Authors Note: Well, heya *waves* Work's just eating me up. Took me way longer to even start on this chapter... It's rather short, but I never really got around to writing much lately. Can't be helped I guess.
Oh, and the chapter title might already spoil it, but it's mainly wrapping up several loose ends in this chapter to make Wave complete. Have fun.
The chapter after, whenever I may get to start writing on it, they will be back in Konoha. Got a few things and ideas planed, some random stuff to sort out, some character development (anyone remember the girls mental spaces?), and much more.
XXXXX
A Tale of two Sisters - Chapter 32: What happened afterwards -or- what they usually don't show in a series, cause it's too boring/long
"Okay, so what now?" Naruto threw the question into the room, his eyes shifting from one occupant to the next.
The group headed back to Tazuna's place after the fight at the bridge was over. Sitting around the table in the living room were a part of them, namely Tazuna, Kakashi, Naruto and Zabuza. The bridgebuilder wasn't too happy to have the rogue nin in his home, but he couldn't deny the fact that Zabuza helped his cause in the end. And with Gato dead was it unlikely that he got attacked by him right now, especially with Kakashi sitting at the same table. Or so he hoped at least.
Zabuza just sat there anyway, his eyes closed, his arms crossed over his chest. His thoughts were at the exact same question that Naruto voiced just now. The only difference was that he was thinking about himself and Haku, not about the things the boy would have on his mind, like the mission the Konoha shinobi had. He had no answer to this question just yet. On the positive side for him stood the point of not having to work for Gato anymore. Something he clearly found no fault at. On the negative side stood the point, that he had no backup plan and going back to roaming the land wasn't that tempting on his list.
It was Kakashi who broke the silence, but not answering Naruto's question at all. "Are you sure you don't want to go upstairs and join the girls for some treatment?" He was honestly concerned about his genin. Not only was he injured by Haku's senbon, but also suffered a major injury at his leg from the Earth Spikes when he tried to bring Hinata out of the danger.
A pout entered his face. "I told you I'm fine. That will heal in no time, you'll see." he crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes challenging Kakashi. "And don't think I wouldn't notice that you avoided my question. So, what now, Spooky?"
"But it would be a good excuse to get some nice looks at your teammates." Zabuza said with a smirk, his eyes still closed. "Judging by the wounds they suffered Haku will at least strip the older one to bandage her up. Haku won't throw you out and your teammates are in no condition to do it themselfs."
Looking back at Zabuza with an open mouth Naruto wasn't able to form a response at first, before blushing red and shifting his look at a wall. "Pervert." he mumbled before getting louder again. "I wouldn't take advantage of their situations like that!"
"Your loss." Zabuza simply shrugged, never having opened his eyes during that exchange.
"I believe Naruto simply don't want to pull their wrath on himself. They are his teammates after all and he will see them quite often in the future." Kakashi said neutrally with Naruto nodding in agreement. "Though I have to agree with Zabuza, it is a good opportunity for you."
"WHAT!?" Naruto shouted, before his brain send him into a loop. He knew that Kakashi was some kind of a pervert. It wasn't too hard to figure out, considering the books he always read in open sight. But that he would agree on Zabuzas proposal he just couldn't grasp.
Eyeing Naruto for a moment Tazuna shook his head. "Okay, I get that you don't want him around for whatever is to be discussed right now, but..." he shook his head again. "Wasn't that a bit too much?"
"We are shinobi." was the simple answer that Kakashi gave him. "Think about what happened today."
"Hmm, enjoy your live while you can?" he shook his head again. "Well, true, the outcome was... rather lucky and unexpected. But his question does concern me too. What happens next?"
Finally opening one eye Zabuza looked over at the bridgebuilder. "Why are you of all people worried about that one? The answer for you is simple. You'll build your bridge. Gato is dead. Most of his hired men are dead. There is nobody left to stop you from doing it." he let out a long sigh. "I'm the one with problems here. I've got nowhere to go now, no place to be. And the villagers aren't exactly friendly towards my presence."
"Well, you did help us today..." Tazuna started, but was quickly interrupted by Zabuza.
"...which for one nobody has seen and two you are as wary of me as everybody else. You aren't even comfortable with me being inside your home right now." Zabuza finished for Tazuna, closing his eye again. "They don't call me 'Demon' for nothing, you know?"
