Wow. Wow. I'm posting this, I'm posting this! Finding Heaven, something I've been waiting to do for ages and ages after so much planning. I wanted to have most of it done before I posted it, but I have it planned and I can't wait any more for fear of not posting it at all. I know I have Unwritten to attend to - which I quite promise I will - but the Haku Sakura fandom really needs some more stories and I'm here to give it a rather useless one, but that's not the point, now is it:)

Anyway, Finding Heaven is about Haku after his death, lonely and waiting for a friend, company, a purpose - anything. That's where Sakura comes in, and he finds himself on a wild goosehunt to fix what he never broke in the first place but finds it might as well be him to take responsibility and do something.

This is a result of overexposure to Hayou Miyazaki. :) Don't be alarmed.

Anyway, so to end this authors note, I really hope you enjoy this. It's been fun writing so far, and I'm looking forward to doing the whole thing. As a quick sidenote, I'm putting to prologue and chapter one together as a double whammy. This means you better review because I'm so nice.

Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters don't belong to me, but this rather strange plotline does.

Anyway. I hope you enjoy! (That sounded corny. Pay no mind.)

-Mandy (La Editor)

Finding Heaven

Prologue

It is dark. And it is cold. But no worries here; everything's going to be fine, isn't it?

…Isn't it?

His eyelids are heavy. They are made of lead. His arms are made of steel. This is the only reasonable explanation, is it not? Because they don't move. He doesn't move, and he doesn't move because he can't.

Can't even breathe.

This would ordinarily alarm him to some extent. Isn't it odd to not breathe? Yes, of course. Because he needs oxygen, because he's a living being, isn't he?

Isn't he?

Living things feel. This is a given. Living things feel cold, and warm, and wind, and everything else. Right now he just feels cold. But he feels it, so he's alive.

Isn't he?

This confuses him. Because he feels cold, but he also feels like he is trapped. Trapped, in the literal sense. He tries to lift an arm (a finger, a leg – anything, because the fact he can't move at all is starting to frighten him) but he can't. He tries to open his eyes. He can't, because it's too hard. They won't open. Glued shut.

But he is trapped. He can't see, or touch, and he feels cold, but he also feels like he is in a very, very tight space, almost like it's molded to his skin. He still feels cold – yet this is the only thing he can feel.

Cold. On the inside, not even from his own skin telling him he's cold. Yet Haku doesn't mind the cold so much, because it is his element. Ice. He doesn't mind the cold so much, which is reason enough to lie down and rest a while.

He rests for so long. Not truly asleep, not awake. A doze.

And it seems so long, so long until Haku feels, because whatever has trapped him is suddenly gone, in the blink of an eye; he suddenly feels the cold on his skin, and he suddenly feels snow, and his eyes snap open and he jolts up, gulping up the ice air and snow down all at once like he'd never breathed before, not once.

Haku looks up.

He is on a bridge. There is blood, and it is snowing. There is no one near him, except for the two men walking up ahead.

Two men. One of them is that man. Old man, who builds bridges. He is carrying Zabuza, who is not breathing.

Haku stops breathing.

He then sees the other man, and he doesn't take another breathe for a very long time. Because that other man is the copy ninja. The one with his blood all over his vest and hand. And he is carrying a boy.

The boy has brown hair, tied up in a bun besides his long bangs, which are tied off with little silver clips that aren't silver anymore, but mostly brown, dried blood crusted across... That boy is wearing a brown turtleneck sweater and a teal blue yukata, a boy's casual yukata, with open end pants that end far below his knee, and all his nails are painted such a pretty green, even though the nail polish is chipping, and he's covered in blood from the gaping hole in his chest, and his face – his face, his face is resting, because his eyes are closed so Haku can't make out what color they are, but his nose is so familiar, and his mouth, too –

Haku stumbles to his feet. What are they going to do to us? Zabuza, what are they going to do to us? This boy with blood dripping down his face is me, Zabuza, is that man over there who isn't breathing you?

He almost trips in his haste to follow, and after another step he does. Wait! He is on the ground, and he forgets to get up to follow them for a moment. His voice doesn't work very well, and for the life of him he can't imagine why. Wait, he calls, and he stumbles to his feet again. Wait, wait, what are you going to do to us?

But the two men keep walking. Don't even pause. Don't even pause to acknowledge him, show they hear him.

Just keep walking.

Chapter One: One Is Company

The barstool squeaked a little; it adjusted, first this way then that, before resting and continuing to revel quietly in the warm, orange rays from the sun on a late afternoon.

Kakashi experimented with said stool a little – this way, that way, just to get comfortable because he wasn't used to eating at the little ramen stand that a little blonde boy made him and a little pink-haired girl promise to eat at once a week so the little stand wouldn't go under.

He didn't understand what made the little noodle shop so important to the boy – the location? The noodles themselves, when he could get just as good noodles anywhere else? The pretty waitress with a wide smile and the kind old man? But he did as the blonde had asked so pleadingly because the simplest things like a two-worker stand meant something to him, and this is how life goes.

