Author's Note: Yesss finally! I got to the Haku and Zabuza part! xD Who-hoo I'm so proud of myself!! -beams- -gives self a pat on back- -can't reach- -falls over- Anyway, I really tried to keep Zabuza-san in character. Hope it works out! o.O
5. Refuge
Haku leaned over the body, to take a closer look at the girl. She was about thirteen, quite tall as far as the boy could see; and her hair was of a strange light dusty-brown colour that appeared white in the sunshine; or at least those patches of it that weren't spattered with blood and dirt. She wore filthy rags, torn and stained, and the body beneath them was bruised and beaten. Her hands and feet were shackled, and the skin beneath the shackles was red and raw. There were arrows sticking out of her back, her left hand and one of her ankles; the wounds around them were open and bleeding. And… what a strange thing, Haku noticed; the flesh around those arrows looked sort of… melted. He had never seen anything like that before.
The girl on the rock stirred slightly, and the two chirping birds sitting on her flew off in fright. Haku, who was about to prod the body gently with a finger, drew his hand away quickly. So she was still alive…
The girl's pale, bloodless lips moved.
"Wa… ter…" she rasped in a barely audible whisper.
"Um… er… one sec…" Haku bent over the spring and, cupping his hands, scooped up some crystalline water, which he then poured over the girl's face. She shivered as cold liquid made contact with her skin, her eyes snapping open at once. And then realization hit her as all of her senses rushed back to her in a wave of recollection. Loki sprang up sharply, suddenly feeling the presence of another person. Then, with a groan, she sunk back onto the riverbank. The pain was back in all its roaring fury. The girl wrapped her hands around her head and moaned. Haku, who had been given plenty of time to catch on to the current events, rushed over to kneel beside her. It was quite obvious where the problem lay. His fingers wrapped themselves around the arrow shaft in the girl's back.
If there ever was such a thing as the Least Pain-Causing Taker-Out of Sharp Objects from People's Flesh Award of the Year, Haku would definitely not be the winner of it. Hundreds of frightened birds eclipsed the sky as Loki's scream of anguish rang loud and clear across the silent morning woods.
Somewhere in the depths of the forest, Zabuza Momochi looked up from polishing his giant Cleaver. He examined the sky closely, frowned, and then went back to polishing the sword again. His muscles gleamed in the sun, the man's power radiating off them in waves that were almost visible. He spat onto the cloth and added the last finishing touches to the Cleaver's shining surface; and then leaned back to admire his work with the pride of an accomplished craftsman.
There was the sound of bushes being pushed aside, and Haku appeared into view. He moved closer to the doorway of the abandoned shack, on the porch of which Zabuza was sitting. The man looked up, once again disturbed from his work.
"Sure took your sweet time, didn't y-- WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING WITH THAT?"
Haku had just been trying to haul a half-conscious Loki inside the shack without his master noticing, but failed miserably.
"You are not dragging a bloody CORPSE into the bloody house!"
"But… Zabuza-san…" Haku decided to try the politely-clueless approach first.
"'Butt' is what you sit on, now take this and drag it back where you found it! And I don't want to hear another word about it!" Zabuza held up a hand as Haku opened his mouth to reply.
"Please, Zabuza-san, she's not really dead!" Haku made a few sideways steps towards the doorway of the shack as he spoke. "She's badly wounded, but I can take care of--"
"What? You mean you brought a not really dead person to our hideout?" Zabuza was almost beside himself with fury. "Haku, I thought you were supposed to be clever! Don't you understand that 'secret hideout' means that nobody's supposed to know about it???"
"Yes, but…" Haku was already in the process of slowly progressing towards the pile of branches dumped in the corner of the shack.
"We're on the run, remember? In hiding? How exactly can we hide from anyone if people know where we're hiding?" Zabuza breathed out and sighed, seeing the boy's determined look. He'd learned a long time ago that yelling and death glares didn't have much effect on his apprentice. Maybe explaining things would help matters. "Look, it could all be a trap, understand? She could be a spy sent by the Hunter-Nin, and this whole spectacle could be a trick meant to track us down!"
Haku looked at the man, then back at the girl. She was half-slumped on his shoulder, and looked just about as threatening as a kitten after a rainstorm. Oh well, that was Zabuza-san being paranoid for you.
"And even if she's not," the man continued, glaring sideways at the battered body and realizing that his last statement was probably somewhat unlikely, "what do you care about some sickly little weakling that couldn't even make it out on her own? So what if she's hurt? It's none of your business, or mine. Just take her away from here and… and… and perform your hideous little experiments somewhere else. I don't want maggots breeding near the provisions."
Haku sighed, and lowered the girl onto the soft branches. He'd lived with Zabuza for long enough and knew the signs of a murderous assassin getting gradually convinced when he saw them. He just had to prod a bit further…
"Please, Master. I've been a faithful weapon to you all these years, have I not? I have helped you in your missions and I've killed many, but somehow… somehow… it just doesn't feel right. You know how I feel about taking lives away…"
Zabuza sighed. He knew all right. Haku never complained or ever said a word, but Momochi sure as hell knew that the boy mourned for every bloke whose neck he'd ever pierced with his senbon. Meanwhile, Haku continued:
"…And I thought that maybe once, just this once I could try to redeem myself and save a life instead of taking one. I could take care of her until she's well enough to survive on her own, and then…"
"And then…?" Zabuza folded his arms on his chest and scowled, managing to look even more severe than he usually did. He never liked melodramas, though he marvelled at his apprentice's speaking skills.
