Folded Hands, Chapter Twenty

Pairings: Zabuza/Haku, possibly others later

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Notes:

A few more art pieces up. The link to my deviantart gallery is on my ffnet profile page. Among the new drawings are: Sakura dressed as a prostitute, Sasuke looking sleepy, and Zabuza backing Haku against a wall (Ch. 13). Please go see them, at least the ones of Sakura and Haku being backed up against a wall. They are Folded Hands Illustrations 2 and 4.

crazy yaoi fangirl—

Yeah, Yondaime is SUPPOSED to be dead, but I decided to change some things, since I've already changed Haku's past. Sasuke: brother didn't kill everyone (for a reason); Naruto: lives with Yondaime (so both he and Sasuke are a little more…normal…this story is about Haku, after all). Also, Yondaime is…well…let's just say that I like to be nice to characters sometimes.

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Haku's dinner was interrupted when he heard a loud voice shouting, "Ah-HAH!" from the doorway to the dining hall. He turned around to see Naruto huffing and stomping towards him.

"Hello, Naruto," he said with a smile, waiting for Naruto to do something entertaining.

Naruto shot glares at everyone sitting around Haku. As if their blank stares answered some question he'd been asking, he relaxed suddenly. "Hi, Haku! Has everyone been treating you well?"

Ino glared at the scarred ninja. "Why wouldn't we? Jeez."

Haku blinked. Treating me well? Now that I think about it, no one's mistaken me for a girl, and no one has been rude to me since the bath… He lowered his head so that he couldn't look at Naruto. He wasn't sure of what to make of this. It was rather obvious that Naruto had spoken with at least some of the people sitting around him, and told them to be nice to him

"Well, that's good," the loudmouth said, breaking his chain of thought. Naruto forced a chair between Sasuke's and Haku's, and sat down between them. Sasuke made an obvious effort to move his chair farther away from Naruto before giving up and glaring at the person whose body heat he was being forced to share.

Oblivious to Sasuke's discomfort, Naruto put his right elbow on the table so that he could face Haku (and have his back to Sasuke) before continuing. "I heard that you're rooming with Sasuke now. I feel sorry for you. Back in the day, I had to share a room with him, but we always got in fights and stuff, so they let me move in with Yondaime and Sasuke's been alone ever since." He turned back towards Sasuke for a moment and pouted. "Poor little Sasuke, no friends at all."

"Tch." The black-haired boy fixed his glare away from Naruto, straight across the table, suddenly frightening Hinata as she attempted to sit down across from him. The pale-eyed girl immediately jumped up and said, "Sorry, Sasuke, I didn't know this seat was taken…"

As she stood, Kiba (who had ignored the situation from the start) took her place, and she sat down next to him. Shino sat across from her, to Sasuke's right. He nudged Sasuke's foot under the table and Sasuke muttered an apology to Hinata.

None of this escaped Haku's eyes. These people did, indeed, seem to be held together by strong bonds and relationships.

He realized that Naruto was talking again, and he pulled his gaze from over Naruto's shoulder to his face. "…and Kiba and Shino are rooming together, and Shikamaru and Chouji are rooming together. All the guys live in the rooms next to Sasuke's."

"If you ever need anything, just ask," Chouji added. "My mom sends me food all the time, and there's always enough to share."

"Thanks," Haku said. He wasn't sure if that was an actual promise, but Chouji seemed to be nice, and it was only polite to act the same way in return.

"I do feel sorry for you, though," Naruto repeated. "When I had to share a room with Sasuke, him and me got into so many fights that we rarely went two days without getting new bruises or cuts."

"You started most of those fights," Sasuke said. "I just finished them."

"What did you fight over?" Haku asked.

Sasuke held his hands up and tried to wave away Haku's concerns. "It was nothing, just kid stuff, like when he'd make fun of my clothing or when he wouldn't pick up his trash."

"Have you ever had a roommate, Haku?" Ino asked conversationally.

