The Harem of Uzumaki Naruto

Disclaimer: The author lays no claim to any characters, plots, or settings from Masashi Kishimoto's work Naruto. This work is purely for entertainment purposes.

Author's Note: There will be a genderbent character-Haku-in this story. I don't know if I'll have any more.

I will be using some Japanese suffixes, terms of address and titles. Also, I will be using the original technique names with their English translation in parentheses. In addition, I will be using the original place names like 'Konohagakure' and 'Konohagakure no Sato' because I think they sound nicer than saying 'The Leaf Village' or 'The Village Hidden in the Leaves.'

Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this story.

Italics: Thoughts

Bold: Technique Names (English Translation)

Chapter One: A Demon of a Matchmaker

A young woman wearing a pink kimono and carrying a basket was walking through the forests of Nami no Kuni while humming to herself. She had long black hair that went to her waist, skin as white as snow and chocolate brown eyes that could warm the coldest heart. Ironic, given what her clan is-was-famous for. For this woman was none other than Yuki Haku, last surviving member of the famed Yuki clan of Kirigakure no Sato and accomplice of the infamous and fearsome Kirigakure no Kijin, Momochi Zabuza.

"Though Zabuza-sama is about as fearsome as a wet noodle right now," Haku frowned at the thought. Zabuza had been injured during his battle with the Konoha shinobi.

"Hatake Kakashi." Haku unconsciously tightened her grip on her basket. Oh Haku knew who he was. Zabuza-sama had drilled into her head the who's who of Shinobi from the Big Five, as well as a couple of nukenin that they were to avoid at all costs.

Haku mentally ran over Kakashi's Bingo Book information; "Hatake Kakashi aka Sharingan no Kakashi and the Kopi Ninja. Member of Konoha's shinobi forces: Jonin rank. Rumored to have copied over a thousand jutsu. Son of Konoha's Shiroi Kiba, Hatake Sakumo, and student of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. Skilled in all three disciplines but with a specialization in ninjutsu. A-Rank threat, proceed with caution."

"If it had just been Kakashi," Haku bit her lip, "Then Zabuza-sama and I could have taken him. But the Bingo book made no mention of him having a squad of Genin."

Hatake Kakashi's squad of Genin consisted of a girl with long bubblegum pink hair wearing a red cheongsam dress; a boy with raven hair styled like the backend of a duck, wearing a high collared blue shirt with white shorts; and a boy with spiky bright blonde hair wearing an obnoxiously orange jumpsuit. Kakashi himself sported spiky gray hair and was wearing a green flak jacket with a long-sleeve black shirt and black pants.

From Haku's vantage point up in the trees, those three seemed like your typical wet-behind-the-ears Genin who would have folded the second their Sensei was captured. And when Zabuza-sama had trapped Kakashi with his Suirō no Jutsu(Water Prison Technique), that's what she thought was going to happen. But those Genin, specifically the two boys, and especially the blonde one, surprised her.

The blonde had charged at Zabuza-sama's Mizu Bunshin (Water-clone) and had received a foot to his guts for his efforts. He was kicked so hard that his hiate was unraveled from his head and separated from its owner, landing on the ground where the water-clone stepped on it.

Haku thought that surely the blonde would have seen how outmatched he was and run, and for a moment it looked like he would. But then he charged the clone again and the same result occurred-what was that saying about insanity? Yet he got up again, somehow recovering his hiate from underneath the clone's foot.

"He's determined, I'll give him that much," Haku thought as she watched the blonde struggle to his feet and tie his hiate back around his forehead. "But Zabuza-sama only has so much patience. If the blonde charges again, Zabuza-sama will kill him." The blonde charged a third time, but this time it was different. He had summoned clones, but not just any type of clones; solid clones.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow-clone technique)? How does a Genin have the chakra to use Kage Bunshin? And so many too?" Haku watched with wide eyes as the blonde and a dozen shadow-clones charged Zabuza-sama's water-clone with kunai drawn. They all pounced upon the water-clone, seeking to skewer it. Yet even with only a tenth of the original's strength, the water-clone dispelled the shadow-clones with a single swing of its Kubikiribōchō and sent the original flying backwards.

