Disclaimer: Naruto is the copyright of Kishimoto Masashi, Shueisha, Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo. This is a fanfiction and is not to be used for commercial purposes
Author's Foreword: I've only translated fanfics from Chinese to English before, so this story is really my first fanfic. It's basically the story of Haku told from his rabbit's perspective. I always wondered what happened to his rabbit and this story's the result. Some of the scenes are taken directly from the manga and anime, with some modifications. Amakasu Toko helped me a lot in writing this story as she's the only Haku expert I know around, thanks a lot, toko-chan! BTW, if you have time, try reading my translated fics, especially Hikaru's Junior High Festival.
Suggested song: Track 8 of Naruto OST1, "Sadness and Sorrow", it's pretty much Haku's theme, according to toko-chan.
The Snow RabbitBy Kinny Riddle
The mountains that I was born in are covered in snow all year round. When I was very young, I remember my mother would always take me around to the nearby forest to wander and feed me. I believe I was the happiest bunny in the whole mountain. I always thought I would live happily ever after like all those human "fairytales" my mother would tell me and my siblings about. However, things were not to be, as one would expect. By the time I was six months old, our nest was attacked by a wolf pack. I was out playing on my own so I escaped the attack, by the time I returned to my nest, my mother died trying to protect my siblings, but to no avail. Shocked and numbed at what I saw, I ran away, not knowing where to go. I kept on running, until I could no longer keep on and fell unconscious.
When I came to my senses, I realize I was in a human house, next to a fireplace. I looked up and saw that I was sitting on a young boy's lap. He looked about seven years old, and has long dark hair. His face, well, you could say it was very white, just like mine. It seems like he was asleep. I tried to move, but I must still be feeling tired. The boy woke up instantly and looking at me, smiled, "Oh! You're awake! Thank goodness my father found you lying in the snow while he was out hunting, or you would have froze to death in the snow outside." He then patted me on the back. "You poor thing. Something terrible must have happened to you out there, but don't worry, I'll take care of you from now on. Maybe I should give you a name, hmmm…" He scratched his head for a while, and then said, "Since you're as white as snow, how about Yuki? That's it! I'll call you Yuki from now on! My name's Haku, pleased to meet you!" He smiled and then patted me again. I felt the same level of warmth I had felt with my mother, and quietly I went to sleep.
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I have lived with the boy called Haku for a year now. Very often, he would take me out to play in the village he lives in, and sometimes his parents would play along, and we would be enjoying ourselves. Once again, I was the happiest bunny, and Haku was the most cheerful boy in the village. This would soon change once again in the next few weeks.
One day, Haku brought me out to the nearby river to play like usual. I saw a butterfly and chased it as far as I could, but I lost my grip and fell into the river. It was summer at that time, and the weather was slightly warmer, so there was no ice on the river and it flowed rapidly. Haku saw that I was in trouble and tried to reach me, but no matter how many times he tried, he just could not get to me. Despaired in not being able to save me, tears started to flow in Haku's eyes and he shouted, "Yuki~~~~~!!!!!!!!!" Then the most amazing thing happened, I was still in the water, but I was floating in the air. It's as if the water that surrounded me formed a bubble and flew into the air. Haku was just as stunned when he saw me levitate. The bubble I was in slowly floated towards Haku and landed by his side before bursting. I immediately gasped for my breath, and Haku embraced me, and I heard him crying before I passed out, "I'm so glad you're safe, Yuki!"
The next few days, Haku and I would go to the same place by the river, and I would see Haku magically bring droplets of water up from the surface, just like he did when he saved me. He would stare into the droplets in awe and wonder for hours on end, and he would change them into all sorts of different shapes. I too would stop whatever I was doing and stare at him, perplexed at what he could do. After about a week playing with his "skill", he said to me, "This looks like fun, Yuki! Let's show mother this wonderful thing tomorrow! I wonder what she would say…maybe she would be delighted." And he smiled and went to sleep.
