Between the intelligence on the Awagami's smuggling routes that Itachi had gathered at the port's docks and what Kisame and Haku had pulled out of their captives, Itachi was able to pinpoint the rough location of the Awagami family compound, which lay near a town about two days' run from the port. Haku had insisted, politely but very firmly, that they leave immediately. Itachi had gone along with him, even though they would have to stop to rest by midnight anyway; the sooner the mission was over, the better.

That night and most of the next day went smoothly. Haku had been focused and silent since the confirmation that Zabuza had been kidnapped, and Kisame had so far refrained from trying to engage him in further conversation outside of what was necessary to make and break camp and from otherwise indulging him.

Their route passed by several towns. As the sun began to sink, they were about to circumvent another when Kisame said, "Hm, doesn't this place have some famous hot springs?"

"Most towns in this country have hot springs," Itachi said, a terrible premonition creeping up his spine.

"True, true - but it's getting dark. Why don't we stop here and check the springs out? And we can stay in an inn and get a good night's sleep before we deal with the Awagami."

"I don't think that's necessary, Kisame-san," said Haku, although his face was drawn and his bangs damp with sweat. "We could travel much farther tonight. We might even reach the compound before morning."

"Not that the darkness doesn't make for a dramatic entrance, but it won't be as fun if we've been running all night. And I would really like a bath."

Itachi wanted to disagree, even though it meant agreeing with Haku, but they would be more efficient if well-rested - particularly Haku, who didn't have their endurance - and they might be able to pick up further information in the town to narrow down the compound's exact location and learn more about its defenses. He suspected that the practical reasons were not the primary motivation behind Kisame's desire to play tourist, however. "We can stop at a reasonable hour without a detour."

"But the food won't be as good," Kisame said. "And I'll pay."

"That isn't the -" Itachi cut himself off, irritated at his own needless contrariness. "Very well. But we'll have to leave before dawn."

"You got it. Don't look so down, kid, you'll feel better after a dip in a hot spring. It'll take your mind off things."

Haku looked as if he wanted to keep arguing, but his foot slipped for an instant as he landed on the branch next to Kisame, and he said reluctantly, "If you insist, Kisame-san."

Before they entered the town, Itachi transformed and adjusted his usual disguise to share some family resemblance to Haku, as did Kisame. The hostess of the largest hot springs inn didn't blink at their claim to be brothers or their request for a single room, although she did when Kisame was willing to pay for one attached to a private spring.

The food was excellent, but Itachi would have appreciated it more without Haku's continued moping, which lasted into the after-dinner bath. The spring was tiny but comfortable, well-lit by hanging lanterns and surrounded by a picturesque arrangement of stones, bird statues, and one small, artfully pruned maple. It should have been relaxing, even with the chatter of guests in the other springs drifting over the wooden walls.

It wasn't.

When Haku sighed for at least the sixth time while gazing off in the general direction of the Awagami compound, Itachi was forced, against his better judgment, to give Kisame a significant glance. Kisame was the one who had decided to bring along a distraction and argued for making the unnecessary stop; he could deal with the consequences.

Kisame stared back with a blank, innocent expression, obstinately not taking the hint.

Itachi shifted his look to Haku, who remained oblivious and absorbed in his thoughts, and then back to Kisame. That was enough to get his intentions across. Kisame nodded at him, then said to Haku, "Still that worried? Zabuza-kun's a tough little demon, you know. Why, we may get there tomorrow and find he's already taken care of the whole family for us."

Haku lowered his eyes as he said, "But if he had, he would have come back for me by now."

"You're awfully certain of that, aren't you?"

Haku nodded.

"You must have made quite the impression on him... How is it that the two of you came to meet, anyway? I'm sure it's an interesting story."

That wasn't exactly the direction Itachi had intended for Kisame to take, but it seemed to be working as a distraction. Haku glanced at the walls around the spring, then at Itachi for a considering moment before saying, "It was only because of this, I suppose." His hands moved quickly through a short set of seals, and he pulled a slender needle of ice out of the steamy air.

A bloodline ability. Potentially a powerful one. For someone from the Land of Water, that explained a great deal all on its own.

