Folded Hands, Chapter Twenty-One
Pairings: Zabuza/Haku, possibly others later
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Haku gasped as one of his Master's partrons pulled him into the bath with him. The attack had been unexpected, but he knew better than to fight against the customer. The man pulled his wet clothes from his body and then grabbed Haku's arm and turned him around in the water.
He kept his eyes closed at first, not wanting to watch this, hoping that he could dream of something else, displace his mind from his body, while this happened. Haku wasn't even sure of whether this man was a paying customer, or if he had obtained his Master's permission; he was too tired from the day's work to fight anymore.
A strong, wet hand touched his face, and he flinched involuntarily, wanting to pull back, wishing that he could say, 'You have no right!', but he knew better than that. He had learned better than that ages ago. It was he who did not own himself; he belonged to others, and that was the state his life would always be in.
The hand pulled away, and Haku waited for the man to touch his chest or stomach, or to force him to turn around again, to lean over the edge of the bath. He opened his eyes to see a man who had never come to the baths before…he was younger than the usual patrons…his hair was black, his eyes were black, his eyebrows had been shaved, and he was removing bandages from the lower half of his face.
Haku stared as the bandages were set to the side, and he did not fight as the man touched his face again, and pulled their bodies together. Something about the customer had set of alarms in his brain, and the touch had become electric and enticing. He shuddered as the customer wrapped his arms around Haku's body. They stood there like that, together in the water, until the customer brought one of his knees up between Haku's legs and Haku rubbed against his leg, shaking, his face burning red.
One of the man's hands tilted his face upwards and he found himself staring into those dark eyes, eyes that were hard and strong but free of cruelty. Against his better judgement, Haku placed his hands on the customer's chest and let them rest there as he continued to stare.
"Kid," the man said then. He brushed his hands over Haku's shoulders, then his back, and down over his ass, squeezing as he leaned down to whisper into Haku's ear.
"Do you want me to fuck you?"
Haku's heart began to thunder in his chest. His Master had never had this affect on him, not even those times that he had gone farther to try to arouse Haku for his own entertainment. Haku swallowed and, unable to look at the customer while he answered, whispered, "Yes," back.
The man pulled him up then, and Haku wrapped his legs around his waist. He rested his head against the man's chest, listening to his heartbeat, and he was moved closer to the edge of the bath where he was told to lie down. He complied, and his knees were pulled over the man's shoulders before his body was entered. His predator had fallen silent and still, but he had left Haku a shaky mess as he waited for his body to adjust. Haku's eyes found the man's again, and his black eyes bored down into's Haku's and he had to look away. This man seemed to see into him, and Haku was afraid of that. He didn't want to get caught feeling pleasure, or enjoying sex with one of his Master's customers.
The first thrust surprised him, and he closed his eyes and bit his lip to stifle his reaction. The position this customer had put him into was perfect, and he soon found himself crying and muttering his frustrations, asking to be let to come against the shame and the fear and the consequences.
"You want to come?" the man asked him. Haku's eyes opened in shock…he had hoped that his requests had gone ignored, or unnoticed. He was unable to hold back, and tears spilled out of his eyes against the sight of this man, this stranger, laying into him, and forcing him to feel things he had not felt in a long time, feelings he had kept from himself, desires and pleasures he had learned that he could never pursue.
"Yes!" he cried, his face and chest burning. "Please, I want to come!"
A dark smile overtook the man's lips, and he bent Haku's knees down to his chest as he changed his angle of attack. Haku nearly screamed as each thrust hit his prostate, and he fell into an incoherent state, unable to look away from his predator's face as he neared his climax.
"Please!" he shouted after an eternity of pleasure. "I can't stand it anymore! Please let me come!"
He was shocked to see the man's body tighten, and his assailant arched his back as he came. He pulled out of Haku quickly, and Haku stared at him, looking down at his erection and back up at the man.
The man smirked.
"Do you really think you deserve it, Haku?" he asked.
Haku stared at him, thinking of what he had done…nothing. He had received what the man wanted to give him. He had not been of any use, or any value. The result would have been the same if he had fought his assailant with all of his strength instead of spreading his legs and letting the man have his way with him.
"No," Haku said, averting his eyes.
