More fighting. I wish I could turn to more dialogue-heavy chapters, but that's not really going to be an option with these two. They're living on the run, after all.

Dialogue will get its' turn, don't worry.

Days passed in the village of Nadeshiko. The Yuki boy was accommodated and given his own room, as well as his own training quarters. Attempts to monitor him were fruitless due to the boy's exceptional stealth skill, and unknown to most, he still spent his nights sharing a bed with the village's own princess.

Being so close to the leadership of a shinobi village, Haku had the opportunity to hear all about the current state of the land of water. All accounts point to the fact that the village is as quiet and strict as it ever was. While it wasn't the state he was hoping for, it was good info, so he'd at least have something to tell Zabuza when they meet up later in the day.

Haku broke away from his thoughts for only a short while, noticing yet another medic squad hauling injured kunoichi. They keep sending them in droves after the bladesman, and while they haven't yet lost a single one of them, no one can give any useful information on the demon's whereabouts and purpose. The only one who came close was the palace chief of security, a generally inconspicuous man by the name of Kei. He was the only one to walk away from the confrontation with the demon after they cornered him. Seemed like every time they'd get close, he'd just conjure up a full-size water dragon as if it didn't cost any chakra. And even after several days, he was still fighting as fresh as he did on day one.

Shaking his head, the boy went back to minding his own business, wondering about how he'll lose the two kunoichi assigned to watch him. He had grown weary of constantly losing them, so the next best thing was to lose them when it mattered. However, besides what little information he had on the water, Haku didn't really have much to return to the swordsman.

"Ah, there you are."

It was Shizuka, alone. Spending a few days with her, the Yuki quickly concluded that she is not the person she presents herself as. When feeling safe, she isn't nearly as aggressive or talkative as she usually is. She was getting better in their spars, too, since she'd usually manage to touch him once or twice. Of course, he'd usually freeze her gloves on contact, just for laughs.

"Something you wanted?" He asked, slightly raising his head.

The girl smirked. "Do you know how to dance, Haku?"

"Excuse me?"

"Dance. You know, the thing you can do when there's music?"

While dancing was commonly taught in ninja academies due to its' usefulness in high-profile infiltration and espionage missions, Haku had to be self-taught, due to Zabuza's statement that the Mist trained assassins rather than spies. Still, there was only so much he could pick up from a book.

"I know a few basic steps, but I lack any useful experience."

Giving a satisfied nod, the girl pulled him up, leading him back towards the palace. Haku blinked, realizing that he wouldn't have time for a dance lesson if he's to meet with Zabuza on time.

"...so we're going to dance, ok?" the girl finished.

Damn it. He was supposed to be paying attention. There's a time for thinking, and there's a time for listening. Unfortunately, the boy still had some trouble differentiating between the two.

"Uhm, alright. But before that happens, I need to go check up on something..." he trailed off, eyes scanning for the best escape point.

"Nonsense, you've had most of the afternoon to yourself already! The only reason you're so free to mess about is because of the Daimyo's visit, you know."

"I'm sorry, but I really must go," he spoke, stopping in his tracks, getting the girl to release him.

She gave him a long look, then crossed her arms. "Alright, go do whatever you want. But come the evening event, we're dancing. I have to look good in front of the elders!"

They would be dancing during the Daimyo's evening event? That was...he didn't actually know what to make of that. Zabuza would know, though, so he'll have a chance to ask him as soon as he loses those two that keep following him.

Turns out that losing them was easier than expected. Inexperienced kunoichi probably let their guard down when he stopped trying to lose them every few minutes. Tardiness gets shinobi killed; that was another thing Zabuza often said during their travels.

Making his way through the streets, he ducked into one of the shops, sneaking past the owner onto the roof, taking great care not to get seen. The sun was still up, but was nearing the horizon with every minute. Guard shifts change at sundown, but some do so even half an hour earlier. Fortunately, all the ones that have a chance of spotting him don't fall into that category, so he won't have to worry about additional people. Keeping his head low, the Yuki navigated the rooftops, quickly scaling his way up to the wall, then over and into the forest beyond.