He bit the inside of his cheek as he tried to think of an answer for that. Honesty is easiest…I'll just tell them a little. "I lived at an orphanage when I was little, so I shared a room with three other kids."

Ino's blue eyes widened suddenly. Lost for words, she could only respond by saying, "Oh…sorry. Didn't know."

He smiled back at her. "It's nothing to be sad about. It's better to have roommates than to be alone anyway. I could always talk to them, and I liked that."

"Sasuke's not the talkative type," Naruto said. He pointed at his teammate over his shoulder, who was glaring into his back and wishing that he would 'shut the fuck up'. "He actually beat me up a few times because he thought I was too noisy."

Haku's eyes widened in surprise and he looked at Sasuke over Naruto's shoulder again. The Uchiha had spat out what he was drinking and turned on Naruto, pulling him into a headlock.

"This is WHY! Oh my god, you can't shut up about anything, can you, you retard?" He shouted as Naruto fought for air.

"Naruto!" Hinata shouted as she stood up, looking over the table at the fight that had begun. Shino shook his head. "He'll live," he said behind his collar. Kiba munched his dinner contently and didn't say a word, so Hinata nervously sat down again.

Naruto had broken free by then, and he coughed, glared at Sasuke, and then turned back to face Haku. "See? Be careful around him. He has these buttons, and if you press them…"

Haku nodded. "I'll be careful," he said, smiling at Naruto.

"Don't listen to him," Sasuke said. "He's the only person who's stupid enough to mess with me anyway." With that, he took his dishes from the table and left before Naruto could make him out to be a bigger jerk.

Naruto sat down between Shino and Haku now, grinning as if he hadn't just fought for his life. "Anyway, after dinner, I'll show you around the temple, and Oh! You have to meet Yondaime, he's a great guy."

"Yondaime?"

Sakura interrupted. "He was our temple's last Hokage, the fourth Hokage. He lost the ability to perform ninjutsu a few years ago, but he still lives at the temple and he conducts some of the temple's affairs."

"You're so smart, Sakura!" Naruto said. "He's also my guardian these days."

Guardian? What about his parents? Haku wondered. As if he had read his mind, Naruto blurted out, "I came from an orphanage too! I've never met my mom or dad, but I started living with Yondaime a few years ago, when I came here to train."

Out of the corner of his eye, Haku noticed that the others sitting at the table had fallen silent, and were all watching Naruto tell his story. "I came here when I was six, and then I started to live with Yondaime. This guy who was a teenager then, Iruka, kind of babysat me all the time because Yondaime was always busy. I'm older now, so it's just me and Yondaime now."

He smiled contentedly, and Haku wondered if he would smile the same way if he talked about his Master.

"Well," Naruto said, "I'm starving, so I'll get some food and I'll come back." With that, he left the table.

Haku began to eat again, and then he felt a sudden wave of paranoia take over. He turned in his chair and looked around for Sai, afraid that he would return to mock him in front of the other students, when his eyes landed on his Master.

The man was walking with Kakashi, and neither of them spoke as they crossed the dining hall and walked into a closed-off room. Haku kept his eyes on the door he'd seen his Master disappear through for a few minutes, then turned around and sighed.

He didn't even look around to see if I was here.

"Hey, Haku," Ino said suddenly. Haku opened his eyes, realizing only then that he had closed them after turning back to the table, and waited for Ino to begin Round Two of her attempts to talk to him.

"What is it?" he asked, smiling softly.

She stared at him for a second before pointing at him and shouting, "I knew it! That's the same exact smile as Sai! Look, look at him!"

Haku stared at the finger in his face as the others sitting at the table snuck looks at Haku, pretending to not have seen what Ino had seen.

"It…looks a little similar…" Hinata agreed softly.

"It's rude to point, Ino," Chouji said under his breath. Ino immediately dropped her hand to the table and laughed.