"I didn't realize what it meant to have this ability, at first," Haku said. "And then it was too late to keep it secret. I don't know why my mother didn't use it to defend herself. If she didn't know how, or didn't want to, or - but I couldn't fully control it yet, so when my father and the others came after me..." The surface of the water around him spiked up in frozen daggers that melted a moment later when he released the technique. "There was nowhere I could go, and no one who wanted me; if Zabuza-san hadn't found me, I would have starved. I hated it, for a while - this power that had taken everything from me and couldn't give me anything back. And I was afraid that if Zabuza-san learned what I could do, the same thing would happen - I would be worthless again... But he had a use for my abilities, and it's something that only I can do for him, so I don't mind it as much now." Haku smiled up at Kisame; unlike his earlier smiles, there was nothing false in this one. "You see, it's not for any sentimental reasons that I said he would come back for me - I'm just a very useful tool for him."

"Ah, that makes sense. It does seem like Zabuza-kun got quite lucky, finding someone with that kind of talent," Kisame said, with an inappropriate cheerfulness after hearing such a story. "Well, then, that's even more reason to relax while you can, right? You won't be getting many more chances once we've found Zabuza-kun."

"Are you really sure that we will?"

"Of course I am," said Kisame, and of all things, he reached over and patted the top of Haku's head as if Haku were a normal child. "We're rather good at what we do, you know, especially Itachi-san. We'll definitely find him, and if what we've gathered about the family so far is true, the Awagami won't have done anything that could ruin Zabuza-kun's usefulness to them. You've got nothing to worry about, except annoying Itachi-san too much."

Itachi glared at him, but to no visible effect. Haku gave Kisame another smile and said, "Thank you - I'll do my best not to be troublesome."

"That's what I like to hear. Now, how about going to see if we can get some dessert for when we're done? Maybe something sweet will take that look off Itachi-san's face..."

"I'd be happy to," Haku said, and he slipped out of the hot spring as Itachi tried to decide on the best way to rein Kisame in from saying such ridiculous things.

"No, seriously. If you keep glowering like that, you're going to ruin the whole point of staying here tonight."

"Will you stop being so light-hearted about this? We're on a mission, not a vacation."

"The leader did tell us not to rush. Come on, did you want a relaxing bath or not? Because now it's not the kid ruining the mood."

Itachi shut his eyes and sighed, but sank lower into the water. There were worse ways to spend an evening, he supposed.

After the bath and the desserts - also excellent, if not strictly required - Kisame went out to socialize and see if he could pick up any further information on the Awagami family and their compound. The inn had a small library as one of its amenities, and Itachi borrowed a few of their books on local history and landmarks of interest for some research of his own. Thankfully, Haku didn't bother him. He simply took care of the rabbit, turned off the lights, and went to bed; Itachi stayed up to wait for Kisame, sitting at the low table under the room's window and reading by the warm yellow glow of the lanterns outside as Samehada snored next to the packs and their neatly folded coats.

Kisame returned after midnight and humming tunelessly to himself, which meant he had gotten a little too into his socializing, but not so much so that he woke Haku by making unnecessary noise when he came in and joined Itachi at the table. "All quiet here?" he asked.

"Yes. Did you learn anything of value?"

"One or two little tidbits... I should be able to take us right to the compound tomorrow without having to scout around, for a start. And I got the names of a few of the missing-nin who are supposed to be there right now. Nobody that interesting, unfortunately."

Good. It would be less complicated if Zabuza was the only one of the missing-nin they had to concern themselves with.

Kisame propped his head on one hand and looked over at Haku, still fast asleep on the middle futon of the three that the inn's staff had laid out for them. "Ah, just look at him," he said fondly. "Behaved himself, I assume... What a good kid. Zabuza-kun's raising him well - I never would have expected that. You know, when he graduated the Academy, he killed his entire -"

"I'm perfectly aware of Zabuza's history."

"Of course you are, sorry. Just saying. It's almost a shame that we'll have to give Haku back, though. That's a neat ability he has, and he might liven things up a bit. It's a good thing we ran into him, or -"

"Stop talking nonsense." Itachi snapped shut the book he had been reading. "Have you lost all your senses?"

Kisame blinked at him, startled. "Beg pardon?"

"You've been falling all over yourself to fawn on him, acting like a -" Brother - no. "- a fool for an innocent face. As if appearances have any meaning in our world. Do you believe every word he says?"

