Angel of The Hidden Leaf

A few minutes later...

"The Angel of the Hidden Leaf..." Zabuza muttered while staring at the river that suddenly split in half. "How can I've not heard of her?" He asked Sakura as they continued their way through the drained part of the river.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know, she just revealed her existence a few weeks ago." She replied which pretty true since I arrived here a few weeks ago. Then she looked at Zabuza's subordinate. "By the way, what's your name?" She asked him.

"My name is Haku." The boy who seems to be no older than Naruto replied. I can detect a hint of sorrow and regret in his voice. "What are you going to do with us?" He asked again.

Sakura nodded. "That's a good question." Then she looked at Tazuna. "Tazuna san, what are we going to do when we get to the land of waves?" I asked him. "How about lunch or dinner? Do you have something to eat? It's okay if you don't; I brought some food sealed away in my pocket."

Tazuna smiled at her a little. "No, it's all right. You've done so much to protect me. You and the angel..." He looked up towards me with grateful look on his face.

Soon enough, the team made it towards a country. Just by the look of it, I can see that the country is not in a good shape. There's no government building, hospital, school, or anything. Just poor markets and houses.

Tazuna led us towards a house in the outskirts of the village near the woods. A beautiful woman stood in front of the house with a relieved look on her face. "Father!" She exclaimed in relief. "You came back!"

Tazuna ran forward and hugged her daughter. "Tsunami... Oh I'm glad you're all right..." Then he let go of her and looked at the ninja behind him. "Tsunami, this is the Shinobi of Hidden Leaf who protected me from Gato's henchmen."

Tsunami looked at team seven and smiled kindly at them. "Thank you so much for protecting my father. If only we have anything to repay you..." She told them with a grateful look on her face.

"Now, now, no need for that." Kakashi said. "We didn't get much trouble on our way here." He pointed at Zabuza standing beside him. "Mr. Demon here decided not to kill us once the Angel defeated him."

"The Angel?" Tsunami asked in confusion.

Sakura nodded at her. "The Angel of the Hidden Leaf. She's the one who protects Konoha and every citizen in it from harm. It is thanks to her we can all make it here in safety." She explained.

Tsunami smiled a little and sighed. "Well... We can use the presence of an angel here..."Then she opened the door to her house. "Come in everyone, I'm sorry if it's a little cramped in here."

Kakashi nodded and looked at his genin. "All right kids, let's get in. Me and Mr. Zabuza have something to talk about." Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura walked into the house. "Haku, you can also get in. This is grownup matter."

Haku looked at Zabuza reluctantly but the latter nodded at him. "As you wish, Zabuza sama, Kakashi san..." He walked into the house, leaving Kakashi and Zabuza on their own.

I looked at the two of them. The situation getting tenser and tenser as second goes by. What will Kakashi do? What will Zabuza do? Who knows? Even I don't know.

"Zabuza, have you been living under a rock?" Kakashi asked suddenly.

That was not what I expected him to say. "What are you saying Kakashi?" Zabuza asked.

"Well... Long story short, there's already a rebellion in the Hidden Mist and..." Kakashi shrugged a little. "Does the name Mei Terumi sound familiar to you? She's the Mizukage now." He said simply.

"WHAT?!" Zabuza exclaimed in disbelief. "You mean I did all this for nothing?!" He asked again.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes and they want their sword back." He added. "Still interested in fighting us?"

Zabuza looked down and shook his head. "No... Not anymore..." He looked back at the house and sighed a little. "Kakashi san, do me a favor..."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in interest. "What is it? Zabuza san?" He asked him.

"Take care of Haku for me. She deserves a better life." He told him.

Wait... WHAT!? I can't believe it! Haku's a GIRL? I thought he was a boy!!!

[LINE BREAK]

Meanwhile, in Tazuna's place...

"And then Kakashi was like, I have your sword Zabuza haha! And the Zabuza was like, don't take my sword! Then the whole place was filled with mist and suddenly Sakura..." Naruto draws on, telling the story of the fight between Kakashi and Zabuza to Tsunami.