Keeping away from the main roads, he quickly oriented himself toward the lake and pressed on.

It didn't take long for the rumors to start up about Zabuza's purpose in Nadeshiko. Most speculated that it had something to do with the Daimyo, perhaps an assassination attempt. Some were more imaginative and humorous, suggesting that he's come to find himself a wife, or that he intends to open up a weapons shop after testing the village's current gear. One guy, a gate guard, guessed that he's only stopping by to cause trouble before going back to the Water for round two with the Mizukage.

After a while, he reached the lake. Then he walked east.

Zabuza had recently finished kicking the last of the pursuing shinobi away from him, sending his or her head into a tree branch, knocking them out. As he stood now, he was a bit tired. Still, he was getting better every day. The ninja sent after him were by no means incapable, but aside from a single shinobi, most were too soft to actually threaten him. That isolated case warranted further study, but there would be time for that once he's done meeting with Haku.

He leapt from branch to branch, eyes wary, but alert. Ever since he first got spotted, he made doubly sure to be the one who picks the engagements. In the lulls between engagements, he would either eat and sleep, or let his thoughts run wild, usually returning to that one mission...

"You ready, Zabuza?" Asked Mangetsu, fingers dancing atop the Hiramekamei's handle.

They were nearing the shore, and it was obvious that there was an ambush prepared for them. Whoever was leading the uprising was obviously not a very skilled shinobi...

"..." He didn't dignify such a question with an answer.

Someone laughed to the side. "Ha! You know he's always like this before a scrap, all quiet and serious. He probably thinks it makes him look cool." Jinpachi quipped, rolling the scroll embedded in his blade absently.

While the ambush itself wasn't too much trouble, the problem was who held the ambush. Teenagers, children barely of age to leave the academy, old men. This was no armed uprising, this was barely a civilian protest. Yet the seven swords were deployed, orders being 'kill on sight'.

They didn't think about it. They weren't people who could barely defend themselves, they were threats. Threats should be eliminated. So they were.

It didn't stop there. Neutralizing the ambush, the heartless duo got careless, getting themselves cut and scraped, minor injuries that wouldn't affect men like that in the least. But that sparked something in the two men, prompting them to raze the entire village to the ground. It wasn't a show of force anymore... it was simple extermination.

He still remembered himself standing in the middle of the village, blood, fire and agonized screams everywhere. He didn't feel that what they were doing was wrong. Even years afterwards, at the edges of Nadeshiko, he still doesn't. They were soldiers with orders, and duty outweighed honor. Still, there was no doubt in his mind that it was unnecessary.

In the end, the mission was no different than any other sword assignment. There was slaughter and death, and there was a lot of it. That was a job of a sword- to cut. It didn't matter what or how much they cut, they only did their jobs.

He sighed, letting the images of the past slowly slip away. He was nearly there, and knowing Haku, he was already there.

The boy thought he was stealthy with his training, hiding away or picking odd times to try and refine his skill. Zabuza had quickly picked up on it, but decided to say nothing. If the boy believed that he should ignore the medic's words and still try to serve as a shinobi, he wouldn't stop him. To his knowledge, he was the last of the Hyoton bloodline, so learning the art's secrets was ultimately a good call.

After a while, he noticed the markings on a couple of trees, guiding him towards an otherwise unidentifiable tree. The boy sat there, greeting his mentor with a friendly smile.

"Ah, there you are, Zabuza-sama. I thought you might have run into some trouble." He started politely.

The swordsman took his seat on a different branch shrugging. "Those punks don't count as trouble."

Haku's reaction was only a slight arching of the brow. "Either way, I do have things to report."

"By all means, Haku. I cleared my schedule for the evening." While no one could tell, the swordsman was smirking below his bandages.

