Father Figure

I Have Had Enough Of Crime
Chapter 5

Naruto felt woozy as he emerged from the transport jutsu. If it weren’t for the strong arm around his waist he would have fallen flat on his ass. As it was he was heavily leaning on the figure behind him for support. He felt an arm grab a hold of his and pulling him into a balanced position. Turning to his side he saw who had helped him.

“Thank you. Haku was it?”

“Yes, and you are Naruto Uzumaki... strange.” Haku said, while leading the boy into a small hut.

“What is?”

“You’re last name. Many would think that it would be Namikage like your father’s.” Haku said knowingly, sitting the boy down on a chair placed by a window in the room.

“It’s a long story.” Naruto mumbled, looking away from the figure.

Haku sat staring at the boy for a few moment’s before nodding and removing his mask, placing it on a small countertop. Zabuza entered back into the room before giving Haku a small signal and exiting again.

“Zabuza will be gone for a little while, and without him we cannot make any decisions on what to do with you. So how about you tell me your little story.”

“There’s not much to tell to be honest. When I was just a baby I was going to inherit my father’s name, or at least I think I would have. Then Kyuubi attacked our village, and was sealed into me. After that I took on my mother’s maiden name even though they married shortly after my birth. I guess he’d rather not have a demon take after his name.”

“You aren’t a demon though.”

Naruto looked at Haku, truly looked at Haku for the first time. Lookign upon Haku’s feature he had determined two things. One. That the boy was very pretty, and if he didn’t know he was a man he could have easily mistaken him for a woman. And Two. He was telling the truth.

“Why do you think so? You don’t even know me.”

“I know that you were willing to sacrifice everything to protect your special people. I know that even though you aren’t restrained, or bound by any means you haven’t attempted to attack me, or escape, keeping true to your promise, and three... you look more like an angel than a demon.”

At that Naruto blushed, just as Zabuza walked into the room. Looking back between a smirking Haku and a blushing Naruto he allowed himself a small guttural laugh before smacking Haku on the shoulder lightly.

“Already putting the moves on the boy. He’s only just gotten here, and I’ve only been gone for a few minutes. Is my tool already lonely?” Zabuza said mockingly, rubbing a few strands of Haku’s silky hair through his fingers.

“I’ve always been alone without you.” Haku replied, getting to his feet and placing a chaste kiss on the corner of Zabuza’s bandaged lips.

At that the man ripped away his mask, and pulled Haku to his body, his hand nearly crushing the boy’s lips with the force of his passion. Naruto had to look away his face flaming red as the two became more... heated. When they finally forced themselves to separate for lack of oxygen they couldn’t help but find amusement at Naruto’s flushed skin.

“S-so are you two... uh...”

“Lovers?” Zabuza said bluntly, cringing when Haku smacked him on the arm.

“Yes.” Naruto said with another blush.

“Yes we are. Does that surprise you?” Zabuza asked.

“It’s just not what I expected when I read the bingo book. You were listed as a traitor, attempting to kill the Mizukage, and failing. They said you fled the country with a charge, who I assume would be you Haku.” Haku nodded at the assumption. “You have so many names to you, but most call you a demon. So how... how can a demon love?”

Zabuza seemed taken aback by the question, before his brow furrowed in contemplation. “I couldn’t tell you. It just happened. From the moment I saw this small boy on the bridge, who was one of the first to look me in the eye I couldn’t look away. Then he just had to pull on the heart strings by saying –“

“You have the same eyes as me.” Haku finished clasping Zabuza’s hand within his own. “After that
He trained me, raised me, and took care of me. I was an orphan-”

Naruto couldn’t help but lean forward. He wanted to know. He wanted to know everything about this boy who could love a demon.

“The country of the mist was plagued with civil wars, and the majority of those used to fight were members of clans with bloodlines. Those with bloodline limits began feared and hated within the country to the point that people with them were being hunted and killed, those that remained went into hiding, refusing to show their skills. My mother had the bloodline but kept it well hidden, that was until I was born. She had hoped that it wouldn’t pass on, but it did. She tried to get me to keep it secret and never show it but I was too young to understand the implications. My father saw me using the limit one day, and determined that my mother had a bloodline. He killed her the same day, and when he started to come after me I panicked. My bloodline lashed out and killed him. After that I fled, running as far away as I could. I could still see the tears in his eyes as he killed my mother then went after me. I felt like a monster. A demon. Then Zabuza came along, and I saw someone with-“

“The same eyes as me.” Zabuza finished putting his arm around the boy’s shoulders.

