Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto, any of the Naruto characters or anything else from Naruto land. Sadly. If I did Zabuza would still be alive, Anko would get more air time and we would all be privy to exactly what it is in those books of Kakashi's that makes him blush and giggle like a school girl… This disclaimer holds true for the entire duration of this ficlet.

Chapter 1: The Assignment

I sat crouched on top of the village gates as I carefully scanned the ground below me for movement. My gaze cut easily through the blackness of the night, despite it being dark enough to render most blind. With the aid of my Darkvision - the Suatomi clan's Kekkei genkai - the night appeared as clear to me as day, (probably clearer actually, considering that I don't particularly like the light). I couldn't help but allow a small smile to flicker over the features obscured by my mask as I noted the complete absence of movement in the sleeping village.

Well... almost complete. My chakra enhanced gaze settled on the two chunin gate guards in the booth below me. I paused for a moment to consider my next move, carefully studying them as I did so. Finally deciding that they really were not worth the effort, I rose and stretched languidly, before silently moving off in the direction of the Leaf village.

I moved swiftly, leaping noiselessly over rooftops as I neared my intended destination. Once again I felt my lips curve into a smile as I watched the large building loom up in front of me. I was certain that here I would find my target, despite the late hour. Finally nearing the base of the building I slowed to a standstill, my eyes gliding up the smooth stone wall and coming to rest on a half open window at the top, which was emitting a soft glow. A feeling of smug satisfaction rippled through my body.

Ha.

I knew I would find her here. And it was her. I knew that. Who else would be in the Hokage's office at this time of night?

Narrowing my eyes, I mentally scolded myself for wasting time as I readied my chakra and began the ascent of the wall. Moving soundlessly, I approached the window, careful not even to breathe, lest it alert my prey to my approach. On arrival I carefully stole a glance through the crack between the open window and its frame.

Tsunade sat at her desk, her back to me. From the looks of it she was bent over some form of medical textbook, completely oblivious to her surroundings. Excitement began to pound through my veins as I watched her.

This was it. My one chance.

I prayed fervently that I didn't blow it. Slowly I readied myself for my final move.

"Tell me," snapped a cold voice, causing me to freeze, "did you really think that ham-fisted attempt would really be good enough to get the better of me, Desdemona?" Squeezing my eyes shut I let the breath I had been holding out in an exasperated sigh. Abandoning pretence, I disengaged my Darkvision, allowing my eyes to fade from eerie, inky black orbs back to my usual pale grey, before slipping through the window and into the light of the study.

"You left that window open on purpose, didn't you?" I growled, deeply annoyed at myself for falling for her trap.

"Of course. It will take a far more skilled attempt than that to catch me of guard," the buxom woman said as turned to face me, sizing me up through narrowed eyes. I lounged insolently on the window frame, arms crossed under my breasts as I returned the favour - not that she would be able to tell as long as I chose to keep my mask on. After what seemed like an age, the Sanin broke into a smile.

"Welcome home Des," she chuckled as I straightened and removed my ANBU mask. "I trust your mission was a success?" she inquired as I swept the blueish-black stands of my hair out of my eyes and off my newly exposed face. Slowly I allowed my gaze to meet with hers and gave her a crooked smile.

"Thank you Hokage-sama. Indeed it was. The target has been nullified," although I kept my speech formal, my tone held a slight mocking note to it, winning a soft chuckle for the Hokage. She was accustomed to my insolence, actually I don't think it bothered her too much to begin with. She hated these formalities as much as I did. Not that she would have let me get away with it in public.

"I see. I also trust you returned with the usual confirmation?" I nodded briskly as I let my gaze wander around the cluttered room. Obviously Shizune hadn't had the time to clear up after her mistress like normal. Odd, but whatever.

"Yeah, but not with me," I muttered, knowing exactly what she meant by confirmation.

"I see. Very well then. I will expect you to bring it to me first thing tomorrow morning, as well as a full mission report. However, for now I suggest you return home and rest."

