Chapter 12: Tadaima (I'm Home)

"Hello." talking

'Hello.' thinking

"Hello." Kyuubi talking

'Hello.' Kyuubi thinking

*Knock* Sound effects

"And that's the story."

It was a fine day in Konoha. The sun shone brightly upon the people, who enjoyed the sunshine as they headed for work. Some of them passed by a big building, one with a big kanji for 'Hokage' painted on it.

Inside the building, a spiral staircase ascended upwards, lining the inner wall. Several windows punctuated the outer wall at regular intervals, while there were doors to rooms on the inner walls.

Inside one of these doors was the office of the Hokage. The leader of the village would run the village from this office, which looked over the village itself. And inside this office, a meeting was taking place. A team of ninja had just returned from a mission and were currently reporting to the Hokage about their findings.

The Hokage was sitting at his desk, looking on at his four ninja, who had seemingly brought back a 'guest'. On the other side of the desk, the eldest ninja, Hatake Kakashi, who also happened to have the highest rank (being a Jounin and all) was standing, having just explained what had happened in the land commonly known as Wave.

Behind Kakashi were his subordinates (rather, his students), his three genins. Uchiha Sasuke, one of the survivors of the infamous massacre of the Uchiha clan stood the furthest from the desk, leaning against the wall beside the door to the room. On the other hand, Uzumaki Naruto, the blonde, energetic boy (known almost universally as the most notorious prankster to be ever born) was standing the closest, right behind Kakashi. The other Uchiha member of the team (as well as the only other Uchiha left in the village, barring Sasuke), Uchiha Misaki, was standing right beside Naruto.

"So... Did you really kill Gatou?" the Sandaime Hokage asked Naruto.

"I did." Naruto nodded. "There was no other way that the bridge could have been completed."

"Hmm..." Sarutobi looked lost in thought, before turning towards the rest of them.

"The fact that you guys managed to hold your ground against someone of Zabuza's caliber is praiseworthy, but you really shouldn't act rashly against such opponents." Sarutobi rebuked the three genins. "Such actions are foolhardy, and could lead to your death."

"But we didn't die, so it should be fine, right?" Misaki asked.

"Just because it didn't happen this time, doesn't mean that it won't happen again." Sarutobi said. "So I must ask you to be more careful in the future. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Hokage-sama." the three genin replied in unison.

"Now." Sarutobi continued. "What was it about bringing Zabuza's accomplish with you?" He asked, looking directly at Haku, or rather, whatever was visible of her from behind Misaki.

"About that." Kakashi moved aside as Naruto stepped forth. "Haku-chan here doesn't want to live a life on the run anymore, so she decided to come with us and settle here in Konoha."

"And yet she was the accomplish of a missing-nin." Sarutobi reasoned.

"No one knew about her before." Naruto countered. "And no one put up a bounty on her head, either. Her name does not appear in the bingo book. Hell, I doubt that she's even registered as a ninja anywhere."

"But we can't just accept her." Sarutobi explained to Naruto. "We don't know anything about her past."

"Then I'll vouch for her." Naruto replied resolutely. "That ought to do it, right?"

Sarutobi gave Naruto a long, hard look, gauging his sincerity. "Are you sure?"

"Yup." Naruto nodded vigorously.

"Fine." Sarutobi sighed. "We'll allow Haku to live in Konoha."

"Yes!" Naruto pumped his fist in delight. Before he could do anything more, Sarutobi stopped him by raising a finger.

"However, she will remain under surveillance for a month. She will also have to report to me every month for the next six months. If she wants to join our forces, she'll have to start from a Genin, and will be given a trial period of 3 years, during which she can't apply for promotion. Will you agree to it?" Sarutobi explained, before directing the last question at Haku.

Haku stepped out from behind Misaki, before bowing, "I'll gladly accept your kindness."

"Good." Sarutobi nodded. "Kakashi, I'd like to talk to you separately, so you should stay. The rest of you are dismissed."

Once the genin had left, Sarutobi turned to Kakashi. "So, tell me. Was there anything out of the ordinary that you need to report to me?"

"As a matter of fact, there was." replied Kakashi. "And I think it be better if we were alone for this."

Sarutobi considered the suggestion, before giving a slight nod. Two ninja came out of the shadow before jumping out of the window, closing the window behind them.

"Alright; we are alone now." Sarutobi said. "Tell me what happened."

"Naruto used the Kyuubi's chakra." Kakashi explained flat out. To his surprise, the Hokage did not seem to mind the news.

