Zabuza's S.Adventures 12 (Patreon)

Zabuza’s S.Adventures
Chapter 12

-VB-

Zabuza stared at the papers in front of him after he had been called up to the Hokage’s office. Yesterday, they had held an award ceremony to congratulate the most involved and crucial defenders of the Konohagakure. He had been one of them, and had been publicly granted the citizenship of the Konohagakure and the Land of Fire on top of his probation as a refugee ninja done and cleared.

Today, he came to her office to find out that there were more rewards for him in store, though it wasn’t just for him.

“Strictly speaking,” Kushina sighed. “Giving you citizenship and everything is too little for what you did.”

“But it should be.” His real reasoning was that he didn’t care for rewards beyond what was strictly useful.

“I know, but the clan council is adamant about this. Seven different clan members were involved in the subjugation of the Ichibi-”

Zabuza remembered that. It happened out of the hidden village, and had been quite the spectacle. 

“- so all of the clan heads involved want to see something more tangible for their reward. But you did more than all seven of those clan members combined with your absurdly high four hundred kill count for the battle alone.”

He’d just got lucky. 

“That’s more than me!” Kushina whined.

“You were fighting Orochimaru and the zombie Shodai and Nidai.” 

And hadn’t that been a crazy occurrence, Orochimaru knowing how to summon the ghosts of the past to fight for him. 

“Still!”

“Stop whining and get to the point,” he grumbled.

She pouted before straightening herself. “As an exemplar ninja who participated in the defense, your reward is considered a Class A -”

“You guys have tiers for emergency rewards?”

“ - and you have to receive rewards matching Class A rewards. Citizenship can be considered to be a part of the Class C reward, but it is not enough for a Class A reward.”

“What is?”

“Land, privilege, creation of a clan, and more.”

Zabuza blinked. “Well, damn.”

“Yes, so I have this list here for you. Mark off three things you want, but be warned that I need your response now.”

“So I can’t go visit some of these properties?” Zabuza asked as he took the aforementioned list and looked them over. 

“I’m in a hurry. I need to present this tomorrow.”

“That’s a bit of a hurry, isn’t it? Don’t the clans know that you have to take these things slow?”

Kushina grumbled. “Exactly! But no… they want everyone to know they did something right now when the awe of their action will be the greatest.”

“They are favoring public relations over actual reward?”

“Yes, if only because they want the daimyo to know of their ‘contribution’ as well.”

“... Well, I guess I’ll take the right to form a clan. I’m sure Haku would like for her clan to be reborn here.”

“Good. Then choose a prisoner woman to be your concubine and an estate property or five prisoner woman.”

“... Excuse me?”

“As you are the one who receives the reward, you have to receive something more than that. I’ve already said this.”

Zabuza frowned. “Do I have to take a prisoner?”

“No. You can take double a minor estate in place of a fertile prisoner who will go to someone at the end of the day. Someone who wouldn’t care much about the prisoner as nothing more than a body to bear children,” she frowned. “Thankfully, we already exchanged all of the sand ninjas  back to Sunagakure, so we don’t need to worry about accusations of bloodline theft once relations are restored…”

Distasteful practice.

“Fine. I’ll take one. Assign me whomever you want. And … whatever estate is good for five to ten people.”

“Done,” she said as she pulled out a scroll from within one of the cabinets. “This is the property right to the Shingata Estate in the east within Konoha’s walls. I’ll send the prisoner over to you within the week. Now leave, so I can talk to the next rewardee.”

Zabuza bowed formally and walked out. 

He grumbled all the way home. 

At this rate, life wasn’t getting any easier.

-VB-

Zabuza grumbled as he sat down for lunch in his own house. Haku looked at him curiously.

He waved his hand a little before he picked up the chopsticks. “Apparently, I have to get more rewards.”

Haku blinked. “But didn’t you get citizenship for us both and an end to your probation?”

“I did, but they want to give more to me so that they could give more to some seven member party that took down the Ichibi jinchuuriki.”

She uttered a snort of disbelief. 

“Kiri would have given less, not more.”

“Good thing we’re not in Kiri, hmm?”

“It is. So what do they want to shower you with, Zabuza?”

“A prisoner and a house.” 

Haku, who just sat down to enjoy the meal, froze. And then the chopsticks in her hand snapped.

Zabuza started to eat, unfazed by her display of anger. 

They both knew that lovers could happen, especially for stressful professions like ninjas. But forcefully being given a responsibility was something else.

“And who is this prisoner supposed to be?”

“One of the non-Suna prisoners. So someone from this hidden village of sound.”

“That’s an odd name.”

“So is hidden in mist, hidden in leaf. At least hidden in cloud and hidden in rock makes sense.”

“And what of this home? One that I put effort in?”

Zabuza stopped eating and looked up. Haku looked genuinely upset.

“Well, you knew that we couldn’t stay here forever, considering how many kids you wanted.”

She sighed as tension bled from her shoulders. “It feels a little pre-emptive for me.”

“We’ll do what we always did. We adapt.”

She nodded.

-VB-

A week later, the prisoner in question arrived with a “servant” seal tattooed onto the back of their left hand. 

She was a red haired girl probably around the same age as Haku but with a vastly different attitude.

“And what’s her name?” Zabuza, who’d come to greet the prisoner transporter and the prisoner in the midst of packing up for the  move, asked the two chunins. 

The woman handed Zabuza a scroll, and he opened it up.

“Tayuya, huh?” he rolled the scroll back up and looked at the girl. “Well, come inside. You’re just in time to help us pack up the stuff. The servant seal should prevent anything … unnecessary, right?” he directed the last question at the chunin who handed him the scroll.

“Yes, sir,” she nodded before she and her partner shunshined after a quick bow. 

Zabuza swung the door open. “Are you hungry? Hungry workers don’t make for a good worker.”