"That's rather rude of you," Kisame said, a faint purple flush spreading across his cheeks. "I've been doubting pretty strangers trying to get close to me before you even made genin."

"Then perhaps you should act like it."

"Look, I know where he's from, I'm not underestimating him. And I'm not saying that he wouldn't try to cut both our throats if he thought we were a threat to Zabuza-kun, either, but I don't think we need to worry too much about it. He's still a kid, we can -"

"At his age, I was a captain in ANBU."

Another owlish blink. "I wasn't trying to disparage the abilities of thirteen-year-olds. I just meant - wait," and suddenly, he laughed. "Itachi-san, you aren't jealous, are you?"

What. "Excuse me?"

"He certainly is an adorable little thing," Kisame went on with a grin. "So fun to spoil and take care of. And you do have sort of similar looks, although Zabuza-kun must be better than I am at getting someone to go to bed on time. You've even both been responsible for the deaths of your friends and family - I suppose it's a little different for him since he didn't do it on purpose, but -"

"I am not jealous." It was unbelievable. Why would he ever be jealous of someone distracting his partner from work and disrupting their routines and - unbelievable. "How much did you have to drink to come up with such a ridiculous - would you stop laughing!"

"Ssh, keep it down, you're going to wake the kid - I didn't realize this was such a sensitive topic for you, Itachi-san. How surprisingly cute of you... But you don't need to be concerned." Kisame was still smiling, but he had an oddly intent look as he leaned forward. "It's been amusing to look after Zabuza-kun's student for a little while, but I'm not really interested in a new partner as long as we're getting along."

That wasn't the issue. It wasn't even what Itachi had intended for their conversation to be about. "That's beside the point. You should be more cautious."

"Yes, yes, I'll be sure to be careful." Kisame reached across the table and reopened the history book, his fingers brushing against Itachi's. Next time he went out drinking, Itachi would have to accompany him to make certain he didn't overindulge. "Did you find out anything useful while you were babysitting - that is, keeping watch on a very dangerous young criminal?"

"Not particularly." The area had a fair amount of interesting history, but little that had been relevant to hunting the Awagami family. "I did find a regional legend about a genjutsu user who enhanced their techniques with a special fan. It's difficult to tell from these sources whether there could be any truth to it, however." Yugakure would have more reliable records than a civilian library, and possibly information on the mysterious Nanase as well, but they didn't have time to waste on another excursion.

"Mmm - I'll keep an eye out for suspicious-looking fans, then. But you ought to get some rest yourself. It's awfully late now."

Itachi was tempted to point out that Kisame was the one at fault for returning so late in the first place, but he refrained. There was no need to start another pointless argument. "All right. Make certain the room is secure before you sleep."

"Really, I'm not that drunk - of course I will."

As Itachi settled into his futon, he caught a glint of lantern light reflecting from Haku's eyes. How long had he been awake and listening to them? But Haku didn't move or speak, and a moment later, the glint was gone.

Kisame closed the window's shutters, blocking out the lanterns, and lay down on Haku's other side with a quiet, "Good night, Itachi-san."

They didn't usually exchange pleasantries that way, but Itachi said, "Good night."

One more day. Only one more day, and then their lives could return to the routines he understood, one way or another.

Kisame led the way the next morning, since he'd gotten the Awagami compound's exact location. It was a nice, quiet run all the way - maybe too quiet. Itachi was definitely still sulking about all the teasing last night. Kisame would have to think of some subtle way to make it up to him later, or maybe tease him more until he finally developed a sense of humor.

Haku was quiet, too, but that was only to be expected with their goal so close. He had changed outfits to something a little more practical for a fight than the casual robe he'd been wearing - a split brown under-robe with a blue kimono over it - and put most of his hair up in a neatly capped bun.

The sun had climbed about halfway up the sky when Kisame stopped them outside the estimated patrol radius around the compound. "All right, we're here," he said. "Itachi-san, how do you want to handle it?"

Itachi looked ahead at the glimpse of a gray stone wall visible through the forest. "I'll create a distraction on the east side of the compound," he said. "That should draw most of the missing-nin and guards to me so the two of you can concentrate on finding Zabuza, the head of the Awagami family, and Nanase."

"Sounds good."

"What will you do if they send Zabuza-san to fight you, too?" Haku asked.

