Rating: PG-13
Pairing: None (foreshadowed Zabuza/Haku if you look hard enough).
Category: AU. General.
Notes: This fic was inspired by a shounen-ai manga called Hybrid Child. The central concept behind Hybrid Child is around these humanoid dolls known as HCs, dolls who are neither really human nor machine, but yet grow from the attention and affection it receives from its master. After reading the interconnected but unrelated stories, I was intrigued and promptly attacked by some wayward plot bunnies that are addicted to Zabuza and Haku at the moment. As a result, I'm borrowing the idea of HCs.
If you want to read Hybrid Child, it can be downloaded at Mochi Mochi. (http: mochi dot harusame dot net)
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, so put away your assassination squad of lawyers. Concept of "hybrid dolls" borrowed from Hybrid Child, no disrespect intended for either the scanlators or the manga-ka. No profit being made, used and written for entertainment purposes only.
porcelain doll: purity
by d2ragnarok
The letter came in a plain cream-coloured scroll, closed with red wax bearing the family's crest. The face of the envelope bore his name with black ink.
Momochi Zabuza.
It was not the handwriting of the scribe his father hired. He knew it well by now, considering he only communicated with Hisoka through letters for the last several years. The writing was almost childlike, but he could tell that the writer had taken great care to spell his name very neatly.
He peeled off the seal of wax absently, mind still lingering over the details for the latest campaign that Gatou had planned. The man knew where to strike to make it hurt the enemy in the long run. This new campaign was no exception.
Zabuza still found it odd to receive a letter in the middle of planning a campaign. Hisoka was usually much more considerate when it came to the matters of war, he himself having served the regional army as a commander before retiring. Hisoka had hoped to die a warrior's death, having always said so, but he hadn't found his death on the battlefield even as he aged. He had retreated to his country estates to live the last years of his life quietly.
The contents of the letter, of course, were nothing unexpected. There was very little that could surprise Zabuza anymore.
&&&
It was more for the matters of formality that Zabuza returned to his own private estates, having heard that his father's personal possessions had been transferred there under Hisoka's dying wishes. The old man managed to make himself annoying, even in death.
Zabuza would rather have gone to his father's country estate to take care of the property, it would have made his return to his duties much simpler. However, things looked more complicated because he heard that among his father's personal possessions was a boy. It was a delicate matter. He would rather deal with that quietly before rumours surfaced about his father's... eclectic tastes.
He had two of his juniors travelling with him, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, because apparently Gatou 'felt the loss deeply and thought it would be considerate on his part to ensure the safety of his best warrior's journey.' It was such utter crap that Zabuza was impressed that Gatou was capable of saying it with a straight face. The real reason behind the 'considerate' act was that Gatou wanted to keep a Momochi under his thumb, as though Zabuza were a dog wearing a golden tag.
He doubted Naruto was capable of something so underhanded, but he had no doubt that Uchiha was merely there to observe him and report back to Gatou. The brat would do anything to advance in rank, even spy on his commanding officer. To accuse Uchiha in an outright manner would only serve to peeve Gatou, so Zabuza bore the brat's presence stoically.
Naruto was excited, it seemed, to see where 'the stone-faced Momochi-san' lived, and bounced gleefully on his saddle when the house came to view.
"I see it! I see it!" Naruto pointed with a bright grin.
Uchiha rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded rude under his breath.
"It doesn't look scary or haunted, Momochi-san," Naruto looked rather puzzled. "Are you sure you live there?"
Zabuza sighed and reached over to give Naruto's blond head an obligatory smack. "Stop saying such foolish things, Naruto-kun," he replied tolerantly, having long given up the idea of reforming the irrepressible boy. "And do your job as a supposed bodyguard."
Zabuza tapped his horse with his foot to speed up, seeing the crystal wind chimes gleam from beside the entrance to his house. He could already see servants gathering outside to greet him.
"What do you mean 'supposed'!" was Naruto's annoyed reply from behind him. "HEY! I was talking to you!"
Uchiha made some sort of remark that Zabuza didn't bother to catch.
His summer estate was small and modest, consisting of a main house and a hundred acres of land, most of that pure orchid and wild country. Behind the main house were the stables where he kept and trained his prized horses. There was also a courtyard in that inner section of the main house where he kept a small but economical garden.
The main house itself wasn't exceptional in either design or size, which might be considered odd given his rank, but Zabuza was satisfied because it was practical accommodations for a man such as himself. Some would even say that it was Spartan in its 'adequacy'.
"Master Zabuza," greeted one of his long-time attendants, Jin. "Welcome home. It's good to see that you've arrived safely. I had hoped that you have returned under better circumstances."
Zabuza nodded in reply.
Jin properly bowed when Zabuza dismounted. He briefly glanced over his shoulder to see that his two 'bodyguards' still had their horses in a slow trot and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Those two were engrossed in bickering once again and had already forgotten their duties to 'protect' him. It was pathetic. It would be a sad day indeed if one of those two ever lived long enough to succeed him.
"How are things?" Zabuza asked Jin, wanting to know the state of his affairs more out of requirement rather than genuine interest.
