Hey! It's been a really busy time, so the updates have been slower... I even had to push back on the final chapter of my other story because I'm so short of time. Anyways, I thank all the readers who reviewed, they made me keep writing this story as I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for long.

I tried to reply to all the reviews, but if I missed someone, sorry ^_^

A lot of people are pissed because of the whole Zabuza thing, but I assure you, it needed to be done.

So, without further delay, Here we are, the next update.

Read and review. It's the Reviews that make me find time for writing in spite of my busy life...


Chapter 9 : The Shark and The Weasel

The forest was quiet except for the leaves moving in the wind. The konoha genin team sat around a fire, resting. No one noticed two small forms jump right above them in the trees and go deeper into the forest. Even if they had, they would have dismissed it as Suna nin patrolling the border, for they were resting just inside Wind country on their way to a mission.

In the night, Naruto and Haku silently made their way to the hideout Haku had told Naruto about. It was deep inside the Wind country borders. To reach that place they had to go through a small stretch of the Land of fire. Right after they had set out, Naruto and Haku had decided to cross that patch with as much speed and stealth as possible. They had rested for a few hours before entering the borders of fire country. It had been a seven hour run inside Naruto's former home country. Lulled into a sense of false security, they had dropped their guard after they reached the Land of Wind, only to almost run into a konoha team.

"Damn, that was close." Naruto whispered after half an hour.

Haku nodded. He had been cursing himself for his carelessness for the past half hour. After all Zabuza-sama had done, he had almost presented Naruto to the Leaf back on a platter. As his thoughts went to his savior, he felt tears forming in his eyes but he pushed them back. Naruto had cried for a few hours after they had left their sensei behind. Haku knew that he had stopped only because Haku's strength gave him strength. Haku could not break down now. It would only end up upsetting Naruto.

As the boys ran, they kept their eyes and ears open for any signs of company. Their past experience had taught them that they could easily run into Konoha teams in Wind as they were allied nations.

Haku glanced at the blonde. Earlier, he had not believed that Konoha would send out hunters for Naruto as he wasn't an official Konoha nin, but he had been proved wrong. Naruto was a jinchuuriki. No village would want to let him get away. His expression hardened. He wouldn't let anyone hurt his friend. He would get stronger and protect him. Little did he know, similar thoughts were going around in Naruto's head.

It all happened because I was weak.

Naruto didn't notice Haku's expression as he kept his senses clear to assess any incoming threat as he talked to himself.

If I had been stronger, I and Haku would both have gone to help sensei. If it was three of us, we could have fought and probably escaped with sensei as well. Naruto clenched his fists.

I have to get stronger.

The two boys jumped from tree branches to the round as they came to a lesser dense area of the forest. Now, it would be easier to run on the ground. Both of them didn't even stop for even a miniscule instant as they touched the ground, instead, they used the momentum to dash forward. It had been something taught to them by Zabuza. Those living on the run tended to need every second of lead they could put between them and those chasing them.

"How much longer, Haku?" Naruto came closer to his friend. Both kept running.

"Around three more hours Naruto-kun, more if our speed dips." Haku looked at the sky. "We must reach before the sun rises, Naruto-kun. We would be too easily visible in the daylight on the dessert. Your clothes stand out too much." Haku pushed himself to run faster. Beside him, Naruto nodded and increased his speed as well.


"We're here." Haku panted as they arrived at a large canyon.

"Where is the base?" Naruto squinted his eyes. Everywhere he looked, there was only open grounds and then a drop deep enough to kill you ten times over.

"It is a little tricky, Naruto kun." Haku straightened. "You should be glad we weren't in this base when we found you."

"Why?" Naruto asked, curious. He couldn't even see any base.

"Because of this." Haku smiled as he walked off the edge.

"WHaaaaa…?" Naruto yelped as he watched his friend vanish over the ledge of the canyon. He ran over to the spot and peered down. Haku was standing parallel to the ground, his feet sticking to the canyon rocks. He smiled at the blonde. "So, you understand why I said that?"

Naruto nodded. It was only a week ago that he had mastered walking on surfaces and water. He would have been in trouble if this had been the place he had arrived at. Slowly, he joined his friend on the canyon wall. "Now what?"