"Did he lose control of it?" Sarutobi asked.

"Actually, he was in pretty good control." answered Kakashi. "You don't seem too much concerned."

"As long as he doesn't lose control, it should be fine, don't you think?" Sarutobi answered with a smile.

"But what about the chakra poisoning?" exclaimed Kakashi, outraged at the wizened Hokage's seemingly careless behavior at one of his students.

"The chakra doesn't poison Naruto too much, actually." Sarutobi replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kakashi was puzzled.

"Hmm..." Sarutobi considered something for a moment before speaking. "Considering Naruto used the chakra in front of you, he most probably wants you to know this in the first place, I see it do no harm to let you know. Especially since his teammates seem to know already."

"What are you talking about?" Kakashi still couldn't make heads or tails of what Sarutobi was saying.

"Since you are a Jounin, I suppose I don't have to explain devils to you?" Sarutobi asked.

"No; but what's that got to do with Naruto?" Kakashi asked, still not understanding.

"Through some unfortunate (or maybe fortunate) events, Naruto turned himself into a devil." Sarutobi explained.

"What!?" Kakashi exclaimed. "But, how?"

"Well, lets just say that he was reincarnated into one." Sarutobi said. "As it is now, even if he were to use a large portion of Kyuubi's chakra, his body will not be poisoned, you know, devil's sturdiness and all."

"Is that so..." Kakashi mumbled, visibly shaken by this news. "How long have you known?"

"Well... For quite a while, actually." Sarutobi looked chagrined. "I know I should have told you earlier, but he told me explicitly not to tell anyone. And I really couldn't betray his trust."

"I suppose not." Kakashi muttered bitterly.

"Anyway..." feeling awkward, Sarutobi tried to change topics. "Did anything else happen there?"

"Not too much." Kakashi replied, still not over the idea that Naruto became a devil. "It's just that Naruto got the bridge named after him."

"Oh really." Sarutobi smiled. "He's becoming famous already. But why, though?"

"Well, he did kill Gatou, even though he had some help, but they didn't know the other girl." Kakashi replied. "That reminds me, did you manage to send in reinforcements? Because that other girl carried a Konoha head band with her."

"Really? Could you describe her?" Sarutobi asked.

"I could, but Naruto should even be able to tell you her name." Kakashi answered. "They seemed to be pretty close."

"Did they now?" Sarutobi muttered. "I guess I'll ask him then. You can go now."

"Was it alright for you to accept such conditions?" Misaki asked once they were out of the Hokage tower.

"It's fine." replied Haku. "Since Zabuza-sama told me to come here, I'm going to make most of what is on offer."

"Still harping on what Zabuza said I see." muttered Misaki.

"That's not really surprising." Naruto said. "What's more surprising is that it was Zabuza who sent her along with us."

"That's true..." muttered Haku.

Flashback

"So, what are you going to do now, Zabuza?" asked Naruto.

Team Seven had left Wave, and were currently on their way back to Konoha. They had been joined by Haku and Zabuza, who seemingly were going in the same direction.

"I suppose I'm gonna go meet an old friend." replied Zabuza.

"So you're going to take up her offer, huh?" said Naruto. Then he grinned. "I suppose it was inevitable, eh." Naruto said slyly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zabuza was puzzled.

"Oh come on. Don't be shy." Naruto walked up to Zabuza's side and began nudging him with his elbow. "Tell me, are you gonna get lovey dovey with..."

*Smack*

"Ow!" Naruto knelt down, holding his head, a bump forming on it.

"Shut up, you stupid brat." muttered Zabuza, shaking his hand in the air.

"Aw... You are no fun." muttered Naruto. He stood up and turned towards Haku. "And? What are you gonna do?" he asked.

"I'm going to go with Zabuza-sama, of course." Haku replied confidently.

"Actually, you're not." Zabuza said. "You'll be going with the brats."

Haku was shocked at this. "But Zabuza-sama..." she began to complain, but was stopped unceremoniously by Zabuza.

"Now listen to me Haku." Zabuza said sternly. "You've helped me a lot throughout the years, and I am happy for that. But it's about time that you actually went and lived your life. I almost got you killed once already. I don't want that to happen again."

"And how does sending me away stop me from dying?" asked and enraged Haku.

"For one thing, the brats much more better than the person I'm going to meet. And I live on the run; my and my companions life will always be in danger. You'll be better of with him." said Zabuza. "And the boy is strong..." he muttered aside.

