For reference, since this is a modern AU take on the Naruto world, I made them use Yen instead of Ryo.

Update Notes: Not much to update on. Life is going on. The world is in disarray. Same old, same old.

TW: This chapter contains some instances of Transphobia, because if you couldn't tell from the last chapter, Haku is Trans. So just be aware of that.

Tempest: Season 1, Episode 16: Enter Haku

Naruto sat in horror inside his classroom at Konoha High School, unable to move a muscle. Across the room, standing in the front of the class with a bright smile stood Haku, the ice mutant that Naruto had previously fought earlier that week.

He was wearing the normal school attire that all the boys wore; black dress pants and shoes, as well as a white button up shirt and black blazer. His hair fell across either side of his face, going down and hitting his chest. The top of his head held a small bun of hair, that was wrapped together with a small pale yellow wrapping. He held a gentle smile and looked over around the room, his hazel eyes glazing over the room.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Haku Yuki. I hope to get along with all of you!" Haku let out a small bow, but there was no clapping or anything. Haku looked up, a quizzical look in his eyes, but he instantly regretted it.

Most of the class was staring at him, heart eyes in their eyes, both boys and girls; The only people that didn't look at Haku with admiration were Naruto, who was still frozen in place, Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata and Kiba, who actually looked close to growling.

"Oh my god, that's a guy? He's got to be the cutest guy I've ever seen!" Ino whispered to the pinkette next to her, who gave her a small nod, but held a small look of trepidation on her face.

'What is this feeling? Something about this man… just feels me with fear?' Sakura thought in her head, glancing towards Sasuke, who was also eyeing the new student with a curious glint in her eyes. She felt slightly relieved that she wasn't the only one that held some hesitation for this new student, but she wasn't sure why. She never really felt scared or on guard from someone's presence before, but then again, this was a world with mutants and super powers they lived in now.

A few seats away from Sakura, Hinata was having her own internal monologue, biting her lip as she watched Haku exchange a few words with their teacher, Shizune Kato.

'This feeling? It's… so cold. It's nothing like Ayames. But there's no doubt in my mind. This boy is radiating chakra!' She continued to stare at Haku, almost shaking slightly at his presence. The last time she felt anything like this was when Neji and Runa fought in front of her.

Across the room near the back corner, Kiba was starting to growl at a barely audible level, starting to extend his nails and dig into his seat.

'Kiba! Control yourself! Your bloodlust is starting to go haywire!' Kuromaru screamed in his head, the mental image of a stern and concerned wolf echoing in Kiba's head. He shut his eyes, trying to breathe, but he could still feel Haku's aura, and it sent chills through his entire body.

'That boy… reeks of blood! I can feel his victims from here!' Kiba continued to breathe rhythmically, hoping to calm himself down before one of his classmates noticed.

Back towards Naruto, he was breathing slightly heavier, with sweat starting to stream down from his brow. He might not have recognized the boys face, but that hair, with that name, as well as that aura of chakra? Naruto knew exactly what was going on and he was starting to panic. What if Haku tried to freeze the entire class? Naruto would be forced to out himself as Tempest, and even then, would he be able to beat Haku? The only reason he came out victorious from their last encounter was from a lucky shot to his stomach, but there was no way he could repeat that.

"If you'd like Mr. Yuki," Shizune started, gesturing towards the empty chair towards the left of Naruto. "You can take that free seat there and then we can get started with our lessons today." Haku gave a small bow to the teacher before turning and heading towards his new seat, the small smile still on his face. He sat down and placed his bag at his feet, taking all his school stuff out.

Naruto stared at the new classmate to his left, who was doing other things, but could feel the blond's gaze on him. Naruto was starting to wonder now if he was imagining things, as it all might be his overthinking brain. Before he could ponder it more, Haku turned towards him, his smile feeling warm and almost inviting.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." He started, extending his hand towards Naruto, who seemed hesitant to grab it. Lucky for him, no one was watching anymore as they all started to scribble notes down from Shizune's lesson, but he felt like he was overthinking everything and this was just a random new student.

"Nice to m-meet you, Haku," he sputtered out, reaching out to shake the boys hand, but as they collided to shake, Naruto froze. He looked down towards his hand, a sensation of burning starting to overtake it, but was unable to move it away from Haku. He looked back to the boy, who was still wearing his warm smile.

"A pleasure to meet you Naruto." Haku let go of the blond's hand, who quickly yanked it back to himself, holding it close to his chest, an action that several students did see. From the seat in front of him, Sasuke looked at him quizzically.

"Hey, everything okay back there idiot?" Naruto chuckled lightly at Sasuke, shrugging with a sense of unease. Sasuke stared for a few seconds before rolling his eyes and looking forward again. With Sasuke's eyes away from him, Naruto looked back to his hand, a look of fear in his eyes, and let out a small gulp. At the boys palm, a small thin layer of ice developed, leaving a small freezer burn that was smoking slightly.