The man pulled Haku back into the water by his wrists, then grabbed his chin and forced him to look and him. He shoved his face into Haku's and the young man froze in fear, unsure of what was to become of him.
"Do you think I'll ever let you come if you act like this?" the man growled at him. "Do you have any idea of how worthless you are? You're just good for a fuck! You are of no use to me, or anyone else."
Haku started to cry, and the man continued, his black eyes boring into Haku's. "I'll just get rid of you, and let other people have to put up with you. You're nothing to me, Haku. There is nothing that you can do for me. Do you understand how worthless and inadequate you are?"
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Haku sat up in bed, gasping for breath and covered in sweat. His Master's face was fresh in his mind, and he began to cry, unable to distinguish the events of his dream from his Master's feelings.
I'm of no use to him. I'm weak. There's nothing I can do for him. He doesn't want me. He wants to get rid of me. The only pleasure he's ever taken from my presence, he felt when he fucked me, if he even enjoyed it. I don't please him, I can't please him, I'm not good enough nor will I ever be…
He dried his face with his sleeve and looked around his dark room. He remembered waiting for Sasuke before he fell asleep, and he realized that he black-haired boy may have been in the room.
The sun had began to filter through the wooden blinds on Sasuke's window, and the rising sun provided enough light for Haku to determine that Sasuke was not in his bed, or anywhere in the room. Haku sighed in relief as he pulled his blanket off his body. His nightclothes were plastered onto his skin with sweat, and he quickly ripped them off and changed into one of the dark blue robes that the temple provided each male student with.
As he left the room in the pursuit of breakfast, he found Sasuke sitting outside the door, with his back to the hallway's wall and his arms wrapped around his knees. Haku stared at this odd sight for a few seconds and he realized by the fact that Sasuke was wearing the temple's nightclothes (and the fact that Sasuke's key lay only inches from his right foot) that Sasuke had been to their room at some point during the night and had left for some reason.
Realization overtook Haku. Sasuke must have heard me during my dream…I must have awoken him during the night, and of course he wouldn't want to stay and listen…
Haku felt ashamed and guilty. He was torn between waking the black-haired young man, and pretending that he had never noticed him there, when Sasuke made the decision for him by opening his eyes and registering Haku.
Haku's mind blanked, and he took a step back, nearly falling to the floor. Sasuke quickly looked away by rubbing his eyes, then yawned and looked back at Haku.
"Sorry," Sasuke said suddenly. "I took a walk last night and I didn't want to wake you up by going into the room." He smiled at Haku and Haku instantly knew that it was a lie.
He smiled back though, and said, "You should have come in, but thank you for your consideration."
Sasuke stood up carefully, his body still waking, and Haku took another step back. How much of my dream did I act out while I was sleeping? How long did it go on for? And what did he hear?
"I'm going to go take a bath," Sasuke said as he opened the door to their room. "I'll meet you in the dining hall in a little while, okay?"
Haku bowed politely and whispered, "Thank you," before Sasuke shut the door.
He turned and began to walk towards the dining hall, thankful that he had an understanding roommate, but hating himself for the poison running through his mind that had lead to such an awkward situation.
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The dining hall was mostly empty at that hour. Haku found Sakura sitting at one of the tables, and he joined her after she smiled at him and waved him over.
The pink-haired ninja was reading a book titled, 'Complications of Field Medicine and Emergency Treatment'. She set this book down, though, after Haku sat across from her, and she smiled again.
"Is Sasuke being a nice roommate, Haku?" she asked him.
He blanked for a moment, and replied through a soft smile, "Yes, he's very nice, I think. I fell asleep before he came to his room last night, and…" He thought for a moment. "And we didn't really talk this morning."
"Oh…?" she asked. "Well, I think that I saw him talking to Itachi late last night. Sasuke doesn't get to spend much time with his older brother, even when they're both off missions." Sakura sighed. "Kind of sad, huh?"
He nodded. "Itachi is Sasuke's brother, right?"
"Yeah. Around the village, Itachi is thought of as the second-greatest ninja, the first of course being Tsunade." She smiled as she proudly thought of her mentor, then added, "Some people say that Itachi might even be stronger than Tsunade, and he was even offered the position of Hokage about ten years ago, when he was only thirteen!"
"Wow…" Haku said. "Why would he be offered the position of Hokage while he was still a child?"