So the boy started listing off the events that transpired since they parted ways outside of the village the swordsman was now terrorizing. He started off with the state of the water, detailing everything he overhead, separating confirmed fact from speculation and rumor. After that, he started talking about the Damiyo's upcoming visit. In two days, the man would arrive at the village, after a day of discussions and negotiations, he would be hosting the yearly evening event. The same event Haku was supposed to dance at.

Zabuza actually laughed at that, congratulating the boy. To sleep with nobility at the age of fourteen was most definitely some kind of record for a Kiri shinobi.

"Zabuza..." Haku began.

"Hm?" The swordsman grunted.

"Do you think we're going to make it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know if I'll make it, but you're not fighting him."

Haku's eyes widened. "But Zabuza, I can help... I could..."

"No."

"But..."

"I will be the one facing against the Mizukage, Haku. You are far too important to lose your life chasing after my ambitions."

The boy crossed his arms, frowning. "This injury is nothing. I can still fight."

"Against genin and chunin. Yagura made Kage for a reason. I'll need you to keep people from interfering with the fight."

The boy closed his eyes, thinking over the swordsman's decision. He wanted to help, and was fairly certain he could, given a chance. But Zabuza was right, odds are that despite the Mist's laws regarding the inheritance of Kage title through combat, the Kiri shinobi wouldn't take the demon's appearance standing down. With a sigh, the boy agreed.

"Alright. It will be as you say, Zabuza."

The swordsman shook his head. "Damn it, Haku. You know why I'm making the call. We were lucky in the Wave, and I don't want to push that luck any more than I'm doing right now."

The boy sighed once more, nodding in acceptance. "I understand."

After giving the boy a long look, the swordsman stood up, placing his blade onto his back once more. He had a village to harass, and he had a feeling he'd run into that man once again.

Haku returned to the village, not a soul knowing where he was for the past two hours. He made his way to the palace, more quiet than usual. He sought out the princess, only to hear that she was busy helping out at the academy. With a shrug, the boy set off for the academy as well.

The streets of Nadeshiko oft reminded him of the hidden Mist. He had only seen his nation's ninja capital from afar, but the sense of belonging was still there. Wide, curvy streets, cobblestone and grayish brick alternating in different village quarters.

He walked into the academy yard, strolling past the empty training field. Something was wrong, there were no children anywhere. In fact, the whole academy seemed to be empty. His eyes narrowed. His guard ready, Haku walked in.

Empty. Apparently, there was no one in the academy. This impression changed as soon as a trio of senbon landed at his feet. Haku looked up, facing the red and white mask of Kiri hunter ANBU. There were two of them.

"Turn yourself in, Yuki. We know of your affiliation with the demon."

Haku shook his head. Wearing kimono with large sleeves was convenient to conceal exactly when you're weaving hand signs. Anything that gave you the element of surprise was an ideal tool for a ninja. Working through a set of three, Haku tried to flash-freeze the two to the ceiling, only to have the female ANBU drag her colleague away to the side. Probably a sensory type, as they have an easier time telling when and where the Hyoton chakra materializes.

The appearance of these two brought a whole host of problems. The fight itself could get attention, they could break off and blow his cover, they could actually beat him, and even if he does manage to subdue them, the only way to keep them quiet for good would be to kill them, and that would be betraying Zabuza's wishes...

"You should not have come here, ANBU..." The boy spoke in a fairly menacing tone of voice. He tracked their movements with little difficulty, still scanning to see if there were more than the two that had already engaged. He sidestepped another barrage of senbon, retaliating with one of his own. Training every day, he was getting close to perfecting the Ice Style: Senbon. What he still needed was control...

Well, no better way to perfect it than trial by combat, right?

The two ANBU separated, attacking in tandem with Water Style: Water Whip Jutsu. While he had to admire their skill, Haku was still fast enough to stay out of their reach. Still, the hunters were far from done, as they easily dodged each and every one of Haku's retaliation assaults. At this rate, the stalemate would drag on long enough for someone to find them.

