Demon Hunters

“Haku. Naruto,” summoned the blond woman as she studied the piles of paperwork on her desk.



Soundlessly, a large cloud of smoke appeared. As the smoke slowly dissipated, the figures of two young men were revealed.



“Yes, Tsunade?” both boys answered in unison.



“I have an assignment for the both of you.”



“Awesome,” the blond youth with cerulean eyes piped up happily, “It’s been forever since you gave us an assignment. I was starting to get really bored, granny.”



“Naruto,” the blond woman said in a threatening tone, “Watch who you’re calling granny, brat, or I’ll reassign this particular assignment to another team.”



At that the blond boy became frighteningly quiet, and the young boy next to him smiled pleasantly at Naruto’s reaction to Tsunade’s threat.



“Tsunade-sama, what exactly is this assignment that you have called Naruto and me for?” questioned the brown haired youth, still smiling pleasantly at both blondes.



“Thank you for asking me, Haku,” Tsunade smiled politely back at him. “I need you both to go to a city called Konoha. There have recently been a lot of strange… accidents, I guess you could say?”



“What kind of accidents? Demon related?” questioned Haku.



“Well, we cannot yet say if demons were in fact behind these strange accidents, but they need looking into none the less. Recently two young girls were abducted from Konoha. When interviewing eyewitnesses, they all described the same sequence of events. They would start to feel nauseous right before hearing an earsplitting screech; the next thing any of them knew, they were coming to, and both times the girls were missing.”



“That is peculiar,” said Haku.



“So, you need us to look into it granny – I mean, Tsunade,” Naruto asked, becoming as serious as he possibly could.



“Yes, Naruto,” replied Tsunade, “You will both be enrolled at Konoha High, to make investigating easier for you. You will both be living at the apartments across from the school for your convenience. I already took the liberty of transporting both of your belongings to the apartment you will be staying in. I have also given you both cell phones, so we can keep in contact at all times. ”



“Yes, Tsunade,” both boys replied.



Tsunade tossed both Haku and Naruto their phones. “Now get out of here, your classes start tomorrow at 8:00 AM sharp,” Tsunade smirked as she waved goodbye to them, and they disappeared in a puff of smoke.



“This is going to be interesting. Good luck Haku, Naruto. You’ll need it,” Tsunade said to the dissipating puff of smoke, as she opened a drawer, pulling out a bottle of sake and pouring herself a glass.



…



It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and the sun was shining warmly down on the city of Konoha. Konoha High stood at the center of the city, and across the street from said learning establishment were a set of apartment buildings that most of the students of Konoha resided in. In apartment number 45 resided a young student by the name of Uchiha Sasuke, and his morning was not going well…



“Damn it!” cursed the young raven haired boy for the umpteenth time that morning. “Why the hell are they so loud? It’s 6 o` clock in the fucking morning for god’s sake!”



Sounds of passion could be heard coming from the residents next door to him.



‘Ugh. Gross, this is making me sick. That pervert Zabuza is at it again. I swear he’s relentless,’ thought the pale raven-haired boy, rolling onto his side covering his head with his pillow to try and smother the sounds seeping through the thin walls.



“Zabuza!” Sasuke heard a distinctly male voice cry out.



“Damn it! That’s it!” Sasuke hissed, as he rolled out of his bed and went to go put on some clothes so he could get out of his apartment, and away from the… noise.



…



“Phew! We finally finished unpacking. It only took us, what, four hours?” Naruto stated sarcastically.



“Naruto,” Haku started looking like he wanted to ask him something, but then decided against it.



Distractedly Naruto looked out the window to check out the view. Soon Naruto’s eyes trailed over to a café on the far end of the street. It seemed to be open, and there was someone sitting at a table by the window.



“Hey, Haku?”



“Yes, Naruto?”



“I think I’m going to go out and explore. Wanna come with?” asked the blond boy with his trademark fox-like grin.



Haku smiled at his best friend; “No, thank you. I’ll just stay here and take a nap before we have to head off to school.”



“’Kay, I’ll be back in an hour or so,” and with that Naruto stepped out of the apartment, and headed towards the café that he had seen through his window.



…



After leaving his apartment, Sasuke headed towards his favorite little hideaway – a café a short distance from the apartment complex. He entered the café and ordered plain, black coffee (as he was accustomed to doing) and then headed to his usual seat by the window, coffee in hand. He had come here many times in the past couple of years since Zabuza had moved in as his next door neighbor.



