"My apologies, I saw the opportunity to kill Zabuza and had to take it. I have been hunting him on behalf of the Hidden Mist Village for a very long time." A man in a mask replied to Mikoto's question, a hint of anger in his voice.

 

"That's sweet and all, but I don't recall giving you permission to do that. Can you tell me, did you receive express permission to kill someone I had my eye on?" Mikoto's facial expression was empty, but the flames burning in her eyes said more than enough.

 

"Well, no, but-"

 

"'But' nothing. You did not. So, who do you think you are?"

 

"Ah, I can answer that. He's a hunter-nin, he's supposed to hunt down shinobi that have defected from his village." Kakashi made his way forward, attempting to form a buffer between Mikoto and the masked man.

 

"That is correct. It is simply my job to do what I have done. By your logic, I had my eyes on him first." A hint of smugness could be heard in the unknown man's voice.

 

"Mikoto, honestly I suggest we drop it. Zabuza may have been willing to submit to you, but the Hokage would almost never allow an outsider to become a member of the village. It's too much of a risk. Plus, the Hidden Mist would probably be even more against it, considering how many secrets a shinobi's body can contain." Kakashi patted Mikoto's shoulder but quickly retracted it once he realized her chakra cloak was burning his skin.

 

"Ah, sorry." The cloak disappeared. "Sensei, what happens to shinobi when they die, then?"

 

Hey! Don't go discarding my chakra as you please. With how damaged your soul was, barely any chakra got in here over the past years. I'm gonna start shrinking!

 

Oh, man up, you big crybaby. …Maybe I should have said 'fox up' instead? Regardless, you should just tell me when you need chakra. Just because I asked for yours this time doesn't mean I can't give you some of mine. Anyways, give me a minute here.

 

"Most often, the bodies are disposed of, though they will occasionally be buried if the village member is either from a prominent clan or have considerable in the village. The first and second Hokage both have tombs, though nobody knows where they are." Kakashi replied, hoping the answer was sufficient.

 

"I see. In that case, I may as well dispose of the body right now. I'll probably need practice for the future anyways, right?"

 

"Mikoto, are you really going to just get rid of him, even after going through all the effort of trying to recruit him?" Naruto looked conflicted, seemingly worried for the dead Zabuza's condition.

 

"That's right. What's done is done. No shinobi can escape death, and no shinobi should escape their duty to kill. If one is incapable of performing any task required of them, they aren't qualified to hold their position. I don't plan on becoming a hunter-nin, but there's no guarantee that I won't have to do something similar in the future. So, let's get to it."

 

Mikoto held her hand to the sky, pointing a single finger towards the heavens. From the tip, a fireball began to grow. It continued to grow until it was almost as large as a building. Once it reached that size, it immediately shrunk down to the size of a marble. This process continued four more times, leaving a total of four chakra balls whose density each rivaled that of the jutsu Zabuza had used in his last battle. The balls began to spin in a circle, very quickly speeding up until they stretched and formed a ring of fire. It emitted a high pitched whining noise as the color of the flames turned from red, to blue, and finally to Mikoto's signature violet. The intensity of the wrist-sized ring was enough to create an updraft, lifting Mikoto's hair up in the air. The form of the ring then changed, it widened and lengthened, eventually it formed the rough box-like shape of a coffin, just large enough to fit Zabuza in.

 

"You don't have to worry about collateral damage. The flames will close in on the body and then disappear along with the corpse. Luckily, not even ash will be left behind, so we can rest assured that no secrets will leak. Isn't that right, mister hunter-nin?" Mikoto stretched her arm out, signaling the flames to move towards Zabuza's body. When they were almost there, the hunter-nin finally reacted.

 

"No! Please, stop!" The ninja frantically shot shards of ice towards the flames, only for it to explode into mist, further obscuring what was happening to Zabuza.

 

"Hm? What could be the matter? Shouldn't it be fine to dispose of a useless corpse?" Mikoto plainly asked as if she were asking what a friend wanted to eat.

 

"I beg of you, please, just don't kill him! I'll do anything!" The hunter finally broke down, falling to his knees.

 

Mikoto snapped her fingers and the fire instantly disappeared. Zabuza's body was completely unharmed, in fact, it seemed to be in better condition than before he had been hit with the needles.

 

"There we have it. So, why were you trying to save Zabuza?"

 

"Wait, you knew?"