Naruto felt his heart clench. They were perfect for one another, tuned to the other’s needs, and absolutely in love. Haku was no demon, and Zabuza protected what he cherished the most. Naruto could find no fault in that.

“It must be nice to be loved.” Naruto thought out loud.

“Don’t sound so down. Your little copy cat is currently hunting you down with everything he has. You have no idea the amount of effort I took to hide our trail from those summon dogs of his.”

Naruto’s head perked up at that information, his eyes widening. “Did you say summon dogs?”

“Yes.”

Naruto’s mind was whirling... could it be possible that... that Kakashi was. Oh gods. Was Kakashi Wolf?

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An eight year old Naruto could feel a set of eyes on him as he sat alone on the swing set, pushing his feet off the ground and allowing the gravel to fall slowly to the ground. He wanted nothing more than to go home and rip his bedroom to shreds and throw things. He wanted to damage something, or even just scream and cry himself to sleep. All things he couldn’t do while being observed. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing the demon container cry.

He just wanted to be alone. A small smirk crossed his face. ‘Perhaps I can be alone.’ With that Naruto went about mentally devising a way to escape from his captors. It would take a lot of skill and creativity, but what was all that reading for as a child if not to develop his abilities?

Snake looked up from her perch in the tree, she watched to see that the brat was still there before looking back down at her scroll. She hated jobs like these. Watching a person became so tedious especially when they just spent hours sitting doing nothing. Couldn’t the kid do something fun... like go play on the monkey bars, go down a slide, or even go play with some of the other kids? Snake paused before realizing that this was the Kyuubi child she was thinking about here, not a normal little boy. Still. It was boring.

Finishing off some of the paper work she had gotten behind on she looked up to see that Naruto was missing. At first she looked around the play ground to see if he had went to a different part, but within seconds she realized that either the boy was hiding on her or he had left the playground entirely.

“Shit.”

Snake took off into the playground searching for clues to find the boy, looking for his chakra signature... looking for anything at all. Her search seemed fruitless until she came across a small messily hand written note laying in the sand.

‘Just give me the day off and you’ll get some free time too. Maybe then you
can properly get caught up on your paperwork, or you could just do it on
time in the first place.
Naruto.’

Snake felt her blood boil. There was no way that such a little snot nosed brat was going to get away with calling her irresponsible like that. If he wanted some time alone then that exactly the opposite of what she was going to give him. Unfortunately the brat was good and there were no clues in sight. As much as she hated to admit it... she needed help. Activating the summons in two scrolls and setting them to the ground she waited. A minute later Raven emerged from a scroll, followed by Wolf 10 minutes after that.

“You’re late.” Snake growled.

“But he’s here now. Let’s not waste anymore time. What seems to be the problem?” Raven questioned turning to Snake.

Snake sighed. “I lost track of the brat.”

“An eight year old wiled their way around you? And you call yourself a ninja.” Wolf scoffed.

“Oh yeah? Well I’d like to see you do better. He left no chakra signature, and no markings of any kind to follow.”

“Let’s just spread out. If anyone finds something alert the others. He couldn’t have gone many places.” Raven said.

The other nodded and spread out into three different directions. All confident in their skills, positive that they would find the boy within minutes. How little they knew.

Wolf strolled down the streets on the east side of Konoha, searching through the public district for a flash of the boy. Hopping from another roof top he spotted a flash of blonde hair, thinking it was Naruto he leaped from his perch to take a closer look. Upon inspection he found his belief was correct as he saw Naruto enter into the side entrance to the women’s bathhouse. ‘What’s he doing there? Well. You’ll have to do your part and rescue the poor boy before he’s pummelled to death.’ Wolf said with a leer, entering into the women’s bath. Entering farther in he passed the bathing area and locker room, following the boy out into the pools, reaching out to grab his shoulder he found himself reaching for air as the boy disappeared with a loud ‘poof.’ Upon hearing the noise the women located in the bath’s went completely silent and turned, looking at the intruder.

