A/N: Hello, everyone. Long time no see. It's been several months since I last updated this; I'm sorry! :( Been busy transitioning to college life and well, it hasn't been the easiest of months...stress, unhappiness, and loneliness has kept me busy as well as schoolwork, of course! I will try to update faster though. I feel incredibly sorry that I've been away from for so long. Anyway, here is chapter 5! And to those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that although it's a day later, you're still feeling extremely full from all the food you ate :)! I'll be sappy and say that I am thankful for all the readers who have stuck with this even though I haven't updated for a while. T^T Thank you so much! Here's chapter 5 for you as a present :D
Chapter 5
His eyes lingered on the emblem before reluctantly rising to meet her startled ones. Izumi cleared her throat. "Sasuke, I'm sorry, but I don't think that's possible. There's no way this has any relation to your family."
"How are you so sure?" he shot back. "There's no way I'm mistaken. This is from my clan."
"Because I've never met anyone from your clan before I met you," she explained patiently. The chain was starting to dig into the back of her neck as Sasuke pulled it towards her, almost as if he wanted to break it off.
"But there's no way you could've gotten your hands on it otherwise. This is the symbol of the Uchiha." His voice was gaining a stubborn edge to it. "You must've met someone. Anyone. Maybe you didn't realize it at the time."
"Sasuke, I really-"
"Just close your eyes and try to think about it," he insisted.
"No."
"You're not even bothering to make an attempt," Sasuke snapped.
Izumi let out a sigh before gently tugging the necklace away from him. It did not budge from his clenched fist and she gave up on trying, afraid of breaking it. "I told you. I got it from Makoto-niichan."
"Then Makoto knows someone," Sasuke said snippily. "Or maybe someone from your family does."
She rubbed at her face, suppressing a grimace. No matter how much she tried, the surname did not ring a bell. "No, I don't think so. Not to my knowledge anyway."
"Then maybe he stole it," Sasuke offered.
She snatched the necklace from his grasp, not caring if the chain broke. Her eyes narrowed. "He would never steal," Izumi replied indignantly. "Least of all something insignificant as this."
"Don't call it insignificant!" he snapped.
"You're only saying that it's significant because you think it's from your family when in reality, this could be some inexpensive charm sold on the street. You would think that if he stole something, it would be something of greater importance than a tiny metal charm. And what use would this serve him?"
"He could have sold it," he replied coldly.
"There would be no need for him to pawn something for money."
"Maybe he lost a lot of money gambling. I don't know. I don't know your brother. I don't know what motives he had."
"If you don't know my brother, then you shouldn't jump to such conclusions so quickly." She was trying to keep her voice even, but a barely perceptible tremble snuck into her words.
"I'm not saying that he did it. I'm not jumping to any conclusions. I'm just saying that it's entirely possible that he just needed money," he said tightly.
"My family has enough money to get by that he would never find himself in such a situation," Izumi replied softly, but her face had hardened as if this was something she would rather have not admitted.
"Are you sure Makoto has never mentioned the name Uchiha to you?"
"I'm telling you, he's never did. Or if he did, I don't remember."
"Then try harder!" Despite his calm visage, Sasuke's frustration leaked through the volume of his voice. She winced, afraid that it would be heard outside the room.
"I did!" Izumi leaned back as Sasuke shifted closer. "It's not like I'm trying to purposely hide something from you about your family. And-"
The door burst open and Naruto stumbled through. "What's going on? We heard your obnoxious voice from all the way in the kitchen. I couldn't eat because your stupid voice was making me upset!"
Sakura stepped in after him hesitantly. "Sasuke-kun, is something wrong?" Her emerald eyes flitted from Izumi to Sasuke, noticing the proximity as well as the tension between the two. "Izumi?"
Naruto seemed to have noticed something and rushed over. "What the hell are you doing?" He grabbed Sasuke and as he shoved the other boy back, Izumi felt a tug on her robe - she noticed that she was wearing unfamiliar clothes that were not hers - as Sasuke's hand, which apparently was clenching her robe without her noticing, let go.
"It isn't anything big." She held up her hands to appease Naruto. "Sasuke was just asking me a question about my necklace. He thought it was something from his clan so he was just curious."
