Of Tree Houses and Missing Nin

The reception was just as swift as expected, Haku whirling with senbon in hand while Zabuza attempted to sit, reaching for a kunai on the table.

Naruto used whatever his strange flicker-speed was to restrain the Mist-nin while Sasuke put a kunai to Haku's neck, preventing him from going to his master's 'aid'.

"Ahhh--no, Zabuza-san. Can't have that," Naruto chided as he gently pushed the weakened man back down. "We don't want you doing any more damage to yourself than you already have." His eyes flicked to the raven holding Haku at bay, "And quit with the silent threats, Sasuke. That's no way to make friends."

"Hn." Sasuke holstered his kunai with an irritated glare in Naruto's direction, "He threatened you."

"And quit with the overprotective streak, teme! I can take care of myself."

"Aa… but you don't… dobe."

By now the two nuke-nins were wondering as to the sanity of their uninvited Leaf guests.

"You are not here to kill us?"

Sasuke snorted, "If we'd wanted you dead, we wouldn't have let you senbon Zabuza. You didn't honestly think we hadn't noticed you, did you?"

Zabuza stared at the two apparent twelve-year-olds. "Why?"

"'Cus Gaito's a lying jerk who's gonna double-cross you and have you killed whether or not you succeed in killing Tazuna--which we won't allow, by the way. So… we thought we'd offer you a deal."

Zabuza thought that over. They'd found the hideout and gotten in--neither he nor Haku had noticed either of them until after they were standing less than four feet away--and were obviously far more skilled than they appeared. They had Copy Nin Hatake Kakashi with them, plus an unidentified kunoichi.

"I'm listening."

xxxx

Naruto and Sasuke headed back, satisfied with the results of their little excursion, and collapsed into their respective beds.

That wasn't so bad…

Urusai, dobe.

It wasn't! Naruto defended.

He got a sense of agreement that was swallowed up by irritation in response.

Shutting up, now.

Good.

And Sasuke's end of the link dimmed as his breathing evened out, signaling sleep.

Naruto repressed the urge to poke his dark-haired friend, not really wanting to brave his sleepy wrath, and huffed quietly, sitting up and folding his arms.

It just wasn't fair. How on earth could Sasuke just go to sleep like that? Naruto wasn't as bad off as Gaara, but he still got a good deal less sleep than the average ANBU, and tonight looked like it was going to be one of those nights. By the time he might actually get to sleep, it would be almost pointless to do so.

He huffed again and got up, closing the door behind himself quietly before padding off in the direction of Kakashi's room.

He wasn't overly surprised to find the Jounin awake.

"Naruto?" Kakashi sat up, looking him over with a mildly concerned gaze. "Is something wrong?"

Naruto shook his head, "Iie, not really. Just can't sleep. Mind if I go for a walk?"

"Give me a minute to get dressed and I'll join you."

Naruto gave a slight nod and backed out and, within a few minutes, Kakashi slipped into the hall.

xxxx

Kakashi walked next to Naruto, noting the boy's feet made even less sound than his own on the ground… the mark of someone who had lived war for so long he'd forgotten how to walk normally.

"Is… what was it like?"

Naruto kept walking, not looking up at his sometime teacher, making his way towards a half-remembered clearing where he'd first met Haku so long ago. "Things got… bad. And… I'm sorry for… snapping at you, the second day, when you came late… it's just that…" he broke off and remained silent for several minutes.

Kakashi didn't push him, knowing that he'd find out what that had been about when Naruto was ready to tell him.

"I hadn't been Hokage very long…" Naruto said abruptly before hesitating uncertainly. "I assigned you a team of Chuunin and a recon mission… you were supposed to meet them at the North gate at seven…"

Kakashi bit his lip, not sure he wanted to hear.

"You were late. They'd never attacked in Konoha proper like that before… from what you told me, when you arrived… one of your Chuunin was already dead, and another not far from it… an enemy ANBU, we still don't know how he got in… You were hard-pressed to beat him, but if you'd gotten there sooner, maybe… maybe those two wouldn't have had to die." Naruto raised his cerulean eyes to meet Kakashi's one-eyed gaze--all laziness was gone from that eye. "You… you nearly killed yourself, Kakashi. You would have if I hadn't--" he broke off, let out a sharp breath.

"You were never late for anything again, not until the day you died. I just hoped that, maybe, this time… I could spare you that."

It was odd, Kakashi thought, to hear one's future mistakes laid bare like that. He didn't feel guilty so much as vaguely horrified by the story--it hadn't happened, yet, and Naruto hadn't said who it was that had died, so it was… impersonal, somehow.

"I see," Kakashi murmured eventually, eye-frowning at nothing.

He did see. He'd never realized that such a thing could happen--which was undoubtedly why it had. Or would. Or wouldn't, now that he knew.

Well, according to the boys, the whole point of coming back was to prevent some massive war, and if that was the case, they surely wouldn't balk at changing smaller things on behalf of… friends, it sounded like.

Kakashi blinked, snapping out of his musings to look at Naruto, who pulled a small bowl out of his pouch and started filling it with leaves gathered from a short plant that was mixed in with the grass.

"What are you doing?"

"You know Zabuza and the kid who rescued him?"