Haku looked at Zabuza, shell shocked at Zabuza's sudden change of behavior. "Fine then. I'll go along with him." She huffed. "If that's what you really want. But don't expect me to listen to that stupid perverts orders."

"I don't expect you to."

Flashback end

"I really wasn't expecting him to agree to it this easily." said Naruto. "I even had prepared a heart warming story for him so that he would agree."

"And you think that would pierce the Demon's heart?" asked Misaki.

"Well, it would've been worth a shot, since he seems to actually have a heart." Naruto mused.

"Hey!" Haku exclaimed indignantly. "Don't talk about Zabuza-sama like that."

"Fine, I won't." Naruto agreed. Then he muttered aside, "Not in front of you, at least."

"What was that?" asked Haku.

"Nothing, nothing." Naruto hedged the question. "Anyway... where's Sasuke?"

"He left quite a while back, actually." Misaki answered him. "He said something about going home and training."

"Really?" Naruto scratched his head. "I didn't see him leaving."

"You weren't really paying attention, were you?" Misaki sighed.

"I guess not." Naruto gave a silly laugh.

"Tch." Misaki shook her head in dismay. "Anyhow, what are we doing about Haku's lodging."

"Ah! That's right." Naruto jumped in realization. "I'm gonna go search for available apartments. Why don't you show Haku-chan around."

"Wouldn't it be easier for her to go with you?" Misaki asked.

"Would be a waste of time on her part, and I also have some stuff to do too." Naruto hopped on his feet. "So I'll go now. Meet you in front of your place in two hours, okay." And with that he disappeared into the ever moving crowd of people.

"So you're here, Zabuza." said a female voice.

"It would seem like it." replied Zabuza.

Zabuza was currently inside a stone chamber devoid of any furniture, barring a table and a chair that was in front of him. On the high backed chair was sitting a lady of tremendous beauty. Her beautiful body was covered by a black dress of equal glamor, while her black, gorgeous hair was tied up in a bun. She looked at him through a pair of spectacles with her piercing brown eyes, enough to make any man swoon.

However, Momochi Zabuza may be many things, but he was not 'many men'. He was not going to be entranced by the woman's beauty. She may be a rose, but Zabuza was weary of the thorns. And these thorns could be poisonous, especially if the person in front of you was the leader of the Konoha mafia, Kurokami Madoka.

"I hope you had a nice trip to Konoha." Madoka greeted him, her voice sweet and caring.

"Sure was." Zabuza replied in a rather carefree tone. "But what's with you and that sweet tone?" He asked, causing a vein on Madoka's temple to pulse.

"You still don't seem to have any manners I see." Madoka grumbled.

"Never learned, did I?" Zabuza teased, his lips twitching, threatening a smile.

"Guess travelling around with a girl didn't help, huh." Madoka sighed.

"Guess not." Zabuza grinned.

"So... What make's you suddenly so eager for a reunion." Madoka asked, becoming serious.

"Can't a man just want to meet his old friend?" Zabuza asked, trying to (and miserably failing, mind you) sound disappointed.

"Not when that man is you." Madoka replied solemnly.

"Aww, you're no fun at all." Zabuza groaned. "Since you want to know that badly, I hit a snag in my campaign, and came to look for some help."

"Took a lot of effort to admit that, didn't it?" Madoka asked, getting a vigorous nod from Zabuza. She sighed, before asking again. "So, what's this snag of yours."

"Well you see, that messenger of yours kinda took away my partner." Zabuza answered.

"I was under the impression you allowed your partner to leave." Madoka looked at Zabuza through half-lidded eyes.

"I did." Zabuza agreed. "But only after I realized that I was putting her in harms way for a my own personal goals."

"I don't think your goal is personal." Madoka replied flatly.

"Why, thank you. But that's not the point." Zabuza waved off the pseudo-compliment. "She had nothing to do with it, and yet she almost died for it. It made me rethink my whole approach."

"And...? What did you come up with?" Madoka urged him on.

"I realized that I have absolutely no information on the person I'm supposed to be fighting." Zabuza continued. "So, here I am, hoping you could give me a little bit more information."

"After all this years, you finally came for information?" Madoka was shocked, to say the least. She shook her head at how far pride can make a man go before asking for help. She then turned to Zabuza, regaining her seriousness. "Alright then. Listen up. And I'm not going to tell you twice, so you'd better remember it."

"That's the plan." Zabuza grinned.

"So, what shall we start with?" Misaki asked.