"Which it is," he muttered, undeterred.
"Sasuke-"
"Do you remember Makoto giving it to you at least?" he prodded.
"No. I'm sorry, but I can't remember...I had this since I was little."
Almost expecting Sasuke's face to contort even more due to frustration, Izumi was surprised to see Sasuke look as though he deflated. "Since you were little?" he asked, trying to confirm her statement.
"Yes. I don't even remember when exactly. I was probably too young to remember."
Sasuke looked away, something strange and unfamiliar flitting across his face before. "Well then, that wouldn't be any help. Never mind then," he answered gruffly. He stood up, not bothering to look back as he pushed past Sakura.
"Oi!" Naruto belted out. "You should've at least said sorry!" He attempted to quickly bolt after Sasuke, but Izumi stood up quickly to run after him, grabbing his orange sleeve.
"Oh," she let out, wincing as the blood rushed to her head from the sudden movement. "Naruto-kun, it isn't anything. Don't go after him. He's just feeling disappointed right now. He thought I had something that was important to him, but it turned out to be nothing." She closed her eyes, hoping the room would right itself.
He steadied her, holding her arm. "Alright, alright," he griped as if he lost a great opportunity to rile up Sasuke. She brought up a hand to her head, gingerly grazing the bandage with her fingers. "Izumi-chan, you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said, giving him a wan smile. "It's just the blood rushing to my head."
Sakura snuck in between the two and extended an arm, hooking it around Izumi's as she led her down the hallway. "You'll feel better once you had some food in you," she said firmly. They were nearing the kitchen now, and a lovely aroma reached Izumi's nose. To her delight, judging from the smell, Tsunami-san was a good cook. All three genin eagerly entered and sat down at the small table. Izumi noticed that Sasuke had chosen a seat next to Kakashi to avoid sitting next to or directly in front of her.
"You feeling better, kid?" Tazuna asked gruffly.
"Never better," she said politely.
"Technically, you have been better since most of the time, you're not injured," Naruto interjected, squinting and pointing at her with his chopsticks.
"Don't be such an annoyance, Naruto." Sakura aimed a crumpled napkin ball at Naruto's head.
"Ew, don't be disgusting, Sakura-chan! That has your spit all over it and everything!" Sakura did not look amused. "And anyway, I was just telling the truth." Realizing he still did not meet Sakura's approval, Naruto quickly added, "But once she eats Tsunami-san's wonderful cooking, she'll be better in no time!" He gave Tsunami a foxy grin.
"Suck up," Sasuke snorted into his rice.
"What was that?" Naruto cried.
"Sycophant," Sakura coughed before sipping water.
"W-what's a...oh! Hey! Not you too, Sakura-chan!"
"Brown-noser," Izumi said, clearing her throat before swallowing fish.
Naruto swiveled around to gape at her, appalled that she would betray him. "I-I was sticking up for you!" he spluttered. "And that's how you repay me?"
She did not bother looking up at him. "I don't have to repay you. And anyway, I was just telling the truth."
"And now you're using my words against me! I can't believe this." Naruto shoveled rice into his mouth furiously.
"Someone's eating out their feelings," Sakura snorted before sipping her soup daintily.
"Immoteaggingowmyheehings."
"Clean your mess." Kakashi handed him a napkin as he saw Naruto's crumpled, used one resting against his soup bowl.
"Whatever. I just can't wait to get out and do something fun," Naruto mumbled. "I've been stuck in this house with nothing to do for too long."
"Sorry to burst your bubble," Kakashi replied, "But there won't be much time for having fun."
"What do you mean, sensei?" Sakura inquired.
"I have a feeling that the fight's not over."
"But you beat him, Kakashi-sensei." She frowned as she saw him shake his head. "We saw you beat him," she insisted, as if this proved her point.
"Appearances can be deceiving. In any case, there's something off about our encounter..." he trailed off.
Izumi ducked her head, trying to change the subject. "Can anyone explain what happened after I became unconscious?"
"Kakashi-sensei beat him," Naruto offered simply.
