Sorry for the long wait. Been a bit busy with things happening.

Anyway, here is the next chapter. Let me know what you think and please leave a review.

Enjoy.

While standing on a small trade ship, Haku leaned on the railing and looked out towards the open waters. It has been eleven days since her group had travelled South to the Land of Waves and they should be arriving within the hour, a little ahead of schedule. They had made several stops on their way down through the country to different towns to resupply and gather some information. Other than learning that the Land of Waves used to be a popular trade route, there wasn't much known about it nowadays. It made Haku curious to know what had happened and she had a feeling that she would get her answers soon.

She didn't flinch as she felt a certain someone wrap their arms around her waist and lean on her while resting their head on her shoulder. "Something on your mind, Haku-chan?" Naruto asked, feeling Haku relax into him. Without hesitating, he kissed the top of her head.

"Not really," she answered. "Just enjoying the morning air, that's all." She enjoyed the warmth he brought with him. It was a pleasant feeling, especially on the cooler mornings like this. "Where is Tou-san?" she asked out of curiosity. Last night, she had seen Zabuza participating in a drinking game with the ships captain as well as several workers.

"Passed out," Naruto answered with a small laugh, "He's sleeping on the floor by the front of the ship. I'd imagine he was in a good mood after cashing in on Kenmotu's bounty the other day." Kenmotsu's bounty was worth 200,000 Ryo, dead or alive. It was a decent score from the leader of gang that barely had control over a small town in the Land of Earth.

"You know, with some of that money," Haku began, getting Naruto's attention, "We can have another date. You did promise one after what happened last time."

Naruto twitched at the mention of their last date. Just as he promised, he had taken Haku out to a nearby restaurant and they had a wonderful time. After eating, they decided to relax a little more in a hot springs, with both Naruto and Haku going to their respective side. But as they were relaxing, Naruto had spotted an older man with white hair peeking into the woman's side, giggling and writing on a notepad. Angered at the thought of someone peeping in on Haku, Naruto had used the Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu which sent the man flying away, before grabbing the notepad the man had dropped and tearing it into pieces. This had also caused a small ruckus which spoiled some of the evening for Naruto and Haku. Even though it wasn't his fault, Naruto apologised and promised to take her out again when they had the chance.

'That old bastard was lucky Haku and I had to leave otherwise I'd have found him and kicked his ass some more,' Naruto thought darkly before calming down. It pissed him off to no end when someone tried anything with Haku even though he knew, from past experience, that she could look after herself. Realising that they would be arriving soon, Naruto made a suggestion, "Let's go make sure we have all our stuff, okay? I'll even go wake up No-Brow's."

Shaking her head, Haku said, "You're going to have to stop calling him that one day. Tou-san doesn't like it very much."

"Nah, he loves it!" Naruto laughed, "He tries to give me a hug every time I call him that."

"He's trying to strangle you, not hug you."

"Same thing."

Haku tried to give Naruto a look of abolishment but the small smile she held didn't help it. The two walked away to make sure they wouldn't forget anything before Naruto left to wake up Zabuza. Going to the helm of the ship, Naruto quickly found the man passed out next to the wheel, Kubikiribocho sealed away in a scroll so that no one would recognise the man. Looking down at the man, Naruto wondered how to wake him up this time.

A bucket of cold sea water? Did that last time.

An air horn to the ear? Haku took that away from him.

A kick to the balls? Last time he did that, Haku froze him to the spot and Zabuza returned the favour. Wasn't fun.

Getting an idea, Naruto leaned down with a grin and said, "I completely forgot to bring protection with me. I sure hope Haku-chan doesn't wind up pregnant!"

Almost immediately, Zabuza was on his feet with Kubikiribocho unsealed and in his hands. His chakra surrounding him and making him look very much like the demon people think he is. "I'LL FUCKING GUT YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" he roared in anger, his fatherly instincts telling him to find and gut Naruto. The captain and workers who woke up at the commotion, all passed out from the amount of killing intent that Zabuza was releasing, a few of them even foaming at the mouths.

