Naruto Uzumaki: Prologue Orange

by Twisted Takes

Love. One of the few things Naruto wanted out of life from the day he could comprehend it, but on Team 7's first real mission to Wave Country, he learned lesson 1 of love. It hurts. Following the death of Haku, Team 7 sees a profound change in Naruto; "the strongest steel is tempered in the hottest of fires..." A Prologue to Orange Flash; Naru/FemHaku light Naru/Saku Strong!Naruto

2. Chapter 2: Down the Shadowed River

AN: Back with a vengeance. This is a seriously long chapter, and in it you'll get to see a few flashes of Naruto's relationship with Haku. I was initially going to cover all of their interactions in one chapter, but I thought it was a better idea to spread them out a bit more as he begins to move on. Also, I'm going to start bringing Naruto and Sasuke up as friends, even more so than canon Part 1 (it'll make the Valley of the End even more gut wrenching :D muahahaha). I think Naruto would have been more emotionally charged if Naruto and Sasuke leaned more toward friends than rivals, but that's why fanfiction exists. Last, but not least, I'm going to start building up the love triangle within Team 7, since it always felt like an afterthought in canon. Anyway, enjoy!

---

The morning sun tickled Sasuke's eyes as slowly fluttered open. He was awake, yet he remained in that very spot for several minutes. His entire body was screaming at him, the multitude of puncture wounds sustained from Haku's needles made him grunt and groan as he slowly rose to a sitting position.

There was a particularly deep channel in his left shoulder, it had bled through his bandages overnight, slightly staining his navy and white sleeping bag with a small speck of blood.

The Uchiha pressed down on the puncture would, it was both a dull and sharp pain, due in part to the torn muscle and swelling, but no more blood came out of the afflicted shoulder. Sasuke took this to mean that the wound itself had clotted successfully.

Sasuke thought back to the night before… Naruto had returned from the ceremony, looking… broken. He was a glaring speck of stoicism within a sea of jubilant villagers. His royal blue eyes had then appeared almost as if they were navy in color, and his posture was sunken to a pathetic slouch. Seeing Naruto like this made Sasuke reflect on how he himself dealt with the Uchiha Massacre.

Sasuke's memories concerning it were extremely muddled, he could, at the moment, only remember a few key pieces concerning what exactly had happened that night, only one stretch of time stuck firmly in his mind, no matter how hard the rest was to remember. It involved the days following the massacre…

From what Sasuke could recall, he was unable to speak for weeks, he'd open his mouth to scream, but nothing would come out. It made him shudder, pushing the thoughts from his mind, he groaned and stood to his feet, looking out the window. Still, he was unable to keep his mind off of the massacre and the ensuing aftermath, he could see through the small glass opening, that Naruto was sitting outside on Tazuna's front lawn, he head was hanging as he absentmindedly pulled grass out of the ground.

Sasuke struggled to the door and limped out into the hallway, he saw Sakura brushing her hair in the bathroom, she noticed him in the mirror and smiled, turning to greet him, but he paid it no mind. He walked past her and down the stairs.

The kitchen was busy, with Kakashi assisting Tsunami and Inari in preparing breakfast for everyone. He moved silently so that they didn't notice him going for the door, however, Kakashi made eye-contact with Sasuke for a split second before returning to frying some eggs.

He silently opened the door and strolled onto the front lawn, he stopped and stood there, staring at Naruto, who slowly became aware of the Uchiha heir's presence.

Surprisingly, Sasuke spoke first. "You saved my life… Thanks."

Naruto looked at his teammate with dull eyes. "We're teammates… Don't mention it."

Upon observing Naruto closer, Sasuke could see that his eyes had rings around them, he likely didn't sleep much at all.

Sasuke cocked his head to the side. "… You… look the same way I did after my family… What exactly happened while I was out?"

Naruto took a shaky breath and wiped his eyes before he replied. "That girl we fought… turns out she and I knew each other… She was… important to me… S-she didn't make it."

Sasuke's expression remained blank, but he walked over and sat about 4 feet in front of Naruto, facing him. "So you understand then… what it's like to lose something important to you?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not sure… The way I felt about her was… different somehow..."

"Did you love her?"

Naruto gave Sasuke a pained smile. "In hindsight, I wouldn't be surprised if I did…"

Sasuke looked out toward the lake. "This sort of thing sticks with you. Finding some sort of resolve to keep you going keeps their faces out of my mind… Did she say anything to you before she died?"

Naruto looked down and shook his head. "A little... she would always go on about how you could only become truly strong when you're fighting for more than just yourself… She would have understood you pretty well, she was an orphan, like us… her clan was wiped out by the civil war… Even so, what would I know about how you feel? I mean, we're both orphans, but I never had a family to begin with."

Sasuke replied succinctly. "True…"

Naruto trailed off and leaned back, spreading out on the grass to stare at the sky.

"Oi, Sasuke."

"Hn."

"You said I should find a resolve to work toward, right?"

"It's what keeps me functioning."

"… I wanna be Hokage."

Sasuke looked at Naruto, raising his eyebrow. "… I know that… But, you should go with something that's related to what happened on that bridge yesterday."

Naruto reached his hand up to the morning sky. "Exactly… When we introduced ourselves I said I was going to be Hokage."

Sasuke remained skeptical. "... Difference being?"

"Now, I want to be Hokage."

Sasuke nodded in understanding. "Take it and run with it then. Otherwise… I'll be Hokage."

Naruto sprung to his feet and stared down his teammate. "Those are fightin' words, teme!"

Sasuke fiddled with some of his bandages. "So you've still got some fight in you… Good, I thought you were broken or something."

The blonde realized that his teammate was only trying to get a rise out of him, so he opted to sit back down on the lawn. Sasuke was about to speak again, but there was a creaking noise, Sakura was poking her head out of the front door, staring at her teammates. The Uchiha groaned and turned away from the house, so that his back was to his female teammate.

Naruto simply stared at her as she approached them.

"I'm… not interrupting anything, am I? I was just wondering if you two were doing okay… you know, all things considered."

Naruto shook his head, while Sasuke started playing with the grass. There was a long silence, as Sakura was deathly afraid of speaking, she could tell that both Naruto and Sasuke were probably talking about something important and she may have unintentionally screwed it up. When she saw Sasuke in the mirror, he had a strange look on his face, he almost appeared sad. This piqued her interest, so she went to the window in his room once she realized that he had left the house. She could see him talking with Naruto about something, but in her excitement to find out what it was, she waltzed over without thinking, and now, it was too late to take it back.

She looked at Sasuke, who's back was turned, Sakura could tell that he wasn't too keen on talking at the moment, so she turned to Naruto, who was staring at the sky.

"Hey, Naruto?"

"Sakura-chan."

Sakura twitched at the distinct lack of warmth in Naruto's voice. "Hey, uh… how are you feeling?"

"… Same as yesterday, I guess…"

Sasuke suddenly piped in, sounding a bit annoyed. "Bugging him about it every day won't help. Leave him alone."

Sakura shrunk and her eyes bounced back and forth between the two boys, Sasuke was always distant, but with Naruto being somewhat aloof as well, she was beginning to seriously regret coming outside.