Sakura giggled a little at his enthusiasm while Sasuke just sighed a little. "Dobe... Don't talk while you're eating..." Sasuke pointed out when Naruto starts forgetting the food on his plate.

Naruto looked down at his fried fish before grinning sheepishly at Tsunami. "Sorry Tsunami san, I was a bit excited that's all. This is my first ever mission as a Ninja! After this, we're going to defeat Gato and save your country."

Tsunami gasped a little after hearing that. "My father hired you to free us?" She asked them.

Sakura replied to her question. "Not really, but it shouldn't be too hard." She said simply. "Besides, with my boys at my sides, an angel and a demon, plus a Jounin, I'm pretty sure we can defeat him." She added.

"Just give up... You're not going to win, Gato will kill you." A young boy said from the corner of the dining table. Naruto was about to explode in anger when Sakura swiftly grabbed the scurf of his neck.

"Inari! Be polite, these are all the ninjas who protected you grandpa!" Tsunami chided him. Then she looked back at the trio. "I'm sorry for that... Inari's just having a hard time."

Sakura nodded understandingly. "Don't worry Tsunami san... I know exactly what's going on with him." She stood up from her seat and walked towards a seat next to Inari. "You ran out of hope don't you?"

Inari looked at Sakura and found himself staring at a thousand years stare. It was as if the girl in front of him has seen so much more than a girl in her age. "Y-yes..." Inari stuttered a little. "I ran out of hope..."

"That's why we're here Inari kun..." Sakura said kindly. "We're here to return the hope you've lost." She gently took Inari's hand. "Now, tell me, do you have a hero in your life?"

Inari sobbed a little and start telling Sakura about his stepfather Kaiza. From the bravery of a single man to lead the country. To the story of how a monster named Gato killed him in front of the whole country to destroy their morale.

"All right, I understand..." Sakura gently put her hands around Inari's head and her hands glow a little. "Now... I need you to think about your father... His bravery, his heroism, his love for this country... I want you to imagine him smiling at you, encouraging you, giving you strength and hope you've lost..."

Slowly, a tearful smile appeared on Inari's face. He sobbed a little and wiped the tears off his face. "Thank you, Sakura san!" Inari stood off his seat and hugged Sakura tightly. "Thank you so much!"

Sakura smiled widely. "You're welcome Inari kun..." She gently stroked his head lovingly. "Now, I want you to go and spread this hope to your family. Tomorrow, you will spread this hope to the entire country. You hear me?"

Inari nodded and let go of Sakura. He walked towards his mother and smiled at her. "Mom... I promise I will not let Gato win again." Tsunami smiled proudly at him. Then Inari turned towards Tazuna. "Grandpa, tomorrow I'm going with you to build the bridge."

Tazuna smiled widely. "And you will be the one to finish that bridge Inari!"

"We need a therapist." I said while looking at Haku that was trapped inside my grip. "A professional therapist, a whole lot of anti-depressant pills, and a strait jacket." I can see her struggling a little with all her might trying to escape my grip. "Can anyone tell me where the nearest asylum is?"

Sakura stepped forward towards the girl. "Haku... Stop struggling, please..." The girl just gazed back at her with an ice cold look on her face. "You are not just a tool, you are a human being. You deserve life as much as we all do. Please, just stop..."

Haku ignored Sakura and looked at me. "Angel... My master has abandoned me because of my failure... He doesn't want a useless tool such as myself... I'm nothing more but a broken tool, please just end my misery..." She begged me with an empty look on her face.

"Hmm..." I looked at her for a moment, trying to logic my way out of this one. Then, a brilliant idea appeared in my head. "Haku san... Zabuza didn't throw you away because he doesn't need you. It's because it's part of the deal!" I exclaimed.

Haku stopped struggling and looked at me in confusion. "What deal?" She asked.

I smirked and freed her from my grip. "The deal is simple... I will spare his life but in return he has to give you to me." I told her. "So, by giving yourself to me, you just saved Zabuza from being killed by my divine judgment."

"S-so, I'm yours now? Angel sama..." She asked.