The following morning, Haku and I woke up early, and after having breakfast, we went to the usual place by the river. He said to me, "Mother would come sometime at noon, so we should play as much before I give her a pleasant surprise." And he went to play with the water again, with me staring at him like usual. By the time the sun reached the middle of the sky, Haku was already feeling quite worn out and laid on the snow to wait for his mother to come. Half an hour later, his mother arrived, smiling, "There you are, Haku! I was looking everywhere for you, but I didn't know you would come this far to play with Yuki. What is it you want to show me?" Haku ran to his mother and smiled, "I've got something very interesting to show you, come here." And led her to the riverbank. As I watched from a distance, he stretched his hands out and water droplets started floating from the surface, as he did many times before. He held a droplet between his palms and it kept still, he turned to his mother smiling, "So what do you think, mother?" I could not see his mother's face, but I could see her body trembling. Haku too realized something was wrong with her, and asked, "What's wrong mother?" His mother voice trembled, "No…no…not you…not you too…" And all of a sudden she slapped Haku on the face. Shocked, Haku said, "Mother…?" She then embraced Haku and broke down in tears, "I'm so sorry, Haku! I'm so sorry! Forgive me…" Still puzzled, Haku started crying as well and asked, "Why…why are you crying, mother?" Suddenly I heard something in the distance, and I saw it was Haku's father walking away. I did not understand why he did not go up to them then.
That evening, both Haku's parents seem to be deep in thought and did not speak to each other, and Haku's still disturbed by what happened earlier. Everybody went to sleep early and it was quiet for hours. I was fast asleep on my bed that Haku made for me when I heard someone opening the door, it was Haku's father. He had a very solemn look on his face, and sighing, he left the house. Curious, I followed him by jumping out of the window. I followed him quietly and saw him enter a neighbour's house. I could barely hear what they were saying, and could only make out "Is that true?", "This can't be!", and "They must be killed!" Then I heard someone said, "You did the right thing, let us go to your house and end it once and for all!" I had a very bad feeling about this, and rushed back to the house to warn Haku. I licked Haku's face to wake him up, and still feeling very tired, he asked, "What is it, Yuki?" We then heard lots of footsteps coming to the house and someone knocking loudly at the door. Haku's mother woke up to the noise and said to Haku, "You stay here Haku." And went to answer the door. When she saw there were about four to five men together with Haku's father carrying swords, she trembled and cried, "No…no…NO!! Leave Haku out of this! It's not his fault!" Haku's father only said, "I'm sorry…" and then slashed her with the sword he was carrying. Blood splattered around the room. Haku and I were both stunned at what happened, I was so scared that I hid myself in Haku's clothing. "Mother! Father…why…?" Haku said softly. Just as he was about to move towards Haku, a hand grabbed his foot. It was Haku's mother, still barely breathing, "Please…leave Haku out of this…" Tears flowed down Haku's fathers cheeks, and he said, "You lied to me…" then stabbed his sword deeper into her chest. "MOTHER!!!!!" Haku yelled. The other men started moving towards Haku, and raised their swords. Haku cried, "No…no…no…NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" And the next thing I knew, I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I realized Haku was lying on the snow outside of the house. Climbing out of his clothing, I saw another rare sight, the house was now filled with icicles sticking out from the roof to the walls. It was as though the icicles grew straight from the house and tore the house apart. I turned to see that Haku was asleep, tears were still visible on his cheek. I licked his cheek to wake him up. "Where…am…I?" He asked, it didn't take him long to remember what had happened and he embraced me and wept silently.
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For three months, Haku had found himself a home near a garbage dump in the village by the bridge. He would often find food in the rubbish dump to feed himself. I would sometimes help him find food by sneaking into people's houses. Occasionally, dogs would chase him, but he didn't care. Most of the time, he would just sit by the bridge and say nothing. I would sometimes let him pat my back just to keep him company, but he was no longer the cheerful boy I met a year ago. Autumn went and winter came, and it started snowing more rapidly. Food was getting scarce, and the cold temperature became unbearable. I could see Haku shivering and trying to withstand the cold from what few clothing he had. I wrapped myself inside him to keep him as warm as possible, but I did not know how long I could last.