Naruto looked at his pink-haired teammate and gave her a tiny smile when she turned to him.

"It's okay Sakura-chan, I know you're trying to help, but you've done more than enough. Speaking to you was just what I needed right then and there… now I just need some time with my thoughts, that's all… Sasuke was just offering his own take on things."

Sakura brightened up a bit and nodded before rising to her feet. "... chan?" She took note of the relatively new honorific for a moment before finishing her thought. "...No problem. Sorry for butting in… Breakfast will be ready soon, and Sasuke-kun, I left you some more bandages on your dresser."

Sasuke turned and nodded before looking back toward the lake, his pink-haired teammate sighed, cursing her lack of discretion in entering the situation. Sakura gave a slight bow before scurrying back inside, Naruto's blank eyes remained locked on her the entire time, he spoke to the Uchiha heir once she was out of earshot.

"Hey, what do you think of Sakura?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto and raised his eyebrow; there was a long pause before he replied with a question of his own.

"Why're you asking me?"

Naruto chose not to elaborate. "… No reason in particular."

"… Annoying, shallow."

Naruto looked toward the house and scratched his head. "Huh." Thinking back to what Sakura had said to him the night before, Naruto would say the exact opposite about his pink-haired teammate.

Several minutes of silence had passed, both boys appeared to be in their own personal universes. There was so much to say, but even so, nothing came to their minds, Sasuke struggled to his feet, grunting in pain.

"I'm gonna go eat something… See ya."

Sasuke walked into Tazuna's house, silently shutting the door behind him, Naruto stared up at the morning sky and began to wonder how he'd get through the next few days.

"How did you two do it, Haku-chan? … To lose entire families and keep going on; you, and Sasuke…"

---

The trip back to Konoha passed in a near-dead silence.

From what Sakura could tell, her teammates and sensei were all burnt out for multiple reasons. Kakashi's slouching posture showed signs of fatigue and overexertion, on top of that, his injuries hadn't healed. Sasuke's Sharingan was still refusing to come under control and was currently stuck in 'on mode' again, so he was likely drained from sensory overload, and Naruto…

His spine was rigid, his head was high, yet his facial expression was completely blank. His eyes had dark circles around them, but other than that, he appeared fine… assuming you didn't know of his usual temperament. He uncharacteristically remained just as silent as everyone else during the trek back, not even answering Kakashi the one time the man had questioned his status. The painful silence had ended once the village gates appeared within view, Kakashi stopped walking and turned to his genin, he looked each one of them over before deciding on handing Sakura a stack of cash.

"… Sakura. Take those two to get something to eat… and then to the hospital. They don't quite seem themselves… I'll go hand in the report and get our pay released… I'll make sure we're compensated for the spike in the mission's severity."

The silver-haired jonin disappeared in a cloud of white smoke, leaving his genin to walk the rest of the way toward the gate. Sakura was about to ask where they should go, but decided to say nothing, she assumed that she wouldn't get an answer from either of them. She assumed wrong.

"Ichiraku."

Naruto had finally spoken, Sakura and Sasuke turned toward the blonde, who's expression was still disturbingly blank.

Sasuke shrugged in agreement. "Sure, whatever. It's close by."

Sakura sighed and slowed down, signaling for them to show the way. They got through the gate with no trouble from Izumo and Kotetsu, who usually heckled the young genin to no end. They remained silent as the young ninja passed them by, they displayed a sort of silent approval that nearly made Sakura do a double-take.

The genin were of course welcomed back by the statue of the 1st Hokage in the center of Konoha plaza. It was just past lunch, so the streets weren't all that crowded, the near empty plaza gave the kids a bit of pause, but a cool gust of wind ushered them forward toward their destination. Sasuke took the lead toward the popular ramen stand; he walked at a brisk pace despite his fatigue. The prospect of a hearty meal propelled him forward; allowing him to ignore the stinging of the dozen or so wounds peppering his body. The genin arrived at the stand within a few minutes and were greeted by Teuchi when they entered, they immediately sat down, with Sakura having chosen to perch herself on the stool between Naruto and Sasuke.

"Well look who's here! Brought some friends, with you this time, eh Naruto?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, we just got back from a mission."

Teuchi nodded and put some water on the stove to boil. He handed Sakura and Sasuke a menu before turning to Naruto.

"So, what're ya hungry for, Naruto?"

Naruto thought for a second before replying. "Actually, I'll just have the usual."

"Alright! How many?"

Naruto took a breath and sighed. "… Just one this time… I'm not that hungry."

Teuchi raised an eyebrow at Naruto and took a few seconds to more closely observe the young ninja. They were all peppered from head to toe in bandages or compresses, and their eyes had a sort of dullness to them, at least for the boys. The girl didn't seem all that beaten up, she only looked tired, with the occasional scrape and bruise here and there.

Sakura and Sasuke gave their orders to Teuchi and he nodded, before stepping into the back room to prepare the ingredients he'd need. There was another painfully long silence, but Sakura figured that the prospect of food might make her teammates more talkative.

She looked at Sasuke for a few seconds, he eventually noticed her staring at him and made eye contact for a second. He gave her a blank expression before turning the other way, obviously to avoid conversing with her.

Sakura looked at Naruto, who did the opposite, when they made eye contact, he stared back, waiting for her to say something.

"So, you must come here pretty frequently… for him to know you by name and all…"

Naruto nodded. "It's the only place my bodyguards would let me eat when I went out… Something about it being "easier to secure" or something… That, and… well, it was the only restaurant that would openly serve me when I was little."

Sakura thought back to their toddler years. "Oh that's right. You'd always have ANBU with you when we were little… Why was that?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guess someone dangerous isn't all that fond of me… Ojii-san didn't want anything to happen to me, I guess."

"Ojii-san?"

Naruto clarified. "Oh, right. Sandaime."

Sakura shuddered at the dark direction the conversation was beginning to take, so she opted to change the subject.

"Um… I'm… Sorry if I stirred up any bad memories… Make sure you eat enough, we don't know how long you'll be in the hospital. I don't hear very good things about the food there…"

Naruto shrugged. "It's fine actually… Or… maybe I'm just used to it, I was there all the time when I was little."

Sakura inwardly groaned. She was getting the feeling that this subject was going to take a dark turn as well, but against her better judgment, she asked anyway.

"Why were you in there all the time?"

Naruto half-smiled nostalgically as he scratched his head.

"I used to get in fights a lot when I was little. The other kids would always mess with me, so I'd have to knock them down a couple of notches. I may have had bodyguards, but I asked them to let me handle stuff like that on my own. I once punched this kid so hard I broke my own hand."

Sakura's expression sunk as she sarcastically jabbed at Naruto for unintentionally darkening the mood again.

"You're full of bright and cheerful stories, aren't you?"

Naruto shrugged and added: "Well, there was the time I painted the Hokage monument..."

Sakura smiled and began to laugh. "That was you?!"

This revelation had even gotten Sasuke's attention, who curiously peered over at Naruto.

