The bridge groaned beneath the weight of battle.
On one end—Kakashi and Zabuza, locked in a dance of death.
On the other—we were dying slowly inside a cage of mirrors.
---
Zabuza vs. Kakashi
"Your eyes are clearer now," Zabuza said, hefting his sword.
Kakashi didn't answer.
His Sharingan was exposed, lightning crackling along his arm. A blur of signs. A burst of chakra. He moved with cold intent.
This wasn't the Kakashi who read Icha Icha between sparring sessions.
This was the man who'd buried friends.
---
Us, Inside the Dome
Sasuke collapsed to his knees. Needles riddled his arms, his side. He was breathing hard, shallow, one hand trembling near a kunai.
"Idiot…" he gasped. "You… you let yourself get hit for me."
Naruto's eyes were wide, panicked. "Why would you do that?!"
"Because you're… annoying," Sasuke muttered, and actually smirked.
Then his eyes closed.
And Naruto screamed.
---
Naruto's Chakra Shifted.
It was like watching a glass of still water explode.
The air around him changed—red, burning, angry. I could feel the heat before I saw it. His hair bristled. His eyes…
They weren't his anymore.
"I'll kill you," he said to Haku.
Low. Animal. Real.
Haku hesitated.
Because this chakra—it was monstrous. Old. Wrong.
And Naruto charged.
---
I stepped in his path.
Grabbed him.
His hand nearly took my head off, but I held firm.
"He's not the enemy," I said.
"He HURT Sasuke!"
"And he didn't kill him."
Naruto's breath hitched.
"He had the chance. Over and over. But he didn't. He's holding back."
I turned to Haku.
"Why?"
---
Haku lowered his hands.
Mask cracked.
And then—he took it off.
His face was… still. Calm.
"I wanted you to kill me," he said.
"What?"
"I wanted to die by someone kind."
I stared at him, stunned.
Naruto's chakra fizzled like a dying flame.
"Why…?" Naruto whispered. "Why would you…"
"Because I have nothing else."
---
Meanwhile, Across the Bridge
Kakashi's Lightning Blade pierced through the mist.
Zabuza blocked with his sword—but barely. Blood spattered across the ice and stone.
"You're hesitating," Kakashi said. "Why?"
Zabuza growled. "Shut up."
"You care about him."
"No. He's a tool."
"But you hesitated."
And Zabuza—didn't deny it.
---
Back in the Dome
Haku looked at me.
"Will you fight me… seriously now?"
I looked at Sasuke's still form. At Naruto's confused, grief-stricken face.
And I nodded.
"Yeah."
"Good."
And for the first time, he smiled.
Not soft.
Not sad.
But relieved.