One day, the snow was falling as usual, and Haku was sitting at his usual spot by the bridge and not saying anything, despite the cold. A shadow approached us, and both Haku and I looked up and saw it was that of a man. He was about 6 feet tall, and was wearing one of those ninja uniforms. He had a bandage wrapped around most of his lower face, and has almost no eyebrows. The ninja just stood there and stared at Haku for sometime, then he walked and kneeled in front of Haku and said, "Heh-heh-heh…what an unfortunate child. A brat like you isn't wanted by anyone. You will die with neither freedom nor dreams." Then his eyes widened in surprise, for Haku was smiling at him and said, "Onii-chan, you have the same eyes as I do." For a moment, the ninja stood there motionless, then he stood up and said, "Kid, do you want to feel needed again? Would you like to give your all for me?" Haku said nothing for a while, and then nodded his head. The ninja said, "Come over here." Haku stood up and walked towards the ninja, who then puts his hand on Haku's head and said, "Walk with me. From now on, your abilities are mine."
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It was a sunny afternoon and Haku had just finished his daily training with the ninja called Zabuza. Haku went to his room to feed me as he always did for the last four years. Haku happily gave me a small piece of carrot and said, "You know, Yuki? Today, I've finally been able to control the skills Zabuza-san says only I have! Here, let me show you." He took a cup of water, and raising his hand, many droplets started floating, and then he made some hand movements, or "seals" as he would call them, using his left hand, and the droplets changed into ice needles and flew across the room, hitting the wall. The needles melted instantly but there were deep holes embedded in the walls. Needless to say, I was perplexed and stood there like any other curious bunny. Haku turned and gave me a warm smile, and said, "Were you scared? Don't worry, Yuki, I would never use that skill against Zabuza-san. I promised Zabuza-san the day he took me in that I would do anything to protect him from any harm. I would become the strongest ninja to be able to make Zabuza-san's dream come true. I would hate to see Zabuza-san's body get dirty." Haku raised his hands and played with his ice needles again, this time he flew them across to the door. Just as it was about to hit the door, the door flung open and the needles flew straight at Zabuza's face.
"Zabuza-san!" Cried Haku, panicked at what he has done, he tried running across the room to stop the needles, but it was too late, the needles had embedded themselves all over Zabuza's face. Haku stood there horrified, "Zabuza…-san…" Just then another voice spoke, "You didn't think I would get hit that easily, did you, Haku?" I blinked and suddenly there was another Zabuza standing behind Haku, the Zabuza that got hit instantly dissolved into a puddle of water. It was the "Water Clone no Jutsu" that Haku was constantly telling me about. Haku turned around to face the real Zabuza, his face still shocked. "Next time you should be careful when you use your skills, you don't want 'them' to know about it, I only need you to use them only when I ask you to." Said Zabuza sternly. Haku's eyes become teary and he embraced Zabuza, crying, "I'm…so sorry, Zabuza-san, I should have been more careful. If that was the real Zabuza-san…if that was the real Zabuza-san…I don't think I can ever forgive myself!" Zabuza said nothing, and slowly he put his hand on Haku's head and said, "You don't have to worry about me, no one can hurt me. They don't call me 'Devil of the Hidden Mist' for nothing. Just continue to be a useful 'tool' and I'll be very happy." Haku started smiling again, and said, "Yes! Zabuza-san! I promise I won't let you down anymore." Zabuza-san replied, "Anymore? I don't remember you ever letting me down." Haku's face brightened up instantly.
"By the way…I got something for you, Haku." Said Zabuza, and took a scroll from his pocket. "It's all the knowledge you need to know about concerning the skills of your Advanced Bloodline. It took me great lengths to obtain it from Mizukage's hidden vaults. You should be able to learn this within a few months, no, a few weeks, with your talents." He handed the scroll over to Haku, who opened it and read the first line, "'Demonic Ice Mirrors'…" Zabuza said, "This is one of the most powerful jutsus ever used during the civil wars. It is extremely effective. Only you are able to learn this jutsu, and once used, not even I can find a way to defeat it. You should start practising tomorrow first thing in the morning." Haku said enthusiastically, "Yes, Zabuza-san! With this skill, I'll be able to be Zabuza-san's ultimate weapon!" Zabuza patted Haku on the head in the same gentle way that Haku would pat my back, saying, "That's a good kid."
