When neither Karin or Sakura showed up to breakfast the next morning Sasuke offered to go check on them "Well are they okay" Kakashi questioned when his student returned and sat back down in his previously vacated seat.
"Their still sleeping off yesterdays excursion I believe, Sakura has her head practically buried in a pillow damn near suffocating herself and Karin is completely covered up that I almost didn't notice her beneath the pile of blankets she was sleeping under" Sasuke detailed.
Kakashi blinked at the verbal diarrhoea that had just spewed out of Sasuke's mouth "Are you feeling alright Sasuke, you've kind of been acting strange the last couple of days" Naruto asked, just a tiny bit weirded out.
Sasuke thinned his lips "Just fine D…Naruto, I'm finally figuring out the truth about myself, and attempting to change that so being an ass isn't the only thing Sakura thinks of me as" Sasuke admitted.
Clearly this change had been brought about by Sakura's actions a couple nights ago "In any case we should let them sleep since they did us a huge favor and I'll make them food whenever they wake up because I'm sure they'll be hungry now eat up" Tsunami clapped.
It was an hour later before they saw either one of the kunoichi as Karin came padding down the steps, hair sticking up in every which direction there was, her eyes were still closed but she walked with purpose unlike how she would be if she were sleep walking.
Through the living room and into the kitchen where Tsunami was "Oh Karin-chan your awake how are you feeling" Tsunami spotted the redhead almost immediately when the sound of shuffling feet stopped right behind her.
"Breakfast, let me help you make it, Sakura's going to be extremely hungry when she wakes and will need a lot more than the usual amount, we brought supplies" Karin croaked, forcing her sleep crusted eyes open to peer at their host blearily.
Tsunami stared for a minute before realizing Karin was serious as she held up a scroll "Lets get started then" Tsunami exclaimed and together the both of them made practically a feast and finished just as Sakura came down the stairs.
Looking a bit more put together than Karin did with her long hair brushed and twisted into a braid but Karin knew that her sister was still really low on chakra despite having slept all night "Morning" Sakura yawned.
Karin smiled sweetly "Good morning Onee-chan, breakfast is ready, Tsunami-san helped" Karin announced, pulling out a chair for Sakura who sat as she turned to load up a plate for the pinkette before doing the same for herself.
After a quick thanks for the meal both girls dug in to the delicious food "Holy are you two really intending on eating all of that by yourselves" Tazuna entered the kitchen, having been about to tell Tsunami that he was leaving to go work on the bridge.
Only to stop as he saw the mountain of food that the girls were chowing down on with no intentions of stopping until it had been devoured most likely "Probably, all the calories are going to be converted straight into chakra" Sakura said.
Pausing to say that before diving back in to his horror, Karin slowed though as she began feeling full almost full up on chakra but Sakura kept eating, Tsunami watched with an expression that looked like curiosity and fascination.
Until there was almost nothing left of the food she'd helped cook "Sorry, I swear I'll go out and look for things that can be eaten to replace what I ate of your already low supply of food" Sakura apologized when she was done.
Feeling like some kind of pig at the moment "Don't worry about it Sakura-chan, we cooked the food that was in that scroll Karin-chan brought down because she knew you'd be really hungry" Tsunami waved her hand dismissively.
While Sakura looked to Karin who smiled innocently "Your almost as bad as Tsunade-sama" Kakashi commented having been watching from the door inconspicuously with his chakra and scent suppressed until that moment.
Sakura perked up at the mention of one of the legendary Sannin "Come on Kakashi-sensei you can't tell me if you were low on chakra you wouldn't eat your weight in food to replenish your reserves" Karin frowned.
Not liking how that simple statement had sounded like an insult "Relax Karin-chan it was a compliment kinda, you know Raikage-sama once told us how he met Tsunade-sama when he pulled us into his office to make sure we were doing well in the village" Sakura mused.
Remembering that story with fondness "Be honest with me Sakura, you didn't really want to come back to Leaf did you" Kakashi inquired carefully knowing that it was an extremely sensitive question and he didn't want to upset her now that things were okay.
Her expressive green eyes told him the answer before she ever spoke "No, not really Kakashi-sensei, I, we were happy there, in a place we chose to settle down in, even Raikage-sama was invested in our happiness somewhat" Sakura admitted.
Including Karin in her statement as well "Hard to believe from what I heard Ay's kind of a hard ass, you know he tried to have one of the Hyuga's kidnapped, she was only five and the Patriarchs brother was killed as compensation" Kakashi commented.