Haku just smiled and started running downwards. Naruto followed, a little slowly. He didn't have much practice at this after all. As he reached the bottom he and a smiling Haku and looked up to inspect the height they had travelled down. Naruto couldn't help but think that he was going to get lots of practice soon.

"This way, Naruto-kun." Haku walked to a large rock that jutted out of the ground, close to the canyon wall. As Naruto neared it, he saw that it covered a large part of the rock wall, with seal symbols on it. He was about to walk up to it when Haku stopped him. Haku went through a series of hand signs before he bit his thumb to draw blood and swiped it on the wall, right on the symbols. The symbols glowed and the wall crumbled to reveal a passage. Haku lit a long stick he had taken out from somewhere to give them light. Naruto followed Haku inside and saw that it was a hallway, leading into different rooms. The rooms had cloth hanging in place of doors. This was a makeshift base at best, nothing like the bases Naruto had stayed in since his addition to the group.

Haku seemed to understand what Naruto was thinking. "We came here when a very large team of elite hunters had picked up our trail. This base is so out of place, that it is the best place to lay low, under everyone's radar. That was why Zabuza-sama sent us here. If we remain here for a week or so, the konoha ninja would lose us for sure."

Naruto nodded. On the journey, he had come to terms with what Zabuza sensei had done for him. He understood that he couldn't sit down and just wallow in self-pity.

I have to get stronger. I WILL get stronger, dattebayo.

Even though there was plenty of space in the base, both of them were used to each other's presence, so they bunked up in a big room. Naruto was tired and hungry. He felt a tinge of sadness as he remembered that if all had been fine, it was his turn to choose the food on the outing today. He took out a cup of instant ramen as Haku lighted the small gas stove he had taken out of a small room where they had left the stuff that couldn't be shifted again and again.

Naruto and Haku ate in silence. Both were tired and their bodies were aching for some sleep. Naruto decided to leave his worries for another day and lay down to sleep.


Haku had found out during the past months that he was not like Naruto. Unlike the blonde he couldn't just sleep for eight hours and wake up like a man reborn. So, when he woke up in the evening, he still wasn't completely over the feeling of tiredness. Another reason was that he was hurting in all the places he had gotten hit during his fight with the silver haired ninja. In hindsight, Haku was sure that the man had never wanted to kill him, because if he had, he could have done it before Haku could even register that he was dying.

He pushed back a groan as his sore body protested his decision to at least get up. He sat up and looked over to Naruto's camping bag, only to find it empty with his sword next to it on the ground. He saw a little piece of paper sticking from under a cup-ramen's empty packet. He picked it up

I'm going out to train. Be back later

-Naruto

Haku suppressed a smile. Only his friend could run for 36 hours with little rest in between and still be up for training the next day. While Haku was not up for any physical training, he wanted to look up some of the chakra techniques that he had been neglecting practicing during his intense physical training in the past months.


Outside, on the bed of the canyon, Naruto lay panting. He looked much worse for wear. When he had woken up, he had decided to go for one of the powerful jutsu he had brought from Konoha. He had picked up the Kage Bunshin no jutsu with his mind fixed on learning the jutsu before the night was out. Even though he had known that he sucked at bunshins, he forced himself to learn it. He considered it as an acid test of his resolve to protect his friend. How could he expect to protect his friends if he couldn't even master a lousy jutsu?

So, here he lay, under moonlight, battered and tired, with a victorious grin on his face. He had done it. He had successfully managed to make twenty clones. What was even surprising was that the clones had an actual physical presence, unlike the jutsu that was taught at the academy. He had celebrated by having a free-for-all slug fest with his clones. It had been fun. Naruto was relaxing and basking in the glory of a successful training session, when he heard a voice.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

Naruto started as he heard it. He hadn't sense anybody. He rolled over immediately and saw a VERY LARGE man, with blue skin? and a similarly large wrapped thingy? on his shoulders. Naruto jumped up into a stance as he assessed this new threat when the man started speaking to the air as if there was an audience.

