In a cottage outside of the Village Hidden in The Mist, Zatzu sat at the table staring at a school book. As he sat there he looked up and out the window, looking down the road. "Big brother should be home from his mission today, he's been gone for about a week now." He said to himself. As he went back to his school work he heard the front door open. He ran to the next room and we greeted by a man carrying a sword nearly as large as himself. "Zabuza your back!" exclaimed Zatzu who then noticed that Zabuza was being followed by a child. "Who's the girl?" asked Zatzu curiously.

"This is Haku, he's a boy and is going to be staying with us." Zabuza said as he removed his sword and placed it against the wall. "From the smell of it I would say dinners ready."

"Ya, it should be just about ready."Zatzu replied. As Zabuza went to clean up in the bathroom Zatzu looked a Haku. The small boy was dirty and dressed in rags and as he stared at the stew on the fire it was clear he hadn't had a decent meal in some time. As Haku reached for the ladle Zatzu stopped him. "Not right now."Zatzu said. Haku looked at him with disappointment when Zatzu said "You have to clean up first." After cleaning up the three of the sat down at the table and began to eat. After they finished eating they sat at the table while Zatzu cleared the table.

"I have no idea where you learned to cook like that's." Zabuza said, "And how do you get the house so clean?"

"Well I have nothing better to do all day so I just cook and clean." Zatzu joked.

"You really should be going to school every day." Zabuza said with a serious look.

"But it's so boring. Besides what can I learn at school that I can't learn in the real world?" Said Zatzu

"That's true I guess." Laughed Zabuza.

"So where did you go this time, Zabuza?" asked Zatzu as he finished cleaning the table.

"Come on, why you keep asking me that, you know I'm not allowed to tell you that." Zabuza replied.

"Come on big brother you can tell me, I can keep a secret." laughed Zatzu.

"I really wish you would stop calling me that." said Zabuza as he waledk out of the house.

"Come on Haku, it's time to get ready for bed." Zatzu said as he walked into the other room.

Haku followed Zatzu into the other room and the two got ready for bed in silence. As the day turned to night and two lay in their beds did Haku finally speak. "So is Zabuza really our older brother?" he asked.

"I don't think so," Zatzu replied as he laid in his bed," but as long as I can remember it's just been me and him so I've just referred to him as big brother." he laughed. As Haku remained silent Zatzu started to think to himself, "I think Zabuza made a good choice bringing Haku here, it will be nice having another person here around my age, maybe next time Zabuza can bring a girl around his own age home and we can be one big family." Zatzu smiled at that thought, "I shouldn't tell that to Zabuza though it might make him angry." Zatzu fell asleep with that though still on his mind.

Zatzu ran though a thick mist not able to see where he was going. "Zabuza, Haku where are you?" He yelled, frantically trying to find his family. Just as he was about to give up hope a shadowy figure appeared in the mist. "Zabuz..." Zatzu began to say but before he could finish, the shadowy figure struck at him with a might sword.

Zatzu shot up in his bed, sweating heavily from the nightmare. It had been several months since Zabuza had brought Haku into their home. As he calmed down he noticed both Haku and Zabuzas' beds were empty. "Haku, Zabuza?" he called out but there was no response. As he walked into the main room he noticed that they weren't in here ether, and the coals in the fireplace were cold. "They must have gone out very early for some training, or maybe he had a mission." Zatzu said to himself as he prepared for school. Later that day when he returned home Zabuza and Haku still hadn't returned home which began to worry him. "Zabuza would never leave for a mission without telling me." He said. As the day past there was still no sign of Zabuza or Haku. Just as Zatzu was about to give up on them coming home he heard the front door open. As he turned to see who it was he was met with four of the Hidden Mist ANBU entering the house.

"What do you want?" Zatzu asked as he began to back up.

"You know what we want, now tell us where he is." the lead man said.

"I don't know who you're talking about!" screamed Zatzu

"If you won't tell us willingly then I'll just have to beat it out of you." The man said.

As the ANBU member began to surround him, Zatzu began to panic, and almost instinctually, he raised he hands and yelled "Hidden Mist Jutsu!" As the house began to fill with a mist, Zatzu used the moment of confusion the run out of the cottage and into the nearby woods. As he ran Zatzu thought to himself, "Zabuza, what did you do to make them so mad, where did you and Haku go?" But it wasn't long until Zatzu found himself once again surrounded by the elite ANBU ninja.

"That was a neat trick kid," the one from before said, "we weren't expecting you to do that, but now your all out of tricks."

As the elite ninja began to close in on him, Zatzu collapsed frantically trying to figure out what to do, and a thick mist began to surround them all.

"Nice try kid but that tricks not gonna work this time." the man said.

"Sir, I don't think the kid is doing this, he wasn't weaving any hand signs." Another said.

"Damn it, it has to be..." another began to say before falling abruptly quite.

Suddenly Zatzu was surrounded by the sounds of screaming, and as the mist began to fade he could see the corpses of all the ANBU lying on the ground around him. As he lay sitting on the ground, tears streaming down his terror stricken face a large figure appeared in front of him.

"Your pathetic." a familiar voice said.

"Zabuza..." Zatzu said.

"All that training and this was all you managed to do, what a disgrace."

"Zabuza... what did you..."

Suddenly Zabuza raised his sword, still dripping in blood, and swung at him. Zatzu instinctually tried to jump back but the tip of the sword caught him on the left side of his face, tore a deep cut from his forehead to his chin, and destroyed his eye.

"Big Brother, why?" he sobbed as he lay on the ground, bleeding and screaming in agony.

Zabuza approached him saying "I told you not to call me that." and kicked the boy in the face, knocking him unconscious.