She clenched her hands into fists "Raikage-sama's not perfect, we never expected him to be either, but if not for him, Cee-sensei and Darui-san, I would have died long ago for being stubborn, we know he did some questionable and terrible things but he did a lot for us and that's who we're placing our trust in" Sakura informed.
Disallowing herself to be swayed from her own convictions "I'm not judging you Sakura, or the people you choose to trust, I mean he did obviously care about what happened to the both of you if he put so much effort in to making sure we treated you two well" Kakashi soothed.
Only just realizing that maybe the Raikage had actually changed since that incident "What is it actually like in Kumogakure anyway" Sasuke interjected, wanting to learn more himself now that things were pleasant between the lot of them.
Verdant orbs flashed his way "Tough but we think Raikage-sama was softer on us because we didn't grow up in Cloud for our entire lives" Karin chimed in, reminding everyone that she was there as well.
"Just seven years which is still a pretty long time…..no then how long were you living in Kumo" Sasuke frowned when Karin shook her head, indicating that neither she or Sakura had spent seven years in Hidden Cloud.
It was Sakura who answered "Four years Sasuke after Lord Raikage stumbled over us, we'd had an encounter with a Kusa-nin a few days before hand and I was hurt, I had a broken rib, two cracked and spinal damage, we were also eight" Sakura explained.
Getting kind of tired of having to detail her life's experiences so far to everyone and their dog practically "That means for over three years you were on your own Sakura with just Karin" Kakashi said, feeling horrified.
Again this got another head shake "Not quite, I lived in a little village a few days away from here and got taken in by a woman named Isha Uzumaki after I lost my memories for three years and didn't meet Karin until Isha died during a pandemic when we were eight" Sakura announced.
"I heard my last name did someone call for me" Naruto popped into the kitchen oblivious to the tension in the air while disrupting the conversation that everyone seemed to be having without him and Kakashi knew he wouldn't be able to get any more questions answered that morning.
So quickly grabbed his students then along with Tazuna exited the house, Naruto whining all the while until Sasuke told him to shut up and stop acting like a child "Are we still going to deal with Zabuza today" Karin questioned.
Once she and Sakura were alone in the kitchen, washing the dishes so Tsunami didn't have to who'd already helped enough that morning "Mm maybe not today, I kind of want to raid Gato's stronghold and find out what he was hiding in there" Sakura mused.
Figuring that Zabuza could use one more day of suffering the effects of her mild poison "Great idea, while we're doing that I can sense out his location with my sensory skills" Karin offered, not having thought about what could be in the stronghold.
But that's what Sakura was for really who was two or three steps a head of almost everyone else that wasn't a Nara really "We're going then Tsunami-san and here's a clone just in case, you can order it to do whatever you want" Sakura called.
Now that something had been decided on "Be safe okay girls and I'll see you when you get back" Tsunami waved as the two kunoichi marched out the house, somewhat amused by their antics before she turned her attention on the Sakura clone.
Meanwhile speaking of Zabuza he was throwing a general temper tantrum "And when I get my hands on that little pink haired brat who thought she could trick me and get away with it I'm going to make her regret pissing me off" Zabuza snarled.
In that moment he hallucinated the brat right in front of him and threw a volley of shuriken and whatever he could get his hands on only for the image to fade to reveal his apprentice on the floor who'd barely managed to evade the sudden onslaught of weapons.
Which infuriated Zabuza even more that he couldn't distinguish what was reality anymore thanks to the stupid poison coursing through his body "Please Zabuza let me go find her and bring her to you by force if necessary" Haku pleaded.
Unable to take much more of seeing his master suffer "Go, find her and do whatever you can to get her here" Zabuza snarled, thrashing around on the bed as the convulsions he'd been plagued with since drinking that concoction started up again.
Haku scrambled up off the floor at that and vanished in a flurry of leaves to find the girl named Sakura who was clear on the other side of the little village currently raiding Gato's empty base now that he was dead and gone.
"Greedy little bastard" Sakura scoffed in disgust at the vault she'd just punched open to reveal a crap ton of expensive jewelry and diamonds, Karin snickered at her foul mouth "Like seriously did he really need all this" Sakura grumbled.
Waving her hand at the horde of treasure not impressed with it in the least "Makes one wonder why Gato was so obsessed with gaining control over Wave doesn't it" Karin commented, shifting through the pile of jewelry.
