Disclaimer: I own the OCs in this fic, the rest is Masashi Kishomoto's. Sorry for any spelling mistakes.

Character age:

Akane, Itachi: 17

Naruto, Sasuke: 12

Shisui: 21

Kakashi: 26

I was staring straight into Haku's eyes. He was staring straight into the slits of my mask where my eyes were, shock evident on his face.

Then pain. For him. For me.

He grabbed his arm and rolled off of me as I held back a groan at the burn on my upper back, thinking about my move just now. As I had appeared where Kakashi was, I jumped on Haku with the intention of tackling him to the ground. But the Chidori grazed me from my shoulders blades to my neck, and Haku's arm was almost cut off. Now I could see Kakashi's hand in my ice, his face...my heart stopped for a moment. His face was purely horrified. Images of Rin must be filling his mind and guilt engulfed me.

"Nice one brats!" Zabuza-san howled at us. He raised his arm to strike Kakashi with his sword, who wasn't moving. I was about to get up when Mangetsu stopped Kubikiribocho with Hiramekarei. "The fuck-"

"Senpai, did you get impatient with age?" he asked in a sarcastic voice. "Or did your kid being injured made you forget the many insects coming our way?" I knew there was a reason I liked this guy. "Or you're a poor judge of character senpai, or you've waited too long to kill them. In any case, you've fucked up."

"When did you grow the balls to talk to me like that!?" his lovely senpai barked back. A whimper of pain made me turn to Haku, who was curling up while trying to hide his arm. I went to him and forced him to move his hand away.

I pulled a face at the sight. Most of the flesh was burned or lacerated and the bone was broken, the whiteness of it tainted by red, all of this in a bloody mess. Actually, it was a miracle his arm was still attached to his shoulder.

"And what's wrong with you huh!?" Naruto yelled taking a step forward. "Haku, he...he almost died for you and you don't even care!"

"Shut up kid!"

"No I won't!" As they went on about Zabuza-san, and Haku, and shinobi, Mangetsu walked over to us and took many tag seals from his pouch.

"Dai charged them and gave them to me before I left," he informed me as I took them. Early on, Dai made me work with him for healing seals. For cuts mainly, and then more complicated stuff I never understood, but I just needed to activate them. "I need to solder his arm first."

The one thing I would never understand with the Hōzuki's ability to liquefy themselves was how they could somehow help in surgery or in the medical field at all, but it worked. I carefully placed the seals on the parts of his arm that were okay, and executed some hand seals. Immediately, green chakra appeared.

"Shut up kid." I heard Zabuza-san said once again. I peeked at him and looked down in shame, as if I'd just witnessed something I shouldn't have. But he was crying, and it was something he definitely would never want people to see.

"Well, well, well, is that the feared 'Demon of the Hidden Mist'?" a new voice snickered. I looked up and deadpanned at my target and the small army with him.

"Moron," I mumbled as Mangetsu walked behind me once he was done. He went through my back pouch. "What the-"

"Nuibari will be more useful, and I'll pay you takoyakis for your healing seal," he explained before going to Zabuza-san and used the seal on one of his arms. "Senpai, let me have some, I'm the Second Coming of the Demon after all."

"Getting cocky I see," he remarked, and took his sword when his arm was better. Kakashi seemed to be coming back to his senses as he stopped Naruto to run over to where Haku and I were. Mangetsu invoked Nuibari and the two Swordsmen passed on each side of us, Haku having fainted from the pain at that point. "The head brat, right?"

I nodded and watched them have their fun with some low-level thugs. I winced in pain as someone knelt next to me, bumping into me at the same time. I kept my mouth shut though, reflex, because the blond head of my cousin was turned to me. His baby blue eyes were filled with worry, for an enemy, and not even suspicion toward me, who clearly was an anbu from another village. A village who had, and still had some tension with his.

Was he really that careless when he became a genin?

