The Land of Waves in water country had just suffered its most recent bout of economic failure at the hands of the Shipping and Transportation tycoon Gato. The slight uprising that had started to do little more then amuse him drew his immediate attention when he heard that the populace had not only refused the merchandise and supplies he was graciously supplying them but had pooled all of its resources into the creation of a bridge that was lead by two men: Kaiza and Tazuna.
Extremely slight in stature and graced with even less ability, he had a keen mind that could have made him a ruler or military general if his goals were merited as such. No, Gato was two things that had made him the extremely successful man in life that kept him away from those and many other avenues: he was greedy and cunning.
To be a ruler or a general had too many limitations and too many checks and balances with implications too strict that left very little way of escape and more ways to shackle him. No, Gato was a free spirit of chaos that had one goal that justified everything he did and wouldn't allow anyone to know he did to surpass yesterday what he did today: money.
There was no thicker shield or truer friend then those bought with the currency of dozens of different currencies. The best kind of money was the kind that came in favors, in blind loyalty, and in blood.
He sat behind his grand desk, his eyes watching a screen that displayed numerous financial reports about his different projects he had a valued interest in. He thought there was just something natural about seeing green on a financial report. When he was in charge, profit was color coded green. Leaves were usually green during the spring of their life. Yes, it was just his gift to make green grow in one way or another.
"Next," he called out to his secretary.
A beautiful woman with long blonde hair and large blue eyes tapped down on a keyboard, moving to another report on his screen. A few charts appeared, earning another slight smile. He adjusted the small round sunglasses as he motioned for her to move to the next screen.
He frowned.
There was a lot of red on those figures.
"We have excess stock in food and building merchandise in the Country of Waves again."
His secretary quickly typed of a few commands on her computer and pushed through a few spreadsheets. Demurely, she pushed a lock of hair from her face and twisted it behind her head with a pen.
"It would seem the populace has stopped purchasing goods all together in that district." She typed up a few more commands and moved one screen next to the other. "It would also seem that these five other districts are also cutting purchasing in supplies and food, Mr. Gato."
Gato's frown deepened. "How much are we loosing in profit at that location from last month, Lyseria?"
She aptly pushed a window here and there with a mouse, typed a few commands and triumphantly scrolled down and localized a column with a total percentage at the end.
"We're down three hundred percent from last month, Mr Gato."
"Three hundred percent." He growled, tapping his fingers along the cane handle next to his desk. "What about the special merchandise in those districts?"
Even with the loss of money on one end, he could not keep the smile from his voice when he thought of how simply pitiful people were. They may not have money for food or supplies, but they always found a way to buy his very special medicine.
"There has been no purchase of any drugs in those districts, Mr. Gato." Lyseria said in a professional tone.
WHACK!
He slapped his cane back on his desk with little grace. With an arrogant turn of his head, he glanced away from the profit/loss figures just long enough to watch her brace her face and attempt to recover her dignity as best she could. He saw the growing welt, the trembling fingers of one hand touch her swelling lip. She turned steely eyes towards him, a cold controlled anger building to an ever decreasing chill.
"If I've told you once, Miss Goldmeadow, I've told you enough for you to understand in that pretty blond head of yours. I sell merchandise, products, medicine. I do NOT sell drugs or weapons."
She closed her eyes and clambered back to her side of his desk with a quiet calm.
"Of course, Mr. Gato."
Gato sighed quietly, turning his eyes away from the painful color of red all over the screen before him. "I have a feeling those stupid people are trying to raise funds again to do something. I am sure something like this was eventually going to happen, so I decided to hire some more agents to insure such things were taken care with a little more visibility and less discretion."
He tapped his cane against the floor soundly. "Zori. Waraji."
His two henchmen stood up straighter from behind him.