Kakashi raised a hand to interrupt whatever answer was about to come from the bridgebuilder. "You see, I do have an idea about that..."
The girls room, upstairs
"Will you stop squirming around? I'm trying to patch you up here." Haku scolded Hinata who flinched and rolled around under every touch of the older teen.
Hinata blushed slightly, not being able to look at Haku. "...sorry." she said quietly. While she could ignore the pain somewhat during the fight, thanks to the adrenaline in her body, she now felt every spot a senbon struck her with doubled intensity. "I can't help it, okay? And... it's embarassing..."
Hearing that Haku did a half step backwards to take a good look at the girl who was sitting only in her underwear and collar in front of her. That intensified Hinatas blush some more and she tried to cover her chest with her hands. "I don't see your problem. You look good for your age." the teen said smiling. "Besides, as a slave should you be used in being undressed."
That irritated Hinata, making her look back at the older teen in confusion. "What do you mean by that? What has that to do with... that?"
"Huh, well, lucky you." Haku replied, a bit of surprise hearable in her voice. "That's the main reason why most people take on female slaves." she shrugged. "Anyway, stop squirming or I can't apply the bandages. Don't want your body to not heal properly, do we?"
Right now Hinata wasn't really able to make the connection Haku pointed at. Being in thought about that she let her apply the bandages, the thoughts distracting her from the pain for a moment.
That was til Hanabi spoke up. Her body nearly completely hidden below two blankets, her voice quiet and shivering, her body still freezing from the events not too long ago. But she was fully aware of her surroundings and of course listened to the conversation between her sister and Haku. "...I never ordered her too..."
Not stopping with the bandages did a small smile enter Hakus lips. "Well, that's a bit of a surprise, but it does explain a few things. I was wondering about your mistress, cause there was nobody suitable for being her in your group. Or so I thought." she spoke casually, like it would be the most normal topic ever. "Aren't you a bit young to take on a slave?"
The blankets moved a bit, but beside of that was it hard to tell that Hanabi had moved at all. "...her choice..."
"I... see." Haku nodded slightly and motioned for Hinata to lay down on her stomach, that she could work on the backside. "Any particular reason you wanted to become a slave? Usually it's... well... like back then. Kids, girls, being kidnapped and forced into it."
Hinata let out a long sigh. "I didn't knew enough about it when I made a bet with her. But I don't regret it now. I'm happy with Hanabi-sama." she said quietly, trying to avoid going into too much detail. "And... we overcame the past. Well, mostly at least... A lot happened, you know? Don't worry, we aren't mad for your involvement."
"So you do remember?" Haku asked, an apolegetic smile on her face, though none of the girls saw it. "I was surprised when I saw all of you again. But it's good to know that the Organization wasn't able to do something to you." she paused a moment before adding a bit more. "I mean, you were at the bridge too. We don't like them too much either."
She finished applying the bandages to Hinatas body and a playful smirk crossed her lips. Her hand rose up and quickly came down again, giving a slap on Hinatas ass cheek. A loud and surprised 'eeep!' escaped the girls lips. The sound also surprised Hanabi and she actually showed her head between the blankets, curious at what was going on. "There, all done." Haku chimed happily, smiling at the two sisters. "So, the orders from Zabuza-sama were clear. We are having a lot of time for ourselfs til someone comes to get us. What are we going to do now?"
Outside the village, near a cave
To say he was surprised couldn't be more wrong. He knew "Her" and she knew him, so it was to be expected that she would send someone after him. But he was amazed how easily they found the cave he used before entering the village. And what they created out of the entrance of it. If he wouldn't know that there indeed was a cave, he would have missed it completely.
Approaching what could be called a merchants camp he made no attempt to hide his pressence. The pair occupying the camp, one male and one female, on the other hand weren't giving him any attention in return. Their cart was parked in front of the cave entrance, some blankets and other stuff covering whatever might have been visible of it beneath the cart.
The female was currently stirring around in a kettle with stew inside that hang above a makeshift fireplace, the male carrying a tray containing four empty bowls towards her. It seemed the food was nearly finished.
Taking a seat on one of the crates standing around J watched the pair for a short while, before the male came over, giving him a filled bowl with stew. "So you are the collectors she send after me this time? I've got to say, you seem to work quick and efficent." J spoke up, removing his hood to start eating.
The male grinned and looked back over to the female. "See? I told you he wouldn't remember. You owe me one!"
