A/N: Hey guys, ZEN here. You're probably thinking why I've pretty much dropped off the map for the past two (two?) months. Haha, well I'm not dead and I certainly haven't forgotten about you all. Training and writer's block are a terrible combination. Coupled with the given madness that is writing a crossover and you got a real mess on your hands. XD Anyway, I'm back now and brought a new chapter with me. For those of you who stuck around, thank you so much. It means a lot that you continue giving this fic a chance and you're why I even keep writing. Now, on with the show!

A battle between two seasoned shinobi could go one of two different ways; it was either so instantaneous simply blinking would force you to miss it, or the sheer level of killing intent would cause you to pass out. To Sakura's credit, neither had happened thus far but it did little to quell her own fears. The Demon of the Hidden Mist had a well deserved reputation, and while she was barely months out of the Academy with little to no battle experience, he had slaughtered his entire graduating class at an even younger age. She stood in what was meant to be a battle ready stance with a kunai held out in front, but in reality, she was terrified.

The first battle had them all pitted against Zabuza, well... at least Kakashi, Sasuke, and Kenji had fought. She was left behind once again. Now the man had revealed to them an apprentice of his own, a person who seemed no older than they were yet so much more powerful. This Haku person took both Sasuke and Kenji head on without hesitation, and did so astoundingly. Yet they held their ground, they fought with such ferocity and precision. When they became trapped in that dome of mirrors, though... all confidence had left her. She knew Kakashi could not help them with Zabuza so close by. She knew that if she moved, Tazuna would be an open target.

"Not that I'd be much help anyway," she wryly thought.

Her veins felt like they were filled with ice water, and had she come to duty on a full stomach, its contents would be on the ground. She had a few close calls on this mission they just had to finish, but now she fully felt the presence of Death behind her. Yet all of it was gone in barely a handful of seconds. It seemed like an explosion, an explosion followed by the sound of shattering glass. One mirror had burst to pieces, another cleaved in two. The next thing she knew, Sasuke and Kenji were far off to the side, away from the odd dome with a third person next to them. Except that person wasn't Kakashi. In fact, his clothing hid anything identifiable.

Her eyes widened at the newcomer's arrival. He had saved them. In a blink of an eye, he had destroyed two of those infernal mirrors that were nigh invincible against anything her teammates could throw at them. When Kakashi had joined them moments later, relief and ease returned to her body. They would win this, they would live. Her resolve restored, she deepened her stance and took in everything on the battlefield, just in case something came her way. Except, maybe that wasn't such a good idea when the killing intent between both parties took a new level. When at first she remained standing, Sakura Haruno had found herself driven to her knees.

Naruto, on the contrary, hardly noticed the girl as he sized up the opponent in front of him. The nin was young, very young. If he had to guess and if there wasn't a mask to shield its face, he would say they were around the same age. His lightsaber remained blazing in his hand, the muscles twitching in anticipation.

"Zabuza-sama," the nin spoke. Had they not been about to lock in mortal combat, Naruto would have been surprised at the soft tone.

"By your leave, I would like you to remain in your fight with Kakashi and allow me to deal with this stranger alone."

"Haku..." Naruto heard the older man growl. "You have grown awfully pushy about these brats."

"I still must test his strength," replied the younger.

Zabuza crossed his arms and sat. "You have ten minutes."

Haku barely gave the faintest of nods, then sped forward. Naruto, the Force enhancing his senses, noticed the attack ahead of time and brought his saber up to cleave the needle in half. Haku sped by and tumbled by the sudden attack, the senbon a sizzling end. Without missing a beat, the nin stood tall again and, with a spin and swing of his arm, sent a small cloud of the needles at his enemy.

"Where the hell are all these things coming from?" Naruto groaned mentally as he caught the cloud with telekinesis.

A flick of his wrist sent them flying back to the sender. In a burst of speed, Haku vanished from the spot, the needles flying by harmlessly. The little itch in the back of his mind gave Naruto all the warning he needed to block the a kick to his head. His forearm felt rattled from the impact, his masked opponent vanishing once more.

