Day 2
"Oh hell no." Mittelt saw Zabuza. She also saw what he was holding in his hands, and she wanted nothing to do with it.
Zabuza just raised an eyebrow as he tossed a katana to Kalawarner, then another to Raynare. "Is there an issue?" He'd been almost excited to start training the girls in the art of the sword. It'd been far too long since he'd had a proper duel, Haku having as much talent with an actual blade as he had with painting. Very little.
"I was fine with the physical stuff. Being used as the soft, adorable punching bag for your chiseled muscles and fists. I was a little less fine the whole 'I'll be using a knife, while you aren't, sucker' but this. This, I draw the line at. I'll just punch things, thank you very much."
"I was under the impression you liked a man with a long tool?"
She fell for the bait, in her own way. "Zabuza, honey. It's the motion of the ocean that's the most important part, even if size of the ship plays a part. After all, you aren't going to ask the guy who rows the two man dingy to captain a cruise liner would you? You got to learn to walk before you can run, to lick before you can dee-."
"And that is enough out of you." Raynare said, hands firmly placed over her blonde friend's mouth.
Zabuza could already feel a headache coming on, but smothered it down as he stared down Mittelt, cold gaze meeting puppy dog eyes as the two wills clashed. Mittelt eventually gave up, extending a hand to take her blade.
"Don't worry Mittelt, I'll be gentle." To which the blonde could only grumble.
"Cause of course, the moment he starts to get playful is when he's halfway through turning us into beef cutlets." She continued to herself as Zabuza began demonstrating how to maintain and clean the blade.
Day 4
"He's a sadist... A beautiful, sexy, evil, sexy sadist." Mittelt said, her voice muffled by the pillow.
"I don't know what you are complaining bout. It's not that bad." Kalawarner said as she finished squeezing into one of her new shirts and began looking for a towel.
"Says the hag." Raynare spoke up from her bed, wishing she wasn't too tired to peg the bluenette with a pillow, or better yet a knife if she had one.
"Just.. He looks so innocent. He is always smiling and always so nice... yet..." She continued with a shiver at the memories of the past three days. Zabuza hadn't done anything overtly bad, he just didn't seem to understand the concept of a break. From dawn till the late afternoon, it was exercise, exercise and more exercise until Raynare couldn't draw another drop of power out of her tired form.
"Sorry we aren't a walking ball of muscles, stamina and jiggle physics. Some of us have to fill out the token cute role of this trio, instead of the amazon. Like anyone with a brain, I have slight issues with Zabuza coming at me with a sword that can cut through trees like butter only.." Mittelt rolled onto her side to look out the window and at the forest beyond it, knowing that during their three days of sparing Zabuza had leveled an impressive path as they fought for their lives.
Evolution through fear. Blegh. More like beat us with a hammer till we become a shape he deems useful. Kalawarner thought, towel in hand
"Well, if you two are going to do nothing but complain all night. I shall be taking a soak in the bath."
"Gramma Prime 'as got to wash away the wrinkles and air out the udders. I think I'll be here with Gramma the Second." Mittelt rolled off her bed to avoid the pair of pillows rocketing towards her face. Baiting her fellow pawns bout their age was her second favorite past time, and on any day it paid off. Aches and pains from landing on hardwood flooring being a small price to pain.
"Like the perverted cockroach you are. I'm surprised he hasn't just tossed you into a straight jacket by this point." Raynare shot back, wondering exactly what Zabuza would do if Mittelt actually succeeded in one of her perverted adventures.
"Tsk tsk, my dear Raynare. One would think you don't pay attention to your surroundings." Mittelt puffed up her chest as Kalawarner groaned.
"If that isn't a case of the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is." The black haired pawn mumbled.
"Agreed."
"Ye of little faith! Zabuza is madly in love with all of us! Me mostly, but I'm sure you fit in here somewhere." Mittelt waggled her finger at her fellow pawn's look of disbelief.