"Even with more of him the result was still the same." Haku relaxed slightly on her perch. The blonde had surprised her with his knowledge of Kage Bunshin, but even then his efforts were for naught. She didn't imagine that the blonde had any more tricks up his sleeve. A thought that she and, unknown to her at the time, many others in the future would have about the blonde; only for all of them to be proven wrong.

Haku watched the real blonde rummage through his backpack as he was being launched backwards. He found what he was looking for and tossed it to his raven haired teammate; it was a collapsed windmill shuriken. The raven haired boy unfolded the shuriken, leapt into the air and threw it towards the water-clone.

"A windmill shuriken? How do they expect to use that to defeat the clone?" Haku was confused, until she watched the shuriken curve around the clone and towards the boy's true target; the real Zabuza that was standing on the lake and maintaining his water-prison around Kakashi.

"Clever," she complimented the Genin. "Go for the caster and you disrupt the technique. However," Haku grinned behind her Oinin mask as she watched Zabuza catch the shuriken in his free hand, "Zabuza-sama wasn't one of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shu for nothing. It will take more than that to defeat him."

And even when a second windmill shuriken appeared from the shadow of the first one-the second shuriken going for Zabuza's legs-Haku was not worried. She was confident that her Zabuza-sama would prevail. Her confidence was confirmed as she watched Zabuza-sama hop over the second shuriken, all the while maintaining his control over his water-prison technique.

"A good plan and a valiant effort, but there's a reason Zabuza-sama is in the Bingo book and these Genin are not." Haku felt a surge of pride in her master at that moment, as she watched the, surprisingly, skilled Genin's last, desperate attempt shoot underneath and behind Zabuza. A surge of pride which was quickly replaced by shock when that second shuriken exploded in a puff of white smoke to reveal the blonde Genin with a kunai in his hand. A kunai he proceeded to throw at Zabuza's head.

"How?" Haku watched, dumbfounded, as the kunai raced towards Zabuza's head, her mind trying to explain what she just saw. "Kawarimi no Jutsu (Replacement technique)? No, he was too far away and the shuriken was moving too fast." Haku absently noted that Zabuza had chosen to release Kakashi rather than have a kunai buried in his forehead, though Zabuza did suffer a cut to his cheek as he dodged the kunai.

"How did he do it?" Haku mulled over the possibilities as she leapt to a tree closer to the shoreline, making sure she kept a close eye on Zabuza's fight with Kakashi; a fight Zabuza was losing. "He was too far to replace himself and as far as I know there is no bloodline that allows you to teleport." Haku focused on the blonde boy who was treading water as both Jonin cast the Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Dragon Missile Technique), using their chakra to shape the lake water into towering, snakelike dragons which they launched at one another.

"Since the boy is treading water it's safe to assume that he doesn't know waterwalking, which rules out the chakra control needed for summoning." Haku narrowed her eyes, the answer was on the tip of her tongue, but it was absurd. As absurd as Zabuza-sama, a former Kiri nin, struggling against Kakashi, a Konaha nin, in a duel of water-techniques. And yet, as the two dragons crashed and exploded into a shower of water-a sign that both men were equally skilled-there was only one answer.

"The only other technique that generates white smoke is when a person dispels a Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique). But to Henge yourself and allow your teammate to throw you at an enemy is simply…" Haku's eyes widened as she muttered, "Insane. This boy, a Genin, let his teammate throw him at Zabuza-sama!"

Haku looked upon the blonde boy in awe, and a slight amount of admiration. "He directly put himself in harm's way, all to save his Sensei." Haku was so lost in her thoughts that she was nearly swept up by the great deluge of water from Kakashi's Daibakufu no Jutsu (Great Waterfall Technique). Thankfully for herself, and Zabuza-sama, she was able to avoid the devastating technique.

She tree-hopped from the edge of the lake to where Zabuza-sama was blasted to. She arrived just in time to stop Kakashi from finishing Zabuza-sama with a kunai by throwing her senbon through Zabuza's neck and placing him in a near death state.

Kakashi checked the body on the ground for a pulse, and though Haku was confident that he would find none-it wasn't the first time she had had to "kill" Zabuza-sama in such a fashion-today had been a day full of surprises, so she decided to fill the dead-air and hopefully distract the Konoha Jonin from looking closer at the "corpse."

