Haku woke with a jolt, gasping for breath. Darkness surrounded her, but the desperation from the battle still clung to her mind. Her heart pounded as she tried to make sense of where she was and she pushed herself up, her muscles aching but not injured.

She remembered the clash of weapons, the heat of the fight, the enemy—or rather, Naruto’s relentless advance. If she truly wanted, she could have fought back… fought until he died but she didn’t want him dead.

And here she was, a failure. Had Zabuza left her for dead? Was the fight still going on? She couldn't afford to wait and find out after she’d recovered. Her hand fumbled around her, finding the familiar smooth shape of the ANBU mask before she slipped it over her head.

Judging by the acrid scent of charred wood, she was in a cave. A faint noise in the distance snapped her to attention. Haku forced herself to stand, her legs shaking. She needed to move. In the worst case, an intruder was seeking to kill her and she couldn’t die yet.

Not until she discovered whether her purpose in life had come to an end.

With the mask securely in place, Haku took cautious steps forward, her senses heightened. The faint glow of fire deeper within the cave drew her toward it, and she followed the sound of crackling flames.

Zabuza’s silhouette came into view first, hunched and brooding by the fire. Relief mixed with apprehension surged through Haku; he was alive, but the tension in the air was palpable. She swallowed hard, steeling herself for what was to come.

“Master?" she called out softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

He turned sharply, his eyes locking onto her with an intensity that made her flinch. Without a word, he closed the distance between them and grabbed her by the collar, slamming her against the cave wall. The rough stone bit into her back, pinned against the cavern by his forearm, but she bit down the cry of pain that threatened to escape.

It would only bring her more pain.

“You worthless child,” he hissed, his voice cold and merciless. “You had one job, Haku. One job, and you failed… again.”

Each word struck her like a physical blow, and Haku struggled to keep her composure. The pain from the battle was nothing compared to the anguish his words inflicted. She wanted to explain but the words caught in her throat. She wrangled against the tears threatening to fall from her eyes, hiding her face by lowering her head because shinobi must not show emotion.

After failing to kill the Hidden Mist ANBU operative hunting was nothing. Until now, her mercy and humanity lacked any consequences—but it was different now. Gozu and Meizu—her very first teachers in the world—had died.

And they died because of her.

“I-I'm sorry, sir," she managed to say, her voice trembling despite her efforts to keep it steady. “I will not fail you again.”

“Sorry?” Zabuza released her with a shove, causing her to stumble. “Sorry doesn't fix your mistakes. You're supposed to be my tool, my weapon. A weapon doesn’t make mistakes!”

Haku's heart sank.

She had always known her place was to serve Zabuza, to be the instrument of his will. But in that moment, with Naruto’s determined eyes and his father’s kindness still fresh in her memory, she faltered. She had let her humanity slip through the cracks of her shinobi training, and now she was paying the price.

Perhaps she deserved it.

“I won't fail again,” she repeated, more to herself than to him. She had to believe it, otherwise what use was she to him?

Zabuza's gaze bore into her, and for a moment, she saw something akin to doubt flicker in his eyes. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by the usual coldness but lasted enough to crush her even more.

“See that you don't,” he growled, turning away from her. “Next time, I won't be so lenient. Fail me again and I'll end you myself. Your thing with mercy? It ends here. A weapon that shows mercy has no worth. What do you even have without me?”

He nodded at her for an answer.

“N-Nothing, Master.”

“...Maybe it was a mistake to take you in.” Zabuza leaned in and lifted her chin using his index finger and thumb. “I don’t need empty words and promises. If you can’t be of any use to me, I’ll toss you aside. Just remember… before me, you lived a meaningless existence, wanted by no one.”

She nodded slowly to not let the tears fall.

As he walked away, Haku sank to her knees. She fought to keep her tears at bay, reminding herself that she was a tool, nothing more. Tools did not cry, nor did they feel. Time seemed to stretch as she sat there, the fire's warmth doing little to chase away the cold that had settled in her chest.

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She replayed the battle in her mind, every misstep, every hesitation. Naruto's determined face haunted her thoughts, a stark contrast to her master’s bitter but rightful anger. In the cold silence of the cave, Haku vowed to bury her emotions even deeper, to become the perfect weapon Zabuza needed.

Haku knew she had to harden herself and let go of any semblance of weakness or weakness. But a small part of her, the part that had hesitated, wondered if she would ever truly be able to. Totsugi was her friend and Naruto was his son. Neither of them deserved to die—no, she didn’t want to kill them.

However, her wants didn’t matter… not to Zabuza. Tools were not supposed to have wants or dreams. As the fire crackled and the shadows danced on the cave walls, Haku forced herself to her feet. She had no choice but to push forward, to prove herself once more.

She caught up to her master as the early morning light beamed through the sparse trees in their golden brilliance. If he noticed her, he didn’t give any indication and continued striding through the forest. Her eyes fell to his waist, where the thick sheathe for the Executioner’s Blade met a pouch spanning the length of his lower back.