"Okay that's it for today. Have a good weekend everyone!" Shizune shouted over the school's bell as everyone started to pack their bags. Haku rose from his seat, but before he could even start to pack his bag, he was suddenly surrounded by a group of girls, all staring at him with hearts in their eyes. Seeing this, Shizune let out a small chuckle before walking out of the classroom.

"Hi Haku! Where are you from? What do you do for fun? Why Konoha?" All the girls continued to ask questions, Haku nervously laughed, holding his hands up.

"Uh, hi. I'm from a small town outside of Konoha. Home schooled most of my life. I like to garden and cook I guess. My father got a job in Konoha so we moved here. Just normal stuff-" Haku was cut off from a snort across the room, making him stop and look towards the back of the room, where three guys were sneering at the group.

"Gardening and cooking?" The largest one, Kenji, started to say while looking to his other friends, a bowl-headed man with a frown on his face named Toki and a tall lanky man named Satoshi, whose face almost looked sunken in from how skinny he was. Kenji himself was tall and muscular, with the sides of his head shaved and curly hair on the top. "If you're into all that girly stuff and you look like that, why don't just admit you're a girl!" The two next to him laughed, while Haku's eyes darkened. Near them, the girls all started to scowl and yell at the boys.

"Oh buzz off Kenji! Maybe if you were into things like that you'd actually have a girlfriend!" Ino shouted, crossing her arms in a huff. Kenji scoffed, cracking his neck.

"As if. Everyone here is just too lame for me! I'd much rather have fun doing my own things, but I bet this girl here wouldn't understand." He let out another boisterous laugh. At this point, Naruto had his fist clenched, watching the continuing darkening eyes of Haku from beyond the group of girls. Sasuke and Hinata also watched intently, both of them thinking different things in their heads. Ino went to speak up, but Haku placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not a girl. I'm a boy. I just have different interests then you." Haku let out a small smile with that remark, making all of the boys frown. Satoshi pointed a long finger at the boy, and started to speak with a higher pitched voice then Kenji.

"Yeah right! You're just one of those freaks that pretends to be a man. You want to be a man so bad, why don't you come over here and fight us like a man?" The other two laughed and agreed, nodding their heads in unison. Ino scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"He doesn't have to fight you to prove anything you weirdos!" Haku laughed slightly as Ino spoke, making her turn back towards him. Naruto was starting to get a bad feeling, while Sasuke was curious at where this would go, and Hinata could sense Haku's chakra start to get out of its normal rhythm.

"I agree with Ino here. I don't like fighting and I have nothing to prove. However," Naruto's eyes widened as Haku started to walk past the girls, looking at the three boys with a smirk. "I will oblige with this challenge, but I'd prefer if we did this outside of school. I'd rather not be kicked out on the first day." Kenji rolled his eyes, but nodded back.

"Fine then. We can do that." Haku nodded back before turning away and starting to walk back to the girls. At the same instant, Kenji pulled his hand out, a pair of brass knuckles now brandished on them and a maniacal smile on his face. "But I don't see a teacher here!" It all happened in slow motion. Haku was walking back to his desk, his eyes shut, with the large fist of Kenji descending towards the back of his head. The girls faces all morphed to ones of horror, while Satoshi and Toki were cheering. Sasuke started to turn his feet, ready to jump in to help the boy, while Hinata's face turned to shock, her hands covering her mouth. Naruto had the same reaction as Sasuke, with some wind starting to kick up near his feet, but their was one difference in his and Sasuke's reactions;

"Haku, look out!"

It was instantaneous. Haku didn't need Naruto's warning, but it was still appreciated. With the fist almost near him, Haku suddenly leaned towards his left, moving his head in the same direction to dodge the punch. While he did that, he started to turn his head and stuck his left hand out, grabbing hold of Kenji's wrist, yanking him closer to him. With Kenji's balance thrown off, Haku cocked his right arm upwards, grabbing Kenji with a devastating open-palmed fist. Using the big man's own momentum, he continued to push upwards on the man's neck and ended up flipping the man in front of him, making his back smash into the ground.

The girls all gasped, their faces turning to blushes and starting to cheer for Haku. Sasuke smirked and readjusted his stance, relaxing now that there was no immediate danger, while Naruto let out a small sigh of relief. He didn't like the guy, but he didn't think it would be cool to suckerpunch someone on the back of the head.

"You might want to try and not announce your attack next time. But I also wouldn't try that again. If I applied more force, I could have easily crushed your throat." Haku spoke with a smile while crouching down towards the barely conscious Kenji. With a growl, Satoshi and Toki both charged towards Haku, who just now looked up from his crouched position, a quizzical look on his face. Unfortunately, neither of them were able to get to Haku; Satoshi was met with a fist towards his face, making him yelp and sending him flying back towards the room, while Toki was introduced to a muscular calf, sending him spiraling into a flip straight to the floor.