Neither Kalawarner nor Raynare spoke for the next few moments as their minds tried to process the statement that had just been put forward. It was Kalawarner who broke the silence first.
"I would kill for five minutes inside your head, just to see how the hell you came to that conclusion."
"Please. You just need one last little revelation before it all makes sense."
"And you need some serious help. I think Zabuza missed a few pieces after the Gremory bitch blew you up." Raynare shook her head, not willing to work herself up to the possibility.
"Just hear me out here. It's about the mystery twins." Mittelt threw in, hoping their curiosity would win them over.
Eventually Raynare did speak, voice muffled through the pillow she was trying to get comfortable with. "What about them?"
"Don't care." A rather clipped response, even for Kalawarner.
"I'm just saying. How long have we been with Zabuza?"
"A couple weeks." Kalawarner's eyes narrowed on the blonde, hoping she'd get to the point soon so she could have a bath.
"And how long do you think the twins have been with him?"
Raynare shrugged in unison with Kalawarner. "Exactly! We don't know! But what we do know is this. How easy do you think I'd be for you and Zabuza to walk into a tense situation and banter like nothing ever happened?"
Mittelt took their continued silence as an answer. "So, two possibilities exist. The first, and least likely option is that they are simply like that and Zabuza has adapted with the flow to suit the conversational needs of two pawns. Or! They have been with him so long that trading insults and 'tough' love has become their usual form of conversation. After all, what did they call Zabuza?"
"Boss?" Raynare supplied.
"Wrong! A typical nickname, of little importance! It's impersonal while denoting a level of respect and loyalty but still of little importance. The word you are looking for is tsundere."
"We care about your manga archetypes, why?" Kalawarner could already feel the headache coming on.
"Because it fits! Like a muscle shirt over those rippling muscles of his! Look at any interaction between him and Haku! Cold fondness is the best way to describe what we've actually seen of his relationship with Sis, but Haku around Zabuza?"
"Old married couple?" Raynare felt she'd been reduced to one word answers as Mittelt's wild conclusions had spun out of her and Kalawarner's control. The worst part being she was finally starting to talk some sense.
"Smitten! Love struck puppy smitten! We all saw how she reacted to the perverted monkey when he tried to hit Zabuza. He could have dodged, hell any of us could have dodged that punch. But no, it was all stunned silence and the creaking of strained wrist bones. No hesitation in her actions." Mittelt began to pace as Kalawarner finally succumbed to the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose.
"A regular Mr. Jane you are. And this, relates to our, supposed, feelings how?" Kalawarner asked.
"Because how has he reacted to any type of attention we've shown him. When either of you try to get in close, give him a peek or try and flir- Oi! No looking coy! I'm not stupid! Raynare's had it written across her face since day one, and you're in just as deep Kalawarner! Least I've had the balls to actively go after the beef cake. The only difference between you two is how far along in denial you are." Both girls refused to dignify that with a response, even if the scarlet cheeks told Mittelt all she needed to know.
"Same coldness that Haku normally gets would be the correct answer. The only difference is that we have yet to know him long enough for him to be comfortable around him. If only he was more willing to spend some personal time together. A little skin-ship would do wonders."
"Crying shame, that's what it is." Kalawarner succeeded, in her own mind at least, in keeping her voice level and sarcastic, as she internally agreed with Mittelt's conclusion. After all, it was only proper for her to want to develop a closer relationship with her new boss. Pure professionalism. Nothing more.
"Truly." Raynare didn't even bother to hide her edge of disappointment as her mind rapidly started spinning small tales and fantasies that more often then not ended with her and a certain spiky haired swordsman together in the shower or the kitchen, or the bed, or.. Bad Raynare. Focus on the current task. "But what about Haku?"
"What about her?" Mittelt flopped back onto her bed.
"What would she do if she thought we were going to steal Zabuza from her?"
"Remove us most likely." Mittelt joked before she started to dwell on the possibility. The three of them had done more training in the past few days than the last few years combined, but none of them had seen what Haku was capable of. It seemed she wasn't the only one as the dawning look overtook Kalawarner and Raynare as well.
