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They trained for a few days at the beach, mainly working on their jutsus. They even sparred in different combinations to test their skills as pairs and solos with each other.
Zabuza noticed that each of the kids complemented his own skills in their own way, but they also complemented each other in their own way. At some point he would need to see them fight with no restrictions, just to see what their potential could be now.
On their way home, just before getting to the perimeter, they were approached by the Demon Brothers, and Zabuza brandished his sword before speaking
Zabuza~There had better be a good ******** reason to be seeing your ******** faces right now.
Meizu~Have you been to the town recently?
Gozu~Fish market has spoken about figures on the shoreline commanding large bodies of water and seeing slabs of ice.
Zabuza~It can be passed off as rumors if you don't say anything. What makes it important?
Meizu~Gossip made it to the bar. Civilian mercs heard. And since the only ninjas the town knows are the Leaf patrols, the mercs are planning to investigate for possible recruitment or confirmed intel for sale
Zabuza~When did you hear about this?
Gozu~Rumor has been going for four days. The mercs were a day and a half ago. You weren't present either time.
Meizu~We patrolled the perimeter for a day the first time. We stayed longer this time because of the mercenaries.
******** hell…Alright, let's go. Keep talking. What more do you know?
They walked into the perimeter and avoided Zabuza's traps to get to their home as the twins gave as much information as they could about the mercenaries. Ann and Haku even threw in relevant questions that Zabuza had to order the twins to answer.
By the time they got to the safehouse, Zabuza had the twins wait outside as he led the kids inside to get settled.
Zabuza~You two get cleaned up. Mind the sand.
Ann~Are you going to do something to those people?
He was going through their training bag to get extra weapons.
Zabuza~We'll see. It's just gonna be recon. I'll be gone with those two for only a few hours.
Haku~What if you're outnumbered?
Zabuza~Depends by how many. It sounds like there will be 10 at most. Doable as they aren't ninja mercenaries.
Ann~What's a mercenary?
Zabuza~People for hire not affiliated with a ninja village.
Ann~What's affililated?
Zabuza~Af-fi-li-ated. Meaning associated or known to be partnered with someone or an organization. Like how the Seven Swordsmen is affiliated with the Mist Village.
Ann~Would you still be a Seven Swordsman even though we're no longer in the Mist?
Zabuza paused from going through the bag. He hadn’t considered the label, and didn't really care for it.
Zabuza~Doesn’t matter to me. I don't care much for titles.
He took out a few more kunai knives and packed them into his holster and pouch before standing up.
Zabuza~I should be back before nightfall. There's plenty of food and ingredients for you guys to make for lunch and dinner if I happen to run late. Questions?
Haku~How long do we wait if you don't come back tonight?
Zabuza~One week, or until the food runs out. Whichever happens first. Do you remember what to do?
Haku~Go bags and travel north to the Leaf.
Zabuza~That's right. Stay with Ann if that happens.
Ann~But…If that can happen, why can't he stay with me even if nothing wrong happens?
Zabuza~Easier to allow one child in than two without question. The younger the better too. Leaf ninjas are soft and will pack-bond with anything.
Ann~Who will Usa-chan stay with?
Zabuza~Not relevant to the current situation. Go clean up, and stay inside until I return. I'll be back soon.
Ann~Okay…
She hugged him tight.
Haku~I'll keep watch. Stay safe.
Zabuza grunted and patted each of their heads before leaving. Ann sighed
Haku~He'll be alright. He said he's doing recon anyway. That means no combat.
Ann~He gets impatient though…
Haku~If you can figure out how to be patient, Zabuza can too. Come on, we can bathe together.

Outside, the twins led the way to where the civilian mercs were supposedly staying.
Meizu~Are your brats the ones using those jutsus?
Zabuza~Don’t ask questions you don't want violence as the answer to.
Gozu smacked his brother.
Meizu~Right, boss.

Zabuza and the twins arrived at a familiar safehouse. It was the one that they had used shortly after the coup. Now he had to torch it.
He and the twins were well out of hearing range for normal people and had a visual on the place, but they still spoke in hushed tones.
Zabuza~How long have they been here?
Gozu~At least three days from what we gathered. The place was empty when we left the last time we met there.
Meizu~Do we kill them all?
Zabuza~That would be easier, but also stupid. It sounds like they work for someone else.
Meizu~Wouldn't that mean that someone has less thugs if we do?
Zabuza~It does, but without knowing where these guys are in the hierarchy, it could also mean an investigation to see what happened to them.
Gozu~I told you, idiot. Better that we waited than taking care of it ourselves.
Meizu~Right…
Zabuza~Do they camp here for the night? The place doesn't have much reason to stay for three days other than shelter…There's no secrets there. No papers to lead back to us, but sensors might pick up chakra residue. Better to destroy everything anyway.
Gozu~Some do. They appear to be lower in rank. There's three of them that go back into town to stalk the bar and local inn.
Zabuza~What time do they split? Hopefully not too late.
He didn't want to leave Ann and Haku alone for too long, but it was easy to burn the place down and make it look like an accident. It's better to do that now to deter them from stalking the coast if they haven't already started. Luckily they were done training there for a few days anyway.
Meizu~10 to 11, but lights don't go out until past midnight.
Zabuza huffed~Alright. Stake out the place. Stay out of sight. One of you come get me if they split before i get back
Meizu~Where are you going?
Zabuza~I don’t need to wait here when I have you two to do it. Anyways, I need to check on the brats. They'd take you down if I send you dumbasses to check on them…
Meizu was about to say something, but the smaller of the two had floored him twice already. He had no room to argue that assessment.
Gozu~No problem. We'll keep watch until something happens, then we'll come get you.

