Chapter 20

Blood Still Stains When The Sheets Are Washed

Haku had such a great time with his friend so of course it had to end quickly, even sooner than he had thought. One morning Zabuza just barged into the living room where Haku was quietly reading a book and Sai... well, Sai was pretending to do the same. In retrospect it was good timing, the man could have easily walked into them when they were laughing and joking. When his friend was touching him or just looking at him in a way that made Haku feel a bit queasy. He didn't want to think what would have happened then.

The moment Zabuza walked in Haku knew, the man's scent was everywhere, so sharp it overwhelmed him. He had to close his eyes to chase it away, what it did to him. A jerk of the head and Sai was leaving, casting one last, apologetic glance at Haku. The neko didn't blame him, if he could have left he would have too.

Long ago, he had learned Zabuza had two moods when coming back from a business trip- he was either angry and looking for easy pray to unleash his frustration upon, or victorious and searching to further assert his dominance. Neither bore well with the neko. He had to wonder, now, though, when the man hadn't hit him for so long and raped him in even longer, what was he going to do?

"And you! Go draw me a bath and wait for me in it." The man was looking at him with a certain gleam in his eyes. Expectation, if Haku didn't know any better. The neko nodded and hurried past his master, eager to get this done as soon as possible and afraid of what might happen if he didn't. An iron grip around his biceps made him stop dead in his tracks.

"What do you say to that, pet?" the man growled. Of course. How silly of Haku to think he could get away without further humiliation. Suddenly, he was angry at everything- how unfair it was that minutes ago he had been safe with his friend and now he was here. Even more, he was angry at himself, at that little part of him that had believed the man when he said he would help him. At the tiniest, almost invisible part that had thought the man was able to change.

"Yes, master." His voice was mellow, hiding the turmoil inside him. His head bowed, the picture of the perfect servant.

Zabuza's laughter rung in the room, he must have said something right.

"That anger you sensed just now, inside you, toy? How did it feel?" Zabuza hissed, dragging the other closer until their chests were touching and he was towering over the neko. Haku had to focus all his attention on calming his suddenly-racing heart and not on how his body was reacting to being so close to the other man. He wanted to just disappear, but he was too afraid to move, to try to shake the hold the other had on him.

But Zabuza was waiting for something, an answer to a question Haku's mind had not even registered, and the neko tried desperately to remember what but his Master's body was so warm and...

"Did you have a good time without me, kitty?" Zabuza tried again and Haku was quick to shake his head, relieved it was a question he knew the answer to. "You sure? Aren't you angry I came home so suddenly? Mad that you have to spend time with me now instead of your dear friend Sai?"

Zabuza's head dropped lower, hot breath brushing the other's ear. "Do you want to hit me, pet?"

The force with which Haku tore his arm from Zabuza's grip was so powerful, he stumbled back, almost falling. His hands wrapped around himself instinctively, as if the other man had said he would hurt him and not offering... The neko's eyes widened when his brain finally caught up with his body and he realized he had heard right.

"M-master?" he stammered, arms tightening. In the beginning, Zabuza had loved doing that, asking him questions that had no right answer, punishing him no matter what he said. The man's lips stretched, showing off sharp teeth and Haku was sure. He had to say no, he would be punished, of course, but it would be better if he said no. The man would abuse him, hurt him like Haku had secretly hoped he would never do again, but there was a slight chance everything will be the same tomorrow, if his master was feeling generous again.

"Do you?" Zabuza's voice was teasing as he took another step and Haku was shivering once again. God, how much he hated feeling this weak, this afraid. As if centuries ago he had screamed at his master and he desperately missed the courage he had felt, courage that came with knowing you are dying and the man before you would never hurt you again.

As if on its own accord, his head moved, nodding. Horror washed over the neko's body and his wide eyes snapped up to watch the other man's reaction. Zabuza's own eyes widened, his predatory smile freezing on his face but he made no move towards Haku. It's just shock, the neko told himself, and once it was over there would be hell to pay. Despite that, he, too, was frozen in place.