"I wouldn't do something so drastic. You may lose an eye or a limb if you go too far, but I'd be more than happy to let you live."
Haku was thankful that it took specialized training for devils, reincarnated or not to reach a decibel able to shatter glass.
Later, the girls would remark upon how quickly a daydream can descend into a nightmare dressed in a fluffy blue bathrobe as that one quiet declaration dragged them out of their purely professional musings and shameless fantasies.
"Good to see all of you in such high spirits." To Haku's delight, and not so hidden amusement, the trio looked flushed, unable to meet her eye, like children who barely escaped getting caught with their hands in a rather naughty cookie jar. "I was looking for someone to play cards with, but am I interrupting something?" She asked, letting her eyes dart between Kalawarner and Raynare as Mittelt tried to look casual.
"N-no! We weren't-"
"Haku! Hi-um-well! We were-!"
"Sis, how nice to see you! Um... how long have you been there?"
"Oh, not long. Though I do agree with you about the denial. It is rather obvious." Haku said as she took a seat next to Mittelt. "Though, if I am the topic of conversation, I'd be happy to join in to avoid confusion."
"Well-"
"We want a piece of the Zabuza pie." Mittelt put forth, subtlety be damned.
Haku blinked before chuckling. "And?"
"We were worried that you might not be so... accepting of our feelings? We know you have been supportive of Mittelt's... teasing, but a definitive answer would certainly help." Raynare's tone was one normally reserved for an underling dealing with their temperamental boss, thinking it was best to play things safe.
"Ah, I was wondering when this was going to come up." Haku let the girls sweat for a moment as she appeared to ponder the decision. "I suppose I am willing to share. If Zabuza is willing to have you, I will be more than happy to include you in our personal time. Though, do keep in mind. In the interest of fairness, you'll have to accept that Zabuza may include more than just the four of us. Possibly at the same time."
The angels shared a look, wondering if they heard right, before glancing on mass at Haku, to which her only response was a wink and playful smirk.
"Ah. Well. Most certainly a generous offer Sis." Mittelt coughed, for once the only one visibly red in the face as her friends nodded in quiet agreement, taking a sudden interest in the floor.
"Excellent. Now, anyone for a game of cards?"
"Well, that was rather anti-climatic." Mittelt said, as she began getting dressed for bed.
"I prefer anti-climax to having to constantly watch our step around Haku."
"Agreed." Kalawarner said, setting her hair brush down before lying down.
Mittelt could only shrug before flopping into her bed stark naked. She'd expected tension, love triangles, teasing and the whole plethora of drama from the situation. Instead she was given the green light and more. Huh.. clear cut communication of interest... who'd have thought. It would be a pleasant thought to fall asleep to.
Day 9
It has to be something in the water. That was the only explanation he had at this time.
Zabuza wasn't thick. He could take a hint, especially when they were being broadcast with as much subtlety as a chidori to the face. Kalawarner's state of dress or lack there of, along with Raynare's insistence on stretching whenever possible and the less said about Mittelt the better. He was a hair's edge away from barring his windows and warding his entire room. What had changed in the last five days to make them all so.. touchy.
The worst part is, if anyone came to me complaining about having a similar problem, I'd have throttled them. But no, his loyalty to Haku was worth more than his own personal convenience. He just hoped he found a way to resolve things without hurting the girls, or more importantly damaging their potential.
"Here you go boss."
Just what he needed. A distraction from the sudden invasion of women in his life.
"Boom, do you love us or do you love us?" The twins said with a smirk hidden behind their masks as they dropped a short stack of papers at the foot of Zabuza's pool chair.
"You want an honest answer?" Zabuza said, reaching forward to leaf through the pages. It felt good to bask in the sun, with nothing more than swimming shorts and his usual bandages on, but then his eternal left and right hand came with business to attend to.