"Here I was, trying to pee peacefully over the canyon, when an eyesore of an outfit caught my eye. I jumped down to take a look and it's a shrimp. What are the odds of that?" The blue skinned man grinned. Naruto stared. The man's teeth were similar to Zabuza-sensei's. He would have commented on it but the description of his favorite piece of clothing offended him.

"This coming from a guy wearing a lame black cloak with red clouds even though he has blue skin?" he spat. "At least I carry my outfit with style."

The man grinned even wider, making him look like a shark. "You've got quite a tongue haven't you, brat?"

Naruto didn't know how to respond to that, so he did what he did best. Insult. "And you've got quite the teeth haven't you, old man?"

The grin disappeared.

"Who are you calling old man?" the shark man, nice name- shark man Naruto thought, growled. The sound made Naruto's hair rise on his neck. Naruto snorted.

"Who else is here ossan* ( disrespectful way of referring to an older man)?" he grinned.

"Don't make me shut that mouth for you brat." Shark man gestured menacingly.

"Try it, shark-ossan." Naruto said as he formed the cross fingered seal of his latest jutsu. Instantly, ten more Naruto's appeared beside him, all ready to attack.

The shark man grinned savagely at this. "Kage bunshin, huh? So you are a ninja." He settled into a relaxed pose. "Come then, let's see what you're made of, you little orange blob."

"DON'T DISS THE POWER OF ORANGE!"

The shark man laughed.

"Tell you what kid." The man said, "If you can move me from this spot, ten yards in any direction, I'll recognize you as a ninja and your power of Orange. Deal?" He smirked.

All Naruto's yelled and charged the blue man. In spite of their superior numbers, the orange squad was unable to even move the man even an inch from his spot. As three of them aimed a kick at the man, he just swiveled and kicked all of them, causing them to dispel. The other five tried an assortment of kicks and punches but to no avail. Shark man just laughed as he caught one of the clones and threw him at two others, making them go POOF and dissolve to smoke. The two that remained threw two handfuls of shuriken at their opponent, but the man merely ducked from the onslaught, caught two shuriken flying above his head and tossed them back at the clones. Each clone took a shuriken to their shoulders and vanished.

In the third wave, the original Naruto and the two remaining clones attacked forming a triangular pattern with the man in the middle. The blue man continued laughing as he dealt swift kicks to all of them, making them fly in the same direction they were coming from. The clones dispelled, but Naruto crashed into a large rock. The shark man just stood there and laughed. "You'll need a thousand clones to make me get serious brat." His shoulders shook. "So much for the power of Orange."

Naruto slowly got up. First on one knee and then straightened up. "One thousand clones, you say?" He looked up into the shark man's eyes and the man was surprised at the fire that burned in those blue eyes. "Fine. If that is what it takes. I'll make you acknowledge me." Naruto formed the seals again.

His opponent stopped laughing . "Don't be stupid, kid. You'll die."

"Don't make me laugh." Naruto sneered. "I said I'll do it and I NEVER GO BACK N MY WORD!" Naruto yelled.

"TAJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

The entire canyon was engulfed in smoke as the jutsu took effect. For a moment, it appeared as if the entire world was on fire as the smoke waned and there was orange and yellow everywhere. The Shark man gaped, his mouth open, as he saw a brat, barely eleven years old, make close to a thousand clones. Very determined thousand clones, he noticed.

As one, all of the clones pelted him with shuriken. As good as he was, the shark man had no choice but to move to avoid the rain of shuriken.

"HAH! TAKE THAT." All of them yelled. "BOW TO THE POWER OF ORANGE. MUHAAHAHA!"

All of the orange clad ninja rushed to the man with a loud war cry. The blue man cursed as he jumped higher on the canyon wall. There was no way he could fight so many of these clones hand to hand without a scratch. Even if he stopped and destroyed hundreds of clones, a few would get close enough to probably nick him or get in a good hit. Not that the hit would do any damage, but his pride didn't allow him to let himself get hit by an inexperienced brat, wearing orange no less.

"Well, I got to give it to you brat, you are a decent ninja, even if you wear orange." He grinned. "But if you think that you can take me down with a rough strategy like that, you're just plain stupid."

