It was bullshit, that's what it was.

"Damn, damn, damn..." The boy muttered under his breath as he shifted from shadow to shadow, quiet as a demon in the night as he looked for suitable targets. The baker and his group had jacked up the price, taking what little cash he had left for a measly loaf of bread.

"Should have killed the fatass..." He muttered as he finally found a possible target. A soldier, judging by the uniform. And a high ranking one at that. Or given that she's a women, probably did the smart thing and slept her way up the ranks. A severely decreased chance of death, and better pay. Cause frankly, in the empire, dignity and morals were words used by the dead or those Holier-than-thou assholes in the Revolution. "And the only difference between the two is time."

If they want to die for their stupid cause. More power to them. He was going to survive. No matter what.

Still.. a soldier. The boy weighed the pros and cons, the risk against the reward. Soldiers always carried some cash around, and even if they didn't, there was always personal valuables, or at worst their own weapons. A good fence could get him a decent price for imperial steel.

And so he skulked, mind made up, keeping a safe distance as he waited for an opportunity. For the crowd to thicken as it usually did, so a careful caress could be seen as an accident, instead of street-side robbery.

The boy knew he probably had the lightest hands in the entire capital, but even then. He was tired, and pickpocketing was a delicate art, so the more safety nets he had in place. The better.

Esdese had to compliment her pursuer. They were good. She'd enjoy torturing them to find out who was brave, or stupid enough to target her. It'd be the perfect end to the day after her tournament.

So the blue-haired general led her shadow on a small detour. The tournament wasn't to start for another hour, and she wanted to see just how good the assassin was.

The boy growled in his head. So many missed opportunities to strike in the past ten minutes, all because this women seemed to not give a damn or have an actual definition. He was going to enjoy the taste of a fresh meal and an actual bed with this women's money tonight. Heck, if she had enough, he might even buy himself a present.

Probably a better knife, since his old ones were getting dull and worn from their constant use.

Yes. A new knife set would be perfect.

Esdese smirked as she once again lost track of her stalker, for the third time since she started. She hadn't heard a sound, felt an ounce of killing intent or even seen them, but years of combat and her own sharp instincts were still telling her to keep an eye out as she took a turn into a closed off alley. Perfect for an ambush. For her that is.

And she didn't have to wait long. Not even three steps into the dark pathway, her assassin struck.

"Miss. Don't make this harder than it has to be. Drop the coins and valuables, and no one gets hurt." A surprisingly high voice came from behind her, as she felt the tip of a knife press against her back.

"Oh you are good... but terrible form. The knife should be at my throat." Esdese taunted, easily burying her shock at actually being caught off guard. The northern campaign must have dulled her senses more than she thought.

Her assailant didn't say a word, simply pressed the knife against her back with a little more force. Enough to make the message clear.

Too bad for him, she wasn't the surrendering type.

Esdese smirked as she kicked back, feeling her heel connect with solid flesh to bring out the all too familiar sound of cracking bones. The boy. She could now see it was a boy, or at least a very short man.

She'd expected more than this pile of rags before her. She could only see the boy's eyes with any clarity. Dark brown, cold and as sharp as steel that stared back at her, not with the usual fear, but with contempt and the trace of something.

"Miss, you got a kick... now, last chance. Drop the goods and you'll walk away from this." The boy offered, only for Esdese to smirk in response.

"Counter offer. Surrender quietly, and I'll give you a quick death."

The boy didn't seem to move, but she could tell he was getting into what might count as a stance. "I hate it when people can't just take the easy way..." The boy mumbled to himself, drawing out a giggle from Esdese.

"Really now? I rather like it when they stru-" The boy didn't wait for her to finish as he shot forward, a mass of cloth that took up all of her vision. He ducked low, knife in his uninjured hand as he got close, hoping to end things in one blow.

Now if only the women would cooperate, he thought as he had to side step a punch, watching as it smashed into the stone floor, leaving a noticeable dent. Not noticeable as in, a light imprint of her fist. No. This was cannonball level of property destruction. Suddenly the risks far outweighed the reward.