"Nope." They chorused before taking a seat in the chair beside their boss, seemingly unperturbed by the heat in their full-body cloaks and re-breathers.
"We'd prefer to keep the fantasy alive as long as possible." Gozu said, glancing across the pool to see Haku and their fellow pawns enjoying the time off. Both of the twins knew how hellish Zabuza's training regiments could be, especially when the boss offered his full attention to improving their progress.
Still, the girls didn't look too bad. A patchwork of scrapes, cuts and bruises stood out in a way that was almost nostalgic to the younger twin. They had sported a similar set when they first started working with Zabuza. Just meant that they were taking the training seriously.
"Yeah. An honest answer might break our fragile little hearts." Meizu chimed in as Zabuza let out a huff of air, halfway between amused annoyance and reluctant enjoyment.
"You two would be perfect if those masks doubled as muzzles." Zabuza finished skimming the pages, folding the corners of three for later inspection.
"Perfection is overrated."
"Always leave room for improvement. It's bout the journey and all that bull."
"Mmm. You two have anything important to say, or we just going to spend the afternoon wasting time like a couple of kids?" Zabuza didn't glare at the two of them. He knew it had been a long time since either had been scared of him but he should at least pretend to be in control of the conversation.
"Well-."
"The correct answer is no." Zabuza cut in at Meizu's pondering, knowing there was a pout hidden under the usual re-breather.
"Platon wanted us to deliver a message, no new info has been obtained on potential peerage members, no new info on our long term or short term targets and we've been offered a few jobs by some of our regulars that can be taken in the event we start running lower on funds than we can normally scrounge together.." Gozu listed off the top of his head the important topics Zabuza needed an update on.
Zabuza leaned back to think. He always seemed to do his best thinking lying down, a habit that was carefully mocked by Haku, and snickered about by his current audience.
"Milan's message?" Might as well work down the list.
"An invitation to his granddaughter's seventeenth birthday in two weeks."
He had to blink at that. Zabuza had done numerous jobs for the Russian in the past three years ranging from wet work to smuggling and they got along fairly well, but this was a unprecedented.
"The story checks out, boss. We did some digging and unless the old bear wants to clean house of every ally and family connection he has, this is just a party." Meizu tossed in, receiving a nod.
"Whenever you get a chance, send him a message that I'll attend. Guests?"
The twins shook their head. "Invite only. No plus ones."
Zabuza had to snort at that. Well it's not like I can't protect myself. He now had to get around to buying a suit in the near future, or something classy. Win or lose he was going to Rais's 'celebration' in whatever he damn well felt like, but for a meeting among some of Russia's criminal elite, one had to dress appropriately.
"And the other objective?" Zabuza asked, having gotten to the back of the stack, looking over the attached pictures with a critical eye. They were good on funds for the next two months so long as any more surprise expenses didn't pop up. An attempted coup, years as a missing-nin and dreams of once being Mizukage had taught Zabuza a lesson in finances and forward planning. That those who didn't do them payed enough attention were set for failure.
"Four options that fit your requests. Personally, we'd recommend the third option. Aside from one small problem, it'd be perfect."
"Would hardly call a group of two-bit gangsters being holed up in it a small problem, but hey, who ever asked for my opinion?" Meizu griped.
"Noone with a lick of sense I would imagine. How long will it take you to remove the pests and get things situated?" Zabuza crumbled up three pages worth of solutions to his housing problem before looking over the final option. After three days of sleeping on a bed again, he had resolved to never sleep on a couch again if he could help it.
"Full purge, boss?" Zabuza just nodded. "We strike quick enough, we'd be finished with the clean up in two days with minimal chance of leakage. Three days if we want to avoid the attention of the authorities." Gozu mused.
"Then get to it."
Meizu groaned. "Yay, fucking moving duty-."
"Get everything in place before we are done with the training camp and you two get first pick on your rooms." Zabuza interrupted as he settled back in his chair.
"Any room?" Meizu asked, eyebrow raised in suspicion.