Haku smirked slightly, rising up to look at the two figures in front of him, Naruto with his fist still outstretched, and Sasuke with his hands in his pockets and standing on one foot, the other extended just at head height.

"Thank you both, but I didn't need the assistance there. I had them both." Haku spoke, bowing to the two. Sasuke scoffed and put down his leg, turning towards the group of girls and Haku. Naruto did the same, lowering his fist and crossing his arms.

"Hn… Sure you didn't. These three needed to be knocked down a peg anyway." Naruto huffed, nodding while smoke blew from his nose. While everyone conversed, Sakura watched with a small frown on her face.

'He really didn't need their help. I'm a little scared what would have happened if they didn't intervene. It just… gives me a bad feeling.' Nearby, Hinata's expression of shock, quickly morphed into one of admiration.

'His speed and his control. I thought he was losing it when they were insulting him, but he had perfect control the entire time. I know he can manipulate chakra! I need to try and get him alone later!' She thought with determination, clenching a fist. Across the room, Kiba was struggling to breath, pretending to look through his bag.

'That boy! If those two didn't stop him! His bloodlust is massive!' He continued to struggle to breathe, with Kuromaru watching him in his head, a look of concern on the wolf's face.

Haku turned towards the girls, who were still blushing, and went to grab his bag.

"So did I mention, I've studied some martial arts?"

"I'm kind of freaking out Ayame." Naruto muttered, looking over the edge of the school rooftop he was on. Next to him, Ayame was sitting with her arms crossed, dressed in casual clothes of a yellowish dress. After the whole ordeal with Haku, Naruto immediately called Ayame over and made sure she was here before he returned home.

"Look, it's okay. We already knew Zabuza knew our identities. This actually makes sense in a way. He has a way to keep an eye on us now." Naruto groaned, staring down at the ground and watching several students laugh and hang out together.

"If he decides to just attack students, what are we going to do? Out ourselves?" Naruto questioned, his head dropping slightly. Ayame went to answer the question, but another voice beat her to it.

"That's a good question, truly what would you do in that scenario Naruto?" He whipped back, looking towards the school's rooftop entrance, and Ayame hopped from her spot, fists at the ready. In the doorway, Haku stood with his gentle smile. "I'm genuinely curious. What if I just froze all your friends? Would Tempest arrive in the nick of time to save them or would he protect his identity?" Naruto grit his teeth at the man's words, clenching his fists hard.

"What are you doing here Haku? Wanting to massacre innocent children just to get to us?" Haku showed an expression of surprise before giggling, covering his mouth.

"Oh please. Do you really think I want to kill children, Naruto? No, it's nothing as sinister that, I assure you. In fact, it's quite the opposite." Naruto looked confused, and his stance lowered for a second, looking at Ayame, who kept her gaze still on Haku.

"The opposite? What are you talking about? You act like you're trying to save them." Haku sighed, stepping forward and walking past the duo, leaning against the third edge of the roof, in between the two.

"I know you don't believe me, but it's the truth. I wasn't lying earlier Naruto. I truly don't like to fight. In fact, coming to this school was my idea. Lord Zabuza wasn't a huge fan of it." Naruto scoffed slightly, rolling his eyes and looking towards Ayame.

"Lord Zabuza? What is he, your master or something? Little weird, man." Haku didn't turn, but his shoulders slumped slightly. After a few seconds of silence, Ayame coughed, which gained the attention of Naruto.

"Can we not antagonize the guy that literally wiped the floor with you not even 24 hours ago?" Naruto sneered at the girl, but secretly he also was regretting his words. He was pulled from his thoughts when Haku started to speak again.

"I'm sorry, but my relationship with Lord Zabuza is none of your concern and I would appreciate it if you don't ask again. Regardless, Lord Zabuza is a weapon that will do anything to get his target. That includes getting rid of the things in his way." Haku turned at that, tilting his head slightly. "In this case, that would be you and this school. And believe me… Lord Zabuza would destroy this place instantly." There was a chill in Naruto's back as Haku explained, making him shiver.

"Either way, I'm here to ask you not to interfere with Lord Zabuza's assassination. Once the man is gone, we will disappear from Konoha City and you won't see us again. No one else must die." Naruto let out another scoff, and this one wasn't criticized by Ayame.

"You want me to just sit back and let you guys murder an innocent man? Do you really think I'll allow that?" Haku smiled softly, almost a pained look in his face.

"No, I really didn't. Neither did Lord Zabuza, but I still had to make the offer. You really are fitting as a hero. But not everyone can be saved Naruto." Ayame rolled her eyes, crossing her own arms.