The man formed a series of hand seals, ending at the snake seal. The man took a deep breath.

"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha" He yelled as a huge amount of water gushed out of his mouth. The water kept coming until it felt like there was a water fall there, with the man rising with the increasing water. The water kept forming waves upon waves, with the shark man standing at the top, looking like he was riding the wave. The water just held until the whole jutsu was half as high as the canyon, which was pretty high in itself, and then with a mighty roar, released itself. Huge waves of water crashed into the clones in its way. Most of the clones were dispelled by the force with which the attack hit them. The ones that survived were washed away into rocks and the canyon walls and dispelled. Only less than a hundred clones survived the massive water attack, only because all of them were on the canyon walls higher than the water waves reached. The original Naruto was also amidst them. He couldn't believe his eyes as he watched hundreds of his clones get washed away. As he watched them dispel, wide eyed , he could imagine them drowning and dying in different ways in the water, almost as if it was happening to him*. The damn thing gave him a headache.

The blue skinned man laughed as the rest of the clones were rendered speechless.

"That's why you need to think before just using brute force, brat." He grinned. "A low level ninja might fall for it, but an elite would only take the game a level higher." Instantly, he ran to the clones, heaving the wrapped package on his shoulders off his back and brandished it in an arc, at the first line of clones. The wrapping opened to reveal the oddest looking sword Naruto had ever seen. The man destroyed fifty of the clones before they could react. It was an impressive feat, as he was running parallel to the ground on the canyon walls. Even when the rest of the surviving clones jumped out of the way, the man followed them, swinging his sword wildly, laughing all the while.

"Hey, no fair. You have a sword." Naruto yelled as he and a handful of other clones managed to avoid the blade. Damn, if only I had Deshi no Ken with me. His eyes widened as his hand reached out to touch his right shoulder. That's right, I can bring it to me like sensei told me. He unzipped his jacket as he jumped into the air and took it off, tying it across his waist. He bit his thumb and went through the hand seals. He shifted the sleeve of his inner t-shirt and slammed his palm on the seal. In a poof, he had the Deshi no ken in his hands.

Meanwhile, the shark man's eyes went to a flick of black in a sea of orange as he watched one of them take of his jacket. He jumped towards that one as he saw him making hand signs. He swung his sword at the boy just when there was smoke at his hands as he summoned something. Never for the life of him had he expected to see that sword in the brat's hands. The brat parried quite well but was thrown back because of the force the shark man had put in his swing. He was about to follow when he sensed another ninja approaching from below.

"NARUTO-KUN!"

Naruto heard Haku's voice as he slid backwards. He glanced at the base doorway to find Haku running towards him, surprised and wet, hands full of senbon.

"What are you doing here, Haku?" the blonde asked.

Haku just looked at his friend in disbelief. Haku had been sitting inside and reading when out of the blue, he felt a very large chakra burst, probably from a large jutsu. This was an unknown chakra signature, not Naruto's, he realized and he rushed out, only to be washed away back in by a sudden wave of water. As soon as he managed to get back up, he rushed outside to his friend's side. He arrived just in time to watch Naruto thrown back by the attacker, who was now looking at the blonde curiously.

"Oye brat, where did you get that sword?" The blue man asked.

"It's mine." Naruto yelled back. Haku appeared beside Naruto, ready to assist him if the opponent attacked again, and made a small barrier of ice. Kisame watched in interest at the ice wall. Then his attention returned to the sword.

"That's impossible brat." The man narrowed his eyes. "I'm asking nicely for the last time, boy. Where did you get the sword?"

Haku looked closely at the man and gasped as he saw the man's hitai-ate. It was a mist hitai-ate with a line drawn through it. This was a mist nukenin. He knows about the Deshi no ken. As Haku paid more attention, he felt someone new approaching.

"Who are you, brat? What's your name?" The shark man asked as a new figure appeared, also wearing the similarly designed cloak.

"Kisame." The newcomer said softly to the shark man. "You said you were going to relieve yourself. Why is it that I find you fighting two boys?"

'Kisame' turned to the newcomer. "Ah, Itachi-san. I really was peeing when this orange brat caught my eye. I just came down to investigate when the brat and me had a little chat. It ended up with him attacking me."