"Any room." Zabuza had never seen the twins move so fast in his life. Guess it all came down to proper motivation.
Raynare had to wonder if there was such a thing as a pleasant pain. If so, she was feeling it right now as she stared up at the sky, lying on her back in the pool as Mittelt sat by the poolside with Haku.
The past six days had been grueling on both her pride and her body. The latter was only held together by the liberal amounts of healing magic Zabuza used during the spares, while the former had taken a backseat to her growing sensibility.
In the past, Raynare had believed herself competent, middling at best on the power scale if one wanted to be generous, but competent at her tasks. She'd survived what counted as basic training for the fallen angel. A one hour spare against an opponent chosen for you. You survived, won the fight, or just impressed the judge, you'd be allowed to help the cause. You failed? Told to come back later once you are worth a damn. Usually in those exact words.
Training was a foreign concept to her, and one she had mixed feeling about. She could feel herself getting stronger. See each movement executed with subtly increasing precision and strength at each repetition. It was invigorating in it's own way, and even if she felt like hell afterwords, it was worth it. If not to see that quiet bit of approval in Zabuza's eye as one of his kicks were blocked, or a punch dodged, it was worth it for herself.
She'd been given another chance, and this time it'd be used to make herself happy.
"They are scheming something."
Raynare rolled over, treading water as she looked at Kalawarner in slight confusion. A feeling she was growing used to since meeting her King. It had surprised all three of the former angels when Zabuza spent their first day of the fourteen day training period, not training. He'd given each of them a stack of cash, a hand written list and a stern look before sending them along with Haku to a local mall with a mission to expand their wardrobe beyond two pairs of hot pants and some sports bras.
It had been an interesting outing to say the least, and when they came back to the house with enough clothes to outfit a small army, Zabuza didn't seem to mind. At least the pool had explained why he listed 'swimming attire' under necessary purchases. And she wasn't the only one who'd taken advantage of this to show off.
Kalawarner's swimsuit was little more than patches of black cloth to cover the important bits strung along thin string that left nothing to the imagination, a fact Raynare imagined was alright for the buxom women. She'd never been ashamed of her body, happy to flaunt her generous endowment and the lack of subtly seemed to suit her as she tried to catch Zabuza's eye by strutting along before getting in the pool. Only to be promptly ignored.
Not that my attempt went much better. Memory of her own attempt to get Zabuza to pay attention to her strapless scarlet t have been just as fruitful. She'd picked it for it's emphasis on her waist, knowing that since she couldn't beat Kalawarner in the chest department, she'd pick her battles with her hour glass figure. The fact that, in her own modest opinion, she had an ass Haku couldn't beat might work in her favor. Something she was trying her best to point out to Zabuza at any opportunity.
Of course, none of the girls realized by this point, that unlike the overwhelming majority of males in their universe, the only time their King thought about their respective chest sizes in a heated sense, was in the terms of heated battle. In his own perfect world, all of them would be as flat as Mittelt, with the physique of Kalawarner and the drive of Raynare.
He was also smart enough to not mention this to anyone, and be thankful that he had three pawns that were at least willing to strive for improvement. Physical appearances rarely mattered in competitions of strength.
"You say that if it's a new thing." Raynare responded, glancing at the aforementioned pair sitting on the ledge of the pool, quietly talking to each other. Mittelt was waving her arms and gesturing within her pale pink v-neck one piece. They had to force her to wear it after hearing she planned to go swimming nude when the rest day had been announced. Things had almost resorted to physical violence before Haku smooth talked the petite blonde down from her birthday suit.
"Just suspicious." Kalawarner would never claim to be a prophet, but she had a feeling whatever they were up to would involve them. A thought that was only confirmed a moment later by Haku's eyes shifting from the excited blonde at her side, to them as she waved for them to come closer.
Raynare had to hold back a bit of jealousy as she looked at Haku. She was the only one Zabuza had commented on, even if it was a quiet nod of acceptance at the plain white bikini before going back to ignoring everyone.
