A/N: He has a cot under his bed. Don’t ask why, it’s AU…. ;;; In any case, enjoy and please review. Oh, and at the beginning Haku’s drunk and slurring. Meaning those typos are intentional I even mention that in the speech description, so don’t say you weren’t warned.). :/

Warning(s): Unbeta’d, alcohol,

Chapter 1: A New Offer

Two months had passed since Haku left Kirigakure on his former master’s orders. He had fallen into a deep depression as he wandered from country to country. Every so often, he would drink sake until he had passed out or the bartender would cut him off. The fact that no hunter-nin were coming after him, even in the middle of the Fire Country, had made him wonder if he was that unrecognizable or if they were otherwise occupied with more important matters.

One day, he had just gone through his third bottle when a much older man with long white hair took a seat next to him. He looked the boy up and down, and apparently he liked what he saw.

“Hey, get this pretty young lady a bottle on me,” he called, pointing a thumb at Haku.

Haku looked at him and managed a weak smile

“Thank you, sssir,” he said, his speech starting to slur a little.

As soon as the bottle had been set down on the countertop, the boy downed its contents within seconds. He requested another once he swallowed the last few drops and licked his lips.

“You sure that’s wise, miss?” the other man asked, pausing after one sip. “You don’t want to get too drunk.”

“Mindur own business ol’ man,” Haku ordered, the alcohol in his system fully affecting his speech now, as he stared down into the fifth bottle in his hands. “I’ll getas drunk asssi wan’. An’ fer the record, I’ma man….”

The old man’s jaw dropped and he began sputtering incoherently, just as a boy slightly younger than the one seated next to him walked in. He was scowling, and the hitae-ate on his forehead showed him association to the Hidden Leaf.

“Hey, Ero-sennin! We’re supposed to be going back to Konoha!” he shouted. “You don’t have time to be getting drunk!”

Haku looked around the old man’s back attempting to find the speaker without falling. The voice was familiar, despite not having heard it in almost three years.

“Na-ruto-kun?” he questioned, his eyes not focusing properly.

The newcomer walked around to get a look at the voice’s owner. Indeed, it was an older Naruto, but his outfit was a little easier on the eyes and he was taller. The younger boy’s eyes widened when he recognized the missing-nin.

“H-Haku?!” he choked out.

Haku nodded with a faint smile. He reached out a hand to place on the Leaf-nin’s shoulder, but he passed out and fell off his barstool before he was even halfway. When he finally came around, Naruto and the old man were both sitting under a tree nearby, talking in low voices. Haku sat up and put a hand to his head. The inevitable hangover….

“So, you’re awake,” Jiraiya stated. “Naruto told me a bit about you while you were out. Does your presence mean we should expect Momochi Zabuza to drop in any minute?”

The Mist-nin pulled his legs to his chest and looked away, tears starting to well up as the old ache in his heart flared up again. He silently cursed himself, having sworn on his first bottle he would never cry over his old master again.

“He won’t come,” he whispered sadly. “He told me to leave when I fulfilled my purpose to him.”

The two men looked at him in confusion, prompting him to explain further.

“He’s Mizukage now,” he continued, forcing away the pain into the darkest reaches of his heart again. “Myself, four others, and… Zabuza-san, we all did it…. After one month, he had full control and ordered me to leave. That happened two months ago. I’ve been wandering the world since then, moving between countries, avoiding hunter-nin, drinking myself unconscious at least once a week.”

Neither spoke, causing Haku to release some of the anguish eating away at him before he could stop it.

“I miss him. I’m lost, a mess, a failure…. I’m nothing without Zabuza-san.”

“Haku…,” Naruto finally spoke up. “You… you’re not…. Hm…. Why don’t you come back with us to Konoha?”

“I couldn’t do that,” he replied, turning grave eyes on the younger ninja. “First, the Hidden Mist and the Hidden Leaf aren’t allies, and I don’t think that’ll change. Second, I’m a missing-nin, and a missing-nin of any village is hunted by the others mainly for the bounty. Last of all, there is nothing for me there. I would’ve been better off hiding in Kiri in disguise.”

“Nonsense kid,” Jiraiya told him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll just go have a little chat with Tsunade and get you a temporary pass to stay in the village.”

“I don’t know,” Haku faltered.

Perhaps his best option was in the Hidden Leaf….

“Everything will be just fine,” Naruto assured him. “Tsunade-baachan is the Hokage. We’ll get her to let you stay.”

Haku raised an eyebrow and smiled weakly.

“Alright then, I’ll take your word for it.”

With that, the group loaded their things up and moved on to Konoha. Though they had started a few hours after sunrise, they didn’t arrive at the main gate until the sun was starting to set. The two men at the guard post greeted Naruto and Jiraiya. However, they were about to stop Haku when Jiraiya waved them off.

“Hold on one minute,” he called out. “Relax, he’s with us, we’re going to see Godaime now.”

They exchanged hesitant looks, but let them pass without further question or action.

Minutes later, the little group was standing outside of Tsunade’s office doors. They could hear voices inside that paused when Jiraiya knocked.

“Enter,” a woman’s voice commanded.

The old ninja pushed the doors open and the two boys followed him in. Haku lurked behind the two Leaf-nin and closed the doors behind them.

“Welcome back,” the same woman said. “It’s been two and a half years since you left.”

“It has been, hasn’t it?” Naruto replied, sounding vaguely amused.

“So, who’s your friend?” another woman asked. “The one trying to hide in the back.”

“Shizune, they’ll make themselves known when they want,” the first woman stated in a bored tone.

