"You should've killed me when you had the chance."
---
The Mist Hung Heavy.
Cold. Endless. Smothering.
The kind of fog that swallowed sound and made the world feel like it was holding its breath.
The ice mirrors had shattered, but Haku and I kept fighting—on the cracked stone of the bridge, between splinters of frost and blood. No more illusions. No more talk.
Just strikes.
Just purpose.
---
He was faster than me. Sharper. Every needle thrown with surgical precision.
But I was holding on.
Barely.
> System Alert:
Passive Boost Active: Muscle Efficiency +15%
Status: Severe Fatigue | Bleeding (Minor) | Right Shoulder Strained
Recommendation: Retreat.
Override?
[YES.]
I pushed forward.
I didn't care if I couldn't lift my arms tomorrow. I didn't care if I couldn't walk.
Because I knew what he was doing.
He wasn't trying to win.
He was stalling.
---
"Why are you still smiling?" I shouted, dodging a flurry of senbon.
He didn't answer. Just kept moving. Just kept bleeding.
"Stop smiling like this is enough!"
Another clash.
Another parry.
His mask was gone now, and every time he blinked I could see the pain in his eyes—but he wore it like armor. Graceful, soft, immovable.
"You don't understand," he finally whispered. "This is all I can give. My purpose is almost fulfilled."
"You're not a tool," I growled, fists shaking. "You're not—"
"Then what am I?" he said, voice rising just enough to crack.
A beat of silence between us.
Wind whistled past broken mirrors.
"You're a person," I said quietly.
He blinked. Just once. Just enough.
And then he turned.
Toward the sound of Zabuza's rage.
---
On the Other Side of the Bridge—
Zabuza was bleeding from a dozen wounds.
His vision was blurring. Kakashi's Sharingan drilled into him like a blade of light.
"You're not as heartless as you pretend," Kakashi said between panting breaths.
Zabuza grunted. "Don't start getting sentimental."
"You hesitated," Kakashi pressed. "You care about him."
"He's a tool. That's all he ever was."
But his hand was shaking.
And in that moment—he knew.
Kakashi charged.
Chidori flashing, screeching like a scream trapped in thunder.
Zabuza couldn't block.
His sword was too far.
He was exposed.
And then—
A blur.
---
Haku Appeared.
No words.
No drama.
Just a quiet step between Kakashi's blade and Zabuza's heart.
---
Shunk.
Lightning pierced flesh.
The sound was... wrong. Too quiet for what had just happened.
Time froze.
Even the mist held still.
Zabuza's eyes widened—not in anger, but in something deeper. Something old and painful and so, so human.
Kakashi's hand shook as he pulled back. "No…"
---
Haku crumpled like silk onto stone.
The ice user's breath was shallow, blood trailing from his lips in delicate threads.
Zabuza dropped to his knees and caught him. Rough hands turned gentle. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
"You… idiot," Zabuza muttered. "Why?"
Haku looked up at him—smiling.
Because he always did.
"I was… useful… right?"
Zabuza said nothing.
Couldn't.
Because there were no words left.
---
We Arrived Too Late.
Naruto was the first to reach them, panting, scraped and wide-eyed.
"Why did he… why would he do that…?"
I didn't have an answer.
I stood there.
Watching a man who called himself a demon hold a boy like a dying ember. Like something precious.
I'd never seen grief that quiet.
Never seen guilt that loud.
Zabuza whispered something we couldn't hear.
But I saw it in his eyes.
He didn't expect to live past this.
---
And I wrote it down later.
Journal Entry 3:
> Haku smiled with blood in his mouth.
Said he was glad to die protecting someone.
I don't know how to process that.
He fought like a storm but went out like snow.
…I wish I could've saved him.
I really do.