Never Let You Go [Zabuza Momochi]

Chapter 25

"What's wrong?" Haku questioned.

Lacey made a face, shifting in her seat. Everyone began to slowly gather in the designated meeting room, space on the lower level with a wooden table in the middle. Though there were only a few chairs lining the wall. Those that could be salvaged and carried from the town during their escapes. During this time, the teen noticed that the dancer was zoning out. Sometimes he caught her staring at Zabuza quizzically. "I'm... not sure," she answered. "Actually, it's been bothering me for a while really."

"What?"

Making sure that no one was listening, the young woman began speaking under her breath. "It's about the incident with Akine... I don't know. Zabuza has been acting a little off since the whole thing."

"How so?" He was intrigued. Her forgetting what happened on the bridge didn't turn out to be an act on her part. The affected memory most likely stemmed from the lack of oxygen to the brain that made her run on instinct from the near-death experience. The slip of the tongue had been unconsciously.

Her brow cocked. "Seriously? You haven't noticed? He's been keeping more of a watchful eye on me... at least more so than usual. He always wants to know where I am. And... is it just me or are his training sessions becoming more brutal... but then he's almost sorry for it if I get hurt in some way?"

The young man never expressed any form of regret when she sported a new bruise or cut from the one-on-one interaction.

Lacey sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Maybe I'm just going crazy and over thinking it..."

The teen chuckled lightly. "Actually, something did happen."

Her head snapped in his direction. "What?"

"Don't freak out, but after foiling Akine's trap and trying to find you, Zabuza saved your life."

"Yeah, I know that..." She tried to force herself not to blush. "C.P.R."

"Well, after that happened... you kind of... said something after coughing up all that water."

Lacey's brows pinched. "What? I didn't say anything."

"Yes, you did. At least you can't remember, but when Zabuza picked you up... well... you kind of told him that you loved him."

They fell silent, Haku watching as Lacey's eyes slowly widened, jaw going partly slack in shock. Her cheeks reddened with each passing second. "I..." she croaked. "I did what?" The last word came out as a squeak.

It was hard for the teen not to laugh at the reaction. "Sorry, you did."

Panicking, Lacey looked towards Zabuza who stood further away conversing with Yupa. Groaning, she buried her head into her knees. "Oh God, I'm so embarrassed." This had to be why he was acting so odd on occasion towards her. There was a pause. "How come he hasn't brought this up?"

"Zabuza is not really known to show or express his emotions."

"Don't I know it..."

"Anyway, was there something you said that may be the reason he didn't bring it up?"

Thinking for a moment, the dancer's head picked up. "Um... I may have said I didn't remember anything after being pulled out of the water."

"Well, that explains why it hasn't been brought up then. It's something he wants to avoid."

"What?"

"The truth. That there is a possibility he's actually beginning to care for you."

She looked at Haku as if he just sprouted three heads. "Care for me? He tries to kill me during practice, threatens my life on a number of occasions if I mess up, and has left me behind when I can't 'keep up'. You do realize he's never said my name once. He only calls me, 'girl'."