The longer she stared, the more she saw Naruto turning into an actual fox. Maybe not on the outside (because other than his eyes and his whiskers, his canine teeth and his nails were the ones to become longer and sharper), but he behaved absolutely feral and he even bent down on four legs like a fox. The needles shot out of his body and the scrathes on him healed, leaving him as if he'd never been injured. The chakra above him manifested the beast he was holding inside, and Solana could've sworn she heard a howl, a scream, a roar which no way could've come from a human. It promised blood and destruction and death.

Now she understood why the villagers were so afraid of this beast.

But after the first shock past, worry filled her chest like a stream, worry for her best friend. How would Naruto be able to overcome this? Was there even a way to overcome it? Was there something, anything she could do to help him?

Beside knowing that a seal was holding the Nine-Tails back, Solana's knowledge about it was equal to zero and she never hated not understanding something more than now. She was sure that Kakashi might've had an idea, a back-up plan, but for that she had to get out of this goddamn cage...

Naruto chose this moment to launch an attack. He ran on four legs towards Haku and while the red chakra wasn't visible anymore, Solana could still feel the wrath of hatred and bloodlust and pure evil in the air: it was like swelling magma which could burn her flesh and turn her bones into ash, and for the first time since she'd first transformed, she was afraid of the heat. She had a feeling that her immunitiy wouldn't count on this power.

Haku threw senbon at Naruto, who just roared and it was enough the deflect the needles, much to Haku's distress. He disappeared just before Naruto could reach him and the blond's speed even outmached Sasuke's, who had the Sharingan awakened. His chakra was growing every second as he was turning his head left and right, as if he was smelling the air like a predator on the hunt. Every sense of Solana's screamed at her to run, to flee, to fly as far as she could, but on the other hand... this was Naruto. Her best friend.

But at the same time, it wasn't him. Not completely. The stronger this foreign chakra'd become, the more he'd lost himself to its power.

Haku appeared in every mirror and Solana instictively shot to Sasuke to shield him from the attacks. But just as she leaned over him, Naruto leaned over her, taking all the hits by himself. Solana gasped, instant fear and worry paralizing her body, but Naruto only roared again and the power bursting from him almost knocked out the air from her lungs and it was enough to disrupt Haku's jutsu as his images disappeared. The needles flew away into the distance and before Solana even had the chance to blink, Naruto was already running towards the mirror Haku was hiding in and...

...and he smashed into pieces like it was nothing.

Solana held Sasuke close to her chest as she was watching this fight. From the falling pieces, Haku emerged and tried to strike Naruto down, but he jumped away in a ridiculous speed, putting every fast flyer in the Hashikaru Clan to shame. Haku, sensing the imminent danger, headed to the nearest mirror, but Naruto caught his wrist before he could hide.

It all happened so fast, yet so slow that Solana could only see, but not understand what was occuring around her. It was like time itself slowed down, but at the same time they moved so quickly that she had no idea how she was able to process their movements.

Once Naruto got his hands on Haku, the power surge increased dramatically. Haku tried to wave hand signs, but it was a lost cause: Naruto's - or the Nine-Tails' - chakra was all over the place, filling the air, the ground, their very existence and Solana actually heard cracking as the waves collided with the ice mirrors again and again. Naruto clenched his right fist and punched Haku in the face with his full strenght, which sent the boy flying into the distance, through a mirror and out of the cage. As he was rolling on the ground, the mirrors around them cracked with deafening, sharp noises and slowly every one of them broke apart like glass and the pieces fell onto the ground.

Solana could only stare. She wasn't sure that she was breathing anymore. For a moment, time stopped, but when the world restarted, Naruto ran after Haku who slowly stood up, but did nothing to defend himself. He just stood there as the mask on his face broke into pieces, revealing his face which Solana couldn't see clearly from the mist, and waited for the final blow from an enraged Naruto.

Who, just before his fist made contact with Haku's face, stopped in his track.

Just like that, the heat faded away. The cold returned, making Solana shiver from it, but what made her immensely relieved was that the Nine-Tails' presence slowly disappeared around them. She didn't know what caused this, but she finally took her first deep breath since this whole mayhem started and she almost dropped Sasuke's body to the ground as she tried to collect herself and slow down her rapidly beating heart. For a while she couldn't hear anything other than the pounding in her ears, and she was shaking in her whole body as the reality of what she just survived downed upon her.

She knew, without a doubt, that if that beast ever gets free from Naruto's body, the whole world would end up in ruins.

She didn't even recover from this shock, the next one came by Naruto's disbelieving voice.

"So, the guy in the woods - that was you?"

Her breath hitched due to two reasons: one, Naruto was finally talking in his normal voice again, meaning that he was finally back to himself completely; and two, because he could only be talking to Haku and the fact that he recognised him meant one thing: that the kind boy who was gathering herbs, the only stranger they'd encountered in the past week was none other than Haku.

But then why? Why hadn't he killed them then and there? There was no way he didn't recognise their headbands, hell, he'd even seen them before protecting Tazuna, so why...?

"Why do you not strike?" Haku asked in a deadpan voice. It was like a machine which slowly started to malfunction; he completely lost all life in it. "Did you not just vow to avenge your comrade's death by killing me? Or was that vow just empty words?"

Solana turned towards them, but from the mist she could only see their silhouettes, so she couldn't read their faces, which meant that she could only deduct their emotions from their voices. But even from that distance, she could feel the struggle in Naruto, the desire to hurt him, to kill him for what he did to Sasuke, but he faced with the dilemma of every newly-appointed shinobi: wishing death upon someone and actively killing them is not the same.

Solana saw Naruto turning his head back and after that he punched Haku in the face, but it wasn't nearly as strong as before. Nevertheless, Haku stumbled and fell to the ground where he spit out some blood (judging from his movements and the voices he made), then struggled back to his feet while Naruto was breathing heavily.

