After Kakashi's fight with Zabuza, your team stayed at Tazuna's house as you waited for Kakashi to recover.

Naruto: Umm...(Y/n)?

The blonde crawled over to you as you sat in the corner of the room.

Your (E/c) eyes shifted to him without saying a word. He seemed a bit nervous instead of his usual active self.

Naruto: Uh...It's not that I mean to say anything bad, but...from the way you were talking before I thought you had fought against guys like Zabuza before so I just wanted to make sure you were ok.

(Y/n): I'm fine don't worry. If anything else happens you can count on me.

Sasuke: Ha, tough talk from the guy who froze up while Naruto and I helped Kakashi.

Your eyes narrowed at the Sasuke as he mocked you.

(Y/n): This is my first time as a member of a team in years. After I showed my dad I could handle myself without any help, all of my missions were solo. The only reason I froze up was because I had to follow Kakashi's orders after years of being free to do whatever I wanted.

Naruto: Oh, I see so that's what happened. Sorry I doubted you, (Y/n). No, wait! It's not that I doubted you I was just checking if you were ok!

Sasuke: Heh, sounds like an excuse to me.

(Y/n): I don't care what it sounds like to you. Especially since you were about to kill yourself back there before Kakashi called out our names.

You lifted your head, smirking at him as you reminded him his own cowardice.

Sakura: What are you talking about (Y/n)?! How dare you make that up about Sasuke just because you didn't do anything.

(Y/n): Am I lying Sasuke? Then please tell me, why did you turn your own kunai to yourself back in Zabuza's mist? Was that the first time you felt real killing intent?

Sasuke clutched his hand tightly and bit down on his teeth.

Naruto: Sasuke...is that true?

Sasuke: Shut up loser! I don't need to explain anything to any of you!

He stood up and walked past you to leave the room.

Sakura: Sasuke, wait. I'll come with you.

She said, desperately getting up fast enough to run after him.

(Y/n): There's no shame in trembling at someone else's bloodlust. Zabuza is a different type of shinobi than what you saw back at your academy. I was afraid the first time I felt someone wanting to kill me and I was blind at the time.

Naruto: Huh, (Y/n) you were blind? What happened?

He asked, ignoring Sasuke's tantrum and showing his interest in you.

(Y/n): Oh, don't worry. It was from a surgery my dad did on my eyes when I was little. I'm fine now, see.

You lifted up your eyelids to show Naruto as he examined your (E/c) eyes.

Sasuke: I am nothing like you! I've trained too hard to simply freeze up like that! Those things shouldn't happen to me!

He pounded the wall next to him as he shouted at you and Naruto who were already moving on.

(Y/n): Hahaha! Are you serious? There's no such thing as someone who's prepared for everything. It's how you adapt that shows your true strength. I can tell you now and you can ask Kakashi later, no mission and defiantly not every fight will go according to plan. If you're not ready for that you're doomed to fail.

You chuckled as you heard Sasuke's prideful outburst.

Naruto: (Y/n) does that mean you're going to team-up with us next time?

He asked as he started stroking Yang's head gently as the white snake poked her head out from the black overlong sleeve of your kimono.

You nodded and smiled, eager for another chance to prove yourself and happy to see Naruto getting along with Yang.

Before Sasuke could go any further Tazuna's daughter came into the room and told you that Kakashi was awake.

When he woke up Kakashi had felt something different and believed that Zabuza was still alive. At first you and he others doubted him, but he explained how everything with the ninja who took Zabuza's body seemed strange. How he took the body away with him and the weapons he used, none of them made sense so the conclusion was that Zabuza was still alive.

You and Naruto were clearly excited. This meant you had another chance to fight him.

Of course Sasuke stayed quiet, but Sakura let out how here was nothing they could do since Kakashi was still bedridden. The man simply smiled and told you all his plan.

Kakashi: We have time so I'm going to train you.

He was confident in his plan that you thought it would be something drastic to push all of you to his and Zabuza's level.

When you went outside with him he showed you his training plan and to your disappointment it was just basic Chakra control to walk up the side of a tree. Something your dad had taught you a long time ago.

On his command you all ran to the trees and started running upwards. Naruto fell almost immediately, Sasuke almost reached halfway up, but to your surprise Sakura was able to reach the top with you.

You both waved down to the other two and got a passing grade from Kakashi.

Since you had passed, you had to wait for Naruto and Sasuke so you just sat under by the tree and pet Yang as she slept on your arm.

It was a bit amusing seeing Sasuke getting angry at being unable to pass the same point. Sakura was keeping her distance from you. She hadn't made any attempt to understand you and wasn't even trying to treat you as a teammate.

Naruto: (Y/n), do you think you can help me out?

You didn't notice him come over to you, but you were glad he trusted you for some advice.

Naruto: I'd ask Sakura, but I think you've done this for a longer time, right? So can you help me?