Zori wore a purple cap with a light colored hoodie, a teardrop tattoo adorned under each dialated eye. Gato had prided himself with the fact he had Zori paid off with drugs on a regular basis, but found his pride turn to growing intolerance when he noticed he had become more and more of a hindrance then an asset. Waraji was another one of his less then honorable employees that needed little maintenance. Three small dark ponytails went from the front to the back of his head and eye patched face. He had a thick bare chest and bandages around his waist from wound received under the employ of Gato not so long ago. He didn't want money. No, that man prized himself on cutting things and killing. He really was suited for the position Gato wanted, but the problem was he was never content to just taking a life or cutting here or there. No, he needed to do it more often and usually didn't care who was around. He was becoming a problem.
Kaiza had been a strong bastard that gave Waraji those wounds. Gato was sure if he had only focused on fighting and not protecting that little brat of his he might have escaped. He still got a little chuckle on how much fun it was to watch that pathetic and poor man break in front of the villagers. It was always fun to watch a hero fall. Now, if only he could get a hold of that damn bridge builder.
Gato looked at his watch and confirmed it with the time on the clock on the screen of the computer. It matched perfectly. He wrote something on a piece of paper and placed it in front of the collected secretary. "I want you to bring up this file and translate it in your native language, Miss Goldmeadow."
She didn't look at the paper right away. She held her hands fisted in her lap, her eyes defiant to the small man as he started to walk away from her.
"If you don't do it right away, Miss Goldmeadow, I will give you to Waraji for one hour to do with you as he pleases." He said, turning his head towards her with a malicious smile.
"Of course, Mr Gato." She started to type out the letter slowly, taking her time to look back and forth between he paper and screen. When she reached the end, she blinked at the screen and then at Gato.
"This says…" she began, her voice hitched.
"I know what it says, Miss Goldmeadow." He ground out, annoyed. "I wrote it. Is it finished, yet?"
She nodded her head and had it printed.
"I want that letter printed twice and then put in two separate envelopes with two names put on them."
She nodded slowly, licking her swollen lip nervously. Putting both letters in the envelops as instructed, she started to hand them to Gato when he raised his hand for her to stop. "Hold onto those, Miss Goldmeadow. We're going to go see our agents very soon. I'll tell you what to do with them then."
"Mr. Gato, I'm sorry for before-" she apologized feverently, her eyes tearing quickly.
"Is there a problem, Miss Goldmeadow?"
"Mr. Gato, please forgive me, I didn't-"
"Miss Goldmeadow, I am starting to loose my patience." He stood and looked up at the woman next to him, watching her all but want to drop the envelopes in her hand as if they burned her.
She resigned to just accept her fate as best she could. Closing her eyes, she exhaled to regain her composure. "No, Mr Gato. There is no problem."
He nodded and turned away from her. "Lets go then. We need to see to something first."
Lyseria held the envelope in one hand and opened the door for Gato with the other, her head bowed as he passed. His two guards walked close to her as they followed their boss. Waraji stopped in front of her, touching her swollen lip with his thick fingers, earning a gasp from her as she tried to push his hands off of her.
He just staring at her, fascinated.
"I hope you make him angrier. Your skin will look so much better if it had a few cuts in it." He gripped his sword with his free hand, pushing it closer for her to see.
She could not help be tremble under his touch. "Mr Gato is waiting."
Only the name of her boss broke his concentration and released her.
Lyseria followed closely behind them when they walked past her. She felt a dread that came with knowing more then she should.
"Who is there, Meizu, Gouzu?" A polite male voice called from behind the two shaggy heavy built men in respirators.
"It's that shrimp, his guards and his secretary, Haku." One of them wheezed through the voice box.
"His name is Gato-san, Meizu. He is our employer and is deserving of respect." Haku chided quietly, closing his eyes to consider why he would come here at such an odd hour.
"Allow him in."
"Hai," the twin brother said in unison.
The twin brothers opened a double set of doors with their ungloved hand. The deadly claw on the other hand would not fit in the handle and it also served a defensive purpose if someone attempted a strike.
Zori and Waraji stood close to the Demon Brothers, eying them down with their hands on their hilts of their swords. The heavy, eager breathing of the twins respirators seem to take on a deeper rasp.