"Fast," the blonde thought as he swung at empty air with his saber. "But two can play at that game."

He thought back to his lessons with Revan, how his master would constantly augment his muscles to bring about a barrage of strikes within split seconds. While not nearly as proficient, Naruto had picked up on the basics, and for simple flash stepping like the mist nin before him, was more than capable. His senses expanding to encompass nearly half the bridge, Naruto pulled the Force into his legs and met the mist nin step for step. Needle fragments flew to and fro, the simple pieces of ice mere toothpicks in comparison to a super heated laser sword.

"Kakashi, who is this? He sure as hell isn't a shinobi, not with weapons like that," inquired Zabuza as he watched the two teens clash.

"Your guess is as good as mine at this point. There was a boy in our village who looked just like him, but that was years ago. He hasn't been seen since then."

Zabuza scoffed at the notion. "Some nobody is going toe to toe with my Haku? Not likely."

The rogue nin hefted his zanbatous from his shoulders. "Now, where were we?" he commented as he parried a kunai strike from Kakashi.

By now, Sasuke and Kenji had made their way back to Sakura and Tazuna. The two boys helped each other along as the pinkette rushed to her teammates. Immediately she set about removing the many pins from the Uchiha, having taken far more than their kenjutsu specialist.

"Look at you two, you're both a mess! I was worried sick!" she nearly cried.

Sasuke gave a non-committal grunt in response. "I'll live, and so will he," he said, nodding to his teammate.

Kenji, however, didn't acknowledge either of them. He had all of his attention focused on the two duels taking place before his eyes. A part of him wanted to be grateful for the stranger coming in like that. This could have easily been the end of them. On the other hand, he felt boiling anger for needing to be saved in the first place, by another kid no less. And now that same kid was matching perfectly with the enemy he and Sasuke had so much trouble with.

"Whoever that boy is," mentioned Tazuna, "he sure knows how to fight. Look at him go... astounding!" he breathed.

The blonde had been flitting in and out of sight with his opponent, the mist nin having far less stamina to work with. At long last, the orange blade had struck home, its beam cutting into the nin's mask. Haku gave a cry of pain as the blade briefly cut skin. The two combatants landed, one standing tall with his saber held firm at his side, the other crouched and clutching at the now destroyed mask.

"There's no need to hide yourself," called Naruto as he removed his hood, letting his unruly golden locks free.

For a moment, the mist nin hesitated, but relented and following the blonde's example, let the porcelain shards clatter to the floor. Naruto tensed slightly as he looked upon his opponent's face.

"You're a girl?" he asked.

"Surprised? Even females can fight," she spoke in a smooth voice.

Her features were almost perfect, save for a fresh, cauterized cut across the bridge of her nose. Her skin was as pale as snow, her cheeks still round with traces of baby fat. Her eyes were a brilliant, bright silver and held a certain strength and confidence that was otherwise lost to others her age. Jet black strands of hair framed that face, with most of it tied together in a tight, but messy bun.

"You have no business here, stranger," she continued. "Why do you interfere?"

Naruto shrugged in response. "I suppose it would have been rather rude of me to leave those two to certain death." He gave a nod in Team 7's direction.

"Irrelevant. Zabuza-sama and I have a mission to complete. You are preventing us from accomplishing that mission," she spoke coldly.

"What's so important to you anyway? As far as I know, you're preventing that town over there from recovering by trying to destroy this bridge."

"Our client wishes it destroyed and the builder killed. We shall do so."

Her left hand went flipping through several signs as she gathered her chakra.

"Ice release: Certain Kill Ice Spears," she all but whispered.

Naruto swore as he jumped from spot to spot, massive spikes of ice popping up wherever he had just been standing not even seconds before. Remembering his scant few chakra lessons, he pushed as much as he could into his legs and, on his next landing, shot into the sky like a rocket.

"My turn," he replied as he drew not one, but two blasters as his body slowed its ascent.