"No." Raynare and Kalawarner exclaimed at the same time, thankfully remembering to keep their voices down.
"Come on. You know you want to. Stud muffin over there has spent the entire day off lounging in a chair. Even Haku thinks this is a good idea." Mittelt countered, disappointed that her fellow pawns weren't as excited bout this as she was.
"Haku is Haku, you shrimp."
"She's not going to have to deal with him and another three days of training if we piss him off-.. Speaking of, where have you been Haku? We don't see you at training.." Raynare's voice picked up a slight accusatory tone to it as she elaborated on Kalawarner's dismissal.
"I can promise that he won't be mad. If anything, he'll be happy that you are willing to stand against him, even if it's for fun. He does like someone with a bit of backbone after all." Haku gave the girls a meaningful look as she sidestepped the question of her whereabouts.
"See! That's why this is great! It'll be a few low level water spells, nothing that'll hurt anybody, and we get to see handsome in all his lathered up glory." The gears were already turning in Mittelt's head, and whether she had back up or not, she was going through with the plan.
Raynare and Kalawarner shared a hesitant look.
"Well, it would do for him to have some fun."
"I'm doing this under duress." Were the half-hearted excuses they fell back on before nodding their approval.
"Excellent." Haku clapped her hands together. "Let's get started, shall we?"
"Go!"
That was the only 'warning' Zabuza got before gallons of pool water was launched at him, interrupting his musings through the combined magic effort of Haku and the girls. It was also the only warning he needed as he concentrated magic into his finger tips and took control over the liquid mass hurtling at him with ease, letting it circle around his pool chair twice to pick up a bit of momentum. Not enough to seriously hurt them but enough to teach them a lesson. He smirked without bothering to open his eyes before shooting the water out in five basketball sized chunks, nailing each of his aquatic assassins in the face, sending them backwards into the pool.
A fringe benefit of being a master at Silent Killing was rather impressive aim without visuals on the target.
His brief interruption was over as quickly as it had began in his mind, until he felt magical power pooling in the water. The girls hadn't given up yet and apparently Haku had decided to actually help this time.
Zabuza cracked open his eyes, as he stared at the assortment of floating liquid blobs before him and the women wielding them. Standing there, each wearing a bikini and a malicious look in their eyes, he could honestly say this was the first time his new pawns had crossed his thoughts with the word 'attractive' used as something other than a loose objective fact.
He didn't bother moving as Mittelt started to cackle as she tossed ball after ball of pool water at his face. From there, things just descended into chaos.
"We got him!" Zabuza was on the move. He'd managed to hold his position in the pool chair for a good ten minutes before their combined fire- water power had overwhelmed him and forced him into an active defensive strategy of dodging instead of simply reflecting their attacks back with equal force.
Zabuza slipped to the side as Raynare's water whip came down next to him before ducking under Kalawarner's quick two shot burst. Mittelt was letting herself loose, aiming for the eyes in revenge for the mandatory sword training, as Haku's dull water needles tried to drive him into the other girl's attacks. He may have put a little too much force behind his initial counter-attack.
When they actually worked together, they were almost scary in their execution. A few years of training, and they might be able to take him on, but they were in his element, and he didn't fancy to lose to his subordinates, as proud as he was about their performance.
So he started slowly siphoning off water as he brought a second hand into the play, putting less care into the force behind the streams and bursts of water he sent back and more into actually hitting their targets for a proper distraction.
The fight continued as such for some time, the girls hurling blast after blast of pool water only to be dodged with increasing ease.
Draw them into a pattern.
His actions became methodical, letting himself be pulled along and having the impromtu water war play out in the girl's favor. Every attack was a hair's breath closer to it's target and he only returned fire when he needed to, making sure to keep the attention on him, instead of the minute amounts of water he was draining from the pool and the girl's attacks.
Lay the trap.
With a flick of his wrist, a blob of water was redirected back at Mittelt and held in place over her eyes as he drew for time.