Gato and Lyseria approached the serene boy, who bowed politely to them both. "Gato-san, Lyseria-san, it is a pleasure to see you two."
"Good evening, Haku-kun," Lyseria offered politely, her hand straying to her hair in a coy gesture, but was quickly stopped when she saw Haku take in the wound on her lip.
He frowned slightly, keeping his voice level. "You are injured, Lyseria-san. I have something that will help."
He opened a small pouch at his back hip and produced a small container filled with a creamy balm.
"Arigato, Haku-kun."
Lyseria went to take it, but it was slapped away with Gato's cane.
The phial crashed to the floor, spilling its contents. Lyseria stifled a small cry, holding her fingers held to her breast.
Haku turned unfriendly eyes to Gato.
"We are not here for that, Miss Goldmeadow. We are here to confirm if the bridge builder has been seen. That is one of the jobs I hired the 'Demon of the Bloody Mist' for. Anything?"
"Yes," one of the brothers spoke next to Zori, getting closer to him with his respirator almost touching the boy. "He is on his way to Konoha. It would seem he may be looking for a safe escort back home. By the way, you need to stop using so much…I can smell it on you from down the hall."
"Maybe you need to try some…I hear it's good for that cough of yours." Zori thumbed his blade.
"Good," Gato chuckled. "When you find him, take care of him."
"If he's not here, he can't complete the bridge, Gato-san. There is no need to kill him." Haku said carefully, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
"The fact that he was able to complete so much of his bridge under such a short time and cut my profits so easily is a direct insult to my reputation. I won't allow it to go unpunished."
"It will be done, Ga-to-san." A deep, thick voice called out from behind a curtain.
"Zabuza-sama," Haku bowed reverently to the bare-chested man with bandages around his nose, mouth and chin. A huge sword rested securely on his back.
Gato nodded, "I want his head hanging from the entrance of his bridge. After that, I'm going to have those people who built the bridge tear it down themselves with no pay. After that, I'm going to raise the costs of their supplies by two hundred percent. I'm even going to charge triple for clean water and sewage."
He laughed to himself, clearly amused at how he is going to torture the people for their obstinacy.
"Of course, Gato-san." Zabuza took his huge sword from his back and sat himself comfortably on a couch. "My payment?"
"You'll get it when you finish the job." Gato snapped.
"The job was to find the bridge builder. We know where he is. You are now offering another job, a separate job without paying for the first. This is bad business, Gato-san."
"Don't tell me about business, you bandaged face freak!" Gato raised his cane to swing at Zabuza, but fell very short when he saw the tip of six feet of thick blade touching his neck close enough to split hairs.
His guards attempted to draw their swords, but were surprised to see Haku just appeared in between them like a spirit, his hands clasped over both of theirs to prevent them from pulling their weapons. The twins had their clawed hands gripping Waraji and Zori by their throats, squeezing hard enough blotch their faces red and grasp at the claws with their free hand.
This all happened so quickly, Gato was to afraid to even step back away from the metal hovering motionless under his chin.
Lyseria stood stock still, her hands trembling at her sides with the envelopes falling from her fingertips.
Zabuza took everything in calmly, lazily.
"Don't try and enact violence upon me, Gato-san. You may know more about money and businesses then I do, but I do know the basics enough to know when a job is done, you get paid. Now, when can I expect to get paid or do I show you what else I know about violence?" he voiced in a heated growl.
"Tonight," Gato gasped, finding the intelligence to take a few steps back and lower his cane. "I'll have your money by tonight. I'll have Lyseria bring it."
This seemed to make Lyseria tremble even more.
"That will do. I think you can see your way out, Gato-san." Zabuza dismissed.
Haku and the demon brother's released their grips. Haku offered a polite bow to their departure. The demon brother's chuckled mockingly at Gato and his guards.
Lyseria went to pick up the envelopes quickly, trying to catch up with her boss when Haku gently took her shoulder. "You forgot this."