Kakashi tilted his head and nodded.

"Well, last time around, Haku was picking these to help Zabuza get better--and they're not really bad people. Sasuke and I already took care of their contract, anyway--don't tell anyone that--so I thought I'd bring some to them as a--an offer of good faith."

Kakashi opened his mouth to demand if Naruto was insane before stopping himself. Naruto had more information in this case… "All right. Be careful."

"It's a promise." He finished filling the bowl and stood, "I'll be back in a few minutes--don't go anywhere."

xxxx

Haku was watching over his precious person, debating whether it was safe enough to go look for healing herbs, when someone knocked at the tree house door.

Someone knocked at the tree house door?

He reached for a senbon and went to answer, wondering who on earth would be knocking. Of course, there was some small chance that it was merely a lost traveler… not likely.

Whatever he'd expected, it was not what he found. The boy from earlier that night--the one called Naruto--with a bowl of the same healing herbs he'd been hoping to find.

"It's not much, but it's better than nothing," Naruto offered Haku the bowl, and, rather stunned, Haku accepted.

"How did you know?"

"I have my ways…" the boy gave a foxy grin, "but I've got to go. I promised Kakashi-sensei I'd be back in a few minutes." Blue eyes sparkled as the boy poofed away.

Haku spent another minute blinking at the now-empty doorstep before closing the door and returning to the bedside, running every visual and jutsu-based test he could think of to check the herbs for any kind of tampering.

There was none. He even ate one and suffered no ill effects before he realized that Naruto had really just been trying to help--something that was completely unexpected.

No one had ever just wanted to help a couple of missing nins before. Especially not missing nins that had attacked them the day before.

Haku got to work making medicine for Zabuza, puzzling over the enigma that was Uzumaki Naruto.

xxxx

Naruto popped back into the clearing with a broad grin on his face, looking extremely self-satisfied.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"I have a new friend!" Naruto chirped, still smiling.

Kakashi shook his head slightly, then shrugged. He wouldn't put anything past the crazy brat. "Come on, Naruto," he sighed, "Lets get back to the house."

Kakashi ended up following a very bouncy Kyuubi-host back, running through theories on where he got all that energy. He knew Naruto hadn't had any sugar recently and the boy hadn't slept at all in the past thirty-some hours, yet he was still bouncing off trees. Literally.

Perhaps the fox had something to do with it?

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei! I'm hungry!"

Kakashi hid a smile and picked up his pace. Even if Naruto had seen some pretty ugly things that he shouldn't have, he was still very much Naruto. Nothing caught his attention quite the way food did.

xxxx

Naruto? Where have you been? Sasuke's mental question held a tint of irritation as he made his way down the stairs.

The dobe hadn't been in the room when he'd woken, and there was no sign that he'd slept there either.

Went for a walk with Kakashi. Naruto glanced up as Sasuke entered the dining room, sparing him a small grin, And I brought Haku a present… I think things'll turn out all right.

"Hn," Sasuke looked off to the side, folding his arms, but sent a glimmer of amusement and satisfaction through his mental link to the Rukodiame.

Naruto swallowed his current bite and pointed at Sasuke with his chopsticks, "See, there you go again. Projecting feelings is not holding a conversation, teme, and neither is grunting."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and smirked, sending a sense of smug questioning while 'hn'-ing at his friend.

Naruto choked when he realized just how well he understood the implied 'you understand me, don't you?', "Oh--that is so not fair," he complained, earning a plethora of confused glances from the 'adults' in the room.

Kakashi seemed to understand after another moment, as his eye curved up in a smile and he hummed thoughtfully.

Sasuke's smirk grew wider as he sat at the table. He accepted a bowl of rice and plate of fish and thanked Tsunami before starting to eat.

"I don't like you," Naruto huffed.

Sure you don't.

"Ha! I got words!"

Kakashi decided to explain for those who were now hopelessly baffled before Sakura or Inari could come downstairs. "Mental link--very rare jutsu that those two idiots used." He plastered a look of long-suffering on what little of his face was visible, "I am constantly getting less than half the conversation."

As Naruto had his mouth full again, Sasuke took it upon himself to defend the blond's decision. "It makes us a better team." His voice was perfectly flat.

Aw, you like me!

"Hn," Sasuke returned to his meal, ignoring Naruto's pout, then froze as Naruto stiffened.

"Dobe?"

Naruto shook himself and pushed his plate aside, forcing down unwanted memories triggered by an herb on the fish. I'm fine.

You turning down food is not fine.

Naruto spared him a glance, then fixed his gaze on the table, ignoring Kakashi's sudden concern.

She put something on the fish that I haven't tasted since… the day of the Massacre.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, That is anything but fine, you idiot. Flashbacks are not fine.

Look, it's nothing you need to worry about.

Sasuke snorted aloud, Here. Give me your fish, you can have my rice.

There was a long pause before Naruto passed Sasuke his plate, accepting the raven's rice-bowl in return. …Thanks.

Sasuke gave a slight nod and started eating Naruto's fish.

Kakashi was the one to break the air of tension, "See? That's exactly what I mean. They hold whole conversations and no one else can hear them!"

xxxx

Hm… I'm going to leave off here, for today. I have other things to do… Feedback is appreciated, as always…