The blonde slouched over the counter, resting his head sideways across his hand. "Maybe. Depends on who's asking…"

Sakura poked Naruto on the shoulder. "My dad thought it was so funny, he took a photo of it! It's on our fridge!"

Naruto deadpanned. "I think the 4th Hokage would've looked good with a big green moustache, too bad the ANBU didn't agree."

Sasuke piped in. "They sent ANBU after you?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and looked toward the clock. "Yeah, only about three or four… I guess the chuunin weren't enough. In hindsight, maybe I should have done it at night…"

Naruto mischievously peered over at the mountain, but eventually sighed and shook his head. "… Nah, it's too soon to try that again… Maybe around Christmas time."

Sakura started to chuckle while Sasuke smirked and rolled his eyes, however, as Sakura's chortle subsided, she could sense that something about Naruto's expression was… off.

He was smirking, and joking around, but that trademark energy of his was simply absent. She chalked it up to the arduous mission, and all things considered, he looked to be doing fine, however, there seemed to be an aura of pain radiating off of Naruto. If Sakura could put words to it, she would say that she found it unnerving.

Naruto's voice snapped Sakura out of her thoughts.

"Hey, uh… Is there something on my face?"

She failed to realize that she'd been leering at him the entire time, Sakura twitched and faced forward toward the counter of Ichiraku.

"Oh… it's nothing."

Naruto rested his head on his palm seeming mildly irritated, but at the same time, thankful. "Your concern's appreciated… but I'm OK, Sakura-chan."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura noticed Naruto's posture go rigid for an instant… he was lying, obviously not feeling as "OK" as he would like her to believe. The pinkette started tapping her fingers on the table anxiously, as much as she wanted to say something, she figured that it wasn't the best time.

Turning to Sasuke, Sakura took a deep breath, but before she could speak, Sasuke interrupted.

"What is it, Sakura?"

Her voice caught in her throat and she sputtered for a moment. "I-I uh… was hoping you would train with me once you're healed… I wasn't much help during the mission, and I don't want to be a burden to you two in the future."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes for a few seconds as he stared at his teammate, she could see the gears in his head turning, but what exactly he was thinking about, she would never know.

"Sure… but on one condition."

Sakura started to smile. "What's the condition, Sasuke-kun?"

"Bring Naruto with you."

Sakura's smile slowly disappeared and she looked over to her blonde teammate, who was spinning a set of chopsticks between his fingers, he was quite visibly in a world of his own.

"Sure. Okay..."

Sasuke turned from Sakura and shut his eyes as his stomach growled at him once more, the smell of the boiling noodles was beginning to get to him. Despite the gnawing emptiness in his stomach, he was satisfied. Sasuke didn't feel like being alone with Sakura would be very fulfilling, at least with Naruto there as well, he'd have someone he could properly gauge his newly unlocked sharingan with. Sasuke looked past Sakura to his blonde teammate, he'd stopped twirling the chopsticks and was staring intently at the wall.

Sasuke took note of the expression on Naruto's face; it made him feel uneasy. The blonde had suddenly taken a murderous expression; he stared at the far wall behind the counter, no, through it. Naruto's eyes were a shade of crimson, much like his own Sharingan, the Uchiha narrowed his eyes ant tapped Sakura on the shoulder. She turned to Sasuke and smiled again, her smile disappeared just as quickly when she saw the strange look on Sasuke's face. The Uchiha heir silently pointed to Naruto and spoke quietly, the sound of the boiling water made it so that Sakura was the only one that could hear the Uchiha.

"He's got that look on his face again."

Sakura turned to Naruto and jumped, the amount of disgust in his eyes startled her, but just as it was before, Naruto's ire didn't appear to be directed at anyone in particular.

Sakura frowned for a moment before tapping Naruto.

The blonde snapped out of his trance and turned to her with a blank expression. He stared at Sakura for a moment before noticing the concerned look on her face, he groaned and turned forward once more.

"... I said I was fine Sakura."

Sakura's frown remained. "No, you're not. I want to believe you but…"

"But what?"

Sakura cocked her head to the side. "Your eyes... they're red again… They only get like that when you're really angry..."

Naruto appeared shocked for a moment and his eyes gradually shifted from crimson to a purple color, and then back to their original blue, his expression became slightly downtrodden and he faced forward once more.

"... I was thinking… maybe I could have saved her if I was faster… or stronger…"

Sasuke chimed in. "Thinking like that doesn't help. If I were stronger, I could have saved my family, but it didn't work out that way… there's no point dwelling on it."

Naruto winced and rested his head on his palms, shifting his attention to the boiling water, he thought for a few moments before addressing his teammates.

He remained facing forward as he spoke. "I guess you're right… How about we talk about something less depressing, yeah?"

There was a pause before Naruto continued speaking. "What're you guys gonna spend your first real paycheck on? Kakashi-sensei said we'd be getting an A-Rank salary for this mission."

Sasuke placed his elbows on the table and answered reluctantly, as if neither of his teammates would understand his choice.

"Chain mail, a new Fuma Shuriken I guess…"

Naruto gave Sasuke a bored look. "… Figures." He then looked at Sakura expectantly.

Sakura stared down at her lap and pouted. "… I don't know. I'm still wondering how we even survived… Money's the last thing on my mind to be honest."

Naruto sighed. "Fair enough."

Sakura gave Naruto a keen stare before replying. "What are you going to buy?"

The blonde looked at Sakura for a moment before returning to the boiling pot of water.

Naruto smirked and stretched his arms above his head; there was an audible pop in his spine.

"I'm not sure yet, that's why I asked... I'm having a few ideas now."

With that; Naruto returned to his internal dialogue, Sakura and Sasuke gave Naruto their umpteenth strange look of the day before individually pondering the meaning of his questions. Naruto wasn't one for small talk, nearly everything he did tended to have a purpose.

It was here that Teuchi came out from the back with three small cups full of the condiments and other toppings that came with each order. He turned to the boiling noodles and separated them into three roughly equal portions, though one was notably larger than the rest. He then removed the boiling noodles from the pot into three separate bowls, after which, he added the contents of the three cups to each bowl, taking extra care to mix them in well.

He handed each corresponding bowl to the young ninja at the counter, the last and largest of which, belonged to Naruto.

Teuchi gave Naruto a serious look. "I know you're not all that hungry, but you should eat anyway… I'm not a nosy man, but I know you Naruto, you get like this when things get rough."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and stared down at the bowl. "… Yeah, I guess…"

Teuchi retreated behind the door after giving Naruto another anxious glance.

Naruto grabbed his chopsticks and picked at the noodles before absent-mindedly pulling a clump up to his mouth every few seconds. It wasn't until the noodles reached Naruto's stomach that he realized how hungry he was; understandable, seeing as it had been more than 12 hours since he'd eaten anything.

Team 7 devoured their ramen in in silence; the hungry genin didn't have much to say at this point, being emotionally drained and all… Even then, there was a newfound level of respect between the three children, it was still unspoken of course, but they were much farther along in comparison to their chemistry during Kakashi's bell test.

The short trek to the hospital felt like an eternity, the sore muscles and various injuries plaguing the young genin slowed their perception of the time it took to reach their destination.