He pressed another phial of balm in her hands. "Arigato, Haku-kun."
She quickly pecked him on the cheek, earning a slight blush from the beautiful brown hair, brown eyed boy. She ran as fast as she could, blonde hair bouncing.
Zabuza chuckled teasingly at Haku's discomfort.
"Women."
"Idiots! God damned useless thugs! That's what you two are!" Gato was on a rampage when he walked away from Zabuza's hideout, rubbing his throat and making sure he wasn't cut. It tickled as if he just got done shaving.
"We were outnumbered, boss," Zori grumbled.
"Yeah, we didn't even know he was going to do that. How would we? If you were going to attack him, we would have helped if we knew."
Gato tapped his cane soundly on the ground again, his mood turning more sour by the second.
"You should have been prepared. They're ninja! You can never trust ninja. Still, one can never be too prepared for the likes of them. I have another appointment to make."
He walked off briskly, heading for a carriage to take him to a spot outside of the Country of Waves.
Along the way, Gato noticed the growing apprehension from his secretary. She looked around herself as if she was ready to jump out of the carriage. Gato had quietly sat silently, considering everything that had put in play and was about to do.
It was one of the longest rides of her life.
"Sit still, Miss Goldmeadow."
She lowered her head, clutching the envelopes on her lap. Tears were falling down her cheeks as she failed to keep the hitch out of her voice. "Yes, Mr Gato."
They were coming up to the end of their destination by the slowing of the clip-clop sounds of the horses.
"Where did you say you were from again, Miss Goldmeadow?"
"Treal'Ma, Mr Gato."
"Your country was under attack by a certain power, was it not? That is why you sought out my company and my protection."
She nodded mutely.
"What power was that again?"
"Magic, Mr. Gato."
"I see. With this magic they were able to bring down a whole nation, correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"What was the name of that invading country again?"
"Qualin'Tor, Mr. Gato."
"Hmm. Qualin'Tor. From what you told me these people were able to kill by means that were not remotely normal. Crushing wounds, dismemberment, and an array of death without even so much as touching their enemies. Am I correct?"
"Yes, Mr Gato."
"Well, lets see if they are as powerful as you say. Those letters are for two of those type of people."
"What?!" Lyseria gaped at him. Her face paled to near translucent.
"Here will do, driver." Gato waited patiently for his guards to open the door for him.
He walked out calmly, looking about he beach to make sure they were indeed alone. The view would have been considered romantic by many means. The waves were high enough to bring the water half way up the shore, wetting dusky sand and large water worn rocks. The moon was high and large on a clear star lit night. The weather was cool with the constant mist of crashing surf.
Gato looked about again, seemingly pleased with the location. "Get the scrolls from the back of the carriage." He called out to his guards. They complied with his orders.
"You have been stealing from me, Miss Goldmeadow."
She turned fear tainted eyes to him, her voice caught in her throat.
"I have to say, I am impressed with your skill and ability to hide it. Had I not known how to do it myself, I would not have known you were embezzling from almost everyone one of my departments. You were smart to not get greedy, always staying within the margin to normally be dismissed as some kind of human error, but your mistakes were not in the numbers. No, you were truly flawless there and I have no paper trail to prove it was you. It was in human nature that you messed up."
"Mr. Gato?"
He was about to say something, when he saw his guards approach him with two very large scrolls. "Put them over there and open them."
As his two henchmen started to walk away he continued, "You have been acting very self important as of late. I have noticed this more and more lately. You were never as bold as to properly prepare a spreadsheet to show me such an outstanding failure and do it with a practiced ease. You were prepared. You are always prepared when you are doing something. However, when you were not surprised at all when the profit loss was so dismal, I knew my suspicions were correct. You knew it was and had prepared for it. You know as well as I do I can't allow this gross show of disrespect to go unpunished."
He turned to her, watch her drop herself on the sand and beg, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry for this! I'll get you your money back and then some! I can make you more money then you could ever imagine!"
