Summary: The morning Haku found Naruto alone and asleep, he didn't wake him up. His decision will change the future of Team 7 forever. Featuring male!Haku because, you know, he's a guy.

Disclaimer: Tucagwathiel does not own…this is disturbing to me. =_=;

Notes: No bashing of Sakura. Though I do not like her in the beginning, she does become a strong individual in the Shippuden arc. Also, lots of Haku/Naruto friendship.

Pairing(s): N/A

Frostbite

"When a person has something important they want to protect…that's when they become truly strong." ~Haku

Morning.

Nothing to disturb the peace.

Morning also happened to be Haku's favorite time of day. Zabuza-sama was still resting, and there was little chance of coming across shinobi this early in the day…not that they would recognize him in disguise, of course.

Haku hastened with his basket to the meadow, wanting to collect medicinal herbs for Zabuza.

Upon reaching the glade; however, Haku's hopes for solitude were quickly dashed as he spied a familiar figure laying in the grass.

Haku froze for a moment or so but, after seeing no reaction to his presence, relaxed and cautiously crept up to the sleeping figure.

He was young.

Much younger than himself, that much was obvious.

Gently placing two fingertips to his side, Haku frowned as he could feel the boy's ribs, even through the thick jacket.

Stunted.

It was also obvious to Haku that this boy wasn't taken care of very well. It may very well be that this boy is an orphan

Sighing, Haku leaned back on his heals to think about the situation. There were several options now, and the boy wasn't going to wake any time soon. Not with his chakra exhaustion.

One, he could simply wake the boy up, but that would lead to talking to the boy. Which wouldn't be bad exactly, it was rare to see others close to his age, but he would eventually have to fight him. Haku always thought it harder to kill a person he talked to…became friends with.

However, there were two other, preferable, options. The second one, he himself liked even less, though.

Two, he could kill the boy now. Quite frankly, Zabuza-san would probably appreciate this option the most, but…to kill the boy in his sleep was a coward's way out of a fight, and Haku was no coward. He was a ninja first and foremost, missing-nin though he was.

Pausing in his thoughts, he gazed down at the boy.

He would become powerful, no doubt, with the proper training. And, though he hated to admit it, Zabuza would need another partner should anything happen to himself.

Also….if things go bad, the way Haku was predicting, they could use the boy as a hostage if need be. They could play on Sharingan no Kakashi's guilt.

Though, whether the guilt was so deep that the Copy Cat would let them go for fear of harm to his student….

Nodding to himself, he quickly made his decision.

Taking out a senbon, he quickly hit a pressure point, sending the boy into a deathlike state, and carefully picked him up.

With a few hand motions, Haku and Naruto disappeared.

The glade was empty.

~x~

"Stupid Dobe," Sasuke muttered, walking towards the forest where he last saw him.

It wasn't that Sasuke actually thought Naruto was annoying…well…okay, so he could be annoying most of the time. But, the Dobe could actually come up with some inventive strategies.

Especially the one that saved Kakashi-sensei and, eventually, stopped Zabuza for a few days.

No, of his teammates, he preferred Naruto over Sakura.

Naruto was fun to rile up. Naruto was good for comic relief, though he would never admit this on pain of death.

Sakura….was useless. If she weren't fangirling all the time, and actually took importance of training and strength over clothes and looks, he could actually be semi-impressed.

However, Sakura was no Tenten. She would probably never become as dedicated to training as Tenten was to her weapons' training.

This, in Sasuke's mind, was what separated the strong from the weak.

Naruto was strong of mind, he demanded to spar. He demanded training, though indirect. And, on the other hand, Sakura was weak-minded.

If it weren't for the fact that Naruto could be such a…a…an utter blond most of the time, it would be Sakura he'd be calling 'dead last' instead.

Sasuke quickly forced himself to concentrate on searching for the Dobe when he entered the glade. While it wouldn't be entirely hard to spot orange a few yards away, there could always be danger.

Expect the unexpected, and all that.

But…the area was entirely too quiet.

Slowly pulling out a kunai, he got into a defensive position before quickly looking around for orange…any orange…

Lips thinning into a line, Sasuke's eyes darted about.

There was no noise.

After several minutes of no attacks, Sasuke slowly relaxed, though still alert, and swiftly walked along the area, searching intently for any clues.

Finally realizing there were none, Sasuke groaned silently.

"Dobe. If I see him at the house, I'm gonna give him a good punch for causing unnecessary concern."