"Thank you for your help," she said in a monotone that helped her voice sound androgynous. "I hope you don't mind my interference, but I really wanted the honor of taking down one of Kiri's more infamous sons."

Kakashi looked up towards Haku with narrowed eyes. "Your mask…correct me if I'm wrong but that's an Oinin mask from Kirigakure, you were hunting Zabuza?"

Haku nodded. "Yes. Our corps had heard rumors that Zabuza had been operating around these parts, so I was sent to investigate and if given the opportunity; terminate." Haku absently noted that the female Genin shivered when she said "terminate."

Kakashi let out a "Hmm" in response. Though he looked relaxed, Haku could see that his body was still coiled like a spring, ready to strike at the slightest threat. "I thought Kiri was still in the midst of a civil war," Kakashi began casually, "Why would the Mizukage send out Oinin, especially one as talented as you appear to be, after a man like Zabuza?"

"Thank you for the compliment, Hatake Kakashi-san." Haku gave a minor bow. "It means much coming from a man of your stature. As for why Yondaime-sama sent me after Momochi Zabuza, I was sent for what he bears." Haku gestured towards Zabuza's blade that was strapped to his back.

"Ah, Kubikiribōchō," Kakashi said, sounding slightly sheepish. "That is a good reason to hunt down Zabuza. But what if Konoha wanted to take possession of the blade?" Kakashi asked with steel in his tone.

"Oh?" Haku's eyes narrowed into slits behind her mask. "How dare he think of taking Zabuza-sama's blade!" She was tempted to throw her senbon through Kakashi's damnable Sharingan, but a confrontation with Hatake Kakashi-even an exhausted one-would waste time. Precious time. Time needed to remove the senbon from Zabuza-sama's neck before any permanent damage could occur. Thankfully, her reprieve came in the form of a waterlogged Genin wearing orange.

"What's going on here?!" The blonde shouted as he pointed an accusing finger at her. "Who are you?!"

"Relax, Naruto," Kakashi sighed as he stood up from next to Zabuza's body and walked over to the yelling blonde. "He's not an enemy."

"That's not what I asked—! I mean…what I mean is—he killed Zabuza…who wasn't a pushover…but he still got taken out by a guy who's only about my age! Like it was nothing! What, do we suck or something? What's up with that?" Naruto finished his rant. Haku could tell by his tone of voice that he was still hyped up on adrenaline.

"Maa, maa, Naruto," Kakashi ruffled his ragged, ruffian student's hair. "I can see how frustrating it can be to see someone as young as you who happens to be stronger than me."

Haku doesn't know why she said it, but she decided to offer the blonde some encouragement and compliment him on his efforts; "Do not be so down, Genin-san. I watched your battle with Zabuza and saw how your actions were instrumental in defeating him. Not many shinobi would allow themselves to be thrown at a superior opponent, let alone volunteer to do so."

Naruto blushed and scratched his right cheek with his index finger. He didn't know what to say. It was rare when someone complimented him. Hell, he could count on both hands with digits to spare how many people gave him a genuine compliment. Still, Hokage-Jiji had taught him to always thank people for saying nice things. "Ah, well I had to do something to save Kakashi-sensei, and that was the best thing I could come up with." Naruto gave Haku a foxy grin. "Thanks, Oinin-san."

Haku couldn't help but let out a giggle that she tried to hide behind her hand; she thought Naruto looked cute with his whisker marks and blush. "Don't mention it, Genin-san. Though I might suggest you learn waterwalking before going up against an opponent like Zabuza again."

Kakashi let out a groan at that statement and muttered under his breath; "Waterwalking, chakra control; how did I forget to teach them chakra control?!"

"As fun as this has been I really must be going," Haku said as she used the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) to disappear in a swirl of leaves from up on her branch to appear next to Zabuza's "corpse" in an instant.

"Ah, you're going to take care of the corpse?" Naruto asked.

Haku nodded. Though Naruto's question, or rather the knowledge needed to ask said question, surprised Kakashi.

"Naruto," Kakashi got Naruto's attention, "How do you know that he was going to get rid of the corpse? In fact, how did you even recognize him as an Oinin?"

