Zabuza had been laying in a bed in the Bridge builder's home for a few days. Body stuck with Chakra suppression seals, all he can do was lay there and recover. Considering Haku told him he had a concussion he couldn't really argue. Or should he say, he decided to be courteous enough not to. The Missing Ninja let out a breath of air through his nose. He has no idea where Haku is. Probably off helping those civilians with their work or something like that. Maybe even spending time with that blond brat and the Uchiha. Upon hearing the door open, he sees the kid, Tazuna's Grandson if he remembers correctly standing in the open doorway and holding a bowl of something- most likely food considering the smell.
"What?" he demands gruffly, when the child stands there for too long just staring at him. The black-haired kid jumps, but steels himself and walks forwards, "Kaa-San made some soup for you, um, do you want me to uh-" he pauses, "d-do you, need some help or-" he stutters. Zabuza rolls his eyes, "I can eat by myself! Now get lost brat!" he demands. The boy shivers, but remembers Kakashi's explanation of the seal- namely that the ex-Mist Ninja would be too weak to do anything to any of them for a while and determinedly steps further into the room to place the bowl down on the bedside table as Zabuza pushes himself upright with what looks like supreme effort, "I'll just put it here for you then, um- Zabuza-San" after his hands left the bowl, he leaves the room as fast as he can without making it look like he's terrified of the criminal Ninja in their spare room.
Zabuza glares at the bedroom door after it closed, before turning to look at the innocent bowl of soup on the bedside table. He grunts. What could civilians do to him? Still he is tentative when taking his first bite. He sighs. He hasn't eaten real food in who knew how long and the soup tasted quite good, despite the sub-par supplies it's cook obviously had to currently work with. He'll still be more comfortable when he's allowed to leave this country.
ŃĚĤ
Naruto, Sasuke and Haku are in a clearing of the forest, not too near Tazuna's house, but not too far away either. The three boys are there to begin training Naruto in his new Hyton Bloodline. Well, Naruto is there to train, Haku is there to teach and supervise and Sasuke is there to watch and because he was interested in the mechanics of this Jutsu style. Haku was initially wary about training with, what were essentially Clan techniques around someone who wasn't of his Clan or Zabuza-Sama (or someone who shared his abilities in Naruto's case) until the blond had pointed out that, as a Bloodline, Sasuke couldn't copy the Jutsu they would be practicing in the first place. After that, the other Ice user had agreed and relented.
Besides, it would give the Uchiha the chance to get to know and trust him more. At least that's what Naruto said. And it was obvious that Sasuke trusted his older brother more than anyone. So, here they were, with Haku trying to explain how his Jutsu worked to the blond. "Well, first I combine my Water and Wind elemental Chakra together and then I just imagine what I want to create. After that I come up with the techniques, but some of the things that can be done require no signs or specific Jutsu at all" the long-haired boy explained. Naruto was in, what he had heard Sasuke call his brothers: thinking pose. "So it's mainly about visualization then?" the Uzumaki asked. Haku nodded, "exactly, these techniques are mostly visualization really- with no one else to learn from, I had to come up with my own Jutsu, Hand Signs and names".
Naruto lit up with a face that Sasuke had come to associate with his Elder Brothers wild and most times crazy Jutsu ideas. "No Anija, whatever it is, no" he said immediately. The Uzumaki turned to his younger brother, "but Sasuke! I had a really cool idea for these Hyton Jutsu! Like- like a Jutsu that lets you create a huge avalanche made out of ice wolves! O-or a technique where you can make a giant whale out of ice to attack enemies with, or-" Sasuke sighed deeply, "there he goes again, every time, he comes up with these ridiculous Jutsu ideas, I swear every one of them is impossible" he said as he shook his head. Haku however looked thoughtful. Using Hyton to create animated creatures through Chakra, even if only as long as the Jutsu was active, wasn't an option he'd considered before.