"I already said that. You're not being helpful." Sakura turned to Izumi. "Actually, Kakashi-sensei was able to do a lot of damage, but someone else ended up going in for the kill. It was a hunter nin."
"A hunter nin?"
"It's a shinobi who-"
"I know what a hunter nin is...but it was just something I didn't expect," Izumi interrupted.
"Yeah, we didn't expect it either. He just randomly came out of nowhere, killed Zabuza, and left with him."
Izumi's eyebrows drew together. "He left with Zabuza's body?"
"Yeah, it must have been heavy...that kid was much smaller than him," Naruto interjected.
"But hunter nins..." Her eyes met Kakashi's. "Aren't...aren't hunter nins supposed to dispose of their targets immediately? I may be wrong, but I thought that was the case."
"It is," he affirmed grimly. "And that's why I'm saying there was something strange going on. A hunter nin is supposed to dispose of the body right then and there so that the village's secrets can't be revealed. He just takes the head back as evidence."
"So what you're saying is that Zabuza's not dead," Sasuke said flatly.
"What do you mean?" Sakura exclaimed. She stood up and placed her hands on the table. "Sensei, you checked and he was dead. He had no pulse!"
"The weapon," Sasuke started off slowly. "It's normally used for things like acupuncture. It's easy for a hunter nin to create an illusion that he's dead. He's alive, isn't he?"
"He may or may not be; I don't know the motives behind whoever that person was. But there is a high possibility, yes." He stood up, the chair scraping against the wooden floor. "That's why I'm saying there isn't time to have fun, Naruto. You four need to train. Regardless of whether Zabuza is alive or not, there are still other people employed by Gatou who could come after us at any given moment and I have to teach you a few things so that you can be able to do more damage."
He was making his way out of the kitchen before he paused as if something had struck him. "Or at least escape with the least amount of injuries," he said quietly.
Naruto pouted. "You should have more faith in us."
"It's not about whether I believe in you or not," Kakashi said patiently. "It's that if Gatou is sending out men like Zabuza, it isn't guaranteed that all of us will be able to stay alive let alone escape unscathed. The only way we improve our chances if you four train more...and we'll need to hope that Zabuza was very expensive to hire so Gatou will only have a handful of shinobi of his caliber. We'll be training for several hours each day this week and the next. Prepare yourselves for training."
Seeing the stunned looks on their faces, Kakashi gave them a quick smile. "I'm not expecting you guys to take down Zabuza on your own...I'll be better in no time. We might as well use the little time we have to prepare for what's next."
"But we're genin," Sakura spoke hesitantly. "It's not like we're going to improve our skills exponentially."
"You might think that, but think of what you guys already accomplished. You're improving much rapidly than you give yourselves credit for...especially Naruto."
Seeing Naruto's face glow radiantly with pleasure, Kakashi smiled. "I'll see you four outside when you're done eating."
Training was, to say the least, grueling. They had to spend several minutes explaining to Naruto what chakra was in their first training session before Kakashi was able to move on to explain what their task was: tree climbing. By the end of the week, only Sakura managed to walk up a tree with ease; in fact, she had accomplished that without breaking a sweat as soon as Kakashi had given his demonstration that she no longer had to stay at the training sessions as long as the others did.
Izumi, Naruto, and Sasuke were often found on the forest floor after their countless number of attempts to climb trees failed, leaving them dirty and irritable by the end of the day. They stayed outside even when the sun had long since set, ignoring Sakura's pleadings, especially Izumi in particular. She had to settle with merely watching her teammates train for the first days while she healed from her injuries.
Izumi craned her neck, gloomily staring at the gash she left in the tree. She frowned, comparing it to the height of the gash Sasuke left in his. It was higher than hers. "I definitely lost a lot of time because of those first two days just sitting and watching," she thought despairingly.
A loud thud startled her out of her reverie. Naruto waved weakly at her. "Hey, 'Zumi-chan," he slurred tiredly.
At least she was ahead of Naruto. She sighed. "I'm never going to get this." She kicked a pebble, furious with herself.
"Yes, you are." Sakura was walking towards them, several objects cradled in her arms. "You guys just need to focus and you'll get it."