"Uzumaki Fire Storm!" he shouted and unleashed a rapid barrage of bolts into the bridge.

Shards of ice and scorched chips of concrete flew in random directions as the deadly red beams hit everything but their mark, black smoldering craters left in their wake. Haku pushed her speed to the limit as she danced throughout the small gaps between shots but her legs were soon tiring.

"This isn't good," she thought as she hastily threw up an ice dome.

It cracked and shook under the barrage but held fast. Naruto had since landed back home, the barrels scorching and smoking with a borderline white color. His guns wouldn't be firing again anytime soon. Tossing them aside, he gave a snort when the smoke cleared to reveal the dome.

"A neat trick you have, playing with ice like that. But don't you have any more?"

For a moment, Zabuza allowed a lull to settle in his duel with Kakashi, heavily shoving the copy-cat away with his massive sword.

"This kid has proven himself, Haku. Finish it now,"

"Hai, Zabuza-sama," she replied wearily, her right hand once more flashing through handsigns.

Naruto stood fast, fully expecting another wave of needles or some form of ice to come flying in his direction, but the words she spoke next surprised him.

"Ice Release: Fang of the North Wind."

The already near freezing temperature dropped at least twenty more degrees. Shards of ice and a frigid wind swirled around Haku's glowing hand. She clenched it into a fist, her slender fingers closing around what materialized into a hilt. A guard came next, adorned with a tuft of white fur. From there came the blade, pale blue and a meter in length. It curved slightly almost like a crescent moon, the tempered steel nearly as thin as paper.

"You can not win now, child. Surrender, and your life will be spared," she spoke, pointing the menacing sword at her opponent.

Naruto shrugged and reignited his lightsaber. "You do realize you're playing on my field now, right?"

"So you refuse?"

The blonde gave her a wry grin. "Try me, Haku-chan."

Her eye twitched at the honorific and the sing-song voice he spoke with. No more games. She rushed forward, fully intending to end the little match. Frigid wind carried her along, giving her aching legs a much needed respite. An explosion of wind and ice crystals was what followed as the two blades collided. Naruto's eyes grew wide as he watched the sword not only resist his lightsaber, but force it back. All of a sudden, things grew much more serious. He had been counting on his lightsaber's near omnipotent cutting ability to disarm her, but now they were on even ground.

The blonde was forced on the defense, all his training put into Soresu saving his life on countless strikes as she thrust forward rapidly and unwaveringly. Seeing an opening, Naruto jump backwards with a flip, his foot striking out at the nin's chin. Haku staggered back a few feet and was soon forced on her on defense as the lightsaber crashing down upon her. By now, fatigue had settled in and neither party could move at the speed they were once capable of. The spun and struck, refusing to give each other ground. Naruto leaned back as the frigid sword came within inches of his neck. He spun and swung with all his strength to cleave her in two, but her sword was there to stop that strike as well. He swung from above, she blocked high. She swung low, he jumped but it wouldn't last forever. Haku had noticed that with each contact her sword made with his, a little bit more of the ice had chipped away.

Silently and with a flick of her free wrist, she took control of the surrounding ice once more. As Naruto set his foot down, a small ice spike shot up, impaling it. Naruto yelled in surprise and pain, but before Haku could run him through, he thrust an open palm out and sent her flying away with a tremendous Force Push, her sword clattering away as she lost grip. He hissed and swore as he pulled his foot free, blood flowing steadily from the hole.

"That was fucked up, Haku-chan," he muttered as he fell to a knee, a hand glowing blue as he healed his wound.

"You can use healing chakra?" she asked, gasping for breath as she struggled to her feet from the heap she crumpled in. Unfortunately for her, her legs refused to cooperate and she simply fell down again.

"Not chakra, but yes it heals," he muttered, the cells mending themselves back together. "Why do you do it?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Why do you do so much for Zabuza? I'll admit that I don't know him, but what I know of him tells me he is not the most... moral person out there. He's killed a lot of people Haku-chan, why do you follow him?"