"Oh, that's easy, Kakashi-sensei. When I was younger I would hangout from time to time in Hokage-Jiji's office and sometimes members from Anbu or the Oinin Butai would stop by to report. I asked Jiji who the guys in the funny masks were and he told me." Naruto explained to his sensei as if he was explaining the weather.

"I see." Kakashi sweatdropped. Sometimes he forgot how close his student was to Sandaime-sama.

"Although," Naruto rubbed his chin and squinted his eyes into slits, "I thought the rule for Oinin was to destroy the body where it dropped?"

"That is the rule, but every rule, like every law, has some exceptions. Like when an Oinin is surrounded by potentially dangerous shinobi who have something to gain from the corpse like information or," Haku looked towards Kakashi, "Something he possesses."

Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and gave Haku his patented 'eye-smile.' "Message received. Say goodbye to the Oinin, Naruto."

"Goodbye Oinin-san! Thank you for the compliment, and the advice. I'll ask Kakashi-sensei to teach us waterwalking later." Naruto flashed her his patented foxy grin as he waved her goodbye.

Kakashi's shoulders slumped, though whether it was due to his current exhaustion or his future mental exhaustion of having to deal with a hyperactive Naruto pestering him for training was up for debate.

Haku placed her hand on Zabuza's chest and body-flickered away.

Haku paused, her brown eyes flicking to her left, catching something out of the ordinary. A tree nearby had been scored with notches leading up to its top. The notches looked like they had been made by a kunai.

"Why would somebody…tree-walking exercise? What other ninja…" Haku's eyes widened. "The only ninja I can think of that would be doing the tree-walking exercise are those Genin, meaning…Zabuza was outsmarted by a Genin who couldn't even tree walk!" The laughter that bubbled forth from Haku after that realization filled the forest.

It took a few minutes for her laughter to die down, but even then a few giggles still escaped her lips. She took a deep breath, to calm herself, then refocused on the tree. "Whoever was using this tree has made tremendous progress for only a few days," she thought as she ran her fingers over its rough bark. "I wonder, was it Naruto or his raven haired teammate that did this? Though I know which one Zabuza-sama would prefer it to be." Haku released a sigh at her last thought, because it reminded her of the conversation that she had with Zabuza-sama shortly after departing from the Konoha shinobi.

She had carried her Zabuza-sama's body about two-miles away to a clearing where she took Kubikiribōchō from his back and stabbed it into the dirt. She then laid out his body flat on its back on the ground.

Haku knelt down next to Zabuza and traced her fingers across the two senbon in his neck. "First," she murmured, taking out a scroll from within her kimono sash and rolling it open on the ground, "I'll cut off his bandages." Haku picked up a pair of scissors from the scroll and brought them towards Zabuza's neck bandages…

Only for Zabuza's hand to shoot forward and clamp down on Haku's hand. "No need, Haku. I'll do it myself." Zabuza groaned as he sat up and yanked one of the senbon from his neck with a wet spurt.

"Be careful, Zabuza-sama," Haku warned, "If you remove those in any other way you really will kill yourself."

"You're a sadist, Haku," Zabuza rasped, as he removed the other senbon. "Always the neck with you. I pity your future boyfriend."

"Zabuza-sama!" Haku whined as she waved her arms up and down. "Don't tease me!"

"You're gonna need one if you want to revive your clan," Zabuza chuckled as he laid back on the ground, letting out a groan dripping with exhaustion as he did so. He looked up at Haku. "Take off your mask, Haku. The thing makes you look ghoulish."

"This ghoulish mask," Haku teased as she took off the mask, revealing her soft face and chocolate brown eyes, "Has helped save your life on numerous occasions."

Zabuza rolled his eyes, deciding to let the comment go. "What happened after you skewered me?"

"Zabuza-sama," Haku pouted at his phrasing. Skewer was such a violent word. "I spoke with Hatake."

"And?" Zabuza raised his non-existent eyebrow.

"He asked why I was here when Kiri is still in the midst of its civil war and I told him that I was ordered by Yagura to see if I could recover your blade."

Zabuza grunted. "Good answer. Probably even true to some extent. Though I don't imagine that a man like Sharingan no Kakashi would let a comment like that go."