"Easy for you to say. You finished hours ago." Izumi sat down wearily. "You have the best chakra control among the four of us."
Sakura allowed herself a tiny smile, happy with the other girl's compliment before replying modestly. "No, it's because I don't have as much stamina as you three. I get tired more easily so I stopped much earlier because I was about to collapse. And here, have some water. You can't become dehydrated." She took one out of her arms and handed it to Izumi before tossing one to Naruto.
"Bah, stop being so modest," Naruto called out from where he was currently sprawled out. He gulped down icy water, some dribbling on his chest as he refused to sit up. "You have great chakra control. I'm jealous."
"But you guys have more stamina. Cheer up!"
"Ne, you gave me that advice too, but I still don't think I get it," Naruto mumbled into the dirt ground.
Sakura wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Ew, get your mouth away from the ground, Naruto. That's not sanitary."
A soft thud next to Naruto announced Sasuke's arrival. He shiftily glanced at the blonde boy, visibly embarrassed as he murmured in a low voice. "Are you still going to refuse to tell me what Sakura told you?" His attempts at having only Naruto hear his words failed as the other two girls looked at him.
Sakura brightened up. "Do you need something, Sasuke-kun?"
"Gah!" Naruto yelled out. "No! No! He doesn't need anything!"
"What are you saying? I just-" Sasuke began to blurt out before realizing everyone's attention was on him. "I-It's..."
Sakura looked at him expectantly. "Yes?"
"Er...do you have any more water left?"
"Yeah, here." She tossed the last bottle to Sasuke who caught it with ease. "Do you need anything else?"
"Um..."
Izumi shook her head. Sasuke would be too embarrassed, too prideful to even ask. She called out to Naruto. "Ne, Naruto-kun..." she asked softly. "Do you think you can share Sakura's advice with me? I still don't really get it..." It was a total lie and Sakura nudged her, confused. Izumi ignored her. The day before, Sakura had explained the process and given her tips while they were helping Tsunami with breakfast.
He sat up, his back straight. "Sure! Well the most important thing is that you need to relax because otherwise, you can't concentrate! So relax and focus on the tree so you can gather chakra at your feet and move up the tree."
"Thanks." Sasuke smirked.
Naruto's face transformed into one of dismay, horrified that he had divulged something that, at least to his knowledge, Sakura had exclusively told him and no one else. "That wasn't for you! I was only telling that to Izumi-chan!"
"Sakura gave me tips last morning, Naruto-kun," Izumi let out a laugh. "I did that because it's not fair if Sasuke's the only one left out." The smile began to fade from her face. "Not that it really matters. I'm still not making any progress."
"Well, you guys can work on it tomorrow," Sakura offered.
"I can work on it now," Izumi stubbornly replied.
"The sun already set an hour ago...you've trained for hours," Sakura pointed out.
"It's not dinnertime yet."
"Izumi, you're going to exhaust yourself if you use too much of your chakra. It really isn't a good idea-"
"I'm going to stay out too." Naruto squinted at Sasuke as if daring him to say he was turning in for the night.
"Idiot. As if I would head in before you."
Sakura sighed exasperatedly. "Well, come back in an hour because dinner will be served then." She swiveled around after taking a few steps, standing with her legs apart and her hands at her hips. "And don't you dare throw up again! That's gross and it's not healthy either!"
"Okay, Sakura-chan! We'll be there around dinnertime," Naruto promised. "And I won't throw up."
"I mean it, one hour!"
"I might be a little late," he wheedled. "Just a little."
"Me too," Sasuke confessed.
"Me three," Izumi piped up.
She gave them all a glare and spoke through gritted teeth. "One hour. Not a second later."
"Fine, one hour," they sighed. There was no reasoning with Haruno Sakura once she wanted things a certain way.
Izumi grimaced. She'd have to wake up earlier than usual tomorrow if she wanted extra practice.
Izumi's legs wobbled as she swayed, trying to keep her balance while standing on a tree branch. It may have taken her several days to do so, but she was finally near the top of the tree. She had lasted several seconds hanging upside down, her hair streaming around her, billowing in the chilly morning breeze, before she had to get up again.