"You know that won't do," Haku said. "You're still holding back. If that is all the strenght you can put into it, you will never keep your vow. Perhaps he didn't mean as much to you as you pretend."

Solana could feel the anger rising in Naruto, but she also had a feeling that Haku was only saying this to make him do the final blow.

"To show mercy to those who oppose the one you serve, to allow his enemies to live when you can strike them down... this is not compassion. It is a betrayal to your life's very purpose. For what reason do you exist then? You're use to no one. Your life has no meaning. It is mere existence. Day after day of pain and struggle, signifying nothing..."

"Yeah, well speak for yourself!" Naruto retorded.

"Are you really that blind, little one?" Haku asked rhetorically. "I am speaking of myself. This day has shown that I am no longer any use to Zabuza-san."

"Zabuza..." Naruto growled. "Why that guy anyway? To devote your life to a rotten skunk who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'honor'? If he's really the one person that matters to you, man, that's the sorriest thing I've ever heard!"

Solana couldn't agree more, but no matter how hard she tried to speak up and voice her thoughts, her voice was long lost in her throat.

"There were once others who mattered to me. Long ago," Haku admitted. "My father and my mother. I was born in the Land of Water, in a small village where the snow dives deep in the winter. My parents were farmers and very poor, our life was hard, but we were content. My parents were good to each other and kind to me. Yes, we were happy once."

Just like us, Solana thought back to her own parents and brother and clan. The days when she spent the majority of her time high up in the sky, enjoying the freedom and carelessness of every child in the world. But just like in her life...

"But then everything changed," Haku continued. "Because of something that happened long before I was even born, everything changed."

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned. "What happened?"

"It wasn't my doing. It is in the blood."

"Blood?" When Haku didn't keep speaking, Naruto pressed the topic further. "So what was it? You said that something happened that changed everything!"

Solana didn't want to hear more since she was certain that Haku's story would end up very similarly to hers and that meant losing everything. But she was sure that while Haku probably wasn't at fault, she herself was.

"It was my father who changed," Haku said. "He killed my mother and he almost killed me."

In short, she wasn't expecting this. There was no scenario where she could ever feel justified for a father to harm his wife and child, his family whom he should've protected at all cost.

"After years of suffering of civil wars, the people of my land have come to fear everyone who carried the Kekkei Genkai in their blood."

"Kekkei Genkai?"

"The advanced bloodline trait of a clan. Its jutsu and abilities, passed down from generation to generation like that little angel's wings. Because of their unique abilities the clans were used as mercenaries. They fought many battles and were much feared. But when the wars were over, they were despised and shunned by the people who feared their presence would only bring more war and misfortune."

This was also something Solana couldn't imagine, but yet again, her land had been unique in the world. A place where the civilians cherished and celebrated the shinobi of the Hashikaru Clan and were grateful for their services for keeping them safe from conflict and war. She forgot many times that the majority of the people were scared from those who possessed abilities they couldn't understand.

"So it was that after the wars these clans went into hiding, denying their bloodline trait that flowed in their veins," Haku continued in a monotone voice. "Concealing their unique abilities, knowing that to be discovered meant certain death. If you had searched that boy's memories, I'm sure you would've found it there, too."

Solana looked down on Sasuke, whose body had become colder and colder as time passed. He lied so still, and if she hadn't known it, she would've thought that he was only sleeping. Did he felt like this in Konoha? Did the Uchiha felt this kind of isolation and distrust from the civilians? And honestly, did this matter at all, now that he...?

She blinked away her tears and forced herself to concentrate on what Haku had to say.

"The cruelty of people, the fear of things they don't understand... For years, my mother was successful in hiding her bloodline trait. She met and fell in love with a simple farmer, they were married and after that my mother thought she would live a peaceful, ordinary life at the end of her days. But then I discovered what I can do, and I showed it to her. She became so terrified that she hit me for the first and last time and told me to never use that ability. However, my father had seen me and so he knew the secret, my mother's and mine. And then..."

He didn't say it, but he didn't have to. Solana wasn't curious about the details and Haku kindly spared them from the images of this part of his past.

"I only survived because my abilities reacted to my fear and terror and they saved me. But after that, I was alone. I was no longer myself. My father and mother were gone, but I knew that something else had been taken from me, something even more important. And that is when I truly despaired."

"More important than your mother and father?" Naruto asked, completely lost. "What?"

"My purpose," Haku answered in a small voice. "In all the world, there was no one who needed me. I was unneccessary."

Solana knew that at that moment Naruto and she thought the same thing. The fact that a fate so similar to theirs could occur in a different part of the world truly upsetted her. How many more children could be out there, alone and scared and living every second of their life knowing that if they would've died, no one in the world would've cared... She could symphatize with the feeling of losing everything and Naruto completely understood what it feels like to be so utterly alone.

"Why is it you're so determined to be Hokage?" Haku now asked the blond boy. "Because you want all eyes in your village to look on you and recognize you as a great ninja. You see, it is only through the eyes of others that our little lives have any significance. When there is no one who sees you or even look at you, it's as if you do not exist."

"Then Zabuza-san came and looked at me, and his eyes were not full of hate or fear." Haku's voice, for the first time since he started talking, was filled with life and warmth Solana could easily recognize. She spoke to Sakura about Naruto the same way and she was sure that Naruto did the same too. "He did not shun me for my strangeness. Indeed my special powers were just what he wanted. He made me neccessary again. I was happy..."

She couldn't mistake the crack in his voice. She didn't see, but she knew his eyes were blinded by tears.

"I have failed you, Zabuza-san. I am like a weapon that has been broken, and serves no longer use." He walked towards Naruto, who made a hesitant step backwards, but Solana couldn't sense any ill will coming from Haku. In fact... she didn't sense anything. He was empty as a shell, only a shadow of his former self.