Sasuke was visibly annoyed, one of Haku's senbon needles went directly into his calf during the fight, the muscle was beginning to sting due to the amount of walking he'd done since that morning. At this point, all the Uchiha wanted were some painkillers and a comfy bed; luckily for him, the shinobi wing of the hospital was well known for both of those things. It would be a home away from home if the food weren't so bad, he wondered if the poor food quality was intentional or not to keep people from staying too long.

Upon stumbling through the front door, they were immediately greeted by three nurses with wheelchairs, the tallest of which spoke to Team 7 as soon as they entered.

"You must be Kakashi's genin. We were informed that your mission was a lot more dangerous than anticipated, we've made preparations for each of you… if you would…"

The nurse gestured to the chairs and the kids complied immediately, hoping to finally get some sort of rest.

Following the initial examination, the staff had compiled three clipboards, each of which listed the injuries found on the genin. They appeared arduous on paper, but for the experienced hospital staff; these ailments were nothing in comparison to the severity of which they were subject to during the 3rd Shinobi War.

Sasuke Uchiha; two dozen puncture wounds of varying depth (none in vital organs or on arteries), cracked rib, various bone contusions, and several small muscular tears.

Sakura Haruno; hairline fractures on ulna, sprained shoulder, brusing on neck likely due to attempted strangulation (no damage to windpipe sustained), multiple small lacerations (likely to require stitches).

Naruto Uzumaki; Multiple puncture wounds (low severity in comparison to Uchiha), minor skull fracture (no concussion symptoms), left shoulder dislocation (has been re-set, minor tearing on latissimus dorsi & deltoid), potential psychological damage (monitor disposition closely, consider referring to a specialist for evaluation).

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were separated to begin their treatments, none of which were particularly invasive or complex. Sasuke's wounds were meticulously disinfected one at a time… by slipping needles full of antiseptic into the wound channels... For Sasuke, being stabbed in the exact same place twice was both a painful and novel sensation… Painful and novel enough to force him to ask for something to bite down on.

As for Sakura; her wrist and forearm were washed and quickly set in a cast, it wasn't until the nurses told her that her arm was broken in two places that she'd realized the extremity was both warm to the touch and also beginning to throb. She'd assumed it was some moderate bruising, but in the end, she was wrong. The stitches went smoothly, so the staff applied a topical numbing agent before beginning to thread the needle through her skin… the only downside being that the powerful substance would also cause temporary paralysis on the applied location.

Naruto's treatment was a bit more involved, much to his surprise. The hospital staff were always hit-or-miss with the jinchuuriki. The nurses who were medical ninja treated him just fine; the medical staff that lacked a shinobi background were… different… There was a notable apprehensiveness when Naruto interacted with them, but luckily for him, his particular nurse had occaisionally treated him when he used to get into scuffles as a small child.

It was something Naruto had noticed, but never bothered to give much thought. His injuries were treated with a cold efficiency becoming of a shinobi, but once he was physically patched up, the nurse tenderly wheeled him to an office in a secluded section of the hospital. She placed a small plate of sliced fruit in Naruto's lap before leaving, uttering a small phrase.

"He'll be here to see you in a moment."

The room was simple in design, with a small desk and a few windows here and there, pretty boring really…

There was a creak as the door opened behind Naruto, and much to the boy's surprise, the 3rd Hokage stepped into the room.

Naruto stared at the man, confused. "Ojii-san?"

He nodded and smiled as he sat down at the desk. "Kakashi told me everything. I requested that you be referred to me instead of our usual shrink, I know you don't like psychiatrists…"

Naruto opened his mouth for a second before closing it; he looked off to the side and shrugged.

Sarutobi gave the boy a knowing smile. "What was she like?"

Naruto smiled as he talked about her. "Sweet… Just… sweet… Someone like her would have truly flourished if she wasn't forced to become a kunoichi."

Sarutobi stood and cracked the window, lighting his pipe as he replied. "If she were never a shinobi, she never would have met you…"

Naruto felt a pang of guilt, looking at the scrapes on his fists, the ones he'd nearly killed her with.

"But she would be alive…"

Sarutobi turned for a moment. "Naruto, have you ever heard the phrase 'half as long, twice as bright'?"

The blonde looked at the Sandaime, shaking his head. "No."

"It is a saying that the ninja of Konoha have abided by since the village's founding. You must at least be privy to the 'Will of Fire', are you?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, they drilled it into us at the academy."

Sarutobi turned back to face Naruto with his characteristic smile. "Apply that saying to the Will of Fire then… It is better to live a short, impactful life in the service of those you cherish most… is it not? The alternative would be to float through life, listless and without fulfillment."

Naruto's eyes widened in realization, he stared back at Sarutobi, waiting for him to continue speaking.

"Naruto, you say you want to be Hokage… you must understand that sacrifice is an important part of this position. You met her for a reason, and while you learned a painful lesson, it is ultimately up to you to follow the path you choose."

Naruto shot out of his wheelchair, causing Sarutobi to worriedly move toward the boy in case he fell over.

Naruto was frowning, but not in anger, it was a look of tenacity. "I know… To be honest, at first, I was only working toward being Hokage because I thought people would stop ignoring me, and also because you all have such high expectations for me… but losing her…"

Naruto could feel some more tears welling up in his eyes; he bit them back and pounded his chest.

"I want to be the Hokage because I finally understand what it's like to lose loved ones… I want to be able to protect my precious people, and becoming Hokage will allow me to do that in ways that actually matter… While I can't stop everything, I can still try… I have to… for her."

Sarutobi was taken aback by the sincerity in Naruto's voice, he smiled and walked over to the boy, grabbing him by the shoulders.

"I think you have the right idea, Naruto... This… emptiness you're feeling will pass. Lean on your teammates, you don't have to spill your guts and tell them every little thing, but just working and growing with them will help you fill the void."

Naruto exhaled and fell back into his wheelchair, giving the Hokage an expectant stare.

Sarutobi paused and smiled. "… That's all, I just wanted to make sure you were okay… relatively speaking."

Naruto, appearing unsure of himself, shifted his gaze to his lap; "... Can I go and see them now then? … My team?"

Sarutobi nodded, and immediately, the door behind Naruto creaked open. It was the nurse that had brought him there originally; the lady silently took Naruto's wheelchair, gently rolling the boy through the office door.

Naruto looked back at Sarutobi's reassuring smile one more time, he then faced forward and exhaled, feeling a small amount of relief for the first time in days. He started to chew on a slice of the apple that the nurse had given him beforehand.

---

Team 7 sat in silence in the hospital room; the pasty-blue moonlight was the only thing illuminating the stark white décor, the room felt… larger for some reason. Naruto, in taking Sandaime's advice to heart, had finally come up with a topic of conversation that he knew would even get Sasuke talking.

Naruto's formerly energetic voice pierced the silence. "Hey…"

"What do you foresee for yourselves? … Not literally, like… what do you see yourselves doing 10 or so years from now?"

Sakura, who was half asleep; was snapped awake by Naruto's sudden curiosity.

She replied inquisitively. "Like… what Kakashi-sensei asked us on our first day?"