"Sorry, Haku, I'm not trying to be mean, I just didn't know anyone else could smile all weird like that. I mean, I didn't know that someone else could look like Sai…er, I mean, not like you look like Sai, but when you smile like that…" She smiled and shut up.

"Don't talk about him," Shikamaru said. "He always shows up when you start talking about him."

A large thunk marked Naruto's reentrance as he practically dropped his plate onto the table, startling Haku. "Talking bad about me again, huh?" Naruto asked, sitting down with Haku again.

"No, it wasn't you," Haku said with a smile. Naruto smiled back, and the conversation was dropped.

"So," Ino said, trying for Round Three, "What's your teacher like?"

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Kakashi smiled at Kurenai and Asuma as he entered one of the dining hall's reserved rooms with Zabuza. "Yo," he said, pulling out a chair for himself at the table in the middle of the room. Zabuza did the same.

I can get out of here soon, he thought. I'll just have dinner with their temple leader to be polite, then I'll say goodbye to Haku and leave. He already felt trapped, or like he had fallen into a trap, as he sat down in the confined room.

Kurenai smiled at him. "Were you able to get any rest after your journey?"

"Enough," Zabuza ground out. He did not like small talk. Haku was much more pleasant to be around…he didn't like to talk about unnecessary things or ask unnecessary questions.

He thought about his slave and Zabuza realized that the last time he had shared living quarters with someone, or even worked with another person, had been more than seven years ago, when he'd left one of the Water Country's police stations for a life of freedom. He'd grown up in the Mist Village, where a thriving, well-trained police force gave many men the opportunity for a prosperous life. Whereas he had enjoyed the training, and a few of the missions, he had disliked working with the other officers, and taking orders from his superiors.

After spotting a poster one day for a man with a bounty on his head that rivaled Zabuza's yearly earnings, he had decided to change his career path.

But now, Momochi Zabuza was putting up with what a couple of teachers wanted. Why was he doing this? For Haku's training, of course. If he could keep a good relationship with these people, then Haku would be off his hands for a while. Zabuza liked the idea of picking up Haku, and finding him to be less of an annoyance and a hindrance.

Even if he wants to train or grow for me, I don't want to get dragged down by him.

The Godaime Hokage entered the room then, followed by a woman with short brown hair who was carrying a small pig, and a man with shiny black hair. The brunette was trying to pull something away from Tsunade, whining about it being to early for sake, when the strange-looking man took notice of Zabuza's presence.

"A man from a foreign land!" he shouted energetically as he bounded up to Zabuza. The man held out his hand and said, "My name is Maito Gai, and I am one of the men of this temple!"

Zabuza stared at his hand.

"Oh!" Gai shouted. "I see that you are like My True Rival in more ways than one!" He pulled his hand back and struck a pose.

Meanwhile, Kakashi had pulled out the new volume of Come Come Paradise and started reading. Gai crooned and exclaimed, "So young and hip! But I think that you are younger than Kakashi, so if you stay here in Konoha, you can become my new rival!"

Zabuza looked at Kakashi, who shrugged. He chose to ignore the odd older man, and turned to the Hokage, who was playing 'keep away' with her assistant and an oversized bottle of sake.

"When are you going to start training Haku?" he asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Gai strike another pose.

The blonde woman shot him a glance. "Huh?"

Once Tsunade's attention had been stolen, her secretary pulled the bottle of sake out of her grasp and fled the room, brining the pet pig and Gai with her. "Damn," the blonde woman said as she pulled out a chair and sat in it heavily. Zabuza could have sworn that he'd heard the wood in the chair's legs splinter. Tsunade sighed and turned to Zabuza.

"He'll start tomorrow, of course. I'll have Kakashi's team watch over him first, then Asuma's, then Kurenai's." As if an epiphany had struck her, Tsunade snapped her fingers, sat up, and started to dig around in one of the cabinets that lined the nearby wall.

Zabuza eyed the three teachers Tsunade had spoken of. "Do you need me to tell you about him?" he asked.