Haku shook her head, causing the two bangs that framed her face to tickle her cheeks. "He did not. He asked, ``What if Konoha wanted to take possession of the blade?"

Zabuza scowled, as his right arm unconsciously drifted towards his sword. "Your response?"

"I didn't have a chance to," Haku told Zabuza. "We were interrupted by the blonde Genin, Naruto I think his name was. He came storming up and started pointing and yelling at me for coming in at the last second. I believe that he was still coming down from the adrenaline."

"That gaki, I can't believe he tricked me." Zabuza sneered, his version of a pout. "He used a Henge to turn himself into a windmill shuriken and had his teammate throw HIM at ME!" Zabuza finished, sounding incredulous. He turned to the side and muttered, "Still, the plan took guts. I'll give the kid that much. Uzumaki Naruto…I thought Uzumakis all had red hair?"

"What was that Zabuza-sama?" Haku asked as she finished rolling up her scroll and placing it back in her sash.

Zabuza turned back to Haku. "It's nothing; what else happened?"

"After Naruto-san interrupted me, Kakashi went to console his student and I gave Naruto a compliment for his efforts against you." Haku giggled as she recalled the boy's blush after her compliment. The boy must not be used to receiving praise. She wondered, "Are those whiskers real?"

"Ugh, Sadist Haku, the wound's still fresh." Zabuza covered his eyes with his forearm. "How will my pride ever recover?"

"There, there," Haku patted Zabuza's shoulder, "I'm sure you'll get another chance for payback once you recover."

"Speaking of," Zabuza removed his forearm from his eyes. "How long is it going to take me to recover?"

"Two weeks, barring any complications."

Zabuza frowned behind his bandages. "Two weeks? Any way to speed up my recovery?"

Haku's lips quirked. "I recall seeing a couple of nice healing herbs in one of the nearby forests. They'll help speed up your recovery by a few days. Although," Haku narrowed her eyes at Zabuza like a mother who knew that their child was going to misbehave, "If I get those herbs then you can't do anything strenuous for the rest of your convalescence. Otherwise their healing properties will become poisonous."

"Hmm," Zabuza closed his eyes and mulled it over. "If we wait too long the chances of a real Kiri Oinin showing up for my sword increases, or heavens forbid, another one of the Seven showing up. I'd rather hand it over to Konoha shinobi than have it in Yagura's slimy hands. Though I don't trust the midget, Gato, as far as I can throw him. I've seen the way he leers at Haku. And who knows if he'll try anything when I'm recovering. Hmm, can I risk that?"

Zabuza turned to Haku; "I'll make my decision when we return back to base. Anything else worth mentioning from your conversation with Hatake and the Gaki?"

"Hmm," Haku tapped her chin with her index finger, thinking. "The 'Gaki,' Naruto, he did make reference to spending time around the Hokage when he was younger." Haku laughed as she recalled what he called the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen-the current Kami no Shinobi; "He referred to him as 'Hokage-Jiji."

Zabuza narrowed his eyes at that bit of information. "Interesting. The boy could prove useful if he's that close to the Hokage." Zabuza was piecing together a plan in his head. If the boy is close to the Hokage then he could be a valuable hostage, or maybe…

"Haku, how old did you think the Gaki was?"

"Around thirteen," Haku answered, sounding confused by the question.

"About two years younger than you then?"

"Yes…" Haku narrowed her eyes. She didn't know why he was asking, but she had a feeling she wouldn't like where this conversation was going.

"And what did you think of him?" Zabuza asked, trying to sound casual.

"At first glance? Not much. Though he did surprise me when he used Kage Bunshin (Shadow-clones), and his plan to save Kakashi was as brave as it was insane."

"Yes." Zabuza nodded in agreement. "He shows great potential. And what did you think of him…physically?"

"…he was a bit on the short side." Haku really didn't like where this conversation was going.

Zabuza scoffed, "I'm sure he'll grow a bit. He just started puberty. In fact, it wasn't until I was around fifteen when I star-"

"…Zabuza-sama," Haku interrupted Zabuza and gave him a saccharine smile. The temperature began to drop as Haku's killing intent was rising. "What are you planning?"