"I can imagine a lot, Miss Goldmeadow. However, I can not dream of letting someone betray me and let them think they can get away with it!"
He turned his back to her, watching his men continue to walk away from him.
The two men did as they were instructed, and stopped about twenty feet from where they started. Opening the large scrolls like unfurling a rolled carpet, they backed away when they saw the weird, crazy drawings that appeared in an unfamiliar design.
Two flames shot out of the runes, scorching the moisture in the area to mist and then turning the ground to molten char with its violet radiance. A split in the air, like a knife cutting the very fabric of reality parted in two places over the scroll. Stars, space, the very essence of the universe could be seen as the sliver opened. Two dark cloaked figures emerged. As soon as their feet touched the ground the flame and sliver disappeared in a flash.
Stepping away, they stood stoically next to the fearful henchmen.
"Please…I beg you…" Lyseria started to back step away from them, her voice croaking in abject fear.
"Miss Goldmeadow, I have one last task for you." He turned to her with a triumphant smile. "First, let's go introduce ourselves to our guests. Oh, and don't forget the envelopes."
He marched towards the two figures, a happy jaunt in his step. Lyseria shuffled close to him, shoulders hunched in sheer dread.
"Welcome to the Shinobi Elemental Nations. I am Gato."
"I am High Master Xyouln of Qualin'Tor." A deeply male voice called out from under a cowl. He lifted his hood and peered at the audience in front of him with a proud air. Silver haired and a single granite colored eye, he took in the person who had summoned him. His other eye was covered with a dark patch, a long white scar going from the side of his cheek to the middle of his forehead. He was clearly in his mid to late fifties, but had a build about him that clearly stated he was no weak middle aged man.
"High Master? That is an odd title, Mr Xyouln." Gato began, but became silent when he felt the air seem to pull from his very lungs.
"It is only odd to those who do no respect my station or my abilities. Now, she…respects my station." He turned a toothy grin to Lyseria.
She had shriveled to her knees again, eyes wide, and lips parted in a shameless display of fear. "H-high Master Xyouln? Th-the High Master? The Demon Master and Necromancer of the Broken Hills? Husband to the Matron Caro?"
Her last words came out in a breath, as if the very words were enough to summon the very person, the very evil in which would bring about the legend of 'that' person's cruelty.
With every word his smile grew and grew. Finally, he chuckled darkly and turned to the smaller robed person next to him. "Can you guess where this person is from, my apprentice?"
"She is from Treal'Ma, my Master." The quiet female voice spoke softly under her cowl, her head turned ever so slightly to face Lyseria.
"Yes, she is." Xyouln turned his full attention to the blonde women before him. "How fortunate."
"Ah-hem!" Gato called for their attention. He was annoyed that this man had taken control of the situation so quickly with little effort.
Xyouln turn a haughty glance to the little man.
"I believe you have a job to do, High Master Xyouln." Gato began heatedly.
"We are here as you requested." Xyouln agreed quietly, his eyes taking in the beautiful landscape. "You said there was a place here where we could study a different type of power. Chakra, was it?"
"Hmph. I wouldn't know. I'm not a ninja. However, I have a few under my employ."
"Then I want to talk to them then." Xyouln walked past the Gato and towards the carriage with his apprentice quick on his heels.
"You have not even read about the job I have for you," Gato growled angrily.
Lyseria dropped the envelopes, unable to even move her fingers.
Gato snapped his fingers and pointed to the envelopes on the ground at his henchmen. They picked them up and offered them to their boss mutely. He turned disapproving eyes to each of them and motioned with his cane towards their dark guests.
Shrugging, they handed both envelopes to Xyouln. Lyseria seemed to calm noticeably, but kept her eyes on Gato with confusion.
Xyouln gave an inquisitive glance to Gato who gave just the barest nod of his head.
"Mr Gato, allow me to introduce my apprentice. Shade Caro of Qualin'Tor, first daughter of the High Matron Narcis Caro and heiress of the clan Caro. She is the prodigy of the different disciplines I teach and my most proud achievement. Shade," he turned an authoritative glance to his pupil which she became quickly attentive. "I want you to show everyone what you can do. First, I want you to read both of these letters aloud."
