Zabuza's S.Adventures 17 (Patreon)

Zabuza’s S.Adventures
Chapter 17

-VB-

It’s been nine months since they settled in Konoha.

And he’s had his first child.

His entire family and students sat around a sweaty Haku, whose sweaty hair clung to her skin, while she gently but weakly pressed their firstborn to her left tit.

“Zuko,” Haku spoke up. “It’ll be his name.”

Zabuza nodded, just staring dumbly even as he tried his best to control his emotion and thoughts. It was an exercise in vain.

Haku looked up to him after his lack of verbal response, and giggled. “You’re still nodding, honey.”

He stopped.

It was just as he thought to himself: an exercise in futility.

“Zuko,” he said as he stared at the pink baby that almost glowed with how red he was. “Our firstborn.”

“He’s your first son,” she cooed tiredly as the baby stopped sucking. “Here.”

Her words jolted him out of his state of shock, and then she put him back into shock when he saw her hand Zuko to him. His hands reached out, and he carefully controlled himself from trembling as she gently laid the baby on his hands.

So small.

“He’s so small,” he muttered.

Haku laughed tiredly. A glance from the corner of his eyes showed him that she was getting really tired. She had, after all, just given birth.

“Yes,” Haku sighed. “Myna, can you tuck him in? I don’t think I have the strength.”

Their only non-family servant pulled herself closer to the family to take Zuko from Zabuza’s hands. Due to the number of women getting pregnant in his household, he had had to hire people to help with the ever increasing workload around the house from chores to estate care.

Zabuza hesitated only for a moment before he slowly and gently handed Zuko to the motherly servant, who herself was a mother of four. The slightly graying servant took his son and quickly yet firmly and gently wrapped him up in warm cloth.

She handed him back to Zabuza, and he took Zuko back into his hands.

And then the baby started wailing.

He might have flailed a bit but, again, he wasn’t a ninja for nothing. He took control himself before he even let that reaction out for more than half a second, and - just as he learned from others - gently rocked the baby back and forth.

Others in the room cooed at Zuko as he fell back asleep.

“We’ll leave you to your sleep,” he said to Haku. “You did well.”

She smiled tiredly before allowing herself to lay back down.

Everyone slowly filtered out of the room.

Zabuza stayed the longest with Zuko still in his arms before he too left the room. The baby might wake up and harass his tired mom. Better it be he who suffered the rumored “unholy” nights than for his tired Haku to do so in this state.

-VB-

Though the servants did the menial work of changing the diapers, Zabuza took over carrying his son around.

He spent days in a daze, just cooing at his Zuko and lugging him around.

“Wow. You’ve really become a father, haven’t you?”

He stopped when a familiar voice entered his ear and he looked up.

Standing just outside his estate’s open gates was a figure he hadn’t expected to see in a long time.

“Terumi?” he uttered, momentary pulled away from his son’s presence. “What are you doing in Konoha?”

Terumi Mei, one of the strongest ninjas, period, of Kirigakure stood outside his estate. Why? Did she sneak into Konohagakure? He was, briefly, on her side of the burgeoning rebellion, though he never got high in its ranks due to his status more as a “fundraiser” than a freedom fighter.

He stilled for a moment as those thoughts flew through his head, but kept his cool.

There was no way Terumi Mei, a kunoichi with one of the largest chakra reserves, was unnoticed by Konohgakure’s sensors and barriers.

The fact that there were Konoha ninjas, tw jounins, standing behind her cemented this fact.

“The rebellion failed,” she grimaced. “Just as you’ve advised me, I brought as many of the clans and rebels to Konoha. I’m here to ask you as our mediator between the rebel remnants and Konohagakure.”

Ah.

Damn.

The rebellion failed, huh?

“Doesn’t sound good,” he muttered before he whistled. On cue, Myna-san slid aside one of the rice paper doors to his estate manor’s lounge and sat there, looking up at him expectantly. “Take care of Zuko for me. It seems that I have an official business to see to.”

“Yes, Momoichi-sama,” she said before quickly - and without breaking the polite and subservient form of a servant - walked up to him and gently took his two week old son. He hesitated to leave the estate, watching Myna-san take his son into the manor before he sighed and turned around to meet Terumi’s surprised look.

“What?” he grunted.

“You know that you’re the only one among us A and S rank ninjas of Kirigakure to have a kid, right?”

That’s news.

Huh.

“Kind of unbelievable. You’d think that someone like you would be with someone by now-”

She glared at him. “I’m just trying to find the right guy. Shut up.”

“Hai, hai,” he surrendered as they left his estate.

So her inability to find herself a man was still a sore point for her.

“Speaking of which, who did you bring with you? Where’s the Aoi guy who’s always with you?”

She huffed. “He’s with the rest of the people I brought with me. Nine hundred people, including four clans.”

He stopped for a second. “That’s a lot of people.”

“It took a lot of effort and money.”

“I didn’t know the rebellion had money after I left.”

“We did.”

He hummed. They both knew that it didn’t. Did she raid some nobles or reach as deep as their pockets would go? I.O.U.s? He just hoped that it wouldn’t affect the upcoming negotiations too badly. Even when Konohagakure was his home now, he didn’t want Terumi and others to suffer needlessly for the sake of politics.

“We’re here.”

Zabuza looked up the Hokage Tower, and for the first time since he arrived in Konohagakure, he felt a little bit of apprehension while looking at the tower.