And even after everything he'd done, Solana felt sorry for him.

"Naruto," Haku called his name. "Kill me."

At that moment, growls filled the air and before her eyes, Solana could see a pack of angry wolves attacking their prey after hours of chase. She and Naruto flinched, but Haku didn't seem to care about anything anymore.

"Go on," he urged Naruto. "Strike. Kill me. Why do you hesitate?"

"Ahh!" Naruto grunted annoyed and stepped back to put some distance between them. "That's the most ridiculous story I've ever heard'dattebayo! I mean... he treats you like a slave! You're a human being, not a weapon or a tool! How can you care about someone like that?!"

"For that very reason," Haku answered. "Does that... seems so strange to you?"

"Well, yeah! As far as I'm aware, family should treat you with care and love! Family should give you warm meals and warm home, and tuck you in when you go to sleep and caress your head when you have a nightmare! Family should be about fun and safety where everyone treats each others as equals!"

Tears gathered in Solana's eyes when she realised that Naruto's concept of family was how Sora and she treated him, that in his eyes, they were the ones who gave him what he'd been dreaming about his whole life. It made her heart flutter that they were that important to him, just as much as he was important to them.

"When he found me, I was without a purpose or reason for living," Haku explained further. "Zabuza-san gave me both. He gave me the warmth and kindness you just described. But now, my usefulness is over, the only thing that gave my life meaning. It's gone, I'm a broken tool, a blunt weapon of no use to anyone. Go on, Naruto. Do it, for both of our sakes, for the sake of your best friend, the red angel, who is still holding your friend's body. Do it. Quickly."

Solana was conflicted and that was putting it mildly. She didn't want Naruto to kill anyone, especially not someone like Haku, who, in another world, easily could've been their friend. But then she looked down at Sasuke and an image fleshed into her mind: a younger and a much, much happier Sasuke, who was shy but brave, who was innocent in every sense of the word, until he was forced to grow up in a way that she wouldn't even wish even to her worst enemy.

He had a goal in his life, and he couldn't even fight for it because he was killed before he could've truly begun.

She turned back towards them and through the fog, she could feel Naruto's gaze drilling into hers, silently asking her opinion, her permission. Solana lifted her left hand lit up a small fireball in her palm, so he could see her face a lot clearer. Then, she nodded - but she hoped he could see that if he didn't want to do it, she would get up and finish it herself.

She also didn't want to kill Haku, but knowing the journey ahead of her, she knew she had to get through her first kill someday and if he wanted to be the first, she would grant it to him.

"Come on," Haku urged Naruto again. "Do it! Why do you hesitate?"

Naruto turned back, but Solana still felt his hesitance, clear as day. Just like she'd gotten to know him: he didn't have a mean bone in his body. She ceased the flames in her hand and after one final look on Sasuke, she got on her feet and started walking towards them, her wings and outfit disappearing in flames as the calmness spreaded in her body.

"I thought you wanted to be a mighty warrior..."

"That's not what it's about!" Naruto interrupted him firmly. "Do you really believe that's all there is to it: just fighting and killing until there's only one last man standing? There's a lot more to being shinobi like that! And there are other ways of showing your strenght than just being beaten by someone in battle!"

Solana caught up to them and for the first time she could see their faces since the Nine-Tails' chakra first erupted from her best friend: Naruto was clearly distressed, his blue eyes radiating fear of what he was asked to do, while Haku was completely blank, no emotion on his face or in his eyes.

"I had a feeling," he muttered. "From the first moment we met in the woods. We're a lot alike. With you, too, Solana Hashikaru," he said her full name and Solana knew why. She felt cold determination in preparation of what she wanted to do, but still... doing it for real? Killing someone like this? She knew that once she's done with it, she would never be the same.

"I'm sure you know what I mean," Haku's mouth twitched as if he just wanted to smile, and Solana nodded solemnly. "I'm only sorry that it must be your hands that is tainted with my unworthy blood."

"Sure about this?" Naruto asked for one last time, glancing between her and him back and forth. "And you're positive that it's the only way?"

"Yes," Haku said without any hesitation, making Naruto gritting his teeth. But then, he hang his head in silent acceptance.

"The weird thing is" he muttered, "if we've met in another time and place, I think that maybe the three of us could've been friends."

"Yeah," Solana sighed. "I also had the same thought."

They looked into each other's eyes and while Naruto pulled out a kunai, Solana pulled out a scroll to summon a thin chakra blade from it as long as her forearm; in its grip, the Uchiha crest was visible in the slowly lifting mist. She deemed it fitting, striking down her first kill with the weapon her first friend had gifted her several years ago. They nodded at each other, then charged forward.

"This is for Sasuke!" Naruto yelled. "Because he also had a dream!"

Solana felt a surge of chakra pulsing through the air and it made a significant change in Haku's behaviour: his calmness disappeared and it was like he woke up from a long dream. Before they could've lunged their weapons into his chest, he caught their wrists like it was nothing.

"Naruto, Solana," he looked at them. Solana's jaw fell as she saw the light in Haku's eyes; the life returned into them with full force. "I'm sorry, but change of plans. I'm not ready to die just yet."

He threw them backwards and by the time they both looked up, he already disappeared.

"What the-?" Solana gaped, but then a shockwave raced along the bridge as a huge amount of chakra got freed.

"Where did he go?" Naruto shot up on his feet, looking around frantically. "What happened?"

"Naruto, look!" Solana stood up as well. "The fog is lifting..."

They turned their heads left and right until Naruto gasped and grabbed Solana's free hand and started pulling her into a direction where three people were standing. The closer they got, the more they could see and once they processed the view, they both stopped and Solana's heart fell into her stomach.

