AN: I don't think I can update for a long long time. I have summer classes at the moment and would most probably be able to update on June. I really am sorry that I don't update as much as I should. Oh, and this chapter was made mostly by lain-trigger01. Thanks for reading.

Tutor et Ultor

Formerly known as 'Shards of My Secret Unkempt'

By Paranoia-shoujo & lain-trigger01

Chapter 08 : Fighting myself

Hidden amidst the foliage of the forest was a young figure in a dark gi and hakama. A painted animal mask hid his face from public view, while a metal band engraved with a symbol of that marked him as a shinobi from Hidden Mist. He stood relaxed, facing the general direction of the fight.

Dark eyes followed the actions of Naruto.

/There is something off about him. /

He watched the way the blond nin fought. The boy moved with understated grace. But there was also awkwardness in the movements, as if he were adjusting to a new body, his limbs often trailing uselessly about him. /Most of his actions involve considerable distances; he probably has poor close range taijutsus. / He had great stamina and most probably a large amount of chakra, seeing as to how carelessly he spent it. /But then again, maybe not/ he thought as he discovered that the clones were merely a diversionary tactic.

/Smart. Cunning. /

The boy's expression was that of determination. And joy, almost as if he relished the sense of danger.

/He's enjoying this fight. /

He was heavily reminded of a fox, a sly hunter.

His attention drifted away from the fight itself and focused on the blond boy. /Shiny short, blond hair. Pretty blue eyes. Cute, chubby, whiskered cheeks. Moderately tanned skin. Not so bad body either. Short; probably a few years younger than me. /

Beneath the mask, he smiled.

/He has great... potential. This should prove interesting. /

Closing his eyes briefly, he let the sounds of the fight pass through him. A brief pause and then he struck.

/insert Naruto gets mad scene from the anime/

The hunternin paused and looked at Naruto, Zabuza's body lying limp against his shoulder. /He's amusing and his thoughts don't seem to follow the normal process that other humans do. But then again he's special. /

He shifted the heavy weight and took in Naruto's flushed angry face. Completely by accident, his eyes caught on the boy's.

A soft whisper of breath reverberated in his ears as their eyes continued their perusal of each other. Haku's thought process halted and he seemed to fall under an enchantment.

"Naruto!"

/So that's his name.../ A smile spread on his lips, unseen.

As the group's grey haired sensei called the boy's attention to himself, breaking their eye contact, Haku disappeared back into the foliage of the forest with the body of Zabuza.

/Until we meet again...Naruto./

A beautiful boy in a pink sleeveless kimono walked into the small clearing where Naruto had fallen asleep. His long black hair reached his lower back, silky and straight. His porcelain white skin glowed where it was touched by sunlight. Dark eyes falling on the sleeping boy, he gently kneeled down on the grass beside him. After a moment's thought, he placed his small basket of herbs at his side.

Smiling slightly, he watched the young, peaceful face, quietly touched by the innocence he found there. This boy drew him like the proverbial moth to the flame. His obvious attraction aside, he was also drawn to the boy because he reminded him of himself.

Haku let gentle fingers ghost against the features of Naruto, marveling at the long lashes that rested against pudgy cheeks. /He's so cute. Adorable really. And he's so compassionate and strong. /

Naruto, though he had received advanced training from his family, the Hokage and Itachi, had always been weakest when asleep. Especially after the harsh exercises he had put his body to last night, when Sasuke had, thankfully left; in this state, the only way to wake him up is to scream at him or hit him.

Haku let his fingers run through Naruto's messy hair. /I wish I could protect you from all that is evil and wrong in this world. I wish you'd remain the same as you are now, always. You're... You're the kind of person I wish I could be, that I could never be. I don't understand how your team mates could allow you to sleep all alone in a cold dangerous forest where you could get attacked or catch a cold. You deserve to be loved. I...I want to protect you and take care of you. / He smiled as Naruto snuggled into his hand. /Rest well, Naruto-chan. Aishiteru. /

His eyes brushing against Naruto's whiskers, he gently shook the boy awake.

"Huh...?"

"You shouldn't sleep in the woods. You could get sick."

"... Who..?"

"A friend." Was all Haku said before he stood up and moved away from the stupefied boy, picking up his basket, at the sound of light, approaching footsteps.

He walked away, as if he had not seen Naruto sleeping on the damp forest ground, as if he had not been admiring his enemy, as if he had not touched the boy as if he loved him, and kept his features composed as he passed one of Naruto's teammates, the dark-haired boy he called Sasuke.