Satisfied with this idea, Sasuke headed back towards the house, running as fast as he could.

After all, there were still enemies around.

~x~

"Sensei," Sakura started cautiously, "if we're learning tree-walking, does this mean you'll eventually teach us water-walking, as well?"

They were in the kitchen, having finished breakfast. Sakura, glad that the family was willing to take them in for their stay, helped clean the dishes when she could.

The family were good hosts, no matter the trouble with Inari-chan, that it would be impolite, not to mention rude, if they expected Tsunami to do all the cooking and cleaning.

After placing another dry dish in the cupboard, she turned to Kakashi, curious for his answer.

"Maa, Sakura-chan," Kakashi started, his hands held up in a placating manner. "We may eventually, but, for now, we need to concentrate on our client. While you have good control of your chakra, Sasuke and Naruto are still working on their first exercise."

Kakashi's eye turned in an upsidedown 'U'. His version of a smile that seemed to freak his cute, little students out. "Wouldn't it be better for you to wait until both of your teammates were ready?"

Sakura frowned, but nodded, knowing that that was all he was going to say on the matter. Inside; however, Sakura steamed, "Yeah right, sensei. You only want to read your Icha Icha books as long as possible, pervert. Cha!"

Turning back to the dishes, she dried the last one, and placed it back in the cupboard, only to jump as the door banged open.

Sasuke dodged the kunai Kakashi threw before asking in a breathless voice, "Where's Naruto?"

Kakashi, quickly calming down at seeing his student, frowned. "What do you mean? He should be in that glade. Did you not see him?"

Still breathless, though this time more from the answer than his running, Sasuke dropped to his seat, shaking his head in denial.

"No. No orange or blonde whatsoever."

Kakashi exchanged looks with Sakura.

This was bad.

~x~

A sense of numbness was the first thing Naruto felt upon awakening. It was a groggy feel, as if he slept for days on end yet, at the same time, not getting enough sleep. Staring up at the ceiling through hooded eyelids, Naruto only managed one thing. "Guh…"

He thought he heard the murmuring of voices, unfamiliar ones, before hearing footsteps approach him.

His attention of the ceiling wavered slightly as a hand rested against his forehead, cool as water or ice. It was a wonderful feeling in his groggy mind.

He could hear some more talking, this time distinctly louder before something pressed against his lips.

Water.

He tried to drink it faster, wanting to get rid of the crackly feel in the back of his throat, but a hand gently nudged him away before he could drink it all.

"Slowly," the voice said, "you don't want to choke."

Naruto gave a small grunt of agreement, not trusting himself to speak yet. Yes, choking would be bad. When Naruto finally felt like he could get some semblance of self, he shifted in an attempt to sit up.

Hands held him steady, propping him with pillows, and he managed to get his first look at his rescuer.

"I-It's you," Naruto murmured, recognizing the mask of the hunter-nin.

Naruto frowned, feeling different somehow.

Shifting around in an attempt to gain a center of gravity, he frowned as he noticed ink designs around his wrists.

He got the sense that the hunter-nin was smiling or amused when he sent him a questioning glance.

"Ah, I'm afraid we had to seal off your chakra. Don't worry though, it will only be for a few days."

Naruto frowned.

"…We?..."

There was a snort of derision coming from a shadowy corner before the figure stepped out. "Yes. We."

Seeing the missing-nin who was supposed to be dead, Naruto felt his heart drop at the sight of him.

He was a hostage.

Author's Notes: So, thoughts? I really liked this chapter. Thought it was a good starting prologue. Also, about the "Sharingan no Kakashi" guilt thing. Considering how Haku and Zabuza knew that Kakashi had the Sharingan, makes me think that they knew something bad happened between him and a Uchiha. Bad enough that said Uchiha was trying to make amends.

So, while they might not know the full details, it would be safe to say that Kakashi, like many jounin, might have survivor's guilt. Also, with Sasuke, I'm trying to make him more likeable. I truly do think he tolerated his teammates more than what the tv show would show…at least until the chuunin exam. Bleh, Sasuke will still be Sasuke and Sakura will still be Sakura.

One final note. On Sasuke's reasoning for calling Naruto 'dead last.' It's gonna be kinda why Kakashi considered Obito dead last. Though Obito was top third or so in his class, he never gets the Sharingan until towards the end. On that note, while Sasuke is referring to Naruto being last in class, he is mostly referring to Naruto's personality at this moment.