Work Text:
Disclaimer: I do not own any material belonging to the creators of Inuyasha or Naruto.
Pairing: Haku/Kagome
Anime: Naruto/Inuyasha
The wind whipped around them, the sea crashing against the side of the high cliff they were standing upon. A single tear swept down the face of a young girl, about ten-years-old while she clenched her hand into a fist, wishing nothing more than to pound some sense into the boy in front of her. Couldn't he see that that blasted Zabuza was using his power? Couldn't he see that a selfish man who wished to have a weapon protect him at every turn was just using him? She was ten and she could see it! She saw it all to clearly.
…It always started this way…
"You will not change your mind?" she asked, feeling her shoulders slump in near defeat. She'd watched him since she was little. She'd wanted to be with him since she first met him. He was handsome in a feminine like way, but she wished to love him because of his heart, not his face. She wanted something different than what her mother had gotten in her father, but she wasn't brave enough to tell him.
…She always said those words…
The boy turned toward her, only a year older. "No. I am nothing but an instrument for Zabuza's use. I will do whatever he asks. I'm sorry, Kagome, but I will not return to… to… that place with you. You should go back to your father and mother and marry when you're old enough. You shouldn't let silly little emotions like crushes control your actions." He then turned so that he was once again facing away from her, "I have found my place in the world."
…The scenery was not always the same…
"But—"
…He always left her afterward, never paying attention to her dying word…
Fifteen-year-old Higurashi Kagome sat up in her position within a tree—she'd fallen asleep when she knew she shouldn't have—her mind continuing to play out the times she'd been found by him, before he simply shook his head and told her to leave. Zabuza paid her no mind since she was weak and would not be able to stop him, she did not control her childhood crush thus she could not take his weapon away from him. Oh, what was weapon he was, that Haku! Dear Haku was a gifted person, but she would have wanted to be by his side even if he could not use his special Kekkei Genkai.
Her crush just wouldn't go away. She wanted to be close to him, yet he continued to push her away as if she was nothing but a disease. Before he began training with Zabuza he was kind and would at least speak with her after she returned from the Academy. You could say that's where it all started, when she was at least seven-years-old, but she'd been watching him far longer than that. She'd fell for his face, then she found she liked his voice, and after that she found he was kind and generous. Maybe it was because of these things that she continued to think of him, or maybe it wasn't, but all she knew was that she wished to be close to him, near him, and he didn't want that.
Stretching herself out, Kagome tried to remember when she'd last seen Haku. It'd been around three months ago. She remembered it because Zabuza had told him that they were going after a bridge builder because Gatou had ordered it done. She couldn't believe that Zabuza was working with such a criminal, even if he was an assassin since he was exiled from the Hidden Mist Village, or the Blood Mist Village, as she'd known it as. She remembered this because Haku had come at her afterward, pressing one of his needles to her neck, before she merely turned her head away. It shouldn't have surprised her, which it hadn't, and she'd merely lay in his arms before he'd placed her onto the ground, told her that he would not be so kind the next time, and told her once again to go home.
She had no home.
Her home was with him.
Snorting to herself, Kagome flipped down from the branch she'd slept upon, trying to get the aches out of her back before she used any chakra. After she was done stretching, something she tried to do before any exercise, she began to run, knowing that the bridge was not far off. She'd made sure that she was not far away so that she could get there when the time was right, hoping to watch Haku fight, since he was so graceful and quick within his Mirrors of Ice—she'd never been told the name he'd came up with for it, so she called it that. It was so pretty to watch until the blood was splattered into the air and Haku's opponent fell to the ground dead. Maybe she shouldn't call it pretty, but she could be a little more naïve than she should have been. Maybe it was because she never finished her time at the Academy, though it had been very small because it had not been a true village of shinobi.
As she ran she began making hand signs, before channeling chakra to her feet, knowing the speed she needed would be found within the jutsu. She might have been able to say the bridge was close for her, but it was actually quite far for anyone who wished to walk. It was something her mother had taught her before she'd died, though she liked to believe that she was still alive somewhere. Her father only told her that she'd died, along with her would-have-been little brother, but she hadn't trusted him as far as she could throw him. Probably why she'd watched Haku so much as a child; her mother had always told her to be kind to those who had less than she did.
With a single bound she leapt over thirty yards, her foot slamming against the bark of a tree when she came to close to hitting one. Her chakra burnt most of the bark away before she pushed away, the bark suddenly crushed underneath her burst of strength. When she hit the ground she bent her knees and leapt forward once more, feeling like she was flying for a moment, her speed causing the wind to nearly seem still while it pushed against her. She was coming closer and closer, she knew, but she felt like her eyes turned white with chakra, her vision becoming stronger as chakra coursed throughout her system. The enhancement jutsu she'd used worked slowly, not quickly, which was one of the only bad sides to it… well, that and the fact that it could cause one to lose their sight, hearing, or muscle movements if they used it for over thirty minutes.