Wait for the right moment.
To many, having their vision taken away would have meant period of rest, to fix the issue before resuming warfare. To Mittelt, it just gave her an excuse for friendly fire as she picked up the pace, aiming at people shaped blurs, not caring who they actually were.
Strike with precision, and force. Do so without hesitation.
He'd hand it to Mittelt, she'd done her job well as he could see confusion dawn upon the girls. Within an hour of their battle beginning, both sides were out of ammo. The pool had been drained, only tiny puddles remaining on the plaster bottom. It was a draw in their mind.
Until he pointed up.
Haku, Kalawarner, Raynare and a still-blind Mittelt looked up, those with their sight intact spotting a noticeable sphere of water hanging in the air twenty feet above them. It took Haku a second to realize what had happened, and the pawns another second to realize their predicament.
"I would like to apologiz-" Kalawarner started, only to get cut off by a genuine chuckle from Zabuza.
"Too late." With that, Zabuza brought his hand, letting his counterattack drop.
Day 11
He had to wonder if the last 8 days were as torturous to the girls as they'd been to him. He hoped so, if not he'd have to further increase the training schedule. A prospect that would bite into his own workout. A person could only survive on so little sleep, devil ninja or not.
"Any issues?"
"With your plan or your hands?" Haku asked with a small smirk as Zabuza picked up another slender needle.
"Funny. I can't tell who's been worse lately. The twins, or you." Zabuza said, placing one hand on Haku's back as he gently pressed the needle in between her shoulder blades. The lights were dimmed, but years of practice, enhanced sight and a perfect memory of Haku's body was all he needed to work.
"Oh you love me regardless." Haku giggled at the non-committal grunt that came out of Zabuza as she carefully adjusted her position on the bed, so as to not disturb the vast array of needles that were implanted in her skin.
Zabuza for his part just kept quietly working, enjoying the sight of his queen, half-naked on his bed. Who says you can't mix work and pleasure? He thought with a hidden smirk as he began to channel a tiny amount of chakra through the needles.
"I think it'll work. I have no doubt that you can deal with Phenex regardless of what happens." Haku sighed as the familiar chakra entered her system, working away her aches and pains from three days of intensive training.
"I'd rather not have to show my hand on someone as pathetic as Phenex." Zabuza said as he focused on the trouble spots, removing and replacing needles at a steady pace. "It's not a question of 'if' I can beat Phenex. It's 'how' to do it without giving too much away."
"Could always go straight to plan B." Haku suggested as she curled her toes in pleasure. It was times like this, time just spent with Zabuza that made her day. No fire ran through her veins, she didn't see stars, it was a simple pleasant feeling, that everything was all right. The fact I feel like I'm floating on a cloud is just the nice, fresh cherry on top.
"And miss out on a proper warm-up? Never."
The conversation lulled for a few brief minutes as Haku soaked up the attention, having no reservations as she let out quiet moans and pleased whimpers as Zabuza worked her body with a ruthless precision.
"How many?"
"Almost got managed a seventh today." She replied, unable to speak louder that a whisper because Zabuza had found a sweet spot, and she wanted to enjoy every second of it.
Zabuza just gave a quiet nod as he continued to manipulate the chakra needles. "Going to share your plan with Rias?" Haku asked once Zabuza was starting to wind down, watching from the corner of her eye as he gently removed the thin lengths of steel from her back, giving each a quick wipe with a sterilized cloth before tossing them onto the dresser of his temporary room.
Zabuza just snorted as he threw the last needle onto the pile. "Would it make a difference if I did? Gremory and her pack will do as they please regardless of what I say. Especially if I let her know in advance." He took a seat at Haku's side, running a thumb over her cheek as she smiled up at him. "Now out, I want to get some sleep eventually. And you got that look on your face."
"What look?" Haku's face was the picture of innocence as she sat up.
"The look that promises me a sleepless night if I don't send you away now. I'm having a bath then going to bed. Hopefully uninterrupted."