(Y/n): Of course.

You smiled cheerfully and he sat down across from you, eager to hear what you had to tell him.

(Y/n): First you have to focus. You're basically learning to walk with Chakra now so if you rush you're going to get hurt. Take it one step at a time there's no need to run to the top if you don't think you can do it and don't get frustrated or else your Chakra will become imbalanced and you'll fall down again.

Your friend nodded along to what you said. He was actually paying attention even if some of it was hard for him to follow along.

(Y/n): A trick I used while learning this was that I kept imagining that I was running away from the ground. It helped me feel like there was something dangerous waiting for me that I had to get away from. Using that method I was able to walk up the tree in two days without any trouble.

Naruto: Heh, that helped a lot thanks! I just got to clear my head and think like you did and I'll have this down easy. Thanks a lot, (Y/n)!

He waved to you with both arms as he headed back to the trees.

You were proud of yourself that you could help him like that since he seemed freaked out the day before when you killed the two Mist ninja.

Kakashi: It seems you and Naruto are getting along quite well.

He looked down at you as his crutches held him up.

(Was he worried about me all this time?) You looked up at him as he went back to check on the others.

You thought that having someone constantly watching you would be annoying, but he wasn't overbearing or repetitive. He trusted that each of you could find a way to pass the exercise on your own since there wasn't any single 'right way' to learning. The advice you gave to Naruto was how you believed was the best way to understand Chakra control. Orochimaru never told you how he mastered it and his way was probably different from Kakashi's so there was very little he could do other than simply show them what they were capable of if they tried and offered them a hand if they asked.

After a few hours of training Kakashi went over to you with Sakura beside him.

Kakashi: Since you two have already gotten a handle on this training, I want you to go with Tazuna as he works on the bridge.

You stood up at hearing the order and walked to join Sakura.

Kakashi: (Y/n) if anything happens remember the mission. Protect Tazuna and work together with Sakura.

He looked to you since out of the two of you, you were the only one who might have a chance at fighting Zabuza or any other threats that might appear.

You nodded with an eager smile, hoping you could make up for last time and see if you could "protect" someone...it was still a strange thing to consider, but you didn't want to fail the mission so you had to accept it.

At the bridge there wasn't much for you to do except watch over the old man as he and his crew worked on the construction. It was fun watching them expand the bridge bit by bit since you had never seen something like it before.

The old man might have been weak, but he was doing something you couldn't and you actually ended up forming some respect for him and the other workers, at least those that didn't quit from the fear of being killed by Gato.

Sakura continued keeping her distance from you as she sat on the other side of the bridge from you.

When you finally left the bridge for the day you walked ahead of Sakura as she walked next to the old man.

Walking through his village you saw how poor its people had become from Gato's corruption. The store Tazuna stopped at barely had anything to sell. You got to see some of Sakura capable of some kindness as you saw when she gave a starving child something to eat and that actually made you have second thoughts about her.

Tazuna: The children in this village are the ones who suffer the most. Most of the adults are too afraid to do anything. They're going to inherit a rotting village at this rate and that's why we need that bridge.

You looked around as he said this and saw that there were many adults who were simply lying around, too afraid to do anything like Tazuna was.

(Y/n): Old man, why haven't you given up yet?

You asked bluntly as you looked at him.

Tazuna: Because someone has to save this village, it's not much, but it's my home.

(Y/n): I see. Then why aren't these people trying to help? I'm sure you could use them on the bridge. They could help move supplies, help keep the workers fed and even work as security.

Tazuna: I told you, they're too scared.

(Y/n): I think the proper word is ''pathetic".

You said bluntly again as you looked at each person who had decided to simply idle around.

Sakura: (Y/n)! You shouldn't call people pathetic like that, it's cold and rude! Not everyone trained like us to fight, you know.

(Y/n): Neither was the old man, but he's risking his life. Why aren't the others?

Tazuna: I don't think you get it kid.

The old man sighed and shook his head at you.

(Y/n): Then let me tell you what I do understand and then you can correct me. You knew that building that bridge would put your life in danger, but you went and started building it anyway to save your home. And instead of helping you and risk dying a quick death at Zauza's hands, they've chosen a slow death under Gato's thumb. Now tell me, did I miss anything?

You glared at the old man, even though you had started respecting him you couldn't acknowledge the logic behind him protecting so many people who had already given up the fight.

Neither he nor Sakura could answer you as you turned to continue walking to his house.

While you still struggled to finish your dinner, holding the chopsticks straight was hard, Naruto and Sasuke were practically racing each other. They had both spent the whole day training and were still competing even after they had left the forest.

Naruto: Heh at this rate, I'll defiantly become strong enough to defeat Zabuza and that masked guy, believe it!

Kakashi: Calm down Naruto. If you push yourself too hard all you're going to end up doing is wearing yourself out and then you won't be able to fight any body.