"Well, we were going to change our position anyway, weren't we?"
"Your point?"
"We could leave right away once the girl's better, so she wouldn't know that it was us who helped her. And I would feel much better as well, knowing that I've saved a life." The eleven-year-old glanced up at his master, waiting for the answer. Zabuza stared him down, then exhaled loudly.
"Tell ya what. How about I just take my Cleaver and put the brat out of her misery right now? It's quite clear that she isn't going to make it anyway, and I'm not about to waste my time looking after some bloody corpse." Receiving a Look from Haku, he raised an eyebrow. "So it was for the hideous experiments, wasn't it?"
"No, Zabuza-san. Look, she can make it! And, sir, if I drag her out of this state, the knowledge and experience that I will gain might be very useful to us in the future! Think about it, sir!" The boy gave Zabuza an imploring gaze.
"So it is about hideous experiments," said Zabuza half to himself, half to the air and the wall behind Haku. He realized that for some reason it must've meant much for the boy, though he didn't quite understand why. People lived, people died… Who cared, really? Oh well, Haku was a strange kid. But he was also faithful, and deserved a treat every once in a while. Fine, he could conduct his little experiments if he wanted it so much, just as long as their provisions weren't involved. The assassin was in a strangely good mood today anyway… Though he wasn't going to give in that easily.
"All right, all right, fine! You can keep that bloody corpse… But on one condition!" Zabuza made sure that a lot of gesturing and angry mimicry was involved in this. Haku stood to attention.
"First of all, you will do whatever you need to do away from this room. Got that?"
Haku nodded.
"Second, if she won't be getting better and the whole thing will be a waste of time and resources, she is dead, understand?"
"Quite obviously."
"I mean, I will come and finish her off with the Cleaver."
"Oh."
"Also, if she gets better, and I'm not saying that she will, and goes around asking questions, she's dead, get it?"
Nod.
"And if tending to her will interfere with your training, she's dead!"
"Understandable."
"I will not tolerate this!"
"All right."
"You have five minutes to get her out of this room."
"Okay."
Haku watched his master fold his arms behind his back and walk out and towards the porch. At the doorway, however, Zabuza turned around.
"And one last thing for you to remember: I will not, and I repeat I will not, in any way, shape or form help you take care of that brat! Are we clear? And don't count on me to sit with her, wrap her wounds or whatever – I am not having anything to do with this whole thing, and it is entirely your responsibility! And if she gets in my way--"
"--She is dead. Yes, I understand, Zabuza-san." Haku would politely point out the fact that those were five conditions and not one, but this wasn't exactly the right time to discuss Zabuza's mathematical skills.
"Five minutes, remember!" called out the Jounin from the porch and went outside to do one-handed push-ups.
Haku looked at the girl. Her wounds were going to be a handful, but nothing he wouldn't be able to handle. Taking a deep breath in, he heaved her up into a half-standing position again and dragged the body into another room.
Haku had finished changing the girl's bandages and pressed a fresh wet towel to her forehead. He had to admit, the idea that he was saving somebody's life was making him feel a great deal calmer. In fact, he'd been feeling a lot calmer during the past two days, while he was taking care of the girl. Even the nightmares he'd been having ever since Zabuza's rebellion in the Village of Mist had failed and they had gone into hiding weren't bothering him as much anymore. Haku frowned a bit at the memory. They had done a lot of killing that day, and Haku didn't like killing. He had never been able to help a dying person before, either, even though he'd wanted to. Of course, there had been Zabuza-san's battle injuries, but this was different. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to… to… well, Haku didn't know. It just made the boy feel better, and took his mind off things. Sure would be nice to know that it'd all pay off…
But first off, he would need to stock up on healing herbs. Haku came out of the shack and went past Zabuza, who was currently doing press-ups upside down, on one hand.
"How's the corpse doing?" called out Momochi in mock curiosity. "Did you implant any new livers or hearts or somethin' into it yet?"
"Nope," Haku replied simply. "But I think the girl's getting better! Her heart rate's stable now, in any case." He beamed at his mentor and disappeared behind the bushes.
"Break's over in ten minutes!" Zabuza called after the boy, heard a faint ''kay!' from behind the thickets and changed hands.
Nine minutes later, Haku reappeared with a handful of dark-green leaves and another handful of what looked like ordinary grass to the untrained eye, and disappeared inside the shack again. Zabuza stared after him, hanging upside down from a tree branch.
"One minute!" he yelled, still staring at the doorway, and sighed. Haku could sure get obsessive about his work. Oh well. Everybody needed hobbies.
Back on the other side of the portal, deep in the Kallmanah woods, the staff members of the Greyfang Mining Corp were fruitlessly searching for the runaway werewolf girl, dead or alive. After three days of unsuccessful attempts, however, they gave up and scratched her name off the ration lists.
End Chapter! Loki is finally with the Mist nin. -thunderous voice- But will she survive??? -end thunderous voice- Hahaha, and Zabuza's gonna use the word 'bloody' a lot. Lol. And… oh yeah, I did explain how the multidimensional forest worked earlier on, didn't I? Did I? Just making sure… o.O