Chapter 20

There was a lot of yelling in the hospital halls as nurses wheeled a bed through the doors. An oxygen mask was attached to Lacey's mouth, unconscious form lying on the sheets. A staff member had found her when they went on break, alone with only a note attached saying she had swallowed too much water in the ocean.

Immediately a doctor was in the room as they checked her vitals, stabilizing breathing and tending to any visual bruising and cuts. "Who brought her in?" the man asked.

"We do not know," a nurse answered. "But it looks like she was in a fight."

He nodded in agreement. "Monitor her condition and let me know when she wakes."

Lacey's eyes snapped open, sitting upright and causing a head rush. A nurse who had been in the room was quick to calm the young woman down. "Where am I?"

"A hospital. I'll go get the doctor for you."

Settling against the propped up pillows the dancer's eyes wandered around. Her head hurt, not remembering what had happened since going unconscious in the water. Where were Zabuza and Haku?

The door opened, watching as a tall, lanky man walked in with glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. "How are you feeling, Miss?"

"Okay, I guess."

"What is your name?"

"Lacey."

"I'm Dr. Ingrosso. I would like to ask you some questions on your condition."

"Where are… my friends?"

"We found you outside the ER doors. You were alone. Who are your friends? Maybe we could contact them?"

"They travel around a lot and were attacked. We were separated."

"Who attacked you?"

"A rogue."

The man's brows rose. "You went up against a rogue? You don't look like a ninja."

"I'm not. Like I said, we were attacked."

"Where is your attacker? We can place an order for their arrest."

"She's dead. I drowned her in the ocean."

"Ah, your reason for swallowing water makes sense now. Our nurses looked you over and discovered that the amount of irritation to the throat suggests you were choking. Whoever gave you CPR, you're lucky they did so." An instant blush came to her cheeks, most likely guessing that it had been Zabuza since the note had been for him. "Do you remember anything else?"

"I think I woke up… but I can't be sure."

He scribbled something down in his file. "Everything checks out. We just want to keep you here for observation. We'll be on the lookout for your friends."

Lacey nodded and was left alone. As the day went on, she began to grow nervous when Zabuza and Haku did not appear. What if Akine had other methods of removing of their existence? Even after she was dead what if there was a partner they did not know about? Who wanted revenge?

The dancer's head shook, lying back against the pillows comfortably and closed her eyes. "How is the unknown patient doing?" a young man asked.

The nursed looked over at the door beside them in the hall. "She's awake and stable. Her name is Lacey."

"What Village?"

"It wasn't asked yet, but apparently the girl wasn't alone when the attack happened."

"Friends of hers?"

"If so, they have yet to pick her up."

"Well she had to get to this hospital somehow."

"That's what confuses us." She sighed. "Poor girl. I wonder if they abandoned her."

"Well I'm sure they had their reasons if so." The nurse shrugged as a pair of footsteps came rushing down the hall out of breath. "Is something wrong?"

"There was another note, outside the ER doors. For Lacey." The dancer's eyes opened.

"She should still be awake." The woman then turned to the young man. "Can you check on the patient in room 231?"

The male nurse smiled. "Of course," he answered.

Lacey turned her head as the door opened, the nurse slipping in. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright…"

"There… was something left for you." The note was handed over, the dancer unfolding it.

Have a good life.

Lacey sucked in a breath before crumpling the paper in hand. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes…" she croaked. "My… friends are safe but can't come back anytime soon." The woman gave her a sad look and Lacey hated it. A look of sympathy. It made her seem weak.

"I'll inform the doctor."

Meanwhile, the male nurse moved silently through the halls, ducking out the back. The Clone Jutsu fell away, Haku situating his clothing and retreating into the forest. For two miles he walked in silence, sighing quietly to himself as Zabuza came into view. "Did she get the note?"

The teen nodded. "It was delivered."

Standing from his seat on the rock, the rogue squared his shoulders. "Let's go."

"You sure about this?"

"She nearly got herself killed. I'm through seeing her life on the line."

"But-"

"That's enough, Haku," the man snapped, turning his back on the town. "We're leaving."

They walked for a good five minutes, Haku's eyes downcast in slight sorrow at the fact they were leaving behind the dancer. He would miss her company greatly. A twig snapped, drawing both of their attention, hands on their weapons in case of an attack. However, they were greatly surprised by what stood behind them.

Lacey held a broken tree limb in both hands as a walking stick, dressed in her hospital gown. "Lacey?" Haku questioned. "Why aren't you at the hospital? You shouldn't be up yet!"

