Out With the Old In With the New

AN: Well, this is my first fic (yay or nay?). Review and all that good stuff. No flames! I know I'm new, but flames won't help anybody! So, ONWARD!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! ALL RIGHTS GO TO MASASHI KISHIMOTO! I ONLY OWN MY OC'S!

'Human thought'

"Human speech"

'Kyuubi/Inner Sakura thought'

"Kyuubi/Demon Speech"

Chapter 1: A New Lease on Life

"S-Sasuke… why? Why? For me of all people?" Yelled Naruto, as he was staring at the back of his teammate.

"I have no (cough) idea… my body just… moved on it's own. (Cough) Naruto… you must (cough)… live…" Sasuke struggled to say just as he fell back into Naruto's waiting arms.

"Live? F-For… what?"

"To (cough cough)… kill my… brother… Uchiha (cough) Itachi…"

At that, Sasuke spat up some blood, and he found it harder to breathe.

"Naruto… you… have (cough) the potential… more than… I ever did… become stronger… kill Itachi… and… always keep that… spark inside you… lit…"

"Don't say those things, Sasuke! We're gonna get you outta here, and you'll be fine!"

"No it's… my… (cough) time… I leave… my legacy… my dreams… to you… Uzu… maki… Na… ruto…"

And with that, Naruto's only real friend died in his arms because of an unknown foe. The resulting wail of sadness could be heard from the confines of the Ice Mirrors. For the first time in years, Naruto cried… he cried for the boy he called brother and he cried, of course, from that sadness that fills his very being.

Haku took a quick glance over to the broken Konoha-nin, then to the unknown man before him. This man was decked in head to toe in black. Black short-sleeved muscleshirt, black cargo pants, black Shinobi sandals, black fingerless gloves, black Haori, black sunglasses and a black Fedora. On the man's left side sat a katana of excellent make, and another katana sat on his back. What looked like to be a senbon holster sat on his right thigh and a kunai holster sat on his left. He was a good 6 feet tall and he had fair skin and black hair. The man let out a smirk and adjusted his sunglasses.

"Who are you? And how did you get in here without my noticing?" Asked the feminine Haku, while readying a few senbon.

"My name? You need not know my name at this moment, nor how I got in here… all you need to know is that the Uchiha was my only target… and I shall take my leave, now that my mission is complete."

"Like hell you are!" Screamed Naruto as he charged at the black-clad man at speeds faster than Haku could track.

The man adjusted his glasses again and shifted to his right, just as Naruto was flying by. Before Naruto could clear the man, he lifted his left knee and delivered it straight into Naruto's gut, followed by him grabbing Naruto by his neck and lifting him off the ground one-handed.

"You sorry excuse of a Genin… you can't hope to match my level… even if you DO have the Kyuubi inside of you. Be thankful that my mission parameters said 'no one but the Uchiha', or I would kill you now." The man then threw Naruto back hard, at which Haku caught him.

"TEME! I'll fucking KILL you!" Screamed Kyuubi Naruto.

"If you really want to, Naruto… then seek me out when you've become stronger. At your current level, you have no chance… get stronger by whatever means you deem necessary… then come find me. I'll even give you one of my katanas as motivation and as a reminder of what happened here today…"

The man then unties the katana on his side and throws it towards Naruto, who catches it.

"Until next time, Naruto… Kukukukuku…" The man spoke as he was disappearing into a black mist.

Once the man completely faded from view, Naruto slowly calmed down and, eventually, broke down again into a crying mess. Haku, who was still holding him, took her mask off and soothed the broken form that is Uzumaki Naruto.

'Naruto-kun… it'll all be okay… I promise you…'

"Naruto-kun… come on… your teammate is dead… and I don't think he would want you crying over him like this…" Haku said softly.

"It's not… fair, Haku-chan… he was my only friend… he was my brother, for Kami's sake! Why did it have to be HIM?"

"I can't answer that, Naruto-kun. But I can promise you that Zabuza-sama and I shall help you become stronger."

"I beg of you, Haku-chan… train me… help me become stronger… I need to kill both that teme and Sasuke's brother… I promised him…"

"Let's stop this madness first, then we shall take you in."