So like any sensible man, he started to run. A little bit of coin wasn't worth his life. Not when there were other targets to be had.

Esdese's grin faltered as the boy began his retreat, but oh no. Her blood was up. She was a hunter on the prowl now, and by no means was she going to be satisfied unless she got her prey.

"Damn, damn, damn." The boy mumbled as he frantically jumped from rooftop to rooftop to avoid the crazy woman who was actively keeping pace with him. Not gaining on him, or falling behind, but staying a steady distance behind him.

It didn't take an idiot to know he was being hunted. Toyed with like a mouse against a cat. Or in his case a damn tiger.

And just like a mouse, he was eventually driven into a corner for the execution. His particular execution ground was the outskirts of one of the Capital's many parks. If he could make it into the trees, he might actually have a chance. But no. The crazy women decided to cheat in the form of cutting off any escape routes with. An. Emperor. Damned. Wall of ice.

"This is just getting unfair..." He stopped, and turned to face his would be killer. "Fine. If you want to throw down, we'll throw down."

"Then why don't you take off that little robe. I want to watch you bleed as you beg for mercy." Esdese was more than happy to take her time. Ran could watch over the tournament in her absence. This was far more enjoyable for now.

"Only if you give me a name. I like to at least know that when I have to kill a person."

"Esdese. General Esdese."

A certain four letter word ran through the boy's head. Of all the bad luck, he'd picked the empire's strongest. He cracked his neck as the two squared off. Fine, he thought. If this is the world's way of finally taking me out, I'll be sure to bring her with me on the ride to hell.

"Well General. I wonder if you'll still have your title in the next life." The boy took of the tattered robes to reveal his pale, ashen skin and spiky black hair. For a street rat, he had a decent amount of muscle on his torso and the pin-striped pants he wore had enough pockets to hide all sort of tricks. But what intrigued her the most was his teeth.

Sharp, jagged like a predator.

She was having the time of her life. Sure she wasn't fighting to her fullest, but she'd found a toy that absolutely refused to break. She'd almost lost track of time for how long they'd been fighting, as she drew out the bloodshed.

Every slash from her rapier that added another line of blood to his already shredded form was met with grim silence, and even when she broke a bone, or by her count the fifth one, the boy simply fought harder. Like a demon possessed.

But like all good things, it was about to come to an end. For all the fire in his eyes, for all the steel and potential she could see in him, she also saw the shadow of death drawing ever closer.

A pity really. A few years under her tutelage and he'd be a general at least. Probably would be a rather handsome man too. But Esdese wasn't one to let superficial thoughts distract her, even when she was playing with her toys. Especially when they had an sharp edge to them.

"I never got your name young one. I'll be sure to remember it." The general teased with a grin as she danced left and right to avoid the flurry of kicks that was the boy's last line of offense, both arm's broken and having lost enough blood to kill most people. The only thing that kept him standing was raw willpower and hatred.

"And I'll enjoy not telling you." The boy grinned, flashing her those shark teeth, and for half a second, Esdese thought she felt her heart stop before passing it off as slight bit of indigestion.

Sure, she was looking for love, but this was a kid, and while he fit almost every check box, he was missing an important one.

"Then how bout we end this for now. I'll take you back and give you some special service in the Imperial Torture chambers." Though she was going to take a bit of pride with breaking this one. He was far too fun to simply kill.

"Fine." The boy bent at the knee, picking up one of his discarded knives into his mouth. If he was going to die, he was going to do it with weapon, metaphorically, in hand. "But I don't do hags." He mumbled, mostly to himself. His vision was starting to fade. His arms were getting heavy, and it felt like anvils were weighing down his feet. But he was better than that. He wasn't some piece of trash. To lose his life because he got a bit greedy.

"Fuck that." The boy glared at the older woman as he focused, letting the killing intent wash over him in waves. His body was a tool to his will. He'd survived in the wild for years before entering the shit hole that was the Capital. He was the master of his damn fate, and the emperor himself could watch as he killed this damn women. The boy charged, his eyes never leaving his target.