"HEY!" Naruto yelled indignantly. "Don't blame this on me. You're the one that challenged me."

'Itachi-san' turned to look at the blonde, his eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing out of the village, Uzumaki-kun?"

All three others present their were shocked at the mention of the name. The boys stiffened ant entered defensive stances while Kisame turned to his partner in surprise. "You know this brat?" He asked.

Haku and Naruto both glanced at the new comer's hitai-ate. Their eyes widened as the symbol of the leaf village shone on the metal protector, albeit with a line drawn through it, telling that the man was no longer loyal to the village.

This is bad. Haku's fingers inched towards his senbon. He knows Naruto, that means he knows about the demon as well. He was weighing his options when Kisame interrupted.

"Who is this brat, Itachi-san?" Kisame asked, curious. For Itachi to know this brat's name, he couldn't be a drifter.

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto. The last I saw him was in the leaf village, before I left." Itachi said, without any expressions.

Naruto had a confused look on his face, his eyes almost slits as he frowned, trying to remember this man. "Who are you?" he deadpanned.

Itachi's expression did not change as he stared at the boy. "You do seem familiar, but I can't place you." Naruto continued, his face still a picture of confusion.

"This man here is Uchiha Itachi-san." Kisame clapped Itachi's back with a loud report that echoed in the canyon. Very slowly, Itachi turned to face his partner.

"Sorry." Kisame said, not sounding sorry at all. Itachi turned to face Naruto again.

"You didn't answer my question, Uzumaki-kun."

Haku spoke before his friend, "Why should we tell you?"

There was a short silence. It was broken by Naruto pounding his fist into his hand, his eyes wide.

"Now I remember, I saw you in the village."

A small gust of wind flew by them as all stayed silent.

Kisame face palmed, Haku looked at Naruto with a suppressed smile and Itachi gave him an odd look.

"No shit, brat." Kisame snapped. "He just said he saw you in the leaf village. It means you would have seen him at some point too."

"So what?" Naruto defended himself. "I never said he was my friend or anything. I just-" Naruto stopped as he looked at Itachi again. "That's right," he said, "You look like Sasuke-teme." He pointed his finger at Itachi accusingly.

Kisame's eyebrows went up. If he had learned anything in the last one and a half moths partnered with the Uchiha, it was that any mention of his dead clan or still alive brother only ended up him going all moody and emo. True to his prediction, Itachi's mood dipped. On the outside, there was no change in expression. It were many minute things that Kisame had picked up that let him read Itachi sometimes.

It seemed that Naruto could also. He lowered his finger as his expression changed to worry. "I'm sorry."

Itachi said nothing, but in a swirl of wind, he was gone.

"Did I say something wrong?" Naruto asked Kisame. Kisame shook his head. "It's a sore topic, brat." He glanced at the blonde and remembered what had caught his attention. "Why do you have the Kubikiribōchō's Deshi no Ken?"

Both boys started. "I told you already." Naruto huffed. "It's mine."

"You mean you are the disciple?" Kisame scoffed. "Don't make me laugh." He looked at the boy seriously. "Enough with this brat, where did you get your hands on it?"

Naruto wanted to scream when he remembered Yuna-chan's words. Silently, he pulled the sleeve up from his right shoulder. Kisame watched wide eyed as the tattoo became visible. Naruto focused chakra to the seal script and they became visible too.

"You've gotta be shitting me." Kisame said as he peered closely. He glanced up at the blonde. "You really are the disciple. Huh?"

Naruto nodded.

"So, where's Zabuza?" Kisame straightened. "It's been a while since I've beaten him to a pulp."

Kisame noticed as the blondes eyes watered and the long haired boy clenched his fists. Their reaction was all Kisame needed to understand what had happened to the former Swordsman of the mist. He put his hand on the blonde's head and patted it.

Then, struck by a thought, he looked down at the boy. "So you're the newest member of the Seven swordsmen of the mist , huh?" Naruto looked up at him. "Kami help us all." He grinned.

"What do you mean? I'm still the disciple." Naruto dried his tears. "I just got my first sword lesson from sensei three days ago."