"It's unlikely," said Itachi. "None of the other missing-nin that we know are working for the Awagami are ranked as highly as Zabuza. If they have any sense, they'll keep Zabuza close to the family head as the last line of defense."

"But the Awagami's head may not think as strategically as you do. What would you do then?"

The forest's gentle breezes suddenly carried the tang of frost. Kisame discreetly reached around his back to loosen Samehada's wrappings.

Itachi looked down at Haku for a few eternal seconds, then said, "If they're that foolish, I'll send a signal to Kisame, and we'll switch roles so that you can deal with Zabuza."

"I see." Haku smiled, and the frost melted into thin air. "Thank you for being honest, Itachi-san. Good luck!"

Kisame caught the instant of pure bafflement that flickered across Itachi's face before he said, "Right. Be alert for any unexpected defenses they may have."

With that, he vanished.

Haku set Zabuza's pack down among the roots of the largest nearby tree and quickly concealed it under a natural-looking cover of fallen leaves and branches. Kisame was about to do the same with Haku's pack - no sense in hauling around extra weight during a fight - but Haku reached for it, saying, "Sorry - there's one thing I need to get out first."

"Sure, help yourself."

Haku dug through the pack and pulled out a hunter-nin's mask.

"I won't ask how you got that," Kisame said, "but I hope you're prepared to play the part." Kiri's hunters had a reputation to live up to.

"Of course." Haku tied the mask on and adjusted it to completely cover his face. "How long should we wait for Itachi-san?"

"Not too long, I'd say."

In fact, Haku had barely finished hiding his pack next to Zabuza's when an explosion from the east echoed through the trees. Itachi had decided to be flashy with a distraction for once. "That's our cue," Kisame said. "Ready to go?"

"Yes, sir!"

The front gates of the Awagami compound still had four guards - two on the ground and two on top of the walls - but they were nervous and distracted by the smoke rising from the east side of the compound. Clearly not shinobi, or they would have realized the noise and fuss meant they should be concentrating on their post more, not less.

Kisame pulled Samehada off his back as they stepped onto the road leading to the gates, but Haku blocked him and said, "Please allow me to take care of the trash for you, Kisame-san."

"Now, that's more like what I would expect from Zabuza-kun's student," Kisame said, grinning. "Go ahead and have some fun."

All four guards were down with needles in their throats before they could notice Haku and Kisame's approach. Haku really had been a useful find, whatever Itachi thought.

There was a genjutsu trap set to trigger when they passed through the gates, but Kisame was used to disarming much better ones and shrugged it off. In the broad and grassy courtyard beyond, Haku turned a suspicious puddle of water into a pillar of ice with a short, scarred missing-nin frozen inside. Maybe Itachi was causing too much of a distraction and should have left more for the two of them to handle; he did seem to like hoarding most of the action for himself.

Another genjutsu trap to destroy on the front door, and then they were inside the Awagami's mansion proper. It was a big, fancy place, but more on the flashy side than the tasteful: lots of expensive-looking art and pottery cluttering up the wide halls, too many painted screens touched up with gilt, and a few terrified servants cowering in niches meant for art.

Those, Kisame ignored. They would be boring to kill, but good for spreading rumors later. Haku, however, stopped at one of the occupied niches and looked down at the pretty black-haired girl trying to hide under a vase stand. "Excuse me," he said, with a politeness icy enough to freeze a river. "Which is the way to your master's rooms?"

Kisame nearly told him not to waste their time. The girl was just going to lie, and the mansion wasn't so huge that they couldn't find their own way. Well, it might be a good lesson for Haku, or at least some practice in intimidation.

The girl shivered without speaking and huddled further back into the niche, but she pointed down the hallway.

"Thank you," Haku said, turning away. "You should run now. Not toward the east wing."

They didn't wait around to see whether she took the advice. But her directions seemed to be solid; the hallways got even more decorative as they went deeper into the mansion, and Kisame caught a second missing-nin trying to ensnare them with wires attached to exploding tags. Honestly, it was insulting. Almost not worth the effort of shaving the man's arms off.

Haku took care of the two men hiding in the room past the wire trap, who matched the description of some Awagami cousins, but he hesitated when he opened the doors of the next room. Kisame glanced over his head and recognized the grandfather of the current leader of the family and his wife, apparently caught in the middle of a late breakfast.