Kagome neared the bridge, narrowing her eyes as she heard the sound of clashing metal with her enhanced hearing. Her eyes pierced through the strange mist that was raised around the center of the bridge, before she saw Haku's form fly out of his jutsu, a strange boy following afterward. Even with her enhanced vision she could not see it very well, but she watched as the boy flew toward Haku, before she began running forward once more, the boy she held dear turning to look toward her, before back toward a direction she had not glanced at. She watched almost like it was in slow motion as Haku caught the boy's weapon and began making one-handed hand signs, before disappearing all together.
The crackling of visible chakra filled her ears as she allowed other things to come into focus. She tried to track Haku, knowing that her time was running out before the jutsu destroyed her from the inside. Haku moved far to fast as she raced toward the blonde haired boy dressed in orange, suddenly jumping up and planting her foot onto the top of his head, causing him to fall straight into the ground. Her eyes were on the pink haired girl, before she heard the sound of someone moving and turned to look toward where Zabuza was held by summoned dogs.
"H-Haku," she whispered, realizing what was happening. Her eyes widened, before she raced passed the pink haired girl and the bridge builders, her voice rising like a roar as she screamed, "HAKU, NO!" Haku had promised to protect Zabuza in order to keep his dream alive, and her heart slowed as she watched the silver haired man raced toward Zabuza, before Haku's form seemed to materialize out of nowhere before him, water flying in all directions.
Her feet pounded against the ground as the silver haired man turned to look toward her, obviously surprised to see her, before his hand slammed against Haku's chest. Kagome's feet slipped beneath her when she felt her heart break, blood flying everywhere as she allowed the jutsu she'd been using to cancel out, no longer able to control herself while she was using it. Her body hit the ground, before she glanced up to see Haku's hand grip the silver haired man's, before the summon dogs vanished and Zabuza said something about doing a good job, but all she heard was Haku's whispered words, his eyes flickering toward her before his life began to fade completely.
"K-Ka… Zabuza," Haku said.
"Haku—Haku," she whispered. She watched as his eyes dulled, but he continued to smile, obviously proud that he'd managed to keep Zabuza alive for another day. However, something inside of her snapped and she was on her feet before she knew it. Zabuza had been rushing to attack the silver haired man, but she narrowed her eyes, closing them as she felt her body seem to float. When she opened them again she was standing before the stunned Zabuza, though she knew not how she'd gotten there.
"HEY," she heard off to the side. "How'd she do that, Sakura? She just rose out of the ground… the shadows!"
"I don't know, Naruto…"
Kagome stared through the black haze that had formed before her eyes. She gritted her teeth together, watching as the assassin narrowed his eyes at her, saying something about moving or dying, but she stood her ground. "You used him. You used Haku. I won't let you get away with that, Zabuza. Never." The haze before her eyes became solid, and she felt like she was straight through a black mirror that she could see through. She lunged at Zabuza, her hand twisting as she dodged his attack, before he suddenly gasped, his body forced forward by something. Her eyes widened when she saw this, until she noticed that the black, wriggling, tail looking thing split into six different sections, Zabuza's blood pouring from the wound, an organ she did not wish to think of pierced on the end of one of the tails, before Zabuza's body fell forward.
She'd always wanted to do that, and she never realized that her hand moved in order to throw Zabuza's body to the side. She felt like she was hearing an echo off in the distance, and she turned to find Haku's body on the ground, before she was by his side. Her hands gripped his shirt, tears washing over her cheeks as she looked down at his peaceful face. He always looked like that, and her fingers touched him gently, her teeth biting into her lip so badly that blood began to fill her mouth. Some slipped from between her parted lips as she gave a choked sob. "Haku. Haku… no. H-Haku. HAKU!" She leaned down, her lips pressing against his as she left a piece of her break, "Haku. Haku, please wake up. Please. Don't die on me. Please!"
How dare they…? How dare they take Haku away from me! She gritted her teeth together, gripping Haku's clothing tighter, before her eyes once more filled with the strange haze. She looked up from his red lips, covered in her blood now, before she looked toward the man with one red eye. She growled like a dog, "How are you! You… You bastard!" She crouched, her mind craving Haku's peaceful face into her memory as she growled again; suddenly flying at the strange man she knew nothing of, as he brought his arm up to block.
