16: Of Love and Flames

"You ran away?!" Gato roared, glaring angrily at the six shinobi in front of him, "What the hell am I paying you for if you can't get the job done?!"

Zabuza ignored the man for the most part, finding his voice annoying at best. The man really didn't know what he was dealing with when he dared to yell at him of all people. Haku was more wary of the man, keeping one of her hands tucked into her robes where she kept her senbon. He had to smirk at that, the girl always seemed to be on edge when he was downed.

"I keep telling you that the team we encountered was far more powerful than we were prepared to deal with," Baki said, his brow twitching, "Two of them were high-level Jonin, both of them on par with Zabuza-san, and one of them just so happened to be a Jinchuuriki more powerful than Gaara-kun," he said, jerking his thumb over at the boy in question. "Add to the fact that two of those shinobi possessed a deadly sub-elemental Kekkei Genkai, one of them alread having killed one of the Demon Brothers, and the other possessing a Sharingan eye, we were clearing taken off guard, and easily outclassed."

Gato tapped his cane on the floor angrily, "You're useless, you know that?" He growled, earning a growl from Baki, "If I hadn't already paid for half of your services, I'd tell you to leave right damned now. But since you know what you're up against, I expect you to get rid of Tazuna next time, without fail!"

"If the opportunity presents itself, then it shall be done," Baki said, his patience waning, "But you must understand that they will also be better prepared for us when it comes time to fight again. They won't be holding back, either."

"I don't give a damn," Gato roared, "Just do what I'm paying you for, or else I'll take the money I gave all of you out of your kunoichi!"

Sand suddenly rushed out of Gaara's gourd, and formed into deadly needles prinking the skin of Gato's neck, who yelped and fell back. Gaara floated over to him on a small cloud of sand, leering down at him, and angrier than Temari had ever seen him. "Touch one hair on my beloved sister's head, and I will feed you to the beast that haunts me," he said, his voice like sand pouring over stone, "And let it be known, he thinks you look very tasty."

One of Gato's men moved around with a sword drawn, preparing to strike the boy, but a flash of iron stopped him dead. Literally. Zabuza's ruined blade was buried in the man's chest, but there was no blood pouring from the wound. Instead, to the men's horror, the blood from their fellow's body began seeping into the the sword, reforging it into a proper blade, not a dent in the metal.

Zabuza retracted his blade, and set it down beside his bed as the man fell to the floor. Gato stepped back as the man, even in his weakened state, rose, and glared at him, "Gato...I took this job, thinking that I would simply have to murder someone. But, to my great pleasure, two, if not three powerful shinobi are guarding my target. Two of them are as strong as I am, and the other could be just as strong given how well he fought." He stepped forward, startling the men into jumping away. "Now, as you seem to surround yourself with nothing but useless thugs and samurai wannabes, you obviously don't know much about shinobi," he leaned down to face the short man, "If we wanted, we're the ones you'll never hear coming. We're the ones that melt right out of the shadows. And we're the ones that will kill you before you feel your head leave your shoulders."

He glanced over at Haku, "If you, or your men so much as look at my daughter wrong, I'll gut you all and use your blood to strengthen my blade." Gato glanced nervously from the swordsman to the man that had just been killed before backing out of the room.

"Just do your job," Gato stated, sweating, "And don't disappoint me again!"

Temari shivered as the man left, "That guy makes my skin crawl."

Zabuza sat himself back down on the bed, "Such is the life a shinobi." He sighed, laying back to rest, "We may not like our client, but so long as we get the job done, then that's all that matters." He said, glancing at the girl, "Temari, I know you can take care of yourself, but don't go off anywhere on your own, especially with Gato's thugs keeping an eye on us. Last thing we need is him whining about more bodies." He said as Gaara's sand began to cree toward the corpse.

"Shukaku will dispose of this," he said when the man gave him a questioning look.

Haku shivered slightly and touched Temari's arm, "Care to go with me while I gather herbs?" She asked hurriedly. Temari sighed, smiling, and nodded to the other girl, thankful for the chance to get some fresh air. Both girls were out of the room by the time Gaara's sand had consumed the body, and Gaara sighed as Shukaku complained about there not being enough blood in the body.

They didn't stray far from the hideout.

The forests around Wave were plentiful in herbs and other medicinal plants and fungi. Still, even though it was only a few meters away, Temari found herself relaxing around the false Hunter. Haku, without her mask on, was a sight to behold. Very pretty in her opinion. And gentle beyond the belief of any shinobi, given how ruthless she knew the girl could be.

"Forgive me for dragging you out of there like this," she sighed as she knelt to pick the desired herbs, "But that man infuriates me, and I felt that you could use some time away as well."