Esdese smiled for the first time since this battle started. An actual, warm-blooded smile. To feel such malice, such powerful killing intent from someone so young. He could certainly outdo most soldiers she knew. This was what she lived for. The thrill of the fight. Maybe she wouldn't torture this one. For long. A bit of torture then add him to the Jaegers. He certainly had the talent.

But for now, she was going to meet his charge head on, before crushing him!

It was over in the flash of a blade. A long diagonal cut from hip to shoulder as the boy jumped to impale her through the throat with his knife. An innovative move to be sure, but in the end it didn't work.

Esdese swished her blade, sending the majority of the boys blood into the grass. Now she had to find an imperial guard to take the boy, living or dead to a healer, to be dealt with accordingly. Then she might go see the tournament, if it was still going on.

Hopefully Ran found someone to use the Tengu, or today would have been all pleasure. Not that she was going to complain. It was the best day she'd had since arriving in the Capital, but she still had her work to do.

Now, we wait to see if the boy is strong enough to live to see another day.

And she didn't know why, but Esdese submitted to a random urge. To take one last look at the nameless urchin that both amused her and confused her.

Only for her vision to be blocked by teeth as she turned. Monstrous, devouring teeth that were far too close, far too fast for even her to dodge as she felt them bite into her throat.

For a moment, Esdese knew fear. In all her life, she'd gained strength, won victory after victory, growing by the day as she faced down everything and anything the world could throw at her. She'd beaten it all back by spear, by sword or by fist. But as time slowed, not by use of her Tengu but by her mind going into overdrive, her mask slipped. Letting one, beaten, bloody and half-dead thief see the look of absolute horror on her face as what he thought to be his parting image with this world while they both took the trip to hell together.

Unfortunately for the brat. Fate was not done screwing with him yet. No. In addition to getting torn apart like a chew toy, had half of his bones reduced to dust and lost enough blood to swim in, fate saw fit to turn him into a pin cushion with a pair of feather's blind-siding him before his teeth could sink in far enough to bring the general down.

"General!"

"Ran!" Esdese shouted up at her subordinate, mind racing at what just happened before picking her opponent up by the scruff of the neck. "Take this boy to the Imperial healers! Quickly! And if he dies, I'll kill everyone in this damn city! That's not a threat, that's a fact!"

The blue haired women tossed the boy up to the surprised young man. After all, one minute the kid was a gnat's whisker away from killing the empire's strongest, the next he was being treated like the emperor himself.

For his part, the tengu-user didn't hesitate at the odd order, instead speeding across the sky's to fulfill the woman's orders. He knew his hide was included in the word 'everyone' and he still had a reason left to live.

"You'll make it kid. Don't worry." Ran reassured the kid as he landed in one of the Palace barracks, before yelling for a medic at a passing soldier. The winged man wasn't the best of doctor's but he knew enough about first aid to stop the bleeding before he was passed off to the professionals.

Ran relayed the message to the healers, putting more than a spring in their step as they hasted off to basically bring back the dead.

Esdese calmly walked back towards the palace and her quarters. She was in no rush. She needed time to think. To remind herself of the stupidity of underestimating an opponent, and to calm her beating heart.

She'd witnessed heaven and hell in the span of a few short heart beats. Her close brush with death had given her a glimpse at an angel. Esdese brought a hand up to gently rub the wound on her neck. It was deep enough to scar, but it wasn't lethal. No. Ran's intervention saved her from that fate.

No. For now her thoughts would be filled with one image and one image alone. The look on the boys face, even as he was torn away by Ran's metallic feathers. That look of pure joy on his face, of innocent bliss.

Later that day, a one maid would remark to another maid if they knew what 'All check-boxes filled' would mean after hearing it from a passing Esdese on her way to the infirmary.

The boy hurt all over. But he guessed that was a good thing. If he felt pain, he was still alive. If he was still alive, he could work to maintaining that status.

Didn't explain why he felt like he was laying on a cloud, or more importantly what had a firm but gentle grip on his non-pulverized hand.