Naruto laughed, finding Zabuza's reaction hilarious. His sixth sense suddenly went off and Naruto ducked, just in time as Zabuza's blade sailed past his head, just taking a few hairs instead. "Oh shit," Naruto muttered before running off, Zabuza hot on his trail.

Pocketing the scroll with all her belongings in it, Haku happily hummed to herself before stopping as Naruto and Zabuza ran past her. She didn't even blink as the two jumped off the ship and started running on the water towards the island that was still in the distance. "What did he do now?" she sighed, wondering why she fell in love with an idiot like Naruto. She could only hope that Zabuza wouldn't hurt him too bad if he caught him.

"I said I was sorry," Naruto muttered, his face badly bruised and swollen from Zabuza's beating. The two were on the beach of Wave, watching the ship dock nearby. Zabuza actually had a stroke of luck as Naruto tripped up when he was on the water, giving Zabuza more than enough time to catch the blond in his Suirō no Jutsu. He then proceeded to beat up Naruto for the 'wake up call'.

Giving Naruto a hard glare, Zabuza growled, "If you ever do that again, I'll cut your balls off and make you eat them."

"Lovely image," Naruto muttered. He had seen worse though, hell he had done worse.

A few minutes later and Haku walked up to the two of them. Seeing the condition that Naruto was in, she just shook her head before tossing him his backpack and then doing the same for Zabuza. "Whatever you did, you probably deserved it," she said, not bothering to heal Naruto with some medical techniques she knew. The boy was lucky he was a fast healer. Naruto looked offended by what Haku said but he couldn't argue against her. He did kind of deserve it this time.

The first thing they had to do was find a place to set up as a base of operations. After getting settled, Zabuza himself would go and speak to the client while Haku and Naruto look around the island to gather information. "This island is a bit... depressing," Naruto commented as the three walked further inland, noticing that everything was grey and that there was some fog hanging around too.

It only took a half hour of walking to reach the islands village and, as soon as the three saw the condition it was in, they knew something was wrong. It had to be one of the poorest places they have ever seen. A few houses looked to be in terrible disrepair, windows were smashed, and the people looked so sad. "What happened here?" Haku wondered, wishing she could help but knew she shouldn't do anything that would draw attention to them.

"I don't know," Naruto answered with narrowed eyes, "But something bad happened. Let's just keep moving." He wanted to get away quickly as he could feel nothing but depression from everyone around him thanks to an annoyingly helpful ability he had. For some reason, he has always been able to sense peoples emotions, which also gave him a vague idea of their intentions so it did come in handy from time to time. Right now though, sensing all this sadness, it was making Naruto feel sick and angry.

Zabuza said nothing but he too didn't like what he was seeing. Some of the villagers gave him and his students a glance and a few even came over asking if they could spare some food. Thankfully no one gave them a second glance. Seeing a tavern up ahead, he grunted out, "Wait here." Neither Naruto nor Haku asked him what he was doing as he walked away, leaving the two alone for a moment.

Hearing a small growling noise, Haku looked and saw Naruto scowling. Remembering his ability to sense emotions, she figured he must affected by all of this. Quickly taking hold of his hand, she made him look at her. "Are you going to be okay?" she quietly asked while leading them to the side to sit down.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Naruto held Haku's hand a little tighter and ran his thumb over the back of her palm. It always amazed him how she had a calming effect on him. "I'll be fine," he said, giving Haku a strained smile.

"M-Mister? Do you have any food?"

Both Naruto and Haku looked and frowned at seeing a small boy covered in dirt standing in front of them, looking about six years old. "Here," Naruto said, reaching into his open vest. The boy flinched, obviously thinking something bad was going to happen, but stopped when the blond man handed him a bar of chocolate. "Take it," Naruto said with a kind smile.

"Th-Th-Thank you," the boy stuttered in surprise, carefully taking the chocolate with teary eyes. He then ran off, probably to share the treat with some of his family or friends.

"That was nice of you," Haku said, smiling at what she saw. Getting a little more comfortable, she rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her to hold her close. While she rested, she let her mind wander and it always lead her to the same thought. Having a family with Naruto. Of course she knew it wouldn't happen for a few more years but the thought of marrying him and then the two having a child, well it always brought a smile to her face.