"Yeah anyway I get the feeling that trying to contemplate any of that bastards actions is just going to give us a headache so less talking and more searching through all this stuff" Sakura reminded before picking up an uncut jade.
The gem was so heavy she almost had to use chakra just to lift it properly up to her face, "Uh Sakura we have incoming" Karin said half an hour later, feeling a strong chakra coming their way like an angry storm.
So the two kunoichi braced themselves just as a boy a couple years older than them blew into the vault they were still sorting through "Are you Sakura, the one who gave Zabuza that fake medicine" he turned towards the pinkette.
Who quirked a fuschia brow "Guess Zabuza's going through a rough time huh, sorry but I have no intention of dealing with him today" Sakura grinned not sounding sorry in the least even though she apologized.
He blinked his doe eyes at her dumbly for a moment "Hold on a minute isn't this Gato's base, what are you doing in here and where's Gato, along with all his hired thugs" the raven haired teenager looked around in confusion.
Finally realizing where they were "Dead, every single one of them, tell Zabuza I'll come tomorrow if he doesn't go insane before then, well more insane than he already is" Sakura shrugged dismissively.
Karin choked back her laughter at the panic stricken expression the boy gave them "Please I know Zabuza probably doesn't deserve mercy after everything he's done but he saved me, he's my precious person that I want to protect no matter what, I'll do anything" the teenager begged.
Quite obviously willing to get down on his knees to plead for someone who had killed countless people for fun and Karin knew in that moment the enemy had found Sakura's weakness "Alright we'll go take us to him" Karin sighed.
Because Sakura wouldn't have the heart to refuse someone who was desperate enough to bow their head to them the enemy "Thank you" the boy sighed in relief and grabbed hold of Sakura, Karin barely managed to put her hand on Sakura's arm before they were swept away.
In a flurry of leaves to where Zabuza was hiding out "Haku did you get the brat, can't see worth a damn anymore" Zabuza growled sensing the return of his apprentice who had others with him and inwardly hoping one of them was the Sakura brat.
"My poison really did a number on you didn't it Zabuza, more than I expected it to actually, Haku-san, Karin-chan I might need your assistance to remove the poison from his body" Sakura frowned a little surprised.
She'd expected to be dealing with an almost recovered Zabuza "Boiling water now" Karin turned, unsealing a pot and filling it with water before setting it on a portable bunsen burner to heat while Sakura pulled out a variety of medicinal herbs and started chopping them up.
Haku watching them anxiously "How can I really trust that your going to help Zabuza and not finish him off in this weakened state of his" Haku asked, worried that he was going to lose the one person who was important to him.
Sakura pursed her lips "All you need to know is that I'm here to help so when I tell you I need you to hold Zabuza down and keep him held down until I've got the poison out alright Haku-san" Sakura declared.
Zabuza was quiet during this time as the medicinal herbs were strained turning the water a murky yellow, that Sakura picked up with chakra, Haku took that as his cue to hold Zabuza down as she brought the liquid to Zabuza's chest "Ninja Art: Soft Extraction Jutsu" Sakura breathed.
Focusing her chakra and pushing the liquid into Zabuza to draw out the poison, the whole process took twenty minutes in total and Zabuza fought like a mad man to get away the entire time "I'll get started on crafting the antidote" Karin said.
As Sakura dropped the liquid into the pot then sat down in the lone chair for a moment "Gonna kill you when I've got that antidote in me" Zabuza sneered at her, looking like death warmed over, but the brat merely rolled her eyes.
"You can try but remember I didn't have to come here and remove that poison from you either especially when your out of an employer" Sakura commented, mentally counting down how long it took Zabuza to catch on to the meaning of her words.
First his forehead furrowed and glared at her in confusion "What do you mean when I'm out of an employer did the Copy Ninja do something" Zabuza growled hating not being in the know of things like now.
Verdant orbs twinkled at him mischievously "Kakashi-sensei did nothing, I killed Gato and I could have done the same to you Zabuza so you have two choices, fight and lose or leave since Gato can't pay you anymore" Sakura declared.
"Fucking ruthless ain't you brat, I don't recall Leaf brats being so manipulative" Zabuza snapped, clearly pissed off but intrigued at the same time by the tiny twig of a girl in front of him especially since she'd more than proved her competence.