In fact he had no idea if it was possible. Sasuke remorselessly cut through the two boys speculation on the subject by clearing his throat. When both turned to him, it was to be met with a scowl, "I thought you were supposed to be training, not coming up with crazy new techniques" he stated flatly. Haku nodded, "right, we have to focus on the basics, right now isn't the time to experiment" Naruto looked crushed. The long-haired boy smiled sympathetically, "sorry Naruto-Kun, but look on the bright side, once you become proficient enough in Hyton, then you can come up with your own Jutsu" he replied. Naruto looked up, his eyes seeming to sparkle with stars, "really?!" he exclaimed happily. "I wouldn't encourage him if I were you- last time he came up with an idea for a Jutsu that combined Nature Chakra, wind, water and Lightning Chakra to create a living storm" Sasuke stated bluntly.
The Uzumaki shot a withering glare at his brother, "oh yeah mister, 'how about a jutsu that creates a beast made out of real lightning?'" he mocked in an imitation of the Uchiha boys voice. Sasuke's face turned bright red, and he crossed his arms and turned away from the other two, "yeah, well, at least I only came up with one!" he exclaimed, never admitting that when he had come up with said Jutsu, his goal hadn't been to create an offensive technique so-to-speak, but to create a pet made out of lightning. Well, he had been ten years old at the time. Haku watched this interaction with amusement and interest. He knew the two boys were adopted brothers, and had once been real brothers in a past life, be he really had no experience with such things. As he had been an only child in his youth and then a tool for Zabuza-Sama, Haku was very interested in finding out as much as he could about the two boy's interactions.
"Anyway, why don't we get started on the basics Naruto-Kun?" he asked, gently interrupting the mounting argument between the other two boys. Both stopped what they were doing and Naruto grinned, before punching his left fist into his right palm in excitement, "alright! Let's do this!" he exclaimed enthusiastically with a grin. The other two black-haired boys couldn't help but grin back. "Now, you know that Ice Style Chakra is made up of both Wind and Water natures, don't you?" Haku asked. Naruto scratched the back of his head, "is that what it's made out of? Sorry, when I used it before I was kind of out of it, not actually focusing on what I was doing" he apologized while rubbing the back of his head. Haku thought back to before. When Naruto had been using his Hyton, he had been in turmoil and unresponsive. That screaming, broken boy, eyes clouded. He could understand if that had been the case.
Naruto looked apologetic, "sorry" he said again. Haku shook his head, "there's no need to apologize, it's completely understandable, but well, Hyton Chakra is a combination of Water and Wind Chakra, but your control must be perfect, otherwise all you will end up doing is blowing up the water instead of freezing it" he explained. Naruto nodded, "I see, well Sasuke and I both mastered Tree-Climbing years ago, and had started learning Water-Walking during this mission, but we're still not that good yet, at least, we haven't completed the exercise, so before I start learning this, maybe I should finish that training" he replied. Haku nodded, "that would probably be easier for you". Naruto turned to Sasuke, "hey Otouto, let's keep going with Water-Walking, 'kay?" he asked. Sasuke nodded, "right". With that, the three boys left to go back to the lake the other two had been practicing on before.
ŃĚĤ
That night, nearly everyone was at the dinner table. Well, everyone except Zabuza of course. The atmosphere was considerably lighter than before, now that Gato had been dealt with. The townsfolk had talked it over with Kakashi, and while some of them had been in favour of the Ninja simply dealing with the bastard himself, Kakashi had pointed out, that none of them would get anything back unless Gato was properly tried for his crimes against them. That way, The Land Of Waves would be able to have everything returned to them that was taken, and the bastard of a man could be taken care of officially. So it was decided that, along with taking Zabuza and Haku back to Konoha with them, the Ninja would also take Gato, with a written list of everything he had done to the Land of Waves people and hand him over to the civilian Police force within the Land Of Fire on their way home.
Now that that had been taken care of, the ocean-side town was slowly beginning to get up on its feet again. Without the constant worry of being killed hanging over their heads, all of Tazuna's workers had returned and were helping the man complete the Bridge at breakneck speed. Normally you'd think that they would be taking their time now that they could afford to, but without Gato in the picture, everyone had become much more enthusiastic, and were instead working ten times as hard. The shop workers, and other civilians, while still poor and with little to sell, were working together to hand out what was available in rations to everyone until they could get more supplies from the mainland. All in all, the Land Of Waves was becoming a much livelier place, despite the hardship they still faced. With all of that going on, conversation at the dinner table of Tazuna's house was filled with laughter and healthier spirits. Haku had been invited to sit with them, but had declined, saying that he had to tend to Zabuza.