She sighed and fell into a frown, her eyes downcast at the cold concrete.

"I follow him because I must."

Naruto perked up.

"I follow him because he saved my life," she continued. "In most hidden villages, kekkei genkai are seen as signs of status and pride. In Kirigakure, they are anything but. The Sandaime Mizukage absolutely despised any bloodline techniques, regardless of their use. His first act when chosen to lead was to purge our entire country of bloodline limits. The people fell into a state of fear, entire clans were massacred, whether it was publicly and in broad daylight, or at night and away from prying eyes. My mother did her best to hide us, and for a long time, she succeeded."

"Didn't anyone think to stop him? He was murdering people!"

"He wasn't the only one to hate kekkei genkai. Many despised us for what we had and followed him unquestionably. My father was one such man. When he found out what my mother and I were, he went on a rampage. He killed her, and would have killed me if my power hadn't awakened. There was nothing left of him and our home was in ruins. I ran, and never revealed my powers again after that out of fear of being found and killed. I wandered the streets of Kirigakure for months afterward, scrounging for what I could and living off whatever coin I managed to pickpocket."

Haku opened her eyes and looked up, straight into Naruto's own cerulean blues.

"Then, that following winter, he found me. Zabuza showed me that my strength was nothing to be afraid of. He took me, trained me, raised me into a proud shinobi. When it came time to start the rebellion, I followed him without question." She paused and took a breath. "That's why I do so much for him. He is my precious person, and I will gladly die for him if need be. I don't expect you to understand."

Naruto gave her a knowing smile, confusing her. "You'd be surprised."

The lull in the duel allowed him to take a look at his surroundings. The fog was starting to clear, showing just how weakened Zabuza was becoming. The water and coast were fading back into vision, the sun barely about to set. The two jonin were reaching their limits as well. Kakashi, still not fully recovered from his first fight with the Kiri Swordsman, was heavily feeling the drain the Sharingan was putting on his system. Zabuza quite literally had come back from the dead. Coupled with maintaining a heavy mist on the battlefield left little for him to work with.

"It appears we are at an impasse, Kakashi," said Zabuza as he clutched at a hole in his left shoulder.

"Ain't that a predicament. I suppose we wouldn't be able to pick this up at a later time," replied the copy nin, his chakra all but gone, his back sporting a long, thick gash.

"You're both wrong. You're dead."

Zabuza let out a long sigh. He knew that voice anywhere, and it seemed his old employer got impatient. He turned to look the little man in his beady eyes. With him was easily a small army of thugs; mercenaries, low lives, henchmen of all shapes and sizes, and all brandishing some kind of deadly weapon, flanked him and gave menacing glares and comments of their own.

"You continue to do nothing but disappoint Zabuza," spoke the little man. "Clearly if I want anything done right, I have to do it myself."

"I expected as much, Gatou. Of course you'd bring all your little maggots with you as well," spat the Demon of the Hidden Mist.

Gatou gave a shit eating grin as he gave a wave. Ten thugs stepped forward from the crowd, each brandishing a loaded crossbow.

"I suppose I should thank you for wearing each other down. It's going to make clean up so much easier," the crime lord boasted as the thugs took aim at Zabuza.

"While I don't like cutting off business ties, I suppose I can make an exception here."

With a wave of his hand, the barbed bolts were sent soaring towards their target. Zabuza closed his eyes and gave a small smile. So this was how he was going to go out. No glorious final duel with the Third Mizukage, no cheering crowds of his people as they found themselves liberated of a tyrant. No, it was going to be on a carcass of a bridge, riddled with pointy sticks some lowlifes had gotten their disgusting palms on.

"Zabuza-sama!"

He heard the cry of anguish as the bolts struck home. They stung, not quite like kunai but the barbed tips hooked and caught into his flesh. He cracked an eye open to see his protege struggling furiously against the blonde boy who held her back. Ever loyal to the last. He chose well.

"Haku," he managed to choke out.

Tears streamed down her eyes as the man that anchored her fell to his knees, blood pooling around him on the cold stone.