"Please do," Kurenai said. "We already heard from Kakashi that he might have a bloodline limit of some sort."

"Bloodline limit?" Zabuza asked. That term again. "I don't know about that, but he's new to life as a ninja. His only experience consists of the mission that you two know about already, and another one I had him help me with. He's knew to fighting, too, though he's used water to kill before."

"Water?" Kurenai asked.

"He can manipulate water freely, without hand seals or incantations."

Asuma's and Kurenai's eyes widened, and they exchanged a look.

"Well," Asuma said, "That doesn't sound like any Bloodline Limit I've heard of before, but my specialty is in hand-to-hand combat, even if my students all use clan-specific jutsu."

Kurenai shook her head. "I've never heard of it before, either. One of my kids has a Bloodline Limit, but it's not my job or my place to teach her how to use it."

Zabuza narrowed his eyes. "Then who's is it?"

"Well," she said, trying to speak carefully, "Hinata trains with her cousin, her father, and her little sister, all who share her Bloodline Limit."

"Sasuke also has a Bloodline Limit," Kakashi interjected from behind Come Come Paradise, "and his older brother is the one he trains with."

"So, if none of Haku's family is around, then he can't train his Bloodline Limit?" Zabuza asked. If he does have a Bloodline Limit, anway.

Tsunade finally sat down at the table, holding up another oversized sake bottle that had been hidden behind old scrolls. As she opened the bottle, she asked, "Well, where is his family, anyway?"

Zabuza glared at her. Prying bitch, he thought. Does she want me to spill his secret right here?

"He's never told me, and I've never asked," he answered. Tsunade uncorked the bottle and flashed him an all-to-knowing grin. "Is that so?" she asked.

The Hokage took a quick drink, and shrugged. "I guess that we could look into it. I think that I've heard of a clan in the Water Country known for their speed and the ability to freely control water and ice. If need be, I could always send one of our ninja to investigate." She grinned at Zabuza. "Besides Haku's training, our temple could benefit from a larger library concerning foreign techniques and Bloodline Limits. They're too special to waste, you know."

Zabuza smirked behind his mask but said nothing. The only thing special about Haku was his attitude.

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Haku walked back to Sasuke's room drearily as Naruto bounded ahead of him. He had forgotten how tiring prolonged conversations with normal people could be.

"Come on!" the blonde young man shouted ahead of him, running back to Haku and rocking back and forth on his feet. "You have to meet Yondaime. You'll like him, he's great!"

Haku forced a smile and fought back his weariness. "Alright, Naruto," he said as he increased his pace. "What kind of person is he?" he asked conversationally.

It was actually quite soothing to listen to Naruto ramble on. "He's great! He's calm, and smart, and he's really strong, even if he can't perform ninjutsu anymore!" There was a hint of sadness on Naruto's face just then, and Haku did not fail to see it.

"Well, besides that, he likes a lot of the same things as me. He really likes ramen, and he likes goofing off at weird times, and he's even played video games with me before!"

They stopped at the next door, and Naruto pulled out a necklace from inside his shirt. Haku noticed that there was also a sapphire pendant on the necklace, and he was a little surprised to see Naruto wearing something so feminine.

As Naruto unlocked the door, he shouted, "Honey, I'm home!" and Haku deadpanned.

Honey?

"Don't shout," a soft voice called from one of the rooms in the apartment. Naruto kicked off his shoes and dragged Haku, who was by then only half-shod, towards the sound of the voice.

Haku removed his last shoe on the way (though Naruto seemed to not have noticed) and as he picked up his shoe, Naruto pulled him into a well-lit room where a man sat, hunched over at a desk.

As soon as Haku's eyes settled on Yondaime, he felt his breath catch in his chest. Naruto had told him that Yondaime was his guardian, but the man looked like an older version of Naruto. This impression was reinforced when the man turned around to greet him. Blue eyes, the same as Naruto's found his face as Naruto's guardian smiled at him.