In front of them, Zabuza was standing with clear bite marks on his skin from which blood was slowly dripping (what could've caused them, Solana had no idea, but it might've had to do something with those growls they'd heard not so long ago). Before him, Haku was facing Kakashi whose hand was practically in his shoulder and both of them were covered in blood. Not far behind, Sakura stood with a kunai in her hand, guarding Tazuna, and both of them looked unharmed.

"Wha..." Naruto stummered. "I don't get it..."

"He... he sensed that Zabuza was in danger," Solana whispered as she put the pieces together. Her hands were feeling unusually cold as she clenched at the blade. "He realised it at the last moment and escaped us to protect him..."

"The boy threw himself in front of my attack," Kakashi grumbled, his Sharingan shining threw the mist. "He saved your worthless life at the cost of his own."

Zabuza only chuckled at that, as if... as if it hadn't meant anything to him...

"Well done, Haku," he complimented him, then reached for his enormous blade to cut right through him to take down Kakashi while he was still fazed from what had happened...

"Kakashi-sensei, watch out!" Sakura screamed.

Kakashi, since Haku in his death grabbed his hand to keep him there, held the body close and jumped away to dodge the attack. Once he landed, Zabuza giggled in a low voice.

"Not bad, for having a corpse in your arms," he taunted the man and with that Solana as well.

"You'll pay for that...!" Naruto shouted shaking, but Kakashi objected.

"No! Stay out of this, Naruto!" He gently put down Haku and closed his eyes, before looking up at Zabuza like he was a piece of trash (which he was). "This is my battle. Zabuza's mine!"

His voice left no room for argument, and it looked like he was also furious of the assassin's nonchalancy.

Sakura, who likely just noticed that they were standing there, started shouting at them.

"Naruto! Solana! Over here!" she waved to get their attention. Looking at her, Solana felt like she was poured with icy water. God, how will she...? "So you two and Sasuke-kun are alright!"

None of them could look into her eyes and none of them knew what to say to her. Naruto got overwhelmed with grief once again and Solana wasn't in a better shape, not even the slightest. She still felt the phantom feeling of holding Sasuke's cold body in her arms...

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked obliviously. "Where's Sasuke-kun anyway?"

She only met with silence. Kakashi also lowered his head, which Zabuza tried to use as an opportunity, but the silver-haired man leaned on his arms and kicked him in the face. Tazuna meanwhile said something to the sickly paled Sakura, who then grabbed his hand the the two of them started running towards Naruto and Solana, but the duo knew that their real destination was far behind them...

When they ran past them, Naruto actually looked like he was becoming sick, while Solana just wanted to lay down and never get back up again. She couldn't even cry anymore - she was just exhausted. She thought she had a lot more time to rebuild the broken bond between her and Sasuke. There were promising signs, since the boy actually laughed at some of her jokes like he did back then! And it seemed like her efforts wasn't wasted completely as Sasuke, no matter how hard he tried to object, started to open himself up and let other people in.

There had been a long road ahead of them and they were robbed from the chance before they could've actually seize it.

Soon Sakura's gut-wrenching sobs were echoed across the bridge, pulling Solana's insides' tighter and she grabbed her jacket above her chest to try and ease the pressure on herself, to no avail. She felt Naruto pulling her closer to him and hugged her shoulders while she buried her face into his neck.

Meanwhile Kakashi's battle with Zabuza continued on. To divert her spiralling thoughts, Solana forced herself to watch it and with it calm herself down. The assassin was clearly losing as two kunai stood out of his left arm, and he was panting heavily while Kakashi seemed totally unfazed. But Solana knew better: while Zabuza was frustrated that he couldn't keep up with him, Kakashi used his rage into his advantage and decided to quit the games and show where his real strenght really lied.

Zabuza charged again and lifted his heavy sword, but Kakashi just bitch-slapped him with his fist, sending him flying across the bridge. The man caught himself with his legs, but he slowly lost his cool, while Kakashi had never been this focused against him as he landed another punch which sent Zabuza to the ground.

"I'll split you in half!" he snarled and swang the blade, but Kakashi only stepped back, so it cut the air. With the next move, Zabuza cut the sword into the concrete while Kakashi jumped behind his back and grabbed his nape.

"Look at you," he taunted in a cold voice. "You're falling apart. I knew you didn't have what it takes for the long run."

"What - did you - say?!"

"You have no idea what real strenght is." He span two kunai on his fingers, then got a grip on them. "Game over. You lose."

As he brought the kunai down, Zabuza swang the sword backwards to try to cut Kakashi in half, but their sensei landed the hit first and stabbed the rouge ninja's other arm, and backflipped from the spinning sword which Zabuza let loose. It clincked as it hit and span on the ground, then stopped at the verge of the bridge.

"Now both of your arms are useless. What now?" Kakashi continued the taunting, but there was no humour in his voice. Every word of his felt calculated. "You can't even make hand signs.

"Well, well, so this is how it turns out, huh?" a new voice interjected, making their heads turn into its direction. "Did quite a job on you, didn't he, Zabuza? You look like yesterday's sashimi. I must say, hun, I'm pretty disappointed."

Not so far from them a new crowd gathered at the end of the bridge, but not from the good people. They all looked smug and confident, holding different weapons and they all stood behind a little man in black suit with shaggy brown hair and circular, black glasses. His left hand was in a plaster and he leaned on a wooden cane.

"Gatō?" Zabuza asked annoyed. "I don't understand, what is all this? Why are you here and who are these thugs you brought with you?"

That's Gatō? Solana thougth surprised. She remembered Tazuna's words that he was a short man casting a large shadow, but she didn't think that she should take these words quite literally.

"Well, you see, there's been a slight change in plans," Gatō hummed. "According to the new plan, you die right here on this bridge, Zabuza."

