in his statement.

Naruto's ire built inside of her, growing larger and larger before she opened her mouth and yelled, "Why help him, Haku? He's a bad guy, an evil man! You don't have to kill if you don't want to!" Naruto averted her eyes and clenched her hands to hide their tremors. "Don't become a monster for his sake," she added after a moment of quiet.

The soft chuckle that floated from Haku's mouth made Naruto bristle in absolute fury. He seemed so okay with how he was being treated. It was so... wrong.

"Do you know what it is like, Naruto-chan?" he began gently, crouching down to pick up the largest piece of his broken mask. Inspecting it with tenderness, Haku's calloused fingers stroked the surface, tracing the red wave. Naruto watched with rapt attention, glaring down at her would-be-friend. "The most painful thing," the boy added, taking a gentle look up to meet her gaze, "is to realize that, in this world, my existence wasn't needed or even wanted. Not having a dream, not needed by anyone… the pain of merely being alive."

Naruto had nothing to say to that, her own body frozen to the spot at Haku rose to his full height, over a foot taller than she was. He smiled at her calmly, mask still in hand. "Zabuza-sama gave me the answer to my existence, Naruto-chan. He saved me from that; he wanted my accursed blood that had left me alone." His voice became hard, but content, happy almost. His smile even widened as he spoke, "If that means I am his tool and that I must kill, then so I must. I want to protect the person important to me. I want to fight for that person. I want to make that person's dream come true… That is my dream."

It was so messed up, Naruto realized, clenching her teeth together is anger, that Haku felt this way. That he felt indebted to that man so much to kill his own beliefs. But it was even more messed up that she could understand where the boy was coming from. She wondered, had the Hokage not come around and inspired her to become Hokage, would she have fallen to this same darkness? What if she didn't have Iruka-sensei… or Kakashi-sensei or Sakura or Sasuke?

"But," Haku's voice gave her pause. Naruto looked up, empathy and pain dancing across her features. This time when meeting Haku's eyes, the boy seemed possessed by sadness and regret. His next words sent shivers of distaste up her spine, "I have failed him and am worthless now even as a tool. Because of this, Naruto-chan, please kill me."

Cold fear gripped Naruto's heart and body, a sense of unknown familiarity at those words, like she had heard them before. "What?" Naruto questioned, voice barely above a whisper. Even the clanging of weapons in the distance could be heard easier than her words.

"Kill me. A broken tool is useless, and I do not wish to go through the pain of being useless once again."

"I can't!" Naruto screamed, wincing at the volume of her voice. She couldn't kill Haku, and she wouldn't! He wasn't fighting anymore and he… he was her friend!

"Please, Naruto-chan," Haku pleaded, and the sorrow pierced he skin. Here she was, a kunoichi, a trained killer and assassin, and her enemy was offering his life to her willingly. Yet she couldn't do it, even if he asked. There was an ache in her chest at the thought of striking Haku down, even with his wishes. Haku was worth more than just being a weapon, and something told her that, despite what Haku believed, Zabuza might even know this himself. It was just a gut instinct, but shinobi learned to rely on such things.

"Haku," Naruto began again, but was cut off when the boy violently whipped his head in the direction of her sensei's fight. Naruto paused, perplexed for a moment, before she recognized something. There was no more sounds of kunai clashing to kunai or swords singing through the air. Naruto chanced a look that way as well, but knew she wouldn't see anything but endless mist. It was silent.

Then suddenly, the sound of chirping pierced the quiet and grew louder and louder until it was a roar, a symphony of birds all singing their own high-pitched lament to the world. The sound was curiously familiar. Brows furrowed in thought, Naruto turned back to Haku in order to ask if he knew what it was. Her words died in her throat when she took in his expression.

Pure fear and even purer determination. Naruto could have sworn she had seen that look upon his face before, as if a cloudy memory.

"Sorry, Naruto-chan, but I have one last way I can be of use," Haku muttered, bringing a his fingers up into a hand sign Naruto couldn't recognize. But she was sure of it now. She knew this scene, somehow, from somewhere. She knew what was to happen next.

"No! Haku!" she yelled, reaching out for his sleeve. Her fingertips brushed the haori's fraying fabric in an attempt to clamp down and stop the boy, but he was already gone, leaving behind only smoke.

Staring at the empty space, Naruto blanks out as her mind took over on autopilot. She found her fingers are moving deftly into a hand sign, one she didn't realize she even knew. It was like an out-of-body experience, watching almost numbly as her finger moved on their own with their own mind. Her head thrummed with pain as the chakra built, and then, with sudden clarity, Naruto knew exactly what was to happen and what she had to do. Without hesitation, Naruto released her built up chakra and pushed it through her coils.

Then she, too, disappeared in a puff of smoke.

So there it is. Hope ya'll liked it and please drop a review! It WILL make me update faster (proven fact!) so if you're interested, even a "I liked it!" or "It was stupid. Wtf" works, yeah? Heck, if you just write "Platypus" I'd be happy... well, maybe not that... but honestly, I LOVE reviews, especially long ones that tell me what you think or like or didn't like! PLEASE. lol

Have a nice day all of you, and thanks for reading :)

Koby Out!