 

"Naturally. In terms of sensor-type shinobi, I'm more on the extreme end. When a person truly dies, all their chakra leaves their body. Meanwhile, Zabuza's heart had only stopped. A small trick like that couldn't possibly keep me from realizing what was happening. Now then, you said you'd do anything, correct?" Mikoto's devious grin returned.

 

"You… you tricked me! How dare you?" The hunter charged towards Mikoto, his body flickering every time he stepped.

 

Just as the ninja was about to reach Mikoto, a shadow stepped out from underneath her and pinned the ninja down. The shadow took on the form of a praying mantis and its shadow-cloaked claws pinned the hunter down by surrounding his neck on both sides with sharp blades.

 

"Don't bother trying to substitute yourself, it won't change the outcome. For now, the question is: what should I do with you?"

 

"Just kill me. If I can't even be of use to Zabuza, I should just be dead."

 

"Oh please, none of that. Although that should be a common line for any proud shinobi, I doubt one on the run like yourself should care about such a thing."

 

"Zabuza made me what I am today; I am his weapon. If I become useless, I'm better off dead."

 

"Just give it up, Haku. I already lost. If you want to be useful, just accept your defeat and shut it." Zabuza limped over to the shadow mantis, which backed away upon seeing him approach the hunter. It scuttled back to Mikoto's shadow, bowing before entering. Zabuza was gingerly rubbing his neck.

 

What was that thing anyways?

 

It's kind of hard to explain, since it isn't really a jutsu in a conventional sense. I'll tell you later.

 

…Sure.

 

"But, Sir, I failed-"

 

"Haku!" Zabuza yelled to the hunter. "You claimed you would always follow me, and become my weapon, but now you're attempting to justify defying me?"

 

"…I apologize." Haku sat up and hung his head.

 

"Good," Zabuza turned to Mikoto. "As I had been saying, I lost fair and square, kid. Guess I have to serve ya from now on, huh?"

 

"You sure will be. Glad to have you on board! You bringing your weapon with you as well?" Mikoto pointed to Haku. Zabuza turned his head.

 

"I'm prepared to follow you to the death." Haku spoke, noticing the implicit question.

 

"Then stand up and greet your new master, Haku." Zabuza nodded, the relief visible in his eyes.

 

Haku quickly stood, removed his mask, and bowed to Mikoto.

 

"At Zabuza's request, I will be serving you from now on."

 

"I will as well. I already know that it'll be fine, but just make sure you don't turn out like my current master, I'll kill you if you do." Zabuza lowered his head, an impressive display of respect considering the killing intent he exuded when warning Mikoto.

 

"Great! Kakashi-sensei, you don't mind, right?" Mikoto brought the two over to the rest of her team.

 

"…I'll make a report to the Hokage and get his opinion on it. At the very least, I don't think we'll kill them. It should be fine as long as there's a way to guarantee that the village won't be betrayed." Kakashi looked genuinely troubled at the turn of events, his brow furrowed as he thought.

 

"Oh, that's easy," Mikoto looked at Zabuza and Haku. "You guys don't mind if I brand your souls with a contract, right? It's not as painful as it sounds, but it does feel kind of weird from what I've heard. I'll set it up so that it only prevents you from doing anything that could harm me. Naturally, betraying the village is counted under the umbrella."

"Contract? Not sure what the hell you're on about, but go ahead. Our lives belong to you. In the end, I can't even beat you at my best and I doubt Haku could escape." Zabuza shook his head.

 

"I agree, please go ahead, if it makes things easier for all of us." Haku nodded, a smile on his face.

 

"Alright, be sure to not resist, though. Resistance is what causes pain." Mikoto paused. "Well, I say to not resist, but most people tend to have trouble with that. Try your best!"

 

Mikoto's shadow suddenly tripled in size as two massive spiders crawled out from within it. They made chittering sounds as their mandibles clicked together. The two looked at each other while appearing to be communicating, then they turned to Mikoto, lowering their massive bodies to the ground in front of Mikoto. She leaned down and pet their heads, signaling them to stand once more. The two stood and began excitedly chittering once more. Mikoto pointed towards Zabuza and Haku. The spiders turned and began walking towards the two, their legs making an audible thud each time they touched the ground. As the spiders approached, their eyes began to shine as a strange fluid flowed from their mouths.

 

"Hey, Miss, just to be sure, these spiders are completely under your control, correct?" Zabuza showed a hint of fear for the first time since meeting Mikoto. The image of two seemingly starved spiders approaching him was a bit too much to bear without any explanation.