Tsunami had just smiled and offered the boy two bowls of the vegetable soup she had made everyone and thanked her earnestly for sharing what little she currently had with them. Haku walked towards the bedroom his Master was kept in, pushing open the door, to find Zabuza glaring at the wall. The Ice-User smiled, "I know it's not ideal, but until Kakashi can get permission to bring you back to his village and the Bridge is finished, they can't exactly trust you not to try something with the civilians- after all, you did try to kill Tazuna-San not too long ago" Haku said softly as he knelt down and passed Zabuza his food. The former Swordsman of the Mist growled, "I feel like one of Kakashi's dogs, chained in this bed without being able to do anything!" he replied, but begrudgingly accepted the food. Zabuza turned to his apprentice, "what have you been doing anyway? I haven't seen you for a while?" he asked, trying to make it seem like he didn't care.
The long-haired boy smiled softly, "I've been training Naruto-kun in Hyton, since I am the only one who can teach him" he replied, turning to his own meal. The older man grunted, "training our enemies? I thought I taught you better than that" he said gruffly, but his words are resigned. "Well, they're not our enemies anymore, are they? Besides, I find I quite like being a Sensei, I never thought I'd ever get the chance to teach anyone about the Hyton, and yet here I am" here Haku paused and giggled, "those two boys are very interesting, their dynamic is that of brothers, and they seem completely comfortable in those roles, despite not being related by blood. But the Jutsu idea's they come up with are amusing, impossible and childish, though for some reason I find that I believe both could do them eventually. I was surprised that things actually managed to go smoothly at all today, but Naruto is making great progress already. He had to learn better Chakra Control to begin learning the Hyton, but Both Naruto and Sasuke seem to have finally completed Water-Waking today" he finished.
Zabuza grunted again as he finished eating, and handed his bowl to his student. He had been thinking of the boy as such more and more lately, rather than just his tool. In truth, even before this blasted mission. No matter how he tried to hide it, how he never spoke of it, he cared about Haku. Not that he would ever, ever say that out loud, much less within the boys range of hearing. Maybe if they both had died that day on the bridge, he would have found the courage to confess his feelings to the boys corpse, but not now. Besides, Haku, as perceptive as he is, probably already knew. Even though he had tried so hard to kill any feelings in his heart, become nothing but the demon of the mist, he couldn't do it. Damn it.
As he fell asleep, Zabuza remembered something that had happened a few months after he had acquired Haku's services: (Zabuza's dream/memory) Zabuza was looking for Haku. The Child had run off after a rabbit in the forest while they had stopped for a rest. Despite saying that he had no need of things like friendship, encouragement and comfort, he didn't want the brat to hurt himself. That wouldn't help him get strong as his weapon. Suddenly he stopped, seeing the boy running along the path towards where they had stopped originally. He stared at the child.
Haku was smiling, a white rabbit clutched in his arms. Suddenly the animal escaped and jumped into the bushes near him. Zabuza's hand shot out and grabbed it by the ears, not taking his eyes off the sad look on his new tools face. Staring at it for a moment, he looked down as the creature he held, before sighing. Walking out of the bush, Zabuza walked over to Haku and held out the rabbit. The boy smiled and took it, happily rubbing his face against the animal. Sighing internally, and wondering why he had even done that, he reached out without thinking and placed his hand on top of Haku's head.
The dream ended there. Zabuza slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. Turning his head when he sensed another presence beside him, the man found Haku to be asleep while curled up beside him. He stared at the boy. Haku looked so peaceful when he slept. Argh. Fine, he admitted it. He cared about the boy. But again, he would never say that out loud. For the first time in a very long time, Zabuza felt guilt. Not for his own actions, but for what he forced this boy to do. Haku's spirit had always been as pure as the snow, whenever he could help it, he never killed. And Zabuza knew it. Somewhere in his heart, he had always been glad of that. Glad that the boy always left the killing aspect to him and kept his purity, despite considering himself nothing but a tool. He was far more than that though. But again, he would never say any of this out loud to the boy.
The former "Demon Of The Mist" sighed and closed his eyes again. It would do him no good to be exhausted when they finally left this land.
To Be Continued