"What?" the assassin growled in a really low voice. Solana couldn't feel any fear coming from him, only confusion and he also seemed irritated that his employer showed up out of nowhere.

"That's right. You're too expensive," Gatō shrugged. "So I decided to take you off the payroll. Of course, these thugs I brougth with me cost something, so if you could manage to slaughter a few of them before they take you down, I'd appreciate it. Think you can manage that, Demon Ninja of the Mist?"

Solana never thought that out of everyone she'd faced in the last week, she would hate this dwarf asshole the most. They way he was taking advantage of not just Zabuza, but everyone around him just because he was rich and could do anything made her more furious than she'd ever been in the last few hours.

"Look at ya," she chuckled evilly. "You're as demonic as a wet kitten."

At this his thugs laughed, clearly enjoying of making fun of the assassin. Solana blinked a few times when she realised that Zabuza wasn't even angry at the man. He just stood there, completely resigned.

"Well, well, Kakashi," he said. "It would seem our fight is at an end. Since I'm no longer in Gatō's employ, Tazuna's safe. We have no quarrel."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Kakashi sighed, undoubtadly relieved as he was probably reaching his limits, too.

Gatō now walked to Haku's lying body in front of them, his cane knocking on the ground with every step.

"That reminds me, you little punk..." he practically threw his words at the boy. "You grabbed me, and nearly broke my arm. I've been meaning to repay you for that."

With that, after he pooked Haku's face a couple of times, he kicked his body, to which Naruto and Solana gasped at the same time. Their irritation and anger rose with every passing second.

"Huh, I only wish he was alive to feel it," Gatō pushed the end of his cane into Haku's face and that was it. Solana would tear hip apart and burn him alive.

"Get away! Get away from him, you scum!" Naruto shouted and rushed towards the business man to give him a piece of his mind, but Kakashi grabbed his jacket and pulled him close to keep him in check.

"Stop, Naruto! Use your head!" he tried to talk some sense into him, but neither Naruto, nor Solana could care less. She knew they couldn't just attack a powerful business man with powerful connection, but someone else could without any retortion, but that person just stood there absolutely still, not reacting in the slightest.

"Are you really just gonna let him do that?" she asked in a low voice as she walked beside Naruto and Kakashi, but her eyes were fixated on Zabuza's back. "I'm talking to you, Zabuza, didn't you hear me?"

"Be quiet, you fool," the man snarled at her. "Haku's dead, what does it matter?"

"What?!" Naruto erupted. "You mean you can just stand there and watch him get treated like a dog? You and Haku were together for years, doesn't it mean anything?"

"You don't understand the way of Shinobi," Zabuza lectured him. "I merely used him, just as Gatō used me. Now it's over. His usefulness is at an end. The loss of his strenght and skill, yes, that means something to me. But the boy? Nothing."

Solana couldn't say a word. Many emotions boiled within her, so many that she couldn't grasp even one of them. She was trembling in her whole body as tears gathered in her eyes and she just wanted to punch something - possible Gatō - as long as she had the strength. No one needed to explain the unfairness of the shinobi world, she already experienced it first and second hand as well, but still... all of this was wrong. So wrong.

Haku didn't deserve any of this.

Naruto couldn't hold himself back, or he just reacted in a different way than she did, because he continue to pressure Zabuza.

"If you mean that" he spat in a calm tone, "you're an even bigger rat than I thought."

"Okay, that's enough," Kakashi put his hand onto the boy's shoulder. "Calm down, Naruto. He's not the enemy, not right now."

"Ugh, shut up!" Naruto lashed out at Kakashi as he shoved of his hand and pointed it to the assassin. "As far as I'm concerned, he's Enemy Number One!"

Zabuza didn't turn towards him, but he moved his head a little so he could see him from the corner of his eyes. Solana hoped that he also noticed the absolute despise on her face as well, since she was standing behind Naruto.

"Why you... You ungrateful...!" Naruto couldn't even form words from the emotions penting up in him. "After everything he did for you... Haku lived for you! You were the most important thing in the world to him! And he meant nothing to you? Nothing at all?! While he was sacrifising everything for you, you never felt anything at all for him?!"

Solana felt the anger slowly evaporating from him and nothing else was left behind, just sadness. She was so toned on his emotions she didn't even realise that she was mirroring the process playing within him - the next thing she noticed was that she was crying as Naruto's words settled in her.

"And if I become stronger... does that mean that I'll become as cold-hearted as you are?" he asked, hopelessness evident in his voice which cracked from the withheld sobs. "He threw his life away and for what? For you and your dream! You never let him have a dream of his own, but he didn't care... and you just tossed him aside like he was nothing...! A broken tool... man, that's so wrong... So wrong'tebayo!"

In the end, he lost all the vehemency he had and only the weeping remained. Solana clenched at the hilt of her blade so strongly that her knuckles turned white, and while her face was wet from the tears once again, she looked up with a heartbroken, yet determined light in her eyes and decided to give Zabuza a piece of her mind as well.

"He killed my friend," she silently admitted. "He killed the first friend I've ever made, the first one who didn't care where I was from or what I could do because he only saw me. Haku killed him because of you and I could've accepted that since he was also protecting someone precious to him, but this? I will never accept this! I won't accept that my friend's death and his were for nothing! So if you really are too coward or ignorant to honor Haku's memory, then you truly are a demon and deserve to rot in hell!"

She gritted her teeth and forced her attention away from Naruto and to Zabuza. What she found however wasn't what she was expecting, and even though deep down she hoped this was the case, it still shocked her.

"You talk too much, brats," Zabuza muttered. The redhead could feel the layers which had hid his true emotions slowly fading away and now the grief, the pain, the all too familiar feeling of losing the most important person in your life were all out in the open. "Your words cut deep. Deeper than any blade."

The assassin looked up to the sky and while they couldn't see his face, they both knew that he was crying.