"You were going to leave… without saying goodbye?" she answered sadly with a slight frown.

"Go back to the hospital," Zabuza ordered, looking away.

"No."

"I will drag you back there if I have to!"

"Then do it! Might as well tie me down while you're at it because I'll just keep following you two."

"We don't need you!" he roared, making them all flinch from the harshness.

"Then say it to my face that you don't want me to follow," Lacey whispered, looking down at the ground.

Zabuza clenched his fists wanting nothing more than to run away from situation. But he couldn't bring himself to do that. Slowly, the rogue turned around, staring at the young woman. "We'll kill you if you stay with us."

"You say that now after I've been traveling with you for nearly over a good year?"

"We don't…"

"Say it."

"We-"

"We don't want you getting hurt," Haku spoke up, realizing how difficult this was for his partner. "That's why we were leaving you behind. Lacey, don't you understand? Death will eventually catch up with us. You have a chance to go back to society and start over."

Lacey thought this all over, looking back towards the town. The three stood in silence, the rogues watching the dancer, waiting for an answer. "I don't care." This startled them. She turned around, a small smile on her lips. "Besides, where am I going to go?"

It was a sad thought and answer, but true all the same.

They weren't going to win this. Just the look she was giving them alone would be forever etched into their memory, making them feel guilt that she had been left behind.

"You better not slow us down," Zabuza answered gruffly.

Lacey cracked a smile. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Haku stepped forward, removing an item from his pack. "I wasn't sure or not if you would be coming with us again, but I bought it all the same."

New clothing since the last number had disappeared when the hospital staff undressed her. The dancer was quick to change, following after the two. Her speed after being hospitalized startled Zabuza, being able to keep up with their strides. Though they stopped early for the night, setting up camp and starting a fire as the sun disappeared behind the trees. Haku was the first to take his spot and fall soundly asleep.

Silently Zabuza sat up against a tree trunk, watching the fire as Lacey came through the bushes. She took a seat near him, staring at the flames as well. "Are you okay?" the young woman wondered.

"I should be asking you that." Again there was silence. "How did you know?"

Her shoulders shrugged. "Something just felt off. Especially when talking to the collector. So did you manage to get some money out of it?"

"The lead was false. Whoever it was, was smart and had everything planned out."

"Her name was Akine."

His brow cocked. "A woman?"

Lacey nodded. "She said she was new to it. Being a rogue, but wasn't after the money."

"What was she after then?"

"Your black book. That was her prize with every mission she took on against rogues."

"What happened? Why did you run for the harbor?"

The young woman explained everything. About the proposed deal, the threat on the ninjas' life, and her solution to the problem. "And the woman?"

"I drowned her in the ocean. And you said my sinking skills would never come in handy." It was hard for him to suppress a snicker, but came out as a cough instead. He silently admitted he was impressed. "What happened to you?"

There was a bandage wrapped around his upper arm. "Ambush by amatures. It was obvious they were a distraction. When we realized their leader was not among them we rushed back to the house." He threw a log into the fire. "You were right."

"I wasn't looking to be."

He chuckled lowly to himself. "Why did you follow us?"

Lacey thought for a moment. "When they told me in the hospital that I was alone… I don't know, I grew nervous. Maybe that's because I've never been on my own before. Or the fact that I was never able to properly thank you in some way? Once again, you saved my life. I guess I owe you again, and felt I had some things to say…" She shook her head, laughing lightly to herself.

"Do you remember… what happened after you regained conscious?" He watched her carefully think.

"Not really. Maybe Haku's smile and something warm wrapping around me, but that's it. Why? Did I say or do something?"

His head shook. "No. It was nothing.

"Oh… but you make it sound like-"

"Just forget about it."

Lacey rolled her eyes looking away. "Thank you. I heard that you fished me out of the water and performed CPR."

Zabuza sighed to himself, staring at the ground. He couldn't stand it. Moments like this. "Feh, you're so accident prone. Honestly, what am I going to do with you?"

"Shut up," she grumbled. With a blush she lightly hit his shoulder, yet refused to make eye contact. "It's not my fault."

"I still think you enjoy getting in trouble."

"I do not."

His brow cocked. "Could've fooled me."

She huffed. "You're such a bully sometimes." He snickered lowly, nudging her shoulder and nearly causing the dancer to fall over. "You're so mean!" Lacey retaliated, trying to shove him away. It was pointless really, seeing as she was still weak. Even at full strength he could easily over power her. Zabuza easily pushed against her. However, the rogue for some reason was being generous, but would never admit it. Though the truth was, all he wanted to do was hold her close.

A/N: I don't own anything