Naruto: I-I know, but I want to save this place.

Inari: Shut up!! We don't need people who are just going to throw their lives away! Heroes aren't real.

The old man's grandson couldn't stand watching Naruto go on about how he was going to defeat Zabuza and the other ninja and went upstairs upset again. Tazuna told you why Inari had become like this. His dad was killed by Gato when he stood up to him to defend the village.

(Y/n): Some hero he was.

You pouted at hearing the story and the reason behind the village's fear of fighting back.

Kakashi: (Y/n) you really need to learn what's ok to say out loud and what isn't.

(Y/n): But it's true. The village relied on one person and when he died they all lost the will to fight. Their hero protected them so much that they became unable to do anything without him.

Naruto: (Y/n) stop...I don't want to hear you talking like that.

You didn't want to upset him so you stayed quiet.

Suddenly, Naruto left to train even more. You could tell that something had changed in him, he wasn't training simply to get strong anymore.

Everything about this mission was starting to confuse you. Protecting people who simply sit idly by while you're putting your life in danger for their sake. Wanting to become stronger for a reason beyond defeating a strong enemy. None of this made any sense to you so you left the house to clear your head.

(Is this how shinobi are when they work together?) You thought to yourself as you tried to understand what you were feeling.

(If it was protecting each other then maybe I could understand. I actually trusted Kakashi when he said he would protect me while I was behind him. I'd like to protect him as well...Naruto too. I really liked it when he asked me for help today. I hope he asks me that again sometime.) You chuckled as you remembered how happy he got from your advice and then stopped as you realized that there were things you wanted to protect.

Orochimaru was far stronger than you so you never worried about him. The only thing you were told to protect were his test subjects before they died from one of his projects, but that was just to keep them from being found, escaping or killing each other.

As you wandered around the woods you felt someone watching you and instantly threw a shuriken at their direction.

You dashed towards them before they could get away, but this one ran towards you after your attack.

They stopped above you in the branches of one of the trees, It was the masked boy who took Zabuza away.

(Y/n): There's no way Zabuza is already healed after what Kakashi did to him so what do you want? If you're here to spy on us you're doing a poor job of it.

You took a stance as you brought both hands up in front of your chest holding up one palm behind your other hand as you held up a kunai.

???: I'm merely tending to a curiosity from when I saw you before. Your eyes, those are the same eyes that I have. You live, but not as a person. Like me, you are another weapon that lives and fights for someone else, am I correct?

As he said this an image of Orochimaru appeared in your mind.

Even though you were his son and he often showed you affection as a father would, how he viewed you changed to fit what he needed from you.

You completed any mission he gave you to further his ideals, suffered through countless experiments and surgeries for his studies and trained for days without being allowed to sleep until he was satisfied.

As the boy said "Orochimaru's weapon" might have been the term most people would use to describe you instead of as his son.

(Y/n): All right so we're both weapons. What of it?

You glared up at him. It was already annoying not having Orochimaru around anymore, but now you were just getting angry having to think about these things.

???: If I may, I'd like to talk to you for a while. This is the first time I've met someone like me.

You simply looked up at him for a moment.

(Y/n): If you want to talk then come down here, I don't like it when someone is looking down on me like that.

The boy leapt of the branch and landed in front of you.

???: Thank you.

He stayed where he landed and he told you how he came to meet Zabuza in the first place. Then he asked you about the person you belonged to.

You told him a bit about Orochimaru, being careful not to giveaway too much information.

???: So he kept you locked away in these "hideouts"?

(Y/n): I was never "locked up". I could walk around outside as much as I wanted as long as I didn't go too far. He even gave me a deadline to complete my missions and come back. If I finished my missions early I could do whatever I wanted before I had to go home.

While it was true that Orochimaru kept you isolated during training, he never treated you as one of his prisoners.

You couldn't properly compare Zabuza with Orochimaru, since you were raised as his son and he as a weapon from the very beginning. What you and the masked boy had in common was how advanced your training was compared to those from the Hidden Villages.

Neither of you were trained with restraints and immediately saw how dangerous the missions you were training for were. Both of you learned from pain and danger after nearly dying to reach the level each of your masters forced you to reach.

You were a different breed of ninja when compared to Naruto and the others. There was strength in the way they learned things, after all you knew your dad was from the Hidden Leaf and Kakashi was clearly stronger than you. Just like when you helped Naruto during training, there wasn't any right or wrong way to raise someone into being a ninja.

???: Thank you for speaking with me. I know we are enemies, but I wanted to talk to you at least once before we fought.

(Y/n): What's your name anyway?

You asked as you the boy about to leave.

???: Haku.

(Y/n): You know Haku, if you and Zabuza attack the old man, I'll have to protect him. If that happens I won't be able to enjoy our fight. So what do you say you and I have a friendly sparring match, here and now?