Jin was a dark-haired and calm man. There was a hint of seriousness to his eyes that Zabuza had learned to fear over the years. He almost regretted asking, but tried to mentally prepare himself for a long session.
"There are several problems that require your immediate attention within the estate, sir," Jin began, but paused. "However, I believe that you wished to attend to the late Hisoka-sama's... business first?"
Always tactful, Zabuza thought derisively though there was no true malice in his thoughts.
"Yes," he answered shortly. "Where's the boy?"
He could hear the clicking hooves of his juniors' horses drawing near.
Jin hesitated.
Zabuza turned his full attention on Jin, who was looking rather uncomfortable. "Where's the boy?" he repeated.
"Forgive me, Master Zabuza," Jin lowered his voice. "But, sir, there is something that you should know about the boy. If you would allow me to explain before you meet him—"
"HEY! Momochi-san! What were you thinking, running away like that?"
Naruto sounded... as though he were scolding Zabuza.
"Who can be your bodyguard when you go and do something like that, huh? You better not do that anymore."
"You could have easily caught up with me if you merely picked up speed," Zabuza replied, voice calm and practical. "But apparently your personal squabbles are more important to both of you then attending to your duties. Now, excuse me."
That turned Naruto and Uchiha both red in the face. It managed to silence Naruto's incessant babbling long enough for Zabuza and Jin to enter the main house before he finally sputtered incoherently in indignation, but it was attempt at futility, Zabuza was occupied by Jin's uncharacteristically timid behaviour.
&&&
"Haku" sat in the courtyard, tending to a garden full of weeds. Zabuza's absence had been too long, if the small garden was ravaged so badly. It seemed the hired gardener was capable of growing nothing else. He would have to speak of Jin about this.
Jin had explained to him, under a great amount of politeness, that Haku, as "he" was named by Hisoka-sama, was a hybrid doll. Zabuza needed no further explanation, having heard and encountered quite a few hybrid dolls among the older warlords under Gatou's command. They were always exceptionally beautiful and varied in personality, some civilized, others not. While he admired the painstaking craftsmanship that went into each doll, he disliked what hybrid dolls represented as of late. They were playthings, objects for expending lust, but he supposed it had been the original intention for their creation.
Still, there was something disagreeable about that.
He had never thought that his father would stoop so low, owning a hybrid doll. It was hardly a wonder what Hisoka did with it.
Zabuza studied the waiflike creature sitting in his garden with curious but sharp eyes, trying to see past the exterior of its humanlike qualities. It wasn't very interesting, of course, since there were very little differences between dolls and humans except that humans were capable of independency. Dolls were heavily dependent on their human masters for their emotional and physical growth, much in the way that children are.
Haku looked like a twelve-year-old boy, possessing long hair blacker than night and large brown eyes. His skin was incredibly fair and had a body that promised to be slender and elegant. He had a slightly round but open face and delicate-looking lips, currently pursed as Haku went on about his task of pulling out weeds. Zabuza's dark eyes fell on Haku's hands, which were slender but strong. They were covered in dirt, but Haku didn't seem to care.
Zabuza was suddenly caught by the memory of his late mother's beloved collection of porcelain dolls. Here would have been her most prized one.
He admitted that the package was attractive, but what lay underneath all those humanoid features? Did it possess something close to resembling a human soul?
Zabuza continued his quiet observation as Haku persistently tugged at a particularly stubborn weed, watched him sweat and toil in the garden under the sunlight, watched him imitate how a human would be like under those circumstances. Yes, Zabuza frowned thoughtfully, it would be easy to forget that "Haku" is nothing but a hybrid doll.
It would be easier just to get rid of it.
Haku suddenly looked up, as if sensing something, and, upon seeing Zabuza by the northern entrance of the courtyard, smiled with such a warm innocence that Zabuza was nearly taken aback by it.
"Good morning, Zabuza-san," Haku greeted, voice soft but boyish. "May I help you with something?"
Zabuza took a moment to study the beaming face, now focussed on him. Yes, his eyes are as big as they look when down turned, a little voice that wasn't his voice of reason told him, which he quickly stuffed back into the depths of his mind.
"No," said Zabuza, pausing. "You may continue with what you were doing before, Haku."
"Okay, Zabuza-san," Haku returned his attention on that stubborn weed he had been fighting with the whole time Zabuza had watched him. He gripped it at its base with both hands and pulled with, what looked like, all his might.
A random thought struck Zabuza. "How do you know that I'm master of this household?"
Haku was still pulling when he answered. "You have the same eyes that Hisoka-sama did. Hisoka-sama also told me that he had only one son. And you know my name, Jin-san doesn't tell anyone who I am or that I am even here."
Zabuza almost replied to that with something as ridiculous as 'oh', but quickly stifled the useless word from his vocabulary. He had obviously been around the young Naruto for too long.
Now that Haku was at an accessible and unavoidable proximity, his guileless manner made Zabuza wonder what the nature of Haku's relationship with his father had been. There was an obvious fondness and respect when Haku had spoken of Hisoka, but there wasn't any sort of besotted look that Zabuza normally expected of hybrid dolls when they spoke of their masters. It was... unusual.
