When he first opened his eyes, what he saw was nearly impossible to believe. One hundred years had passed, but the area looked as though it had suffered little change. The same groggy clouds hung in the air, limp but alive with rain that had yet to fall. In fact, the only difference was the bridge itself. It had been finished since the last time he'd seen it. The grass covering the land at its end had grown taller as well. Picking himself up off the cold cement was a difficult task in itself. The crippling gravity and heavy pressure on his lungs to breath were constant reminders of what he'd left behind.

"Amazing, isn't it?" He shook his vocal chords loose from their long slumber. "She can really work some miracles…" The boy at his side nodded silently.

A few minutes of peering down at the ocean below and he was ready to move, absentmindedly wandering towards the end of the structure. In the grass, nearly buried in the foliage, stood two small wooden crosses. One was draped with a weather-beaten scarf. On the one to the right- nothing.

"Where the hell is it?!!" The sudden roar echoed off the buildings ahead and the open air above, so there was likely no soul within a mile who hadn't heard it. "Damn it…It should be here…" A century ago, the curse would have probably been more along the lines of 'God damn it!', but he'd learned that lesson in passing years. Several times.

"Zabuza-san…" The boy's quiet voice cracked with its first use.

The man simply growled in his throat and turned wordlessly onto the road in to town. His partner followed without question, and without another word.

The duo received many awkward and gaping stares as they walked- more or less, limping- through the old, familiar town. "We look like something a cat dragged in!" the man complained. His partner, however, only smiled.

After nearly an hour of wandering aimlessly, both he and the boy grew tired of the strange looks they were receiving, and finally pulled into an inn that looked like it was still in business. Even that looked as though it hadn't changed much.

When he tried to secure a room, the clerk made a point to be snide. "Will that be one bed or two?" she asked, nearly giddy with the laughter she was attempting, but failing, to contain as she glanced at his partner. A growl once again rose from his throat, and he mumbled for the latter option.

"Hem…well…yeah…" The young lady at the desk instantly sobered up, probably out of fear. "And…What name do you want that under?"

"Any…" he replied tiredly, throwing what little money he had down onto the desk. "I don't care." She looked at the currency, then at him, suspiciously. Then she shrugged and handed him a plain, untagged key.

"Room fourteen," she told him hurriedly, then called the next person up to the desk.

The room, albeit very shabby looking, was clean, dry, and heated. Besides, it wasn't as though they cared whether the carpet matched the curtains. Above the door, the ceiling dipped low, even below it's frame, so that when he first walked into the room, Zabuza scraped his head against it, and scattering bits of drywall all over the floor. His partner, being much shorter, didn't seem to have this problem. "Of course…" he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Still in charge, aren't you?"

"Who are you talking to?" Haku asked with genuine curiosity. Of course…Everything was genuine with him.

"No one…no one…" With that vocal admission, he realized that he really was talking to no one, and he fell back onto his bed with a sigh.

"You've changed quite a bit…" A change of subject…it was helpful. "Calmed down…Did your friend help you with that?"

"…My…friend?" He was dumbfounded, but it was a good distraction from his foul mood.

"That woman…" the boy explained. "I really don't remember what she looked like so well…But she had…green eyes….really, really, really green eyes…" He paused and stared thoughtfully off into space. "White hair, too, I think…

"

"Oh…" his partner sighed. "…Her…" Out of the frying pan, into the fire. The cloud that had been hanging over his head quickly returned with all it's fury.

"Sorry!…sorry!" The child smiled apologetically. "I didn't mean- If you don't want to talk about it-"

"It doesn't matter…" his partner grumbled, pulling the blankets over his head. "I'm going to sleep now…"

"Oh…Good night, then…"

A grunt was all that came from the other side of the room.

In the morning, when he woke, Haku had gone already, and the light coming through the window was almost bright enough to be daytime. The clouds had thickened over the hours that he'd been sleeping. "Must be late…" Talking to himself…He realized he was probably already losing it.

Downstairs, a young lady seemed to be having trouble getting checked in. "Room forty!" the clerk from yesterday kept shouting at a young man with butter colored hair who was running back and forth with keys. "Forty!" But he kept bringing her the wrong one. Finally, she was so flustered that she gave up and wend to get it herself. "It was in with the spare keys…idiot…"She glared at the assistant, who was probably new, and nearly hit him across the face when he tried to talk back.

"Was that really worth all the trouble?" asked the woman checking in. "Any room would have done, really…I was simply looking to keep out of the rain tonight." Her voice was quiet, to the point where he barely caught everything she was saying. There was almost a faint, familiar ring to it. Almost. Enough for him to be sure he'd heard it before, but not enough for him to place it. Curiosity was the only thing that held him to the bottom of the stairs when he normally would have went about his business.

"No trouble at all…" the clerk smiled, then peered clean over the woman's shoulder at him. Her face was twisted into an expression of both wonder and irritability. "Can I help you?" She had obviously forgotten his reaction to her attitude the day before. Or perhaps she'd gotten over it. One way or another, he wasn't particularly in the mood to argue. Instead, he shrugged and made sure she could tell he had no intention of moving. The woman was digging through her pockets, attempting to scrape up enough money to pay for her room. What she had on the table was already more than enough.