"Not my fault for thinking he would at least try to remember our faces, right? I mean, we are always cleaning up after him..." she answered with a pout, but nodded anyway to show that she agreed on the terms, that she owed him one.
"Even so it would mean we failed in our job. You know as good as I that our talent to not stand out, to disappear from memory, is what brought us into this worthy position." he still grinned.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." she replied with an exaggerated sigh. "Now hurry up and finish with the details. I don't like to be in one place for too long..."
He simply finished his stew while the pair talked to each other. It was a welcomed thing that the collectors always had something to eat ready whenever he came back. The one or other time he actually wondered about that, but never gave it a second thought. It must be a random coincidence. Every single time. For as long as J was second in command below "Her". Pure chance.
"Righty. Let's not waste time here. J-sama, we already found the merchandise you kept inside the cave. Where else do we need to pick up?" the male asked J, a serious expression on his face.
"That's all this time." J shrugged his shoulders, not really caring a bit in the world. "Stuff happened and I lost some additional merchandise. But that's fine. Got some worthy informations for 'Her', so we are good to leave as soon as possible."
The male looked at his boss for a moment before shrugging himself. "Well, that's not like you, but fine by us."
He gave a quiet whistle and a boy of maybe 14 years appeared from inside the cave, walking into the camp to pick up his bowl of food. "The merchandise is secured, dad. Where else?" he asked after walking over to the others.
"Easy job today. We are packing right after lunch." came the short reply from the male, getting him a nod as answer.
It was only half an hour later that the group was heading out, all traces of them erased from the surrounding area. For anyone watching was it a simple merchant group consiting of three adults and one kid. Safely secured within the cargo however, away from prying eyes, was the bridge builders family that was unlucky enough to cross the path of the Organization, on their way to an unknown future...
Evening, the same day
"How's Hanabi doing?" Kakashi asked the unusually absent minded Hinata who sat at the table, having barely touched her meal.
"A few days of recovering and rest and Hanabi-sama should be back on top." came the answer more automatic than really aware by the girl.
That of course didn't go unnoticed by Kakashi. "Okay Hinata, look at me." he waited for the girl to give him the attention he asked for. "And now tell me why you are acting so... strange for yourself. I get your relationship to your sister, but since when do you talk that formal about Hanabi?"
She shook her head. "Sorry, Spooky. I didn't meant to. I mean, I do respect her and all..." she trailed off, biting her lower lip and shaking her head again. "It's just... Haku used her time to... inform us about so many things related to us 'tools', as she called us."
Not sure how to react to that information, how to reply, as his knowledge about slavery narrowed down to the absolute basic things - Konoha wasn't involved with slavery for quite some time now - did he the first thing that come to his mind. "Well, I'm glad you three get along so well." he told her with an honest smile, only to receive a disbeliefing stare from Hinata in return.
The next morning
The group of workers warily eyed the Demon sitting a bit aside from the construction site. The Konoha shinobi nearby didn't help much to sooth their minds, so one of them spoke to Tazuna what all of them thought. "I get that you want us to continue..." his eyes shifted over to the strongly destroyed bridge "...or better start over with the bridge construction. And we are willing to work, despite our killed friends yesterday. But... what the hell is that Demon doing here? There's no way we are risking our lives again!"
His statement was supported by the other workers and Tazuna tried his best to calm them all down. "I can understand you. A lot happened yesterday and I too might be dead now. But, as a fact, Gato is dead. Most of his men are dead. And we can now continue our work on the bridge without having to worry about them sabotaging us even more."
"That doesn't explain why the Demon is here." another worker stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "Who says that he won't turn at us?"
"I do." Kakashi answered the question. "Because, with Gato gone, was he looking for a new contractor and Konoha hired him to help in the defense of the construction site. You can do your job without having to worry and we shinobi will do our job. Now, if you'll excuse me."
"You heard him. Now, let us get back to work. We need to judge the damage and most likely start from scratch, but this time we'll finish our bridge and bring prosperity back to our village. Who's with me?" Tazuna cheered his men on, getting positive replies from the workers.
A bit away Zabuza watched the scene, but stayed on distance. When Kakashi arrived him he spoke up. "You sure about that? I mean, I don't mind being able to stay in this village a bit longer. The best I could ask for is if they would ignore me. But..."
Kakashi gave him one of his smiles. "You worry to much. I'm sure they'll believe that Konoha hired your service. And that will give us plenty of time to actually talk about how to continue, right?"