"Do you... miss Hisoka-sama?" Zabuza probed, now absolute in his curiosity, despite feeling as though he were treading on dangerous ground.
Haku's hands, Zabuza noticed, has stopped their distracted yanking of weeds. He was gazing up at Zabuza again with unnervingly steady eyes, looking faintly puzzled either by the nature of the question or the question itself.
"I miss Hisoka-sama deeply, Zabuza-san," the hybrid doll answered honestly. "He took care of me since I was very small." Haku made the appropriate measurements with his smudged hands, and Zabuza had a disconcerting visual of a Haku three quarters his size. He would have barely been tall enough to be level with Zabuza's knee.
Haku was looking at him again. "Don't you miss him, Zabuza-san?"
"He was my father," Zabuza replied stoically but automatically, as though that evasive answered anything.
The doll's chocolate-brown eyes didn't waver from his, but Zabuza got the feeling that it wasn't meant to be challenging or disrespectful. Haku had the manner of a puppy. His head tilted slightly to the side, black hair falling over a shoulder.
"Does that make Hisoka-sama my father?" Haku wondered aloud, his voice curious and harmless. "Since he raised us both since we were small."
Zabuza, already unsettled by Haku's unbroken stare, didn't know how to respond to that without being rude or cruel.
"I... I suppose," Zabuza responded reluctantly. He mentally defended himself by thinking that it would have been like kicking a puppy if he had answered otherwise.
"You're a kind person, Zabuza-san," Haku smiled at him, looking cheered. "Personally, I don't know Naruto-kun was talking about."
Eh, what? Kind? Naru—
"Naruto-kun was here?"
"Yes," Haku had refocused his efforts on the stubborn weed, looking determined to remove it from the garden this time. "He and another boy left a moment before you came. They wanted to check on your stable. Your horses are magnificent, Zabuza-san."
"Perfect," Zabuza muttered. He restrained the impulse to immediately hurry and check to see if his stables were still intact, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he felt another headache coming on.
But first, to make Haku's task a little more unproblematic.
Zabuza found the hidden storage container after a moment of glancing through overgrown foliage. He would have an even longer talk with Jin after he averted disaster coming to his horses, in the form of one Uzumaki Naruto. He opened the container. He pulled out a small tool box and snatched a pair of gloves before kicking the box closed.
He stalked back to where Haku was sitting, still struggling with that damned weed.
"Here, use these," Zabuza dropped the items by Haku, hoping to get to the stables quickly before Naruto did something stupid like ride his horses.
Haku started, but smiled when he saw the tool box and gloves.
"Thank you, Zabuza-san," he said, opening the tool box with unconcealed gratefulness. "This will make my work a lot easier. Your garden will be able to grow its medicines again once I'm done clearing it of these weeds."
Zabuza paused at the words. "You think I grow medicines? This could be a flower garden for all you know."
Haku glanced at him for a moment, before slowly shaking his head. "Hisoka-sama said you are a practical man, that you don't need something aesthetically pleasing when it serves no other purpose than just being beautiful."
Zabuza stared blankly at the dark head for a moment. Haku would have to stop surprising Zabuza at some point. He, at least, hoped that Haku didn't randomly make these kinds of comments often.
Haku looked up. Zabuza was unprepared for the look that he received from the hybrid doll. It was a smile, softer in nature compared to the one he received only a few moment before, and at such a close proximity it was hard to see any differences between "Haku" and any other human boy.
"That's why I'm going to be as useful as I can, so that you'll keep me, Zabuza-san. I can be your tool, just like these ones."
He pulled out a clipper and unceremoniously snipped the weed.
At first, Zabuza didn't know what to say, staring at Haku with unrestrained incredulity. He surprised himself by chuckling at the earnest but childlike admission.
"Then you would be no different from a slave," Zabuza finally said, traces of humour still colouring his normally composed voice. "And I don't keep slaves. But what my father said is true, I have no use for beauty if it's useless."
"The Creator made me beautiful, but I can be useful," Haku insisted.
So, Zabuza thought approvingly, he is not completely deluded that he actually thinks he's human. The Creator, of course, was the man who built the hybrid dolls. Zabuza didn't want to dwell on the methods that such a thing implied.
Haku continued seriously. "Hisoka-sama taught me how to do many things."
Something grew cold inside Zabuza.
"Like what?" he asked quietly.
"I can serve you your meals, I can tend your garden, polish your swords, prepare your horse, tend you when you're ill, keep your rooms tidy, and... and I can learn other things if you need me to."
Zabuza pursed his lips before broaching the subject. "Did he teach you anything... more intimate than that?"
Haku had the grace to look mystified.
"'Intimate'? What's that, Zabuza-san?" was the incredibly innocent reply.
The doll's voice and behaviour was too guileless and pure to be sullied by acts of intimacy. Perhaps his father wasn't a total fool after all.
"It's nothing," Zabuza shook his head, rising to his feet. "Continue tending the garden, and I'll consider letting you stay."
"Thank you, Zabuza-san!"
Haku, huh?
/ end /