Sakura seemed taken aback. "I…well, about ten years ago…" Her green eyes flicked to the side for a moment, and Haku turned around and followed her gaze to see Naruto walking towards them.
Haku's question went unanswered as the blonde ninja shouted, "Hiya, Haku! Sasuke been treatin' you well?"
He pulled up a chair next to Haku and the water-nin smiled back at him, replying, "Yes, he has been treating me well."
Naruto frowned. "If he's ever mean to you, tell me and I'll kick his ass for you. Sasuke can be a stuck-up jackass sometimes…a lot of the time really…"
"Naruto!" Sakura reprimanded. "Don't talk about people behind their backs! Sasuke has a lot of pressure to deal with, and I think he's an awfully wonderful person considering what he has to put up with!"
"What does he have to put up with?" Haku asked, curious about his roommate.
Sakura began to count the points on her fingers. "One, everyone expects him to be as strong as his brother, a genius. Two, his parents always ignore him, especially when Itachi is around. Three, he has an idiot for a teammate--"
"I RESENT THAT!"
"—four, he doesn't really have many close friends." She sighed. "I mean, Naruto and I are his best friends, I think. Maybe Itachi is his best friend. It would be nice if he could share some of his burdens with someone who is more like him."
"There's no one like Sasuke," Naruto said. "I mean, he's a genius and all, but there are lots of different kinds of geniuses. If I was him, and Itachi was my older brother, I'd always be too intimidated by him to talk to him about stuff that bothered me."
Haku nodded. "It is hard, when you're the only person like you, and there's no one to talk to."
Naruto and Sakura fell quiet for a moment, and Haku added, "But, I don't think that he really needs someone just like him…just someone who can reach out to him…I mean, if he's like me…"
He bit his lip. Don't be rude! You don't know Sasuke! Don't assume that he's like you!
"Yeah," Sakura said. "Maybe…" She smiled. "I guess you're talking about Naruto, huh?" she asked.
Haku stared as he realized that Sakura was no longer talking about Sasuke's need to talk to others, but his own.
Naruto nodded. "I reach out to people all the time!" He took his chin in his hand in the visual representation of contemplation. "Maybe I can have a talk with Sasuke…"
"Please don't," Sakura said under her breath.
Clattering sounds began to emerge from the kitchen, and Naruto stood up, nearly knocking his chair over. "All right!" he shouted. "Breakfast time!"
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After breakfast, Haku followed Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke to the outside of the temple where five other students were stretching in preparation for the morning run. Sasuke had joined them partway through breakfast, and he had actually sat next to Haku to show him that he hadn't been disgusted by Haku. The water-nin still had not been able to make eye contact with Sasuke, but he hoped that his feelings of shame would soon go away.
"Hey Sakura!" the blonde girl, Ino, shouted as she stood next to the stretching Chouji. "Are you going to try to work off that extra weight today?"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Sakura shouted back, stomping her way towards Ino. As the girls started to bicker, Haku looked over Ino's body for the first time and he realized that she was bone-thin.
"Hey Haku," Sasuke said. Haku forced himself to make eye contact with Sasuke, and he pulled his smiling mask onto his face. "Yes, Sasuke?" he asked softly.
"Who are you going to run with today?"
Eye contact was difficult to maintain, but Haku persevered. "I didn't think about it."
Sasuke nodded, acting completely relaxed. "We run five laps around the temple every morning, and the same people usually stick together." He pointed to the group of three students talking to each other near one of the trees outside the temple. "Kiba, Shino, and Hinata always run together. They've been like that for ages." He pointed to Ino and Chouji. "Chouji and Shikamaru used to walk the whole way together, but Ino's trying to make Chouji lose weight, so she makes him run with her. Shikamaru skips the morning run a lot of the time."
"And we always race each other, of course," Naruto butted in, pointed to himself, Sasuke, and Sakura, who was still speaking, rather loudly, with Ino. "I am proud to say that I am the fastest student here," Naruto added, folding his arms across his chest and looking like he was proud of himself.
Haku tuned Naruto out in favor of watching the sunrise. He wondered where his Master was, but he decided to look for him after the morning run.
Haku could only hope that his Master would not leave without saying goodbye to him.