"That doesn't mean we won't try. We don't just leave innocent people to die!" Haku turned to her, his look turning to an icy glare.

"And what about the guilty? Shall you just watch them perish? Let the wicked die?" Ayame froze slightly, unsure what to say. She didn't want anyone to die, but she knew there were some bad people in the world, and that combined with the wicked glare of Haku made her lose her resolve.

"We save them too!" Haku whipped his head to Naruto, who was leveling an equally icy glare back at the long haired boy. "A hero saves people in need and is there for the people and they make sure no one dies! That's what it means to be a hero to me!" He raised his fist and pointed it towards Haku. "As long as I'm here, no one dies!" There was a silence between them, but it was broken by a laugh from Haku.

"I truly like you Naruto Uzumaki. I really would prefer if you didn't die, but I can't control your actions. I said my piece and that was all I had to say. So I will bid you both a good day." With that, Haku walked away from them, entering the door and leaving them sitting there with their thoughts.

With his conversation with Naruto over, Haku was pondering the man's words as he walked down the school's hallway. He thought maybe Naruto was another wannabe hero that liked the glory and glamour, but his eyes when he talked about saving villains as well? It made Haku almost doubt his own thoughts, but he wasn't able to think about it too long before his path was blocked by a purple haired girl, who he immediately recognized.

"Hello Hinata. What do I owe this pleasure to?" Hinata gulped slightly at his words. Despite him being a very feminine looking man and being close to her at their mutual 5'4" heights. She lifted her arms up and clutched them together near her chest, her face turning red, but she decided to not beat around the bush.

"I know you are able to use chakra, Haku. I could sense it and feel your chakra and I would like you to teach me to use chakra, please!" She bowed at the last part, holding the bow while Haku rubbed his chin, a surprised look on his face.

"Chakra, huh? I won't deny that I can use my chakra, especially if you can sense it, but why don't you ask your father? From my understanding, you are a Hyuga, aren't you? You're supposed to be martial arts masters." She rose from her bow, an uncomfortable look on her face. It seemed Haku knew her family history, so he more than likely knew about the Juuken and her family's roots.

"Without the ability to manipulate chakra, it's incredibly hard to learn my family's style. I wish to learn to use my chakra effectively before approaching my father with the intent to learn. I know it's not something that's known around so I couldn't help but jump on the opportunity to learn from someone that actually can use chakra." Haku thought about it more, but scoffed at her words, making her tilt her head slightly.

"It's not very hidden anymore. Most people are able to use chakra, but not in the ways you think. It's like the adrenaline in a fight or holding on even though you are at your limit. All uses of chakra that can help. Don't think chakra can make you shoot blasts of energy from your hands or anything. It's possible, scientifically, but almost theoretically impossible." He smiled at her, however, readjusting his bag on his shoulder. "Besides, I have no interest in teaching, so I'm sorry Hinata, but I will have to pass on teaching you chakra control." Before Hinata could register his words, he had already walked away, heading out of the school and towards his hotel.

"You are making great progress." Jiraiya said with a smile, as Lee slumped down a log in the middle of the field surrounding Hokage Rock, panting heavily and drenched in sweat. For the most part, his wounds were mostly healed, with some bandages still wrapped around his stomach and arms. His clothes were also badly ripped, but somehow still holding on in the wind.

"It's not enough," he muttered in between breaths, struggling to rise. "I can't even open the first gate." He continued to struggle as Jiraiya laughed, shaking his head at the young boy.

"Remember, it's only been a week since our fight with Zabuza and Haku. You've already learnt to manipulate your chakra and use it to reinforce your body and strengthen your blows, as well as use it to heal a lot of your wounds. The Eight Gates is a technique that only 2 people in the entire history of the world have mastered. Just opening the first gate is something that millions of martial artists are unable to do." Jiraiya's words had an effect on Lee and he relaxed himself a little bit, still panting heavily.

"Besides," Jiraiya started again, crouching down to Lee and gesturing behind him with a grin. "You're doing loads better than Naruto." Lee moved his head to look behind Jiraiya to see Naruto in a meditative stance, his hands clasped together and his face bright red. He seemed to be angry and was shaking immensely. He was in his normal workout clothes, while Ayame was next to him in her own meditative stance, wearing a tank top and sweats. The only difference was she was still and calm, and held a small yellow aura to herself.

"This is annoying! I can feel it, but I can't do anything damnnit!" Naruto was howling, falling over to the floor, rolling around and pouting. Lee couldn't help but smile a little and give a small laugh. It was a little reassuring to him that Naruto couldn't grasp chakra at all. It made him feel like he was contributing something to the group that no one else could.

"You've a valuable member of the team Lee. Don't forget that, alright?" Jiraiya got up, stretching his legs out before extending a hand to help him up. "Hey Naruto! Ayame! Time to pack it up!" Ayame's glow faded and she let out a smile, jumping up from her spot, jumping a little higher than normal, while Naruto crossed his arms and stuck his face in the ground.