You grinned as you twirled your kunai on your finger.

Haku: ...?

(Y/n): We won't have to fight to the death here, but it would help both of us to prepare for when Zabuza does make his move. You can't tell me you don't have the urge. Are you really ok with simply talking to me?

Haku: Very well, as long as it's a simple match it might be interesting.

You glared at Haku's mask and threw your kunai at him.

He quickly knocked it off course with his needles, but instead of attacking, you both jumped back into the trees behind you as your first weapons hit the ground.

Tracking Haku was more difficult than you thought. Each time you found him and jumped down to attack, he would simply counter your attacks and then leap off the branch you were on and hide again.

You summoned your Blast Clones and sent them out to hunt him down. You had set them with a small blast that wouldn't kill Haku, but worked more as a Flashbang to stun him.

When you saw one of the clones go off you ordered one of the remaining two to go ahead of you as you and the other watched to see if Haku had truly been hit.

You saw Haku lying on the branch as your Clone approached him only to be killed after Haku was able to move so fast that he was behind the Clone when he killed it, but already above the branch by the time the blast went off.

Haku's sheer speed was more than you expected as he was able to find you by running through the trees and destroying your last Clone as he moved to you.

As he dashed to you from between the leaves and branches you grinned as he got closer. You had a Jutsu that Orochimaru had been training you before you were separated from him. You didn't have as much experience with it as your other jutsus, but if it could work on someone with Haku's speed then it could hold anyone.

At the last second as Haku got close to you, you were able to fall backwards out of the tree and he followed after you.

As he fell down on you, Haku tossed more of his needles, but you were able to knock them away with a kunai knife.

You curled your body up as you noticed you were about to hit the ground and used your hand to launch yourself off the grass and up to your feet. Haku dashed at you again with his extreme speed and circled you as he threw even more needles to slow you down.

You deflected each of them and Haku instantly appeared beside you with needles between the fingers of his fist, but just before he could get them into you, he stopped completely.

(Summoning Jutsu: Binding Snake Glare) A large white snake had come out from your sleeve and had Haku trapped between its body and unable to move.

(Y/n): Damn it, dad can do this without any effort, but I had to move just now to dodge you.

Even with his mask on you could tell the Jutsu was having an effect on him. Orochimaru had told you how powerful this technique was. Not only could the users killing intent be felt through the snakes and weaken their targets, but they were much more advanced in strength and intelligence than normal summons, being able to move on their own to better trap their prey. Orochimaru showed how even skilled shinobi were unable to escape from this and that you were to start using it to bring him more test subjects with this new technique.

Haku: Are you going to kill me?

Even in this situation his voice remained soft and cold, ready for you to deal with him.

Honestly a part of you thought about it, it would make your mission easier if he was dead, but you remembered how you upset Naruto before and thought that lying would be something else that he wouldn't like.

The large white snake crawled back up your sleeve, releasing Haku.

(Y/n): Looks like I win. I hope you can improve by the next time we meet.

You said as you started walking away.

Haku: I will. I must protect Zabuza at any cost.

His words to you before you each went your own way tugged at something inside you.

(Y/n): "At any cost"? I wonder if I can say the same about my own team.

You started walking back to the house when suddenly you felt Yang crawl up your back and slithered onto your shoulder.

(Y/n): Good morning Yang, did you sleep well?

You smiled at her as she flicked her tongue.

(Y/n): I didn't get a new snake, it was just a summoning to win the fight. Please don't be mad.

You passed your finger down the black diamond on her back as you spoke with her.

It was getting late and you were still a bit far from the house so you decided to sleep on one of the trees.

As you leaned back onto the tree trunk you saw Naruto sleeping on the ground a few meters away from you.

(Heh, you spent all night training too. I guess we both deserve some rest.) You thought to yourself as you closed your (E/c) eyes and fell asleep.

You woke up the next morning and stood up on the branch to stretch. You looked down and saw Naruto was still sleeping on the ground.

(Honestly, he's lucky an animal didn't come by and eat him last night.) You chuckled before leaping down.

You walked over to Naruto and picked him up over your shoulder. On the way to Tazuna's house, you saw Sasuke walking towards you.

(Y/n): Going off to train already?

Sasuke: I came to look for you two since neither of you losers came back last night.

(Y/n): Aww were you worried about us. Don't worry we're fine so you can dry your tears.

You chuckled as you walked past him. There was some fun in teasing Sasuke since he thought he was so much better than you and Naruto.

When you got back, Kakashi scolded you a little for not coming back sooner and then told you to rest until Naruto woke up as he took Sasuke and Sakura to protect Tazuna.

You sat down next to Naruto as he slept and felt that there was something that reminded you of Haku. It was strange, you were being allowed to kill like in your missions from before, but after talking to him, you wondered if that was the only way this mission could end.