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Zabuza awoke to the sounds of shouting in the hallway of the building he was staying in.
"Kakashi! Hatake Kakashi!"
It was that boisterous woman again, the Hokage. Zabuza sat up in bed and glared at the door to his room. The walls were thick, but not thick enough to cut down that woman's voice.
"Have you seen Kakashi?" the woman shouted at someone she found in the hall. She roared in frustration a few seconds later, and Zabuza could have sworn he'd heard a body fall to the floor outside his room.
He dressed quickly and left his room. If someone had been killed there recently, the body had been disposed of by that time, and Zabuza instead found the talkative female teacher the and rough male teacher walking outside of his room.
Asuma nodded to him. "Leaving today, huh?" he asked Zabuza.
The question was not welcome, but Zabuza decided to not convey that through words…rather, he glared. Being eyebrow-less allowed him to express himself without having his anger noticed, and this sometimes avoided conflicts that he didn't want to bother avoiding in a more normal, tactful way. "Yeah, I am." He ground out.
The red-eyed woman beside Asuma smiled. "You can bade farewell to Haku when you leave, then. He should be outside the temple for the morning run."
Bade farewell? What time period is this woman from… "Sure." he said before turning and walking away.
What was this talk about leaving and saying farewell? Was that really the business of those people?
I'll leave when I'm damn well ready, he thought as he entered the dining hall. It was filled with children right then…small children. It seemed as though the older students were already training.
Zabuza ate quickly, glad that his face frightened away the more curious children who may have tried to talk to him, but his quick leave was thwarted when the ridiculous man from yesterday sat down across from him.
"Good Morning, Momochi Zabuza!" Maito Gai said as he began to eat breakfast. "It must be so easy for the Young to awaken at these early hours!"
Zabuza's glare failed him. This man was impermeable to it.
"Yeah." Zabuza grunted after Gai did not catch the 'fuck off' hints he was sending him.
Gai winked. "So, your student is staying with Sasuke now! Good Choice!" he said, giving Zabuza an inexplicable thumbs-up. "How is your student? Is he burning with Youthful Power?"
"Yes, it's horrifying," Zabuza said.
The man was impervious to angry sarcasm as well. "I remember the days when I watched over a team of teenagers burning with Youth!" he said, striking a pose. "But those days are over! My cute students Lee, Neji, and TenTen have outgrown me, and I now have a new team of Youthful Students!" With that, he stood and waved at three kids on the other side of the dining hall.
"Konohamaru! Udon! Moegi!" he shouted. "Come meet the foreign water-nin!"
Zabuza watched in horror as three of the children he'd NOT wanted to talk to walked over to the table and sat down. Go. Away.
One of the kids, a boy with messy brown hair, stood in front of the other two, an asthamatic boy with glasses and a girl with red hair worn in pigtails. "Konohamaru," Gai said loudly, "This is Momochi Zabuza, a foreigner who is visiting Our Wonderful Temple!"
"Hi…" Konohamaru said lazily. He turned to his teacher. "Are we going on a mission today, Master Gai?"
"Ah!" the strange man shouted. "Yes, today we are going to the outskirts of the Fire Country--"
Gai paused when Zabuza stood up. "What is wrong, my Young Friend?"
"I need to say goodbye to Haku," Zabuza grunted.
"Oh!" Gai stood and saluted Zabuza in an odd fashion…another pose. "Be off, and enjoy your Burning Youth!" he shouted as Zabuza left the dining hall.
Once away from Crazy Guy, Zabuza found his room once more, packed his things, and prepared to leave the temple. He looked for Kakashi first, but the silver-haired teacher was nowhere to be found. As he gave up on his search, the same dark-haired Uchiha from the night before walked through the hallway crossing the hall Zabuza was walking down, and the other man's eye caught Zabuza and he stopped walking.
"Momochi Zabuza?" the man asked in a low, soft voice.
"Yeah?"
Carefully glancing down each hall on either side first, the dark-haired man walked up to Zabuza. "You're Haku's teacher, correct?"
"Yeah. What about it?" Is everyone at this temple nosy?
The other man studied his face for a moment, then said, "I see." His eyes strayed to the pack Zabuza was carrying. "I see that you're leaving today. The Hokage is busy at the moment, so I will tell her that you've gone."