The sun was still rising and it would be an hour or two before everyone awoke. Izumi gingerly made her way down, sometimes stopping for several seconds to brush her fingers across the scarred trunk, feeling the groove her kunai had made in the trunk earlier. A rush of pride filled her as she did so. She hopped down, rubbing sleep from her eyes as her feet found the ground. She was tired and sleep-deprived, but she was proud nonetheless.
"I should probably rest now so that I can work on staying upside down longer," she thought. She yawned and stretched her arms towards the sky before turning around, looking forlornly at the path behind her. She did not want to start walking back to the house just yet. "Mm...maybe I'll try a little bit more. My body can probably handle it. Just one more time going up before I go back."
Her eyes roamed and searched her surroundings before finding a tree without any scratches on its bark. "Might as well try a new one. I want to see how high I can get on the first try!"
Izumi stepped several paces back before closing her eyes in concentration. The tension ebbed away from her shoulders and she let her mind relax as she focused her attention on her feet and the tree that was somewhere in front of her. Izumi began to run and she felt the world tilting as she rapidly scaled the tree. She opened her eyes, wild exhilaration forcing her to take in deep breaths as she saw how high she was before she took her gaze downwards to look at the ground far beneath her.
Someone was watching her. Startled, Izumi's mind wandered from the task and her feet slipped. She was falling now, her stomach dropping and feeling as though it was floating in midair somewhere, and she reached out for anything to grab ahold of. Her fingers slipped around a large branch and she attempted to skid to a halt by applying chakra to her feet. The bark dug into her skin, piercing it, and she winced, but was relieved to discover that she had stopped the fall. She clung to the tree, staring warily at the feminine figure below her.
"That was close," the stranger remarked.
Izumi made no move to reply, contemplating on what she should do. She was tired, she was weak from training, and she was clinging to a branch like an easy target.
"You might want to come down. You need someone to look at those hands."
A basket was lying on the grass beneath her. It was full of an array of herbs and other assorted plants. No forehead protector was visible on the person's forehead and Izumi reasoned that if this person wanted to harm her, he or she would have done so already. And if the stranger was just waiting for her to jump down and make things easier, it was not as though prolonging the moment would do anything to help her. He could just wait patiently until she ran out of energy.
Izumi reluctantly jumped down and the figure drew closer, swiftly grabbing her hand and ignoring her almost instinctual reaction to tug it away to examine it.
"I'm fine, sir..." The stranger made no movement to indicate that he heard her. "I mean, madam...? Um..."
"I'm a man." His petal-like lips quirked up gracefully in amusement.
Izumi began to tug her hand away again, her ears turning pink. "I'm sorry," she apologized.
He held onto her hand firmly, grimacing. "You might want someone to attend to your hands. I would try to do something for you, but I'm afraid I don't have anything on me that would be of any use."
Her face contorted as she finally managed to look down at her red palms to see splinters sticking up from underneath the surface of her skin. "Oh," she managed to let out, simultaneously appalled and hypnotized by the hideous sight.
"It's not too bad..." he tried to assure her.
"It's better than breaking a bone."
A silence fell between the two of them and Izumi studied the man in front of her. He was breathtakingly beautiful with pale skin, pink lips, and big, clear eyes. His long, silky hair lay gently on his back.
"I may have been mistaken, but were you walking up a tree before?" he asked. Even his voice entranced her.
"Er..." It was not as though she could lie. Something blatantly absurd as walking up a tree could not be mistaken for anything else. "Yes," she finally replied cautiously.
"Ah, so you're a kunoichi..."
"Yes." There was something familiar about this man. But surely, if she had seen someone as beautiful as the man in front of her, she would not have forgotten him?
Something flickered in his eyes before disappearing again. "You must have trained a lot to be able to do something like that," he said almost reverently.
To a person unfamiliar with the shinobi ways, her act must have seemed fascinating. "I...I guess so..." The way he smiled at her unnerved her; it reminded her of something from the past, something that Izumi could not remember. "Are...are you from around here?"
"Well, not exactly. I am originally from an area in the Water Country. And you?"
"From the Village of the Dark Moon."