"While he fought with you lot, his heart was breaking in two," Zabuza told them, sounding defeated. "You see, Haku was always too soft, too kind. He felt pain and sorrow, and now, curse him, I feel them too..."

Was it truly Haku's doing? Or was it Naruto, who had forced him to face the fact that he too, had a caring heart? Solana didn't know and she didn't care. She was just relieved that Haku didn't die in vain, since the one he sacrifised his life for also would've done the same for him. Even when he only admitted it in his last moments.

"And something else," Zabuza sighed. "I feel content... that this is the way it ends."

He then took the bandages around his face into his mouth and used his teeth to tear them down, revealing his unusually sharp teeth. Then, he smugly turned towards them when none of them spoke a word.

"Well, cat got your tongue?" he asked teasingly. "Are you two so surprised to discover that I'm human? Even shinobi are human, no matter how hard we try to escape that simple fact, we always fail. Well, at least I've failed..."

"If you ask me" Solana cleared the tears away and look into the man's eyes, "I think the failure is when we let others decide our fate. And when you think yourself as a weapon or a tool, you inevitably let others to have control over your life. You can't kill your emotions and when you admit that, I think that's when you win and earn the gift of freedom."

She ignored Kakashi's shocked expression, instead she nodded back to Zabuza, who silently thanked her compassion. Then he turned towards Naruto, his expression hardening as he fully committed and excepted his fate.

"Boy! Give me your kunai!" he demanded, surprising all of them. Naruto and Solana shared a look and after the girl nodded, he pulled out one and threw it in the air. Zabuza caught it between his sharp teeth and charged towards Gatō, who, sensing that his minutes are countered, immediately went for the protection of his thugs.

"That's enough of this! Do it! Take him down now!" he gave the order to his men, but Solana knew it was a lost cause. They were facing an S-class rogue ninja, who, even without his arms, was capable of destroying all of them.

They did as great opposition as she initially thought. Zabuza sliced through the crowd with relative ease, dodging and cutting anyone who stood in his way, although he also go two spears stabbed in his back, but the pain seemed to give him an even bigger rush. Naruto cringed when the assassin got the first hit, however Solana and Kakashi just watched with a neutral face as Zabuza made through to his real target, who got himself backed up at the end of the unfinished bridge. Even from that distance, Solana could feel the Demon Ninja's aura on her skin, and it gave her goosebumps.

In the end, Zabuza rushed towards Gatō and stabbed him in the chest, who vomitied blood in response. However that one moment of steadiness was all the thugs needed, and they stuck their spears and swords into Zabuza's back, who let got of Gatō because of this and coughed and stumbled towards the edge.

"Y-You crazy fool!" Gatō spat. "If you're so eager to join your friend, go ahead, but you're not taking me! Not this time!"

"Huh." Zabuza only huffed as everything he'd got caught upon him, but he didn't lose sight of his target for even a second. "I won't be joining Haku. Where's gone, I cannot follow."

Gatō was shaking in his whole body as the rogue ninja practically pressed his face mere inches away from his.

"Stay back! Stay back!"

"We wouldn't be welcome where Haku's gone to. Hell's where we are going, Gatō! I can't think of a more fitting destination for a Demon Ninja, can you? I'm told there are many demons down there, of all shapes and sizes... Oh yes, I should fit right in!" Zabuza chuckled evilly. "You, on the other hand, Gatō... well, I fear, you're in a long and very painful eternity!"

He took the kunai into his mouth again and ripped it out of Gatō's chest just to slice his flesh open several times, then he circled around him for one last time to have a clear opening to his neck. And with one final hit, he cut Gatō's neck open and the force of it pushed the businessman off the bridge, right into the sea.

The thugs were frozen from fear and terror as Zabuza turned towards them and unintentionally cleared the way to make a corridor straight to Haku. Zabuza stumbled, then started walking towards his lost loved one, but the adrenaline could only take him to complete his vengeance. After a few steps, Zabuza fell on his knees and with some last muttered words, he collapsed onto the ground.

It seemed like no one was breathing. Naruto couldn't look at the state of the man any longer, so he closed his eyes, but...

"Don't turn away," Kakashi said in a low, but firm voice. "When you live like a warrior, this is how it ends."

Naruto didn't say anything, just simply turned his head back. Solana put her free hand on his shoulder and he responded with reaching across his chest and grabbing it. This is how they stood for several minutes, silently paying respects to the fallen shinobi who lived his life as a tool, but in the end, he could make a decision for himself. The thugs were just too taken aback from what they'd witnessed and none of them dared to move, afraid that the demon might wake up and send them all after Gatō.

Suddenly a cheerful voice called from behind.

"Solana! Naruto!" They turned back and watched Sakura waving at them, but also... "Look, it's Sasuke-kun! He's alright, he's alright!"

Naruto gasped, Solana's breath hitched and they both just stared at Sasuke with wide-open eyes, who was already on his feet and while not looking into their eyes, he slowly lifted his left hand as a greeting.

How...? the question echoed in Solana's mind. But soon after the answer came as well: Haku was pretending to be a tracking ninja, and probably knew everything about human anatomy. Hell, he'd even faked Zabuza's death before! So that meant that... he'd never intended to kill them. Not from the beginning.

The strenght left her legs and Solana's knees buckled, but thanks to Naruto's quick reaction, she landed in his arms, dropping the chakra blade in the process. With that however, she managed to scare everyone around her; Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna all started running towards them, fearing that she might be injured.

"Solana!" Sasuke arrived first, hissing from the pain since he still had some needles in his body, but the light in his eyes were focused on her. "Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

The moment he was in arms' reach, Solana shot up and hugged him, not caring that Sasuke might not appreciate it as much. But to be honest, she thought she lost him for good, so she deserved to have at least a hug in return.