Hmm, now that really was odd. I had expected to be chewed out about not having the damned thing on me. Obviously she knew I had chosen to leave it behind so that it wouldn't hinder me when I made my approach (fat lot of good that it did), so I was surprised by the absence of her usually infamous temper. Must just be in a good mood... Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth I inclined my head in the perfect show of respect.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," I murmured as I turned to exit via the window. I hesitated with one foot on the windowsill, watching the blonde out of the corner of my eye. Deciding to push my luck a little I spoke up,

"Oh, and just so you know? I will beat you one day old woman!" I smirked as I beat a hasty exit. Hearing her soft laughter follow me out into the night I grinned to myself, before making my way home.

I became aware of a bright light painfully hitting my still closed eyes, letting me know that the sun was up. Blast thing. Grumbling to myself I rolled over and cracked open an eye, wary of the blinding sunshine. Slowly my surroundings swam into focus. I was in a room.

Huh. That was odd. Why was I in a room? I almost never bothered paying for accommodation, preferring to camp out instead. I generally viewed them as a waste of money. Still groggy I sat up, cursing the disorientating brightness, as I looked around the small relatively plain room. I let out a loud groan at my own stupidity as my brain woke up enough to register my surroundings properly. I was back home. In my own room. In my own house. I let out a sigh. I really was not a morning person.

Mind you, I supposed, its probably understandable that I was disorientated. Spending as much time as I did on missions, I was rarely in my house these days. It wasn't really that surprising that it had become slightly alien to me. Not that I had the right to complain, after all, I knew what the job would entail when I had agreed to take the position as hunter-nin a few years back. Moving from place to place, constantly on the trail of my latest target, forced to come up against (arguably) some of the most dangerous criminals the village has ever known, returning home barely long enough to report back and receive a new mission... all in all it was a pretty damn hard life. I smirked at the thought. Hard, yeah, but I still loved every adrenalin filled minute of it.

Still. It was nice to be in a soft bed again. Letting out a soft sigh of contentment I snuggled deeper into my quilt and allowed my eyes to droop as I though over last night. Now how had that damned woman known I was here? Alright, so maybe I was due back, but in my line of work, deadlines tended to be approximate. I could have easily been back a week from now. I'm excellent at concealing my chakra, so it wasn't that which gave me away, that much I'm sure of. So what did that leave? Maybe she heard me? But I was so sure that my approach was noiseless...

Letting out a frustrated sigh I massaged my temples. Every time. Every damned time I tried to get one over on her, Tsunade easily caught me out. The truth was, we had been playing this game for a while now. Ever since the first day she had become Hokage. I had decided to test this strange, new woman who thought to lead our village. I had been sceptical of her abilities, despite her reputation. It hadn't helped that I had taken her for all she is worth while playing poker the night before... Anyway, needless to say, I was soon shown the error of my ways. Since then it had become like an obsession of mine, to somehow beat the Sanin. Even if it took my entire lifetime!

Most of the time she took my attempts good natured, provided of course they did not interfere with either my or her own duties. Then I would be in trouble. Which was why I was so surprised that she hadn't let rip last night when I had admitted to not having the confirmation of my mission success. Truthfully, even I knew that I deserved punishment for letting my obsession get the better of my judgment. I mean come on, a severed head isn't something you just leave lying around.

Hmm. Now what was this uneasy feeling..? My eyes shot open. The head. The report. My gaze snapped to the clock. I was late. Shit.

After a mad rush to make myself presentable, find where I had stashed the conformation and run like hell to Tsunade's office, I was pretty much out of breath by the time I made it to her desk. As I stood, stooped over, with hands on knees, trying to regain enough breath to speak, the Hokage simply watched me silently. No yelling, no threats, no nothing. If anything she looked amused? Now I was really unnerved. Why the hell was she being so nice? Once she noticed that I had succeeded in regaining my breath she indicated for me to skip the apology and go straight onto the report.