"Mm...really? I met someone from that village a long time ago. But I don't remember too much of the village itself."
She froze. "Is that so?"
"You strongly resemble her, to be quite honest." He gave her a sweet smile.
"Maybe I know her," she joked stiffly.
"Maybe," he answered ambivalently. "Someone I know was very interested in her as a matter of fact. She was, to put it lightly, somewhat special."
Without knowing why exactly, Zabuza's face flashed in her mind as she recalled the moment they had met. He had reached out for her as if she were an object on a shelf and he were an interested customer. She shut her eyes, trying to remember it as vividly as possible.
Her brothers had been there. Night had fallen and she had been tired when Zabuza arrived. The shadows the candles in the room cast on his bandaged face had terrified her.
And there had been a child with him. He looked to be only a little older than her and his plain clothes could not mask his ethereal beauty.
Izumi had stared in wonder at the boy at Zabuza's side and when Zabuza roughly examined her, he had given her a comforting smile when her terrified eyes met his calm ones.
They must be the same person, that little boy and this young man.
Izumi's heart began to beat wildly against her chest. "I don't recall anyone special in my village."
If he confirmed her suspicions, she was possibly in grave danger. But yet, the fact remained that she was still in front of him, wholly unharmed except for the self-inflicted wounds on her hands.
"Are you sure? I seem to recall that many people knew her..."
"What is her name? She may be a friend," Izumi asked casually. She balled her hands into fists, ignoring the pain as she willed herself to stop trembling.
"Izumi."
"You're Haku," she blurted out. The evidence was circumstantial at best and the fact that he knew her did not actually mean anything, but she voiced her thoughts anyway.
"My suspicions were correct. You are Izumi-san."
She had told him to call her without attaching any suffix to her name when they had met; they were only a few years apart in age and she wanted him to see her as a friend. He had refused politely, insisting on calling her Izumi-san. She drew in a shaky breath. "What do you want, Haku?"
He looked surprised. "I don't want anything. I'm just glad that I bumped into an old friend."
"It's not a coincidence, us meeting here."
"Well, I wasn't purposely trying to find you, but yes, in the grand scheme of things, it was not entirely coincidental. We were bound to run into each other soon."
She stared at him warily. Haku, at least the Haku she knew, was good, but she did not know what effect the years during which they had not seen each other had on him. "What do you want from me?"
"I already answered that question, Izumi-san."
"Zabuza's still alive, isn't he? I should have guessed it was you who came to his rescue."
"Zabuza-san did not need rescuing. He merely needed to withdraw from the fight," Haku replied patiently.
"Why are you still with him?" Izumi asked softly. "I never understood that. Haku, you could have left him long ago."
"I chose not to."
"Why? Why would you choose to do so when all he sees in you is a weapon? That's all...that's all you are to him." Her voice was shaking with indignation and the corners of her eyes stung with unshed tears.
"Yes, but you don't understand, Izumi-san."
"You know that I understand what that's like more than other people." She winced as he reached out towards her, but he merely put a hand on her shoulder.
"I know," he told her gently. "But I'm fighting for Zabuza-san because I'm willing to do so. I am not doing anything against my will. Please do not misunderstand that."
"But you know what he's doing is wrong," she insisted, her eyes wide. "You're a good person, Haku."
"Zabuza-san has his reasons and I am not here to question him, but to help him in any way I can." He squeezed her shoulder lightly. "You must have at least one person you are fighting for, Izumi-san. Someone you believe is worth dying for, even. Someone who is precious to you, who you want to protect to the best of your ability. He is mine."
"If I can't convince you about him, then can I ask you why you are working for Gatou of all people?"
"Sometimes the universe conspires in a way to make you do things you are unwilling to do because they may be the only options available at the time."
"But Gatou is an absolutely foul man! He possesses no heart; he doesn't care for anyone but himself. Haku, if he thinks you two are no longer valuable to him, he'll get rid of you. Don't you understand?"
"I understand the situation perfectly fine. But he underestimates us; we are not to be taken as lightly as he thinks we should be."
"I don't want to fight you," she said reluctantly.
His eyes flickered with curiosity. "Ah, I was wondering about that...I'm quite surprised to find you in the company of Konoha shinobi."