I nodded. "Yep! You are my property." I ducked under punch from an enraged Sakura. "My first order is, don't harm yourself and don't get yourself killed." I told Haku while blocking a kick from the enraged medic. "My second order is to go and meet the boys downstairs and see if you can help them with anything." Haku nodded before she disappeared in a swirl of winds.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT!?!?" I heard Sakura yelling out beside me in anger. "We're supposed to make her feel human! Not make her thinks that she is a property you can trade with!"

I looked at Sakura and sighed a little. "Look, there are some people out there who are just broken beyond all repairs okay? It's already her nature to view herself as a mere tool, there's nothing we can do about it. What we can do is play by her logic and become her owner, get it?"

Sakura huffed angrily but she nodded anyway. "Fine! Do you what you want..." Then she glared at me. "But I swear... If you hurt her in any way I will make sure that your next visit to the hospital is a very painful experience."

Note to self: Do not piss off the only person who can heal you. "Don't worry Sakura, I'll make sure I treat her right."

When I walked out of the house, I heard fighting. Nothing new, but I guess I haven't see Haku's power yet. I wonder how she would fare against the dynamic duo of Team Seven? Who knows, but I guess it has something to do with painful stabs with needle according to the sounds.

Not long after walking around, I found myself staring at a huge dome composed of ice mirrors. I whistled a little at the sight of it. "Nice! Bloodline power?" I asked while walking closer towards the dome. I can see Naruto and Sasuke standing in the middle of it with dozens of ice needles covering their bodies.

A reflection of Haku appeared on the mirror in front of me. "Angel sama, Naruto and Sasuke requested for a spar. I hope you don't mind." She told me while dozens of other reflection of her rained down ice needles towards Naruto and Sasuke.

I smiled and nodded at her. "Sure! Doesn't matter if you win or not, just make sure nobody dies all right?" Then I looked into the ice dome. There, I saw Naruto and Sasuke stood back to back in alert. They both have a Kunai in their hands and are currently deflecting dozens of Ice Needles coming their way.

"Haios! A little help here?" Naruto exclaimed when a needle just paralyzed his elbow. "How the hell are we supposed to hit her anyway!?" He deflected a round of needle before checking on his friend. "Teme! We need a plan and quick!"

Sasuke looked around for a moment before nodding. "Blind her." He said.

Naruto nodded and filled the dome with clones. Then they all dispelled immediately, filling the area with smoke. When the smoke dies down, Naruto and Sasuke still stood there as if they haven't moved an inch.

Haku threw another round of needles at them and they start dodging everything coming their way. But then, a single needle managed to strike them and they suddenly exploded in a puff of smoke. The girl's eye widened in disbelief after realizing that they somehow managed to escape her dome.

She jumped out of her mirror and landed on the ground outside her dome. Sasuke came rushing in towards her with a Demon Wind Shuriken in his hand. Haku put up an ice mirror in front of her body to block it. But when the shuriken is close by, it turned into Naruto who is coming straight at her direction.

Naruto used the mirror as leverage to jump over the ice user. Then he twisted in midair and threw a handful Shuriken at Haku. But Haku user was faster and she was ready to deflect the shuriken.

However, she was not ready for the shuriken to transform into shadow clones. Five Naruto's raised their fists and start teaming up on her. She managed to hold them off with relative ease, but just before she can finish off the last clone...

"Yield" A voice said behind her followed by a sharp metal object resting on her neck. She nodded in defeat and turned around to see Sasuke holding a Kunai on her neck. "I'm impressed... You're quite powerful..." He told her.

Naruto walked towards them and waved his arms around. "Hey! What about me! I was the one who did all the hard work! All you did was just sneaking up behind her!" He exclaimed.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto. "Not bad for a dobe." He muttered.

"What did you say, TEME!!!" Naruto yelled.

"I said you're a dobe." Sasuke replied intensely.

And there they go again, fighting with each other like an old married couple. Then I looked at Haku who's gazing at me with a little smile on her face. "Good job Haku!" I told her. "Go and have a break, talk to Sakura if you're hurt. Just remember to take care of yourself okay?"