 

"Although they have minds of their own, they won't do anything I do not wish for. They know better." The spiders stopped and shivered, seemingly afraid to move as excitedly as before. "If it makes you feel better, just close your eyes. You just need to be conscious, the rest is unimportant." Haku's eyes tightly shut. Zabuza considered for a moment but decided to keep his open.

 

The spiders began their approach again and finally crawled up to the feet of their two targets. From the mouth of each spider, an ethereal spear began growing. It was pronged and looked as though it was designed to stick in a target without any chance of being removed. The spiders began to screech as the aimed the spears. After each spear was fully formed, they were shot directly into the heads of the two shinobi.

 

"Ah!" Haku cried out in alarm, grabbing her head. Similarly, Zabuza quickly sat down, worried he may collapse.

 

"Just relax. It feels weird, but if you begin to resist, the pain in your mind will increase until it shatters, leaving you a vegetable." Mikoto tried to pacify the two as she walked between the spiders, running her hands along their abdomens as she passed. "This will pass quickly, just relax."

Although the two still looked uncomfortable, the expressions on their faces eased up quite a bit. From then, their expressions slowly returned to normal. Once they were no longer struggling against the light that entered their bodies, the spiders shrieked one last time and faced Mikoto again.

 

"Good job, all of you."

 

Like the mantis before them, the spiders prostrated themselves before Mikoto before returning to her shadow. Zabuza stood up and helped Haku stand up straight.

 

"Although it was simply because I lost a wager, I would like to thank you for taking us in. I would never have admitted it, but the life we lived wasn't pleasant, we both expected to enter an early and shallow grave. I have no doubt that with your support, we will be able to avoid that." Zabuza sincerely bowed to Mikoto.

 

"Well, that still slightly depends on luck, but I will promise that I won't bring you any harm or send you to your deaths. In the first place, I mostly need servants to tend to matters outside of my current rank."

 

"Ah, right. With that monstrous strength and those strange powers of yours, I completely forgot that you're probably still a genin by your village's standards. We will be at your service, both in the light and the dark."

 

"Do your best." Mikoto smiled. "Oh, and you don't have to worry about accidentally doing something that could indirectly harm me. Those spiders are bound to my soul and the contract they have enacted is well aware of my affiliations and needs at all times. If you were to attack someone you had never met, but they were important to me, you would be unable to kill them. The restriction comes in many forms, but the most common result is simply your mind freezing your body before it can do any harm."

 

"Understood, Miss," Zabuza said, bowing. This time, Haku followed suit and bowed.

 

"Alright, good. Anyways, sorry for the delay, Sensei. Are we ready to go?" Mikoto turned to her original team.

 

"…Sure. I can take it you aren't going to explain what just happened, then?"

 

"Astute observation, Sensei. All you need to know is that they are now completely loyal to me, and will remain unable to harm the village for the rest of their lives."

"I see. Some proof of that would be nice, but I'll take your word for it."

 

"Come on, Sensei, don't you have the all-powerful sharingan? Use it to look at their chakra paths." Mikoto pointed her thumb towards the two.

 

Kakashi lifted his forehead protector, activating his sharingan once more. What he saw were two black lumps of chakra, calmly sitting in their minds and hearts, subtly connected to every single part of their bodies.

 

"I can't tell what I'm looking at, exactly, but I suppose that will do. I'll keep my eyes on them for the remainder of the trip and come to my own opinion, though."
 

"Go right ahead. The more assured the Hokage can feel, the better."

 

"Right. Okay, team, let's get moving again." Kakashi clapped his hands together to grab everyone's attention.

The group once again set off, two people larger after Zabuza and Haku had joined. After the battle, the way everyone looked at Mikoto had changed. Although the reverence in Naruto's eyes grew, a hint of fear was mixed in as well. Mikoto was one of Naruto's closest friends, on equal grounds with Hinata, but sometimes she did things he didn't understand. Sometimes her demeanor changed so much that she seemed like a different person. The change he had just witnessed was so sudden and startling that Naruto was slightly afraid that Mikoto would become crueler as time went on. Sasuke's eyes became fervent after witnessing Mikoto's power. If her power was greater than a famous jonin's at her age, perhaps she would be able to help him realize his goal of killing his brother. Sakura, though jealous at times, didn't really pay much attention to Mikoto. However, she now looked at Mikoto with a mixture of jealousy, anger, and anxiety. She didn't like how Mikoto seemed to want to steal Sasuke from her, but at the same time, she knew she could do nothing against such power. Sakura was indignant at her own powerlessness. Kakashi almost remained unchanged, but he seemed to be more wary around Mikoto. She didn't act like a kid and she was more powerful than a jonin. He couldn't help but wonder what the Hokage was hiding from him. He had only assumed Mikoto was a genin with slightly special powers, but her current display was something so far out of his expectations that Kakashi wasn't sure if he had been trapped in a genjutsu or not.