His thoughts were interrupted by the abrupt plopping sound of someone dropping down onto the stool next to him. He looked over.

"Hello, Sakura-chan."

"Hello, Kakashi-sensei," the mentioned greeted back. She was tired. Worn. But still put on a happy front for the sake of normalcy. He offered to pay for a meal, and she gladly accepted as the waitress smiled and told the chef another ramen, please; miso, this time, like Naruto-kun's old favorite, but a small, and not extra miso, just a regular size.

"How's training with Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi inquired politely. He plucked a pair of chopsticks from the stack, snapping them apart cleanly. She didn't bother to notice that he pulled his mask down a fraction of an inch and was feeding himself.

"Fine," Sakura answered, pulling out her own pair of chopsticks, but hesitating to snap them apart for a moment; without even thinking, she accidentally cracked the chopsticks in half, flinching a little at her own unrealized strength and the few splinters embedded in her palm. She frowned, throwing the broken pair away and grabbing a new pair.

"You sure are getting strong," her sensei said in a different tone of voice. Somewhere between proud, and somewhere between nostalgic. Sakura grinned.

"Domo arigatou, thank you very much, sensei. How're all the missions going with you?"

"The last one ended up with me in the hospital with poison and a rodent bite on – ah, nevermind," Kakashi replied mildly. "Dare I call it a drag. But I've been lucky enough to be given a week off."

"That's good. Actually, I already knew you were getting a week off." Sakura smiled. It reminded Kakashi suspiciously of Naruto's old mischievous grins.

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Because. I asked Tsunade-shishou for a few days off." Sakura then trailed off and the grin faded to be replaced by an unhappy look. "Last year… at this time…"

Kakashi sought out Sakura's train of thought for a few moments before catching on.

"We were in the Land of Waves, weren't we?"

"Mm. I was actually… well, I'm going anyway, but I was wondering if you'd like to go back with me. Tomorrow." The copy ninja certainly didn't expect this; he almost asked why, but figured that it wasn't needed. He knew exactly why.

"…Sure."

-

"Sensei? Sensei, wake up… I told you to come early, didn't I? Come on; we'll be late, we'll be late," …because he knew just how his pink-haired student hated to be late; Kakashi wearily cracked his visible eye open, glad he slept with his mask on because there was a girl with pink hair prodding him to wake up and gathering his things together and stuffing them in a pack; no, no time to get ready, we've got to leave. We've got to go.

"Why would it matter if we're late?" He asked as he slowly sat up in a tank top and loose pajama pants, both which smelled vaguely like dog (it could've been the whole apartment, on the other hand), scratching his head before standing off his bed.

"…We just can't be late. It will take long enough if you're as slow as you are now, sensei. Come on!" The girl impatiently threw the pack at his head; that woke him up, so he grabbed the pack and shooed her out of his bedroom to wait in the living room while he got ready. Kakashi vaguely wondered how she even got in – did he give her a room key?

Deciding he didn't want to know, Kakashi shook the thought out of his head as he stepped into a cold shower.

-

"You're better at keeping up, Sakura-chan."

"I've been training."

"…With Tsunade-sama?"

"Mm-hmm, Shizune-nee-chan, too. They're great… oh, and one time when shishou and Shizune-nee-chan were too busy with the patients after the last Sound attack, I trained with Anko-sensei," Sakura grimaced a little but then grinned again. Kakashi didn't say anything for a while.

"I haven't trained you for a while, have I?" Without bothering for an answer, Kakashi continued. "I still have a team, you know, and I've been neglecting her in aspects of the shinobi. I should start training her on my week off."

Sakura's eyes widened, and a large, unbelieving smile filled up her face as they both continued jumping between the branches.

"Thank you, sensei!"

---

How long have I been sitting here?

Too long.

Why am I still here?

Because.

Is it because I'm evil?

You didn't make it to heaven, did you?

…But I didn't go to hell, either.

Haku played this game. He was his only company. Nobody, no one else. Playing these games. Asking questions. Counting stars. Watching the sun move across the sky. Day after day, night after night. No idea how long. Lost count.

He was leaning against the little cross, holding his legs against his chest with his face buried. The flowers had long ago fallen away. Carried away by the wind; he watched the flowers leave, one by one, until there were none. Watching the flowers leave while sitting against the cross.

But that wasn't exactly true. First he sat against the sword. His sword. It was still standing so much taller, prouder than the little cross he was against now; it still had a majestic, rugged aura. Just like Zabuza.

Eventually, though, he realized that Zabuza's body was in the ground, right below him, and he felt slightly queasy because the thought made him think of a corpse; not how he wanted to remember the man he had traveled with for so long. The man who made a purpose for him.