Zabuza returned a few minutes later, unknowingly breaking Haku out of her daydream. "Come on," he said, watching them stand up from where they sat. "Barkeep told me about a cave system nearby, almost four miles East of here. Sounded perfect for us." Nodding, the two teen's stood and followed the tall man back out of the village and into the forest. Seeing as they weren't in any kind of rush, they decided to just walk to their destination.

It took less than an hour for the three to arrive at the cave, having nearly missed it because the entrance was hidden by some rocks. It was also deep enough in the forest that it was doubtful anyone would just stumble across it. Taking a look inside, the cave system was deeper than they though it would be. While the entrance area was quite large, it split off into several directions.

"Oh, I just love it when we have to stay in caves," Naruto said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Know how Naruto was, Haku said, "It will only be for a couple of weeks at most. I'm sure you'll survive."

"Yeah but we won't have has much se- GAH!" Naruto began to say before Haku rammed her elbow into his ribs, causing Naruto to collapse to the ground as he clutched his side with a pained look. "I-I think you broke my ribs," he wheezed out, wondering if one of those broken ribs managed to puncture his lungs as he was finding it very difficult to breath at the moment.

As much as Haku loved Naruto, she didn't care for how he openly say's words like 'sex' in front of her father-figure. Thankfully the older man was too busy unpacking so he didn't pay them any attention. So Haku just walked away with a smile on her face while humming a soft tune, completely ignoring Naruto's suffering with ease. When Naruto managed to get back onto his feet, the three unpacked a few scrolls and unsealed several items they would be needing while living here.

Naruto and Haku took one of the paths as their own bedroom while Zabuza took his own, thankfully on the other side of the cave. The middle area with the cave entrance will be their meeting place as well as their kitchen. The other paths would be used for supplies, traps, and even a secret exit in case they needed it.

Once everything was done with, Zabuza waited at the cave entrance with Kubikiribocho on his back as Naruto and Haku walked up to him, both in their shinobi attire. While Naruto's was the same as he always wore, Haku had changed out of her pink yukata and now wore something different. A brown outfit with a dark green haori over it and wooden sandals. She even tied up her long hair into a bun holder. Finally, she wore a hunter-nin's mask, which was white with a wavy red patten on it.

"Where's your mask, Brat?" Zabuza asked Naruto.

Reaching into his vest, Naruto pulled it out. Just like Haku's, it was white and had markings on it, only his resembled fox with several red circles on it. He put his mask back into his vest, not seeing any point in wearing his at the moment. Nodding, Zabuza walked away with his two students following. After a few moments, Haku took off her mask and held Naruto's hand as they walked.

Zabuza, having memorised the scroll that had information on the potential job, knew where he was going. It wasn't difficult as he had asked the barkeep earlier about a mansion somewhere on the island. The barkeep had warned him that there was only one mansion and that he'd best stay away if he wanted to live. Zabuza's only response was to laugh and say the meeting should be fun then.

After a while of walking though a forest, Zabuza grunted to gain his students attention. "Alright, we should be close to the client. You both know what to do."

Naruto and Haku nodded as they separated and put on their masks. They then jumped into the trees and followed Zabuza as he continued walking, noticing that he had no clue where the two were now. 'Good,' he thought with his smirk hidden by his bandages, 'If I can't find them, then no one can.'

They soon saw the mansion up ahead and, in all honesty, Naruto and the others were not impressed. The building was about four stories high but was in complete disrepair. Most of the windows were smashed, there were holes in the walls, even part of the roof had crumbled away. At the front door stood two men, one carrying a sword and leaning against the doors in a bored manner while the other was sharpening his knife. "You better have a good reason why you're here. Now, who the hell are you?" the swordsman demanded to know, a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"He asked you a question!" the one with the dagger shouted, seeing that Zabuza wasn't saying anything. In fact, Zabuza just stood there with his arms crossed and a bored look on his face. Growling, the one with the dagger pointed the small weapon as he marched right up to Zabuza.