She took off her cowl, revealing a bandages that covered her eyes. Long purple and dark pink hair spilled over her shoulders, carrying it sideways in thick long locks. The young girl could not have been older then fourteen or fifteen years old. She accepted the two documents and scanned over them quickly, easily. Her eyes did not seem hampered by the bandages at all.
"They say the same thing, Master. It is written in the native script from Treal'Ma."
"It is," He agreed.
"It reads verbatim, "Kill the person who hands you this letter." She said quietly, her eyes going from her master to Gato.
The two henchmen turned quickly to their boss, then to their guests.
"Master?" Shade turned to Xyouln for permission.
"Do as you are told, my apprentice." He gestured grandly to the two men.
Swords were quickly drawn, angry eyes turning to Gato. "You want us dead?!"
"If you want to live, you have to kill them. If not, then you are not worth my time." Gato said calmly, not at all bothered by his actions. Lyseria still sat quietly behind Gato, just as surprised as his henchmen. She was sure she was suppose to give those letters to Xyouln and Shade.
Understanding it as nothing more as a test, they dashed quickly to the young woman.
She opened one hand, clutching a quickly swirling mass of violet energy. Her other hand reached out in front of her, as if placing the man in her grasp.
"Dark Mana Corruption." She called darkly, her hand holding the glowing violet sphere vanished and engulfed Zori.
"AAAAAAaahh!" Zori's body seemed to disjoint itself, twisting in all sorts of ways that seem to be pulled and pushed in very unnatural direction. His sword fell from what was left of his hand. The fingers split messily all the way from the webs to the wrist and finally up to his elbow, leaving ribbons of dark blood dripping from his elbow. He looked down to see his ribcage open up under his chin, cracking loudly at the sternum. His hoodie ripped clean in half down his chest, the rip of fabric and flesh cutting as he watched in horror. His organs fell from his chest and stomach cavity…his heart hung out for him to see, pumping like some bizarre necklace from under his neck. He choked wetly, his eyes looking back at Gato, pleadingly.
An invisible hand seem to wretch his head quickly about three times, severing it from his shoulders and hover in the air. His body fell forward, twitching in an ever growing puddle of blood that spurt with each beat of the sand covered heart. The head eventually dropped next to the body, rolling down the smoothed plane of sand into the wave that pushed itself up the beach.
"No…" Waraji dropped his sword and ran. "Noo!"
Shade cupped both hands together, forming a weird seal that looked like she was reaching for something underground.
"Raise for me." She murmured with an odd echo in her voice, her eyes behind the bandages glowing a weird azure color.
The ground exploded in gouts of sand. All around Waraji disfigured, decayed corpses pulled themselves out with amazing fluidity. Some of the undead that had risen were not human, but animals that had washed ashore. He tried to push himself past them, but was unable to remove them when they latched at him, into him. Fingers with broken bones dug into his flesh, slowing him down. Teeth sank into anything they could, ripping and gnawing him as he tried to find another way to escape or flee. He would push one or two away, but only to find three or four more get closer and closer. By sheer numbers they had overwhelmed him, encased him.
The stink filled the air, making Lyseria vomit where she sat, unable to control the pure violence of it. Gato covered his nose, but could not look away in fascination.
"Help me! Arrrgh! Help Me!" Waraji screamed as the mass of clinging, chomping putrid bodies slowly dragged him into the water.
They were slow moving as step by achingly slowly step pushed the fighting Waraji further into the beach. A few skeletal sea creatures started up the beach, seeking Waraji hungrily. A few sharks, orca, and even a few turtles waiting. Small, nimble crabs zigzagged towards him, helping pinch and cut him at his feet and those of his captors. Flesh was flesh and they were hungry.
Shade's eyes remained glowing behind the bandages a good minute when Waraji's head disappeared under the waves, a sure sign that he was still fighting and alive, even when he was being consumed and drowned.