She pulled a face. "It's a long story."
"I imagine it must be, but I'm curious as to how you managed to get the consent of your family. Surely they would have wanted you to join your village's ranks."
"You know that would have never happened."
"No, you know as well as I do that they would not have wanted you to be in the academy, but they would have still wanted you to serve for them despite the uproar it may initially cause."
"It seems as though you're well versed in my village's political and military agenda," she replied wryly.
Haku inclined his head slightly. "Of course. You were once someone who caught Zabuza-san's eye...or to be more accurate, you are still someone who he is interested in. Naturally, I wanted to learn more about you."
"I don't know whether I should be flattered or not," she laughed. The laughter did not reach her eyes.
He gave her a sad, knowing smile in return. "I must say that I am surprised you are not working with us, despite your extreme reluctance to do so. This scheme is something I expected both of us to unwillingly be involved in."
Her eyebrows drew together. "What do you mean? I would never get involved with Gatou."
"I didn't mean Gatou." Haku's face mirrored Izumi's confusion.
"Then what do you mean? Why would I get involved?"
"Are you telling me that you don't know anything about what's going on?"
"What's going on?"
"Gatou's not the only person participating. There are others who are interested in this plan of his," Haku worded carefully. "It seems as though your brothers are somehow involved. I don't mean Makoto-san, of course."
Her lips twitched into a half-smile. "Of course not." She grew serious again. "Why are you working for them?"
"I must."
"Then I'll have to fight you. You do realize that you can't expect me to keep quiet about this encounter."
"Of course not, Izumi-san. That would be betraying your side." He bent down, picking up the basket as he waited for her words.
"Please don't do this."
He lowered his eyes, adjusting the basket so that it settled in the crook of his arm. "That is impossible for you to ask of me. I must go, Izumi-san."
"Don't do this," Izumi pleaded to his retreating back. "Nothing good will come out of it."
"I'm truly sorry..."
She ran, ignoring her tired limbs screaming from the effort. She reached out to grab onto his arm and he turned around, surprised at the touch. "Haku...I know Gatou. After you carry out his orders, he will dispose of you. You may think that he won't because you'll prove your value to him, but you don't understand! He'll just think you're too dangerous to handle or something. There's too much at risk. You can't predict what he's going to do. Please, just...consider it. I-I...I'll try to help out somehow!"
"There is very little you can do."
"Not if you work with me! I'll try to help you guys." She paused and her next words were so quietly spoken that Haku barely heard her. "Zabuza, as much as I hate to admit it, mustn't be completely bad. Not if you trust him and love him. I trust you; you must've found something in him worth fighting for. You keep insisting that it's because being worthless is painful, but he saw that you were useful and that's why you're loyal to him, but I know that's not it. You wouldn't do that for any random stranger, would you? So...so please. I don't know how it'll work, but we can try to work together. Please consider it...please ask him to consider it."
Haku was silent for a moment. "I'll ask him, but there are no promises. He will most likely reject the idea so please don't get your hopes up." He lifted Izumi's hand off of his arm gently and leaned over, genuine concern reflected in his kind eyes.
"There is no need for you to worry so much about us." He reached over, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear tenderly, as if she were a child much younger than him. He stared at her for several seconds before straightening up again. "Please stay well and please make sure someone attends to get your hands." His eyes were lowered. "Goodbye, Izumi-san."
She watched as Haku retreated, swiftly and silently as he had arrived. She turned to walk back to the house, so deep in her thoughts that several minutes had passed and before she knew it, she was at the front door. Before she could do anything, the door opened, revealing a surprised Kakashi.
"Oh, you woke up early today," he commented. "We'll start the training session after breakfast although it looks like you got a head start already." He gave her a quizzical look as she remained silent, brooding over the conversation that had occurred only minutes before.
"Kakashi-sensei, you were right," she said slowly, ignoring what he said. "Zabuza's alive. And he has a partner; it's the hunter nin that you all mentioned." She averted her eyes away from his vest pocket to look at him. Rather than appearing triumphant because of her discovery, she appeared crestfallen. "His name is Haku."