Before he knew what had happened, the man with the dagger had his weapon snatched out of his hand and stabbed into his chest. He died before he fell to the ground. The swordsman saw this and unsheathed his sword but froze as he felt fear. Zabuza unleashed some of his chakra and directed it at the man before saying, "Take me to whoever is in charge. NOW!"

Dropping the sword, the man ran to the door and opened it before running inside. Zabuza followed at his own pace, laughing as he always found peoples fear of him hilarious. Nearby on top of a tree, Haku watched what had happened and shook her head. "Killing one of our clients men doesn't exactly make a great impression," she muttered.

"Yeah but it shows that they can't mess with us," Naruto replied through Haku's earpiece.

"Have you managed to find a way inside?" she then asked as she examined the building again. There were no more guards outside and none on the roof. She could see a couple every now and then when they pass the windows but they never look out.

There was a moment of silence before a disappointed sounding Naruto answered, "You're not going to believe this! I just walked up to the building and got in through an open window! Fucking morons!" That was their jobs when it came to situations like this. While Naruto infiltrated the building, Haku's was to stay outside. This was so that they could both learn about the guards shift patterns, points of interest, and in case anything else happens. All while Zabuza meets with the client to see if the job was good enough for them.

Back inside, Zabuza was not impressed so far. The guard that ran away had led him down a couple of hallways and up a set of stairs until they reached a set of white double doors with two more guards standing next to it. He had seen more thugs and such standing around the mansion. And the main reason Zabuza was disappointed was because, when the doors opened, a short ugly man sat behind a desk counting stacks of money.

"Who the hell are you?!" the short man demanded to know, unknowingly repeating what the cowering guard had said.

"B-Boss!" the cowering guard said, drawing the smaller mans attention. "T-This guy just came out of nowhere! He killed Ken!"

"Shut up and get out!" the short man shouted, with the cowering guard quickly leaving. Levelling a glare to Zabuza, who thought the look was pathetic, the short man said, "Now let me repeat myself. Who the hell are you?!"

Taking out a scroll, Zabuza tossed it onto the short mans desk. "I'm here for the job you offered," he grunted out, wondering if this was just a waste of time.

Picking up the scroll, the short man opened it and a grin grew on his face. "Oh! Where are my manners?" he said, his attitude changing completely. "If I had known you were here for the job, I'd have made sure you were more welcomed." The short man then got out from behind his desk and walked over until he stood in front of Zabuza, his height only reaching the Demon of the Mists chest. "As I'm sure you already know, my name is Gato, of Gato Company."

He held his hand out to be shaken but Zabuza crossed his arms. He also glared at Gato, showing he was serious. "The job?" he growled out.

"R-Right," Gato said, making his way back to his desk. "I run a very successful shipping company and have connections in most countries. I have been doing this for a few years now and have had no problems until now. The villagers of this island have decided to cause trouble lately and are now threatening my company. I need this to stop." Zabuza didn't say anything, which Gato took as a sign to continue. "My business runs entirely on ships but the fucking villagers have decided to build a bridge to try and stop me! Well, I need that stopped."

"Who is the target?" Zabuza finally asked, not caring for the story.

Opening a drawer, Gato took out a small folder and slid it to the other side of his desk so that Zabuza could look at it. "The target is a man named Tazuna. He's a bridge builder and I need him killed before he returns and finishes that damned bridge. I did send others to deal with Bridge Builder but I haven't heard from them for a couple of days. If they are dead then Tazuna should be returning to the island tomorrow morning."

"Who were the ones you sent?" Zabuza asked as he looked over the file of this Tazuna. Older man with a grey beard, small glasses, and a large pointed hat. Easy enough to spot.

Leaning back in his chair, Gato had to think about it. "What were their names again? Right, they called themselves the Demon Brothers or something."

"Those two?" Zabuza scoffed, knowing of the brothers. He had had run ins with them in the past. "It wouldn't surprise me if they were dead. I hope they are." Taking the paper, Zabuza looked at it. It showed a picture of an older man with glasses. "And the pay?"

"250,000 Ryo. An extra 150,000 if you make an example of him in front of the village. And you will get everything once the job is done."