"Is he gonna be okay!?" he almost yelled in my face, and all I could do was shrugging. I couldn't be certain. "But you've been healing hi-"

"Naruto enough," Kakashi intervened, and I couldn't bring myself to meet his gaze. No, glare. Dark, icy and mad glare. All for me. Oh joy. "He may not be our enemy anymore with Zabuza's change of heart, but still."

"But he's my friend Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted back and I thought I saw Haku's brow twitched slightly.

I got up and joined Mangetsu when I heard screams of pain. Zabuza-san was having his fun with the sheatfish. He was already missing a leg and some fingers. With a hand sign to Kakashi, I made him understand they should leave. Hopefully, knowing our reputation, he managed to make his genin team to go away and I convinced myself that Sasuke did not look at me and frowned then widened his eyes as if he recognized me because he didn't.

Anywayyyyy...

"Zabuza-san, if you want to torture him cut his tongue off, please. I'm starting to have a headache," I complained as Mangetsu slapped my burned flesh. "AOUCH YOU MORON!"

"You're welcome," he replied with a, I guessed, toothy grin behind his mask, two fingers raised in front of him. I cursed him under my breath when warm chakra engulfed the wound.

"You...you're having way too much fun right now. Why are you even here? On whose authority?"

"Both. We received intel that senpai was around, he sent me to hunt him down and pick you up at the same time to help me." I wasn't a kid who needed to be picked up dammit! "And sensei for back-up. I'm already working on my excuse for Yagura, Konoha here will help." I raised a brow. If Zabuza-san was to say 'no', we would just kill him. As simple as that. "Sensei seems to be sure he will join," he added in a whisper and I ohh-ed in response.

"Oh, a flying head," I commented as I stepped back like Mangetsu to avoid a spurt of blood, the warm smell of iron filling the air and invading my nose. I finally took a look at my surrounding. A real blood bath, with dismembered bodies laying in their own blood, organs and broken bones on display. The sad thing was it didn't do shit to me anymore. Once sensei told me, when I was almost a jounin, than the worst thing that could happen to a shinobi, was apathy. Because once you're apathetic when you kill people, then you've really became a weapon.

"Haku's alive?" Zabuza-san grunted as he threw the head in my arms. I sealed it away with a nod. He was, not in the best state on Earth, but he was. "I'm coming, I won't waste an occasion to get rid of Yagura. Haku's coming too."

"You can't order us around anymore, we're anbu too," I pouted with crossed arms. With his bandages off, his sharky grin made me shiver and I looked away. "Fine, fine, I get it. Talk about a mission..."

"Yo, anbu-san!" I rolled my eyes and let my cousin sit next to me at mission-san, no Tazuna's, house. Or more like the pontoon. Zabuza-san was inside with a barely moving Haku, and Mangetsu was taking a swim in front of me. "Haku's arm is fine, thank you!" I shrugged and he made a face before standing up pretty fast, a finger pointed at me. "Hey, I'm the future Hokage so answer me 'ttebayo!" That...he was lucky it was me and not someone else or he'd be dead by now.

"Naruto shut up!" Sakura shrieked behind us. She ran to Naruto and put her hand on his mouth while he was trying to get out of her grip. I heard her whisper something to him and understood 'Bloody Mist' in it. "I...I'm deeply sorry miss for him, he always puts his foot in his mouth. Haha, don't pay him any attention!" Naruto fought harder and I caught a glimpse of Sakura pinching him at his ribs and yelped.

"Sa...Sakura-chan that hurts!" I deadpanned at them behind my mask. What the fuck was Kakashi doing? I could have killed them by no...

I caught the kunai aimed at me in the air and shot a quizzical look behind me. Sasuke still had his arm stretched, and I could feel Mangetsu paying close attention to him.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled at him in horror. I jumped on my feet as he walked to me. Kami, he was glaring daggers at me and clenching his fists at his sides. He really looked like a pissed kitty right now. Not intimidating at all.

"Hn." He turned his back to me and went inside.