All remained silent. Until....

“PERVERT!”

Pandemonium broke loose as women and kunochi alike began to throw heavy objects at Wolf. Some even jumping from the baths in their skimpy towel’s to beat him half to death. Wolf immediately fled, calls of ‘molester’, ‘pervert’, and ‘I’m reporting you,’ following him from the building to the street where he received many dirty looks. He was definitely never going to go into town in his ANBU garb ever again, he’d likely be beaten, and he was not looking forward to explaining to Minato why he was in the women’s baths. Although the man would no doubt find humour in his pain.

While Wolf was nursing his wounds Raven was making his way through the housing units, searching for any sign of the boy. Eventually he came across little painted figures on the walls of people’s homes, each one depicting a different fighting position. Despite the fact that they somewhat crudely done, they were well proportioned and a fairly accurate of many taijustu fighting positions and techniques. Just as Raven began to wonder who the artist was he came across an alley where a streak of blonde was painting a streak of red on the wall. Shaking his head he went forward to grab the boy just as he transformed into a paint brush. At that exact moment the homeowners came upon Raven standing ‘red-handed’. He quickly dropped the paint brush and stepped away before a mother of two boys came forward to block his way.

“I would have expected something better from a ANBU, but if you made the mess then you’re sure as hell going to clean it up.” She said before crossing her arms and giving the ANBU a warning look.

Raven sighed, knowing there was no way to get out of this. He reluctantly took the sponge and pail handed to him and began to undo the work that Naruto had done, curing the boy mentally to hell and back. This was going to ruin his reputation.

Unware of the troubles Raven was currently enduring Snake made her way through the forest, intent on finding the boy. So far she had searched half the forest without seeing hide nor hair of the boy and was near to giving up when she came across a flash of blonde. Following the teen she watched as he attempted to escape from her until he had backed himself up into a densely populated area. With no where to go and no place to run he began to back up into the narrow space between the tree’s. Snake just internally laughed at his efforts, and followed after him. Taking one more step forward she heard a small click.

“Click?” She said out loud looking around her to see a huge web of paint tag’s primed and ready for explosion. Her mouth dropped open in horror as she took one last look at Naruto before he disappeared in a puff of smoke, and a waterfall of colour rained down upon her.

Wolf limped his way to the meeting point, rubbing his shoulder where he had been hit by a rather large rock. He met halfway with Raven who seemed to be uttering something about taijutsu positions over and over again.

“I swear. When I find that kid I’m ringing his neck.” Wolf growled.

“You’ll have to save a piece for me. The brat had me playing paint tag in the forest.” Snake remarked, showing off her tye-die ANBU uniform as she joined the two.

Raven remained silent, while his anger showed through the clenching and unclenching of his fists, as he followed the nin dog.

“So I’m guessing no one has found anything.” Raven stated.

“No. Not yet.” Wolf said with a grumble.

“This is ridiculous. Why don’t we sniff him out. Wolf summon your damn dogs so we can get this over with. The kid needs to be taught a lesson, and soon.

With a sigh Wolf summoned one of his canine companions to him, and gave him the note Naruto had left to gather the scent. Within seconds the dog was off, giving a bark to signal that the hunt was on.

Naruto was quietly walking through the forest, kicking up a few rocks as he went by, standing beside the stream. It had been fun setting up the pranks, but that quick sense of happiness left him as soon as he had finished. Even getting the memories of his exploits sent back to him by his bushin clones wasn’t enough to cheer him up. He felt entirely alone in the world and really wanted nothing more than to cry, but when he finally felt the tears coming he heard a bark in the distance.

Upon hearing the summon dog Naruto knew his number was up. It would only be a matter of time before they found him. Realizing that his last option would be to lose his scent he launched himself into the stream, and worked his way up until he reached a small waterfall covering the entrance to a cave. This would be his last stand, and perhaps he could have a few moments alone before his life was invaded once again.

“He’s close.” The summon said, “Only about 20 yards now.”