As I obeyed I watched her carefully. She was staring at me intently, but she only half seemed to be listening. It was more like she was debating something internally. Was this why she was acting so out of character? Not being nice, just being too distracted to care? My eyes narrowed warily as I finished my report. I stood in silence, waiting for a reaction. The clocked ticked away as she sat quietly staring at me.

'Come on! Say something,' I thought irritably, 'dismiss me already!' But I said nothing, instead calmly meeting her gaze. Eventually she released a soft sigh, indicating she had at last come to a decision. When she spoke, her voice was low and serious.

"I am going to offer you a new mission," she began, the gravity of her voice capturing my interest, "however unlike your previous missions, this one you are free to refuse should you wish to do so." Free to refuse..? Well that was a first Frowning slightly, I waited for her to continue. "Three days ago, one of our ninja teams was severely injured during an encounter with the rogue-nin Zabuza Momochi." Eyes widening, I let out an audible gasp. The Demon of the Hidden Mist? Alive? But how the hell could that be? Steeping her fingers, Tsunade met my confused gaze. "I see you have questions." Frowning deeply I nodded.

"Stop me if I'm wrong here but wasn't Zabuza reported as dead by Team Kakashi a few years back?" I looked at her quizzically. Tsunade nodded briskly.

"You are correct. Two years ago, Kakashi and Team 7 undertook a mission to escort and protect a bridge builder to the land of waves. On the journey they came up against former Mist jounin Zabuza Momochi and several of his subordinates, who had been employed by the shipping magnate, Gato, to assassinate Kakashi's charge. During the ensuing conflict, Zabuza's protege Haku was killed at the hands of Kakashi, prompting Zabuza to turn on and kill his former employer and receive allegedly fatal wounds at the hand of Gato's mob. However it would not be the first time that Zabuza has been thought to have died only to reappear live and healthy at a later date. With this in mind, a squad was sent out to obtain conformation of Zabuza's death, only to find his body missing. At the time it was blamed on the over zealous locals that were destroying the bodies of Gato and his men. However, since then rumours have surfaced again and again indicating his continued existence."

Closing my eyes, I tried to process this information. Right enough, I had heard some of the rumours, but I had always shrugged them off as the foolish superstitions of locals. It was always like that when a noteworthy shinobi died, particularly if they were feared. Never in a million years had I actually thought there might be some truth to it.

"It would seem," Tsunade continued, "that he has finally decided to resurface and let the world know that he still lives." Slowly I opened my eyes and met her frank gaze.

"But if what you say is true, then why? Why here? Why now?" Tsunade let out a small sigh as she contemplated how best to answer me.

"As to why now, I cannot say. As to why here, that is why I have you in my office." I raised an eyebrow as I studied her impassive face. "As I said previously, during the mission Kakashi and his team of genin fought repeatedly with Zabuza, during which time Kakashi beat Zabuza in two battles and was responsible for the death of his companion and student Haku. It is our belief that Zabuza has relocated to this area in order to extract revenge for those things." Tsunade's intense gaze met my own, the atmosphere of the room had become almost unbearably tense. "I want you to find and stop him, before he has a chance to get to his targets."

As the Hokage spoke those words, I felt excitement bubble through my veins. I was to go head to head with one of the most infamous shinobi in the bingo book. A man even Hatake Kakashi had been unable to kill off. The fabled Demon of the Mist... I was unable to suppress a grin at the thought. I didn't even need to think about it.

"I accept," I grinned, savage delight dancing in the pit of my stomach as I anticipated what was to come. Tsunade apprised me silently for a few minutes before nodding grimly.

"So be it. I will fill you in on the details."

Japanese Translations:

Sama – respectful suffix added to name when addressing one far above your own station, equivalent to 'sir' or 'Lord'

Hai – yes/affirmative

Author's Note: Alright guys this is my first fiction so please go easy on me! Reviews are really appreciated as is any constructive criticism offered.

Thanks for reading!

Friglit