"Spoil sport." She pouted.
"Says the spoiled brat." He smirked back, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "Now, out. You can have your way with me once we've dealt with Phenex."
"And if any of the girls want to 'have their way' with you?"
He shrugged off the leading question. "Ultimately it's up to you. I'd prefer to just give the girls what they want, but I'm not going to do so without your permission. I got enough on my plate with the idiots... I don't need you mad at me as well." Zabuza added as an afterthought as he rearranged the needles, wondering where he put the sterilizer.
"Good boy." Haku said, slipping her robe on as Zabuza gave one last snort. "Though..."
"Though?" This isn't going to be good.
"I've been thinking." She continued at a pace he knew was to drag this conversation out. "You have been rather behaved lately, and the girls are rather smitten."
"Wouldn't have been the word I used..."
"Just because you don't understand the heart of a young woman in love doesn't mean it can't happen."
Pretty sure I don't understand the heart of a man in love, but that's besides the point. "And?"
"Well, I was going to give you the same deal I gave the girls." Haku teased, watching as Zabuza processed the implications.
"And how long has your deal been in effect?"
"A week or so. I admire their will to succeed. They've done everything but thrown themselves at you."
Zabuza sighed, letting his shoulders drop as he sent a lukewarm glare at Haku. "No, that's just Mittelt."
"I'm sure she'll calm down once she's gotten what she wants." Haku smirked at the expression on Zabuza's face. A mixture of exhaustion, and annoyance to create a perfect mixture of being purely done for the day. "Oh don't be like that. I thought it was rather funny. You pointedly trying to look Kalawarner in the eyes as her cleavage became ever more present. How Raynare seemed to be hanging off of you, or constantly dropping things when you were looking in her direction."
Zabuza could only shake his head with a tired chuckle. "The things I do for you."
"Noone's forcing you into anything. But I can tell you the girls would be happy if you showed you cared." Haku took the few steps forward necessary to stand in front of Zabuza, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him close. "I know I was."
Yes, cause the last thing I need is more people using me as an emotional crutch. He thought as he rested his chin on Haku's forehead, giving her a reassuring squeeze.
AN: So, ugh, been a while. Finally got things sorted out I hope, and hopefully I'll be able to continue this story at a pace quicker than a chapter a year. Decided to make this one longer as my little apology, so hope that helped. Aside from that, not much to talk about. As a second form of apology I'm going to give tiny hints as to who the remaining members of the peerage is going to be. Feel free to guess in a pm or reviews, and if I get enough asking for it, I might just cave and tell who'll be joining. If you can get all of them right, hurrah for you.
So far we got a max of six positions left to fill, with only five people being added. The bishop pieces will be both put in the same person. (No characters are final until they actually appear in the story. With that in mind, please be sure to visit the poll on my profile on whether or not I should include other series as possibilities in Zabuza's peerage. Esdese and Pyrrha Nikos are strong contenders for appearing if we include other series. {Look, I don't know how that pairing came from either, but for some reason, it works in my head.}
Anyways, the hint will basically be what part of the series they were introduced in along with whether they are a clan member or not.
Knight: Anime-only (Part 2), No Clan
Knight: Manga (Part 2), No Clan
Rook: Anime (Part 2), Clan Member
Rook: Anime (Part 2), No Clan
Bishop: Manga (Part 2), Clan Member
I think only one of these characters will be slightly controversial, and not even for pairing reasons.
But yeah. Next chapter will be the last three days of the training camp, which will probably be mostly lemons with Zabuza, Kalawarner, Raynare and Mittelt. Then we'll get to the Riser fight since I've finally figured out how that will play out. Both will probably come out at the same time so those who don't care for the lemons can skip straight to the fighting and those who want the lemons can read both.
Anyways, enough rambling on my part. I'm not putting any definitive time on when the next chapter will come out, but the story is by no means dead. So thank you for everyone who's stuck around and read this. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and have a good day~ :)
