Sorry for the long wait! It's not as long a wait as on Obsession, but still a wait. Forgive me!!

An extra long chappy to make up for my waffle-tartness! And also my tardiness (lol, tard) on posting this! There isn't really any randomness in this chap, but hope you enjoy anyway!

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~Kakashi's POV~

I don't understand.

We were now back at Tazuna's home, with me bed-ridden, and my students wouldn't stop bugging me. I just wanted to sleep... I overused my sharingan, and it put massive strain on my body.

But... I can't shake the feeling that this was all too convenient... that that hunter-nin would show up just as I was about to kill Zabuza, and finish it himself.

And why didn't he dispatch of the body straight off? If he wanted proof, he could have just taken the head.

"What's the matter, sensei?" I looked up to see all three Genin staring at me curiously. I voiced my thoughts from the past few minutes, and their eyes widened.

"What?!" Sakura seemed to be very... verbal today.

"Yes... the likelihood is... Zabuza's still alive." I thought back over the Hunter-nin, and frowned. I had sensed something... off. Their was a third chakra there... could it be they had back up? But this ones chakra was so powerful... and foreign... but familiar.

I couldn't put my finger on it, but I recognised that chakra from somewhere.

I looked back to the group of three students that should have been four, and gave them a stern look. "No leaving this building by yourself. You can only leave if you have a fellow ninja with you. It's too dangerous now."

They nodded, then slowly left as I dismissed them. They were to come back later for training.

~Naruto's POV~

DATTEBAYO!! I get one from my Point of View!!

I jumped as the door of the bedroom opened, and Teme stuck his head round.

"What?" I asked, irritated.

"No breaking the third wall, Dobe." I blinked, then scowled; he was right.

He came fully into the room, an irritated look on his face. I sat down on my futon, glaring at him, and he sat on his, opposite me, then glanced over his shoulder. I was becoming more agitated by the second.

"What, teme?!" I growled, and he rolled his eyes.

"Urusei (shut up), usuratonkachi!" Teme leaned in a bit, then said, "I sensed Charlie's chakra signature back there."

My eyes widened, Charlie was here?! Then they narrowed. "How? Hokage-Jiji said that she was captured by a Rogue ninja for her bloodline. That was months ago! Why would she be here?!"

Teme opened his mouth to argue, then closed it and stood up. "Whatever." then he left. I frowned. It couldn't be true. Charlie couldn't be here... could she?

* * *

My vision hazed as I sat on the windowsill, the window open so that I could feel the cool air brush over my skin. Could what Sasuke-teme said be true?

It felt like Charlie had been gone ages. I've almost forgotten what she looks like.

"Naruto!" I jumped and fell backwards out of the window, landing on the grass with a thump. I looked upwards, eyes wide; could it be?!

My eyebrows pulled down in a frown, and I stood up and got in a defensive position. It wasn't her... but I had been so sure that had been her voice!

"Who are you?! Are you with that jerk Zabuza?!" I asked, angling my kunai to swing for this girl. She was obviously a ninja- she wore one of those Hunter-nin masks that Kakashi-sensei said about- and held herself in a relaxed yet defensive stature.

She chuckled, "Well, you haven't changed at all, Naruto."

I growled, it was so weird hearing this person talk in Charlie's voice! "Who are you?!"

"Oh my God!" the kunoichi finally removed her mask, and familiar yellow eyes frowned at me, apalled. "Naruto, it's me! Charlie?! Man, you're so naive!"

The whole time, she was talking quietly. But I didn't notice at the time. "Ch...Charlie..? But... your hair..."

Her hair was blue. Blue! She sighed, facepalming. "We don't see each other for months, and the first thing you say is to ask me why my hair is blue... what is wrong with you-!" I cut her off, leaping at her. Okay, so I may have overreacted, but I was happy to see her!

"Charlie! Where have you been?!" I demanded, hugging the crap out of her.

"Gah- Naru-to.... can't... breathe..." I quickly let go of her, and grinned sheepishly. She sat back, catching her breath. I would've shouted the others, but.... I wanted my long-lost best friend all to myself for a while.

"I can't stay for long... I have places to be." she said in a low, urgent voice, glancing around with a serious expression. "I just wanted to see how everyone was doing."

That made me feel bad... if she could only stay for a little while, the others would want to see her...

I went to shout for them, but a cold hand quickly covered my mouth. "No... don't shout them... the less people that know I'm here, the better."

"But-"

"This can be our secret, okay?" she cut me off, then flashed a faint shadow of that old grin she used to wear. I opened my mouth to argue, then huffed a little and closed it. Her yellow eyes met mine, and she smiled a real smile, pulling me into a hug as I yelped in surprise.

"I missed you guys, Naruto..." she mumbled, and I hesitated, before wrapping my arms lightly around her too. She felt thin, as though she hadn't eaten in a while. Frail. I suddenly felt the overwhelming need to protect her.