Temari shook her head as she picked up and sprig of rosemary, inhaling the scent, "Hm, it's no trouble at all, Haku-chan." She told the girl honestly, "I've had a lot on my mind since yesterday."

"You mean that boy, don't you?" Haku asked, smiling sadly, "You two seemed quite fond of each other from what I could hear."

Temari blushed, "He was my first real friend." She said, placing some of the herbs she'd picked into a basket. "Six years ago, there was a civil war that broke out in Konoha - "

"I've heard about it," Haku nodded, sighing, "Many shinobi were killed during that attack. But still, the Leaf still hangs upon its branch."

Temari sighed, thinking back to the horrible moment she heard about the war. "Baki-sensei was informed that Naruto was among those killed during the war," she said, "I was devastated, as were Gaara-niichan and Kankuro-kun. I don't know how long I grieved for him...hell, I was still grieving until yesterday."

Haku smiled at her, "You must care for him a great deal to have grieved for so long." She said, sitting down next to a tree to enjoy the sunlight filtering through the leaves. "Tell me something, do you have feelings for him?"

Temari shrugged, "How could I?" She asked, "Besides yesterday, I've only met him the one time, and kept in touch through a year's worth of letters." She said, tucking her legs against her chest, "Is it even possible to fall in love like that?"

Haku giggled, "It depends on how your first meeting went." She said, smiling at the other girl, "From a single meeting, a strand of destiny that could have led to ruin, could change and lead to something wonderful and worth your own life to see."

"Are you a kunoichi or a sage?" Temari giggled, looking up through the leaves of the tree they rested beneath, "Honestly, I don't know if I love him. To think about it seems so silly. I mean, I'm two or three years older than he is, for one. I know most shinobi tend to marry young, given our short life expectancy, but to love someone so much younger."

"That is not so strange," Haku said, blushing prettily, "I know someone that is little over a decade older than myself, yet I know that I love him, with all of my heart," she said, smiling fondly.

Temari blinked, "Do you mean Zabuza?"

"I do," she admitted, "I know that I call him my father, but truthfully, he has simply raised me from a child." She said, "You see, I am the last known member of The Mist's Yuki clan." She held up her hand, and Temari watched in amazement as a small chunk of ice in the shape of a snow flake appeared in her hand, "My family's Kekkei Genkai allows me to create and manipulate ice, much like Pakura-san is able to use Shakuton, I use the Hyoton."

"It's beautiful," Temari smiled, "I've never seen ice before, let alone something like this!"

"Yes," Haku said sadly, "Unfortunately, when I discovered my gift, it was in the middle of the bloodline purges. My own father slaughtered my mother, and came for me, next. If I hadn't used my ice, he'd have murdered me...instead I murdered him." She blinked back tears, "After that, I wandered around for months. Oddly enough, the moment I accepted the fact that I was going to die alone on the streets like some animal, it started snowing. And then, who should show up, but Zabuza-sama."

"And you've been with him ever since then?" Temari asked, knowing the answer already.

Haku nodded, "I have...he seeks to end the reign of Yagura, but to do so, he needs a vast amount of wealth to support the ones already fighting against him. It's not that he wants to work for scum like Gato, it's that he has no choice at all." She said, her smile dropping, "And even though I care so deeply for him, I know that he loves another." She looked at the older girl for a moment, smiling, "I can't really blame him, though. She's an amazing person, with a dual Kekkei Genkai as well as being the person setting up the whole rebellion against Yagura."

Temari sighed, "That must be hard for you," she said, "Loving someone when you know that they're in love with someone else."

Haku giggled once more, "It's easier than you might think." She smiled, "For example, who is it you think that keeps that oaf out of trouble? Or tends to his injuries when he's bitten off more than he can chew?" Haku asked, gesturing to herself, "As I am, I have many ways to show my own affections, my care of Zabuza-sama being one of them when he's in danger, or I can be just a tad harsh when I'm knocking him out with my senbon at times when I need to get him out of trouble."

Temari giggled, "You're a pretty scary girl, you know that Haku-san?"

"Hardly," the girl smirked, "Now, what about this Naruto-kun of yours?" She asked, getting back to the topic.

Temari sighed, thinking back to the day she'd met him. "Honestly...I'm not sure. Baki-sensei asked me the something similar once about how I could have felt about him if he'd lived, and now that I know that he is alive..."

"It seems to good to be true, right?" Haku asked, smiling brightly.

Temari nodded. "It does."

"Then tell me this," Haku pressed on, "During your fight with him, how did you feel?"

"Excited," she said without missing a beat, "When I saw that it was him, I couldn't have been happier than I was at that moment...it was a joy to see him again, and more so to see how well he'd grown." She said, blushing slightly, a point that Haku did not miss, "He's grown into a fine young man."