Naruto, who continued to stare out the window, elaborated. "Not quite, this one is more specific. Kakashi asked us about our dreams and ambitions, I wanna know what path you think your life will be on… 10 years from now."

Sasuke's eyes swiveled toward the blonde and he watched in silence for a moment… eventually he sighed and uttered a short phrase.

"… You first."

Naruto and Sakura turned to Sasuke for a tick before looking at each other.

Naruto turned back to the window, the moonlight causing his eyes to have a sorrowful glow that was gone as soon as it came.

"Me first huh? … I … I wanna find love … Meeting Haku made me feel things I've never felt before, and the things we never got to tell each other, the "what ifs", I'll always wonder… 10 years from now, I hope by then that I find someone who can complete me the way she did."

Naruto continued to stare out the window, while his teammates continued to stare at him. Sasuke had an unreadable expression and appeared to be lost in his own thoughts concerning Naruto's words.

Sakura simply smiled and offered her own answer to Naruto's question.

"That's really something, Naruto… Y-"

The moonlight combined with Naruto's blank expression made him look like a porcelain doll when he looked back at his female teammate, she jumped at the inhuman visage that was Naruto's face.

Naruto's blank expression swapped to mild impatience as the silence drew on. His voice was uncharacteristically small.

"What's wrong? … Go on, I'm listening."

Sakura pulled her blanket closer to her face. "10 years… Right then… I want to prove that anyone can become a successful shinobi if they work hard enough. I'm not from a famous ninja clan, nor do I have a family history of military service, but this… It's just something I need to do… It'd be a waste just being plain old Sakura…"

Naruto appeared confused for a moment before offering some reassurance. "You don't have to prove anything. You managed to learn the tree climbing thing on the first day, it took me several days to get the hang of it... I couldn't even pass the final exam."

Sakura returned Naruto's confusion. "But… you passed just fine, you're a natural! You made twice as many clones as everyone else!"

Naruto shook his head. "Nope, I cheated. I just made shadow clones instead of standard bushin. I could just never learn that jutsu for whatever reason…"

Sakura took this into consideration with a pensive gesture. "I see… But still, with all things considered, you're just strong… The only other person in our graduating class who could keep up with you was Sasuke-kun… Unfortunately, I don't have that going for me. That's why I feel I have something to prove, this mission made it all too clear… I didn't manage to contribute anything while you three nearly died."

Naruto and Sakura looked toward Sasuke, waiting for him to spill his metaphorical guts. The boy sighed once more before relenting…

"Honestly, I don't even know why I'm telling you two any of this, but Aside from my ambition… I suppose that a little over 10 years from now, I hope to be well on my way toward starting a family of my own… assuming I live that long. I think about things… a lot, and one of them is the possibility that my ambition is merely a coping mechanism. I wonder if I truly have what it takes to be an avenger, this mission was the closest I've ever been to death in my life; and it made me doubt my resolve… Going forward, I know I cannot fear death… but, being so close to it showed me that I do… I'm afraid of dying..."

With that, the Uchiha heir leaned back and crossed his arms, his eyes were locked on a ceiling tile directly above him, he took a deep breath, and quietly exhaled.

Naruto took a thinking posture and gave Sasuke an approving look while he began to internalize the words, he'd just heard.

"Oi, Sasuke."

"Hn."

"It only means that you haven't yet lost sight of what's truly important."

Sasuke gave Naruto a strange look, so the blonde explained his cryptic response.

"Sandaime once told me that the man who doesn't fear death has nothing to lose... Being afraid of death just means that you still have something worth fighting for… if you die, you can't protect it... you can't have it… whatever it may be."

This made Sasuke sit back up and stare at Naruto, dumbfounded, Naruto didn't stare back though, he simply returned his focus to the moon.

Sakura shuddered as she felt the temperature in the room drop a few degrees… 'profound Naruto' was starting to weird her out a bit, he'd cracked maybe one genuine smile that entire day, but other than that, he just seemed like a blank slate.

Even so, Team 7 talked well into the night, expressing their hopes, dreams, and the like, as well as a desire for a bump in their painkiller dosages…

---

"Naruto."

The owner of the name was nudged awake by the sensation of his face trying to escape his head.

The blonde was woke up to the image of a bored-looking eye. Kakashi was stretching his face into ridiculous expressions. Naruto swatted his teacher's hands from his face and glared. It was early. He was tired.

"What is it?"

"Jiraiya-dono got back last night, he wanted to see how you were doing after the mission."

Naruto smiled; for real this time, not a grin, not a smirk, but a simple smile.

"… Really?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah. You're probably healed already, aren't you? Let's slip out for a bit before they notice you're gone."

Naruto sat up and stretched his arms above his head, yesterday's aches and pains were essentially nonexistent. Naruto hopped out of bed, but once he looked down at himself, he realized that he was still dressed in a hospital gown. Kakashi, never missing a beat; tossed him a black t-shirt and a pair of orange shorts.

Naruto rapidly pulled the clothes on and tossed the gown on the floor before heading downstairs with Kakashi; leaving his still-sleeping teammates in the room.

---

The cool morning air gave Naruto a bit of extra bounce in his step, as the boy was still quite sleep-deprived. He found himself unable to stay asleep for very long at all; her face pervaded his every thought, always calling to him, but always moving farther away, until the fear of losing her woke him up.

Naruto rubbed his eyes and looked at Kakashi, who appeared visibly worried about him. Even so, the Jonin opted to remain silent.

Evenutally, the Hokage's tower started to enter their field of view, and as they came up on the door, they were greeted by an ANBU escort.

"Kakashi-taicho, Uzumaki-san… Jiraiya-sama and Sandaime-sama await your arrival."

While most people found them creepy, Naruto found their presence calming, the feeling brought back memories of one ANBU in particular…

As a young boy, Naruto could remember being closely watched by ANBU operatives, he wouldn't see them all that often, but one in particular would frequently interact with him directly. "Inu-san" was the name Naruto had given him, the man wore a dog mask, and while he didn't say very much, Naruto preferred being able to at least directly speak to his invisible protectors from time to time.

The jinchuuriki pushed the memory from his mind and continued into the tower and then the elevator with Kakashi and the ANBU. Naruto impatiently watched the numbers on the indicator tick one by one until they reached the top floor. The elevator shuddered for a moment, and then, the door opened, revealing the large doors leading to the Hokage's office. Naruto and Kakashi stepped out of the elevator and walked toward the door, Kakashi grabbed the handle and pulled heavy doors open, revealing Jiraiya. He was standing in the center of the room, while Sarutobi smoked his pipe near the open window.

Jiraiya turned and walked over to Naruto, ruffling his hair. "So you made Genin while I was gone! … Man time flies… I also hear your first real mission went sideways…"

Sandaime turned his attention from Naruto and Jiraiya to Kakashi. "Kakashi, I need you to sign off on a few things to get your team's pay bumped."

Kakashi nodded and crossed the room, circling to the other side of Sarutobi's desk to examine the sheets. Naruto and Jiraiya quietly exited the office and took the elevator back to the lobby.

