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The familiar, towering gates of Konohagakure came into view just as the afternoon sun began its slow descent. Aside from Alaric sharing about the upcoming Chunin Exams and the details of some interesting Genin that would take it, the journey back from the Land of Hot Water had been a quiet, contemplative affair.
Haku, with the heavy weight of the mission's success and its grim realities settling on his shoulders, had said little. Alaric, for his part, seemed content to let the silence hang, puffing away on one of his expensive cigars as they traveled.
As they passed through the checkpoint, a simple nod from Alaric was enough to satisfy the gate guards, who recognized him from his previous visit. Once inside the village walls, Haku paused, unsealing a scroll from a pouch at his waist. He handed it to Alaric, his expression was of relief since they're now within the village.
"Sensei, the proof of the mission's completion."
"Good work, Haku," he said, his voice was calm and steady as he took the scroll. "You did well."
He then immediately sealed the scroll into his tattoo before Haku could reply. He nodded towards the residential district. "Go get some rest. Zabuza's probably wondering where you are."
Haku bowed his head slightly and, without another word, vanished in a flicker of movement, his form was a grey blur as he headed towards the small house the Hokage had provided for them.
The house was a modest, but clean, two-story dwelling tucked away in a quiet part of the village. As Haku slid the front door open and stepped inside, he found Zabuza exactly where he expected him to be… sprawled out on the couch in the main living area, a newspaper held loosely in one hand, his massive Kubikiribōchō leaning against the wall nearby.
Zabuza looked up from the paper, his sharp eyes taking in Haku's travel-worn appearance. He raised a single, thick eyebrow. "Oh? How was the mission?"
"I learned a lot," Haku said, a faint, tired smile on his face. He walked past the living area and into the small kitchen, sliding open the door of the icebox. "Alaric-sensei granted me full autonomy in clearing it."
'Full autonomy?' Zabuza's eyes widened slightly at that, but he said nothing, just grunted in acknowledgment before returning his attention to the newspaper. He knew, with an absolute certainty, that they were being watched. He could feel the faint, almost imperceptible chakra signature of the ANBU operative stationed on the roof across the street.
"You didn't cook?" Haku's sighed as he saw the empty icebox. He stood up and turned towards Zabuza. "I'm going to eat out. You wanna come?"
Zabuza just stared at him for a moment before shaking his head, the newspaper rustling as he adjusted his grip. "You go ahead. I just finished eating."
Haku didn't press. He slid the kitchen door shut and walked back to the entrance, tapping the small, surprisingly heavy wallet Alaric had given him. Before their mission, his sensei had handed it to him, calling it a "student allowance." Ten thousand Ryo. He still couldn't quite wrap his head around it.
'What should I get... Ichiraku Ramen? Akimichi Barbecue? Some expensive restaurant?' he thought, a small, genuine giggle escaping his lips at the simple, wonderful prospect of a delicious meal he could pay for himself.
He slid the front door closed behind him and turned the corner of the quiet street. The cheerful thought of food was instantly chased away by a scene of ugly confrontation.
A boy, his face painted with purple markings and his clothes a strange, black, full-body suit, was holding a much smaller child off the ground by the front of his blue scarf. The child, who wore a pair of distinctive blue-green goggles, was kicking his legs uselessly, his face turning a dusky shade of red.
Haku's brow rose at the sight. He recognized the two girls standing nearby from Alaric's descriptions… a blonde from Sunagakure, looking annoyed, and the pink-haired girl from Team 7, looking frantic. And then there was the loud one, Naruto, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated rage.
"Put him down, Kankuro, or you know you'll pay for it later," the blonde Suna-nin, Temari, said, her voice sharp with warning.
"Hey, I'm sorry," Sakura clasped her hands together apologetically. "The whole thing was my fault."
"You better take your hands off him, right now!" Naruto burst out, his fists clenched at his sides.
'So these are Konoha's Genin,' Kankuro thought, a cruel grin spreading across his painted face. "Temari, we got a few minutes before he gets here. Let's mess with these punks, huh?"
"Ughhh... ughhh..." The child, Konohamaru, managed to land a few desperate, ineffective kicks against Kankuro's stomach. "Let go of me, you jerk!"
"You're feisty," Kankuro commented playfully. "~But not for long."
Just as he finished his sentence, his eyes widened. A figure was suddenly standing beside him, a silent, grey-clad presence that hadn't been there a second before. He was about to say something, but a blur of motion was the last thing he saw.
PAH!
The sound was sharp, clean, and sickeningly loud. Kankuro's head snapped to the side with brutal force, a spray of saliva flying from his mouth. He stumbled back, his grip on Konohamaru loosening as he collapsed to the ground, his jaw hanging at an unnatural, dislocated angle.
"Suna-nin messing with a civilian inside Konoha?" Haku's voice was a blade of ice in the stunned silence. He looked from the groaning Kankuro to the shocked blonde girl. "You know that basically means you're asking for war, don't you?"
The speed of it had been impossible. One moment, Kankuro was holding the boy, the next he was on the ground, his jaw broken. No one had seen Haku move.
"H-Huh!?" Temari's eyes widened in disbelief. "W-Who are you!?"
Haku just stood there, his cold, dark eyes fixed on her before he let out a soft, condescending chuckle. "On what grounds are you to question my identity in a village that isn't yours?"
Naruto and Sakura stared, their own shock giving way to a dawning recognition. The clothes, the build, the impossible speed… it was the hunter-nin from the Land of Wave.
Haku began to walk slowly towards Temari, his steps were silent and deliberate. She instinctively took a step back, her hand flying to the massive fan on her back, her bravado completely gone.
"I-I'm not involved in any of this, okay?" Temari stammered, holding up her hands. "I even told my brother to stop."
Haku stopped, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. He sighed, then turned his head, his gaze fixing on a large tree nearby. "Why don't you two come down?"
Sasuke, who had been perched on a thick branch, his expression one of cool detachment, froze. He had been completely hidden. And he hadn't been alone.
"Especially you," Haku's voice was a quiet command, his finger pointing to a different branch, where a red-haired boy with a massive gourd on his back was hanging upside down, his arms crossed. "If you don't come down in three seconds, I'll report your team for harming the Hokage's grandson."
The effect was instantaneous. Everyone, save for Naruto, gasped. The Hokage's grandson? The red-haired boy's eyes, a chilling sea-foam green, widened in alarm. In less than a second, both he and Sasuke had dropped silently to the ground.
"Now," Haku said, a low rumble from his stomach reminding him of his original mission. He turned and started walking away, the confrontation already forgotten. "I hope this issue's resolved. Bye."
"..." "..."
"Huh?" Naruto was left utterly flabbergasted, watching Haku's retreating back. "Wasn't he..."
Sasuke and Sakura nodded, their own minds reeling. "Yes," Sasuke gritted out, a flicker of something almost like frustration in his eyes. "He was that hunter-nin..."
"...but why does he have a Konoha headband?" Sakura murmured, before rushing over to the small boy who was now being mobbed by his two friends. "Ah! are you okay, Konohamaru?"
"..." Konohamaru, however, wasn't listening. His eyes were sparkling, fixed on the spot where Haku had disappeared. "W-Who was he? He's so cool!" He then spun around, glaring at Naruto. "Why aren't you that cool!?"
Naruto just sighed, scratching the back of his head. He had no answer for that. "Now that I think about it, was he a boy or a girl?"
"…"
"…"
No one could reply.
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