"Yosh! I'm so rejuvenated!" Ayame flexed and growled, while Naruto dug himself deeper into the ground, all while Lee and Jiraiya watched in amusement.

"Looks like that Fang guy stopped another robbery again." Ayame mentioned as she sipped her cup of tea, holding the newspaper in her other hand. Now that they were done training, they were all huddled around Jiraiya's condo, Ayame and Naruto at the dining table, while Lee and Jiraiya sat in the living room near the TV.

"Oh joy. He break their bones also?" Fang was a new vigilante that surfaced after the Tempest event, but unlike the dozens of others, Fang was actually able to stop criminals and seemed like a Mutant, just like Tempest. The only difference between them was his sheer brutality; while Tempest knocked his assailants out, Fang left them all in the hospital with broken bones and ruptured organs.

"This might come as a surprise, but no." Naruto raised an eyebrow as he rested his head on the dining table, looking towards his brunette friend. "I mean, unless you count all of someone's teeth bones?" Naruto rolled his eyes, while Jiraiya let out a sigh, crossing his arms.

"I hate it, but we are going to have to confront Fang at some point. We are barely on the police's good side and if we have some wack job maiming people, who knows how long until they enact an Anti-Vigilante law."

"Plus we don't want him to kill people. Killing is bad." Naruto added to Jiraiya's thought, to which the older man responded with a nod. Ayame placed the paper down, as well as her tea.

"We just have to be careful. This guy is obviously dangerous. Mizuki was a crook, but at least we didn't have to worry about him suddenly turning someone into minced meat. He at least tried to make it seem like he was about order."

"Regardless," Lee chimed in. "We can't let someone just go wild in Konoha. I know I had my doubts originally about you Naruto, but you have proved you are a hero and acting in Konoha's best interests. To me, it seems like this Fang is using criminals to get his aggression out."

With a growl, Fang pulled his fist back before smacking down again, making a splatter of blood erupt unto his mask and fist. He quickly sneezed, and started to look around in confusion. After a few seconds, he shrugged before reeling back and throwing another punch.

It was much riskier to do this with so many people inside UchihaCorp, but Sasuke needed to see the company's advancements with the Anti-Mutant technology they were developing. As the doors to the large company slid open, he was greeted with the smile of the main lobby's receptionist.

"Mr. Uchiha? I wasn't aware you were coming in today." She started, a confused look on her face after the smile faded. He simply gave her a small smirk, tilting his head slightly.

"You know how it is, I've been taking more hours and more responsibility. You know how it is." He gave her a small smolder, making the woman blush slightly. Inwardly, Sasuke gave a frown of disgust, as he hated using his charm and looks for anything, but he needed to get any suspicion off of him for his random visit. "I'll see myself up." She nodded to him as he stepped towards the elevator, placing in his special code, to take him up to his father's floor.

As the elevator ascended, he let out a sigh and rested against the glass, his arms folded. The first part of his plan was done. With only Itachi and his father having access to the basement, he couldn't just go there without raising the suspicion of the receptionist. While Sasuke was an Uchiha, if he did something that was bad, they would all no doubt use it to get in his father's good graces, by showing him they were loyal to the company.

The elevator stopped and he was greeted by the face of Minako Ogata, who seemed surprised to see the youngest Uchiha.

"Sasuke? What exactly are you doing here? Your dads not in right now and I think Itachi is out for lunch." Sasuke nodded, rolling up the sleeves of his white button up shirt.

"Yeah, I'm actually with Itachi now. He left something here for Father that he was supposed to bring home. I'm just here to grab it." Minako gave the youngest Uchiha a quizzical look, placing her hands on the desk.

"That's quite unlike Itachi. He usually doesn't forget things. Oh well, it's been a stressful time. I'll buzz you in." She pressed the button on her desk, unlocking Fugaku's office. Sasuke gave her a small nod, heading towards the office and closing the door behind him.

"Great… Now I need to think of something Itachi would need from here so I don't look like an idiot," he mumbled to himself, looking around the office for anything that his brother could have potentially 'forgotten'. Unfortunately, Sasuke got his cleanliness from his father, and his office was pretty much clean, with everything in it's perfect place.

"There has to be something…" He muttered, shifting through some papers in his Father's to-go box and started to open the drawers, a triumphant smile appearing on his face. Reaching down into the drawer, he pulled out a pack of unopened cigarettes, one he was sure Itachi had left in his Father's office.

Opening the door, he flashed the cigarettes to Minako, who groaned and shook her head in disgust.

"I should have expected. That makes much more sense. I wish you would try and talk to your brother about that disgusting habit. It's gonna end up killing him one day." She gave him a matter-of-fact look, which Sasuke responded with a small sigh.