The normally short elevator-ride felt much longer than it did on the way up, long enough to make Jiraiya feel like he needed to break the silence.

"You seem troubled, Bud… Sarutobi-sensei told me a few things, but I didn't push it. I'd rather hear it from you…"

Naruto, having grown weary of talking about Haku, opted to give his guardian the shortened version.

"To be brief, I met this girl, we grew close… then, she turned out to be one of the enemy ninja contracted to stop us. What gets me, is the fact that she knew who I was the entire time we were meeting each other… She had several chances kill me, but … she didn't… I never got to tell her how I felt, and now…"

Jiraiya peered down at Naruto for a moment before looking back toward the elevator's floor-indicator; the Sannin smiled nostalgically, he had just the kernel of wisdom for this sort of ordeal.

"Hey Naruto."

"Hm?"

"Let me treat you to some ice-cream."

Naruto gave a abject shrug and sighed. "Sure…"

The elevator bell rang, and the door slowly creaked open, allowing the two shinobi to step out. They walked through the near-empty lobby and out the front door… The particular ice cream shop that Jiraiya was talking about happened to be across the street from the tower.

Naruto walked in and immediately plopped himself down at the nearest table, Jiraiya cocked his head to the side.

"You don't even wanna see what they got?"

Naruto shook his head. "I haven't even had breakfast yet…"

Jiraiya frowned and stroked his chin. "Hmmmm. Maybe I should take you back to the hospital for a second round of check-ups… the Naruto I know wouldn't say something like that."

The blonde rolled his eyes and smirked. "Chocolate..."

Naruto waited quietly while Jiraiya relayed the order to the shopkeeper, he stared out the window and unintentionally allowed his mind to drift… It of course drifted back to the mission; Naruto slapped his cheeks a few times to push the images from his mind, but to no avail. Lucky for him, Jiraiya was already walking toward the table; he put on a fake smile and accepted the ice cream cone.

"I'm not one of your teammates, Naruto… You don't need to put on a brave face for me."

Naruto's "smile" slowly subsided and his expression went blank; Jiraiya paused a moment before he started to talk.

"I lost someone important to me once."

Naruto looked up with a strange expression. "… Did they die?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "No… but with the way things went down between us, it's essentially no different. We don't talk to each other very much anymore, and when we do, it feels like she's a shell of her former self. It's almost like the person I fell in love with no longer exists. In turn, I've devised several different ways of coping with it."

Naruto sneered. "You want me to write porn?"

Jiraiya began to laugh. "Hah! Don't knock it 'til you try it! … But in all seriousness, I wasn't really a "hermit" until she and I separated about 15 years ago. I saturated my life with the other things I wanted to work toward. For example, when you were born, I made it a point to make sure that you grew up comfortably."

Naruto chomped down on the frozen chocolate, muttering a quiet "thanks".

There was a long silence while the Sannin stared at his godson, he appeared to think for a moment before inquiring; "I'm guessing you're all talked out at this point?"

Naruto shrugged. "Sort of, I guess… I've gotten plenty of advice from everyone at this point. Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, Ojii-san, you… Sakura-chan."

Jiraiya took note of Naruto's strange vocal inflection concerning the last name he rattled off.

"Sakura-chan? Who might she be?"

Naruto took another bite of his ice cream. "My other teammate. She told me something pretty similar… she said I should find something to fight for. I'm not sure what though."

Jiraiya smirked. "Maybe you should ask her…"

Naruto looked up, visibly confused. "Why would I do that?"

"Why not?"

Naruto stared down at his ice cream and scratched his head, Jiraiya could see Naruto's gears turning, but ultimately decided not to pursue the topic.

They ate in silence for a while, Naruto just picking away at his ice cream, and Jiraiya merely taking in the busy streets outside the window.

After a few minutes, Naruto broke the silence; he looked to Jiraiya after finishing his ice cream.

"How long are you gonna be in town?"

Jiraiya paused to think for a moment. "I'll be back for a little longer than usual this time. About a month actually…"

Naruto nodded and stood up from the table. "… There's something I need to do tonight. I think I'll be ready to talk more tomorrow morning."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Hn. Come find me when you're ready then."

Naruto stood up from the table and quickly slipped out the door and into the crowd, Jiraiya scratched his head and his mind drifted to that certain someone.

"I wonder what you're up to, Tsunade-hime…"

---

Sakura woke up with a groan as the bruised muscles and bones made sure to remind her that she was in no shape to be moving around quite yet; a stark contrast from the day before. She stared down at her purpling arm with a pout, she'd always wondered why injuries would hurt even more the following day as opposed to the day of. Pushing the throbbing from her mind, she surveyed the white room; realizing that it bothered her somewhat. The night before, the soft blue of the moon gave the room a comforting glow, but now, the white sunlight gave the room an unnatural feeling. Everything in the room was white, even the shadows, it just felt too sterile.

Sakura was shaken from her thoughts when Sasuke grunted, shifting in his cot. It was likely that he was still asleep, so Sakura opted not to say anything. Whenever they went camping, Sasuke cemented himself as the lightest sleeper of Team 7, even the slightest of noises seemed to stir him from his slumber.

Sakura lazily swung her head to the other side of the room, only to find nothing. Naruto's cot was messy and unkempt, but other than that, there was no sign of him anywhere.

Sakura looked closer and could see a hospital gown sprawled across the floor. Her mind started to spin up. Logically, if Naruto had been checked out already, they'd have made the bed, and his gown wouldn't be on the floor. There was only one other conclusion… Naruto probably slipped out.

Sakura raised her eyebrow and hopped off of her cot, she looked in the bathroom, which was empty, she even looked in the closet, it was empty as well. Walking over to Naruto's bed, she began to examine it, but some movement outside the window caught her eye.

Normally the streets weren't very crowded this early in the morning, but one lone figure trudged through the dust the wind had kicked up. She only caught a glimpse, but this person's distinctive hair color made her continue watching.

She leaned forward and squinted as he walked into a store that was on the other side of the intersection below the window. She stared intently, waiting for this person to come out; it felt like an eternity, but eventually he walked out of the store.

It was definitely Naruto, Sakura frowned in suspicion; since Naruto came out carrying some paint cans in one hand, and some plastic bags in the other. Sakura could see some objects poking out of the top of these bags, from what she could see, they appeared to be candles.

Naruto then looked toward the window, causing Sakura to hide from his view, she quickly crawled over to her bed and sat there, wondering exactly what she should do.

She was startled when she heard some light tapping on the window. Turning slowly, she made a confused expression when her eyes locked with Naruto's… he was clinging to the wall just outside the 4th story window.

Sakura scurried over to the window and produced a black hairpin from her pink locks. She winced and carefully maneuvered her casted arm from its sling, there was a soft popping noise as she flexed her fingers before closing them around the lock.

After a few seconds, Sakura had picked the lock do the window and swung it open, Naruto silently climbed in without acknowledging Sakura. He sauntered over to a labled chest with his name on it. Naruto flicked the tag and stared down at it for a moment before opening it. He went through it, collecting his belongings, his wallet, his chain-mail, and lastly, his jacket; all of which appeared to have been cleaned and repaired. Naruto could feel her gaze burning holes in the back of his head, so after slipping his jacket on and stuffing his wallet into his black shorts, he turned to Sakura with an ambiguous expression.

