It was a quiet, warm day in Wave country. The sun shone bright and a soft breeze occasionally ruffled the treetops. For Meizu, it was another day to get paid. They'd been woken up by Haku in the early morning, a far nicer person to be awoken by then Zabuza, and given orders to set up an ambush for Wave's renegade bridge builder.

If he was honest with himself, Meizu pitied those who lived in Wave. Sure, he was a Ninja but there was something wrong in grinding people to dust under your boot just because you could. Gato reminded him far too much of Yagura for Meizu to ever feel comfortable working under him. Zabuza would have called him soft but Meizu knew that the infamous Demon of the Mist felt it himself, if only to a lesser degree. Raising Haku like a son, instead of as a tool like he claimed, certainly proved that.

So, at 4:00 in the morning, he and his brother had moved out here, 10 miles from the border with Fire Country and set up their ambush. Any half observant Ninja would spot them in their puddle disguise but a civilian would just pass them by. One quick stab to the heart with a kunai and the man's death would be quick and painless.

It was just past noon and even his calm tempered brother was starting to get impatient, using his claw to scratch out the latest in a very long line of Tic Tac Toe games. Finally one of the dozen chakra trip lines they'd set up as a warning system snapped, the minuscule pulse traveling up the line and onto his arm. He tapped his one horned brother on the shoulder and nodded, each of them extending their senses as best they could.

5 minutes later a kid with the single loudest, if colors could have sound, jumpsuit Meizu had ever had the displeasure of seeing came around the bend. He was quickly followed by a black haired boy and a pink?

Meizu had to blink twice to make sure. A pink haired girl in a red dress followed by the target. Kami above, the man had kids protecting him? Mist Ninja were infamous for their bloodlust and indiscriminate killing but kids just weren't what Meizu had signed up for. They looked more like school kids on a camping trip then Ninja bodyguards.

Another man wearing a flak jacket lagged behind a little, reading an orange book. Meizu fought back a snort of laughter, recognizing the book as the one he'd caught Gozu reading during one of Gato's speeches. Wait, by the Sage, was that Kakashi of the Sharingan? Silver hair, lackadaisical pose and Icha Icha book. Check, check, check.

The man's bounty was more than enough for the two renegade Nnja to retire comfortably in the Sea Country for the rest of their lives. A chance to hang up their mask and claws was very tempting, but could they take him? Would only one of them live to cash in the bounty? Meizu would much rather spend the next 20 years knee deep in blood alongside his brother then live without his him.

They'd rocketed out of the 'I don't want to do this' zone and into 'run like hell' zone. He and his brother could take down low Tokubetsu Jounin if they worked together and had the element of surprise but an elite Jounin like Kakashi? Even if the man did have the handicap of a Gennin team he'd wipe the floor with them. This was the man who wiped out Kiri ANBU teams for the same reason Civilians climbed mountains: because they were there.

Wait, the Gennin's attitudes didn't make sense. They were on a protection mission, one with at least a high-B ranking so why were they so casual? Was it an act? Were they just a spare team Kakashi was babysitting? No, one of them called him Kakashi-Sensei.

A jolt of surprise went through Meizu. Kakashi didn't know what he was heading into! The builder had likely lied, no way would those soft hearted tree humpers send a Gennin team on a mission like this. They had a chance to get out of this alive after all.

He looked at his brother and saw, to his irritation and relief, that Gozu had come to the same conclusion, if a bit faster. They nodded to each other and Meizu fired off his chakra in the bits and pieces of Konoha's chakra signal language that he knew. He'd probably butchered it but Kakashi's head snapped up, one hand on the forehead protector that concealed the dreaded Sharingan. Kakashi's response was in immaculate Kiri pulse language, somehow managing to convey a massive amount of killing intent.

'Who are you?"

The sheer menace in the man's chakra terrified Meizu.

'Two man team after your client, he was supposed to be alone'

'Why would two B-tankers be after my client?'

Meizu looked at his brother for a second, responding when Gozu nodded. 'Half a million bounty on his head, courtesy of the Tyrant of Wave.'

The focused killing intent skyrocketed to a point the Gennin noticed. A small scowl was visible through Kakashi's mask and Meizu felt a distinct urge to curl into a ball, not even the Tailed Beast without a Tail could match this and Meizu had once annoyed the shark man to the point of getting a Water Release: Water Shark Bomb tossed at him.

'Leave, warn any other assassins to stand down or I will kill them'

Both Meizu and Gozu were already moving, using an Iwa technique to burrow rough the dirt towards the cave Zabuza was using as a hideout, only distantly noticing the small pug Kakashi had handed a scroll.

They'd barely gotten a quarter of the way before they slammed into the remnants of a tangible chakra pulse. A sensor had actively swept the area. Chakra sensing usually came in 2 types: Passive and Active. Passive was subtle, acting similar to a chakra string web, hard to detect but not very specific. Active was higher detail, disrupted Genjutsu and induced migraines in anyone with Chunin level chakra control. To the two Mist Ninja, this was terrifying as they recognized this particular search pattern.

Ao-Sensei was the one after them. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, the two Ninja channeled their chakra into their legs, running flat out for the safety of the cave. Much to their horror, the faint feeling of an active pulse washed over them.

They barely made it to the cave, nearly slamming into Suigetsu, their teammates little brother. The boy held the Kiba Blades, having taken them from Raiga's cold body not too long ago. Mangetsu and Suigetsu had both been co-conspirators in the attempted coup and shared the dream of a strong Mist so Zabuza had taken them in while fleeing Water Country.

Before Suigetsu could start yelling at them, the bandaged form of his older brother asked. "It's Him isn't it?"

The emphasis on the pronoun from him showed he understood the situation. In the 5 years since the failed coup, Meizu had never seen the man as scared as he was now. Gozu nodded quickly and said. "This hideout's busted, Mist Hunter Ninja and Konoha Shinobi are in the area. We need to go now!"

The hideout bustled with frantic activity as everyone packed up. Zabuza took point followed by Haku, who had the new boy Ranmaru on his back, followed by Suigetsu, Mangetsu, Gozu and finally Meizu.

"Going somewhere boys? Pity, I was looking forward to having some fun. Shame on you Zabu-Kun, leaving without talking to me."

A sense of horror filled Meizu. There was only one woman who had ever called Zabuza Zabu-Kun. Nidaime's eyebrows! They were fucked.

They turned around to face the smirking Mei Terumi, a pair of lava balls in her hands. If this was anyone else Meizu would have joked but this was the woman who had killed Suna's dreaded Pakura of the Scorch Release in single combat. Everyone was terrified of her.

The fact that Utakata was standing next to her only made it worse. Was she wearing a Mizukage's robes? Too many questions implications to think about.

The auburn haired woman smiled sultrily, her voice carrying lust and menace in equal measure. "I have a proposition for you bad boys."

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So endeth this durable, for now. I might bring it back later. This one has been banging around in my head for months and I finally took the time to write it down. It always bothered me just how dumb the Demon Brothers were in cannon so this is my take on it. Please review, they help me get better.