"You stupid... stupid Duckhair..." she hiccuped as her tears were dried up by his clothes. "Don't you dare scare me like that again or I'll kill you myself!"

She hugged his neck tighter for a few moments, then let him go and grinned at him, her heart as light as a feather.

"Welcome back to the land of the living!"

Sasuke just blinked at her, but she didn't care. He was back, with his usual unfazed and no-bullshit self, and she couldn't be happier about it. For the first time, she didn't want the old Sasuke back, but the one standing in front of her. This side of him also had a strange charm to it and she couldn't wait to annoy the heck out of him.

"Well, well, will wonders ever cease?" Kakashi muttered in an amazed tone, but Solana knew he also was incredibly relieved that Sasuke was alive.

"Hey, yooho!" a thug hit the end of his spear to the ground a few times to get their attention and all their heads snapped towards him and his companions. "Don't go and get too comfortable!"

"This party ain't over yet!" another one jammed in. "Who's gonna pay us now that Gatō's gone?"

"No way we're gonna leave here empty-handed!" the first one continued. "So we'll just hit that village and see what they've got for us!"

To that, they all cheered and seemed elated that they could hurt someone after all.

"Not good," Kakashi scowled under his mask.

"C'mon, Kakashi-sensei! You must have a jutsu that could take care of this bunch of losers!" Naruto turned to Kakashi, having no intention of giving up.

"Not rigth now, I used too much chakra," the silver-haired man shook his head.

"Let me at them, I will teach them who they're fucking with!" Solana growled, her hands just itching to punch those dipshits' teeth out.

"Get them, boys!" the first guy shouted and the thugs charged. Solana grabbed the chakra blade and was ready to transform back into her angel form, but suddenly an arrow shot through the air and landed in front of the thugs. As they all turned back to see where on earth did it come from, they were welcomed with a sight they'd never expected.

"There's one little thing you're forgetting about!" a man - Solana recognised with a joyful rush as Giichi -shouted at them determined. "Before you set one foot in our village, you'll have to go through all of us!"

Behind him, the crowd of the villagers yelled, all ready to fight with what axe, vane, spade or stick they could find. And in front of them all, stood Inari in his little helmet with a burning gaze, holding an arrow slinger in hand.

"Inari!" Naruto exclaimed happily. He seemed like the only one who wasn't as surprised to see him as Solana and the other members of Team 7.

The little boy laughed happily.

"Heroes usually show up at the last minute, you know!" he pumped his fist, like he was saying some inside joke to Naruto.

"They've all come..." Tazuna teared up, his heart overflowed with gratitude and hope. "The whole village..."

Solana glanced at the thugs, who kind of lost their enthusiasm against such an opposition. Not wanting to miss out the fun, she took a step and jumped while she transformed and the moment her weathered wings shot out her back, she snapped with them and emerged from the flames. She flew up a few feet, then pointed her chakra blade towards them while she lit up that and her other hand.

"This village owns you nothing!" she declared. "Get lost before I finish that man's job and cut you down! Or, I can fry you a little! Which one you pick?"

Emphasizing her words, she sliced with the blade which emitted fire thanks to its unique design and the shockwave of flames were enough to scare them off. It would've disappeared before it reached them, but the thugs didn't stay to wait it out, instead they ran for it and were so eager to leave this bridge that many of them fell into the sea.

While some of the villagers ran to the railing to watch them go, Inari fistbumped into the air and shouted: "Victory!"

The villagers echoed his cry-out as Tazuna hurried over to hug his grandson and daughter.

Solana descended back to the ground, grinning mischieviously.

"Show-off," Naruto scoffed, his eyes sparkling with a matching intent.

"I'm sorry, which one of us decided to arrive into a battle with smoke bombs and do the theatrical speech?" Solana retorted and seeing Naruto's blush, she shoved his shoulder in a playful manner. "That's what I thought."

"Your wings look a little ruffled, are you alright?" Sakura asked out all of them.

"Yeah, nothing critical," the redhead waved it off. "Although it'll be a nightmare to sit still while Sora preens them. It'll probably take hours," she shivered at the thought of that.

"I can do it, if you'd like," Naruto offered, but Solana just smiled.

"Thanks, but given how many hits I've got, I'd rather have Sora do it this time. I reckon they need some healing as well."

She felt a sudden shift in the aether, so subtle that at first she didn't even know where it'd come from. She recognized the symptoms of a sudden mood change, but she only saw that it was Sasuke when her gaze wandered on his darkened and hurt expression. She didn't even have time to wonder what caused this change in him, because Naruto poked her arm and pointed at something behind them.

Turning back, she saw Kakashi by Zabuza's side and judging by the looks of it he was speaking to him, meaning that Zabuza was still alive. They couldn't hear them, but when Kakashi knelt down and started pulling out the swords and spears from the assassin's back carefully, the cheering slowly died down as everyone's eyes became fixated on the pair of them.

When he was finished, Kakashi, now his headband covering his Sharingan, gently lifted up Zabuza and carried him to Haku. While he was walking, snow started falling from the sky, quiet and peaceful, yet somewhat full of sorrow.

"What?" someone from the crowd voiced their surprise.

"Snowing at this time of the year?" another added.

Solana looked down at Haku, who seemed so small in his death and suddenly she remembered that he was barely older than them. He hardly had time to live and yet he gave it away without a second thought so he could save his master. And now, when Zabuza was reaching the end of his life, his grief made the heavens snow.

Kakashi laid down Zabuza next to Haku, still careful to not hurt him even more.

"Thank you, Kakashi," the rogue ninja said blankly, staring up to the sky as the snowing intensifyed. Kakashi just nodded and walked back to Team 7.

Zabuza turned towards Haku, but Solana was sure that she saw tears in the man's eyes, even though his voice was steady as ever, but weaking steadily.