"And strong, from what I saw," Haku put in, thinking back to the injuries she'd had to treat on her master, "Those Wind enhanced Fuma Shuriken were nothing short of amazing for someone that young." she said, "But, given he's a Jinchuuriki, and an Uzumaki, I'd gather he has a vast amount of chakra to use such high level Jutsu without any backlash."

"And that staff," Temari pointed out with a slight shiver, "I never would've thought he'd threaten me like that, but it was a smart move on his part. He knows I'm close enough to Gaara-kun to warrant such a reaction from him."

"Yet you were confident that he wouldn't harm you?" Haku pointed out.

Temari shook her head, "It was more of a bluff than anything," she said, smiling slightly, "The little boy I used to know was so kind and gentle that I doubt he could have hurt anyone. But now that he's a shinobi...he is much different than what he used to be...yet he feels the same to me for some reason." She said, not knowing how else to word it, "When he was a child, he had this warmth about him that seemed to almost glow, almost like a little bonfire...now...he feels much more like pyre. It's warm at a safe distance, but if you get close, I'll get burned."

Haku nodded, "I felt something like that as well. But not as strongly as you did, I assume." She said, and nodded, "I think you do care for him. You're just a little afraid that the shinobi has replaced the gentle boy of your childhood."

Temari blushed once more, and sighed, "Maybe...but it doesn't matter what I feel...my fate's already been decided."

Haku regarded the girl curiously with a tilt of her head, "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Temari growled, tighting her hands into fists, "That my father sold me...I'm engaged to be married to the son of our Daimyo."

=x=

Meanwhile, a certain blond and his team were moving rapidly through the trees surrounding the village of Wave, chasing after their second sensei as Pakura danced circles around even her surrogate son, whose speed was already legendary among. "Is that all that you can do after all of the training we've done together?" The woman giggled as Sasuke and Naruto collided midair while trying to get her in a pincer move.

Both boys crashed to the ground as Sakura took her shot at the woman, only to be smacked right across the cheek and sent spiraling down to join her teammates.

She flickered down to the ground where the trio was trying to untangle themselves, Sakura hopping up to help them. "Honestly, guys, this is not going to get any easier for you. With opponents like Zabuza, and Baki we can't really afford to pull any punches."

"We know that," Sasuke grumbled, "But close combat seems like a bad idea when you think about Zabuza's skills with the Silent Killing technique."

Pakura shrugged, "We're not trying to build up you combat skills," she pointed out, "We're trying to build up your speed. Admit it, when the battle started, you couldn't even follow us, could you?"

"Not at all," Naruto admitted, "Even I'm not that fast, and I've out run Anbu!"

Pakura shrugged, "I hate to say this, dear, but you are not as fast as you think you are," she said, making the boy falter, "You see, Anbu have to be on guard every second of the day, but they also see need in the situation, as such, whenever you've pulled a prank, they don't go all out on you unless they want to, such as when they actually catch you. Out smarting them is one thing, Son, but if they wanted to catch you fast, then they would."

"Now, what I'm about to tell you will help you in the battle to come, but it can be a hindrance as well if you're not careful," Pakura went on, "Now, the reason why you couldn't keep up with us is because we were using chakra to strengthen our limbs for the fight." She said, gaining looks of confusion, "Pushing chakra into your muscles not only allows you to hit harder, but also move faster because your entire body is charged with chakra, and makes your muscles a lot more durable. You're able to spring back from a normally stunning blow in a moment's notice unless it was meant to do major damage, that being the case, you'd be dazed, bruised, perhaps knocked unconscious, but fine."

Sakura nodded, smiling, "I think I get it. It's sort of like the tree walking exercise, and the water walking exercise, only you're doing it through your whole body."

"Correct," Pakura nodded, smiling. "Now, here's what I want you to do. Charge your bodies with chakra, not to much, however, and see how fast you can move without blundering into a tree for about thirty minutes. Then we'll move on to Ninjutsu practice, alright?"

"Hai!"

Fifteen minutes later, Pakura was happy to see that her students had taken to the training like fish to water. Naruto, of course, was the fastest out of the group, easily outpacing Sasuke, and far surpassing poor Sakura. "That girl needs more stamina," she sighed as she watched the girl begin to struggle with her chakra. "Naturally strong muscles, and dense bone structure, she's prime material for a powerful medic."

She took note of Sasuke, who was apparently racing Naruto to see who could move the fastest, marking their progress with kunai scratches on the trees. Sasuke, like Naruto, was more of a Ninjutsu type, but naturally gravitated toward Genjutsu of his Kekkei Genkai, which still had yet to awaken. As far as chakra went, he was average, yet his control was much better than Naruto's, almost as good as Sakura's, but he still tended to burn himself out too quickly.