Zabuza was a little taken aback, but he simply said, "Okay, thanks," and left Itachi standing in the hallway.
Itachi turned away from him and shook his head. That man doesn't understand Haku's potential, does he? I don't want to see his Bloodline Limit wasted because his Master is so short-sighted. I've seen too much of that happen with Sasuke, and I won't let it happen again.
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Haku fell to the ground, clutching his chest, for the third time that morning. His heart hurt, his lungs burned, and all of his energy was gone.
It only made matters worse that Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke insisted on stopping and waiting for him during every collapse. Because of this, all four of them had been lapped by the other two teams, twice.
Haku looked up to see Naruto standing over him, offering him a hand. He took it wordlessly and whispered, "I'm sorry about this. I don't want to drag you down."
Naruto just smiled back. "What are you talking about? We're a team! Right, guys?" he asked, turning to Sakura and Sasuke.
"Right!" Sakura chimed in politely. Haku wasn't sure if she had actually heard the question, from the speed of her response. Sasuke shrugged and said, "Yeah." before leaning back against a tree, closing his eyes during this rest period.
Haku sighed and looked around their resting place. The temple was surrounded by trees, and it provided decent shade against the sun. It seemed like the sun was stronger here than in the Water Country.
Once he had caught his breath, Haku began to walk again and he waved toward the others. "Let's go," he said softly.
They soon finished the fourth lap and, to Haku's surprise, his Master was standing at the temple gate. Hinata, Shino, and Kiba were waiting for the others to finish, and it seemed as though Chouji and Ino had left a while before.
Haku walked up to this Master and waited for a command, order, or acknowledgement, as Zabuza spoke with the guard at the entrance.
"I'm not authorized to assign passwords," the guard said apologetically. "You'll have to talk to Godaime about that."
Zabuza glared at the guard. "I'm in a hurry." He sent a sideways glance at Haku, who shifted under his gaze as he remembered his dream from the night before.
Hinata, in an attempt to prevent any arguments, intervened. "Mr. Momochi," she said politely, "If you would like it, I can memorize your chakra circulatory system signature, and you can use that as a password."
"My WHAT?" he barked, turning to the pale-eyed young woman. Haku watched the exchange in silence.
Hinata took a step back, somewhat intimidated by Zabuza, but she explained. "Y-your body contains something c-c-called a ch-chakra circulatory s-system, and I can see it w-with my B-b-byakugan," she said nervously. "It's part of m-my Bloodline Limit, and i-if I look at your ch-chakra circulatory system, I can tell it apart f-from everyone else's and it can serve as your p-p-password."
Zabuza glared at her for a second, not sure of what to make of that, before he shouted up to the guard, "Will that work?"
"Yes," the guard replied. "Is that alright with you, Ms. Hyuuga?"
Hinata nodded before turning back to Zabuza. The blood vessels in and around her eyes suddenly dilated, and she studied his chakra signature for a moment before saying, "I have it m-memorized, Mr. Momochi. W-when you c-c-come back, I can tell the g-guards to let you in."
Zabuza nodded, and turned back to Haku. He didn't know what to say to him, but he figured that this goodbye wasn't really important, so he simply said, "Get stronger before I come back."
This seemed to surprise Haku a little, but he nodded. "Yes, Master Zabuza. I'll do my best."
His Master gave him a quick nod before leaving the temple grounds.
Naruto glared at his back as he left. "The nerve! He couldn't even say goodbye nicely!"
"Naruto, shut up," Sasuke warned him.
"It's okay," Haku said. "I'm really just glad that he bothered to find me to say goodbye." He smiled softly and turned away from Naruto.
"Let's finish the run, okay?"
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Naruto told Sakura and Sasuke to run ahead of them, and they complied after sharing a look. The blonde ninja would not have normally allowed that sort of thing—for Sakura and Sasuke to be alone together—but he needed to talk to Haku, alone.
He smiled at Haku. The water-nin was thoroughly winded but he was still trying his hardest, and Naruto liked that. If he had known the reason that Haku pushed himself, he would have become angry, but he was blissfully unaware that Haku was fighting against himself to try to satisfy his Master.
Haku kept his eyes down during the last lap. He was afraid of falling behind. He did not want the events of his dream to come true, or at least not the feelings. He did not want to be inadequate.