“I’m not hiding,” Haku answered, stepping forward. “I just thought it would be best to save my story for last.”

He finally saw the two women who had been speaking, both appearing to be around the same age. They were surveying him with some interest and curiosity. A blonde woman with her in pigtails sat behind a large desk directly in front of them. Standing to her right was a dark-haired woman holding a pig in her arms. Why Naruto had referred to the Hokage as “Tsunade-baachan” he didn’t know. While he was curious, he pushed it aside as there were more important matters on hand.

“You’re not even back for an hour and already you’re throwing surprises at me?” the blonde woman inquired, smirking. “This must be a record Jiraiya. What’s next, a marriage proposal?”

“He’s got quite a story for you, Tsunade, if you’re interested,” Jiraiya told her seriously. “It has to do with the Mizukage, from what I’ve heard.”

“And what’s so important that happened in a rival shinobi country? Have they made a five-kill requirement for any genin wanting to participate in their chuunin exam?” she scoffed.

“Only if you consider a new Mizukage, as well as the deaths of the former one, the Daimyo, and the local feudal lords of the entire Water Country to be trivial,” Haku cut in coolly.

The whole room went dead silent. All eyes turned on him either bearing expressions of surprise or shock.

“Tell me everything that happened,” Tsunade demanded, now looking serious. “I don’t care how long it takes.”

Haku took a deep breath and told the story. He told them who had been involved, who did what, the final assassination, the month it took to gain total control, and finished with his release. Everyone listened and didn’t speak for a few minutes afterward. Finally, Tsunade cleared her throat, sharp eyes studied the Mist-nin carefully as she spoke.

“How long ago was the other Mizukage killed?” she asked slowly.

“Just a little over three months now,” he replied.

“And now the Mizukage is one of the country’s own missing-nin,” she muttered, resting her chin on laced fingers. “With others under his protection too.”

“How on earth could a piece of murderous scum like that gain control of an entire shinobi country?!” Shizune blurted out, turning to face her mistress.

Haku glared at her, eyes flashing dangerously. One hand balled up into a tight fist, while the other moved instinctively to the pouch containing his senbon. Tonton squealed in distress from the younger woman’s arms, sensing the danger.

“Don’t you talk about him like that,” he warned, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. “I may not serve him anymore, but I refuse to let anyone insult Zabuza-san. If you continue, I will take my leave, but not before I-.”

“Haku, calm down,” Naruto interrupted, stepping in front of him and placing a hand on either of the other ninja’s shoulders. “You can’t leave and you can’t do anything to Shizune-san. You know a lot of other people think of him like that. Hell, don’t you remember me calling him an eyebrowless freak?”

The boy’s eyes lost their edge after a moment and his shoulders slumped in defeat. The memories from the last time they had met three years ago in the Wave Country came back in a sudden flood, as if it had only happened the day before. He and Zabuza had barely escaped with their lives after that second fight. He twisted out of Naruto’s grip and turned his back on the others in the room.

“You’re right, I guess I… I have to… let go…,” he said quietly. “Is there somewhere I can stay for the night?”

“Yeah, you’re coming with me,” Naruto told him. “Hey, Tsunade-baachan. If you don’t mind, we’re going.”

“Fine by me,” she replied, waving a hand dismissively at the door.

“But, Tsunade-sama!” Shizune protested.

The Hokage held up a hand to silence her as the two boys walked out without another word. The other pulled open a drawer and a bingo book, released the year before. She flipped through the pages to the Kirigakure missing-nin. After scrolling through the S-ranks and half the A-ranks, she pointed silently to the picture and entry below Momochi Zabuza and above the collective entry for the Demon Brothers, Meizu and Gouzu. Haku’s smiling face stared up from the page with a small list for why he was wanted and speculative and known skills. Shizune’s eyes widened in horror.

“By the looks of his entry, we’re lucky he isn’t here on the new Mizukage’s orders,” Tsunade commented darkly.

“Who’s to say he isn’t?” Shizune argued. “By the looks of it, he’s able to do a good impersonation of a hunter ninja.”

“When Naruto and I came across him, he was in pretty bad shape,” Jiraiya put in. “That entry basically has him pinned as a weapon that anyone would want. Unwavering loyalty, highly observant, a sharp mind, even a kekkei genkai, and able to kill all his opponents even in tough conditions as well as outnumbered. But when we found him, he was in pretty rough shape. He was just drinking, probably had a few before I came in, and it looked like it wasn’t the first time he had drank himself to a point of passing out either.”

“I guess we don’t have much choice except to see what he does while he’s here,” Tsunade said, bowing her head.

“Hehehe, sorry about all this,” Naruto apologized, grinning sheepishly. “I’ve been out of the village training with Ero-sennin for the last two and half years.” Haku merely nodded and walked around the apartment and familiarized himself with the kitchen, the bathroom, and the bedroom. He heard a scraping noise coming from the bedroom and upon investigation, he found the younger ninja hauling out a cot from under his own bed. Once it was out, he looked up.

“Can’t have you sleeping on the floor, right?” Naruto asked.

Haku smiled and began straightening out the blankets and pillow, shaking out the dust as he did so.

“I’m a bit tired so I think I’ll sleep now,” he told his host.

“Ah, that’s fine,” Naruto answered. “You go ahead and sleep.”

Without another word, Haku buried himself under the blankets and fell asleep in no time. Grinning a little, Naruto yawned and stretched. He brushed away the dust (away from Haku) and collapsed on his own bed. He stared up at the ceiling, running over the missing-nin’s story in his mind. It still shocked him, but he put it from his thoughts, and soon enough he was sleeping too.