Here's a short story. It's writen in Haku's point of view, and the man he meets is Zabuza. Some of the quotes were taken directly from the manga, but not all of them...
DISCLAIMER: Me? Own Haku, Zabuza, or anyone else in Naruto? Of course not! That would be great, though... At least Haku... Uh, never mind! On with the story!


Pain. Suffering. Loneliness…

Fatigue washed over me as I watched villagers go about there daily business, not even stopping to acknowledge someone like me. Why had everything come to this? What had happened to make everything go wrong? Was it really wrong to have hidden powers inside of me because of my blood? That same blood that caused my mother to die at my father's hands… It had now left me all alone. If I had such powers, then why wouldn't everyone else accept me? Why had I become powerless?

Superfluous. Unwanted…

"Pathetic!" I looked up at the man who had just spoke, because… That word… It seemed like he could read my mind. "Look at you…" he continued. His voice sounded mostly cold, but I could swear I heard something else… Something like… eagerness… "A foundling. An orphan. Unloved and uncared for." What was this man getting at? Why did he have to tell me the painful thing I had learned to accept? "…Soon, you'll die here, by the side of the road, with nothing to show that you lived or died and no one to care what your dreams were…"

Every word this man spoke was the truth. However, as much as I had heard other village children tell me this already, this man was somehow… different. The children would mean it teasingly, while they laughed and sometimes even through rocks at me. This man, though… There was something in his eyes. It seemed that he sympathized with me… Even cared for me…!

Dreams…

"…I…" I started, a light smile forming on my face. He seemed surprised at this, but his eyes still had that gentle emotion in them. "Can see myself in your eyes. We have the same expression!" The look in his eyes seemed to change slightly; from sympathy to sadness. I could feel my held tilt a bit to the left as he gazed at me for some time. I stuttered to say something else, but before any words could leave my lips, I felt his arms wrap around me. "S-sir?" His embrace was tight, yet gentle, and I heard some sound come from him, though I couldn't tell if he was crying or laughing…

"Perfect…!" he whispered. "Someone like you… S-so… gullible… Naïve…!" I listened to his words as best as I could. Why was he saying stuff like that? Why did he hug me? And, more important… Why did he acknowledge my existence? "Tell me," he interrupted my thoughts, now looking into my eyes. "what exactly is your dream?"

"M-my… dream?" I thought about this, and also considered why he had asked me this. It only took a few moments of thinking it over for tears to fill me eyes. Tears of happiness. For I had come across someone who seemed to care for me… Who noticed me… And, to be with someone like that… To do anything for them… That was my dream.


Please review, and while kind constructive critique is accepted, flames are not. Keep that in mind!