"He doesn't listen to me, because I certainly agree. It's a terrible habit to have." He walked past the girl, entering the elevator and giving her one last wave. As the doors shut, Sasuke let out a sigh and lowered his head. It was ridiculous he had to sneak around his own father's company, but he would have to do what he had to do. Looking towards the keypad, he dialed in the number from the other week; 6705.

The elevator started to descend, heading towards the secret basement. For some reason, Sasuke felt a sense of unease as he leaned against the glass, finding himself stuck in his thoughts. Last time he was down here, he learned his father was doing secret experiments and torturing a mutant. If that is what his brother was willing to show him, God only knows what his father was doing that he kept even more secret.

Besides all that, how did Sasuke feel about it? He wasn't sure. Mizuki was a mutant that terrorized the city, hurt the police and killed people. Realistically, why should he care about what they do to a murderer? They were studying him in order to prevent more mutants from hurting and killing innocent people, so it had to be a fair trade-off, right?

He wasn't able to ponder his thoughts anymore as the elevator stopped, lowering itself into the laboratory. From the glass, Sasuke could see several scientists working diligently, not even noticing the elevator arriving. As the door opened, he quickly crouched and hid behind a nearby box, but was still able to overlook the lab. Mizuki was nowhere to be found, but one of the scientists let out a huge groan.

"All that work for a pair of googles? Like really?" The other scientist snorted, but gave his complaining friend a light smack.

"And gloves! Well, they are more like wrist straps right now, but you get it. Just imagine when this is complete though!" His friend started, holding up the googles, giving Sasuke a good look at them. They were simple red goggles, with dark yellow lenses and a simple black strap, but they had a large amount of wires trailing down, leading to what looked like 2 small velcro straps, like wrist straps, and what appeared to be the outline of a glove.

"Yeah, I'm not buying it. Sure I get it, Mr. Uchiha has us down here torturing and collecting DNA from a mutant, but to think that would give us the ability to replicate mutant abilities and use them against them? Sorry, it just sounds too Sci-Fi to me." The original complaining scientist went back to type, while his friend lowered the glasses, giving him a quizzical look.

"That's where it gets 'too Sci-Fi' for you? The guy we are experimenting on can literally slow down time, was stopped by a man that can control wind, and Konoha is currently being attacked by a man that can control ice, and the other is a super strong freak. We are WAY past Sci-Fi man." The two scientists started laughing at each other and resuming their work, but Sasuke stared at the goggles with wide eyes.

"The ability to copy a mutant's powers? That's… insane!" Sasuke muttered to himself in a whisper, looking away now, pondering his thoughts.

His wounds were starting to heal more, but this had been a long week for Haku. He started his time at Konoha High School, and like he expected, he was already outed by Tempest. On the plus side of that, Haku now had a visual to go with the name Naruto, so they both were out in the open now. Haku let out a quick breath and leapt from the rooftop he was on, landing at the adjacent one with a small wince. He looked towards his chest, letting out a deep breath. It seems his wounds weren't as healed as he thought they were.

Despite the wounds, Haku was given a mission from his Master, and he needed to fulfill that mission, or else he would be a pointless tool. Infiltrating the school, Haku was tasked with finding out who the Tempest crew were close to. In case Tempest tried to stop Zabuza from completing his job, it was up to Haku to threaten and potentially hurt the people close to Naruto. It wasn't a job Haku necessarily liked, but he would never vocalize that. They might not be in the military anymore, but Zabuza was still his commanding officer, and he would never let the man down, not after everything he had done for him. Zabuza had saved his life.

"Oh come on!" Haku looked towards the street, lowering his position on the rooftop to hide himself better. On the street, Ayame was laughing, hands on her hips while a redheaded woman was glaring at her, bandages on her body and holding lots of shopping bags.

"Listen brat, I'll straight kill you. Ice you." Haku obviously recognized Ayame, as that was his target, but he had no idea who the red headed woman was. Despite his ignorance, he wouldn't let his guard down, as he could feel the woman's energy from across the street. She definitely could be a threat if provoked.

He watched the two banter, with Ayame looking like she was talking to a young child, and the red-headed woman only growing angrier and stomping her feet around. What Haku wasn't expecting, however, was for Hinata to suddenly arrive, seemingly stepping out of the store that was in front of them.

"I really don't understand why you're making Runa carry everything. She's hurt and you're being a little too mean Ayame." Hinata pouted slightly, crossing her arms as she spoke. Compared to her usual school attire, she was wearing what looking like a long white dress. She tried for it to not accent her body, but especially with the light breeze, Haku felt his heart patter a little, but he quickly brushed it off.

"I can't hear them from here." He muttered to himself, mostly to get his thoughts back in line. He shut his eyes for a second, focusing intently on the group before being able to hear them. He opened his eyes and looked back towards the group.