"You're Haku, I presume?" the man asked. Haku was still speechless—he knew that it was rude to stare, but something in his brain kept saying, over and over, 'He's Naruto's father!' and he had to focus on arguing with that voice.

"Y-yes," he forced out. Yondaime smiled again, as if he knew what Haku was thinking, and he said, "I'm sorry that I don't have any tea out. I didn't know that Naruto would bring you here so soon, and I didn't prepare for a guest."

"I'll go do it!" Naruto shouted as he left the room. Yondaime tried to stop him for a moment, then stopped and smiled.

"Please go wait in the living room," he said. "I'll be out in a minute."

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Haku was impressed by the apartment that Naruto and his guardian lived in. The ceilings were high, just like the design of the Hokage's office, and this gave the living room a feeling of importance. He marveled for a moment at the fact that he was a slave, the slave of a normal man at that, and he was being served tea in this temple, where he would soon begin his training.

Naruto joined him shortly, running right up to the low table in their living room. He smiled at Haku and asked, "What did you think of him? He's great, huh? This one time we--"

The blonde ninja stumbled over Haku's dropped shoe and fell forward. Time seemed to slow suddenly for Haku, and he watched the teacups on Naruto's tray fall. Haku reached out and forced the spilling liquid back into each cup with a flick of his wrists, and then took the try from Naruto with his right hand as he righted Naruto with his left.

Time sped up again, and Naruto stared at his hands, then at Haku, and asked, "What just happened?"

"You're very fast, Haku," Yondaime said. Haku spun around to see the man standing in the hallway, looking at him, and he almost dropped the tray in his clumsiness.

Yondaime smiled at him. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

Haku could only stare back.

What did just happen? he wondered. Something in Yondaime's blue eyes told him that he knew more about Haku than Haku did himself.

The man joined his charge and Haku at the table and sat down across from Haku, next to Naruto.

"So, Haku," he began. Haku gently set down the train and sat down.

"What do you know about your family's history?"

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Zabuza stretched his arms as he made his way back to his room. The food he'd eaten had been more than decent—and a nice change from Haku's cooking—but he'd quickly grown tired of those people. The Hokage, who was a talkative alcoholic…Asuma and Kurenai, who just seemed to like to talk on and on…and Kakashi who was free to pull away into his own Come Come Paradise world.

Not only that, but he honestly didn't care about Haku's Bloodline Limit, or if he had one. That was a detail for the fire-nin to work out. He'd heard about strange clan abilities, but such abilities often involved either inbreeding or some sort of sacrifice to be tapped into, and Zabuza didn't want to associate Haku with either.

He found the public bathroom with little trouble, and he bathed and left for his room. As he crossed the last hallway, he saw a man who looked to be only a year or two younger than he was, with long black hair tied back at the nape of his neck. The man looked strikingly similar to the black-haired kid who belonged to Kakashi.

He might be that kid's brother…the one with the Bloodline Limit, he thought. Well, I'll leave that shit up to them.

Zabuza fell asleep rather easily that night, ready to pick up his life where he'd left it off when he found Haku.

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Haku sighed. He had finally been able to return to his—Sasuke's—their—room after speaking with Yondaime. He didn't know what the man had been trying to get at by asking about his family, and he hoped he wouldn't be plagued by any other questions of that nature.

He laid down on his bed, which had been cleared off between the time of his bath and then. Sasuke was out at the moment, and Haku wanted to fall asleep before he returned. He was afraid that it would be awkward to have to listen to Sasuke breathe as he fell asleep.

Haku wished that his Master had pulled him into his room, and had let him sleep with him that night. He wouldn't have the chance again for a month, and he was afraid that whatever had happened, whatever ground he had gained, would be lost if he was out of his Master's sight for a month.

As he fell asleep, he thought, Please let me become stronger for him. I want to please him. I never want him to tire of me.

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Quick Quiz 7

Where is Sasuke? Not in a cereal box, that's for sure.