"I'm not going to join Konoha." Zabuza replied firmly, crossing his arms. The smile Kakashi gave him eating at his patience. They called him a demon, but if he was one, would that make Kakashi a silver tongued devil...
Up on the ruin of the bridge, it was hard to call it any other way, was Naruto watching Haku crawling around between the remains of the Earth Spikes. It was more or less the area they fought the day before he figured. "What are you searching for, Haku-chan?" he asked in a mixture of cheerfulness and curiosity.
Hearing that she shot up from the ground, glaring at him. "Don't call me that! I'm a boy, remember?" the grin on Narutos face unnerved her. "Okay, look, it's worse enough that you and the girls know, okay? But please, don't shout it out to the public..."
He rose his hands in defense. "Alright, no need to get the ice senbon out again. Had enough of them yesterday..." his smile somehow managed to disarm the situation. "So, what are you looking for?"
Getting back to the ground Haku let out a sigh and Naruto was sure he saw a blush for a short moment before she vanished from his sight. "My collar..." she answered somewhat subdued. "I'm sure these spikes ripped it off, so it must be somewhere around here. And you could help me search, you know?"
"Uhm, okay... but I don't think I would be of much help." he answered but started to search anyway. "But why do you search for it? I mean, it's just a collar, right? You could replace it. Or simply stop wearing it."
"I knew you wouldn't get it..." she grumbled quietly. "I would have asked Hinata, weren't she ordered to stay behind and heal up. She would have understood. I got it from Zabuza-sama and it's important to me. Isn't that a good enough reason for you?"
"Sure thing!" Naruto chimed happily. "I was just curious, that is all."
Some time later, within the village
She woke up with a loud groan, her whole body in pain. At first wasn't she even able to think straight, to grasp her situation or figure out who or where she was. It took her several minutes before she actually managed to open her eyes, to try to at least make any sense of her situation beside of the pain in her body, that seemed to radiate from her back through the rest of it.
But all she saw was white and nothing else. Again it took some time, but she eventually figured that she was laying or her stomach and the white she saw actually was the pillow her head rested on. With this realization she turned her head to the side, only to exchange the white with a wall that didn't gave her any more information. But now she reacted quicker and turned her head towards the other side, exchanging her vision with the image of a typical... her head started to ache trying to figure it out.
"An inn room...?" she asked herself, not even sure if she had spoken or not. But her head worked good enough to piece it together. There was a second bed, she figured she was in one too, and a simple table with two chairs. Nothing fancy, all pretty plain. Yes, it must indeed be an inn room.
Now that the question of where she is was answered, even so some details were still missing, did she move on to the next question. Who was she and why was she here. The first was a tough one, her head totally hazy, the pain distracting her from thinking. The second one was an even bigger mystery for her that couldn't be answered without answering the first question.
Figuring that staying put in bed wouldn't help her in solving these questions she turned around, trying to ignore the pain in her body, to lay on her back to increase her field of vision. That sounded like a good first step to her. Her body however had another opinion on that matter and she couldn't help but to scream out loud the moment her back made contact with the bed.
That however alerted whoever brought her to his room as just some moments later the door opened, a man quickly approaching her while taking in the situation and why she had screamed. "Woah there, don't overdo anything. It's a miracle that you're still alive to begin with. No point in trying to finish yourself off here." he scolded her with a deep voice, helping her up into a sitting position to get the pressure away from her back.
She looked back at the man with a dumbstruck expression, her head starting to ache again. That man looked familiar to her, but it was too hard to focus properly. In the end she simply mumbled a quiet "Thanks...", her eyes loosing focus and aimlessly looking around the room.
"Well, it's good that you are awake. Clearly an improvement. Can you sit by yourself?" he asked concerned, carefully taking away his hands from her body. When she neither responded but also not fell back towards the bed did he nod slightly. "Alright. Just wait here a bit, okay? I'll be right back with something to eat for you."
Her eyes focused on the retreating man. She was certain that she knew him, but she just couldn't place him right now.
Once he returned she was able to eat in silence, only now realizing how hungry she actually was. The man, she could tell that he had questions for her, just like she had some for him, was nice enough to wait for her to finish up.
With her stomach filled was the headache also slowly going away, her body distributing the energy needed to the different parts. It was then that she finally recognized the man, her eyes going wide. "You are the barkeeper!" she burst out loud, surprising the man a lot.