When Zabuza came home, he found the two having snacks with their pet rabbit. Ann got up and hugged him.
Ann~Did it go well?
Zabuza~It's going to take time. I'll need to leave later tonight to finish.
Haku~You weren't outnumbered, right?
Zabuza~No combat. Did recon like I said. It's only going to take time because I can't do anything until after dark. Plus, I don't exactly trust the twins with covert jobs…
Ann~So, what will you do until tonight?
Zabuza~Cook you dinner and then sleep for a bit.
Ann~Soooo…a nap?
He rolled his eyes as he picked her up and headed for the kitchen.
Zabuza~Yeah, yeah…What did you eat after cleaning up?
Haku~We ate the bento that was still in the training bag. The vegetables were still good so we're eating those for a snack.
He opened the fridge and freezer to look at what they had for ingredients.
Zabuza~Alright. We'll go to the market tomorrow then. It'd take too much time if I went now just to kill time…I need to be able to rest anyway. Those guys always leave me with a migraine…
He pulled out a thing of frozen meat, garlic, onions, and potatoes.
Ann~What are you making?
Zabuza~Curry. The meat will take a few hours to defrost first.
He set her down and handed her a pot.
Zabuza~Make 3 cups of rice. I'm gonna sleep a bit first. Haku, wake me in two hours if I'm not awake already.
Ann~Why do I have to make rice?
Zabuza~You sweet talked Haku into it last time. It's still your turn.
He patted her head then made his way to his room, closing the door behind himself. Zabuza paused, sighed, then went back out to the bathroom to shower.

Two hours later, Zabuza left his room to start cooking their dinner. He found Ann and Haku asleep on the living room floor, their rabbit in its crate nearby. Zabuza rolled his eyes and continued to the kitchen to cook.
Once the curry was left to simmer for the potatoes, Zabuza went to the kids to wake Haku first. The boy woke with a start, stuttering out an apology until Zabuza patted his head.
Zabuza~I'm not late. I already cooked. I let you guys sleep. It's simply time to get up.
Haku~O-okay…
Zabuza motioned for him to use the restroom first and watched him go. Then he started to pull Ann to her feet.
Ann~I was just getting to the donuts…
Zabuza~How do you know about donuts? I don't need Ane being thrown in too right now…
Ann~Haku told me. They have chocolate ones.
Zabuza~I don’t like how you're developing a chocolate fixation, brat.
She followed him to the table.
Zabuza~You’re not gonna use the bathroom?
Ann~It doesn't sound like Haku's done.
She yawned and laid her head down. Zabuza rolled his eyes and went to get some water for her.

After they had dinner together, Zabuza reminded them of what he was doing as he prepared to leave.
Ann~How late will you be?
Zabuza~Not too late. You'll be asleep before I return anyway. Bedtime is in an hour.
Ann huffed and pouted.
Haku~I'll make sure she gets to bed in time.
Zabuza~You too. Both of you make sure your chores are done. I'll be back soon enough.
He patted their heads and headed out.
Ann~We really can't stay up?
Haku~No, Ann. I thought you liked to sleep anyway.
Ann~Yeah, good point.

Zabuza had returned to the safehouse and both the twins were there, one of them resting.
Zabuza~Report.
Gozu~They haven't said anything about their employer. They think the rumor they heard is bogus because they didn't see anything since hearing the rumor. No sign they'll leave yet though
Zabuza~Hn…And Meizu?
Gozu~Staggered resting periods. He has another 15 minutes.
Zabuza~Alright. I guess it's more waiting.
They quietly waited and Meizu woke up soon enough. Shortly after, three of the mercs left the safe house and headed to the hamlet.
Zabuza~What do they do for the next few hours?
Gozu~Gamble and drink.
Zabuza~Easy to make them believe they got reckless and caught something on fire then. Best to watch the remaining pawns for now. Gotta make torching the place look like an accident on their part. One of them is bound to sleep too close to a lantern or candle with booze. The place isn't equipped to put out a fueled fire.
They continued to watch from a distance.

After almost four hours the last of them finally fell asleep for the night. Zabuza and the twins moved into the safehouse, not making a noise. Zabuza did a once over to confirm that nothing was left to trace back to him or associates.
Then they looked at the mercs. The four of them really were just pawns as they hardly had anything on them that could identify who hired them or where they may have come from. They also just looked like the average man that could bully people into doing what they wanted.
With nothing else holding them back, they set up the scene. Some tinder and straw were strewn around the floor and concentrated at the walls where it was soaked with some kerosene. Then Zabuza had placed a beer bottle near a turned down lantern that one merc was sitting by while the twins had some empty bottles near the other mercs to knock over.
After reviewing, Zabuza counted them down to knock the things over and run. They settled back into their position from earlier and observed how all four of the mercs woke in a panic and ran out as the safehouse fell apart just minutes later. The mercs bickered amongst themselves at how the fire started as they made their way to town.

Zabuza~I want you guys to continue observing them. I want to know immediately what they do next, whether they leave the area or escalate into investigation.
Meizu~What about you? What are you going to do?
Gozu smacked him.
Zabuza~This is dealt with for now. I'm turning in for the night. That hamlet won't have any more reason to gossip about potential ninja in the area.
Gozu~Understood. We'll track them and observe what happens when they regroup.
Meizu~Did you ever consider the rematch with your brat?
Zabuza smacked him next.
Zabuza~Focus on the job instead of comparing yourself to her. You're already far behind because of that.
With that, Zabuza left the twins to go back home.