Chapter 25

"What's wrong?"

Lacey made a face, shifting in her seat. Everyone was slowly gathering in the designated meeting room, a deep space with a wooden table in the middle. Though there were only a few chairs lining the wall, those that could be salvaged and carried from the town during their escapes. During this time, the teen had been noticing that the dancer was zoning out, sometimes even catching her staring at Zabuza quizzically. "I'm… not sure. Actually, it's been bothering me for a while really."

"What?"

Making sure that no one was listening, the girl began speaking under her breath. "The incident with Akine. I don't know. Zabuza has been acting a little off since the whole thing."

"How so?" He was intrigued. Her forgetting what had happened on the bridge was not an act. That moment had been affected, though the rogue figured it was because of the near death experience and lack of oxygen to the brain. The slip had been unconsciously.

Her brow cocked. "Seriously? You haven't noticed? I've been excluded from the missions, more so than usual, unless he's nearby with a watchful eye. He always wants to know where I am. And… is it just me or his training sessions becoming more brutal… but then he's almost sorry for it?" Lacey sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I have no idea, Haku. Maybe I'm just going crazy because he would never show that kind of emotion towards anyone."

The teen chuckled lightly. "Actually, something did happen."

Her head whipped in his direction. "What?"

"Don't freak out, but after killing Akine's henchmen and trying to find you Zabuza saved your life."

"Yeah, I know that…" She tried to force herself not to blush. "C.P.R."

"Well, after that happened… you kind of… said something after coughing up the water."

Lacey's brows furrowed. "What? I didn't say anything."

"Yes, you did. At least you can't remember, but when Zabuza picked you up… well… you kind of told him that you loved him."

They fell silent, Haku watching as Lacey's eyes slowly widened, jaw going partly slack in shock, while the cheeks reddened with each passing second. "I…" she croaked. "I what?" The last word came out as a squeak.

It was hard for the teen not to laugh. "Sorry, you did."

Panicking, Lacey quickly looked towards Zabuza who was deep in thought conversing with Yupa. Groaning, she buried her head in her knees. "Oh God, I'm so embarrassed." There was a pause. "How come he hasn't brought this up?"

"Zabuza is not really known to show his emotions."

"Don't I know…"

"Anyway, was there something you said that may be the reason he didn't bring it up?"

Thinking for a moment, the dancer's head picked up slightly. "Um… I may have said I didn't remember anything. I could barely even see you in the first place."

"Well that explains why it hasn't been brought up then. It's something he wants to avoid."

"What?"

"The truth. That there is a possibility he's actually beginning to care for you."

"Care for me? He tries to kill me during practice, threatens my life on a number of occasions if I mess up, and leaves me behind. You do realize I have never heard him say my name once? He only calls me, 'girl'.

"But he's always the one who saves you when you're in danger, remember."

"True," she sighed.

"And you've saved him."

"What are you getting at, Haku?"

"As a ninja we have to be observant. He's just trying to ignore instinct."

"But you're always telling me the reason I'm not a good Ninja is because I have feelings. So why would-?"

"Admit it, even if you don't remember saying anything, you like him too."

"I-!"

"We're about to get started," Zabuza cut in, approaching the two. Both of their heads snapped in his direction causing him to cock a brow. Especially at the sight of the young woman's flushed cheeks. "What?"

"Nothing," Lacey quickly answered.

"Right." Though he was unconvinced. Carefully watching her, the young man took his place against the wall standing beside Haku. Lacey refused to meet his stern gaze watching as Yupa stepped up.

"Thank you for being here today," he said. "It has come to our attention that our enemy is beginning to make their move.

A murmur ran throughout the room. "Are they onto us?" someone asked.

"From our mission last night, those who were gathering supplies came in contact with scouts. They were not discovered, but did overhear them talking. We can assume a deal was being made in the manor, and that the enemy forces were expecting us to make an appearance."

"But we were not detected, right?" a rogue questioned. He had only arrived this morning.

"Correct. But that makes me nervous. Our movements must be careful. We could be monitored and this hideout cannot be found. Last night, we were not followed. Our own security will be heightened as well in the forest. Lacey. Is there anything you would like to add from your observations last night?"