For a moment, Zabuza thought about it before nodding as he pocketed the picture. "You'll have his head soon enough," he said before turning around and leaving, the guards all quickly moving out of his way.

The smile Gato wore disappeared as it was replaced with a frown. "Cocky bastard!" he spat after the doors were shut.

Walking through the forest, Zabuza eventually stopped and leaned against a tree as Naruto and Haku appeared in front of him. "What did you find?" he asked, wanting to know their opinions.

Haku answered first, taking off her mask. "After you entered, no one left or approached the building. There were no patrols at all and no one guarding from a distance."

"It was embarrassing," Naruto commented as he also took off his mask. "There were more than a dozen ways inside. Everyone inside were either gambling or drinking. They had no idea I was even there and I didn't even sneak. I just walked by a few of them and they didn't look even see me."

"Did you find anything else inside?" Zabuza wanted to know.

Nodding, Naruto pulled out some slips of paper. "Yeah I saw some of the items they were shipping. Mostly drugs and weaponry to be sent to other countries, there were nearly a hundred crates that I saw." He had found shipping manifests and took them, now giving them over to Zabuza for the man to see. "I also saw several safes in the basement. Didn't have time to look inside."

"How many men did Gato have inside?"

"At least 94 and I heard a few of them mention more of them looking around the island. I'd say they have around 150, so a small army."

"That'll keep things interesting if things go wrong or if we get bored." They began walking back to their hideout, taking care to make sure they weren't being followed. As they walked, Zabuza started explaining the job. "Our client is Gato, he owns the shipping industry here and you both know he deals in shady shit. He wants me to kill a bridge builder that's coming back tomorrow morning." He stopped walking, making the two also stop and look at him. "I will deal with the target. Haku, I want you to stay out of sight and only interfere if something goes wrong. Naruto, you deal with anyone else that tries to get in my way."

Both Naruto and Haku nodded. "So, I'm guessing that the bridge builder is building a bridge that's going to threaten Gato's entire operation," Haku surmised, a hand under her chin in thought.

"Got it in one," Zabuza grunted as they reached their hideout. "Gato had sent the Demon Brothers after him but they haven't reported back so it's assumed that they're dead."

"Aw, I wanted to be the one to kill them," Naruto whined while taking a seat at a table, Haku going to their makeshift kitchen to get some drinks. "I had it all planned out so that they would poison each other with that crappy chain gauntlet they both wear."

Putting Kubikiribocho against the wall, Zabuza tossed his student the file of Tazuna that Gato had given him, which just so happened to hit Naruto right in the face. "Read up or don't. Either way, I'm going to get some sleep." Glaring at the swordsman as he left, Naruto muttered something about eyebrow-less bastards before looking at the folder as Haku returned with two drinks in hand.

"I'm sorry."

His body was heavy and it was only getting heavier with each step he took towards her. He couldn't feel anything as he stared at her body, not the tattered remains of the clothes on his back and not the heavy rain pouring down from the skies above. He was surrounded by bodies of both friend and foe alike, but he paid them no mind as he kept walking.

"I'm so sorry," Naruto whispered as he finally reached her body. He collapsed to his knees, having no more strength to stand. She was gone but she still looked as alive as she did this morning. He wanted to wake her up, to see her eyes open and brighten his world as she looked at him and only him. He was desperate to hear her voice whisper his name into his ear and feel her hand flow through his hair.

But he'll never have that chance again.

"She is gone because of you," a dark voice said from behind. Naruto didn't react to the voice but could hear the person get closer and closer, their footsteps getting louder with each slow step. "You let her die just so you could live."

"No," he said with denial clear in his voice.

He felt a breath on his ear but he still couldn't move. It was as if he was frozen and he was forced to stare at what was before him. "Look at her," the person said. "If it wasn't for you, she would still be alive. If she didn't know you, she would still be alive."

"Stop it!" he shouted as he finally spun around. Anger clear in his eyes as his tears fell to the ground. But he stopped when he saw the person, his eyes widening in pure disbelief. "No..." he whispered, not believing what he was seeing.