But his eyes narrowed as he passed the boy who was obviously headed for Naruto, and he couldn't keep the sneer of his face as he walked away, thinking of Naruto's uncaring team mates. /You don't deserve him. You can't fool me with your pretense of caring. If you truly cared, why did you remember that he was outside only after you've slept and probably eaten? Is it convenient for you to remember your team mate now? Pathetic. Utterly pathetic./

Haku watched Naruto and Sasuke as they fought against his senbon. Naruto was once again expending much chakra. He kept on performing his clone jutsu even though all the clones kept on dying by his needles. /I know he has a reason for doing this. But I just can't see how this will help him get out, much less defeat me/

Haku hesitated and shook his head. /No, I'm allowing my sentiments for him to cloud my judgment. He is my enemy. I must not let my fondness for him affect me./

Haku winced as one of his senbon once again pierced the battered body of Naruto. /I must win this fight. For Zabuza. For giving me something to live for when I wanted to die. For recognizing me and accepting me all those years ago. I owe Zabuza that much./

But even as he repeated those words again and again in his mind, he could not help but purposely make his senbon miss Naruto vital organs. He sighed, his warm breath condensing against the inside surface of his mask. /... But I don't want Naruto-chan to die./

Haku knew that he would lose this fight. It just wasn't in his heart to hurt the boy.

After the repeated attacks, Naruto fell unconscious. Opening his eyes, he saw himself before a large door... the cage of the feared Kyubi.

"BRAT! WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE!"

Smiling sheepishly, Naruto scratched "Ne, Kyubi-san? I fell unconscious."

"Stupid. You weren't fighting your best, of course you'd lose."

"Sasuke's there. He'd notice my fighting style... Itachi's fighting style."

"Very well... I cannot allow my vessel to seem like a weakling. Open your eyes and fight!"

Opening his eyes, he could see their enemy, Haku, lying unconscious on the ground.

/Does that mean.../

"Ch, you ...always... in the way." Sasuke's voice whispered as he stood before Naruto's body.

Naruto's eyes widened as his eyes wandered over his teammate's body, it was covered in blood and needles.

/Had we won? NO! That's impossible... that boy... He's strong... He can't be fallen already.../ His thoughts however stopped and took a detour when Sasuke's body crumpled into a broken heap before him. Before he realized what was happening, his arms had already pulled Sasuke's pliant body to his and semi-hugged his teammate

"Why did... You save me?"

"How should I know... hated you..."

The moment Sasuke closed his eyes, Naruto could no longer hold the words spilling from his mouth. "Idiot! I'm the one who should be protecting you... not the other way around...not like this... Damnit, WAKE UP!" After saying thus, the Kyubi's chakra rose up from his body and surrounded both him and his charge.

Opening his bloodshot eyes, they met the pale ones of his opponent.

The real fight has begun.

Zabuza knew he didn't have much more to give for this fight, he had just been newly healed and his body had not yet completely recovered. Black edged his field of vision and he was feeling light headed from extensive blood loss.

Haku screamed and ran to save him when he saw that Zabuza could no longer defend himself from Kakashi's oncoming attack. Zabuza smiled fondly at him as he used his remaining strength to push Haku away. /...Idiot boy./

The strength of Kakashi's attack threw him a couple of meters away. His body bounced as it landed on the hard bridge and skidded to a stop. Black spots appeared before his eyes and he lost what air was in his lungs.

Haku quickly ran to his fallen master and teacher and dropped to his knees beside the man. Zabuza's blood pooled around him and soaked Haku's clothes.

Zabuza smiled a genuine smile as he stared at the monochromatic sky above him. He could vaguely hear Haku's sobs beside him. /Keh. Someone's crying for good, old me, bakemono Zabuza... He must think I've done something good for him.../

"Wimpy boy..." Zabuza coughed out blood. "...crying like a woman..."

Haku hugged his body closer to him and tried to stench the alarming flow of blood with his hands, using whatever chakra he still had to heal Zabuza. "Zabuza-sensei!" He sobbed. /I can't heal him! His blood is flowing out of him too fast! My healing capabilities can't keep up... But he can't die! There must be something that I can do/

Zabuza coughed up more blood. "Shut up..." /and let me... have my/ "...peace." He forced his eyes open and grinned at Kakashi. "Take," he drew in a ragged, painful breath, "care of Haku... Ka...Kakashi".

Kakashi watched him solemnly. "I will."

Haku's anguished cries became louder as he tried, begged, prayed for Zabuza. "I thought I... told you to shu...shut up.." He lifted one arm with great difficulty and plugged it in his ear hole. "Urusai." Zabuza closed his eyes. /I can hear my blood pounding... Keh. At least... I died from a good fight./

Zabuza grinned one last time and stared at Kakashi. "See you in hell, scarecrow."