Her hand flicked upward, something black slicing into the man's arm as he gave a cry of pain. His strange eye seemed to try and control her, but she shook it off, telling herself that nothing like that would be able to control her. She was like a wild animal, and they were stupid, yes, but they protected and fought like everything else. They could not be pulled into such traps. Kagome landed onto the ground, lunging at his stomach, before a kunai sliced against her cheek, causing her to hiss in pain.
The echoing inside her head continued, before she flipped away from the strange man. He seemed to notice that she was no longer going at him, as her eyes instantly tracked over to see Gatou and his gang, his voice saying something about Zabuza dying far too easily, and it was pitiful that he'd died at the hands of a girl. However, she paid little attention to this, the echoing continuing, before she shook the strange feeling she was having away, the wound on her cheek already healed.
With a single leap she was on the side of the bridge, looking at them all. She glanced at Haku's body, wishing nothing more than to take it with her, before gulping. She would not be able to carry the extra weight in her condition, and a couple of tears fell down her face upon thinking this. However, she caught the eyes of the silver haired man, before nodding once, knowing deep down that this man would give Haku a proper burial; something that would be there for her whenever she needed him.
I'm sorry, Haku. Kagome spread her arms out, falling backwards, her eyes filling with the strange blackness once more. She felt that floating feeling before she hit the water, before closing her eyes in order to merely float away. She promised herself that she'd follow the silver haired man, who's name she would hopefully learn later, and see if he would give Haku a proper grave. She heard nothing but the echoing inside her head, the image of Haku's face and the fact that he'd tried to call out to her in his final moments inside her head. She felt almost like she was dying, and in someway she almost wished she was.
Years later a lone figure stood close to a hidden grave, marked with stones in order to make sure that it could be found. This did not register to the figure, before she shook her head, remembering the day long ago when her love died. Before she killed Zabuza, and attacked Kakashi. Before any of it happened, and she could remember it like it was yesterday. It was something that would forever be engraved into her memory; something she'd never forget because she didn't want to forget. She was living in the past and she knew it, but she didn't care.
Her hand twitched, what seemed to be a black tread rising from the ground and wrapping around her hand. It contained her memories, for she could not remember them well herself without some type of medication on her own. Not that anyone knew of her past, but they did know that she had a terrible memory. That was only because she locked it away inside the shadows she controlled and shifted, manipulating into anything she wanted. She might not have been able to remember it herself, but the shadows acted like perfect holders and they did their job well.
Turning her head to the side, a tear streaked down her face, before it landed on the ground below. She knew that he'd often told her while she tracked them that he was merely a tool for the man who'd saved him, but she never truly believed that. He just wished to believe that because he was afraid of what might happen if he acted for himself. She knew that, but it was a shame that he had never known it, because they might have been happy together. However, that had not been meant to be, and she felt another tear crawl from her eye, travel down her hooded face, and land upon the grave below.
The shadows receded, but the memories remained solid and firm, all of them spinning around inside her mind, before she decided that she'd had enough. It was winter, and she was getting older, thus the cold seemed colder than ever, pressing down upon her body like a wet blanket. She was getting older… and she didn't wish to make him wait any longer. She'd join him soon, simply because she could no longer imagine life without him. True, her memory seemed dull and faded most of the time because she hid it away—in order to forget the things she done, most of them involving killing and blood—but she no longer wished to live within a world where he did not exist. She'd sought her revenge upon those who'd destroyed her family, she'd destroyed them all, and it was time for her to rest in peace.
Reaching up, the woman pulled the hood from her face, allowing it to fall at her shoulders. Her dull eyes gazed down at the grave, while her beautiful face looked completely emotionless, never once twitching at the thought of what she was going to do. Her black hair swam around her, long in honor of her lost love. Another tear streaked down from her dull eye, once more landing upon the grave, before she turned from it. Her head shook, her black hair looking like it belonged on a younger woman, before snapping open her holster.
Her fingers pulled themselves from her holster, a kunai grasped firmly in her palm. With a final glance to the grave, she finally turned back to the forest around her. No one would care, no one would know, and no one would ever have to feel the pain of her loss. But she'd be able to meet him soon enough—his name was far too saddening to even think. With that she walked forward, the wind whipping around her, the shadows leaping with each step she took.
The Shadow Assassin was never seen again.
Higurashi Kagome was lost to the world, her body was never found… but who knows what happens in the afterlife. No one but those already dead even knew what she'd done, and even in death she would have been happy with that. She might have found her love, after all; her dear Haku, who gave his life in order to allow Zabuza to live out his own dream, though she'd destroyed it in the end.
--Fin