Ah, well. Not every thirteen-year-old could be Itachi. Kisame caught Haku's wrist as he prepared to throw again and said, "It's all right. We'll keep these two for Itachi-san to interrogate later." Haku didn't need to know that an interrogation by Itachi would be worse than a quick death.

"If you're certain, Kisame-san."

The old woman gathered herself enough to say, "I don't know who you two ruffians are, but if you think you can -"

Kisame brought Samehada down on the table, and it bared its bloody teeth at her and chittered. "That sounds like your problem more than ours," he said. "Haku, mind making sure they won't be going anywhere so we can move on?"

Once the old folks were secured, they turned down a new hallway that was littered with traps, some obvious, some more cunningly laid. A promising sign that they were getting close to their primary target.

As they wove effortlessly through the traps' various triggers, Kisame said, "Do any of these look like Zabuza-kun's style?"

"Not at all."

"I didn't think so. Well, maybe in the next - ah, watch your foot there -"

They made it through the hallway safely, and Kisame stopped Haku from opening the door at the end as he considered what lay beyond. It might only be more cousins or uncles, or the family head's younger sister who was supposed to still live with the family. But from the way Samehada's scales were rippling in anticipation, he suspected not.

"I'll handle Nanase, if she's in there, and anyone else," he said. "That leaves Zabuza-kun for you, if you're all right with that."

"Thank you, but you don't have to worry about me," said Haku.

"Then let's see what we've got." Kisame slid the decorated door open.

The broad tip of the Executioner's Blade sliced through the air in front of his nose and stopped dead.

"Ah, Zabuza-kun," Kisame said. "As rude as ever, I see. Not even a single friendly word for your old sempai - I'm disappointed in you."

"Hoshigaki Kisame." Zabuza's eyes slid over to Haku. "And some brat of a hunter-nin."

"Zabuza-san, it's me," Haku said, wounded. "I'm not -"

"Yeah, whatever. So you're still running Yagura's errands, Hoshigaki?"

Considering who had been pulling Yagura's strings for the last several years, Zabuza was technically correct, but that was a more complicated conversation than Kisame wanted to have at the moment. Particularly in front of the family head Awagami Junichi and the middle-aged woman with a suspiciously mundane-looking fan sitting with him on a cushioned dais at the back of the room. "Your information's a bit out of date, I'm afraid. If you'd like to spend some time catching up, though, I could spare -"

Zabuza swung at him and Haku again. Catching up would have to wait. Kisame split right and leaped toward Awagami and the fan woman.

Zabuza's sword caught Samehada mid-swing. "Don't think that some rookie hunter is going to distract me from the real threat here," Zabuza said.

"That's no way to talk about your student." Unless Itachi had been right the whole time, in which case he was going to be insufferable for months and Kisame would have to try to kill him.

"I don't have a - doesn't matter. Shut up."

"Is the money here that good, though? Maybe there's room on the payroll for me, too."

"Don't I wish." Zabuza shoved Samehada aside and took another swing at Kisame's neck that Kisame evaded. "No money here, just a mountain of debts."

"Debts? Really?" That was odd. Admittedly, it had been a while, but Kisame couldn't remember Zabuza having much interest in gambling or any of the other activities that could rack up a tab with a family like the Awagami. And not recognizing Haku on top of that, if Haku had been telling the truth - well, it didn't add up. Not without another factor like, say, genjutsu.

"I'm afraid so," the fan woman said as Zabuza blocked Kisame's next strike at her. "As it turns out, Zabuza-kun owes a great deal to Awagami-dono. He'll be paying off those debts for a long time, I suspect. Although, if he's able to kill you -"

Kisame tried to sweep Zabuza's legs, but Zabuza jumped back in time and threw shuriken that bounced off Samehada's skin.

"- that may count for a great deal."

"Stay out of this, Nanase," Zabuza growled.

What an irritating position to be in. Kisame fended off another blow and glanced around. What was Haku doing, other than not handling Zabuza as promised?

"Eyes on me, Hoshigaki!"

Damn it - Kisame ducked as Zabuza's sword swept over his head. "It's good to see that you're taking your work seriously -" Although it certainly was inconvenient. "- but I think you ought to -"

Ice spiked out of the floor between them.