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I never liked this Gatou guy, always bad mouthing Haku and Zabuza. Not to mention he always gave me cold stares, as though as he would make rabbit stew out of me. I've been putting up with this guy for three weeks now, I don't know what was Zabuza thinking when he came here. Haku said he doesn't mind as long as Zabuza-san is happy, and he'll protect me and him from Gatou if he tries anything funny. These two years we have never settled in the same place for more than a month, and I have always been on the look out for Hidden Mist's hunter-nins that were always after us. Haku has trained me to be able to observe and spy on enemy parties without getting discovered, since I was just a rabbit. Well, most of the time the ninjas would just ignore me and I could go back and warn Haku of any imminent danger. However, last week, when I was spying on a group of ninjas, mostly kids, this blond haired kid suddenly got all paranoid and threw a kunai straight at me! The kunai hit the tree behind me just inches above my head, I immediately fainted. I felt the kid picked me up and said, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do it…" If that kid hadn't apologized, I think I'll have Haku kick his ass badly. Anyway, I didn't know what happened to those ninjas, since I was unconscious most of the time, only that Haku brought me back.
Zabuza was lying in bed, sleeping rather soundly, while Haku sat in a chair in front of his bed, looking at him with compassionate eyes. He stood up, walked towards the mirror and untied the bun on his hair and let them loose. Since he has his hair tied most of the time, it's sometimes hard to notice that his hair has grown very long. He then went to another room and changed into a pink outfit. These days, not even I know what Haku is thinking, he doesn't even let me in the room when he's changing, and this pink outfit of his, with choker on his neck, made him look like a girl, a very pretty one. I wonder if it's to fool the enemy and gather useful information? Sometimes I suspect that it was Zabuza that taught him such strange habits. He came back into a room carrying a basket, he then placed me in the basket and smiled at me, "Let's go to the forest and pick some herbs for Zabuza-san, OK, Yuki?"
The thick cover of the forest allowed only a few beams of sunlight to shine through to the ground. In one sunlit area, Haku has been busy collecting the herbs for almost an hour. Somehow, his presence just lightened the gloomy mood of the forest as birds, squirrels, and even brown rabbits flock to his side, and he would just give them a warm smile. Somehow I felt jealous of these animals for trying to get attention from Haku, but Haku would just give me his warm smile and all my doubts were swept away, and I happily played around with the other animals. Some of the birds started flying off and flocked around at another place nearby. Haku turned and saw there was someone lying there, it was the blond boy from the other day. Haku stood up and walked over to the boy and woke him up. I couldn't hear what they were saying since I was still playing with other rabbits. The boy was very enthusiastic and seemed to be blushing at the sight of Haku. Another victim of Haku's cross dressing tendencies. He then came over with Haku and started helping him gather the herbs.
After another half-hour, the basket has been filled with herbs thanks to the boy, who worked twice as hard as Haku, and kept on calling him "Ne-chan", apparently Haku didn't bother telling him the truth. He looked at the boy, who was full of bruises and sweat, and asked, "What are you doing here in the forest?" The boy replied, "For training!"
"From the head protector you're wearing, are you a ninja?"
"Yes! That's right!" The boy nodded, "I'm gonna train to become the strongest ninja in my village and have everyone recognize me!"
"Who are you training for? Is it for yourself, or is it for someone else?"
"Eh?" Said the boy, puzzled with Haku's question.
For a moment, Haku was silent, and seems to be deep in thought. His eyes remind me of the time when he had to live in the streets before being taken in by Zabuza. Was he thinking of that time?
"What is it? Ne-chan?" asked the boy impatiently.
"When you want to protect someone precious to you," said Haku finally, "then you will become strong. Do you have someone precious to you?"
The boy closed his eyes and thought for a while, then replied, "Yes, I do have people precious to me."
Haku smiled at the boy, making him blush even more, and then placed me in the basket and stood up. "You will become very strong. We will meet again someday." He walked off for a while, then paused, and said, "Oh, by the way, I'm a boy."
As Haku started walking, I stuck my head out of the basket and looked at the boy, he looked pretty much devastated. I really think Haku needs to stop breaking the hearts of so many boys.