Upon coming to the spot in the river where Naruto stood the summon stated that he had lost his scent here. Wolf nodded and dismissed the canine, before looking up river to where a small waterfall flowed.

“Do you think he’s under there?” Snake asked.

Wolf nodded. “I’m positive about it.”

The three began to advance on the cave before stepping into the river and dunking under the falls. It was chilly in there. Emerging from the waterfall the three entered into the medium sized cage where a small figure sat curled up to the side.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone for a second... just one second. Give me some time to grieve in peace without you watching me like a fish in a tank. I’m not going to attack anyone, I promise. I just... just please give me a second.” The boy said pulling his legs closer to his body and turning his back to the three.

If it weren’t for the red around the small boy’s eyes Wolf would have been sure that the cave was leaking, but as it was there was only one conclusion he could make. He was crying. They had spent nearly an entire day chasing after the brat, falling in to more and more intricate traps, so he could have some time to cry alone without someone standing over and analyzing him. It was at that moment that Wolf realized that he was in charge of watching over a person, not a thing. This wasn’t a mission... this was a little boy who just lost everything that was close to him. Wolf hung his head in shame, and turned away.

He flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Surprising he looked to see Raven motioning to the exit. “Let’s give him some space. It’s not as if he can escape anyways.” Raven said.

Snake nodded her head and followed both men to the exit, taking one last look at the boy before she allowed the falls to wash away her guilt. He was a lonely shunned boy, still so young, and yet dealt with so much. He reminded her of herself... how she refused to allow anyone to see her weakness, waiting until she was safely home to cry. Putting on a brave face when you’re just a scared little kid who has no idea what’s going to happen next. ‘I should ring my own neck.’ She thought to herself.

Standing outside the falls they remained silent, observing the entrance, but never intruding on the boy’s time. It felt like ages had past until they heard a single scream of anguish. Wolf was about to leap forward before he felt Raven’s hand on his chest holding him back and shaking his head.

“He not hurt. At least not physically.”

Sure enough they heard the quaking sobs of the boy from within, the half sob/screams that the blonde emitted drove daggers into their hearts. Snake eventually couldn’t take it anymore, stepping off into the forest where she could no longer hear his cries. Raven stood unwavering as he heard the cries from the boy, looking forward towards the falls without fail. While Wolf continued to cringe with each cry, until he couldn’t help but feel his own tears escape from his eyes.

Eventually the sound’s had stopped. Wolf went to retrieve Snake while Raven started towards the entrance. Entering back into the cave Snake and Wolf were surprised to see Raven cradling the boy in his arms, smoothing the wet blonde locks from tear strewn cheeks, and wiping the salty remnants way. Lifting the sleeping boy bridal style he made some one handed signs to transport them from the cave to the forest. Snake and Wolf following behind.

“We’ll have to be quiet because he’s sleeping, his emotions tired him out.” Raven said softly.

“This can’t continue. He’s cut off from the world at this point, he’s completely alone. If we don’t do something chances are the next time we lose him, we’ll find him in a body bag.” Snake said with a sigh.

“You think he’s suicidal?” Wolf asked.

“No. He’s not suicidal. It’s not his way, if anything he’ll just create a shell like any other ninja, it could be at the cost of his sanity though.” Raven said, looking back to the boy.

“So what do you propose?” Snake asked.

“We don’t allow him to be alone.” Wolf said.

“We tried that. He escaped. Remember?” Snake said sarcastically.

“No. Not like before. If we watch him from afar it makes him seem like a specimen. If we stand by him, teach him, and spend time with him he’ll never be alone.” Wolf replied.

“Wait. Isn’t that against the rules?” Snake asked.

“Does it matter?” Raven stated.

The three remained silent, each considering the idea of spending time with the boy as people rather than binoculars. Wolf was looking forward to the prospect of spending time with the boy, if his pranks were that good at his age now, they were going to be brilliant later on... and with some coaching he could very well be the best. Snake wanted to be able to share the human experience with Naruto that she had never retrieved, teach him, and never betray him like her own sensei did to her.

