The ruined house fell quiet for a while.
"What exactly did he say?" Zabuza asked.
Haku thought for a moment, then repeated the words exactly as they had been spoken.
"He said-once Lord Zabuza is feeling a little better, Konoha's Dragon Princess invites you to meet him on the summit behind the village."
"Not to discuss life or death."
Silence settled over the ruined house again.
"Dragon Princess..."
Zabuza rolled the title around on his tongue, then suddenly gave a couple of low chuckles.
The laughter pulled painfully at his wounds, but he showed no sign of stopping.
He had given him that title.
He hadn't expected the other boy to accept it, much less openly use it as his calling card.
"Inviting me with a title I gave him." Zabuza snorted. "That brat certainly doesn't stand on ceremony."
Haku stood beside him without a word.
In all his years with Lord Zabuza, he had rarely heard laughter like that-not the kind that came before cutting someone down, nor the cold sneer provoked by scum like Gato.
It sounded as though he genuinely found it amusing.
Not to discuss life or death.
Then what would they discuss? What did Zabuza have, beyond his worthless life and the Kubikiribōchō, that could possibly interest a Konoha ninja?
"Why does he want to see me?"
"I don't know either." Haku shook his head. "That was all he said."
Zabuza leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
"Haku," he said suddenly. "Do you really not want to go with him?"
Haku shook his head over and over.
Zabuza watched him for a while, then looked away.
"Go see him again tomorrow night."
"Tell him to give me two days to recover-"
"Then I'll go meet this brat. Let's see what he's really after."