She inquired. "What is it this time?"

Naruto scratched his head. "Huh?"

Sakura closed the window and re-secured the padlock before turning back to Naruto with a concerned glare.

"You've been shutting me out ever since last night, I understand that you need space but... You say you're OK, but you're most definitely not OK. Someone close to you has died, and you're trying to bottle it up!"

Sakura slammed her hands over her mouth once she realized her voice was increasing in volume. The two genin looked toward Sasuke, who was miraculously still sleeping.

Naruto maintained his empty expression, replying in a wistful monotone. "Sakura… I need closure... Much of what Haku and I felt for each other was left unsaid, so I'm going to do one last thing for her before I start moving on."

Naruto smiled at her tiny bit. "So yeah, I know what I wanna do now."

"Does it have anything to do with the paint you just bought?"

Naruto nodded and pulled a crude sketch out of his pocket.

"The Obon festival's already passed, but until now, I didn't have any deceased loved ones to make lanterns for… now I do… I'll make one for each day that we knew each other."

Sakura observed the sketch for a moment before looking back at Naruto's face. There was a moment of stillness as she tried to find some sort of complement or consolation; but before she could say anything, Naruto put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"Thank you for being there when I needed you, Sakura-chan. Please, let me do one last thing on my own… I'll see you both again soon."

With that, Naruto turned and slipped out the door; leaving Sakura without words in the wake of what just transpired. She silently spun on her heels and walked back to her bed, hoping to get a bit of extra sleep before her morning checkup. The look of resolve in Naruto's eyes was a far cry from what it was the day before at the Ramen stand, Sakura smiled and shut her eyes as she drifted off to sleep.

---

As the golden sun began to disappear beneath the horizon, Naruto prepared his ritual. Behind the training grounds, and tucked away beyond the eyes of Konoha, there was a small creek. It was here that Naruto had decided to bring his paper lanterns.

He stared down at his work and smiled nostalgically; each lantern represented a moment he shared with Haku, and combined, the 4 lanterns represented a prayer of sorts…

A prayer of what Naruto hoped would come his way one day, perhaps it would be like karma… sending love one direction, and receiving it from another. He picked up the first lantern and observed his craftsmanship.

The lantern was black, with a yellow star-shaped fruit on it; the same fruit that smacked him dead in the face. The same fruit that brought them together.

'To think a piece of fruit would lead to all this…'

---

Day 1: Stars

Naruto ran up the tree for the what felt like the hundredth time, only to land firmly on his ass... again.

"Dammit! Why's this so much easier for everyone else?"

Naruto sprinted toward the tree and punched it, his fist embedded itself firmly in the bark, and the whole tree shuddered as countless fruits that Naruto had never seen before—all began to fall to the ground. He looked up to further examine the tree he was training on, but apparently that wasn't in the cards for him, because a yellow, star-shaped fruit promptly knocked him out.

For Naruto, being knocked out was a strange experience. This particular time, he could have sworn he felt the occasional hand on his face and shoulders; they were soft, delicate, and cold.

Eventually, the abyss slowly disappated and Naruto could feel himself returning to conciousness. The genin's mind began to ponder his predicament.

'It's those hands again… Last thing I remember is getting hit in the face by one of those damn fruits.'

Naruto's eyes slowly opened to one of the most beautiful faces he'd ever seen. His head was propped up on her knees and he could feel her treating the bruises and cuts on his face and body.

"You're awake. I'm glad."

Naruto smiled, or what would pass for a smile, given the amount of pain he was in. He tried to sit up, but the beautiful girl stopped him.

"Don't move yet, I'm almost done."

Naruto didn't complain and stared up at her face as she treated his cuts and bruises. She noticed his gaze and smiled down at him.

"Might I ask your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uzumaki? I've heard of that clan before. What's it like?"

Naruto squinted. "I never knew there was a clan... I'm an orphan as far as I know."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that... I'm an orphan as well."

"Really huh? What's your name, Miss? I gotta call you something."

"... It's Haku."

Naruto shifted a bit before elaborating. "Is that your actual-name or yer last-name?"

She seemed taken aback by Naruto's blunt delivery, but her surprise quickly faded into amusement.

"Yuki Haku is my full name, but please, call me Haku… It's a pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto shuddered. "You can call me Naruto. Anything else is a bit too formal for me."

Haku smiled at the blonde and replied in a warm tone. "I noticed... Your bandages are done, you can move around if you wish. Or we can stay this way if you're too fatigued."

Naruto sat up and faced the girl, taking a moment to observe her. She was of slender build, and judging from her height and disposition, Naruto could tell that she was a bit older than he was.

The boy offered his hand. "Thank you for watching over me… I was careless, running off on my own and getting knocked out in enemy territory."

Haku raised an eyebrow. "I'd figured you were here on a mission… Were you just training?"

Naruto grinned and scratched his head. "Yeah. Tree climbing… without using my hands. I can't seem to get the hang of it—or any basic jutsu for that matter. I only seem to be good at the more advanced stuff."

Haku smiled and rose to her feet. "I propose a trade then."

Naruto rose as well, noting that she was slightly taller than he was. He cursed his diminutive stature for a moment before agreeing to this trade.

Haku brushed some hair out of her face before stating her conditions. "I'll teach you a simpler way to learn this skill, and in return, you'll help me gather more medicinal herbs; seeing as I had to use my initial supply in order to treat you."

Naruto grinned and nodded. "Sounds fair! Let's go get those herbs!"

Haku smiled and shook her head. "Let's do this first, the herbs will still be there when we finish."

---

Naruto stared at the yellow star; smiling as he remembered just how quickly he'd progressed in just one evening. He placed the first lamp at his side and grabbed the second one, also black.

This one had a simple painting of a tree on it; the specs of yellow represented the fruit that initially brought them together. This tree was created in the image of the very tree he'd met Haku at—the tree that had taught him so much in such a short time.

---

Day 2: Trees of Tranquility

The first day with Haku marked a notable jump in progress in terms or Naruto's chakra control and climbing ability. Initially unbeknownst to Naruto; Haku was a full-fleged shinobi, not a mere hobbyist or adept.

Kiri shinobi used mental imagery to enhance chakra-control, whereas Konoha ninja were more partial to repetitive drills to enhance control.

Naruto sprinted nearly halfway up the tree until his feet could no longer stick to the bark. He gracefully fell back down and landed on his feet with a grin.

"Even higher this time!"

Haku smiled. "Good. I think you're ready for the next mental exercise."

Naruto turned to face the kunoichi and sat cross-legged.

"I gave you a river as an example yesterday in order to create a constant chakra-flow to the soles of your feet. Now, we're going to change that image to something more complex, yet more reliable."

Naruto was visibly leaning forward in anticipation of the information he was about to receive.

Haku paused and chuckled, the boy had a child-like enthusiasm that she'd thought impossible for a shinobi to possess.