"What the fuck was that?" Mangetsu wondered aloud, his head above the water as he was reforming himself. Naruto and Sakura stared at him with wonder and...disgust I think. Rude, rude kids. You could see from miles away they were just out of the Academy because of their behavior. I glanced at my teammate and signed to him we would leave in the night and he better tell it to the other two, Haku well enough to move or not.

This mission was taking too long. It would soon become suspicious with the little time Mangetsu and I usually took during our missions. I body flickered away to go in the forest. I climbed into a tree and closed my eyes to wait.

"Thank you Mangetsu-san, Uzu-san," Haku thanked us, Zabuza-san having the kid's valid arm on his shoulders as we were jumping from trees to trees. I craned my neck to look at him, a bow quirked under my mask.

"Oh man, Mangetsu told you to call me like that, didn't he?" I had never gotten rid of that nickname in my old life, I have a feeling it will be the same here. "You can call me Akane you know, apart from Naoto-senpai and sensei, nobody calls me Akane in the village. It's weird."

"You're the Fourth's brat," Zabuza-san oh so gently reminded me with a snort. I punched Mangetsu in the head when he snickered and his head turned into water.

"Forced apprentice. Hoshigaki-san kidnapped me, remember? To...clear my dad's name and be a weapon for the village." I felt Haku's eyes on me. "What Haku?"

"You're more talkative now," he stated with curiosity.

"Uzu's got a little problem with Konoha. Well, more like the Mizukage has a problem." I punched Mangetsu once again. When he wanted to pick on me he was really going for it.

"Anyway, once we're at the hideout, we'll have to discuss about Haku. Zabuza-san, you can't go back to Kiri but maybe I can get Haku under Yagura's nose if..."

"I thought about it too Uzumaki," he cut me off sharply under Haku's confused eyes. Zabuza-san took a more important run-up and was next to me in a second. "Haku developed his Hyōton on his own but I don't know more about elemental kekkai genkai than the theory. I trained him well, Yagura will be interested." Haku was completely lost, and dare I say looked like a kicked puppy. After he heard Zabuza-san's speech on the bridge, because he was still conscious surprise, he had a new look in his eyes. "The brat's uses ice like you."

"I thought my old man and I were the last ones of the Yuki clan, I guess I was wrong," I added with a smirk he couldn't see. He widened his eyes and tried to form words, but I waved him off. "We can have a chat if you want to, later. The other reason you should get into Kiri is because we can't properly treat your arm if we're not in the hospital."

Zabuza-san left the money from sheatfish to the Land of Waves, as it was theirs to begin with anyway. I don't even think we will be able to properly stop by the hideout.

We ended up on a boat of fishermen going to the coast of the island of Doronko. It was one of the island surrounding the main island where Kiri was. Its name came from the many lake of mud there were on it, forming a popular spa in the Land of Water. Of course, there were also hot springs. It was a pretty cool island, better than Biu Island, where it was always drizzling. I mean, if it's gonna rain then rain for real dammit!

"That forehead protector Haku, it's real?" Mangetsu asked once we had traded boats for one going to the biggest harbor in the Land, Ryoushi. Zabuza-san was skillfully hiding his identity, my chakra concealing seal on him instead of me.

"Zabuza-san gave it to me when he judged I was strong enough to be qualify as a 'shinobi'," the youngest of us answered. Sounded like something he would do. Behind his big bad look, Zabuza-san sadly had a good understanding of what a shinobi was supposed to be. At least in Kiri. He had strong beliefs period. The kid must have seen some ugly things and done some too.

We reached the hinterland three days after leaving the Waves, thanks to the clement weather. The familiar mist was surrounding us and my sandals were trying to sleep off of my feet because of the mud and moist soil we were walking on. The swamp was as greenish and smelt as bad as ever. The smell of rotten eggs in the air was comforting though. In the swamp, with all the decomposing things there are because of the humidity, it was when you didn't smell rotten eggs that you had to worry. Thus why sensei chose this place. With Kimou's genjutsu and mine and Harusame-san's seals, plus the natural mist, if you didn't know where the hideout was, you would lose your sense of smell and bam.