"Well, yes, of course. You and your friends were visiting me nearly daily the last month. Though... I'm afraid to tell you that your friend is dead..." he stopped here, waiting for her reaction, not sure how much he should tell her. But she deserved to know, that much was clear to him.
"My... friend...?" she started quietly, trying to remember what happened. Or whom the barkeeper talked about. Or whom she was to begin with. And suddenly did it all came back to her. The fight on the bridge, the accident that lead to her injury by her friend, the Konoha shinobi who let them walk away, how he treated her in a backalley... "Revy!" she shouted out loud, her eyes focusing on the barkeeper. "Revy is... he is... no..."
"I'm sorry, but there was nothing I could do for him. It was pure luck that I found you two in the alley when I closed up the bar in the morning. Or that you survived..." he shook his head. "Look, you should rest for now. That injury on your back is bad enough to still kill you. We will talk later."
Liane nodded absent-minded and pulled her legs close to her body, holding them with her arms and started sobbing. Revy was dead. She didn't knew about Angriff. And not to forget that sick bastard who killed her friend and would have enslaved her if he weren't in a hurry. If she would ever hear his voice again...
Two days later
"Yo." this single word, the sudden appearence of a voice, startled her. She shot up from her bed to check for whoever talked, her eyes landing on the figure of the Konoha shinobi she fought on the bridge standing in the doorframe and giving her a lazy wave with the hand.
"Are you here to finish me?" she asked neutrally. It wouldn't surprise her. In theory she was already dead. It was a fancy part of fate that had saved her life when she was close to taking her last breath. She was prepared to die.
Kakashi shook his head no. "Gato is dead. Most of his men are dead. I just thought you wanted to know these things."
"So you are here to hold me to my word of switching sides, yes?" she asked carefully, her eyes never leaving the shinobi. Her mind was clear by now, her memories back completely. "Tell me, what happened to Angriff? Where is he?"
"The scarred guy you two were covering? He didn't made it." she figured as much and nodded slightly, her eyes asking an unspoken question. "He was beaten by Naruto. You know, the boy in my team. From what I learned was he encouraging him with his last breaths. Naruto said he liked him, despite being his enemy." he ended his explanation, waiting for Liane to react to these new informations.
She looked back at Kakashi in silence, her brain working through the informations. After a few minutes passed she spoke up. "I've to think about it. I'll give you my answer once I'm able to move properly and can leave this place."
"Meet with us at the bridge builders place. One of us will always be at his home. They will be informed." he gave her a smile through his mask and turned to leave.
"Thank you..." she said quietly. "For giving a foolish girl a second chance..."
"Seems to be a bad habit of mine."
At the construction site
It was an image one needed to see themselfs or it was just hard to believe.
Naruto got bored from guard duty pretty quick and, after getting approval from Kakashi on it, walked over to the workers, asking if he could help them out. Everything was better to him than doing nothing. At first the workers laughed at him, telling him off for being to young to help them. Which was something Naruto was not too happy about, so he challenged them. While he clearly had no experience or knowledge about building a bridge, he could at least help out with supportive actions.
One of the workers, still laughing, nodded to him. Still not believing that Naruto could help did he point the boy to a pretty large stone that would be part of the new bridge, telling him to lift it up and carry it further down the brigde to where it was needed. Not one to back down from his word, Naruto tried his best to lift the stone up, and failed, much to the amusement of the workers around.
Grinning back to the workers he did a handsign and was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. Once it settled down instead of one there was a dozen Narutos, silencing the workers in an instant. Having used quite a lot of Shadow Clones during the fight on the bridge, even so they were summoned after each other, he figured he could try and go for a larger group at once and it worked without any problems. Three of the clones picked the stone up and moved it to where it was needed, the other Narutos grinning at the workers.
"Well?" he asked cheerfully, the grin never leaving his face. "What do you say? Guard duty is boring, I need something to do. And you could need the assistance, right?"
"Righto, kiddo." one of the workers spoke, nodding in his direction. "We misjudged you and are sorry for that. Your help is very welcome and appreciated and it will speed things up for us. But don't go complaining on us if you fail and exhaust yourself." turning back to his co-workers he started to yell out. "What are you guys gawking at? The bridge won't build itself with you standing around!"
