No one ever did find her, and Sen wandered aimlessly about all the shinobi countries. She was able to gather certain plants for food, but never needed to eat much. She loved walking around like she did, but she hardly met anyone human. Sen befriended a pack of wolves, and she named their leader Ferret. The eldest female's name was Day-lily. Ferret's pack followed her many places and protected her from dangers she didn't know about. They taught her to howl, like they all did.
A few weeks, maybe a month or so after she left Kusa, Sen was filled with an inexplicable amount of energy. She leaped through the trees, from branch to branch. Ferret's pack ran below her, their tongues lolling out one side of their mouths. Sen heard a sudden noise and stopped. The wolf pack stopped, too, their ears alert and tall.
Sen heard the cracking of twigs and the brushing of leaves. She drew her kunai, her favorite one. It was the maximum twenty-two centimeters long and incredibly sharp. The noises stopped and all was silent. Sen stood in a battle-ready stance. She heard a thick, deep roar and turned startled by the sudden noise. Something large and white hit her, and she was knocked unconscious.
Sen's eyes blinked open slowly. She was laying on something soft, white, and furry. Her head throbbed. The thing she was laying on was moving, walking more precisely. The ground was far below her. She turned her head as she saw a white-haired man staring at her. His face was pale with fear. A large scroll was tied to his back. The throbbing in Sen's head soon lulled her to sleep.
The soft thing Sen had been laying on was gone. Only the cold, hard ground and the fog surrounded her. Her head had stopped throbbing, but she was still confused.
"Are you OK?" Sen saw a young boy with long black hair staring at her through feminine brown eyes. He smiled at her.
"Um...yes...Where...Where am I...?" Sen's breath escaped her, as though she had been hit in the stomach.
"You're in the Village Hidden in the Mist. Or...the outskirts of it, at least." He seemed to relax a moment. He smiled kindly again. "My name is Haku. What's yours?"
"Um...my name? Oh, Sen. Do you...know how I got here?"
Haku frowned and thought. "No. Sorry. I came out here when Master Zabuza told me to collect firewood. And here you were, laying in the flowers." He picked one of the small, pale purple flowers that were growing around her. "They seem to like you. Not only the flowers...but the animals as well. They never come around this way." A crow squawked and flew off with feathers trailing it. Haku seemed to enjoy the company of the wild animals.
He stood up and brushed off his blue male kimono. He reached out his hand toward Sen. "Why don't you come and meet Master Zabuza? He raised me, you know."
Sen gratefully took his hand and brushed herself off. Haku did have a relatively androgynous appearance, but Sen didn't mind. She happily walked with him, picking up firewood along the way. The two of them talked with one another as they walked, and soon became very well acquainted.
Sen could hardly see more than two feet in front of her, due to the consistent mist that gave the village its name. But when they reached the small wooden cabin, Sen could see it very well. Haku opened the door without knocking and led her inside. It was rather dark inside the house, but no one seemed to mind.
The smell of fire was a relaxing and warm smell, and Sen liked it. Haku showed her where to put the firewood. Sen tried to stack it as gently and neatly as he had, but she had no luck. He laughed and helped her stack it.
When that job was finished, Haku said to no one in particular, "Master Zabuza, I'm home and I've brought a new friend. Would you like to meet her?"
A deep voice answered, "Haku, if it's another bird, I swear I'll drown it." A tall man walked out of a hallway. He had bandages around his mouth and his pants had vertical lines on them. A large sword was strapped to his back. "Well, well. You didn't bring home another dumb bird again, Haku. I'll have to say I'm impressed. So, kid, what's your name and where are you from?" He asked, as he sat down on a simple wooden chair.
"Senari, sir. Or...Sen, if you wish. I am from the Grass Village." Sen bowed respectfully.
"Senari, huh? Interesting name. I'm Zabuza Momochi. Where's your family at and why aren't you with them?"
Sen looked down at her feet, her hands clutched to the straps of her red backpack. "My brother took their lives and did not take mine as well. I ran away from home a few weeks ago."
"That's too bad. So you're an orphan. So's that ten-year-old boy standing beside you. Right, Haku?"
Haku smiled. "I am no longer an orphan, thanks to you, Master Zabuza."
"Anways, Sen, you don't got a place to stay do you?" Sen shook her head no. "What were you thinking? Didn't you have a plan when you ran away?"
"I was only thinking of getting away. Nothing further than that..."
Zabuza sighed and shook his head. "Well then, here's my invitation. You can stay here with us for a while, if you like. I see you're a ninja, so you can train with us, too."
Sen smiled. "Thank you, sir. I would like that very much."
And so Sen stayed with Haku and Zabuza. She trained with them and helped Haku with chores. He seemed pleased there was someone else to talk to. Zabuza taught Sen how to fight with a bo or a rokushakubo. She liked to fight with it and could do some pretty impressive moves with it. It also dealt some nasty blows.
Sen would often try out new, different moves on Zabuza, using her bo. One such day, she and Zabuza were training. Haku had to run some errands. When he was back, Zabuza would be teaching him a new jutsu.
Sen held her bo out, in the typical stance. Zabuza swung his Guillotine Sword in a horizontal position. As it came close, Sen jumped and stuck the bo in the open circle of the sword. This held the sword firm and, as a new move, stunned Zabuza. In that same instant, Sen swung herself up and around to the top of the bo before launching a kick directly at Zabuza's face. She stopped herself right as her foot was two centimeters away from the temple on the right side of his face.
Her face showed no expression. "I just killed you, sensei."
A moment passed before Zabuza laughed. "Very good! That was very unexpected. You're getting faster every time we practice."
Haku, who had returned home before Sen tried out her new move, clapped for his young friend. "That was a very nice move, Sen! You're getting very good!" Sen smiled and blushed at the praise of the two.
Another day, Zabuza told Sen he was ready to see how well she could fight without her bo. The two of them stood outside, each in battle-ready position. Sen looked down and her entire body began to shake.
Zabuza chuckled. "Look at you. You're shaking. You must be terrified."
Sen looked up and wiped a tear from her eye, a large smile plastered across her face. "No...It's...it's not that...It's...It's Haku...he's...he's making faces..."
"What the heck...?" Confused, Zabuza turned around and looked at Haku. "What're you doing?"
Haku smiled sweetly. "What do you mean? I wasn't doing anything."
Sen enjoyed the two years she stayed with Haku and Zabuza. She learned a lot of things from the two of them. Haku became like a brother to her, and Zabuza like a father. But like all bad things, all good things must eventually come to an end...
