Folded Hands, Chapter Six

Pairings: Zabuza/Haku, possibly others later

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Note:

Darkrini, I wonder if you really DO know what I'm planning, heh heh….

Also, I need to make an AU story note. This will all be explained, but Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are ninjas from a different country (guess where). They're all older in this story. Itachi hasn't killed anyone (well, anyone who didn't deserve it).

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Haku awoke at daybreak, and found that his master was already in the kitchen, looking for breakfast.

"Master?" he asked softly.

Zabuza turned around and said, "Get up, kid. Put on something that'll work for training, and eat breakfast." He sat down at the kitchen table, eating leftovers from the day before. "We're going to meet the other ninja at the lake in about an hour."

He watched his master eat for a few seconds, wishing that Zabuza had waited for him to make breakfast, but he obeyed his master silently nonetheless.

Today was going to be a big day.

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As they neared the lake where Zabuza usually trained him, Haku saw that there was no one around…no one at all. He knew that his master was generally on-time, so he decided that these ninjas must have been very rude to be late for a meeting with his master.

He set down his training gear after his master stopped near the lake's shore. Haku decided to use this extra time to check his 'training robe'. The navy robe was secured with a heavy belt around his waist, and he wore black pants underneath. He'd left his hair down, as usual, and had taken after his master by covering the lower half of his face with a navy cloth.

His choice in clothing was important, not because of his personal preferences (as long as he didn't have to dress like a girl) but rather because his appearance was a demonstration of his master's values. Haku knew that his master would be judged by the new ninja by his looks, speech, and actions, and he didn't want to give the man any reason to be unhappy with him.

Zabuza sighed beside him, and set down the heavy sword he was carrying. "How much longer are they gonna take?" he growled, though not to his slave.

"What the fuck!"

Haku and his master turned to see three people walking through the forest.

The three ninja from yesterday!

"You fucking dumbass!" the dark-haired boy shouted.

"Hey! Look, I said the lake was this way, and I found it, didn't I?"

"Geeze, Naruto!" the pink-haired girl said. It was obvious that they weren't aware of the two ninja waiting at the lake. "It's a surprise that Master Kakashi isn't here yet! I thought that you were going to make US later than HIM!"

"No way!" The blonde boy looked around the lake. "We beat him? Sweet!"

It was then that the three foreign ninja noticed Haku and Zabuza waiting passively (though not patiently) at the lake's shore. Haku held his breath, hoping that Naruto wouldn't recognize him. Shame still lingered from the day before.

That boy would not have spoken with me if he knew I was a slave, Haku thought. He thought that I was a ninja! A warrior! He also thought I was a girl…

If I keep my face covered, I might be alright.

Naruto forcefully stepped out in front of his comrades so that he could be the first to greet the water-nin. "Hi there! Sorry to keep you waiting! We're the ninja from the Country of Fire!" He looked at Zabuza and his 'apprentice', then stared.

"You're…"

Haku kept his face frozen as Zabuza gave him a look.

"You're that gir—I mean, that boy from yesterday!"

His master glared at him. "You know this kid?"

Haku lowered his eyes. "Yes, master. I met him at the market yesterday." An awkward silence followed.

Sakura chose to break the silence cheerfully. "We were just kidding, when we said our master is usually late. He's usually right on time! Early even! Right, boys?" she asked, nudging Sasuke.

The dark-haired boy said, "Oh, yeah. All the time," as unconvincingly as he could.

"He'll probably be here any minute."

The five ninja waited in silence for two…five…twenty minutes.

Naruto decided to take charge of the situation, thereby pissing of Zabuza immensely. "Okay! Time for introductions!" He stood in front of his comrades again, begging for attention. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm sixteen years old, and I'm from the Country of Fire. My specialties are jutsu that consume a lot of chakra!"

Sakura stood forward next. "My name is Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you." She bowed politely. "I'm, seventeen years old, and I'm training to be a medical-nin." The pink-haired girl then took a step back, motioning for Sasuke to go next.

Sasuke remained where he was. "Uchiha Sasuke. Seventeen years old. Specialty…" he smirked. "No REAL ninja would divulge their specialty."

The blonde boy glared at him. "I'm a real ninja! And you just insulted Sakura, too!"

Sakura looked hurt, but said, "I guess he's right…"

"Fine!" More for his own desire to get attention than for Haku's or Zabuza's benefit, he said, "Sasuke can use Sharingan! His favorite jutsu are Chidori and--"

"YOU DUMB FUCK!" The black-haired boy exploded. "Oh my god, just get yourself killed on this mission, please."

Sakura took a step forward again, and said to Haku (since he was less imposing than Zabuza), "You can introduce yourself. We want to know about you."

Haku knew that she meant to be polite, but…he gave his master a sideways glance, and the response was a shrug.

He nervously turned to the three foreign ninja and said, "My name is Haku, age seventeen. This is my home country. My specialty is water-type jutsu." He bowed politely, as Sakura had before. "It's nice to meet you."

Naruto grinned at him. "We already met! You don't have to be so polite!"

Haku ignored him. He knew that his relationship with the foreign ninja was going to be short-lived. Formality was called for.

He was a slave, after all.

Zabuza grunted, "Momochi Zabuza. Not telling you three anything else, at least not until your teacher gets here."

Sakura blushed as Sasuke stood coolly to the side and Naruto looked sheepish. "Sorry, he might be a little while longer…"

Sasuke snorted. "This forest is a hell-hole. We could barely find our way here."

"That's why it's proper for training."

The foreign ninjas' teacher suddenly appeared in a poof of smoke where Sakura had been standing, reading a book which Haku guessed contained 'adult-oriented' material (or so the front cover suggested).

Naruto stared at his teacher, alarmed. "Master Kakashi! When did you get here?"

"I switched places with Sakura a while back. If I'm not mistaken…." He turned around. "Sakura! You can come out now!"

The pink-haired girl ran out from behind a tree.

Sasuke blinked at the new arrival. "She's been here the whole time?"

"Yep."

"Then why the fuck did it take us so long to find this place?"

His teacher opened the book again. "Because you two are retarded."

Haku was somewhat disturbed by the teacher-student exchange. Even if he had been Zabuza's student, and not his slave, he would have known that he needed to speak to him respectfully. He would have known, at the very least, to not swear when speaking to his teacher, or to shout at him.

And Zabuza certainly wouldn't have read THAT during their training sessions.

"Kakashi Hatake," the silver-haired man said as he closed his book and stepped forward to greet Zabuza. He payed no attention to Haku, and he was grateful for it.

"Momochi Zabuza." The two men did not shake hands.

Kakashi sent a sideways glance toward Haku, and asked, "Is he coming along for the mission?"

"Yeah." Zabuza gave him a small glare to tell him to not ask any more questions about Haku.

"Okay, then," he said. Kakashi turned to his students, and said, "Kiddoes, go train with Haku on the other side of the lake. We're going to work on the mission details."

"Alright, Master Kakashi!" Naruto said brightly. "Come on, guys, let's get going!" His teammates followed him. Haku stole a glance at his master, who simply nodded in his direction as if to tell him to follow the other man's orders. He did not want to be separated from his master, or to be forced to spend time with these other ninja, but he complied.

Today. If I do my best to train today, he'll be happy with me.

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Short, I know.