As Zabuza stood above the unconscious boy, he shook his head and said to himself, "I should have left you with your mother." He then turned and walked away from the Hidden Mist Village, never to return.

Nearly a week later Zatzu sat in his hospital bed reading. He awoke in the hospital a few days earlier unable to remember what had happened. His memory can back when he had reached up to see why he couldn't see out of his left eye and felt the bandages that cover the left side of his face. As he did that a nurse had come in and she had explained everything that had happen to him. Zatzus' thoughts and reading were interrupted by two people talking outside of his room. The first voice he easily recognized as Ao, a man who has been standing outside of his room since he woke up, but the second voice he didn't recognize.

"Is he awake?" the mysterious voice said.

"Yes sir" Ao replied. "Would you like me to question him?"

"No," the other person said, "I'll do it myself."

With that the door to the room opened and the man that entered Zatzus' heart nearly stopped. The man standing in front of his was none other than Yagura, the Mizukage, and leader of the Hidden Mist Village. As Zatzu attempted to get out of the bed to bow to him, Yagura motioned for him to remain in the bed. As Zatzu laid back down, Yagura said, "You know who I am right." Zatzu could only nod in fear.

"I have some questions for you, and as long as you answer them truthfully you have nothing to worry about. Understand?"

Once again Zatzu could only nod.

"Good. Now first of all do you know what Zabuza did?"

"No." Zatzu said finally being able to talk.

"He tried to kill me. Him, that boy, and several others, and what we're trying to figure out is whether or not you're involved with this or not."

Zatzu was shocked; he had no idea that Zabuza would have ever attempted anything like that.

"I had no idea he was going to do something like that." Zatzu choked.

Instantly Yagura drop his stern glare and smiled. "Good now that that's out of the way I had some other things I wanted to talk to you about." As Yagura began to talk Zatzus' attention was pulled to a faint red light hovering behind Yagura. As Zatzu continued to focus on the light, he started to see a shadow surrounding it almost in the shape of a person.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you sir," said Zatzu, "but what is that behind you?"

As Yagura turned to look both the light and the shadow disappeared. "I don't see anything." Yagura said.

"I'm sorry it must have been my imagination." Zatzu said. As Yagura began talking again Zatzu tried to listen but was focused on whether or not the light and shadow would return. After several minutes Yagura left closing the door and taking Ao with him. After several moments when he was sure he was alone Zatzu began to cry. "Zabuza, why did you attack the Mizukage, and why did you take Haku with you and not me?" he thought to himself.

Suddenly Zatzu jerked his head up, his one good eye darting around the room. "Who's there?" he called out felling as though someone was watching him. Zatzu sat staring around the room for a few minutes until the feeling passed. As Zatzu began to calm down the door opened as a nurse entered carrying a tray of food for him. Through the open door Zatzu could see that Ao had returned to his normal spot, although now he was talking to a young woman with long auburn hair. As he ate he could hear the two talk.

"So then, what is the fate of the boy?" The woman asked.

"The Mizukage has decided that he had nothing to do with the attack so he will be spared." Ao replied.

"Then what will happen to him?"

"Once he is released he will be placed into an orphanage until he graduates, after that he's not our problem."

"That won't do." the woman said and then entered Zatzus' room. "Your name is Zatzu, correct?" the woman asked. Zatzu nodded as he continued to eat. "Do you know who I am?" she asked and Zatzu shook his head no as he swallowed the food in his mouth. "That's okay, my name is Mei Terumi, and it nice to meet you." she said as she held out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you to ma'am." Zatzu replied as he took her hand and shook it gently.

"My, you are polite, and you have a strong grip to." she said.

"Thank you ma'am." Zatzu replied blushing a little.

"Tell me, how old are you?" she asked.

"I'm 8, ma'am." he replied.

"8 years old, you look tall and strong for your age." she said smiling. Zatzu began to blush even more; he had never been complimented like this before. "Do you mind if I take a look under these bandages." Mei asked as she reached her hand out to his face.

Zatzu pulled back a little, unsure if he should let her, but after a few seconds decided it was fine. He sat there as Mei began to unwrap the bandages from around his head. As she removed the last of the bandage she sat back and looked at the scar running the length of his face.

"My, that's some scar," she said with a laugh" with a scar like that, I bet the girls will be all over you in a few years."

"Really?" Zatzu said, "May I see?"

Mei handed him a mirror, and Zatzu sat silently as he looked for the first time at what had happed to the left side of his face. Zatzu and Mei sat there talking for about an hour before Mei finally stood up saying "Well that's it, I can't let a sweet kid like you get put into an orphanage, you're going to come and live with me from now on."

"Really!" cried Zatzu, who had began to get attached to Mei.

"That is out of the question!" Exclaimed Ao, who until now, was standing in the hallway quietly.

"You stay out of this Ao, it's not up to you. I'm going to speak to the Mizukage about this right now." Said Mei as she walked out of the room.

As Mei and Ao walked down the hall, Zatzu could hear the arguing from his room. He lay back in his bed, more excited than he had ever been. "I'm finally going to have a real family!" he thought to himself.

A few days later, Zatzu was released from the hospital, and with the blessing of the Mizukage he was officially adopted by Mei, and when he returned to school all of his classmates were happy to see him return, and as Mei said, his scar got him a lot of attention. But not all was happy for Zatzu, he was plagued with nightmare, not all the same but they all shared one thing, a masked man with a bright, piercing red eye.

Zatzu shot up one night, drenched in sweat, woken up by a nightmare. As he sat there trying to calm down he quickly became aware that he was not alone.

"Who's there?" he said, looking around his room.

"Interesting," a deep voice said, seemly coming from nowhere, "so you really can sense me."