Folded Hands, Chapter Twenty-Seven
Pairings: Zabuza/Haku, possibly others later
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
Notes:
New Haku-centric art up! There's even a smutty picture entitled "Zabuza and Haku on the Floor." Hm, I wonder what that could be.
Remember, to see Folded Hands art go to my profile and follow the link to my deviantArt Gallery. To see all of my stuff, click the 'gallery' button.
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
"I know him. I asked for him to come here," Kabuto said firmly. The gates opened, and Haku saw none other than his Master standing outside.
Kabuto noticed him then, and he grinned. "It looks like your Master came back early."
Haku stared at Zabuza, and his heart began pounding in his chest as he waited for an order.
When Zabuza walked past him with Kabuto at his heels, he decided that his Master did not want to make a scene, or that he had more important things on his mind than his slave. Having discerned this, Haku re-entered the temple so that his Master would know where to find him when he needed him. He watched him disappear around a corner, talking quietly to Kabuto as they walked in the direction of the Hokage's office.
Haku let out a deep breath when his Master was out of sight. It would be wrong for him to demand his attention. He was not so important to his Master, after all.
Something in his chest burned, and Haku bit his lip, trying to silence his longing for the man who owned him.
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
Aka had woken, after all, but she immediately entered a coughing fit that worked it way into her caretakers' nerves. Itachi sat by her bed, unable to do anything for her because he had no medical experience, while Zabuza tried to relax in a nearby chair, keeping te girl off his mind as much as he could.
Itachi frowned as another round of coughing wracked her body. Without looking at Zabuza, he said, "We can't travel until her condition improves."
Zabuza snorted. "Maybe she'll just die."
The fire-nin shook his head. "Children of the Yukitori clan usually don't live past the age of eight. She's lived this long, so her body can probably tolerate whatever sickness she's suffering from, even if it weakens her."
"Whatever."
Itachi stood and reached for his coat. "I'm going to get a doctor from the town. He won't be able to cure her, but if we can do something about her coughing and shaking we'll be able to travel with her then." He gave Zabuza a look, as if to say, 'And we're not going to push her' as he closed the latches on his coat.
As he left the room, he added, "Watch her while I'm out."
Itachi left, and Zabuza snorted again. "Like there's anything I can do for you," he grumbled as he watched Aka curl up on the bed and cough herself to death.
He watched her, though. Zabuza knew that Itachi was trying to keep the girl a secret, and that was why they hadn't brought her to a doctor immediately. He also knew that it would be the equivalent of homicide if he didn't take her to a doctor if she started to turn worse, and though Zabuza was rather experienced with homicide he didn't really want to kill the weak little girl on the bed. There was no reason for it, other than to shut her up of course, but that still wasn't a good enough reason.
She stilled, and his attention snapped to her. Aka seemed to have fallen asleep.
Was Haku like this when he was younger?
The image of a younger Haku lying sick in bed changed his opinion of the girl. If it had been Haku, he wouldn't have cared about any doctor discovering his identity. Haku would be in the hospital now, and Zabuza would have been the one sitting by the bed, worry consuming his concentration, his eyes fixed on Haku's face, looking to pick up any change in his condition.
Aka did look like Haku, though, and Zabuza knew that two people from a clan that small must have been closely related. They could have been cousins. They could have been siblings.
Zabuza sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He was going stiff from sitting in his chair, so he stood to stretch.
The sudden movement awoke Aka, and she turned around and stared at him for a moment before screaming.
He immediately walked over to the bed and clamped his hand over her mouth, whispering, "Shut up, shut up, shut up," and she fell silent for a moment before another coughing fit overtook her body. Zabuza released her and she fell limp to the bed, one hand covering her mouth as she tried to watch Zabuza.
"Look," he said, and she shrank back from his loud voice, "I'm not going to kill you."
Aka continued to stare.
Zabuza sighed. Fuckin' kids. "We're bringing you back to a temple in the Fire Country," he said when he coughs subsided.
"Why?"
Her voice was scratchy, telling of her sickness. Zabuza shook it off; she'd get better, there was no use worrying about little things like that.
She looked around. "Where am I? Where is my family?"
There were no good answers to the second question, so Zabuza just gave her a bad one. "Your family members were killing people and destroying the village, so I and some other guy killed them. We won't kill you, though, because you're just a kid." Her eyes widened and she tried to back away from him, and she fell over the edge of the bed. He met this reaction with a blank, unamused stare, and she crawled backwards toward the nearest wall as if to protect herself.