Zabuza repressed a shudder. Sometimes Haku was scarier to him than Kisame, and that man fed people to his sword! But he soldiered on; "Well, Haku, as your guardian, I only want what's best for you and I feel like it would be best if you went out and met somebody. In other words, I think it's time you got yourself a boyfriend!"

Though she couldn't see it, Haku was sure Zabuza-sama's shark-like teeth were on full display in a full grin underneath his bandages.

A resounding slap echoed throughout the forest and sent birds fleeing from their nests and to the skies.

Haku left the scored tree and walked a bit farther; the clearing with the medicinal herbs was just a couple of minutes away from there.

The herbs would speed up Zabuza's recovery by converting his chakra to medical chakra, ensuring that his wounds would heal at a rapid pace. However, medical chakra requires the greatest of control, like a surgeon performing open-heart surgery, one slip up and you nick an artery and the patient bleeds to death. The same can be said for using medical ninjutsu; should you surge your chakra and break that delicate balance you risk crippling or killing your patients. Therefore, it's imperative that Zabuza-sama not be subject to any battle for a week after administration of the herbs, otherwise…

Haku smacked both her cheeks to get rid of the negative thoughts. "Zabuza-sama will be fine. He'll recover before Gatō's deadline." Haku snarled, "Gatō, that slime."

It was a day after their confrontation with Kakashi and his squad and Haku was still giving Zabuza-sama the cold shoulder. "How dare he!" She thought as she furiously chopped up some carrots to put into a soup, her knife slightly biting into the cutting board. "I am not some whore who will sell herself for protection!"

She had no idea as to why Zabuza-sama had thought this was a good idea. "No," she muttered to herself as she scraped the carrots into the pot, "I know his reasons." Zabuza-sama had explained that if they could get the blonde on their side then they could petition the Hokage for sanctuary.

Haku stirred the soup, listlessly staring into its brown liquid. "It's actually not that bad of a plan. Konoha is known for its love of bloodlines, as well as being the strongest of the Big Five. However," Haku frowned as she reached her hand into the neck of her blue kimono and pulled out a necklace; the necklace was on a black cord and attached to it was a silver snowflake embedded with a single diamond in its center; the necklace was the last thing she had from her mother. "Kaa-san told me to marry for love."

"Oi, Zabuza! What's this I hear about you being laid out? Was an old-bridge builder too much for the scary Demon of the Mist?" A slimy and, unfortunately, familiar voice broke Haku out of her memories. Haku left the kitchen to see that

Gatō and his two bodyguards-Waraji and Zōri-had stopped by and were in Zabuza-sama's bedroom.

Gatō was a short man with shaggy receding white hair that fell down to his back and a thin handlebar mustache of the same color. He preferred to wear dark colored business suits with a pair of circular black shades. "So, Demon,"

Gatō said with an eye roll, his voice dripping with derision, "What kept you from finishing the job? The old man hit you with his cane?"

Zabuza laid in his bed. Silent. The sheets pulled up to his neck.

Waraji let out a bark of laughter, "Yeah was the old man too much for ya? I always thought that you were compensating for something with that sword of yours." Waraji was a brown skinned man with an eye patch covering his right eye who sported a goatee and preferred to have his hair up in a topknot. He was shirtless and wore white pants.

"Shinobi," Zōri spat the word, "Always think they're better than us cause they got that chuckra crap. Boss could have paid us half and we would've gotten the job done." Zōri was a light skinned man with blueish-white hair who wore a blue jacket with black pants and a purple beanie. He also had two tattoos on his face that went from below the center of each eye to the center of each cheek.

Gatō nodded. "That's right I could have had my boys here do your job for half the price. So," Gatō approached Zabuza's bed, "What gives? I paid you good money and here you are lying in bed wasting it!"

"The bridge builder," Zabuza began, "Hired Shinobi…"

"And, so what?!" Gatō yelled, interrupting Zabuza. "What do you care about some random…"

Zabuza flexed his killing intent, a purple aura gathering around his body. Gatō's bodyguards reflexively grabbed the katanas strapped to their waists and took a step back. Gatō quickly shut up.

Zabuza glared at Gatō to keep him quiet. "As I was saying, the bridge builder hired shinobi. One of whom was Hatake Kakashi."