"Anywhere should be fine, I guess." replied Haku.

Haku and Misaki were currently right in front of the Hokage Tower. Sasuke had left a while back, while Naruto had just left them there in order to search for a place for Haku to stay. Now that they were left to their own devices, they decided to take up Naruto's advice and go on a tour.

"Then we'll start with the Mission Counter." Misaki said. "It's inside the Hokage Tower, so we're already here."

'Well, that's short trip.' Haku thought, as they went inside.

As Haku entered through the door, she was greeted by a quite empty room in terms of people. There were several painting and decorations adorning the wall on the left, while several selves lined the wall to the right. Facing the door, was a long table, on which there were chairs for three ninja to sit, but was currently occupied by a single person.

"Yo, Iruka-sensei." Misaki greeted cheerfully. "I see that you managed to pick the 'forever alone' shift."

"Rude as ever I see." replied the Academy teacher. "And it's called 'helping others work' shift."

"As if." Misaki waved her hand. "You just named that yourself."

"You..." Iruka shook his head in dismay. "So, what brings you here? As far as I know, your team is on leave after that mission in Wave."

"Just passing by. Brought a friend along to show her the place from which mission's are assigned." Misaki replied nonchalantly.

"Oh really?" Iruka was interested. He turned towards Haku. "You must be the friend, then."

"Ah." Haku hurried forward, before bowing deeply. "I'm glad to meet you. Please take care of me."

"Oh, no, no, no." Iruka got up hurriedly, chagrined by Haku's politeness. "The pleasure is all mine." He bowed back.

Misaki shook her head at Iruka's loss of composure, before her face lit up as she remembered something abruptly.

"Ah! That's right. Iruka-sensei." She said, getting Iruka's attention. "You still have one those maps of Konoha, don't you?"

"I do. What do you need it for?" he asked.

"It's for Haku-chan here." Misaki gestured at the person in question. "We don't want a guest to lose their way around Konoha, now do we?"

"Of course we don't." replied Iruka. He walked up to the selves, rummaging through a pile of scrolls, before taking out one of them. He then tossed the scroll at Misaki, who caught it skillfully with her right hand. "There you go."

Misaki handed the map to Haku, before turning to Iruka again. "We'll leave for now. See ya later."

Iruka watched on as Misaki led Haku out of the room. He sat down, wondering if Misaki would ever stop calling this the 'forever alone' shift. Then he scrunched his eyebrows, suddenly remembering something.

'Wasn't Haku supposed to be the person they brought back from Wave?'

Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha, scoping out all the building that he passed, looking for any sign of one that was looking for tenants. He was on his way to the Housing Agency, who kept record of all the houses that are currently up for rent. That didn't stop him from looking out for any good place which he could find along the way.

As he continued to walk slowly, he noticed a certain anomaly. There seemed to be a rectangular rock following him. He tried to ignore the rock, but it seemed to pick up speed, getting even closer to him. Several passerby turned around, looking at the rather unusual sight, even for a ninja village.

Soon, Naruto got irritated by the obviously badly executed attempt of following him covertly. He walked right into a deserted alley, before turning around the moment the unnatural rock entered.

"Get out of that box, Konohamaru." He shouted at the 'rock'.

The rock stopped abruptly at the shout, staying still for a few moments, before a voice came out from it.

"As expected of my rival."

Naruto raised one hand instinctively, when a small explosion occurred inside the rock. The explosion was accompanied by a large amount of smoke and dust, and was followed by heavy coughing by multiple people.

"Konoha – cough – maru." someone spoke through the smoke. "You used – cough – too much – cough – explosives."

"No – cough – way." replied Konohamaru. "You – cough – should have – cough – thrown it – cough – after we – cough – came out of the – cough – box, Udon."

"It was your idea – cough – to throw it early." answered another voice.

"You guys..." Naruto shook his head, holding his forehead with one hand. "What are you doing?"

"Oh!" Konohamaru exclaimed, as the dust cleared. "Almost forgot." He said, before striking a pose. "I'm Konohamaru."

"I'm Moegi." said the girl.

"Udon..." muttered the other boy.

"And we are the Konohamaru Corps." they chorused.

"..." Naruto looked at them long and hard, unable to believe the scene in front of him. He couldn't really accept that they had just done that, and thus decided to just ignore it.

And thus Naruto shook his head to clear the image out, before continuing again. "What are you doing?"