"Uhm…this'll do ma'am…" the new clerk muttered quietly…shyly. It was almost enough to make the man laugh.

"Oh..." There was a trace of amusement in the woman's voice. "This is it? You must get an awful lot of business!" He nodded and looked down at his feet. "Ah…" she began to add. "Will this room me and a small child? Well, not small, really…about five…"

"Uh…" the kid looked defeated. "Yeah, it should…I'll bring up an extra set of sheets before dark…"

"Thank you so much…" She smiled and pushed the hair at one side of her face back behind her ear. It lingered only for a moment before falling back into place in a cascade of muted orange and yellow. But the damage was done. The night that Zabuza had spent staring at a cloud-covered moon and clearing out the past century of memories had just gone down the toilet.

All for a pair of green eyes. Maybe they weren't quite as green as the ones he wanted to see, but unnaturally so all the same. That was the only real resemblance he had picked out, yet he'd already decided to make a point of avoiding this woman. No use brooding over things he couldn't change, after all.

He spent the rest of the day doing odd jobs in a frantic attempt to feed both himself and his partner for the rest of the week, as well as pay for their room. When all was said and done, he came up with enough, plus a little extra, and it was tempting to use the money reward himself for his efforts. But when he looked at all the work he'd had to do for such a measly sum, he changed his mind and pocketed the change to put it towards next week.

It was dark before he returned to the run down building. The clerk with the putrid disposition still stood at the desk. "No wonder you're always so cranky…" He slid a good-sized portion of his earnings onto the surface between them.

"What's this?" Unbelievable. She was still suspicious of him. No doubt, he looked shady enough, but no one had woken up this morning with their throats slit. At least not to his knowledge. Wasn't that enough?

"For the rest of the week…"

"Joy…" The woman rolled her eyes. "Well, unfortunately, it's been taken care of…"

"What?" Confused, angry, grateful…He didn't know which to be. Perhaps curious was best for now.

"Your room has been paid for," she explained, much slower than necessary. "Your partner got back a while ago and paid for it. You're covered for the next six days."

"Oh…" He shoved the money back into his pockets and headed up to the room without another word.

The boy had purchased a small, clear plastic jar that was now sitting on his bedside table. It was already almost full to the top with his spoils from the day. "I take it you didn't do so bad, then…?" Zabuza asked, emptying his pockets into the jar.

"Not at all!" Haku's face was beaming.

"So, how'd you do it, genius?" He was more exhausted than he realized. Just laying back and staring at the ceiling made sleep tempting.

"Nothing, really. I guess people just thought I looked pathetic…" he expounded. "But when people asked, I told them…" He snatched a glance at his partner, and seemed satisfied with the incredulous look on his face. "Not the real story, of course. I told them I'd run away from abusive parents…Or something…But I think what got them was me telling them I hadn't seen food in days…"

"One hundred years dead…" the man sighed. "And you must have spend the whole time practicing your theatrical skills."

"Something like that…"

"Nngh…" He jerked into a comfortable sort of U-shape between the sheet and the mattress and yawned. "G'night…"

"Good night, Zabuza-san…Actually sleep this time, will you?"

"…eh…"

The next day began much more smoothly. He was up only a few minutes after his partner, which was shortly before the sun peeked over the treetops to the east. Good weather…However, the illusionary ease of it all melted quickly into the same dreary, overcast sort of theme as he realized that there was absolutely no reason to be up so early. "Damn…"

"I'll bet you wish you picked today to sleep in…"

"Shut up, Haku…" For the first time in a long time, he took a good look at his partner. "You're a mess…Go get some new clothes…or get those cleaned and fixed up…something…"

"What about you?"

"You like to eat, yes? We haven't got nearly enough to buy us both a new set of clothes and still afford food every now and then. I'll figure something out. Besides…" Zabuza smirked. "It just adds to my rugged good looks. You…well, you just look pitiful."

"Gee, thanks…" Haku sighed. "I see you've found that sense of humor…"

"Yeah. It took a lot of digging…Now, get lost. I can survive for a few hours on my own…"

The boy nodded and grabbed his money, not willing to put up further argument. "Don't break anyone…" And with that, he was on his way.

The whitewashed walls of the tiny room were beginning to get boring and, most of all, confining. He sighed. "Well…At least they don't look like-" He was instantly reminded of the room he'd spent such a long time in, more vividly and completely than if he'd been thinking of it on his own. "Smooth…" he murmured to himself. "Just make things worse, why don't you…" There had to be something in this dinky old place that would take his mind off things. At long last, he decided to scour the bookshelf in the room at the end of the third floor hallway.

It was a big, open room, with large windows to soak up as much dim light as rainy days in this town could offer. The arrangement of seats resembled that of an average front room, but bigger, with more freedom to move and cheaper curtains. Altogether, it was a very plain space, much like the one he was staying in now. A change of scenery, however, already seemed to be doing some good.