Zabuza rolled his eyes and decided to let her bed. "You're in a hotel in White Town right now. Any other questions?"
She covered her head with her arms, and said, "Don't do it to me."
He gave her a look. "What?"
She started to shake. "It's already in there. Nothing else can go in there right now."
Is she talking about...sex? Zabuza's eyes narrowed. Judging from her terror she did seem to be talking about sex, or more likely rape, considering her circumstances.
He rolled his eyes. Why couldn't Itachi have dealt with this crap? It would have been funny to hear the girl call Itachi a child molester, but himself? "No one's going to do 'it' to you."
"But…we're in a room together."
"Yeah. We can watch over you this way."
"I know what happens when I'm alone in a room with a man."
Zabuza shook his head and Aka watched him, waiting for him to attack her. "Well, if someone told you that was what was supposed to happen, they were lying. Neither I, or that other guy, or anyone at the temple…probably…" he added, because he didn't know much about Konoha Temple, "…are going to do that to you."
"Liar."
He narrowed his eyes at her and she returned the look with a blank glare, as if she was actually waiting for it to happen, and Zabuza was the one who didn't know what was supposed to happen.
Zabuza slumped back down into his chair. "Whatever. Don't talk to me anymore. That other guy is going to be back soon and he's bringing a doctor with him."
"A…what?"
He gave her a look. "A doctor. Someone who takes care of you when you're sick."
Aka blinked at him, and he shook his head. "Never mind, you'll see when he comes."
Zabuza closed his eyes and hoped that she wouldn't start talking again. It was bad enough that they were being kept behind because of her; he wouldn't stand to listen to a little girl, even if she was a relative of Haku's, insult him by calling him a rapist.
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
Team Ten came back to the temple during lunch. Haku was sitting with Naruto then, watching for any sign of his Master in the dining hall.
He forced a smile to his face when Shikamaru sat down across from him. The lazy ninja took one look at him and said, "Sorry about earlier today. Godaime gave us a mission and made us leave before daybreak."
"It's okay," Haku said. He really, honestly didn't care; his Master was back at the temple, and even if he was going to leave again soon, Haku knew that he would probably get a chance to talk to the man, even if it was only for a few minutes.
Chouji and Ino joined them, and Haku ate in silence as his dark eyes darted around the dining hall. At long last, he saw his Master enter the room with Asuma and Kurenai, and the man glanced at him for a moment before entering the private dining room with them.
There was contempt in that glance, and Haku didn't miss it.
He set his chopsticks down and stared at his food as he wondered what he'd done. One of the teachers may have told his Master about Haku's progress, or lack thereof, and perhaps the man was angry with him for that. Or maybe Yondaime had jokingly told him about Haku's brief foray into vandalism, and his Master intended to punish him for it. Or had he accidentally been rude again when his Master reentered the temple? Had his Master learned of his illegal fight with Sai?
Naruto suddenly slapped him hard on the back, and he jumped out of his chair, holding one chopstick to Naruto's throat as he stood over him.
Naruto's eyes widened, and he laughed. "That was great!" he shouted. Haku blushed when he realized that he'd drawn the attention of the other Chuunin at the table, and he quickly sat down without making any noise. He set his chopsticks down and tried to compose himself as Naruto put his hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" the blonde ninja asked, and Haku forced himself to smile again.
"Yes," he said, "I'm actually rather excited because my Master came back to the temple today."
Naruto frowned. "I was kind of hoping he'd never come back." He snuck a look at Haku. "He's not going to take you away yet, is he?"
Haku blinked, and he looked away as he tried to think of the best answer to that question. He actually had no idea as to what his Master's intentions were, since the man had not spoken to him upon returning to the temple. "I don't know," he admitted. "He was busy when he came into the temple, so I didn't get a chance to talk to him."
Naruto folded his arms and scowled. "Well, he shouldn't take you away yet! You still have a lot of training to do here with us, and it would be mean to take you away when you haven't finished it!"
His voice had risen, and a few of the other Chuunin fell silent as they listened to Naruto. Embarrassed, Naruto unfolded his arms and began to shovel food into his mouth, hoping no one would find any reason to stare at him any more.