"So," Naruto said after a few minutes. Haku tore his eyes from the ground and looked at Naruto, too busy concentrating on his breathing to reply.
Naruto continued. "Haku, I know you got mad at me about this before, but I need to talk to you about Zabuza."
Haku narrowed his eyes and choked out a "Yes?"
"If he ever does anything bad to you, or even if he's mean to you, I can get that old-lady-Godaime to grant you sanctuary under the temple."
Haku was silent but for his panting for the next few minutes, and Naruto kept silent as well, letting the information sink in.
"I know you don't want that right now," Naruto said, "but maybe, sometime in the future."
"No," Haku said, but his reply was covered by his panting.
"Just so you know," Naruto said. He smiled at Haku. "Well, I want you to do whatever you want, but you have a home here now too, okay?"
Haku stopped running, and he bent over with his hands on his knees. Naruto stopped beside him, then dropped to the ground and turned onto his back so that he was lying in front of Haku, looking directly up into his face.
This surprised Haku, but Naruto just smiled and said, "Don't get pissed off at me again, okay? I just want to help you. You're my buddy now."
Haku continued to stare down at Naruto before standing up straight and walking away from him. Naruto scrambled off the ground and chased after Haku.
"Hey, hold up!" Naruto said. Haku stopped, then turned back and waited for him. "You're not pissed, are you?" he asked the water-nin.
Haku closed his eyes, then shook his head and looked away.
"You just did something really stupid-looking, and I was afraid of being seen with you right then." With that, the water-nin smiled at him. "Why are you always trying to help me, Naruto?"
Naruto shrugged. "I guess it's because I like you."
Haku stared at him. "You…what?"
"No! Not like that! I mean, come on!" Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'm not Sasuke, for God's sake. I mean, I guess that I like to watch out for people." He rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh, youthful love."
Haku turned around to see Sai sitting in one of the trees surrounding the temple. The dark-haired ninja was sitting on one of the lower branches with a large sketchbook in his lap, and a paintbrush in one hand. He was dressed differently from the other students; he wore a midriff-bearing, black zip-up shirt with a long sleeve on the right side and a short sleeve on the left, black pants, and black gloves.
Naruto glared at Sai. "What love?"
Sai smiled at him and said, "Oh, nothing. After seeing that cute little display over there, I was wondering which of you is on top, that's all."
Haku's face burned. He did not want his sexuality to be suspect at the temple. There were enough things about him that separated him from the other students.
Naruto looked confused for a moment, and then he pointed at Sai and shouted, "Hah! Haku will always come out on top, no matter what he does!" He winked at Haku and Haku could only stare at him and wonder at his ability to evade insults.
Sai stared at him too, dumbfounded, but he recovered quickly. "It seems that some things are a little too advanced for you to understand, Uzumaki." He smiled at Haku. "Or maybe you need experience for that sort of thing to make sense. Anway," he said, standing up, "I've captured that beautiful little moment." He held up his sketchbook, and Haku saw that Sai had drawn him standing over Naruto. The drawing was incredibly lifelike and detailed.
Naruto now blushed, as if he had realized why Haku was uncomfortable with what he'd done earlier. "That's takin' it out of context! Besides, YOU must be gay to think that gay stuff was going on!"
Sai shrugged. "I don't think that's necessarily true." He smiled at Haku. "Well, I guess it's better to be a pansy than to not have a dick." With that, he took his leaves through the trees.
Haku fell to the ground, and Naruto ran to his side. "Are you okay, Haku?" he asked. Haku did not reply, so Naruto said, "Don't worry. Sai says stuff all the time and it's not always true. Like, he said that Ino's in love with Chouji and that Sasuke's older brother wants to screw him, and….uh…well, he said that I don't have a dick and I DO, so just don't worry about him." He offered Haku a hand, but Haku was still far gone.
He's going to tell the others. It seems like Naruto hasn't realized that I'm a homosexual yet, either…I've been hiding what I did with Master, and that's the only evidence, so it makes sense that he doesn't know…maybe no one will believe him.
He shook himself, then took Naruto's hand and let him help him to stand. As he brushed his clothes off, Naruto smiled at him.
"Let's get going, okay? I don't care, I'll carry you the rest of the way." Naruto sighed. "I bet that Sakura and Sasuke are getting worried…."