Naruto was a veritable ball of energy as it was. The boy was bouncing back and forth between the trees like a little monkey, even getting in some Taijutsu practice with his clawed gauntlets. She had to admit that the Yasha Ape style was a brutal martial art. Then again, the apes weren't known for being gentle. Nor was Naruto when he was pissed.

Both Jiraiya and Hiruzen had argued over whether to let him sign the Ape contract, or the Toad contract, neither one giving an inch. He hadn't signed either one as of yet, only because the two didn't want him to feel pressured about a choice.

As the minutes ticked by, she found herself worrying. Temari was something of a problem for them, to be sure. If something happened to her, she had no doubt that Gaara would run wild again. And this time she didn't think that they would have Naruto in the form of the Kyuubi to save them. And then there was Naruto. If her suspicions were right, then Naruto wouldn't dare harm Temari. That much she was sure of. Disarm, of course, if push came to shove, but never harm. The bluff about killing her had worked to some extent, but the girl had seen through it in moments, not that Naruto gave an inch, for which she was proud of, but she was certain he wouldn't go through with it.

But there was the issue with Naruto's newly awakened Shakuton abilities. She felt that it was high time to teach him a few things about their shared gift. It wouldn't do for him to be surprised as he was the first time of the awakening. Nor would it do for him to lose control.

Unfortunately, as such with all Kekkei Genkai, Shakuton had a horrible drawback. Sub elemental Jutsu such as theirs relied heavily on emotional stability, and should something happen to disrupt that stability, it was easy to lose control, and let the element would run wild, more than likely injuring anyone nearby, or killing them.

Thankfully, Naruto seemed more than stable with his emotions. She had to admit that he had always been a bright, and happy child as long as she had cared for him, even when things looked bleak.

She pushed off the tree she was leaning on and clapped her hands for attention, "Alright, everyone, that's enough for today." She called out, "Let's move on to elemental Ninjutsu."

The three Genin appeared before her, winded, but fine, though Sakura looked ready to pass out, while Sasuke and Naruto were sweating.

Pakura placed her hands together in a clone seal and created two Shadow Clones, "Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan, you two will be going with my clones, while Naruto and I stay here and work on his Shakuton. If anything happens, come find the real me. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," the two nodded, and followed her clones. Pakura sighed, thinking it would be best for Kakashi to train the two of them, but he was still bedridden thanks to his chakra exhaustion. Sasuke, it was discovered a day ago, had a strong affinity for Lightning, just as Kakashi did. This had delighted the man, but to Sasuke's annoyance, nothing could be done until Kakashi had recovered sufficiently enough to move around.

As the two teens moved off, she regarded her son, smiling slightly, "Alright, Naru-kun, this is what we've been waiting for." She told the boy, who smiled, "Your real training is about to begin. Are you ready?"

Naruto grinned, "Damned right I am, -tebayo!"

Pakura grinned, "Alright then," she dropped into a horse stance, "First thing's first; let's tap into that Shakuton of yours."

Naruto nodded, taking the same stance, "Okay, Ma, what do I need to do?"

"Focus," Pakura said, smiling, "Just like using your Wind and Fire based Jutsu, from each side of your body comes the same Wind and Fire," she raised her hands, and clapped them together, "Fire with one hand, and Wind with the other, coming together in a single, powerful blaze." She pulled her hands apart, revealing a ball of red-white flames between them. "This is the first step to mastering the Shakuton. But it is far from easy," she said, "Fire can be contained, but Wind cannot. I can, however, be guided. Feed your flames little by little with the Wind until you have your own Scorching flames."

Naruto nodded, and began channeling the familiar chakras through his body. His body felt as if was being divided as he forced the two chakras apart, and into his left and right arms. Fire with his right hand, Wind with his left.

He brought them together slowly, clasping his fingers together. A small, blistering heat began to form in his hands as he opened them. His flame was smaller than Pakura's but just as it was when Temari showed it to him, the little ball was a bright white, almost blinding. "It's...like a heartbeat." He said, smiling at his mother.

Pakura nodded, still holding onto her own ball of flames, "Fire, even though it brings destruction, from the ashes comes new life," she said, smiling before a frown marred her features, "But the Shakuton is nothing but pure destruction. Any and all life touched by the flames of the Shakuton is utterly destroyed. Not even the ashes can bring new life." She said, letting the flames die out, "Now, I want you to hold onto that ball and try to make it about the size of a grapefruit, but take your time. Once you've done that, we can begin practicing the special Ninjutsu, alright?"

Naruto nodded, smiling as he sat down, "I'll do my best, Ma."

Well, things are moving along smoothly. Temari and Co. are resting with Zabuza recovering from the battle against Team Seven, while our little team is learning how to counter what's to come, and Naruto begins to tap into his strength as a Shakuton user.

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