"Come back to Konoha with us... we should be leaving in a few days. I can tell Kakashi-sensei, he'll help you..." I said, pulling away. She smiled sadly, her eyes deepened with depression.

"Don't worry, Naruto... I will be returning to Konoha with you."

~Charlie's POV~

"Charlie, you need to eat something."

I looked up from my knees, my arms wrapped around them, seemingly holding myself together. Haku's dark eyes were full of concern, and he placed a hand on my shoulder. I cringed away, hiding my face back in my arms. I mumbled out "Not hungry."

I heard a faint sigh, then suddenly my arm was being pulled from my face and held in something warm. "What's gotten into you? You weren't like this before... was it seeing those Konoha ninja?"

Haku appeared calm, but I could tell he was angry. He thought my old friends were to blame...

I went to protest, then stopped. He could always tell when I was lying, so there really was no point. "To a certain extent... seeing them caused me to remember something unpleasant."

My eyes started to burn with unshed tears, and I watched Haku wistfully. He shook his head, the negative emotion seeming to shake away with it. I looked down; his hand completely encased my wrist. And Haku did not have large hands.

"You're getting so thin." he offered me some bread. "I know it's not much to be desired, but... please eat."

I bit my lip as he pleaded with me with his eyes, then slowly took the bread, taking a wary bite. As soon as I swallowed, the hunger took over, and I devoured the bread quickly. I stopped, placing a hand over my stomach. I felt full; I hadn't eaten very much in a while, so that filled my appetite.

I looked up once more from my hands, and Haku gave me a closed-eyed smile. I smiled unsurely back, my cheeks dusting a light pink.

* * *

"Haku. Charlie. Come on."

I stood up, dread filling me as I looked over the half-built bridge once more. I knew what was to happen.

I knew how the story goes.

~Sakura's POV~

"Ugh, I'm so bored."

I had to just sit by while Kakashi-sensei, and Sasuke-kun did all the work. Naruto was resting at Tazuna-san's. Sensei said that it was heavy-lifting, unsuitable for a girl my age, and made me keep watch.

It wasn't until a thick mist started to roll in that I finally felt I could be of use (a/n- HA! Sorry to disappoint you, Sakura, but that time doesn't come 'til Shippuden.) and quickly leapt in front of Tazuna, a kunai in hand. Sasuke-kun appeared beside me, while Kakashi-sensei was in front.

The mist slowly let up a bit, and Zabuza was revealed, along with two others. One was the Hunter-nin, wearing that mask that he had used as a disguise to 'kill' Zabuza. The other stood close to the first, slightly behind him, also wearing a Hunter-nin mask, with blue hair and a distinctly feminine build, despite the hooded cloak that hid most of her. From the looks of things, she was the weak link in their team, which was why she was in the ideal place to be protected by both males.

Zabuza had a sinister smile. "So, we meet again, Kakashi."

Sensei glared, then turned to us. "Protect Tazuna."

He went to move towards the rogue ninja, but was stopped by six clones surrounding us. Zabuza seemed to smirk, then said, "look. The boy's even shaking."

I looked to Sasuke and gasped a little; he was.

He smirked, then Kakashi said "Go on, Sasuke."

Then Sasuke leapt into action, taking out the six clones by himself.

~Charlie's POV~

I was awed as Sasuke took out six of Zabuza's clones in one go. Granted, they were clones, with only about one sixth of the power of the original, but that was still a lot.

Zabuza just smirked, and looked down to me, nodding slightly.

"Hai, Zabuza-sama." I whispered, and I pulled my flute out of the strap on my leg and sat down, folding my legs. I removed my Hunter-nin mask, but kept my eyes closed so that they would not recognise me. I knew I looked different, so if they couldn't see my distinctive yellow eyes they wouldn't know it was me. I moved the flute to my lips and began to play, as Haku stayed by my side.

I didn't need to see it, as although my sweet, melancholy music filled the air, I could hear everything, probably because of my headphones, which were currently hidden under the hood of my cloak.

I slowly adjusted the pitches, and the sea seemed to react, waves crashing into the bridge and sending spray over the whole structure. I could hear a scream from Sakura as she was grasped and thrown away from Tazuna, without anything seeming to touch her. There was a thump as someone caught her, and a low grunt- Kakashi- as he took the brunt of the impact. She'd been thrown too hard for him to land safely.

I wanted to stop Haku's fight from happening, but I knew he wouldn't be happy with me if I did. I could still hear his warning in the back of my mind, his expression when he told me he would protect me with his life. At least he hadn't gone into battle yet.

Kuso... why am I such an idiot?!

Well, there you have it!! Chappy six!! And extra long for ya too!

Yeah, these next couple of chaps are gonna be kind of angsty, but it's all in accordance to the bigger plot! This ain't filler, it helps Charlie evolve as a charcter.

Also, if you read carefully, you can probably guess what's up with Charlie. I dropped some MAAAAJOR hints in there ;D

Well, anyway, hope you liked!

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