"Sorry, Naruto."
Naruto hit his forehead. "Um, not because of you! Because we got held up by Sai! He's a mean bastard, huh?"
They started to walk back to the temple.
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After their last lap, Naruto and Haku found Umino Iruka waiting at the entrance to the temple. The man seemed to be fuming, and Haku remembered him as the frustrated man from the other day.
I wonder if he's waiting for us…
He seemed to snap upon seeing the blonde ninja. "Naruto! Where have you been?" he shouted.
Naruto covered his eyes. "Ah! Iruka, you're so loud!"
Iruka didn't let up. "Were you screwing around and wasting time? It's almost lunch already, and the new student was supposed to be back here an hour ago to start training!"
Haku's eyes widened, but as he was about to apologize to the angry man, Iruka's attention turned to him and his anger turned to professionalism. "Hello, Haku," the dark-skinned man said. "I saw you the other day, but we weren't able to meet properly at the time." He extended a hand to Haku. "My name is Umino Iruka, and I'm responsible for teaching the students here at the temple before they're sorted into three-man teams." Haku took his hand, and the man's grip was strong, almost to the point of pain. "If you ever need anything, you can ask me." He smiled.
"Thank you," Haku said.
The man took a step back and folded his arms. "Now, since you two are late, it would be better for you to just hurry off to lunch. Naruto, don't waste Haku's time; he has a lot to do in a short amount of time."
Naruto scoffed. "Me, waste his time?"
"Yes, I can imagine it very easily." Iruka turned to Haku. "I've been informed that you're still new to the basics, but you can probably learn those things on your own. I dropped a few books off at Sasuke's room, and you have my permission to ask Naruto to help you learn anything like that. I was his teacher before, so I know that he's learned the topics well enough."
"Hey!" Naruto shouted angrily. "When I was a genin, I still thought that chakra was called catra! Some teacher you are!"
Haku was once again amazed at the relationship Naruto seemed to develop with every authority figure in his life when Iruka suddenly grabbed Naruto's left ear and pulled, hard.
"OuchouchouchouchouchouchOuch!"
Iruka smirked. "Naruto, think carefully when you speak to your elders. Take the blame for your own faults." He released Naruto and smiled at Haku, who was now very much afraid of the darker man's temper.
"Anyway, this kid knows enough about chakra control now to help you. In fact, you can ask any other chuunin besides Naruto, and I'll have a talk with them if they don't help you."
"Th-thank you," Haku said.
"Don't sweat it, kid!" Iruka said. "Now, run along."
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Zabuza stared down the long road ahead of him. It would only take about half a day to return to the Water Country. He had already packed up all of his belongings and had left his house in Miyuki for good, so he was now free to live wherever he wanted.
The summer months were coming, so he decided to head north for a while.
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Itachi looked through Konoha Temple's Bloodline Limit and Clan Specialty library. There were many volumes on the Uchiha clan; Yondaime had requested years ago that all the clans' records of Bloodline Limits be consolidated and stored in the temple for safekeeping, and his request had been met after the NineTails attack. Itachi had once found an interested ability specific to his clan in the records, but he had been disappointed to find the sacrifice needed to awaken the ability. It had not been one he had been willing to make.
Today, though, he was looking for another set of records.
"Speed…water manipulation…" he muttered as he looked over the clan records. There were volumes upon volumes dedicated to the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans, the pride of Konoha; a few shelves for the Inuzuka, Aburame, Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans; a few shelves for the smaller, lesser-known, or dead clans; and a few books containing miscellaneous clan information.
He soon found what he had been looking for in one of the 'odd' books, and he began to read the first entry.
"The Yukitori clan, native to the Water Country. Little is known about them, but their defining characteristics are sickness during childhood and violence during adulthood, as well as their remarkable speed and the absence of clearly-defined jutsu amongst clan members."
Itachi flipped through the book. The book was small, but it was still only half-full. He found information regarding the clan's general whereabouts, and he began to prepare his next report for Tsunade.
The clock in the library chimed, and Itachi realized that it was lunch time. He doubted that he would have another chance to sneak in some time with Sasuke that day, so he pocketed the book and ran to the temple's dining hall.
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Notes: 100 reviews! Thank you, everyone!
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