The swamps in the Land of Water were deadly for anyone who didn't know their way around. Thinking about it, it could be a great location for the survival part of the chuunin exam.

We crossed the pond, covered in duckweed, to reach a certain grouping of trees among many others. Mangetsu took his seal from his pouch and put it on a trunk and executed a series of hand seals. The tag briefly glowed blue whereas I was focusing to sense any unwanted presence. I couldn't sense any, so when Mangetsu went inside with Zabuza-san and they started going down, I kept Haku from going. We all agreed, him mainly because of Zabuza-san, that he would be under my wing. Mangetsu reappeared and deactivated the tag to take it back.

"Sorry Haku, I know this is very sudden for you. Oh, and don't take offense in what we say to the Mizukage, be as indifferent as possible. We don't think that of Zabuza-san," I whispered to him as I put my hand on his shoulder, my other hand on Mangetsu's. Okay, so Hiraishin with two other people. I was used to Mangetsu, but I needed to focus for Haku. My chakra needed to cover his entirely, so that he would be transported without any consequences. It took me like thirty seconds, which was too long, and we appeared not far from the village. "World...spinning..."

"You're back!" a male voice barked in front of us as Mangetsu was poking my cheek under my mask. Haku was the only one nice enough to keep me on my feet. "She can't even stay on her own two feet! Back in my days..."

"Ao-san, we know, our generation is full of lazy people who get scared at every little things," I droned in sync with Mangetsu. Ao-san flushed in embarrassment and let us pass, ordering us to report Haku immediately to the Mizukage. However, when we were at the stairs leading to the Kage building, I sat on a step and whined in exhaustion.

"Move that lazy ass of yours Uzu," Mangetsu grumbled grabbing my wrist to drag me behind him. I barely could walk honestly. Haku wasn't helping either. His face was a mix a amusement and confusion. When I say we're bloodthirsty on the surface...

"Why is there another person with you!?" Yagura barked when Mangetsu didn't even knock. I hawked and straightened up before opening the door to his office. He probably didn't want to deal with paperwork anymore, because he was just at his window. He eyed Haku icily and never broke the eye contact. "Report, now. Uzumaki you first."

I opened my scroll on the ground and slammed my foot on it, Gatō's head appearing. I felt a slight anger from Haku. Yagura nodded and looked at Mangetsu.

"I found Momochi Zabuza in the Land of Wave. He was targeting a bridge builder on the orders of the businessman Gatō. I've watched him and noticed a Konoha team protecting the bridge builder, team led by Hatake Kakashi. Zabuza and him engaged in a fight. Before I could intervene, Hatake Kakashi killed Zabuza. Unfortunately, the body was torn into strips by ninken and then thrown in the sea, Kubikiribocho was thrown before during the fight. I was enable to look for it as Gatō and many of his men arrived at our location and started a fight," Mangetsu reported professionally. "However, Zabuza trained a young child and used said child to help him since his coup. He has potential and could be a good weapon for the village. Please forgive my incompetence," he ended as he knelt on the floor. I did the same and tugged on Haku's pants to make him understand to imitate us, face towards the floor.

"You've lost...one of the sword?" Yagura slowly repeated. He walked in front of Mangetsu and I bite my lips when he smashed his club at my friend. "You're lucky to be who you are Hozūki." He turned a sharp gaze on me and snarled at me, anger barely masked in his voice. "You didn't help?"

"Unfortunately, after witnessing Haku's Ice Release and his potential for the village, I jumped in when he interposed himself between Zabuza and Hatake's chidori. I got hurt in the process and couldn't move. Forgive me as well, Mizukage-sama."

"You wanted a pet with the same curse than you then," Yagure summed up and stopped in front of me. I held a groan back as my head was crushed under his boot, the porcelain of my mask digging in the skin of my face. "Didn't I raise you better Uzumaki? The mission before everything!" I knew better than to respond and let my body relaxed, signaling he won. "You, you were Zabuza's brat. He trained you?" On the corner of my eyes, I saw Haku nodding, his eyes basically dead to anyone who sees him. "Ice Release, you'll stay with Uzumaki. If she deemed you skilled enough to save, you better not deceive me, else you'll be another forgotten name of the purge. Now all of you out of here, failures!"