Raven watched the steady breathing of the boy, how even in his sleep he seemed troubled. He would need an ear if he were to get through this, someone who could relate to his experiences. Someone who could understand the pain he felt. He would need him.

“I’m in.” All three replied at the same moment.

They seemed a little shocked by the agreement, but then again the little blonde chibi that had lead them on a merry chase was special.

“Wonderful. We’ll have our own little dysfunctional family to replace his. A mommy, a daddy, and a big brother.” Wolf said with a grin pointing to himself, Snake and Raven respectively.

“Pfft. You as a father figure. Now that’s scary.” Snake said with a laugh leaving Wolf to take over his shift.

Wolf pouted behind his mask, though no discernable change was detected. Raven tilted his head to the side as Wolf gently picked up Naruto and cradled him to his chest as he worked his way to the blonde’s home.

Raven crouched from his perch on the tree into Naruto’s small room off the Namikage estate, and watched as Wolf gently removed the wet clothing to replace it with dry pajama’s, as he tucked Naruto into his bed. Wolf smoothed his blonde locks, and tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear before settling in a chair beside the bed with a book, ready for the long night.

“I think you’d make a great father figure.” Raven whispered before disappearing into the night.
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Naruto had developed a bit of a crush on Wolf after he had taken care of him that night, having woken up to see the man napping beside him in a chair. It was such a comfort to know someone was there to care for him. He was even brave enough to get up from his bed to grab and extra blanket to lay over the man before settling back to sleep. It wasn’t 100% that Wolf was Kakashi, but there weren’t many people in Konoha who could summon nin dogs, and as far as Naruto knew summoning scrolls pass from mentors to sensei’s and through families, and Kakashi didn’t have any other family who could have the scroll, and his mentor was Naruto’s father himself. And everyone knew that Minato summons frogs. That left him with only one conclusion. Kakashi was Wolf.

“You ok brat?” Zabuza asked pulling Naruto from his revelry.

Naruto shook himself from his stupor to nod. “Yeah I just spaced out for a moment there... Can I propose something to you?”

Haku looked interested in what the boy had to say. He had proved himself to be a strong character, and if anyone could convince Zabuza of something Haku had a feeling it would be him.

“There’s a number of possibilities of what you could do with me. One is selling me off to the highest bidder to use for whatever purposes they see fit.”

“Yeah. I was thinking about that one. “ Zabuza said with a grin.

Naruto felt his heart sink, but he couldn’t give up. “Or... you could bring me back to Konoha and become ninja there.”

Haku couldn’t help but look shocked by the proposition. Missing nin have never been accepted into another village unless it’s a newly formed one, like Sound. To be asked to join a prestigious village like Konoha was nearly unheard of. Generally what stopped older villages from accepting new ninja was the political implications it would have. When one village was hunting for their ninja and another village accepted them it would create a rift. Essentially the other village would be harbouring a criminal.

“There is no way that could ever work.” Zabuza said briskly.

“No. It will. I know my father, despite him being an asshole to me he’s a good ninja, and a great Hokage. He’ll see that the benefits outweigh the negatives. After all you’re nearly better than Kakashi, and Haku has a very desirable bloodline limit. And bloodline limits are revered in Konoha Haku, not hated like they are in the Mist.”

Haku smiled at that. Meanwhile Zabuza was thinking over what the teen had said. He had always assumed that he would never be allowed into another village for the rest of his life. That he would constantly be forcing Haku to continue running and killing with him just in order to survive. There were so many benefits to being in a village. A stable home, consistent pay, somewhere safe to return to. It would be nice to sleep without one eye open.

“It sounds...” Naruto and Haku held their breath helplessly awaiting Zabuza’s decision. “It sounds nice brat.”

Haku couldn’t help but smile at Zabuza, with Naruto not far behind him. Zabuza looked towards the two warily before grinning back.

“So what do you say bunny?” Zabuza asked Haku, turning to his lover.

“I have had enough of crime.” Haku replied sealing the deal with a kiss.

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And so it really begins.

Hope none of you are too werided out about the whole Haku Zabuza thing, although you shouldn’t be since its pretty much cannon. I just thought you might like to see some action in this story soon since the KakaNaru still has a little while to go yet.