"Just three days ago?" Kisame was surprised. Zabuza died sometime in the past two days? He glanced at the other boy. He looked a little more capable between the two. He was about to ask him for information when Naruto asked first.

"Did you know sensei?"

Kisame grinned as he nodded. "Yeah. He was the most fun to be around amongst the rest of the swordsmen." Kisame sat down.

"So, who are you?" Naruto looked at the man closely. It was now that he noticed the Kiri hitai-ate on the man's forehead.

"Eh-? That's right, you wouldn't know me, would you?" Kisame heaved the sword back onto his shoulder. "I am Hoshigaki Kisame, wielder of the great sword Samehada."

"Samehada?" Naruto made a weird face. Then it clicked. "Isn't that one of the seven great swords?" He turned to Haku. "Like sensei's Kubikiribōchō?"

"Bingo, gaki." Kisame flicked his forehead.

"But that means-" Naruto looked at the man with a new respect.

"I'm also one of the seven swordsmen of the mist." Kisame bared his pointy teeth again. Others might have gotten scared, but his smile was quite similar to Zabuza's without the bandages, so the boys were pretty used to it.

Kisame found a nice, flat rock and sat down on it. The boys followed his example and found places to sit as well. Haku regarded the swordsman with a wary eye. He knew that while the man had been a former teammate of their sensei, he did not have any idea of his present motivations. Nukenin were an unpredictable lot. Kisame saw the scrutiny he was under from the boy with the mist headband. He had been right in his evaluation. This boy was a little sharper in the head than the blonde. He glanced at the orange wearing kid. He could be described as a typical airhead. However, Kisame put these thoughts away. He had questions he wanted answers to.

"Oye boy, give me a rundown. What happened?" He looked to Haku. "First of all, what's your name and who are you?"

Haku nodded. He looked at his friend and hesitated for a second. "Naruto, please try and find Itachi-san as well. We shouldn't let him sit alone."

"Why me?" Naruto looked cross.

"Well you were the one who made him go away so it is your job." Haku prodded Naruto in the ribs.

"Fine, fine, I'm going. No need to poke me."

"Try at the top of the canyon." Haku suggested.

As the blonde left, Haku turned to Kisame. "I'm sorry, but I didn't want him to hear this."

Kisame waved his hand. "All's fine." He leaned back on the rock, getting comfortable. "So, what happened?"

Haku took a deep breath. He didn't want to go into details, so he decided to keep it small while avoiding Naruto's secret. "My name is Haku. Zabuza sama took me in almost three years ago. A few months ago, on our way back from a mission, we found Naruto-kun in Earth country, unconscious. We took him with us and after he woke up, he told us that he had run away from the leaf because someone tried to kill him after he played yet another prank on them." Haku sighed. "Zabuza sama took him in as well. Two nights ago, we were training when Zabuza-sama felt someone observing us. He went to check on it. I followed. It was a shinobi. We fought for a while." He remembered the one sided fight. "Our opponent was very good. Later it turned out that it was Jiraiya of the Sannin."

Kisame whistled. Kisame was by no means a weak or mediocre shinobi, he could fight on par with many a Kage level ninja, but even he wasn't bold enough to claim that he could take Jiraiya of the Sannin down. Without being vain about it, he could easily say that he was the strongest of the current generation of the Seven Swordsmen. There was no chance Zabuza could have defeated the Sannin. Haku nodded at the blue skinned man's reaction. Kisame frowned as something didn't feel right.

"Why didn't you guys just flee? The last I heard, Jiraiya of the Sannin doesn't hunt for bounty. He wouldn't have come after you lot if you ran."

Haku shook his head as he looked to the direction where Naruto had gone off to. "He was there for Naruto-kun. He wanted us to hand Naruto over to him."

Kisame followed Haku's line of sight. Even at night, at a distance so large, he could faintly make out the color orange in the moonlight. "So?" He looked back at Haku. "What was the problem? Couldn't you just hand him over?"

Haku smiled. Clearly, this man knew the Zabuza-sama before he had changed. He couldn't understand what was the problem.