I got up and dragged myself to the hospital, Haku following me closely as Mangetsu was moving his jaw to check any severe injuries.

"Sorry you had to see that Haku," I muttered, taking my mask off. I put a hand on my nose and winced in pain. I didn't realize at the time and it hurt! Probably broken. "But he didn't send you off."

"The Mizukage...I think I understand Zabuza-san's motivation now," he stated quietly, a hand over the forehead protector in his pocket.

"Kid, we're going to the hospital now," Mangetsu explained to him, as if he was never hit by Yagura and I cursed his liquefying body. "Our teammate is an iryo-nin, he'll look at your arm. There is no way Uzu and I actually did a good job at patching up someone alive."

"True," I admitted with a smirk.

Indeed, when we found Dai, he deadpanned at us and said that at least his arm wasn't falling off. He may have told Haku he would lose his sanity by staying with us too.

"Kakashi," Sasuke called his sensei as they were leaving the Land of Wave, Naruto and Sakura talking in front of them. Something was on the young Uchiha's mind and it kept bugging him. Plus, Kakashi seemed to have taken a liking playing with a kunai the female anbu had forgotten.

"Hm? Something on your mind Sasuke?"

"The woman anbu, the one who saved Haku's life..." he didn't notice Kakashi's tensing, "we know her, don't we?"

"Maa, Sasuke, unless you know someone from that village I think you're mistaken. You shouldn't go tell that to anyone though, for your own safety you know?" the jounin said. However, when he glanced at his student, Sasuke saw something in his eye, like a silent message.

A message that said 'This is way above your clearance level, drop it.'. But Sasuke glanced one last time at his teacher. He was angry at said female anbu. So if said female anbu were to go back to Konoha, she would have to be the victim of Hatake Kakashi's wrath.

Sasuke didn't want said female anbu to come home to be killed by one of her oldest friends. He didn't want to see his brother mourn her a second time when he was still mourning her.

Haku had his hands on his knees, his breathing loud and broken. He was surrounded by my kunai and I was going easy on him, given his cast for his arm. But he still surprised me, mainly because he was going harder on me than the boys. To this day, I was stronger than them anyway. In four years, maybe not, but today I was. But he still displayed a wonderful control of his Hyōton, great aim he knew how to strategically use and he was smart.

I grinned at him and turned my head to the side to look at Yagura-sama, who watched our fight.

"So?" I asked him and ran a hand in my dirty hair. Haku managed to make me fall at some point.

"Zabuza trained him well, you could make him even better," he recognized and threw me a scroll, "plus he clearly has been broken before, it's perfect for a weapon. He's officially a genin you'll take care of." He body flickered away and I took what was sealed in the scroll.

"Sorry for this one," I told him as I walked to him to attach the hitai-ate to his forehead, "you'll wear this one until we do that, and that's all. I know how sometimes the symbolic is important."

"How...so?" he replied and straightened up, thanking me for the canteen of water I gave him.

"This one," I started and pointed at my forehead protector with black fabric, "is my second one. I stopped using the first one when I made it to chuunin, and Yagura-sama damaged it when I tried to run away for the fifth time anyway."

"Five...times?" he repeated, clearly dumbfounded.

"Yep. Anyway, we couldn't leave the village since we got here, I'll ask the Mizukage if I can take you to the swamp to get you used to the surrounding of Kiri. Then, I'll teach you how to detach your Wind chakra from your Water chakra perfectly. Using a kekkai genkai is easy once you unlock it, but with the elemental ones it's hard to use only one chakra nature because we use them simultaneously all the time."

"Understood," he replied with a soft smile, knowing he would finally see Zabuza-san since we got here. I felt a slight pang of guilt knowing he probably couldn't care less about Kiri and that he accepted only for his Master, but I pushed it aside. No negative emotions until the end.

