The Psychic, The Swordsman, and The Sorcerer
Chapter 11
I don't own Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto, X-Men, owned by Marvel Comics, Zorro from public domain, despite Zorro Production Inc.'s laughable attempts to claim otherwise, or Harry Potter, owned by J.K Rowling. Sorry this chapter is a bit late. Something worth noting is that, in this world, Naruto Uzumaki is not registered as an active-duty ninja, but Zorro is registered as one. Also, I chose Haku's gender for the sake of comedy. Fun fact: Jean Grey was originally called Marvel Girl before the first of many, many deaths.
Late in the evening, Zorro turned to Kakashi and said, "Copycat Kakashi, I will be stepping out this evening. Do not concern yourself with the matter. I will later return and will be rested before the mission needs to be continued. I merely need to have some time to myself."
Not wanting to deal with whatever his student's insanity was currently be fueled by, Kakashi simply nodded. At the very least, he wouldn't need to deal with one of them for a short period of time.
Stepping outside of the house, Zorro walked to an obscured area and removed his uniform, once more becoming Naruto Uzumaki. Once he was certain that all traces of Zorro were perfectly hidden, he headed out into the woods, planning on exploring for a bit. After a few hours, he found himself feeling somewhat tired. Deciding to rest for a little while, he leaned up against a tree and closed his eyes.
Some time later, he was awakened by the sound of someone approaching. Opening his eyes, he saw a person in a pink kimono picking herbs.
"Hello," he said, confused by the entire situation, "What brings you out here?"
"I'm picking herbs for medicinal purposes," they responded.
"Could you use some help?" Naruto asked, "I have nothing that requires my attention at the moment. My name is Naruto, by the way."
"Yes, if you wish to," they concurred, "And my name's Haku."
With that, Naruto headed over to his new friend and asked, "How many do you need?"
"Not much, as I've already gathered a large amount," Haku responded, before noticing the blond's hitai ate, "Are you a ninja?"
"Sort of," he answered in a way that was technically honest, "I'm not really listed as active duty. I'm mostly here for the sake of my friends."
"When a person has something important they want to protect; that's when they become truly strong," Haku remarked as they both continued gathering the herbs.
"Precisely," Naruto nodded in agreement as his mind once again drifted to the familiar black mask and hat he left hidden near Tornado, "It's always the moment that one is willing to give all they can to make sure that the ones they care about survive that they can do what should be impossible."
"I think that we've managed to get a good amount," Haku remarked, noticing the basket, "I suppose this is farewell, Naruto-san."
"Farewell, Haku," Naruto responded.
"By the way," Haku said while leaving, "I'm a boy."
"Okay," Naruto remarked as he turned the other way, "I already have a beloved, and your gender was pretty obvious."
"What?" Haku asked flatly.
"Well, you have a masculine jawline, you speak in a lower register than the average female, and you aren't very feminine other than the kimono," he lied, watching for a response to his statements. When Haku turned around with an annoyed expression, Naruto smirked and said, "I thought so. Sorry about annoying you. I just wanted to test a theory. Well, I should probably check on my friends, now. Even if it's not officially my mission, a ninja's work is never done."
'And neither is Zorro's,' he thought as he headed off.
As her new friend left the area, Haku was somewhat glad to hear that he wasn't officially their reinforcements. It was possible that her friend wouldn't even be involved in the fight that was going to happen on the bridge, so she might not have to kill him.
When Zorro returned to the house, Sakura and Sasuke were awake. Establishing the way the conversation would be held, Sakura's mental voice asked, "Did you notice anything?"
'I found nothing about Gato,' the swordsman admitted, 'But I discovered that Zabuza is on the mend.'
'How do you know?' Sasuke asked from the connection Sakura made.
'As I was coming back, I felt fatigued, so I rested for a while,' he said, 'When I woke up, someone was picking herbs. I helped them for a while, mostly to get a good look at their choices. The plants she used were commonly used to treats cuts and scrapes, and she was gathering lemongrass as well, which is a preservative.'
'It could just be that they were making a common salve for their relatives,' Sasuke noted, 'What makes you so sure that they're working for Zabuza?'
'She noticed your hitai ate,' Sakura remarked, 'There haven't been any shinobi here since Uzushiogakure was destroyed, and if her appearance is to be believed, she's not much older than we are.'
'Where is Copycat Kakashi?' Zorro asked, 'He was awake when I left the house.'
'He's. . . occupied,' Sakura responded, 'You'll understand in the morning.'
'Is he alive?' Zorro asked.
'Do you really think that Sasuke-kun would let me kill him?' Sakura asked, 'Besides, I haven't become the Dark Phoenix since the debacle that happened during dinner.'
'Is whatever she did potentially fatal, Sasuke?' Zorro inquired, turning to face his wizard teammate, who was tying a letter to an owl.
'Not unless he's impossibly clumsy,' Sasuke responded.
'Ah, well then, why do we not just go slumber for the time being?' Zorro said, 'There is nothing that we stand to gain from being fatigued tomorrow. As such, I bid you both goodnight.'
Elsewhere, Kakashi slept, unaware of the impossible misfortunes that had been set to happen to him when he woke up.