By the desk the other brat chimed in "That's because we were raised on Cloud policies, Kumo's not in the practice of babying their genin like Leaf is as we've found out" Karin announced finishing up with what she was doing.
And handing over a vial of yellow liquid to Sakura "By the way Zabuza even if you take this antidote you'll still be out of commission for a couple more days" Sakura warned as she brought the vial up to his mouth.
Then tipped it gently so he could drink the contents when it was empty Sakura pulled away just before she was completely out of his range Zabuza's hand shot up and wrapped around her throat, something the brat had obviously anticipated.
Because right as he was beginning to squeeze there was a kunai pressed against his throat "You don't have much strength right now Zabuza, so it would take to much effort at the moment to strangle me to death, that's just enough time for me to slice your neck open" Sakura said.
Meeting his gaze fearlessly, in that moment he saw the truth in her eyes and that she wouldn't regret killing him in the least but there was also warmth in her well hidden compassion saved for those that were truly worthy of it.
He dropped his hand to the bed he was laying on "Make me a promise brat, swear it, that when we meet on the bridge in three days time, upon my death at Hatake's hands, you'll take Haku with you back to that village and take care of him for me in my stead" Zabuza demanded.
Jade orbs widened in surprise "I won't allow that" Haku declared, not liking how everything was turning out since he'd brought Sakura into their midst, she was different than other ninja despite being a fresh out of the academy genin.
Brown met doe "Haku I release you, your no longer my tool, now you have no obligation to fight for me and I can go to my death knowing you can live your own life and have your own dream instead of the one I was fighting for that has already been taken away from me" Zabuza growled.
Sakura and Karin decided it was best to leave for the argument that was brewing between the two males and headed back to Gato's base to sort through his belongings for another hour or so before heading back to Tazuna's.
"There you are so how did it go, your raid on his base I mean" Tsunami greeted when the kunoichi entered the house and sat down on the couch quietly, they looked tired when she looked them a bit closer and frowned in concern.
Until Sakura spoke "Went well, we found the deed to his shipping company so you and this village are going to be well off but we also kind of got dragged off to deal with Zabuza who intends on fighting to the death against Kakashi-sensei" Sakura sighed.
Hating how things were turning out but she also knew that there was no way she would ever convince Zabuza to live and then there was Haku caught in the middle of everything and the only thing he wanted was to protect Zabuza.
Tsunami gasped but took the scroll that Karin held out to her "And it seems like we'll also be bringing back someone, we'll have to tell Kakashi-sensei" Karin grimaced, unsure of how that was going to go.
The pinkette cringed "I'll make the clone go tell him" Sakura declared, not really wanting to tell Kakashi in person, the clone was a better choice because she didn't really feel like arguing in person at the moment.
Especially after the morning they'd already had "Good idea in the meantime lets help Tsunami make lunch for everyone" Karin suggested, forcing herself up from the couch and Sakura did the same while her clone disappeared from the house.
When memories from her clone slammed into her twenty minutes later Sakura couldn't help but rub her arms, Kakashi had been livid, it was the first time she'd truly seen him angry but ultimately he had agreed it was better to take Haku into Leaf custody.
And he would have the rest of the month after the fight to get use to them hopefully "Did we ever tell those guys that we would be gone out of the village on this mission" Sakura asked suddenly as she thought about those back in Cloud for the first time since they'd left Leaf.
"Uh now that you mention no I don't think we did" Karin winced and with that Sakura pulled out a sheaf of paper and a pencil then began scribbling frantically, prompting Karin to do the same before Sakura summoned Amin to deliver the late letters.
So that was one less problem to worry about and fifteen minutes later Kakashi along with Tazuna, Naruto and Sasuke were back at the house for lunch "Who the heck is Haku by the way" Naruto wanted to know.
Because the Sakura clone had mentioned an unfamiliar person to him "Zabuza's apprentice who obviously means a lot to Zabuza that he's willing to have him come with us to Leaf" Sakura answered automatically.
Kakashi rubbed his face "And your absolutely sure it's me Zabuza wants to fight..okay then it will be just he and I on the bridge three days from now, the rest of you will stay here you included Tazuna" Kakashi eyeballed the bridge builder.
Who nodded his head in understanding with that Kakashi turned on his heel and exited the house to send off a message to Leaf with his summons before returning to eat lunch with everyone else "By the way did you find anything interesting while you were out" Sasuke questioned.
Guessing that neither kunoichi across from him would have stayed at the house they were to curious for that really especially with a huge empty base to explore with potential treasure to claim for themselves.