"Oh come on Hinata! Runa is your butler anyway, so she needs to be doing stuff, even if she's hurt. She can walk it off." Ayame chuckled, while Hinata groaned, facepalming slightly. Next to her, Runa growled, her arms bent at 90 degree angles.

"I'm not a butler you damn child, I'm a bodyguard! And you're lucky I don't tear you to shreds!" She hissed, her eyes spilling hate while Ayame simply stuck her tongue out at the girl and started to laugh.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try and rip me apart!" She chuckled some more while Runa started to step up in anger. Hinata quickly stepped between them, a nervous laugh creeping on her face.

"Please, let's not fight. Ayame says she has errands to run anyway and we need to get home Runa. I don't want to keep Father wait-" She suddenly stopped, her eyes wide. With almost no hesitation, she whipped her head across the street, looking directly towards Haku's position. Thanks to her dramatic switch, both Ayame and Runa quickly swapped from their anger to one of concern.

"What's going on Hinata? Everything okay?" She continued to look at the roof, seeing nothing but the plain store there and bit her lip slightly.

"I guess I thought I heard something. Must be getting tired," she spoke with a chuckle, looking away finally and towards Runa. "Let's get home please?"

As the three girls spoke some more and started to walk away, Haku was crouched with his back against the lip of the building, his hand covering his mouth and breathing heavily. For the first time in quite a long time, he seemed genuinely freaked out.

"Is she a sensor? She was able to feel the small amount of chakra I boosted my ears with… I'm going to have to be extra careful with this one." Haku muttered to himself before jumping away, but making a mental note of the friendship between Ayame and Hinata.

As nighttime started to fall, the real fun was starting to begin, or at least that's what Tazuna always said. Unlike most CEO's, Tazuna carried a very hands on approach. Instead of being inside his office, working on stuff, he made his assistants do all that, and was instead at the Konoha City Port with his employees, working on getting the shipping container's ready.

This was something Hayate Gekko was not excited for. Hayate was sitting at the edge of the port, leaning against a large box with a cigarette in his mouth, shivering immensely.

"Is there a reason we are here?" Hayate muttered, taking a quick drag which made Tazuna laugh. Next to Hayate, Tazuna was standing with completely different attire on. He was wearing long pants and a shirt with no sleeves, showing that the old man actually had some muscles.

"Course! We are making sure things get done correctly! Plus, it helps make sure we still get all our workouts in!" Hayate groaned in annoyance, as that was the 5th time today that Tazuna had referenced the fact that Hayate wasn't as muscular as a lot of people.

"Most people use the gym, especially CEO's that get paid a lot more than entry level warehouse workers." Tazuna rolled his eyes, putting a box that was on his shoulder down.

"You know what, Hayazaki-

"Hayate."

"I don't like your attitude sometimes. It's pure shit you know? It doesn't matter if I own the company, I'm not much better than these people. So yeah, I like to be hands on. Buzz off about it." Tazuna grumbled and took his box back, walking away from the sickly looking detective, who only let out a massive sigh before taking another drag of his smokes.

On the inverse side of the port, a large man landed gracefully on the ship, somehow not making any noise. Next to him, a smaller figure landed, his face obscured with a mask. The large man turned towards the smaller one, and gave a curt nod. Understanding immediately, the smaller figure lifted his hands up, starting to generate a lot of ice. Workers quickly started to notice the drop in temperature and started to look around. It wasn't until one worker that was on the hull of the ship noticed the two and started to scream. The large man turned towards him and quickly whipped his massive sword forwards, throwing it at the man. The screaming stopped instantly, only to be replaced with the sound of blood squelching.

"Unfortunate, but justified." The large man growled out in his raspy voice, stepping forward to grab his sword. Unknown to both of them, Tazuna himself was near the hull and sat in horror at what just happened. He sat there, millions of thoughts going through his brain before he settled on one, and grabbed his phone. Through his tears, he quickly dialed the number for Anko Mitarashi.

Naruto stood at the apartment, a horrified look on his face, mirroring what happened to him when Anko first called him.

"Look, just get down there now! I'm gonna need all the help I can get, so bring Kabuki as well! Hurry your ass up!" Anko shouted before hanging the phone up, leaving Naruto there with a look of horror and a dial tone blasting in his ears. He wasn't entirely sure what to do here. He wasn't getting any signal from Jiraiya or Ayame, and Lee was away at the gym with Sakura, which meant his phone was off. With a gulp, Naruto shook his head and went to reach for his suit. He wasn't sure where the hesitation came from, but he knew he had to stop Zabuza and Haku, no matter what.

Jiraiya stood patiently with Ayame at the bank, whistling a soft tune. Ayame groaned and crossed her arms.