"Don't you forget... don't you forget what I've taught you. Stay strong... bring the Mist back to the glory days it's been sorely missing. Bring freedom to our people... but most of all... you kill this son of a bitch."

He choked as a glob of blood came boiling up from a punctured lung. Haku at this point had pulled herself free and was rushing to his side. She caught him as he fell forward, life steadily draining out of him. She cradled him close as his eyes went dull. She shook and wept, almost completely forgetting just where she was or who was watching. Or maybe she simply stopped caring.

"Zabuza-sama... you took me in when no one else would. You pulled me off the streets and turned me into something to be proud of, that my bloodline was a gift and not a curse."

Haku reached up with a hand and placed the fingers upon his dull eyes, pulling the lids over them as his spirit drifted away.

"You were hard but you were fair. You were ruthless and yet just. You were just like a father to me..."

She hardly noticed as Naruto came up from behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He's with the Force now. He won't stop watching over you," he consoled.

For a moment, he considered whether or not she even heard of the Force, let alone knew what it was. But he wanted to give comfort however he could, no matter how vague it came across.

"One down," chuckled Gatou.

They shot their heads up, eyes filled with hate. Haku knew fully what Gatou had done and was capable of doing. Naruto could just feel the corruption rolling off of him in waves. He knew Revan had taught him to avoid taking a life if at all possible, but if it was the life that belonged to this man, he figured he could deal with it.

"What do you say we fulfill his dying wish, Haku-chan?" he spoke as he summoned her sword and handed it to her. She took it without hesitation.

"We can finish our business later," she replied icily as she stood at full height.

The tears were drying away, her fatigue faded to the back of her mind, and her vision seemed to be tinged with red as her eyes bore into the source of all their misfortune. She never liked Gatou when she met him. The man swept his eyes over her in a leering way that still made her shudder. Back then, she couldn't do anything. He was the client. Now however... well, things change. Her grip tightened as she faced her prey, the snap-hiss of her unlikely ally's weapon sounding off in what was left of the afternoon mist. She was going to carve him to pieces. Gatou's smile faltered as the two teens stood against him. He had to keep a reputation in front of his minions though, and quickly composed himself.

"Eager huh? Fine then. Kill the boy. Whoever can catch her though has first dibs on her... punishment," he chuckled sadistically.

"Yeah right," breathed Naruto as he sped forward, Haku close behind him.

Gatou backed up on instinct. If they got a hold of him, he'd be done.

"What are you waiting for, you bastards? Slaughter them!" he yelled.

The thugs cried out in blood-lust as they charged their two opponents. Needless to say, it was a short fight. Cheers of joy turned into screams of terror. The shinobi and the jedi carved a swath through their ranks, never faltering from their course towards the shivering heap that was Gatou. Those not caught in the bloodbath quickly turned and ran, some jumping clear off the bridge. Bodies fell to the ground, dismembered limbs scattered here and there, the stench of charred flesh and bodily fluids saturating the air.

It was not a fight. It was a slaughter. Haku had been driven into rage; like an animal possessed, she tore through every last man that stood between her and the crimelord. Blood splattered her from head to toe, any signs of purity washed away by violence and death. It barely registered in her vision when she drove her blade into Gatou's chest. The man spluttered and swore as the icy sword dug into him. A weak hand reached up to grip it, trying in vain to pull it free. He looked at the chaos around him. Any of his men that hadn't managed to get away were strewn about the bridge, some wounded, but most dead. His eyes fell upon to the two children in front of him now. No, not children. No child was capable of this much violence.

"You two... you're both animals," he managed to spit out.

Naruto stepped forward and gave the criminal an appraising look. He snorted and said, "Yes, I'm sure you would know."

A pulse from his mind sent Gatou sliding off the sword and falling into the sea below.

"What a weak way to go," the blonde commented grimly.

"A weak death for a weak man," Haku muttered. "He deserved so much more for all the pain he has put people through."

"The Force will deal with him appropriately. I can promise you that."