Gatō paled. He knew who Kakashi was. When Gatō was a more…reputable businessman, he had thought about hiring the strongest shinobi from the strongest village to do a mission for him. When he asked the Hokage, the old geezer told him that their best shinobi, Hatake Kakashi, was very expensive, meaning he was very dangerous.

Zabuza continued. "Therefore, you'll now be paying triple my rate."

"What?!" Gatō bellowed, forgetting his fear for a moment as he reached out to pull back Zabuza's bed sheet. "That's highway robbery!"

As Gatō's hand was about to grasp the sheet Haku decided to intervene. She grabbed the miniscule mogul's wrist with enough force to break it and declared in a chilling tone; "You will not touch Zabuza-sama."

Gatō screamed out in pain. "You bitch!"

Seeing their boss being attacked spurred the two bodyguards into action. Yet before they could take a single step, Haku had disappeared in a burst of speed and reappeared between the two of them; in her hands were their swords, drawn from their sheaths and resting at their throats. Zōri and Waraji had the same thought, "Fast/Fast."

"Haku, release them." Zabuza ordered.

Haku nodded. Releasing the two bodyguards she disappeared in another burst of speed and reappeared by Zabuza's bedside.

"Gatō," Zabuza started, making sure that the midget, who was still holding his broken wrist, was paying attention before he continued. When Gatō looked up from where he was kneeling on the floor, Zabuza knew he had succeeded; "You'll pay me triple."

"Fine," Gatō spat, as he threw a glare towards Haku. "Triple. But you'll do it in two weeks."

Zabuza glanced towards Haku, the unasked question obvious; "Can I be up before that?" Haku gave Zabuza a slight nod.

"Agreed, Gatō. Two weeks. Now leave, I've got plans to make."

Gatō left the hideout with his two bodyguards, a look of apoplectic rage on his face.

"I had it handled, Haku." Zabuza moved the sheet to show that he had a kunai in his left hand.

"I know, Zabuza-sama." Haku clasped her hands in front of her waist. "Though I didn't want that slime to touch you."

Zabuza repressed a sigh. Sometimes Haku's devotion was a bit excessive. "You'll have to get used to it, Haku. Our current way of life will have us dealing with slime like Gatō on a daily basis."

Haku groaned and face-palmed. Zabuza-sama wasn't as sly as he thought he was. "Fine, Zabuza-sama, I'll think about your plan. Think. About. It. And that's all I'll promise you."

If Zabuza could he would have done a little jig. Sadly, his injuries prevented him from doing so. So he settled for a bright grin hidden by his bandages. "That's all I ask, Haku. And who knows, maybe it was destiny that we met the Gaki. Now I want you to head out tomorrow and get the herbs. I feel like I'll need to be at my best soon."

"As you wish, Zabuza-sama." Haku bowed.

"And Haku, I smell the soup burning."

As Haku entered the clearing where the herbs lay a breeze washed across her face, carrying with it the soft scent of mint mixed with jasmine-the distinctive scent of the medicinal herbs-but it also carried with it the smell of stale sweat. Haku tensed. Her hand unconsciously went towards the white sash of her kimono where she had a couple of senbon stashed away.

She scanned the clearing and found that there were some kunai and shuriken lodged in some tree trunks, branches and the ground. In the morning sun she could even faintly make out that some of the kunai had ninja wire tied to their rings. She also noticed that there was the occasional crater as well as some torn up dirt. Alarmed, her brown eyes whipped to where the herbs were planted and was surprised to find that none of the plants were harmed.

"Whoever practiced here took care not to harm the herbs. Do they know what they're for or perhaps they just have a bit of a green thumb?" Haku was broken out of her musings by a voice muttering, "Ayame-chan bring me more ramen, dattebayo."

Curious, Haku walked further into the clearing, following the sound of the voice that was coming from behind a tree. As she turned the corner she nearly dropped her basket in shock. Laying up against the tree, with drool running down his whiskered cheeks, was none other than the Genin that Zabuza-sama wanted her to get close to: Uzumaki Naruto.

Unbidden, a thought flashed across Haku's mind; "Is Zabuza-sama clairvoyant?"