"I don't think he's going to take me away, though," Haku said as he picked up his chopsticks. His food had cooled considerably, but he began to eat it slowly. "He made an agreement with the Hokage that I would remain here for a month, and that month has not passed."
Naruto nodded. "And, remember what I told you."
"What?" Haku asked. He looked away from his food to see Naruto had stopped eating, and was staring at his own plate, a look of seriousness on his face. Naruto turned to him and smiled as widely as he could.
"You know, that day you told me that I did something that looked stupid."
"Oh."
You mean, Naruto, that I am welcome to part with my Master and stay at the temple.
Naruto began to eat again, though not with as much gusto as before, and Haku returned to his food. They ate in silence, and Haku hoped that he would never accidentally take that offer.
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
Itachi watched the town doctor look over Aka. She stared at both of them, her eyes round and her expression undecipherable, as she received what Itachi guessed was her first-even medical examination. She did not speak while the doctor looked over her, though, and Itachi knew that there was a good possibility that any input from her would have complicated the situation.
The doctor's eyes widened when he saw Aka's abdomen, and Itachi shook his head, already knowing the question on the man's lips. "It's not mine, or my traveling companion's," he said firmly.
The doctor paused his examination. "Then whose is it?"
"I don't know. We found her a few days ago, and I was worried when realized how sick she was. It seems as though she doesn't have any family to care for her, and she was left to die on the street."
The doctor gave Itachi a look saying that he didn't buy that story one bit, and he continued to examine Aka. "Her condition is terrible. I doubt that she'll be able to carry the child to term. I can't believe that some people would do this to a child."
Itachi narrowed his eyes at the doctor's back. He knew that no good would come of further refuting his identity as the child's father, though, so he kept quiet and waited for the doctor's report.
Zabuza had left the hotel without explanation, but he had left his belongings to Itachi didn't worry about him running off. He knew that the water-nin was sick of Aka, and he hoped that nothing distressing had happened when he had left them alone together.
"Well," the doctor said after a few minutes, "I can do something about that coughing." He opened his bag and handed Itachi a few vials of pale pink liquid. "Have her take one of these by mouth each morning, at least until you can have another doctor see her."
"Is there anything else wrong with her?" Itachi asked.
The doctor shook his head. "Other than the fact that she's pregnant, yes. It seems as though she might have a respiratory infection, and her hearing could be permanently damaged if the infection finds its way to her ears. Her body is also extremely weak, so you'll need to watch what you feed her. Don't overexert her, or her condition will worsen."
Itachi nodded. "Thank you for your assistance," he said.
"Glad to be of service." The doctor rubbed his chin. "Now, the matter of payment…"
The fire-nin pulled out the wallet he used for mission expenditures and paid the doctor. When the man had left, Itachi pulled another blanket down from the hotel closet's upper shelf and laid if over Aka. She had fallen asleep again, a quiet sleep this time, and Itachi sighed as he dropped back down into the chair next to Aka's bed.
Sasuke had fallen sick several times as a child, and one time had had become almost as sick as this girl. There was one year when snow fell over Konoha Village near the end of winter, and the academy faculty called it a snow day, even though the snow did not pose any threat to travelers and the snow day actually increased outdoor activities. Sasuke had come home immediately, of course, because he knew his parents would expect him to return home and not to play with the other children. He had studied that day, and when the snow stopped falling at night Fugaku had taken him outside for weapons practice.
Itachi was a fifteen-year old ANBU captain that year. He came back from a mission late that night. The house was dark, and it was only the muffled sounds of snow and cloth that had told Itachi that he was not alone outside.
He had activated his Sharingan, and to his surprise what he found was not a burglar or a small animal but his little brother building a snowman.
Sasuke froze when he realized his brother was standing over him, and Itachi laughed softly and patted him on the head. "Did you sneak out, little brother?" he asked softly.
Without waiting for Sasuke to answer, Itachi picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. "Put me down!" Sasuke hissed.
"It's bed time," Itachi said as he carried Sasuke into the house. It seemed as though Sasuke had been outside for quite some time, because he woke up the next morning with a violent cough and a dangerous fever.
Itachi had luckily not had a mission for the next three days, so he stayed home and looked after Sasuke while Fugaku went to the office. Their mother had dropped in from time to time to find Itachi sitting near Sasuke's bed as he filled out ANBU reports, and she had decided to leave them alone, hoping that the time they spent together would improve Itachi's temperament.