"Oh uh lots of jewelry and diamonds we didn't really have time to sort through any other room considering that mess with Zabuza but we intend on going back tomorrow and devoting most of the day to figure out what should be done with Gato's assets" Karin admitted.
Sasuke furrowed his brow "You mean you haven't taken anything for yourself considering you are the ones who killed Gato so anything he had is now technically yours" Sasuke asked in confusion not really understanding Sakura or Karin really.
As they both shook their heads "No, we did find the deed to his shipping company but we gave it to Tsunami, I think it's fair since he took someone important from her" Sakura commented, glancing to the picture on the wall.
Kakashi jolted in surprise at the extremely selfless act Sakura had done "Guess we judged you to harshly huh Sakura-chan, it's no wonder you got upset with me, all of us really" Kakashi said, feeling absolutely terrible for his part in mistreating Sakura.
"I probably didn't help either by being stubborn" Sakura admitted sheepishly, knowing she'd behaved childishly herself and she wasn't trying to excuse her actions but she had been going through something rough at the time.
No more conversation came after that as the lot of them dug in before heading off to do whatever for the rest of the day and dinner was almost exactly like lunch before they all went to bed for the night until it was the day Zabuza wanted to fight Kakashi on the bridge.
Just before Kakashi left, Haku showed up at the house "Can't you do something to convince him" Haku pleaded Sakura, looking like he hadn't slept for a week, Sakura did feel terrible but it was Zabuza's choice to die.
Instead she put her hand on Haku's shoulder and led him inside the house "Go to sleep Haku you need the rest, we'll talk properly when you wake up okay" Sakura requested when she directed the teenager up the stairs.
To the room she shared with Karin, a futon already spread out for him, Haku was to tired to argue and merely slumped onto the futon falling straight to sleep "He looked awful" Karin grimaced when Sakura returned.
"Loss does things to people, makes them desperate but even had I gone and tried to convince Zabuza to live it wouldn't have done any good when he's already so set on dying, the only thing we can do is be here for him when he wakes up" Sakura sighed.
Flopping down next to Karin as they all waited, hours passed and Haku joined them downstairs, uncomfortable with Naruto and Sasuke he sat next to Sakura in between her and Karin to be exact, until just an hour past lunch Kakashi returned, he was bloody and exhausted but not alone.
Another boy followed Kakashi in "Zabuza said he found him before arriving on the bridge surrounded by bandits attempting to drag him off, I know him, he's Nawaki Senju, Tsunade's little brother who is supposed to be dead" Kakashi explained.
When the straw blonde haired boy hid behind him "How the heck are we going to explain that to Old Man Hokage" Naruto scratched his head in confusion realizing that someone coming back to life wasn't normal nor was it good.
He could be an impostor as well "Sakura please" Kakashi glanced to Sakura who nodded and beckoned Nawaki to her, he was hesitant of course but after a moment hurried towards the pinkette who led him upstairs like she had Haku earlier.
Leaving Karin to heal Kakashi while Haku followed Sakura up the steps "I want to hate you but I can't because Zabuza had been acting strange for awhile, I know now that was because he'd been seeking his death" Haku admitted.
Once Nawaki who hadn't said a word fell asleep on the futon he'd slept on earlier "Don't blame you Haku, but I do understand what its like to lose people, my parents were killed in front of me, the woman I saw as a second mother died in front of me and no it doesn't get easier" Sakura said.
Still feeling awful about all this "You mean even years from now I'm still going to be mourning the loss of Zabuza potentially" Haku frowned, wondering what he'd done to deserve everything that had happened to him so far in life.
"Yes it won't hurt as much but the pain will still be there….look at it this way at least you didn't get amnesia for seven years, forget who you are, where you belong and remember everything seven years later without ever having mourned for the loss of your parents" Sakura stated.
Doe orbs widened "Where will I live in Leaf" Haku asked, hoping that Sakura knew what was going to happen when they got to Konohagakure and he was deemed safe by the Hokage and whoever else had to interrogate him.
"Well I suppose you could always live with Karin and I, before we left we were getting ready to move into my old house that I still own and it has lots of space, four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a backyard" Sakura offered.
Haku shrugged knowing it was the best that he was going to get, the rest of the day he spent in silence and when Nawaki woke up he practically clung to Sakura himself, ate dinner with the rest of them and went to bed with Sakura as well all while not saying a word.