Naruto sheathed his saber and took in their messy work. His stomach did a flip as the reality sank in.

"We did all this...?" he breathed. Haku nodded.

The blonde placed a hand over his mouth and excused himself. He felt disgusted with what he did. Had he killed someone before? Yes, if you could even call the assassins actual people. But these guys were clearly human. No dark side corruption, no Sith Lord pulling the strings of their minds. These were men, criminals yes, but still men. The lightsaber didn't leave bleeding wounds. The laser was superheated to a point where any cuts were cauterized instantly. Haku's sword did no such thing, despite how frigid the blade was. It was an absolute mess that they left behind, even she was getting nauseous. She turned her back on the carnage and leaned forward on the railing of the bridge for support. Her breaths came in shaky and short, the fatigue finally catching up to her, the weight of her father figure's death sitting heavily on her shoulders, and the knowledge of being personally responsible for dealing out the deaths of nearly a hundred men in one day. She slid to her knees and collapsed, blissful oblivion overtaking her as a single tear dripped down her cheek.

"Why are we nursing her back to health? She's our enemy! She could kill us without a second thought and when we're most vulnerable!"

"She was our enemy. Our priorities have changed. Gatou was the real threat and he has been dealt with. Haku has no reason to continue fighting us."

"She nearly drove us to death!"

"But didn't. You both know as well as I do that if she really wanted you dead then you would be. That's enough of you, now get back downstairs."

The Kiri-nin silently thanked whoever it was that told them off. She didn't know how or why she ended up in a sparse bedroom, wrapped in the soft confines of a futon but at this point, she didn't really care. She recognized those voices. The louder one sounded like that kenjutsu user, Kenji. The other was much older and spoke with authority. Must have been Kakashi-san. While she didn't regret how she treated the two boys back on the bridge, she did regret putting them in such a hopeless position. She really didn't want to kill them and did everything in her power to postpone their deaths as long as possible. Zabuza may have been her foster parent and master, but she did not share his execution mindset. It was pretty obvious that if she didn't finish them off, he would.

She moved her stiffened limbs as she unwrapped herself from the protective warmth. Wincing at some sudden pain, she placed a hand atop her ribs to find them tightly bandaged up. Slowly, she rose from her futon, her long black locks free of the bun she had tied them in and now flowing down to the small of her back. While she was concerned she was in simple bindings and underwear, she found a simple gray yukata draped over a chair in the corner. She pulled it on, shielding her body from the night time chill. Wait, night? How long had she been out? Her feet found a pair of flip flops on the floor next to the chair. Steadily, she shuffled over to the door and pulled the handle, swinging it open. Leaning up against the wall across from her was Kakashi, his face buried in a peculiar orange book. He looked up and gave an eye smile.

"Welcome back to the land of the living. Sleep well?"

She nodded.

"Just in time too. Tsunami-san is just finishing up dinner if you'd like to join us."

"Thank you Kakashi-san, but I'm not hungry. I'm actually looking for someone."

"Mmmm, Naruto-kun is out on the roof. You can find a small stairwell at the end of the hall and to your right. Take your time, we'll save some for you."

Snapping his book shut and giving her a small wave, Kakashi descended the stairs to what she honestly had to agree was an amazing smell of food, but she needed answers. The blonde gave her a look on that bridge, a look that spoke volumes more than he let on. He understood, his eyes didn't lie, and she wouldn't be getting anymore rest otherwise until she asked him. As she climbed the last two steps, she swung the top hatch open and stuck her head out into the night sky. It was a clear night, countless stars and a beautiful crescent moon lighting up the inky expanse. She stepped out and pulled the yukata to her body even tighter, the cold ocean breeze flowing through. She found Naruto lounging against the roof, hands thrown behind his head and gazing up at the stars. He was still dressed in those odd robes, the brown coat fanning out around him. His legs were crossed over, a boot swaying to and fro to an unknown. He looked up as she sat beside him, a small smile gracing his lips.

"Good to see you awake. I hope you're feeling better," he said.