Sasuke sat there placidly and sipped his coffee; out of the corner of his eye he noticed a boy approaching the café. The bell hanging above the front door chimed, signaling his entrance, and Sasuke looked at the boy incredulously. The raven noted that he appeared to be close in age to himself, but that’s where the similarities seemed to end. The boy had unruly blond hair, whereas Sasuke had perfectly styled black hair; the blond also had a slight tan to his skin, Sasuke’s was as pale as porcelain; and the blond had six whisker-like scars on his cheeks (three on each cheek), while Sasuke flesh was free of any scars. It was only when the boy turned to look at him that he noticed he’d been staring. The blonde’s eyes met Sasuke’s; the raven was assaulted by the most intensely blue he’d ever seen.



Sighing, the raven turned away from the direction the blond was in; the last thing he needed was for the boy to think that he’d been silently inviting him over to sit with him. Sasuke took a slow sip of his coffee, and turned to resume looking out the shop window.



Naruto watched the raven with interest. He had felt a pair of eyes on him the moment he’d walked into the café. Noting that the raven-haired boy seemed to be sitting alone, Naruto decided to approach him; after all, no one should be alone if they don’t have to be. Quietly, Naruto walked over to the table that Sasuke sat at, pulled the chair across from the pale raven-haired youth, and sat down.



“Hi, I’m Naruto, and I just moved into the apartments down the road. Do you, by any chance go to Konoha High?” inquired Naruto brightly, as he held out his hand in an offer of friendship.



The boy sitting across from Naruto turned from looking out the window, and looked incredulously at the offered hand.



“Hn,” Sasuke grunted, ignoring the offered hand.



Taking the dark-haired boys grunt as a yes, Naruto retracted his neglected hand, and waited for the boy to introduce himself. When no response was forthcoming, Naruto’s resolve broke and he asked; “So, do you have a name, or what?”



Sasuke arched an elegant, dark eyebrow at the boy. What an idiot; he must be a natural blond, Sasuke thought. Realizing that the blond was still waiting for an answer, he smirked.



“Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke,” the boy replied as he stood from the table, and made for the door; leaving the blond boy to sit there, alone, at the table.



“What a jerk,” muttered Naruto as he sat there and sipped his cup of coffee.



…



Haku lay restlessly on his futon, unable to sleep. He wondered what was keeping Naruto. It was a good thing that, by nature demon hunters didn’t require much sleep, Haku mused. However, they did enjoy sleep; when they got the chance. Or maybe a more accurate statement would be that Haku enjoyed sleep. Naruto would probably have no qualms with never having to sleep – the blond had a fairly difficult time keeping still.



The opening of the front door could be heard, and Haku settled himself into a sitting position. Glancing at the clock he noticed that it was 7:04; Naruto had been gone for about an hour.



“Naruto, is that you?”



“Hey, Haku. Yeah, it’s just me. I’m gonna take a quick shower before we have to go to school, okay?” the blond stated as he began stripping his clothes off before he even reached the bathroom.



Haku, who was now staring at the form of Naruto stripping in front of him, got up from his futon slowly and walked soundlessly over to the blond. Noticing Haku’s presence behind him, Naruto stopped what he was doing and turned around to face the older boy with a smile.



“Haku, what’s up?” asked Naruto, now clad in only his boxers.



Haku just smiled pleasantly, and handed Naruto a towel.



“Here, Naruto. You may need that when you get out. Remember last time, when you forgot your towel and decided to run all over the hardwood floors to find one? The next thing you knew you ended up slipping and knocking yourself unconscious. I had to call Tsunade to tell her that you had hit your head, and then she sent over all those lovely medics and Shizune. I think she was surprised to see how much you’d grown,” he said casually.



“Thanks for reminding me, Haku. I’ll try to be more careful next time,” said the blond sheepishly, his face visibly flushed from embarrassment.



“Good,” Haku smiled pleasantly, “While you’re showering I’ll make breakfast. What would you like, Naruto?”



“How about bacon, eggs, and some toast?” replied the blond, as he shut the bathroom door.



“All right,” Haku called back, as the water from the shower started running.



A record forty five minutes later Naruto and Haku had showered, eaten, and were ready to head off to Konoha High.



…



Nothing was strange about the way they left the house, or the way they acted. To everyone that cared to look, Naruto and Haku looked completely normal. It probably helped that they were both the right age to be attending high school, and therefore had the mentality of high school boys.



“Hey, Haku?” Naruto whispered nervously as they entered the school grounds.



“What is it Naruto?” asked Haku.



“Why are all these people staring at us?”



