AN: To those of you who keep skipping past all the chapters with boring sounding names, I might just start giving all my most exciting chapters really dull sounding titles, just so that you miss them. :P That's right, I am sorry to inform you that this chapter has absolutely nothing to do with freshly baked waffles, not only that, but you have also just become part of my devilish scheme. MUAHAHA!

The following morning, Deidara:

This land was so cold and dark in the mornings, not like Iwagakure had been at all. The height among the mountains had always meant sunlight in the mornings, and even though it had been cold at times, it had always been a crisp sort of cold. The cold here was wet, compounded by a heavy, bone chilling fog that curled around his heels. The sixteen year old heaved a sigh, he missed his home sometimes.

The young mercenary squared his shoulders. That was enough self-pity for the moment. This man, Gato, supposedly had a job for him. For now, that was enough.

Deidara walked through the doors and into the large building, sighing appreciatively as a wave of warm, dry air washed over him. A servant met the young ninja at the entrance to a great hallway, bowing deeply and leading him to the master's rooms. Deidara followed with a smile, they sure knew how to treat great artists here, or maybe they just knew how to act with dangerous people in general. Deidara wondered idly who had taught them such respect.

A door was opened in front of him and without waiting for an invitation, Deidara stepped inside. Gato was a short man, old, with dark glasses and the look of a mobster. Deidara almost laughed, he wondered what such a man would make of his hands.

The short man grunted where he sat as Deidara sat himself down casually. "You have no sense of decorum, do you boy?" Gato said with a smirk.

Deidara shrugged. "I just don't like wasting time. What's this job you want me to do?"

Gato gave him a long stare. For all the world it was almost as though the man was trying to intimidate him. Deidara grinned and gave his rebuttal, reaching down and resting the palm of his hand on the brim of one of the empty teacups that sat on the table between them. There was a crunching sound as the mouth in his palm began to chew at the teacup, breaking apart the thin, baked clay. Gato, to his credit, was only taken off balance for a moment or two on discovering that his new employee had mouths in his hands. He nevertheless decided to get to the point.

"I recently received information that one of the mercenaries I hired to kill a bridge builder has been seriously injured. This man was expensive, and I have no wish to pay for the service he is no longer able to give. You are to kill this man as well as the target I had assigned to him. In exchange, I shall pay his fee to you instead."

Deidara nodded absently, his hand continuing to crunch at the teacup between them. "Why don't you have some of your guys kill him then? I thought you said he was badly injured."

Gato inclined his head slightly. "The man himself is, indeed, no threat to me. He is currently bedridden, and I doubt he will recover for some time. His companions, however, are both high level shinobi with unknown abilities. While I could kill him relatively easily, it's his partners I need you for."

The blonde ninja grinned. "I see. So then, tell me, what are the names of these people I am to kill?"

Gato grinned in return. "The bridge builder is named Tazuna, he is guarded by an unknown force believed to be hidden leaf shinobi. The mercenary is named Zabuza Momochi."

Deidara's eyes widened. "Zabuza Momochi?!" He dipped a hand into his pocket, pulling out a slightly battered Iwagakure bingo book and flicking through it for a moment, finding the correct page and showing it to Gato. "This Zabuza? The S class criminal Zabuza?"

Gato nodded. "What? Is it too much for you?"

Deidara shook his head with a laugh. "No, just promise me that when I kill him, I get to take his body with me. I know a few people who could pay me a pretty penny for that guy's corpse."

Haku:

Haku emerged from his small room, basket in hand, about to head out. "Flowery kimono again I see." Called Zabuza quietly from his bed.

Haku blushed, hunching his shoulders defensively. "No, Zabuza, we must have been off base," said Kimimaro, preparing a pot of tea nearby. Haku gave him a thankful smile. "It's a pink one this time," Kimimaro continued, teasing. "That makes all the difference." Haku stomped out, his cheeks burning.

Naruto:

Naruto made his way to the clearing again, bidding a small goodbye to the confused Sasuke and Sakura. His stomach was clenched with nerves. Was Haku one of the enemy ninja? Or was she just another random girl with an inexplicably high level of medical knowledge, traveling the world with a recent burn victim. A girl who's height and voice, now that he thought about it, was a near perfect match for the ninja that had carried Zabuza off… God damn it, he thought to himself as he waited, pacing the small clearing. Naruto sat down, trying to calm himself. The plan was relatively simple, check to see if Haku was an enemy, and if she was innocent, give her the burn cream Tsunami had supplied him. If Haku actually was an enemy ninja… Naruto tried not to think too hard about what he'd have to do, he had planted one or two paper bombs on the nearby area regardless, never miss an opportunity to set up the field.

"Hey there, stranger," called a quiet voice from the edge of the clearing. Naruto looked over and, despite himself, felt that warm lightness return once again, filling him inside and out.

"Hi," Naruto replied with a smile and wave, neither one of which felt forced. "Any luck finding herbs?"

The girl nodded, lifting her basket for him to see. "I had a better idea of where to look today." She said with a smile. "So, I guess we just get to spend the day together if that's okay with you."

Naruto smiled broadly. "That sounds perfect!" He said happily, his concern over the girl's identity reduced to the smallest of trivialities in the back of his mind. He had obviously been being silly, this girl couldn't possibly be an enemy shinobi. "I like your kimono." He said after a second, deciding to open the day with a compliment.

For some reason, the girl rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh "Well at least someone does." She muttered.

That caught Naruto on slightly the wrong foot. "Uhh, why? Does someone else not like it?" He gestured to Haku and the two began to walk together through the trees. Naruto carefully positioned himself just slightly behind her, slipping a kunai from his pouch as silently as he could.

"Ugh," Haku groaned as she walked in front. Naruto prepared to swing the blade, aiming it to pass just a half an inch or so behind her neck. If the girl was a civilian, he reasoned, she'd never even notice. "My master and Kimimaro were teasing me about it earli-" Naruto swung. Haku moved with surprising speed, even for a ninja, swaying her body to the side and catching Naruto's wrist in one hand.

"Why?" Naruto asked. "Does Zabuza not like pink?" He tried to sound accusatory, but his words simply came out sounding hurt.

AN: Do I even need to say it at this point? Feel free to review, I love constructive feedback and it helps me get better, Kay thanks, bye. :D