When Haku returned, he mixed the herbs and brewed them for Zabuza. A few hours later, Zabuza was back to his normal self again and started walking around stretching his muscles. He said to Haku, "I've finally recovered to full strength. Tomorrow I will defeat that Sharingan, and kill that old man. We will go to the bridge early tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Zabuza-san."
"Haku…"
"Yes?"
"If it weren't for you, I would never find out how to defeat the Sharingan. You have great talent in seeing through various forms of jutsus. I'm glad I picked you up that day."
"As long as I can make Zabuza-san happy, I'm willing to do anything for you." Said Haku, placing his hands on his chest and blushing slightly.
Zabuza placed his hands on Haku's shoulders, and said, "Good kid, I'm counting on you."
Haku's face brightened up at hearing Zabuza praise him, "Yes, Zabuza-san!"
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"Yuki!" said Haku softly as he waked me up in the morning. I slowly opened my eyes and looked at him. "Yuki, I'm going out on an important mission with Zabuza-san today. You be a good rabbit and stay here, OK? I promise I'll take care of Zabuza-san."
"Haku! Let's go!" cried Zabuza outside the door.
"Coming! OK, see you later." He patted me on the head and gave me a carrot like he always did whenever he went on these missions. I saw him and Zabuza close the door and left me alone in the room. Somehow, I just have this feeling that I won't be seeing them again.
A few hours had passed, and I slowly began to feel restless at Haku's absence. Growing impatient, I crawled out of my bed and slowly climbed out of the window. Gatou's bungalows was quite a distance from the town and bridge, so I started walking towards there. After quite some time, I noticed the streets in the town were empty, and it was like everyone has left. I walked some more and saw a lot of people, many carrying fishing rods and sticks as weapons with them, and they were walking towards the bridge. I ran carefully under their legs, trying not to get detected by them, but very soon I felt a small pair of hands picked me up. It was that of a boy around 8 years old and wearing a pot on his head as a helmet and carrying a small bow.
"What is it, Inari?" asked one of the men behind.
"Oh, it's just a white rabbit. He looks quite cute." Answered the boy called Inari. "What's a rabbit like you doing here anyway?" He asked me. "Anyway, we're gonna go to the bridge and get rid of Gatou! So why don't you come along?"
This was a lift I more than bargained for.
Half an hour later, the townspeople have reached the bridge and we saw a large number of people standing at the other edge of the bridge. There was some mist and I could barely see the blond boy standing in the distance. The large group of people started charging towards the boy and his companions, when Inari fired an arrow in front of their feet.
"The hero always appears at the last moment! Naruto nii-san!" said Inari coolly.
"Inari!" cried the blond boy called Naruto.
"We will defend our town to every last man and child!" yelled the men behind Inari. And the crowd cheered in unison.
Then I saw Naruto and the masked ninja, who was with him the other day, performing jutsus and cloned themselves, which pretty much scared the thugs away and they mostly jumped off the bridge.
The masked ninja then walked towards someone lying on the ground and picked him up. That was when I realized that it was Zabuza. I was shocked when I saw another person lying on the ground, it was Haku. The sky started snowing when Zabuza was placed next to Haku.
Realizing what has happened, I jumped off Inari's shoulders and ran towards Haku. Haku lay there motionless, a tear fell from his closed eyes, and Zabuza lied next to him, touching his cheeks. I licked Haku's face, trying to wake him up, but he never did, and tears started to flow from my eyes as well.
A pair of hands picked me up and patted me, it was Naruto, his eyes were as teary as mine, and he kneeled in front of Haku and wept.
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Two weeks have passed, and Naruto and his companions have built two graves for Haku and Zabuza. As everyone has paid their tributes and left, Naruto remained behind, carrying me in his arms. "Don't worry, Haku. I promise you I'll take good care of bunny-san for you from now on. I promise I'll never forget what you say and live to protect those who are important to me and become strong, and make my dream come true. May your dream come true with Zabuza in heaven." As he started walking away, he said to me, "Haku never told me about you, so I don't know what your name is. How about I give you a new name? What should it be?" He thought for a while, then said, "How about 'Haku' then?" I looked up in surprise that he would name me after my master, I played with his finger to show him that I have no problem with the new name. "OK! From now on you're Haku!" He smiled and patted me on the head and said, "Let's go home, Haku!"
The End