"We're here to play ninja." replied Konohamaru, unfazed by the fact his antics were ignored. (Actually, it was more like he didn't even notice that he was ignored, but let's not tell him that.) "You promised us last time, you know."

"Ah, I did, didn't I?" Naruto remembered. He was about to consent to them, when he noticed something from the corner of his eyes. "I would, but I have somewhere to go right now."

"Aww." Konohamaru groaned. "But you promised us, Naruto-niichan."

"Another time then." Naruto tried to appease him. "You know how busy it can get when you are a real ninja."

"Fine." Konohamaru grumbled. "But you better remember your promise."

"Ah. I will." Naruto replied, and watched on as the three kids left the alley. He then turned around, coming face to face with an Anbu with a faceless mask.

"Let's get going then."

"Make yourself at home."

"Sorry to intrude."

Haku walked into the apartment, following Misaki, who had opened the door for her. They had spent a good hour going over the important locations in the map, like the grocer and weapon smith. Misaki had opted to take Haku to all the places, and marking them on the map. Once they were done looking around Konoha, Misaki suggested waiting at her place till Naruto arrived, and Haku accepted the offer gladly. Which is where they are at currently, at Misaki's flat.

Misaki walked right into the kitchen, before asking Haku from above her shoulder, "Would you like something to drink?"

"Some water, please." Haku responded.

"Sure." Misaki replied, before walking towards the sink.

Haku took a sit on a chair at the dining table, before looking around at the apartment. It was a quaint little place, not too much splendor was about it. The dining room also doubled as a living room, while the kitchen was connected directly to it, with a counter acting as a partition. A door stood ajar on the other side of the kitchen, through which Haku could make out the outlines of a bed, and concluded that it was the bedroom.

Misaki walked into the room, a glass of water in hand. She handed it to Haku, who took it graciously. "How do you like the place?" she asked.

"Not quite what I expected." replied Haku honestly.

"Oh? What did you expect?" Misaki was curious.

"You know, how Naruto mentioned that devils didn't have to worry about money?" Once she got a nod from Misaki, Haku continued. "I was expecting something much more grand because of that."

"Oh, so that's why." Misaki chuckled. "You know, it's not like I have money problem or anything. But I'd rather keep a low profile, especially when I kill people for a living."

"Ah, so that's why." Haku nodded in understanding. She then looked at Misaki. The girl was pretty bright and positive. Not only that, she was strong too. How did she ever get stuck with that perverted boy, Haku really didn't understand.

"Is there something on my face?" Misaki asked, bringing Haku out of her stupor.

"Ah no. Nothing of the sort." Haku shook her head. "I was just wondering..."

"About what?" Misaki asked.

"Why do you put up with Naruto?" asked Haku. "Isn't it really hard?"

"Oh, about that." Misaki smiled. "While I know that he can be quite unbearable at times, he really does mean good."

"He doesn't seem like it." Haku replied, plenty of venom in her words.

"Oh, don't worry." Misaki tried to console her. "You'll like him in no time."

"No way." Haku replied vehemently. "There's no way I'd come to like him. It's like Zabuza-sama coming to love a girl."

Inside Madoka's headquarters, Zabuza sneezed.

"No really." Misaki continued. "Even I didn't like him at first, you know."

"Then how come you're friends with him now?" Haku asked, curious.

"It's a long story." Misaki tried to hedge out of explaining her relationship with Naruto.

"We have time." Haku said, determined to listen to the story.

Misaki looked at Haku for a while, before sighing. "Then we'll have to start from the very beginning."

Omake

Andrew: And we have a new chapter people.

Naruto: Woot.

Misaki: But what took you so long?

Andrew: It's hard to write when your muse disappears. I only managed get the chapter outline done a week prior, and wrote the chapter within the week,

Naruto: So basically, as long as you know where the story is going, you can finish a chapter in a week?

Andrew: Yes. I had good outlines for the wave arc and Chuunin Exam Arc, but what I lacked was a good bridge between them.

Misaki: And now you do?

Andrew: Kind of. It's not complete yet, but enough to get a chapter out.

Naruto: So, what's next?

Andrew: Next, I request my reviewers to actually tell me where my supposed plot holes are, because let's face it, one person can't effectively critic his own work. So unless people tell me what's missing, I can't fix it.

Naruto: And now, we finish the chapter.

Andrew: Yes, we do. Misaki, take it away.

Misaki: Next time, we are going to turn the clocks back to when I first became a devil. Stay tuned to find out more in

Chorus: Blonde Haired Devil.