The dancer grew nervous with all the attention on her, quickly glancing between their faces. Zabuza was the last person she came to, taking a deep breath and made eye contact with Yupa again. "They just… expected us to show up some time. Try and figure out what was going on in the manor." Her brows furrowed, thinking for a moment. "It's almost like they wanted us to." The young woman looked at Balto. "I didn't like it."

"I can agree that something did not feel right," the man spoke up. "It's dangerous to go back there for the next few days."

The rogue thought about this. "It is odd…"

"Come on, we're rogues," a ninja spoke up. "We're naturally cocky. Of course they would be. They took over a town, of course they are overly confident in their abilities."

There was a low rumble in the distance, drawing their attention. Some reached for their weapons out of habit. Then came the tremor through the floor, making Lacey's heart race. "What the hell was that?" Fin asked.

It happened again, Zabuza firmly gripping the dancer's shoulder and causing her to whirl around. "Run," he ordered. This time they could actually hear the explosion, the quake causing some to stumble. Lacey nearly fell out of the chair only to be hauled to her feet and forced to look at the Mist ninja. "Run!"

The young man wasted no time in grabbing Haku as well, rushing towards the exit of the room before the others could regain their footing. There were more blasts occurring, causing the dirt ceiling to crumble in areas when the compacted soil became loose. People were screaming, families and orphans running. "Rogues!" Yupa shouted over the noise. "To the surface!" The enemy began rushing in through some of the tunnels, slaughtering civilians in their path. "Create a path and help the others escape! Leave no survivors!"

Zabuza tugged Lacey out of the way just as a shuriken embedded in the wall where she once stood. "Haku, with me!" he ordered. "You, get to the surface! Go!"

The young woman went to say something but when a child's scream pierced the air she ran off. Glancing at each other, the teen fixed a set of needles in hand before letting them fly. His partner was close behind throwing around his sword and cutting two rogues in half. Haku was quick to search the rooms, pulling out terrified families and children, shouting at them to escape. They couldn't stay here as the seconds ticked by and the battle waged on. Most of the explosions were coming from the surface, ripping through the earth and causing a few tunnels to cave in.

"Retreat!" they could hear Yupa shout. "Retreat to the surface!"

Zabuza growled, throwing away his opponent. How he wished he could use his mist Jutsu. That would help him take care of many of these rogues, but it would hinder everyone else as well. If only they were on the surface having this battle. A bridge snapped, a woman screaming as she went falling head first towards the ground with her daughter. The young man shoved a kunai into the man's chest, lunging into the air and grabbing them both before either could break their necks.

"Haku!" he shouted, allowing them to run off. "We're leaving!"

The teen slit a man's stomach open, protecting a family that was being chased. "Come-!" He paused, seeing a familiar hair color and quickly glancing down the tunnel. "Lacey!" The young woman tugged Nao out of the way of a falling rock, quickly pushing her forward into the arms of a woman who rushed past the approaching partner. "Lacey, come on!" Haku shouted.

"There are people-!"

She never finished as the ceiling began to cave in. The dancer's arms rose over her head in protection, trying to remain standing. "Haku, go! Go!" Lacey shoved a boy out of the way before he could be crushed, crying out as a sharp edge scrapped the arm. Her fearful eyes turned on the teen. "Run-!"

The section between them became blocked. "LACEY!"

Yupa grabbed the back of the teen's shirt tugging him roughly backwards. "Run to the exit!"

"But Lacey-!"

"Out of my way!" Zabuza roared, shoving his way through the panic. "Haku…" He realized his teammate's struggle against the older man's grip. "What are you-?" Only one thing could cause him to panic so much. "Where's Lacey?"

"It's too late for them!" Yupa stated. Haku was shoved into the arms of another Ninja who rushed off. "The whole path is blocked."

But Zabuza ignored him, rushing towards the rubble. Yupa shouted in warning, but it was too late, his guard having dropped. Something hit the back of his head and everything went black.

A/N: I don't own anything