I got the permission easily, Yagura not giving a damn on how I was training Haku. We did train though, or at least I explained to him the 'no-no' in the swamp, and he listened attentively, a kinda like Hinata. Haku took a senbon when we were close to the hideout and I rolled my eyes, knowing who was watching us.

"Suigetsu!"

"That's the new one?" he replied and poked his head out of the water. Haku gaped a little when he saw Suigetsu's body was mixed with the water of the pond. "Wait, that's a boy or a girl?"

"A boy," I answered and he was completely out of the water. He crossed his arms behind his head and walked to us. "What are you doing?"

"Patrolling. Mangetsu is training Chōjūrō with his sword and told me to fuck off," he muttered while going to the hideout. I looked around us and hurried Haku in it. I felt the barrier closing behind us and we were greeted by Kimou, I avoided her hug, and Utakata-senpai who recently deserted. He avoided my hug and punched me on the head.

"Buuuuttttt~!" I whined, eyes filled with crocodile tears. His amber eyes glared at me and my behavior. But I knew deep down he loved me, he was just too cool to say it.

"You're an eyesore!" Aouch, I fell on my knees and hugged his legs, whining words beyond understanding.

"Hey Utakata, a beautiful woman keeps claiming her love to you and you treat like that! How dare you!?" Kimou thundered at him. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm her favorite senpai because I'm her favorite to annoy. I know, she told me!" he retorted in an exasperated voice. He was moving his leg to shoo me off, but I was clingy.

"Is that normal?" I heard Haku asked Suigetsu, who was snickering at us.

"Pretty much yeah. You haven't seen her and my brother annoying Zabuza-senpai and Mei-san yet," he told him and they walked away.

I let go of senpai and followed them, still moping. The hideout was mainly a maze of hallways underground, with many rooms, no real kitchen but military rations, the sanitary minimum and a big room used to plan, where a big round table was, various maps of Kiri and all of its characteristics, of the island and the strategic places in the country in general, on it. It was also where the toad Jiraya sent was most likely to appear thanks to the artificial well in there.

"Yo brats," Zabuza-san greeted us, eyes studying an underground map of Kiri.

"Senpai, train me today!" Suigetsu whined in a bored tone.

"Ha, is that the Haku you told me about?" Mei-sensei spoke out, sending a warm smile to Haku when she raised her eyes from a paper. She was still trying to figure out a way to evacuate the civilians without Yagura noticing the empty streets. Basically, a lot of genjutsu. Sensei got up from her chair and walked up to us in all her deadly kunoichi jounin attire, each steps showing confidence and power.

I admire my sensei. I shot a quick glance at Haku, who nodded without knowing what else to say. He was not used to people giving him attention for him.

"My name is Terumi Mei, I'm the head of the Resistance. Thank you for your help Haku, I hope that after our victory you'll find a home in Kirigakure," she told him as she put her hands on his shoulders. "Sorry for the brutal changes of environment, I know you're used to being with Zabuza. I hope Akane has been a good person to have around."

"Yes, thanks Mei-san. Uzu-san's presence has been pleasant so far, and she is of very good advice concerning my Ice Release," he answered with a polite smile, and I wondered where Zabuza-san found such an angel. He was nothing but pleasant to have around, and he was a great cook!

"I taught her everything."

"Really?"

"Sensei was born with two elemental kekkei genkai, the Lava Release and the Boil Release," I explained to him and stretched my arms above my head. "He made it to genin, I'm pretty sure Yagura's going to send him and I on missions until he finds him a team."

"I wanna go on missions too!" Suigetsu exclaimed suddenly with wide eyes. "I've been staying in the village for too long, I'm turning crazy! I wanna cut things!"

I raised a brow at sensei when she put a finger to her painted lips. She had something in mind. The smile that started to grow on her lips made me shiver after all.

Hey! Thanks for reading! Please review so that I know you liked it :)

Ederisu: Thanks for the review, and cliffhangers are everything :)

Bye!