Haku threw himself over one of the tables, taking cover from another barrage of senbon. If the two ANBU are approaching from either side of the room, he could maybe... but that would be too risky... No. The success of Zabuza's mission depends on him keeping his cover intanct. Haku couldn't simply let these men ruin everything for them. He quickly did two rotations of hand signs, smirking when the mirrors appeared near the hunter-nin.

As the two exchanged panicked looks, trying to get as far as they could from the mirrors, Haku kept working his signs, feeling his chakra dwindle with every rotation, placing another crystal ice mirror in the room. If he kept at it, he would have them locked in.

"Move! He's trying to funnel us in!" One of them shouted as they left the classroom, throwing something over towards Haku's side of the hallway. Kicking it to the side, the boy frowned as the smoke started spreading from where the bomb landed. Smoke was very visible.

Dismissing his mirrors, the boy felt a small surge of chakra, the bit that he could recover from the wasted jutsu. His heart was beating faster already, and his chest was hurting a bit. The longer the fight drags on, the less chance that he will make it. He needed to decide it with the next attack.

Using the cover of smoke, he reached out with his chakra, picking up the presences of the two ANBU. Whatever they were doing, it required them to stand still... Nodding his head with a grim resolve, the boy went through his hand signs twice more, intent on finishing the battle.

There was no one more important in the world to him than Zabuza. To be the reason for the failure of his mentor's dream would be the greatest shame for Haku. Allowing the two hunters to get away would mean blowing his cover, which would in turn end the mission then and there. No matter how convincing he is, the village leadership will trust the official hunter ANBU units.

He needed to act as shinobi do. He needed to ignore his merciful heart. There was simply no other option...

Haku stepped back, entering the mirror he left in the classroom. Almost instantly, he appeared behind the two men, moving so quick than neither knew which Haku was the real one and which was simply an afterimage. Both men felt a small hand press against their back.

"Ice Style: Ice Prison Jutsu."

Chakra flared, water and air shaping into one, encasing the two ANBU completely in ice. Dispelling the three leftover mirrors, the boy walked up to the large chunks of ice, staring at the masks the hunter-nin were wearing. They were so similar to his own mask... the mask he wasn't wearing right now.

What he was about to do, he would do as Haku, the last of the Hyoton bloodline. He would do it as a shinobi in his own right, and he would do it for Zabuza.

He made the ram sign, then pressed his hands together. "Ice Style: Deep Freeze Jutsu..."

The ice seemed to gloss over, the images of the two shinobi becoming hidden in the depths of the icy blocks. Haku turned his hands over so that the palms face outwards. As if he was parting water, he pulled his hands apart. As he did so, the ice blocks parted as well, revealing that whatever was inside them was now frozen and chilled beyond all recognition, dark masses what seemed like frozen dust in the ice.

With a sigh, the Yuki allowed the ice to dissipate, leaving the dark dust to cover the hallway. He shook his head, then went back into the classroom to get rid of the senbon. If anyone asked about the smoke, he would say it was a prank left forgotten by a student.

His heart finally slowed down, the pain in his chest replaced by a cold numbness. Even in the name of his mentor's dream, Haku did not take killing lightly. But this was unavoidable, the ANBU left him with no other choice...

Sighing again, the boy left the academy, content with roaming the village aimlessly for a while, at least until he clears his head.

Zabuza leapt back, deflecting another series of ranged attacks. On his way back from his meeting with Haku, he intentionally ran into an ambush, spending the following hour slowly decreasing the number of people he was fighting against.

One thing in particular convinced him to set off their trap - the man from last time was among the shinobi intending to bring him down. For some reason, that man refused to back down, no matter how badly Zabuza beat his comrades.

They clashed blades once or twice, the man wielding a similarly large sword as his weapon of choice, but were forced apart when someone else tried to catch the mist assassin off guard. Still, Zabuza was left wanting more. There was something about him...