So he moved. By then a few flowers had already fallen off. He counted the rest, because he didn't have anywhere else to go. Nothing else to do; because unlike other graves, there was no one to come keep him company. If anything, people would come to kick his cross, to spite him with malice and anger because of the trouble he'd put them through.

Haku probably wouldn't blame them, either.

It was another day. Yesterday had been nice, because it was summer again and even though he liked snow, he could feel the orange rays from the sun filter down through clear skies better. This morning was cloudy, though, such a contrast to yesterday, and as noon came the clouds covered up the sky and everything was gray. The first time for a year, because the Land of Waves was an island. Islands are hot and bright… not that it wasn't hot; it was the middle of summer, and it was hot, but it was cloudy and gray and snowy-

Snowy? This time of year? Yes, snowy. Haku raised his head for the first time in a long time to look up at the sky and see the snow. He found something different.

-

"You go on ahead, Sakura-chan. I'm going to go talk to Inari-kun and Tazuna-san. You go on ahead."

Sakura quietly parted from her sensei and stepped into the store uncertainly. Her feet made small little tip-tap sounds, because the store was empty (no one wanted to go out on a day like today) but so much better and healthier looking than the first time she was here. Lots of fruits and vegetables and other things, and everything was clean.

She paid for the offering food and went on her way.

Everything was much more prosperous. No one out on the street, and everything was so much cleaner. Prettier. The houses were scrubbed clean, the graffiti and telltale signs of hardship washed away, and the broken down places were remodeled, rebuilt, with a new, whiter sheen; the traditional doors were replaced with new ones; industrialized little doors painted white with fancy little golden handles and polish. It was progressing.

Outside the major city – or town, because the main part of the island was hardly a city – it was only wild, the few houses littering the outskirts still old, with chipping wood and dirty walls, roofs with patches on them and broken windows. But that was to be expected.

Sakura slowly approached her destination, carrying nothing more than a little box of onigiri.

The graves were coming up slowly; her feet made small tapping sounds against the ground; tap, tap, tap. She slowed her already leisurely pace and a small, warm smile graced her lips.

"Hey, strangers..."

-

The girl.

With pink hair.

She was slowly walking towards him. Smiling… Why would she be smiling? Visiting graves of her enemies?

"I've seen you before," Haku whispered. His voice was hoarse; the last time he had spoken was one year ago.

One year ago exactly.

She quietly sat down, bowing her head and gently placing the box of onigiri down. An offering.

She didn't answer; he hadn't expected her to. He was dead, and no one could hear him, no one at all.

"Aa… Snow?" She looked up and raised her hand, palm up, to let a few flakes place themselves carefully onto it. "At this time of year…?" She shook her head a little and returned her attention to the earth.

"Momochi-san, Haku-san. Hello." The girl smiled again, but it was a little smaller and less bright than the first one. "Do you remember me? I'd suppose not… I was the weak little girl who couldn't protect the bridge builder. I thought I'd come pay a visit today. I supposed it was the right thing to do because you both helped me realize that I have to get stronger. I've changed my look and everything."

The tired, somber expression soon began to perk. She grinned and pointed to her hair with a friendly wink and her tongue stuck out a little in a silly smile. Haku watched her in fascination; a person, talking, smiling at him, to him – it was such a strange thing to experience! The oddity. He'd been away from mankind too long.

"Have you heard of the legendary healer Tsunade?"

Haku hesitated for a moment, then nodded. It didn't matter she couldn't see him, couldn't hear him. It was company.

"Yes, well, I'm being trained by her." She smiled again, proudly. It was contagious, because Haku felt his lips twitch upwards but stopped them.

"I'm learning how to heal and a few jutsu… it's wonderful. Really." The perkiness, giddiness, happiness faded away.

"I'm not here to tell you about me, though. I just thought I'd update you on the two little boys who caught both of your attentions so much a year ago." The girl laughed a little but it sounded far from happy. Haku didn't remember her name. He couldn't ask her anyway, though, and eliciting any sort of response, so he didn't even try.

"Well, the blonde – Naruto – he's gone on a training mission. To get stronger. He won't be back for a few years. He said he's going to try to get stronger to get back…" her face frowned.

"Sasuke… the one who nearly died, him… He left. Orochimaru – you both've heard of him, I'd bet – convinced him. For power." She gave another cute little grin that still hid nothing. The sadness swept off of her in torrents; easy to tell. She shielded nothing with the little smile that did not reach her eyes. It was so fake.

"Pathetic," Haku murmured. She didn't hear him. The girl sneezed instead.

"It's cold, ne? I should probably go before I get sick. I'm not that good at healing yet," she joked in a fake tone before bowing again and slowly standing up, brushing the dirt from her bruised knees. This time she smiled a half-real smile before leaving.

"I just wanted to visit. I thought you'd be lonely."

Chapter one and prologue (though not necessarily in that order) completed! See the button? CLICK THE BUTTON AND I WILL GIVE YOU CUPCAKES.

Very, very yummy cyber cupcakes. :)