Haku then stood up, and helped Naruto up as well. As the Ice Mirrors melted, Naruto took a look at the katana the man gave him. It had a black sheathe, a black guard, black wrappings and dark purple ray skin underneath the wrappings. He nodded in approval and tied his katana to his left side and walked over to Sasuke's body, and then commenced to take all of the needles out of it… and the kunai that killed him. Pocketing the kunai, Naruto hefted Sasuke's body over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and walked with Haku to where Zabuza and Kakashi were still fighting.

Kakashi deflected another blow from Zabuza's Kubikiri Houcho and jumped a ways back just in time to see two figures walking out of the mist and into view.

'That's… why in the HELL is NARUTO with HAKU?'

"Naruto, what's going on here?"

Upon closer inspection, he noticed the body that was over Naruto's shoulder.

"Kami… no…'

"Kakashi-sensei… I… Sasuke… he's dead… he died defending me…"

Zabuza turned to see that it was indeed true.

"How did the Uchiha get bested? Haku?"

"No, Zabuza-sama… it was not I… it was an unknown, black-clad man. He got inside my Mirrors without my knowing and he dealt the blow to the Uchiha."

"Is that so… black-clad… did he have two katanas?"

"Hai, Zabuza-sama… one of which he gave to Naruto-kun."

"Boy, let me see that blade."

Naruto complied and stepped up to Zabuza, who put Kubikiri Houcho on his back strap and took the katana from Naruto. Unsheathing the finely made blade, Zabuza whisled under his wrappings.

"Yep. Just as I suspected… It was Kanno."

"Who's Kanno, Zabuza-sama?"

"A master sword smith from Kumo. He was renowned for his swords… and his thirst for blood and battle. Rumors said that he took up the life of an assassin in an effort to quench his bloodlust… it seems those rumors were right."

At that, Kakashi stepped in.

"And he was the one who killed my student?"

"Hai. It seems he was bound by an assassination contract… and your Uchiha was the target." Zabuza then handed the blade back to Naruto, who re-tied it to his right side.

"Kakashi-sensei… what're we gonna do now?"

"(Sigh) I don't know… Zabuza… with the appearance of Kanno, it seems we have bigger issues to deal with."

"It seems so, Kakashi… call that banshee off and we'll parley."

"Sakura! Bring Tazuna over here! We have things to discuss!"

Just before they could parley, Gato and his men attacked the bridge, in an effort to kill Tazuna and wreck the bridge. A combined assault from four Shinobi (Sakura was mourning the loss of her crush), Gato and his forces were all killed. Agreeing to discuss the peculiarities at Tazuna's house, all Shinobi made there way there.

(Time skip: a few days)

What was left of Team 7 made it back to Konoha safely. Sasuke's funeral had been… hard for the team… especially Naruto and Sakura, who were inseparable both at the funeral, on the way back and even now, as they made their way through the gates of Konoha. The talk had been enlightening to say the least. Zabuza's terms were hefty, but worth it if the end result was what he promised. And so the team made their way to the Hokage's Mansion to report in. Sarutobi Hiruzen was at his desk dealing with the bane of all Kage's… paperwork.

'I swear, Minato… I'm gonna kick your ass when I die… somehow, I will!' He was brought out of his thoughts by a knock at the door.

"Enter."

The door opened and Team 7, minus one and plus two entered.

"Kakashi… do you mind explaining to me why you are short one Genin… but plus two Kiri Nuke-nin?"

"I have a lot to explain, Hokage-sama…"

Kakashi went onto explain what had transpired, and the terms of Zabuza's deal.

"Sasuke's dead… a man named Kanno killed him… and both Zabuza and Haku want to become Konoha-nin, as well as train Naruto-kun? Kami, I'm getting too old for this shit."

Sarutobi then reached into his desk and pulled out two Konoha Hitai-ate and set them on the desk.

"I shall accept you two as Konoha-nin… but your first month shall be under a house arrest of sorts. You two shall not leave the Village and shall be limited to missions that take place within the Village. Also, you shall have an ANBU squad watching you at all times… and as for you training Naruto-kun… I… accept. Welcome to Konoha."

Both Zabuza and Haku bowed deeply.

"Arigato, Hokage-sama." Both said at the same time.

Sarutobi grunted and motioned for everyone to leave, and, of course, they did. Once the door was closed, he sighed and went back to the paperwork.

AN: So, whaddya think? Not bad? Horrible? Review and everything else. I don't know when Chapter 2 will be up, so patience is a virtue! PEACE!