"Zabuza-sama did not want to." Haku replied simply. Kisame frowned again.

"Why?"

Haku knew he was trotting dangerously close to fire but he continued anyway. "Naruto-kun was an orphan, living a pitiful life in the leaf village. Zabuza-sama probably saw his childhood self in Naruto, just a boy, alone, scared and angry." Haku sighed and leaned back like the large man next to him. His eyes went to the stars. He continued. "I don't know how or when, but after Naruto joined our group, Zabuza-sama started to change. He was less cruel, less angry. Over the period of time, he came to view Naruto as a precious person." Kisame listened, shocked. What the boy was saying went against everything he knew about Zabuza. Momochi Zabuza had always been cruel and manipulative. He continued to listen as the boy began again.

"This was around the time when he decided to take Naruto as his disciple. Naruto didn't really know it but Zabuza sama was confident that Naruto would be able to complete the task he had given him." Haku smiled and explained to a curious Kisame. " Zabuza sama told him to master Kirigakure jutsu when Naruto couldn't even mold chakra without the hand seals."

Kisame interrupted with a scoff. "No way a brat can do the Kirigakure jutsu before at least a month's training to mold chakra."

"I know." Haku nodded. Then he looked back to Naruto's direction. There was no orange this time. He had managed to get on the land above it seemed. He looked at his companion on the canyon bed. "But Naruto did. He managed it in two days. In my opinion, that was when Zabuza sama truly became a different person. Maybe he thought if Naruto could pull off such an impossible task, he too, could try to change."

Kisame gazed at the stars as well. This was turning out to be day of surprises for him. To find out that Zabuza was dead. To find out Zabuza had taken a disciple. To find out that Zabuza had been getting soft. To see a eleven year old brat make thousand friggin' clones. Kisame ginned to himself. At least I can't complain that my life is boring.

"So he told me to take Naruto and run while he held the Sannin off." Haku remembered. Kisame felt his respect for Zabuza going a few notches higher.

"But why are you sure he died. Couldn't he have run after you lot escaped?" Kisame voiced his question, even though he was sure that there was no way Zabuza could escape Jiraiya after fighting with him.

Haku controlled his voice as he took out the scroll he had kept with him. Kisame recognized it as the Kubikiribōchō's scroll. "Zabuza sama said that he would hold him as long as he could, but would return the sword to the scroll before he…." Haku didn't finish. Kisame understood. Before he died was what the boy wanted to say. Kisame thought for a moment.

"Why did Jiraiya of the Sannin come for a brat? Isn't that beneath him, to hunt a boy who wasn't even a ninja?" Kisame looked at the boy next to him. It was something that had puzzled him. Beside him, to his credit Haku didn't stiffen or show any sign of unease. He had expected a similar line of questioning. He pretended to think before he answered.

"Naruto-kun told us that he and the Hokage were very close. Almost like grandson and grandfather. Perhaps because of that."

Haku resisted the urge to look whether the man had accepted the statement. He waited for some sign from his companion.

Kisame sighed. "I guess that explains it."

Haku just nodded.

There was an comfortable silence between them.

"I still find it hard to believe that Zabuza changed so much as to sacrifice himself for two brats." Kisame said after a while. Haku nodded in understanding. Those who hadn't seen it with their own eyes would find it hard to believe. Sometimes even those who had seen it, found it hard to believe. The demon brothers kept murmuring that Naruto had ruined Zabuza sama.

"I can't explain it, but there is something about Naruto that instills faith." Haku said softly. "It is immaterial what you put your faith in. For different people, it can be different. For me, I began to see myself as more than just a tool that lives for Zabuza-sama. I began to put faith in myself and my own worth. For Zabuza-sama, he believed in Naruto and his strength of will. He put his faith in Naruto. To do what he himself could not do, to overcome the pain and anger in his heart." Haku sighed and sat up. His body still felt the soreness of his fight and subsequent flight of a day ago. "You won't understand until you feel it too."