Ducking an earth-style jutsu, the swordsman knocked the air out of some unfortunate kunoichi by slamming the hilt of his blade straight into het gut. As the woman bent over, Zabuza used her as a pivot for a jump, avoiding yet another earth jutsu. Why they were trying to bring him down with C-Rank jutsu was beyond him.

Feeling a kunai graze his side, he lashed out with a sideways swing with the kubikiribocho, wielding it as a paddle more than a blade. Another unfortunate kunoichi was caught in his swing, probably hoping to get past his guard up close. She was floored, and didn't seem to be getting up any time soon.

The number of enemies was dwindling rapidly. There were no more than a dozen left by now, not counting the man with the bastard sword. Zabuza was saving him for last.

Making a tiger seal, Zabuza created a water clone, and the now doubled swordsman charged his scattered foes, intending to bring them all down. Even at a mere tenth of his power, the clone was good enough to hold nearly half of the shinobi and kunoichi off while the original eliminated them one at a time.

Leading the last two foes through the forest, Zabuza bobbed and weaved between the surprisingly thick forestry, having dispelled his clone to make the fight more fair. The two shinobi in pursuit were doing good to keep up, but they lost track of a very important fact...

Just as they were nearing the clearing where most of the ambush force lay unconscious or injured, Zabuza sprung his trap, using the leftover water from his clone to create a water whip and easily take out the last of the uninteresting shinobi.

This only left the opposing swordsman, a man with short dark hair and a white kimono he kept open, showing off a well-built physique. With a grunt, the man got into stance, holding his blade pointed at the former swordsman of the Mist. He was tired, alone, and fairly bruised... but he wasn't out for the count just yet.

"Damn... you live up to your reputation, demon of the Mist."

Zabuza dashed forward, intending to crush the man beneath the kubikiribocho's weight, only to see that the man blocked the attack, if only barely. He smirked, placing some distance between them by trying to take him off his feet with a low sweep.

"All these ninja... they're all pushovers. Not you. What is your name, swordsman?"

The Nadeshiko swordsman blocked the incoming series of attacks, each one slowly getting closer to breaking through. He wasn't going to last much longer, that was for sure.

"Kei... My name is Kei. Why are you attacking my village, Zabuza? What is your goal?"

Zabuza dashed in once more, swinging his executioner's blade with inhumane strength. One of the blows unbalanced the defending swordsman enough for the demon to floor him with a kick.

"My goal..." the demon began, trailing off upon noticing that the fight isn't yet over.

Dropping his blade, Zabuza stomped down on the man's arm, making him release the grip on his own sword. Swinging his leg around, the demon kicked the man's sword away, towards an unconscious kunoichi. Seeing the man go for his kunai pouch with his other arm, Zabuza stomped down on the other one too, getting a cry of pain from the swordsman.

"My goal is still distant. That said, I won't stop until I reach it." Stated the demon flatly, kneeling down over his injured foe. He pulled down his bandages, revealing a shark-like grin.

"I will terrorize your village as I see fit, but I won't stick around much longer. I will see you at the Daimyo's evening event, Kei of Nadeshiko."

With that, the demon landed a punch to the man's chin, instantly knocking him out.

Standing up, picking up the kubikiribocho, Zabuza took a minute to admire his work. A dozen enemy shinobi, not one dead or mortally injured. Heck, he doubted that any one of them would stay hospitalized for more than a week. It wasn't quite fighting off ANBU, but it was close enough. Besides, he'd have Haku when time came to face Kiri shinobi...

Double checking that everyone was out cold, the demon retreated from that part of the forest, heading back to his camp. He would remember Kei of Nadeshiko as the one worthwhile opponent in a village full of insignificant ones. Why? No one else stuck out all that much, really. Besides, forgetting battles was not a good thing for a ninja.

Picking up pace, Zabuza began planning how he's going to crash the Daimyo's event.

Was that...character development? *squints eyes* Maybe.

Anyways, hope I'm not smothering you with all the minor fights every chapter.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Do leave a review! Next one is probably another interlude (unless it turns out not to be)!