"I'll be fine. I suppose I have to thank you for what you did. I'd probably be dead if you guys hadn't brought me back." She hesitated slightly and asked, "How long was I out?"

"You've been slipping in and out of consciousness for about four days now. Try not to worry. Gatou's influence died along with him and all his thugs have been driven out of town. You're safe here."

She hummed in agreement, the crimelord's death being her only comfort in the aftermath of this disaster of a job. She took a deep breath and turned to face the blonde.

"I know what you're thinking," he said suddenly, catching her completely off guard. "What you said to me on the bridge I mean. I do understand, a lot more than you might think."

He looked at her as he continued. "I wasn't hated for having a bloodline, or having anything really. I was simply hated for existing. Much of my childhood was filled with neglect, abuse, and outright exile. I was the village pariah and I hadn't a single clue as to why. My life was saved too, but in a much more literal sense. We have a festival in Konoha in October to celebrate the defeat of the Kyuubi who attacked us over ten years ago. Some villagers had gotten drunk and bold, and chased me into an alley. I was only five at the time, but I understood that they wanted to kill me. They would have too, had he not stepped in to stop it."

Naruto smiled as he looked towards the stars.

"I can call him a father, a master, a friend. Revan saved my life that day, and he raised me like a son. He trained me to become a jedi and showed me things I couldn't even imagine in my wildest dreams. He gave me purpose, a sense of honor, a code to live by and a goal to reach. So when you look at it that way, we really aren't that different. Master Revan was my salvation, just as Zabuza was yours."

Haku pulled her knees to her chest and stared up at the night sky. Some shooting stars could be seen tonight, and she wondered about her future.

"I don't know what I'm going to do now. Zabuza was all I had. I can't go back to Kiri yet and I can't go with the Konoha nin."

"You don't have to."

"What do you mean?"

Naruto shrugged, unsure just how he should say it. "Well, you can come with me."

Haku blushed at the suggestion, and the undertones. "Excuse me?"

"Well, not me-me but with us!" he defended. "Revan and I. He could help you."

Haku stared at her feet with wide eyes and pulled her knees in even closer. This was unheard of. A week ago, they would probably kill each other, now this boy who she hardly knew just made a pass at her, however unintentionally, with an offer she was actually considering.

"I-I don't know," she stammered. "I don't really have much to offer him."

"Come off it. You're smart, talented, strong, and absolutely awesome with a blade. He'd love to take you in!"

She scoffed at his praise.

"In fact," he continued, "Come to think of it, when you're not trying to kill me, you're actually pretty cute."

Her face turned beet red as she roughly pushed him. Part of her expected him to get mad, but all she heard was an uproarious laughter. Her irritation was ebbing away and pretty soon she too was giggling with him. He was growing on to her a lot faster than she expected.

"Do you really think so?"

"That you're cute?"

"No! I mean about Revan."

Naruto was still smiling, a genuine smile that held plenty of mischief yet no trickery. "Believe it."

Haku sighed and smiled as well. "Well, if you insist, I guess I will take you up on your offer." He let out a breath he didn't know he held.

"Haha, this is great! We're going to kick so much ass together!"

Haku shook her head and stood up. She turned and made her way back to the hatch.

"Where are you going?" Naruto called after her.

"Where do you think? I'm getting dinner since I've been out for four days," she responded, sticking a tongue out at him.

As she disappeared back inside, Naruto jumped to his feet and quickly followed after. He gained a friend today from what was once an enemy. He didn't know how or why, but the Force worked in mysterious ways, probably hand in hand with Kami, but he held no complaints. His quick mission was a success and now he was ready for his next assignment; to attack a real meal for the first time in over a year.

A/N: Done and done. It was a long time coming, but once my muse got back into the game, the words just started coming out. I'm also taking this time to reread the previous chapters to see what I can improve, especially in places I felt were rushed over. But for now, enjoy this long overdue update my faithful readers. Drop some reviews, especially if you see spots that need work. I'm only as good as my toughest critic, haha! See you next time!