Kisame remained silent but he had an inkling of what the boy was speaking of. Usually, he wouldn't have cared enough to be interested in the blonde, but he couldn't help himself as his thoughts went to his small spar with the boy. He had no illusions about himself. Kisame knew that he was a cruel bastard and had no remorse when it came to killing, but here he was, sitting and talking to a kid, because he found the blonde interesting. The fire with which the blonde boy had fought was impressive. There had been no hesitation, no second thoughts as the boy had made close to a thousand clones. Very few people had ever earned anything more than contempt from Kisame, and the boy was certainly one of them.

It would be interesting to see what he grows up into. His future will sure be interesting. Kisame grinned.

He was wondering what was taking the brat so long. Itachi-san wouldn't have gone that far. Kisame heaved himself up.

"So, what are you going to do now?" he picked up a small stone from the ground and threw it as far as he could.

Haku watched the stone fly away as he considered the question. With Zabuza-sama gone, they had nowhere to go. They had no contacts to find missions to earn money. No client would take two boys seriously, so they couldn't even approach clients directly. To put it in a single phrase, they were in a pickle.

"I don't know." Haku sighed as he picked up a pebble too. He threw it with as much strength as he could muster. Even in the air, he could see that it wouldn't travel the same distance as Kisame's rock. "It is going to be tough from now on."

Kisame picked up another stone, thinking. He threw it like the previous one. Haku stooped to pick one for himself. "You guys could, you know, come with us, if you'd like." Kisame said, not looking at the boy.

Haku stopped, mid-stoop to look at the shark like man, eyes wide. Kisame noticed the boy had stopped, so he turned to look at Haku, his face serious. "Well?"

Haku straightened, his face a mixture of surprise and confusion. "Why?"

Kisame turned to throw his rock. "Well, why not? I get pretty bored travelling alone."

Haku could see the logic even when many would not. Most people who lived safe lives, or the shinobi who lived inside the rules of their villages, usually asked themselves 'Why?', but the nukenin, who lived every day with their lives in danger, this type of thinking wasn't unfamiliar. They asked 'Why not?'. It wasn't like there was any obvious disadvantage or danger by this action, and they could always change their minds later, so why not?

"Wouldn't your partner mind?" Haku asked, thinking slowly.

Kisame didn't answer immediately. "I don't think so." He mused. "Although he is a difficult man, he is also a bit of a lone wolf. But I could use the company." He yawned. "As long as we do our missions, the organization doesn't need to know. But we'd probably leave you behind when we go for those missions, as they are really dangerous, so it doesn't really matter."

Haku gave this offer a serious appraisal. As far as he could see, there was no harm in accepting, although he would have to talk to Naruto first. He said so to the large man.

Kisame nodded and then grinned. "You know, you guys remind me a little of me and Itachi-san." He chuckled.

"Huh?" Haku raised his eyebrows.

"You know, one from mist, one from leaf. One a swordsman, one with a bloodline limit." He laughed. Haku had to agree. The similarity was humorous. "And I find the brat interesting." Kisame scratched his jaw. Haku accepted the statement with a smile. In his opinion, it was impossible not to find the blonde enigma interesting. He was made up of contradictions. Always smiling, yet in pain. Full of hate and love at the same time. Haku's musings were interrupted when Kisame sat up in exasperation.

"Why is the brat taking so long?"

Haku sighed and sat up. He stretched. "Perhaps he and Uchiha-san are talking."

Kisame grinned wide like a shark. "How I would love to see that."


Author's Notes:

Enter the coolest members of Akatsuki... Heheh..

I like Kisame, especially after how he died in the manga. the guy is a good guy underneath all the murdering crap. And Iachi? Well, Itachi is the epitome of COOL and BADASS. The guy is hands down, the only guy in the whole of Narutoverse, who can kill you and make even you think that he looks cool while doing it.

Sooo, what's on the cards for our two little ninja now that they are alone? Well, I don't know. Just kidding... Of course I know. BUt you guys will have to wait for the next chapter.

I have a trip coming up next week and I'll be away for ten days, and come back on the 27th, so the next update will be sometime after that.

I know it is a long wait, but I'm gonna be really busy until the end of march. So the update speed will be affected.

I'll try to be quick, but real life may keep me occupied. Don't despair, it's just for a few months.

*Naruto gets the memories, he just doesn't know it yet.