Some distance away Tazuna watched the situation and nodded slightly, before turning to Kakashi. "I've got to say, the boy has energy. To think that he would volunteer to help us with material transportation... that will clearly speed things up."
"He really is something." Kakashi agreed. "Started his reputation as a prankster. I believe he wanted attention. But after meeting the girls was his energy shifted towards being helpful to others. And the cheery nature he had from the beginning."
"If only my grandson had his view on live and his energy..." Tazuna trailed off a little. "Speaking of, how's the search going?"
"Would be easier if I had any trail to begin with. My partners are doing there best, but as it stands do I doubt that we'll find any signs at all." he shrugged a bit. "Your family could be anywhere between here and the village you sent them to. Or anywhere else at all. Without any clue about where to start looking at..."
"I know, I know... it's just... building the bridge feels kinda pointless to me if my family isn't here with me." he let out a long sigh. "Anyway... thanks for looking. I mean... you know..."
"No need to appology again. We know that you lied, that you are paying not enough and we still decided to stick around. Let's just finish this thing for good." Kakashi replied neutrally, not sure how often he would be hearing this appology in the near future again.
Tazunas house, yet another day
A knock was heard at the front door before the house was silent again. It took a while before sounds could be heard on the inside, clearly identifyable as someone nearing the door. Another moment passed before it was opened a little bit and a head peeked out of it. "Yes?"
The people standing on both sides of the door looked at each other in some sort of shock, both not having expected to see the other at exactly this place. The woman on the outside was the first to catch herself, shaking her head a bit to clear it. "Is that you, Haku?" she asked in a gentle tune. "I was told that someone would be here, but... I wasn't expecting to find you at this place."
The expression of the girl standing behind the door and peeking her head out changed into a smile. "Lia-chan! I'm so glad that you are okay. I mean, I heard that you survived, after being nearly dead, after that stupid Organization showed up, after..." she started into an endless sentence, happiness overwhelming her.
"Calm down, will you? I'm happy to see you again too." Liane smiled slightly. "I was told by the Konoha shinobi to show up here once I made up my mind. But to think to find you of all people here..." she trailed off.
"Ah, yes, of course." Haku nodded in understanding. "Please, come in then."
Opening the door completely she motioned for the mercenary to enter the house, before quickly closing it behind her. It was a quick walk into the mainroom where the girl motioned for Liane to sit down. "They are currently out. Tazuna-san and the Konoha shinobi are at the bridge together with Zabuza-sama. Uhm... I'll be right back. Just a moment, okay?" and with these words she hurried deeper into the house, leaving Liane behind.
Liane took the time to look around the room with nothing else to do. It was a pretty normal home she figured, any additional observation was cut short by the return of Haku. They exchanged a quick smile but remained silent otherwise before Haku started to work in the kitchen area. Unsure whether or not she should ask what would happen now, her pondering was cut short again by the sound of another person nearing the living room.
Hanabi entered the room, her feet not leaving the floor at all, a big blanket wrapped around her body. She walked towards the table and took a seat opposite the mercenary, pulling her feet up on the chair and the blanket closer to her body. Once she found herself warmed up enough her eyes moved to their ex-opponent. "Hey..." she said quietly.
Having watched the girl the whole time Liane couldn't help but to ask the first question that came to her mind. "What happened to you?" she spoke in surprise. "Last time I saw you you looked pretty lively and energetic."
It was Haku however who answered that question when she came back into the living room and placed a cup of warm milk in front of Hanabi, an appolegetic smile on her face. "Uhm... let's just say that masters Water Style and my Freezing Mist are a good combination to get someone gravely sick..." the Icestyle user explained in short, before taking a seat as well.
Hanabi took a sip from the milk and shuddered slightly, before giving Liane a nod. "That's one way to put it... anyway... Spooky said you might show up here." she spoke quietly, adjusting her blanket a little.
"Well, yes. He did... offer me a second chance, sort of." Liane replied vaguely, not sure how much she should or could tell this young girl. She sure knew that this girl was a shinobi, part of the team they fought at the bridge. But this girl couldn't be much older than ten years old and, even so she wouldn't admit it loudly, she had reservations to involve such a young girl into serious business.
Letting out a sigh Hanabi nodded slightly. "Yeah, he tends to do so. I think he's just too lazy to actually fight and prefers to talk his opponents into a peaceful solution. You are far from the first person to be on the receiving end and, I don't know how he does it, he seems to be succesful quite often." she confirmed the suspicion Liane already had.