He now watched over Aka, and he found himself smiling as he reminisced.
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
The snowfall in White Town had ceased, so the snow that was crunched under Zabuza as he walked around the dismal town had turned at dirty shade of brown from constant trampling with muddy shoes. The water-nin walked around the town, the desire to breathe fresh air overpowering the desire to stay indoors.
Aka's presence had worn down his nerves, and he couldn't stand to be around her, at least not until later that night when she would be sleeping. There wasn't much for him to do outdoors, but he could clear his head.
He wanted to see Haku again. Zabuza had realized after leaving his slave at the temple that Haku's presence was somewhat enjoyable. He would have preferred working with Haku to working with Itachi. This was not to say that Zabuza hadn't liked Itachi as a partner; they seemed to have an understanding, a don't-talk-to-me understanding, and Zabuza had liked that. The difference was that Itachi did not want to speak to him, and that Haku did want to speak to him, though not about things that normal people would talk about.
Zabuza was not lonely. It was Haku he wanted, and not Haku's absence that he loathed. Freedom was wonderful, even if that freedom meant freedom from Haku. His slave had proven to be interesting, though, and he wanted to see him again because he had recently realized that he knew very, very little about Haku.
The sky had darkened, so he turned around and started to walk back to the hotel. Zabuza wondered if Itachi was going to take the second bed in the room. He didn't really care about who slept on the floor, but if that issue turned into an argument, he knew that he would start to care. He reasoned that he could actually check out another room, and he decided that he would do so upon returning to the hotel.
He wouldn't have to listen to that girl cough anymore.
Zabuza sighed. This mission had become bothersome, and he couldn't wait to get rid of the girl and Itachi.
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
Haku saw his Master in the hall after dinner that night. He looked around the hallway to make sure that his Master was not busy speaking with anyone before walking up to him and bowing.
His heart pounded in his chest as he said, "Hello, Master," in as steady a voice as he could.
"What do you want?"
Haku straightened his back. The look of contempt had returned to his Master's face, and Haku had to fight not to take a step back to try to escape from his glare. "May I speak with you in your room, Master?"
His Master gave him a look, then shrugged. "Sure, kid," he said.
Haku followed him, his heart racing, as his Master walked back to his room. Once they were both inside, the urge to have some sort of bodily contact with the man started to build up inside of Haku, but he swallowed it back down, not wanting to upset his Master.
His Master folded his arms as he looked at him. "What was it you wanted to talk about, Haku?" he asked sternly.
"I…I wanted to see if you wanted anything from me, Master." he said softly.
"Anything?"
"Yes, Master."
His Master took a step toward him and touched his chin gently, looking over his face. The act startled Haku but he kept his mouth shut. If his Master wanted to look at him, then he could only feel proud for being worth looking at.
He was further startled when his Master leaned down and whispered in his ear, "When as pretty a boy as you says something like that, they have to think twice about what it might mean."
Haku blushed and looked away. "If…if you want that, Master, I…I'll let you do whatever you want, of course." This was only natural. His Master owned his body, after all, so Haku didn't need to offer himself to him. He was there for the taking.
His Master suddenly pushed him against the wall and pinned his wrists on either side of his head. Haku took this as submissively as he could, wondering what had happened to make his Master act this way.
"Haku," his Master growled into his ear, "you came here to let me fuck you? You came here to kiss my ass, did you?"
He was released, and his Master glared at him. "You're disgusting. Get out of here, and stay out of my sight. If I want you, I'll come get you. Is that understood?"
Haku slumped back against the wall. "Y-yes, Master," he choked out as he watched his Master, waiting for his next move.
The man pulled him away from the wall and pushed him towards the door. "Are you deaf?" he shouted as Haku stumbled backwards. "I said, GET OUT!"
Haku found the door knob behind him and nearly fell out of the room. His Master slammed the door shut and locked it, leaving Haku shaking on the floor.
He stood slowly, his body still shaking, and he gave his Master's door a glance before making his way back to his room.
Master…what happened?
Haku dragged his feet, avoiding everyone who passed him in the hall. I…did I do something wrong? I should have said no, that I didn't mean something like that, that I meant only a normal order…I was going to let him…he must think I'm rather desperate, to want to get back into bed with him. We only slept together once, after all…
Tears began to burn down the sides of his face, and he lamented what he'd said and done, wishing that his Master would be able to forgive him someday.
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