Combing the bookshelves turned out to be more work than it was worth. The only things he could find to read were encyclopedias and biographies of people he'd never even heard of. Only one book caught his eye. It was leather bound. The sleeve held on it's spine a circle, etched in gold leaf. It reminded him of something he'd seen recently. It had been before they'd checked in, though. Before he'd discovered that his prized possession had been snatched…

Realizing what it was- and where he'd seen it- he shoved it haphazardly back into it's place and began searching the shelves a little more fervently, as though there would be something interesting there to begin with. "Damn it…I guess I'll have to read the dictionary…"

"Desperate? Funny…You don't really seem like the type to want to read so badly…" The woman who had been checking in the morning before was now crouching beside him, scanning the second-to-bottom shelf. She pulled out the book he'd just replaced and smiled knowingly. "But, you know…You can't judge a book by its cover…"

"I guess you're right…" he murmured, yanking a book off the shelf impatiently. "Truth is, I'm usually not this eager to read…I'm just…"

"Just…?" she probed.

"It's none of your business."

"Ooh, someone's snappy, isn't he?" She grinned and fell back sideways into a chair. In one fluid, catlike motion, she swung her legs up over the arms of the chair, placed the book against her knees, and cracked it open. "You're going to have to open up to somebody, or you're just gonna explode."

He shrugged. "It isn't as if I've got anything to hi-"

"Was she your girlfriend?" she interrupted, chuckling and wiggling her little finger.

"…What?!"

"Oh, you heard me, and you know exactly who I'm talking about." She turned a page and glanced at the book without interest. "The one I remind you of…"

"You?" Zabuza scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself. You don't remind me of anyone…"

"Uh huh…" Her expression of boredom with the pages of the book didn't change when she looked back at him. "And I suppose the sky is green? Or that you haven't been avoiding me for the last day and a half?"

"Now I- there's a good- we wouldn't-" He was cornered. "Damn it…"

"Yeah…I thought so…" She smiled again, this time a mix of the knowing one he had glimpsed and of amusement at his confusion and frustration. "So what is it that you aren't telling me?"

"I don't have to answer to you…" he protested. "And besides, I already told you, I haven't got anything to hide. Don't you think you'd have noticed if I were, say, some-"

"The way you're turning those pages, it looks like you're some sort of psychotic mass book burner…"

He cringed. "I'd prefer you didn't use the word 'psycho'."

She laughed, but nodded in agreement. "Alright, if you insist. Just remember, you said it, not me…"At first, the sound coming down the hall was faint, nearly inaudible. But the object making the noise closed in quickly, and it became a very distinct- and familiar- battle cry.

"-uuuuuuuug the psychooooOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

"What the- OOF!" The impact from the tiny blonde-headed body slamming into his legs nearly sent him sprawling. It did, in fact, cause him to stumble about like a moron for a few minutes, and a new furniture arrangement was born from the collisions.

"I think you got bigger, Buzabu…" the little girl said, grinning up at him from his knees. "'Cause I can't knock you over anymore…"

"Nah, you shrunk. What are you doing here anyway, Squirt?"

"Well…Shira didn't last very long…" The child frowned and sat down cross legged on the floor. "Only about two and a half months…And I wasn't about to let her come see you without me…But you know, she wanted to! Can you believe that?!"

"But I've barely been gone three days…"

"That's what you think…" She tapped her temple thoughtfully. "It's been more like seventy five for us…"

Zabuza gaped at her. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I don't think so…Why do you think you got back so soon?" She looked at the expression on his face for a moment. "What, did you think you landed a hundred years in the future?"

"…Uh…yeah, actually. Wait…" His brain took a moment to process everything she'd said. "Shira's here…?"

The girl looked at him, then to the woman in the chair, in utter disbelief. "Buzabu…you're awesome and all…but you realize that you're really slow sometimes…right?"

"You mean…She…And I've been…?"

"You forgot I could be this annoying, didn't you?" Shira grinned and snapped the book shut. "And here I thought I'd get a little more special treatment when you figured it out…Of course, I also expected you to get it on your own, but you can see what that led to…"

"I was working on it…" he defended. "Probably would have gotten it, too…eventually…" Here, he paused. "You didn't really expect me to hug you or anything, did you? It's good to see you and all, but…"

"No, I guess I didn't…" she said, attempting to sniffle pathetically, and doing a very poor job of it.

"you have to guilt trip me about everything, don't you?" Zabuza sighed. "So why'd you bring the kid along?"

"Oh, you know how Ella is…" she yawned, leaning back in her chair. "I wasn't going to let her come, originally…As a matter of fact, I wasn't going to let her come at all…"

"She's that sneaky, huh?" he smirked. "I guess she learned something from me…"

"You? Sneaky?" Shira laughed. "We've already established how horrible a liar you are…"

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in…" he mumbled, but he was still smiling. "Hey…" It was time for a change of subject. "…You do realize that the clerk that checked you in yesterday was flirting with you, right?"

"Was he now? I didn't notice…" She smiled to herself. "Why? Are you getting jealous?"

He let out an obnoxiously loud laugh. "Me? Come on, now, be serious…"

"Hmm…" She looked thoughtful. "You know, now that I think about it, he was actually kind of cute…"

"You're…" His gaze shifted to the wall beside them. "…You are kidding, aren't you?"