"I figured as much. It is the best explanation for Haku-chan being here to begin with." she replied with a smile, sending a blush on the black haired teens face.
"...told you to not call me that..." Haku mumbled quietly, averting her eyes.
Releasing another sigh Hanabi shook her head, before fixing her eyes on Liane. "So... are you going to speak to me now? Or am I not good enough for you?"
Another week later
"You sure this is okay?" Kakashi asked, standing together with his team just outside the village.
"Yes, I'm sure about it. I wasn't honest with you in the beginning and you all did way more for me than you had to do, so..." Tazuna started, still feeling uneasy about the whole situation. It turned out okay in the end, he was aware of it, but he still tricked these shinobi. That and the situation changed a lot since the death of Gato.
"Don't worry so much. We worked something out, so it will be fine." Zabuza spoke up, standing near Tazuna together with Haku and Liane. "And to be honest, our agreement isn't the worst. Better than the one we had with Gato anyway."
Tazuna gave a slight nod. "It's the best solution. You guys showed me that I should be able to trust them and even my men started to accept their presence. And since they needed something as well..."
"And we are thankful for that." Liane chimed in. "A roof over our heads and something to eat in exchange for protection of the construction site. It's kinda... ironic, I have to admit, after all what happened."
"I'm sure everything will work out between you." Kakashi agreed before adressing Tazuna again. "About your family..." he started, seeing the mans head drop "...we will send a message if we hear something. But again, without any information to start with..."
"I know, I know, it's just..." he let out a long sigh. "I just want to know what happened to my daughter and grandson. It can't be that nobody heard anything, can it?"
"As I said, if we hear something..." Kakashi gave an eye smile. "Alright, we are leaving now. Take care."
After the goodbyes were exchanged the groups parted. Tazuna together with the ex employees from Gato went back towards the construction site. It was a mutual benefical agreement they came up with, with Tazuna housing them in his home in exchange for protection of the bridge and his men. The time they had together after the fight and the influence from Kakashi brought him to agree to it. If anything else, at least he knew that they were good fighters and capable of handling any sort of attacker.
"Well..." Naruto spoke up a while after leaving. "That was an intresting mission. So many things happened, we made new friends, were away for quite some time... being a shinobi is great!"
"You only say that because your injuries were all gone within a day or so..." Hanabi grumbled, a blanket still wrapped around her for traveling despite it being a warm and sunny day.
"I really wonder..." Kakashi spoke up, a smile on his face. "...if you are suited to be a kunoichi if you are complaining about a simple cold so much."
She glared at him in response. "A simple cold? You know as well as everyone that they nearly froze me to death out there!"
"And Haku was there to care for you afterwards, Hanabi-sama." Hinata interrupted, trying to calm her sister down a little. "Plus, it's nearly gone by now, right?"
"Not fair to gang up on me like that..." Hanabi pouted, letting her head hang. "Next time you all can be the ones to receive such a treatment. Wanna see how you do if you are nearly frozen..."
"Oh, it isn't too bad. There was this one time in the Land of Snow..." Kakashi started, but was quickly interrupted by Naruto.
"...which ended with you talking everyone into becoming your allies, cause you were too lazy to actually fight, right?" a wide grin on the boys face.
"...is this really the image you got from me?" he asked, slight irritation in his voice.
"There was C..." Hanabi started, a grin on her face as well.
"...and Liane-chan on the bridge..." Hinata added thoughtful, a finger on her lower lip.
"...and don't forget about Zabuza!" Naruto finished, the grin still on his face. "You see, Spooky, all we have ever seen from you is you being lazy and just talking to your opponents."
"Maybe I'm just sick of killing?" came his serious reply. "If I may remind you, all of got your first kills during this mission. You totally fine with that?"
The reminder was quite blunt and it worked like a charm, as all three genin became silent. During the fight of the bridge was not much time to think about this fact, as Zabuza showed up quickly after they rescued the captured workers. And afterwards it became a real chaos. Once that situation was solved did all of them manage to not think about it as there were other things to do. Naruto helped the workers, Hanabi was busy ignoring Haku and all her advises in regards to her slave and Hinata did whatever she could to help out whereever she could.
But now had all of them time to think about it - and as a positive side effect for Kakashi did he have a pretty peaceful travel back towards Konoha.