He decided to crack an eye open first, get a lay of his surroundings before he decided to run. Every little detail would help, but the sight before him raised more questions than it answered.

He was in an infirmary. Not some back alley doctor's den of probably infected tools, or in a cell after having had his more fatal injuries dealt with. An honest to god infirmary. The boy wondered what brought this on, since the last thing he remembered was the woman getting ready to toss him into the torture chambers.

"You're awake.." And there was the voice that originally uttered those threats. But instead of being condescending or cold, it was oddly warm and loving. Like that wasn't an instant red flag.

The boy jerked away from the sound, only to find that aside from the hand currently being held by Esdese herself, a woman with a grip worthy of her reputation, he was strapped in tight. The doctors probably thought he'd run. He gave Esdese a quick look, confused by the warm smile on her face. Gee, wonder why I'd run, he thought.

"Couldn't just kill me.. could you."

Esdese giggled. This was just getting weirder by the moment. "No. No I couldn't."

He noted the layer of bandages around the woman's neck, taking a hint of pride at the sight, though he wished he had a knife or something to finish the job before the crazy woman could drop the sugary mask and get to the torturing.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I swear." Esdese cut into his thoughts.

"Bullshit."

She gave his hand a soft squeeze, and... was she blushing? How long was he out? Did he wake up in some weird alternate world? Some place filled with wizards bent on world conquest, or perverted devils? He pinched himself, noting the pain. So it wasn't a dream... What the hell happened?

"How are you feeling?"

"I didn't think someone of your status could ask such stupid quu-" The pressure on his hand increased from 'deadlocked' to 'crushing what few unbroken bones you have left' to cut him off, before letting off as suddenly as it began. "What do you want?" At times like this, the boy liked to cut to the chase.

Esdese lit up at the question. "Your name... Please." The last word added as an embarrassed after thought.

"Not telling." And now she's using the puppy dog eyes... why? "Why are you doing that?"

"I'm trying to look cute."

"Doesn't answer the question... one minute you are going to lock me up for life to be used as your personal whipping boy, and the next you are sitting her like some school girl... and why the hell do you keep looking embarrassed?!"

"Is it wrong for a woman to worry bout the man she loves.."

The boy huffed, thinking in an exasperated tone as the meaning of the words hadn't fully hit him just yet.

Then they did. With the force of an avalanche.

AN: I have far too many ideas... this story, as interesting an idea as I think it is will probably be put on the backburner while I finish or work on one of the other stories I have going. Still, I think it's an interesting idea. We got Esdese and Zabuza, specifically younger Zabuza, someone a little less jaded with the world. I'd be interested in other people pick up this idea cause I can see quite a bit of potential.

Mostly cause I find it sad that the only fics in this particular crossover [in english at least] are about Naruto, when there are so many other possibilities. (There is one with Itachi but still.) So I shall continue my pointless and useless crusade for the Demon in the Mist! (Even if I feel like I'm committing some weird taboo for the fact I have no plans of including Haku in this.)

But enough of my personal rant. Just wanted to point out a few things that might come up. (Cause I will agree completely. In a straight up fight, my beloved Esdese could dance an Irish Jig on Zabuza's corpse. Tis why Zabuza rarely fights fair.) Zabuza got lucky. Very, very, very lucky, with his surprise attack. This was a one in a million opportunity that allowed him to get so close to killing Esdese. She underestimated him (even when she was willing to admit he had a massive amount of potential), was toying with him, wasn't aware that surprise attacks were his forte, and most importantly she let her guard down.

So, finishing details to know for future chapters (if I get around to them anytime soon): Zabuza is 14 and yet to hit his growth spurt. He's had no formal training in combat. Every thing he knows is from street fighting, hunting danger beasts and natural skill. What Zabuza will lack in shear destructive and openly offensive power, he'll make up for with his usual stealthiness and his nearly inhuman ability to take a wound and keep going on nothing more than bloodlust alone.

Anyways~ Hope you enjoy, and comments, reviews and thoughts are always welcome~ I will see you all later~