It was Haku. Her hair, her smile, even her scent was the same. He wanted to smile and hold her close, to forget what he just saw, but something was wrong. Her eyes, they weren't hers. He could recognise those eyes anywhere but it was like looking into the eyes of a stranger. Even her voice was the same as she said "What's wrong? Don't you love me anymore?"

"I never stopped," Naruto said, his voice cracking and his heart aching. His body moved on it's own as he brought Haku into a loving embrace while raising his hand to softly caress her cheek and placing his forehead against hers.

"Then why did you kill me?" she asked with a tilt of her head as blood began to seep from the sides of her mouth. Naruto's eyes widened in a panic and he moved to try and help her but stopped when something felt wrong. Looking down, he gasped in fear and horror when he saw that he was holding a kunai that was stabbed into her stomach. "Why? I loved you and this is what you do to me?"

"No."

"You murdered me. My blood is on your hands."

"NO!"

Haku closed her eyes and fell limp, now dead. Naruto was forced to catch her body and lower her to the ground, still horrified by what just happened. He snapped his eyes up as something moved but, to add to his horror and confusion, there was only a large mirror in front of him. It reflected everything back to him. The ruined buildings, the dead that lay around him, and the girl he loved dead in his arms.

And he also saw his own reflection. The person he saw was him but it also wasn't. He was covered in blood and viscera, both of his eyes were glowing red, and his arms were black from the elbows down with glowing yellow cracks throughout the skin. His image grinned at him as it leaned down to lick some of the blood off of Haku's dead lips.

"You can't fight it," the reflection said, it's mad grin growing with each word it uttered. "This is what's going to happen and there is nothing you can do to stop it!" The mirror shattered, destroying the image. But the copy was now standing where the mirror had stood.

"Why are you doing this?!" Naruto shouted, now finding himself standing opposite his copy.

"YOU KNOW WHY! TO KILL YOU AND ALL THAT YOU LOVE! TO MAKE YOU SUFFER UNTIL YOU BREAK!" His copy grabbed him and brought him close. "BECAUSE I WILL HAVE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE!"

Gasping awake, Naruto panted as he stared at the cave ceiling. He looked around, calming down as he saw he was back in the cave hideout in Wave and that Haku was sleeping next to him as she always did. With a sigh he moved and got out of the bed before leaving, hoping some fresh air will help clear his head. His head throbbed and his left arm ached.

Now outside and dressed only in a pair of black jogging trousers, that he usually slept in, Naruto took a deep breath and let the cool air calm him. That was the ninth time he had had that dream in the past two months and each time it left a terror in his heart. Grasping his bandaged left arm, Naruto seemed to glare at it. "You can't win," he said to the arm, watching as it seemed to shake in response. "I'll make sure you stay where you are so throw all the nightmares you want. Because you can't win."

"You know, talking to yourself like that is a little concerning." Turning, Naruto saw Haku walking towards him with a lovely smile, wearing a blue dressing gown. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just a bad dream that's all."

Standing next to him, Haku leaned against Naruto and he did the same while also wrapping an arm around her. Just her scent alone helped calm him. "It's that nightmare again, isn't it?" Naruto didn't respond, he didn't need to as Haku knew him well. He had told her about that nightmare the first time it happened so she knew what happened in it. "It's just a dream, it doesn't mean anything."

"I know that. It just felt so real," he said with a frown, wishing he could forget it.

Making sure he was looking at her, Haku gave her love a stern look. "You and I both know that you will never let anything like that happen. I know you would rather fight against all of the Biju at the same time than let anything hurt me."

'Damn right,' Naruto thought but he didn't say anything. He knew better than to interrupt Haku when she was talking. She get's a bit stabby when that kind of thing happens.

"So I'm not worried and you shouldn't be either. I love you, Naruto-Kun," Haku said, giving Naruto a loving kiss. Breaking it, she separated from him and walked back into the cave with a sway of her hips. "Now then, are you going to just stand there or are you going to come back to bed with me?"

That was one of the many things Naruto loved about Haku. She knew exactly what to say and do to make him forget all his worries. Naruto's response was to pick Haku up in a bridal carry and make a mad dash to their bed to enjoy the rest of the night.