"Why are we even at the bank right now?" She asked, an annoyed tone in her voice. Jiraiya rolled his eyes, stopping his tune.

"I told you, I have an account here and I needed to pull money out for our special project. This is an account that no one knows about, so I couldn't just bring anyone." They stood in silence for a moment, her buying Jiraiya's reasoning, but it only lasted for so long.

"Why is the bank open this late anyway? It shouldn't be. And why would you bring me then, if no one knows about it? And why does this bank have no service and no TV's?" Jiraiya opted to ignore the girl and went back to whistling his tune, he wasn't going to let Ayame annoy him and ruin his day.

"I'm just saying, this just sounds like a plot device to me."

"Step away from the man, or I will slaughter you." Butcher hissed, his large sword aimed at the faces of Anko and Hayate, who both had their guns drawn and aimed at the duo. Behind them, Tazuna was trembling in both fear and cold, as Mask had frozen most of the port.

"Just had to call Anko, huh?" Hayate muttered, shooting a small side glance towards Anko, who growled in response.

"Is this really the time Hayate?" He turned his head to shout something to her, but Anko quickly dropped her gun, punching Hayate with enough force to send him flying back. In the same motion, she kicked back, hitting Tazuna in the chest and making him fall back. Using the momentum, she flipped forward in a front flip, narrowly jumping over the large blade of Butcher's. Landing, she quickly, placed her hands on her gun and jumped back, aiming it back at the man.

"Impressive," Butcher started with a chuckle. "Would expect no less from Anko the Purple Snake." She grimaced at the name, but otherwise didn't falter, her gun still pointed towards the man's chest.

"That's not me. And I'll say it again. Drop the sword and turn yourselves in. It doesn't have to end this way." He chuckled, bringing his sword back from it's swung position and rested it on his shoulder, as if it weighed nothing.

"I have a reputation. And I'm certainly not going to let some little girl stop me. Mask, now!" He shouted, as Mask instantly shot a blast of ice out towards Anko. She dodged it slightly, hitting it with her gun, making the icicle impale into the ground next to Tazuna, rather than in his head. As soon as she deflected the icicle, she shot off twice, still aiming at Butcher. Thanks to the delay, he was able to deflect the bullets off the brunt of his sword, jumping towards the side. She did the same, but back, grabbing Tazuna's arm.

"Let's go, now!" Tazuna scrambled up, trying to listen to Anko, but Butcher rushed them, already swinging his massive sword. With a growl, she jumped and kicked Tazuna back, launching him further back into the port. WIth her jump she landed on her hands, on Butcher's blade as he swung it, flipping and used the momentum to kick him in the face and bounce off. She landed next to Tazuna, while Butcher rubbed his face, a bruise forming on his cheek.

"Master!" Mask started, losing his ice and rushing to Butcher's side, but he was stopped cold but a side-eyed glare.

"Stay your focus, boy! You need to maintain that ice!" Mask froze, but after a few seconds nodded, and the ice returned on his hands. Content with his underlings' work, Butcher turned back towards Anko, who was now alone, a smile on her face. "It appears the boy's distraction let the old man get away. Fine, no matter. I'll kill you first then, I'll get to him." Anko gestured her head a bit to the side.

"You can try, but no promises." With nothing else to say, Butcher charged the detective, ready to swing again, but Anko was able to narrowly dodge the blade by ducking under it. While under, she jumped up to uppercut the man, but he quickly stepped back, slicing forward with the blade until it was on his shoulder again. Anko hopped back, now nursing a slice on her right shoulder.

"You're much faster than you look. How does a large man with a sword that size become so fast?" She asked, a mocking tone hidden under the question. Even if he heard the mocking, Butcher simply laughed, aiming the sword back towards her.

"Enough talk, Anko Mitarashi. We are here to fight." He reeled his sword back, ready to charge again when a gust of wind suddenly blew by, making him cover his face with his blade. "Finally, it took you long enough to arrive!" Peeking from his sword, Butcher watched as the blue-shaded figure of Tempest dropped to the ground, his blue eyes glaring at the Butcher.

"Sorry it took me so long Anko. Everyone else is busy." Anko rolled her eyes, but clutched her shoulder.

"Whatever. Rather have someone than no one. Hope you're ready to fight." She got in a fighting stance and Tempest turned back towards the duo of villains. Butcher was aiming his sword towards Anko and Tempest, while Mask was walking forward, his hands still glowing light blue.

"I'm going to murder Anko. I leave Tempest in your hands, Mask." The masked figure nodded, turning his attention to Naruto. He slid back on his left foot, hands facing forward, ready to fight. In response, Tempest, slid his own left foot back, holding both his hands up in front of his face. WIthout a second thought, Tempest and Mask rushed towards each other, while Butcher leapt in the air, his sword descending towards Anko, who merely groaned.

"God damn it."

Yee. See ya next time.