"You were always at my side... the least I can do is be beside you at the end..." he spoke kindly to his subordinate as he, no doubt in great pain, raised his hand to touch his cheek one last time. "I know it cannot be... but I wish I could go where you've gone... oh, how I wish I could join there, Haku..."

When Zabuza closed his eyes, Solana took the steps to them, ignoring Kakashi's protests. She sat down by their heads, her wings and the hem of her dress touching and spreading on the ground. After she put down her blade next to herself, she held out her hands above their heads, and one small flame appeared in her palms. She closed her eyes and while praying that she wouldn't screw this up, turned the flames into fireballs, then threw them up towards the sky, where she made the join and take up the form of a bird.

Just when that happened, the sun peered through the clouds, shining down on the two fallen warriors. Solana made the firebird fly up towards the light, then she turned it into a firework-type of explosion, symbolizing the end of their lives on these lands and giving them one final guidance so they could find their way back to each other, then into the heavens.

As an angel, the least she could do was give them a small part of the funerals she attended the first eight years of her life.

Later that day, after their injuries were all treated by the really eager villagers, Team 7 buried Zabuza and Haku near the outskirts of the village, and while their graves didn't have names on them, Zabuza's sword identified who were resting here (also the villagers gave their word that they would never forget about them and would pay their respects occasionally).

"Is that really it, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked after she put the flower crowns she made on the graves. She frowned at their sensei, but she also seemed genuinely worried. "Is that really the ninja way? To use and be used by people like tools?"

Solana was also wondering about this ever since she and Naruto told the others what they'd learned from Haku, so she was eager to her Kakashi's answer, too.

"Shinobi are mere tools in the hands of destiny," the man said solemnly. "No point in wondering whether it's right or wrong. It just is... It's the same in Konoha..."

"Well, if you ask me, if that's what being a ninja is all about, something's out of whack," Naruto grunted, lowering his gaze.

"Couldn't have said better," Solana agreed wholeheartedly. "I mean, what's the point of going through all that training if it's just for to end up like them?"

"What's the reason for that?" Sasuke asked as well, whose face, arms and legs were covered in bandages. Once Solana's chakra levels were restored, she would speed up the process, but for now, he had to put up with the old fashioned way.

"Well" Kakashi sighed, "it's a question without an answer and that is something we ninja have to deal with every day of our lives. Like Zabuza and the kid."

"I'm not going to accept that," Solana crossed her arms before her chest. "Call me a naive idiot, but this is just wrong. Shinobi are also people, with hopes and dreams for their future. I know we have to endure a lot of things, but accepting that we don't have any control over our lives and we're just thrown left and right by destiny is utter bullshit in my opinion. There's no such thing as destiny. We're the maker of our own fate."

"Exactly!" Naruto nodded, then faced the setting sun and perked up. "Okay, I've come to a decision'dattebayo! From now on, I'm following my own ninja way. A way that's straight and true and without any regrets. From now on, I'm following the way of Naruto'dattebayo!"

Solana just smiled at her best friend, glad that he didn't let this experience change him too much. They all learned from it - she felt it herself -, but they wouldn't lose hope because of it.

As Tazuna predicted, a few days later they reached the main land and the bridge was finished. It became a rather imposing sight, and Solana couldn't be happier that they managed to change the lives of these people to the better. Even though that it meant they now had to go back to Konoha.

"We could have never finished the bridge without you," Tazuna smiled at them. He became a hero in everybody's eyes, but he was really timid about it and always chuckled nervously when the villagers bowed to him wherever he went. "I can't tell how much we're going to miss you."

"Do be careful," Tsunami, always the mother, said her farewell.

"Thank you for everything," Kakashi smiled back.

"Now, now, don't get all choked up," Naruto grinned. "We'll come back and visit really soon."

"You swear you will?" Inari asked, clearly fighting with his tears. Naruto blinked at him while Tazuna put his hand at the top of his grandson's head, consoling him.

"Of course..." Naruto's eyes filled with tears as well. "Y-You know Inari, it's alright to cry if you want... there's nothing wrong with that, go for it."

"Who says I wanna cry?" Inari retorted back. "Anyway, if there's nothing wrong with it, why don't you go and cry?"

"No, you first..."

"Oh boy," Solana sighed as she patted Naruto's back, but she too had a lump in her throat. She'd come to like this little kid in these past few days, although she was nowhere near breaking down like the two boys who were both sobbing when Team 7 turned and started walking across the bridge, being its first ever passengers.

"Haha!" Naruto quickly overcame the sadness of farewell and was back to his cheerful self. "As soon as we get back, I'm gonna have Iruka-sensei fix me up a whole mess of ramen to celebrate a mission accomplished!"

"I can't wait to tell Sora all about this mission," Solana added smiling. "Although she's gonna have a heart attack when she sees my wings..."

"Ah, Sora-nee is a badass, she won't even be fazed!" Naruto waved nonchalantly. "But wait till we tell Konohamaru about our adventures. The kid's gonna worship us!"

"Hey..." Sakura started indefinitely.

"Yeah?"

"Not you, Naruto!" she dismissed him and went to Sasuke's side. "Hey, Sasuke-kun, when we get back, you wanna go out and do something together?"

"I don't think so, thanks," the Uchiha bluntly declined, making Sakura to freeze in place.

"You know, we should all go and have a meal together!" Solana looked up at Kakashi while Naruto stayed behind to try and cheer Sakura up (who didn't really like the gesture). "A team dinner, to celebrate the success of our first A-rank mission! What do you say?"

Kakashi chukled, then ruffled her hair.

"I say that I pay, Fireball," he smiled at her, and Solana happily fistbumped into the air.

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Finally made it through the Land of Waves Arc! I hope you like the story so far, and stay tuned for the Chuunin Exams!
Anna