And there it was, seconds later, the fury he had been expecting. Zabuza's eyes were cold, fingers curled into fists, that would soon be painting a black and blue picture on Haku's skin. Time stretched, in which Zabuza made no attempt to retaliate but didn't seem less murderous either.

When he finally moved it was only to get past Haku and out of the room, leaving the neko staring at his back in both wonder and horror. He had learnt long ago that the longer he had to wait for the punishment, the worse it was going to be.

It was hours later when Zabuza decided he was finally calm enough to face his pet without breaking any of his bones.

The moment the man entered Haku's room, his kitty's body stiffened. He toyed with the idea of playing with him, he wasn't allowed to touch him, true, but no one said anything about teasing him. On the other hand, he just wanted this to be over with, the events from the morning still fresh in his mind and making him shake with anger.

That little shit, how dare he... But it was progress, he couldn't deny that and the sooner the toy got better, the sooner he could stop playing the goody-two-shoes act.

"I've got something for you," he finally said, just as a servant entered the room with a cloth-covered box and placed it gently on the desk.

"You did good today, pet," he spit out, the grimace on his face speaking volumes about what he really thought. He turned to leave, but his kitty's words stopped him.

"Why are you playing with me?"

"Didn't we have that conversation already? It's fun." The man shrugged his shoulders, a smirk playing on his lips.

"It's fun to pretend you want me to hit you?" Haku hissed back and Zabuza was almost startled by the reaction the neko had.

"You could have hit me," was his only response. True, then the kitten might not have been alive to say that but that was a detail he didn't have to know.

"And end up dead in a ditch somewhere. And what is this?" Haku gestured to the "gift". He was angry, his face and neck red and Zabuza was surprised to note how attractive he found him. "Why are you acting like that, pretending you are helping me, only for me to open this and find something... something terrible."

The neko gulped, his mind probably filled with worse things than Zabuza could ever imagine.

"Open it." Zabuza hadn't meant it like an order but then again everything that left his mouth sounded like one. He crossed his arms, leaning back against the door.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Haku crossed the little distance between the bed and the desk and reached for the cloth. With shaking hands he pulled it back only to reveal a box dotted with little holes. The sudden sunlight must have awoken what was inside as a long mewl rung throughout the room.

Haku was even quicker with opening the box, almost tearing it in the process, his face one of both wonder and utter surprise. When he was finally able to force his way inside, a familiar cat with dark and brown spots jumped into his arms.

"Is that?" Haku began, his eyes jumping from Zabuza to the cat and back.

"Your cat, yes, I had one of the servants take care of it. I thought you could use having to take care of something so I got it back." Zabuza's voice was monotone but it was in no way reflection of how he felt. He had saved that cat, although everything in him had screamed to kill it, to teach his pet a lesson. It had been the first time he had showed weakness but he had always thought that as long as no one knew he would be fine.

"But I though... Sai said..."

"Sai? Sai, the man who is so in love with you, failed to mention that the one he is trying to steal you from is not a completely heartless bastard? Shocker."

Haku's eyes were so ridiculously wide, the other man had to scoff at how cartoonish they looked.

"Don't act surprised, pet, it was too obvious. Did he ask you to run away with him, hm? Live in the woods like best buddies before you finally realized how much you had loved him all along? Well, don't pack your bags just yet."

They were face to face in a matter of seconds. Zabuza couldn't help but notice the other shivering slightly, his grip tightening around the cat as if afraid the older man will rip it out of his grasp. He idly wondered if the way he was acting would hinder his pet's recovery process.

"You are mine now, you will be mine when I fix you, you will always. Be. Mine."

All of his anger and frustration poured into his words. The fact that he had to act as if the cat was his equal, that he had to stay there and let it yell at him, challenge what should have been law to it. That he had agreed to this and he was stuck treating this... scum in a way he had never treated anyone in his life.

The fact that he had just cared enough to wonder if his actions will fucking hurt his pet's recovery. His pet.

"And if you dare forget that... well, then try to remember just the kind of person I am, pet. I will find you and the things I will do to you... they will make you wish I had killed you when I had the chance. "