"You should know better than to ignore me, Zabuza-san," Haku said, and he trapped the blade between more spikes as Zabuza swung around to face him.

Finally. "He's all yours, kid." Whether that meant breaking the genjutsu or killing him. "Now, let's see about you two..." Kisame turned back to Awagami and Nanase and stepped toward the dais, only to come up short when his foot brushed against something solid and invisible. A barrier - it really wasn't his day, was it.

"Of course, if Zabuza-kun fails, that won't necessarily be too great a loss," said Nanase, tapping the folded fan against her cheek. "Not with two such promising replacements in front of us."

No telling what her angle on genjutsu was, other than it possibly involving the fan. Kisame focused on Awagami Junichi but kept watch on her out of the corner of his eye.

"I don't know, Nanase," Awagami said, one hand on the hilt of a sword that looked worn enough not to be entirely for show. "This one's even uglier than Zabuza - I'd rather throw him back in the ocean."

"Don't be so insensitive, Awagami-dono," Nanase said before Kisame could protest. "Or so hasty. Kisame-kun has an excellent reputation; I'm certain he could be quite useful. At least, once we've had time to discuss a few minor details..."

Her wrist tensed, and Kisame shut his eyes at the snap of the fan opening.

"Such as how much Zabuza-kun's death will cost him."

How tough was that barrier? He stepped back and let Samehada rest against it, and the sword chittered happily. Good.

"Closing your eyes is clever, but it won't work forever, Kisame-kun. And this fan is hardly the only way for me to -"

Samehada smashed through the barrier with ease, and Nanase screamed. Kisame cracked one eye - excellent, he'd gotten the hand with the fan. He opened both eyes and caught Awagami's sword on Samehada, then kicked the man into the wall and snatched the fallen fan out of Nanase's severed hand. Itachi didn't need that kind of cheap trick and the leader didn't really collect artifacts, but they could probably get a decent price for it.

He wrapped Nanase and Awagami up in a water prison and looked around in time to see Zabuza slamming Haku against a wall with his sword, the kid's neck caught in the blade's lower ring. Ah, that was too bad.

"Some hunter you are," Zabuza said. "Either Yagura's getting sloppy, or Hoshigaki is. I don't know which is more laughable, but -"

Haku's left hand closed around Zabuza's on the hilt of the sword.

"What? Going to beg for your life?"

"No, Zabuza-san. It's always been yours to take if you wanted." Haku slipped his other hand through the ring, its edge drawing blood from his knuckles, and pulled the hunter's mask off. "But you should think about it without an illusion in the way first."

"What -"

A shiver ran up Zabuza's arm and through his body. Then he said, "Haku? What the hell are you doing here? I told you to wait back at -" He yanked his sword out of the wall and glanced over his shoulder. "Kisame-sempai? Who talked you into this?"

"Oh, you remember us now," Kisame said cheerfully, swinging Samehada back onto his shoulder. "What a relief. That must have been quite the technique they used on you." Probably no good for the leader's purposes, though he and Itachi would have to drag Nanase and maybe Awagami back with them to be on the safe side.

"Kisame-san and Itachi-san were kind enough to help me find you," Haku volunteered, which Kisame felt was overselling the matter somewhat.

Zabuza felt similarly, judging by the skeptical look he gave Kisame and the way he moved to cover Haku. "Uh-huh. Well, now you've found me, so you can -"

"Hey, Zabuza! You finished cleaning - up - in here..." The missing-nin who'd just charged through the door gulped as she got a proper look at the scene, and the squad of civilian guards with her went pale. "Uh - everything okay?"

"Just fine," said Zabuza, bloody intent rising around him. "Sempai, mind taking a break? Seems like Haku and I have some garbage to take out."

"No, please - go ahead."

It always had been fun to watch Zabuza work.

The garbage disposal didn't take too long. Even with that damned Nanase's genjutsu fogging his mind, Zabuza had been itching to stretch his muscles.

After they'd finished, Haku insisted on checking Zabuza over for damage, even though Zabuza told him the Awagami hadn't tried anything physical on him and Haku was the only one with any injuries. Stupid kid, letting Zabuza trap him with the sword just so he could get close enough to disrupt Zabuza's chakra flow. He was still in the middle of his overly careful examination of Zabuza's body when someone new stepped through the door - some grumpy-looking teenager in a coat that matched Kisame's.