And he was dead. Haku whimpered and cried. He closed Zabuza's unseeing eyes and embraced his body close.

"Aww, he's dead." One of Gatou's thugs, who had arrived at the scene with Gatou as Zabuza was dying, grinned. "Don't cry now. You'll soon be joining your ugly boyfriend." And with that he and the other thugs attacked. Gatou looked on, happily puffing his cigar.

Kakashi, whose chakra was already running low, cursed under his breath and settled for hand to hand combat. Haku remained by Zabuza's body and used his senbon to defend himself and Zabuza's corpse. Sakura was holding her own against the thug she was fighting with. They weren't particularly strong like Zabuza and Haku had been but Team 7 and Haku had been badly injured and was not in prime fighting condition. Even the old man Tazuna was left unprotected as he fought against his attacker using a nearby metal shovel. One particularly hard bash and the paid lackey were out like a light.

Naruto was having his own problems fighting off two of the stronger thugs when he saw a sword carrying thug raise his sword to run it through Sasuke.

/Sasuke/ He directed his chakra to his hands and feet and flipped over the one in front of him, gripping the thug by the shoulders while he was flipping over, and throwing him at the other thug. He pushed chakra into his feet, ran to Sasuke in two leaps and kicked Sasuke's attacker in the stomach.

He glanced down at Sasuke's unconscious body to make sure that he was unharmed. /Sasuke! Wake the fuck up/ His momentary distraction had cost him as the thug recovered and punched his face, followed by a stronger punch to his stomach. Naruto coughed up blood. He slipped his tongue over his lips and tasted a thick slightly metallic flavored liquid. /Fuck! I'm going to die/

The green haired thug grinned at him and gripped the arms of his orange jacket, intending to throw him away. Naruto suddenly bent over and allowed his jacket to slip off of his arms. Green-hair lost his balance and began flailing backward. Naruto jumped up and smashed the thug's face into the ground with a good kick.

One of the thugs he had been fighting with had recovered and ran Green-hair's sword through Naruto the moment his feet touched the ground. Naruto cried out in pain and fell down.

The thug, a bald-headed muscle-head pulled out the sword, drawing another scream out of Naruto and smashed his big foot onto Naruto's stomach. Tears streamed down Naruto's face as his wound was aggravated by the foot of the man. Leering down at Naruto, Bald-head said, "Gonna cry now little boy? Gonna run crying back to your whore-mother? Aww, aren't you a cute little piece of cunt?"

"Bastard!" Naruto hissed out at him.

The man laughed and lifted his foot from where he had been grinding it down on Naruto's stomach only to smash it down on Naruto's left leg.

Naruto let out a blood-curdling scream.

Haku was pinned down by two thugs, blood-stained gi and hakama loosened by the two. He had run out of senbon and kunai a while ago, and in his weak state it was easy for the two thugs to overpower him.

Haku was staring at the same patch of sky that Zabuza had been staring at before he died as he felt rough hands reach places on his body that they weren't supposed to be. Haku tried to shut down his thought process. /What more can I lose? They can't hurt me anyway. I don't care what they do to me./

His thoughts were broken by a blood-curdling scream. Haku's pulse quickened as he recognized that voice. /Naruto! I can't let them hurt Naruto/ He twisted his head to face the direction where the scream came from. His eyes widened at the sight of the big, laughing man stepping on Naruto. And Naruto's obviously broken leg.

"NARUTO!" Haku screamed, forcing his limbs to fight against his attackers. He writhed and twisted his body, trying to dislodge the thugs above him so he could save Naruto. He managed to free one leg, filled his legs with the last of his chakra and used it to hold one thug between his legs and smash the thug's head down on the bridge.

"Stop moving you brat!" The man kneeling on his arms punched him hard enough to draw blood and cause dark spots to crowd his vision.

"NARUTO!" Naruto vaguely registered hearing Haku's voice screaming his name. /...Haku/ He asked through the daze caused by the pain. He lifted his head in time to see the man kneeling on Haku's arms slap him hard. He saw Haku close his eyes. Naruto quickly got over the trauma caused by his broken leg as he saw the man sitting on Haku's arms start to undress the unconscious boy.