 

As for Haku and Zabuza, they were naturally grateful that they had not been executed on the spot. Zabuza in particular, looked at Mikoto with respect- respect for the child that had bested him in battle, respect for the child with so many skills that she seemed impossibly talented. Haku's emotions were more complex. He was grateful that Mikoto had allowed him to stay with Zabuza, but no longer having his status as a weapon confused Haku. He didn't know how to live a normal life. Suddenly being given the life of a normal shinobi worried Haku rather than making him happy. If he couldn't live up to Mikoto's expectations, she may very well kill him on the spot. He had been watching from the start and Mikoto's cruel temperament was what stood out the most to him. Like him, Mikoto was no normal child, but she seemed far more used to bloodshed, seemingly taking joy in battles to the death. It was frightening, almost inhuman. Still, Haku would remain loyal for as long as he lived. All he desired was to be with Zabuza and to find a use for himself. Mikoto had given him both of these, and he wouldn't betray that gift.

 

Mikoto, on the other hand, felt a little tired.

 

Ugh, it was my choice, but that was such a pain in the end. Those bastard spiders are like ravenous beasts, completely unable to conduct themselves with any decorum.

 

What were those? The feeling they gave off was ridiculously uncomfortable. They felt like a mass of malice.

 

They basically are. They're creatures from my ex, Nyarla's territory. They don't really have a name since they were born of the madness she naturally exuded, but I tend to call them Soul Spiders, since their venom corrodes the souls of their prey. While I stayed with Nyarla, I found a few new uses for them, such as the one you saw. Before that, they threaded their way through the cosmos, feeding off any life they could find. Their queen had once devoured a half-deity residing in the mortal plane. It caused quite a stir and I had to clean up the mess at the time. Thanks to that I ended up becoming their new queen after erasing the old one. Now every single Soul Spider resides in a dimension that's directly linked to my soul. Just like the mantis from before, a few creatures reside in there. I'm not sure how many, to be completely honest, I stopped counting after a while, probably enough to occupy at least a few thousand galaxies though. Anyways, you don't need to worry about running into any. Only a select few have the privilege of residing directly in my soul and they aren't part of that group.

 

Your stories always have a disturbing quality to them, have you ever once done something normal? And who is this 'Nyarla' anyways? You've mentioned her a few times without any real explanation.

 

How rude! I have plenty of normal stories, even if most of them are with Theo! I climbed to the top of the universe with hard work and effort, of course I've run into a few cosmic horrors here and there. Also, Nyarla was a deity who ruled over madness, at least she was after I helped clear the spot for her. Before that, she was just a troublemaker who ran around gathering followers for fun. She even caused so much trouble that she accidentally revealed her true name to people from my original planet. Many magicians would waste their time or lives attempting to contact 'The Great Nyarlathotep;' how embarrassing. She would never fall for petty tricks of those low-level mages. As for why we were together, me and Theo had decided to split up for training, so I had nothing to do and nobody to talk to. Nyarla was pretty interesting, so we starting spending time together and one thing led to another. As for why we're exes… She eventually ascended to a realm beyond the Divine Realm in my world, but because I wasn't a deity, I couldn't enter that realm without breaking in and angering all of its residents. Theo told me to just let it go, because apparently massacring an entire realm isn't the most rational thing to do. It's not like Nyarla left me with nothing, though. She personally crafted a butler that was imbued with a piece of her own soul. Perhaps you'll see him once my own soul heals a bit more. He's currently trapped in a bit of the sewer that has collapsed, from what I can sense. It should fix itself before the end of the year, which means he and another person will be able to say hello soon.

 

You keep saying your stories with Theo are normal, but sometimes it seems as though the opposite is true.

 

Well, they're more normal than the rest. I could tell you about my early life, but at best it could only fill a couple chapters at the start of a novel.

 

After a long walk, the group arrived at Tazuna's house.