Kisame waved at the stranger from where he was relaxing next to his trapped and unconscious prisoners. "I thought you'd check in earlier, Itachi-san," he said. "You must have been having fun."

"Itachi-san"? Wait - Kisame had partnered up with that Itachi? Okay, they might be two of a kind, but still. Where had they even met?

"Not especially." Actual fucking Uchiha Itachi glanced at him and Haku, and Zabuza's hackles went up. "Any difficulties?"

"Ah, not really. It was rather boring, actually - you're too good at being a distraction. Next time, you'll have to leave more for me to do." Kisame stretched the arm that wasn't controlling the water prison. "I suppose there's no one left for me to clean up, either, is there?"

"No."

"You picked a hell of a pair to tag along with," Zabuza muttered to Haku. "Will you leave off fussing already? I told you I'm fine." He stood abruptly, and Haku scrambled to his feet next to him.

"Heading out so soon?" Kisame asked. "We didn't even catch up yet."

Yeah, right. Nosy bastard. "Whatever you're doing here is your business. I've got plenty of my own to take care of."

"Fine, fine." Kisame sighed. "It was nice to see you again, Zabuza-kun, but you should try to stay out of trouble from now on. Itachi-san and I are busy people, you know. We can't always show up to rescue you, no matter how cutely your student asks."

"I didn't need - I would've gotten out of it on my own," Zabuza said. Eventually, anyway. "But thanks for indulging the kid, I guess." He put one hand on Haku's shoulder, and the kid flushed for some reason. "Well? Where's your manners?"

"I appreciate you helping me very much, Kisame-san, Itachi-san," Haku said, bowing to both of them. "I hope that I wasn't too much of a bother."

"None at all," said Kisame, like he was some kind of doting uncle. "You're going to be quite the shinobi some day - let's hope we don't end up on the wrong side of a job from each other. Keep working hard and listening to Zabuza-kun, all right?"

"Yes, Kisame-san!"

Itachi was looking down at Haku intently, as if he wanted to say something, too, and was struggling to put it into words; Zabuza prepared to run. At last, he said, "In your position, it would be better not to care for anything. But if that isn't possible - protect what you care for with all of your strength."

Zabuza and Kisame both stared at him - what kind of advice was that for a clan-murdering missing-nin to give, especially to another missing-nin? - but the kid smiled up at him like it made sense. "I understand, Itachi-san. I'll do my best."

"Right. Sure," Zabuza said. "Good luck with - whatever it is you two have going on. Haku, let's go. Now."

Haku took them to pick up their packs from where he'd hidden them, and then Zabuza hustled them as far as they could get from Kisame, Uchiha Itachi, and the Awagami's wrecked compound by nightfall. Thankfully, Haku didn't complain.

They settled in after sunset deep in the forest. After they'd set up camp and eaten, Zabuza had messages he needed to send - who knew what stupid shit his crew had been getting up to without him - but first... He pulled his bingo book out of his pack and tossed it at Haku. "Here. Do some studying while I work."

Haku caught the book easily and opened it to the page Zabuza expected. After a few seconds of quiet reading, he said, "Hm - I wonder if that's why Itachi-san didn't like me."

What part of the Uchiha's entry had inspired that comment, Zabuza didn't want to know. Like him? Haku was lucky neither of them had eviscerated him for breathing wrong. Zabuza wasn't sure why they hadn't, except maybe Kisame thinking it would be a good prank to pull on his partner. He'd always had a weird sense of humor. Or - "Those two didn't try anything funny with you, did they?"

"No, Zabuza-san."

"You really went and asked Hoshigaki Kisame to help you," Zabuza said, still trying to work out exactly what he'd missed while kidnapped. "And he agreed to it?"

"Yes," said Haku serenely. "He seems like a nice man." About someone Zabuza had personally witnessed shredding people alive on multiple occasions, including earlier that same day.

"You are such a weird kid." Zabuza reached around the fire and rubbed Haku's head, and the kid's face turned pink again. "But you sure have some guts. Don't ever do that again, got it? You're strong enough that you don't need help from guys like them."

"Yes, Zabuza-san. Whatever you say."

Author's Note: Just a little epilogue left to wrap things up! Thank you for reading.