"No! Leave Haku alone!" Naruto yelled. /He's suffered so much! I can't let you hurt him! Wake up, Naruto! Stop thinking like a wimpy kid and MOVE! I'm better than this, my family trained me for this/ Naruto ranted at himself and at the pain of his injuries. In a sudden burst of chakra Naruto made the seals and yelled, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A hundred Naruto clones appeared and beat the hell out of the remaining thugs. Amidst all the fighting Naruto dragged himself over to Haku's side, bringing Sasuke's body with him. It took some time and tremendous effort. By the time he reached Haku's still form, the last eight of his clones and Kakashi were finishing up beating the last two conscious thugs. The moment the last thug fell, Naruto collapsed on top of Sasuke and Haku's bodies, unconscious.

Sunlight shone in through the open window of Inari's room, waking one of the boys who lay sleeping on the floor. Haku groaned and rolled over to his side trying to escape the blinding light that was forcing him to wake up when he remembered what happened. He sat up, immediately scanning the room, wary of Gatou's thugs.

He blinked as he stared at the sunny room, a salty breeze coming in from the big view window at the side, a small bed in the corner, and a desk by the window with a picture of Tazuna's family on it. He relaxed as soon as he realized where he was.

He looked at the two boys sleeping beside him, Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke was still unconscious, and ugly violet bruises littered the extremely pale skin of the boy. Naruto's abdomen was heavily wrapped in bandages, a part of which was soaked with his blood, while one leg of the pajama bottoms that he wore had been ripped off to expose the cast around his broken leg.

Haku frowned and reached over to touch Naruto where he remembered his senbons had wounded him. Strangely enough, no marks or wounds were left behind. /That's impossible. I'm sure he was wounded here... and here... and here./

A pale arm grabbed his wrist and turned him around.

"What do you think you're doing?" Uchiha Sasuke hissed at him. Anger contorted his face as he glared at Haku.

Haku smirked at him. "None of your business." He tugged his arm away and rose from the futon. As he folded the futon and tucked it away in a corner, Sasuke continued to glare at him from beside the sleeping Naruto. Haku ignored him and proceeded out of the room. As he was going out the door, Sasuke called out to him.

"Haku!"

Haku turned his head to face him, devoid of expression.

"I don't trust you. I'll be watching."

Haku smiled. "I don't care," he sing-songed, and left the room.

Sasuke sighed and turned to inspect Naruto. /What was that pervert doing to Naruto/ He looked for suspicious looking marks on Naruto's body, observing the blood-stained bandages and the cast on his leg. /Idiot... what happened to you/

Outside the room, Haku smothered his giggles as he stole glances inside the room where Uchiha was hunched over Naruto. /Well, well, what do we have here? Way too obvious, Uchiha. But I won't him lose to you.../

He pushed himself away from the wall and continued to walk downstairs in search of Kakashi. Zabuza's dying wish was for Kakashi to take care of him and he intended to fulfill that wish. As he descended the stairs he couldn't help but smile. /I still don't think you deserve Naruto, Uchiha. I won't make things easy for you. Maybe I never will.../

Kakashi held Haku captive and brought him back to Konoha with them once Naruto and Sasuke were healthy enough to make the trip back home.

Sandaime, upon hearing Kakashi's report, had immediately called for a Council meeting. The Council members were all talking at the same time, and the noise in the closed room steadily increased.

THUD!

"Silence!" Sandaime called out. Everyone immediately settled down in their respective seats and reluctantly shut their mouths to listen to him.

A ninja standing at the sides approached the table and handed the Hokage a sealed letter.

The Third opened the scroll and skimmed it. He then addressed the Council members. "Here is a letter from the kage of Hidden Mist, stating that since the boy, Haku, did not undergo formal ninja training in and under the Hidden Mist village and thus has no knowledge of the Village of Hidden Mist's secrets, they are giving us full custody of and authority over the boy as compensation for damages that our village may have acquired in the past events concerning Tazuna, Zabuza, Gatou, and Team 7 in the Village of Hidden Mist. Signed by their kage and the Council of Hidden Mist.

"They're washing their hands clean of this incident," muttered one member.

Another Council member shook her head, "Of course, with the completion of Tazuna bridge, the Village of Hidden Mist is expected to prosper. They would not want to incur a debt to another village nor could they afford to anger us. This shall be a critical period for Hidden Mist's development."

Another member sneered. "And the boy is of no value to them, anyway, and may just cause them trouble. So they give him to us; they lose a potential problem and pay-off a debt without any loss to their village. Pretty smart move on their part. Pretty stupid of us to accept."

"Shall we accept, Hokage-sama?" One member asked. Everyone turned to the Third.

He kept a steady gaze on the Council. "I disagree with Jiro-san. This is the best offer that we will ever get. Technically speaking, Haku is not a member of Hidden Mist, and as such they do not really have any obligations to us. This is merely a ploy for them to remain in good standing with us. As Satoka-san has mentioned, they cannot afford to have any enemies right now, they need strong allies. If we do not accept their offer, we will not get anything out of this and it will be seen as an act of arrogance, a challenge even, on our part. Also Haku shows great potential and seems to have become attached to Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi."

