Ash didn't expect fortune to favor him this much — to meet her right on the first day. Leaning against the cold rail of the bridge was a small girl, curled up, chin on her knees.
Her shirt was thin, her pants worn, and frostbite marked her skin. In this winter cold, anyone else would have frozen to death already — except someone like her, awakened with the power of ice. She endured because her body had adapted to extreme chill.
Ash returned from a nearby street stall, holding three freshly steamed buns. He stepped toward the girl and extended the warm food toward her.
Sensing movement, the girl flinched, shrinking away like a startled Pokémon. When nothing struck her, she slowly raised her head. Her wide eyes fixed onto the bun in Ash's hand — suspicious, frightened, yet clearly starving.
Here, everyone called her a monster. Anyone who saw her would beat her without mercy. This bridge — the outermost part of it — was the only place where people ignored her rather than hurt her. If she dared go further inward, she would be killed.
Those eyes…Ash's crimson pupils constricted sharply.
Not in his previous world.
Not in this world.
Never had he seen eyes so pure.
Innocence… but buried under despair.
Confusion about tomorrow.
Fear of the future.
Originally, Ash only saw her as a character from the "original story" — a pitiful girl whose fate he wanted to change. But at this moment, guilt stabbed his chest. If only he had found her earlier…
"Is… is this for me?"
Her voice trembled — far more fragile than her ice.
Ash's heart twisted painfully. Compared to her life, even a wandering trainer had lived better.
"Would you… like to come with me?" he asked gently.
She froze, fingers hovering above the bun, hesitation and fear overtaking hunger.
"I'm… a monster."
She withdrew her hand, curling back into herself as droplets of water formed near her — a defensive instinct.
She waited to be struck.
"Monster, huh?"
Ash nodded solemnly.
"I'm one too."
Her whole body trembled. Slowly, she lifted her gaze — shocked. He wasn't mocking her. He could sense her power. And for the first time in her life… someone recognized her instead of rejecting her.
Tears flowed silently.
"Come with me," Ash said, extending his left hand.
"From today, I'll be your big brother."
"I… I will be brother's weapon," she blurted out quickly — the words she had been conditioned to say.
"A tool to obey orders… please keep me by your side as one."
Ash sighed and shook his head.
"No. You don't need to be a tool. You'll be my little sister. Let your big brother handle everything else."
He wrapped his arms around her small, freezing body. She clung to his clothes — trembling, crying — but there was hope in those tears.
A hope for belonging.
A hope to simply exist.
Just as Ash started to walk away—
"Hold up."
A cold, deep voice cut through the air like a blade.
Ash's steps froze.
That voice was unmistakable.
"You seem to be taking something that belongs to me."
A tall figure stood at the darker end of the bridge — a presence sharp and dangerous.
Ash didn't even need to look to know who it was.
"You must be Zabuza," Ash muttered, his expression darkening.
"I'm not in a good mood today. So get lost."
He tightened his protective hold around the girl known as Haku — no longer.
This time…he would not let her be taken.
"Quite the big mouth for such a brat," the man growled.
Zabuza slammed his oversized Executioner's Blade into the bridge floor, letting cold killing intent wash across the air — a threat that would've frozen any ordinary fighter.
Ash didn't even flinch.
"Leave."
That single word — laced with aura and fury — made the air distort.
His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan flared to life, crimson light rippling with overwhelming pressure.
Zabuza's eyes widened as his muscles locked up against his will.
What… what is this terrifying aura!?
My body… it won't move!
The arrogance from moments earlier vanished. He trembled uncontrollably — staring into those spinning tomoe that promised death.
"You should be grateful she's here," Ash said with a cold smirk. "Otherwise…"
He didn't bother finishing the sentence.
Still holding Haku close, he turned and walked away — leaving only silence and terror in his wake.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
The moment Ash's presence faded, Zabuza collapsed to one knee, gripping his Executioner's Blade just to stay upright. Sweat poured from his forehead. His heart pounded like a war drum.
I really thought… I was done for.
It took a full ten minutes before his breathing finally steadied.
"That eye… that power… It must be him."
Zabuza's voice trembled despite himself.
"In the entire ninja world, only the Uchiha are famous for the Sharingan. And at his age? Able to suppress me with a single gaze? That can only be the one the world's been whispering about recently…"
Ash Ketchum.
Meanwhile…
Ash carried Haku toward his hotel through the softly falling snow. She remained quiet in his arms — body cold, but trembling with warmth she had never known.
"What's your name?" Ash asked gently, pretending not to know.
"…Haku."
There was no surname. There hadn't been one for a long time.
"You possess a Kekkei Genkai — the Ice Style, passed down from the Yuki Clan. They were wiped out in Kirigakure a few years back." Ash's voice softened as he looked at her fragile face.
"From today onward, your name will be Yuki Haku. And you'll never be alone again."
Haku stared up at him — shocked, terrified, overwhelmed — but slowly, she nodded.
"…Okay."
Her voice was tiny, but it carried a spark of hope that had been long frozen.
And she clung a little tighter to her new brother.
...
TN:
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