When she turned to her master, the purple light that was there dimmed to nothing. "It is done, My Master."
He nodded to her, pleased with her performance.
"Now, you will take me to these ninjas you spoke of. I wish to learn more about this chakra." He walked past Gato and Lyseria without so much of a glance. Shade lowered her head and followed behind him obediently.
Lyseria looked up at Gato curiously, but afraid to even ask why she had been allowed to live when she had been the one who had done wrong by him.
"You are alive Lyseria because you ARE brilliant. I know how good you are and how talented you can be when you put your mind to it. I don't know where the money is you took from me and it would be a huge waste for me to kill you and loose it. So, you will get me my money back and you WILL do it soon or I will make sure you deliver the next letter …personally."
He lowered his sunglasses at her, glaring at her behind those circular frames to hammer down his point even more.
She nodded wordlessly, to afraid to test her voice at that moment.
"Good," He turned his back to her and started towards the carriage. "High Master Xyouln and his apprentice Shade wish to see some ninja. I would hate to disappoint them."
Lyseria walked with Gato to the carriage that now had two new passengers.
"Driver, take me to Zabuza. I think it's time we renegotiate our agreement."
"I'm pleased to see that you have come to deliver my payment personally, Gato-san. The Demon Brothers are already on their way to take care of the second part of our business deal. I know I won't be disappointed for sending them prematurely." Zabuza murmured quietly from the couch, his thick blade resting on his lap, carefully dragging a whetstone across it. A long, scratchy grind that only paused when had to start from the bottom to the top again. This process continued a few more times before Gato's fearless snort broke his rhythm.
"I think we need to renegotiate, Zabuza."
"Oh?" he drug the stone across it again, flicking the stone off with a little more strength then what was necessary. "Why would that be?" he asked aloofly. He seemed barely interested.
Haku was not so calm.
It wasn't so much that Gato was showing all the signs of disrespect to Zabuza-sama, but the way Lyseria no longer seem afraid of him. She reeked of fear, her eyes darting to the two dark robed figures standing on either side of her. Haku could sense nothing about them to encourage a more defensive posture, but he also knew that she was no where near this troubled when she witnessed Gato get his men's comeuppance. Every ninja instinct told him to be wary of them and that he should make the first move carefully, quietly. He waited for a sign from Zabuza to remove the threat or at least immobilize them. He didn't want to kill them if he didn't have to, but he was pretty sure Gato's fate was sealed.
"I'm going to assume you have something better to offer then money: gold, jewels, jutsu scrolls from a great clan like the Uchihas or Sabakus?"
"No," he deliberately took a few steps within Zabuza's range for a killing strike. The Demon of the Bloody Mist stopped his honing, looking up give Gato a blank stare. "How about a chance to share a power greater then your ninja skill has ever witnessed?"
"That would have to be quite a power." He whispered softly, angrily. His patience was wearing thin and he was not happy. "Tell me, Gato-chan..."
Haku winced, slowly readying himself. As deadly of a man Zabuza was, he was very patient and had a deadly calm till he finally decided to unleash himself. He was always polite, courteous, and eerily respectful when dealing with a possible opponent. It was just a breath, just a moment away that he knew Gato and his friends were going to be dead. He hated killing, especially senseless one's where simple things like money and effort could easily calm Zabuza. No, there was always someone who wished to push their luck, test their mettle against one of the great Seven Swordsman. He warily eyed the two figures and Lyseria. He really hoped Zabuza didn't kill her. He did not see people as people when he killed. He just released his greatest self.
"...is this power great enough that you are willing to bet your life in exchange of the money you owe me?"
"Yes," He said smugly.
"Good," he stood up, towering over Gato like a mountain lion to a house cat. He placed his sword on his back, walking towards the back area of his living quarters. "Follow me."
Haku hoped Gato knew that there were more then just idle words behind Zabuza's statement.
I thought this would be a good way to introduce Shade and her mentor. Please tell me what you think! Review!