"The vessel of the fox-demon and a lazy, perverted jounin? They are dangerous enough on their own. Shouldn't the boy's loyalty lie with our village?" The old man, Jiro, insisted.

"Bear in mind that that boy has not received much love and understanding in his lifetime. His loyalties and perceptions shall be shaped by our decisions. If we mistreat him, he will most probably end up being a menace to this village, but if he is handled properly..." The Third allowed the Council to think of the possibilities by themselves.

"Of course, he must be kept under constant supervision and careful guidance," Satoka added after a few moments of silence. "Who do you think should be given this job?"

A quiet elder at the end of the table spoke up. "My grandson had suffered the most out of this mission, I believe it is only right that we be entitled to this boy's services."

The Council burst into objections. Sandaime raised an eyebrow. "And what about his training? His supervision? His living expenses? How shall you ensure his loyalty to this village, Uzumaki-san?"

Uzumaki Kenji grinned at him. "I shall make him part of my family, Hokage-sama, as you have said he needs a family to love him and he is attached to Naruto-kun. As part of my family, I shall take care of his training and his needs. I shall also personally submit a monthly report on his progress and activities to your office."

"And why will you go through all that trouble, Uzumaki-san? What is your interest in the boy?" he asked.

"I am interested in what I believe is best for the village. As you have said, he has great potential, and with the proper training and motivation, he may prove to be very useful to this village in the future."

Jiro sneered. "Oh, come now, Uzumaki-san. Everyone here knows that your first allegiance is to the Uchiha household. Tell us, WHY are you interested in this boy?"

Kenji took on a thoughtful expression and rubbed his chin. "Truthfully?"

The Council member nodded wordlessly and leaned towards him to hear better.

"I'm worried about Naruto-kun growing up with no one of his age to talk to. He is already showing signs of becoming more and more of an introvert, especially after Uchiha Itachi murdered his family and left the village. His affection for Haku makes everything easier."

This time Hokage raised both his eyebrows. "Are you serious?"

Kenji chuckled. "Why, yes, I am. It's better to keep Naruto happy." He waggled his grey eyebrows at everyone around the table. "After all, if he keeps everything to himself, he might just suddenly snap and turn against us. This way I get to keep an eye on both Haku and Naruto."

The Hokage sweat dropped and leaned back into the soft cushions of his chair. He was beginning to wonder if Kenji was becoming senile. "Well. Any other objections? Volunteers?"

Uneasy quiet was his answer.

He clapped his hands together. "Well, now that that's settled, this meeting is over. Don't forget to sign your name on the transcript of this meeting before you leave this room. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen." The Hokage swiftly left the room to once more take up the war against the stack of papers on his desk.

(((Haku's clothes: Black low-waist slightly loose pants, shinobi sandals, a thick band of red leather around one wrist, a body-hugging black shirt with a red shirt underneath peeking at the edges. Hair is down. Permanent accessory, a white-gold dangling earring and stud (so two piercings total) on his left ear.)))

It was now two weeks after the wave country mission. Kakashi had just given his students a one-hour break to eat their midday meal. Sasuke sat with his back against one tree, silently eating his onigiri, while Sakura sat near him stealing discreet glances of him as she ate her home-prepared meal. Naruto on the other hand was noisily running around the clearing, looking for his missing lunch box.

Sasuke was the first to notice the approaching figure in black. He paused to glare at Haku as he steadily approached their group.

Haku paid him no mind and waved at Naruto, a happy grin on his face. "Naruto-chan! I brought your lunch! You left it at home this morning! Mou, I woke up real early so I could prepare your favorite so I thought I'd just-- ". The rest of Haku's sentence was cut off as Naruto went into a running jump and glomped Haku.

"Haku! You are the best, best, bestest bestfriend in the world! I loooooovve you!" Naruto squealed at him.

Haku laughed out loud and wrapped his arms around Naruto, one arm partially supporting the boy's bottom, as Naruto had wrapped his arms around Haku's neck and his legs around Haku's waist.

Opening his eyes a bit, he noticed the focused glare that the Uchiha boy was giving him. Hidden by Naruto's shoulder, Haku's lips curled into a mischievous smirk. Almost unnoticeable, except to the two pairs of eyes that were focused on him, he hugged the fox-boy tighter and deliberately kissed the side of Naruto's ear. Hearing the low growl from the jealous boy, he almost laughed out loud.

/Mission success./