The end of a scroll poked out through the buttoned flap, marked in the Hidden Leaf’s telltale red, yellow, and green. Her mind got to work filling in the gaps based on their conversation earlier but Haku was still left with questions.

But had the anger simmered down enough for her to ask them?

“...Master?” she began, slow and hesitant. He didn’t reply—or even grunt—but neither did he stop her from talking so she continued, “What happened after I…”

Zabuza scoffed. “Say it like it happened, brat. You lost, plain and simple—to a kid younger than you—useless is what you are.”

She swallowed the hurt as always. Haku was grateful for the mask she wore. For all her expertise in stealth, she had an incredibly expressive face and, were her master able to see behind it, he would spot the conflict churning in her eyes immediately.

“That blond boy—Sarutobi called him Naruto, I think—used you as a bargaining chip. There he was, crapping his pants in my presence, but he managed to make a pretty strong argument.”

“What was it?” she asked.

Zabuza grunted. “...You’re more important to me alive than killing Sarutobi—at least for now. I’ll turn in his bounty myself one day, mark my words.”

Haku smiled beneath her mask. Both at his concern for her and at his resolve to try again. Zabuza was never one to take defeat sitting down.

“His terms were that I take Goro’s head and we go our separate ways. Seeing that Gozu and Meizu died, I decided to cash in one of their heads too.”

Her smile vanished, replaced with a deep, piercing pang in her chest.

Gozu and Meizu—two men she’d come to see as older brothers—were dead. Like her, they were weapons for Zabuza to wield as he saw fit. After all the years they’d spent together, to hand their corpses in for money… it left a bad taste in her mouth.

She kept her thoughts to herself. Zabuza was already furious with her and he disliked her humanity on the best of days.

“Sixty-five million ryo—gone!” He lashed out, sending a small tree crashing to the ground. Haku stopped, afraid he’d turn his anger on her.

After a few moments, he started to walk away, navigating the bushes and brambles with his sword.

Haku caught up to him again. “Are we going to hand in the bounties, Master?”

“Later,” he replied. “The corpses won’t rot so long as the seal stays, and since we won’t be screwing with it, it’ll last for months. We’re headed to the Hidden Waterfall.”

“For?”

His glare was answer enough and their journey to the Hidden Waterfall was carried out in silence. They arrived under the cover of the night; Haku followed closely behind Zabuza, the dense forest pressing in on them from all sides. The towering trees filtered the sunlight into a perpetual twilight, casting long, shifting shadows against the ground.

Haku’s thoughts drifted as she moved, her body on autopilot. She replayed the confrontation with Zabuza in her mind, his harsh words echoing in her ears. She couldn’t afford another mistake; she needed to prove her worth to him. Her resolve hardened with each step, the weight of her mission pressing down on her.

The forest path was narrow and winding, often disappearing altogether beneath the thick underbrush. Zabuza navigated it with ease, his movements precise and confident. Haku struggled to keep up, her eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of danger. She knew that the Hidden Water Village was hidden behind its majestic waterfall, but little else.

She could hear its rushing water, distant but there, and it grew louder with each step until the trees parted to reveal the waterfall in all its glory. The sheer volume of water cascading down the cliffs created a mist that hung in the air, refracting the sunlight into a rainbow of colours and its roar was deafening.

Zabuza led them to a concealed path behind the waterfall, hidden by a curtain of water. The rocks were slippery, and the mist clung to Haku’s skin, making the descent treacherous. They slipped behind the waterfall, entering a narrow, dark path leading into a hidden cavern. Haku’s heart raced, the enclosed space amplifying her sense of vulnerability.

He stopped and made a gesture. Looking ahead, she saw two guards sitting across from one another on chairs. In an instant, she hurled senbon at both of the men. They stiffened, heads turning left and right, and slowly sagged to the ground.

If Zabuza was still angry at her, he didn’t show it—even if knocking them out was the logical option, she still feared his wrath. “Take off your mask once we’ve got our money and go look around for anything interesting. I’ll squeeze this place of everything it’s got before I move on.”

She nodded and took the lead this time, tucking her mask away into her robes. They emerged from the tunnel and entered the heart of the village. It was built into the natural landscape, with buildings carved into the rock and connected by a network of wooden bridges and pathways.

Seeing that it was the dead of night, the villagers were nowhere to be found, but their movements were purposeful and efficient. Zabuza and Haku stayed in the shadows, avoiding detection as they made their way to their destination. Their target was the village leader’s office, a modest structure at the very back of the village that was partially hidden by the surrounding foliage.

Zabuza led Haku through a series of hidden paths and narrow alleys, avoiding the main thoroughfares and any watchful eyes. They moved with the practised ease of seasoned shinobi, their footsteps silent on the rocky ground. As they approached the office, Zabuza signalled for Haku to stay hidden.

She nodded, attaching herself to the ceiling and following him. Her senses were on high alert, despite the lower calibre of shinobi in a minor village like this one. Zabuza slipped into the shadows, blending seamlessly with the darkness until he entered the office and she joined him.