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."