Haku was mildly surprised. Normally, Naruto would be too oblivious – wrapped up in enjoying everything around him – to notice. Haku supposed it was the new assignment that had him on alert.



“Hey, boys!” a voice called out to Naruto and Haku.



The boys looked over to where the voice originated and caught sight of two females, waving at them in a friendly manner.



The blond looked at Haku, confusion written all over his features. Haku looked back at Naruto; not at all sure of what was going on. This was a new experience for them both since neither of them had attended a regular high school. From a very early age, demon hunters were to receive special training at the Academy. This limited their social interaction to near nothing, and consequently most demon hunters were slightly socially inept. The Academy was where Naruto and Haku had been living before being assigned this mission in Konoha. All demon hunters not on assignment held residence at the Academy; it was basically demon hunter’s headquarters.



Upon not receiving a response, the two girls set a brisk pace towards the new students (new meat). Both females – one a platinum blonde, the other sporting hair of bright pink – had a glint in their eyes; one that made Haku distinctly uncomfortable. Naruto saw the looks the girls were giving them and likened it to wildebeests on the hunt for their next meal.



“Hey, boys. Are you new? Do you need someone to show you around?” the pink-haired one asked.



But before either of the boys could give a response, a young man with dark-brown hair and an all-white dog on his heels, came to their rescue.



“Sakura. Ino,” the boy with the dog acknowledged, “Stop harassing the new students. No one wants to see either of your ugly mugs this early in the morning.”



Both girls glowered at the boy standing next to a still very confused Naruto and Haku.



“Oh, shut it, Kiba! This doesn’t concern you,” snarled the pink-haired one, that was either Sakura or Ino; Naruto didn’t know which yet.



“Sakura, when will you and Ino understand that it does concern me when you dragons go around trying to taint any male that you can sink your claws into?”



“Go fuck yourself, Kiba!” yelled the blond girl, as the “dragons” turned to walk away.



“You first, babe,” the brunette smirked humorlessly.



Once the females had returned to the other side of the quad, the brunette turned to Naruto and Haku with a bright smile.



“Hey, sorry about those two. Bet that’s not how you both imagined your mornings going,” Kiba chuckled.



As the boy spoke Naruto noticed he had two red tattoo-like triangles on his cheeks.



“Thank you for your assistance. That was quite strange,” offered Haku.



“No problem,” the dark-haired youth smirked, “I’m Kiba by the way! No funny nicknames or honorifics, just Kiba.”



Naruto took the initiative and introduced himself; “I’m Naruto! It’s nice to meet’cha.”



Kiba acknowledged the boy with a smile, which Naruto happily returned.



“And I’m Haku; it is a pleasure to meet you Kiba.”



“Same here,” Kiba replied. A loud bark sounded from down by the boy’s feet. “Whoops! Where are my manners? This little pup is Akamaru,” Kiba stated gesturing towards where the bark had originated.



Naruto bent down and began to pet Akamaru stating; “Nice to meet’cha Akamaru.”



Haku and Kiba shared a knowing smile as the blond played with the pup.



“Well, Akamaru seems to like you both, so you must be good people. Akamaru has a sort of sixth sense when it comes to people. He wouldn’t have let Naruto pet him if he had felt threatened.”



Haku nodded to show that he understood as the bell rang, signaling the start of morning classes.



“Well, that’s the morning bell. I better be off to class,” the dark-haired boy said.



Kiba scooped up Akamaru and tucked him safely into the jacket he was wearing, and then he ran off towards his first class. Waving bye to Haku and Naruto he hollered; “Meet me at lunch; I’ll introduce you to some people! I’ll be on the front lawn!”



Both boys nodded and waved after Kiba. In silence Naruto and Haku made their way through the throng of students to their homeroom class.



“Don’t forget why we’re here, Naruto,” Haku said after a minute, breaking the silence.



“I won’t, Haku.”



Nothing more needed to be said; both boys understood each other perfectly. They made it to their class before the second bell rang. Naruto pulled out his class schedule and noted that Haku and he only had first and fourth period together. Naruto was about to point this out to Haku, but the chattering of the students around them seemed to only get louder. This was first period, English 1 with Mr. Umino Iruka.



Haku and Naruto took seats in the middle row of desks, third row up. Haku and Naruto began to take out their necessary items for the class.



“Move.”



“Excuse me?” Naruto asked looking up to see who the person was that had addressed him so rudely.



“Move. You’re in my seat,” said the boy still standing there.



Looking up Naruto’s jaw dropped in recognition. It was the boy he’d met in the café this morning – the jerk.









-----TBC-----

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