"I want you to take the consistency of flowing water, and transform that into electricity in a circuit, this circuit will be your body. All living things possess chakra in varying amounts; this tree has it as well. Think of yourself running a current of chakra through your feet, into the tree, back through your soles and into your chakra coils. By repeating this process in a cycle, it will allow you to reduce the effort needed to sustain your climb."

Naruto thought for a moment before bolting toward the tree to try it out, but Haku's soft voice gave him pause.

"Naruto? This time, try going as slowly as possible while visualizing the circuit."

Naruto nodded and looked up at the dauntingly tall tree; he closed his eyes and placed one foot on the tree, then the other. He was now standing perpendicular with the ground.

Haku's tender voice guided him further. "Perfect. Now, walk slowly forward."

Naruto lifted one of his feet and swayed, he could feel himself loosing traction and falling backward, he felt a pair of arms slow his fall to the ground.

Her voice egged him on. "You're doing fine. Keep going."

Naruto stood once more; managing to take two steps this time before sliding back down into Haku's arms.

Naruto chuckled. "I swear, I can do this when no one's watching."

Haku smiled. "Shall I turn around while you climb?"

Naruto shook his head and laughed. "Nah. Who'd catch me if I fell then?"

"I'd still catch you..."

Naruto smiled and stared down at the grass, taking a chance to enjoy the jolt he felt from her hands on his shoulders.

"Heh... funny how I ended up ditching my training… to train."

Haku gave Naruto a bit of a nudge to help him into his fourth step. "The Irony isn't lost on me. Shall we move on for now?"

"Never. I can get this today, I'm so close!" The jinchuuriki took a few more steps before sliding back down into her arms.

Haku smiled and stood Naruto to his feet, her soft voice tickled his ears, making his heart flutter. "The reason I'm having you walk instead of run is to further internalize the images I'm feeding you. Let's try again."

Naruto did as he was told and stepped onto the tree. Haku let go of him and he began walking steadily until reaching the spot where he'd last made it.

"Good, you're there, but you're starting to lose traction... Now, I want you to close your eyes and think about the circuit of chakra."

The boy closed his eyes and thought as hard as he could, molding the chakra to the image that he was creating. Suddenly, the sliding stopped and Naruto continued walking.

Haku stayed on the ground and stared up in anticipation, it appeared as if Naruto would eventually walk to the top. However, Naruto—never being one to do things in the standard format, began to increase his pace.

Naruto's steady stroll up the tree evolved into a full-blown sprint, eventually, the orange-clad shinobi disappeared into the leaves above.

Haku smiled in anticipation as the sounds of Naruto's climbing began to bounce and echo from different directions. She looked around, wondering which direction he'd reappear from.

Suddenly Naruto came bursting out of the treeline, landing in front of Haku and wrapping her up in a bear-hug.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

The girl smiled in response Naruto's enthusiasm once he put her down. He then handed her a yellow fruit, shaped like a star.

"It's only fitting, since this little fruit is the reason we met. They actually taste pretty good, wanna split one?"

Haku stared down at the star and touched it, the fruit fit perfectly between their hands and their eyes met... Eyes full of ambiguous expressions.

"… Of course, I... I would gladly share this with you... Naruto-kun."

---

Naruto's nostalgic smile subsided a bit, the sweetness of the memory felt tainted by the events that would come to pass just a few days afterward. Naruto stared down at the lantern one last time before looking to the third one. This lantern was entirely blue, with wave and ripple patterns across the surface.

---

Day 3: Crystal Waters

As the days rolled on, Naruto began to realize the looks of suspicion and skepticism from his teammates, Kakashi-sensei especially. Once Kakashi had given Team 7 a training exercise, he left to gather some leads on Gato. As soon as the coast was clear, Naruto slipped off to "grab some supplies from town".

Sakura eyed Naruto suspiciously, and spurned on by Kakashi's orders to keep an eye on Naruto, she followed the jinchuuriki. He disappeared into some brush and Sakura followed discreetly. While Sasuke had also been given orders to keep an eye on Naruto, in this case, he didn't particularly care.

As far as he knew Zabuza was dead, and neither Team 7 nor Tazuna were in any real danger. He rolled his eyes and returned to his tree-climbing exercise.

Sakura followed Naruto to a small alcove in the forest. The thick foliage made it feel as if it were late evening, the leaves blocking most of the morning sun. The beauty of this lake wasn't even the most captivating sight. There, in the middle of the lake, was a beautiful girl in a pink kimono.

Naruto stumbled into Sakura's field of vision, she heard her teammate call to this girl on the lake… 'Haku'.

"How'd you get over there?!"

The girl seemed to perk up and she literally waltzed across the surface of the water back to the shore. Both Naruto and Sakura were dumbfounded at such a display. It was entirely likely that neither genin were privy to such a basic ability.

Naruto scratched his head. "So uh… why're we meeting here today?"

Haku took Naruto's hand with both her own and gently pulled him toward the water. "I didn't think you'd learn how to climb trees so quickly, so I'm going to teach you something a bit more advanced. You seem to learn fastest when thrown into the fray, so we'll do this sink-or-swim style."

Naruto stared worriedly at the surface of the water. "… Punny."

Haku smiled and stopped once they reached the shore. "I'm glad you caught that... Now, give me your other hand, I promise I won't let go."

Naruto shrugged and allowed her to take his other hand, she proceeded to give him another mental image.

"This image is simple, despite the task itself being much harder than climbing trees. Think of your heartbeat. It's what keeps you alive, and in this case; it's also what keeps you afloat. You have to pulse chakra from the soles of your feet at a rapid enough pace to keep you from sinking… understand?"

Before Naruto could answer, Haku began gently pulling him into the water. At first, Naruto's feet dragged along the bottom as she seemed to become taller and taller, but the sensation of water on Naruto's knees caused his natural talent to kick in. Naruto raised his foot above the surface of the water, and when he touched it again, it stopped as if the surface were solid ground.

Naruto raised himself to Haku's level and grinned.

She nodded in approval. "I'm equally surprised yet... not surprised, you take to this like a fish to water".

Naruto rolled his eyes and chuckled at the word-play while Haku responded with a playful upturn of her lips before continuing her lesson.

"We'll stay like this for a moment to see how long you can hold it. After that we'll try walking around, maybe even dancing."

Naruto sputtered. "D-dancing? B-but I don't even kno-"

Haku placed her finger on Naruto's lips and shook her head. "Don't get ahead of yourself."

Naruto's concentration faltered, causing him to shoot through the water's surface. There was a moment of silence while Haku observed the blonde flail beneath the water. She placed her hand beneath the surface and he grabbed it, he climbed back out and rose to his feet with a goofy pout.

"You're enjoying this."

Haku didn't laugh, but she definitely appeared to be enjoying Naruto's inability to remain dry. Naruto wobbled to his feet once more and they continued to move along the water.

"Naruto?"

"What's up?"

"… Do you want to dance?"

Naruto sputtered. "U-uh yeah.. It's just-"

Haku cut him off. "It's fine, just follow my lead. You need to be able to multitask while you're walking on water or climbing trees."

Haku ushered the blonde to the center of the lake and gave an extra bit of advice. "This is called a waltz, Naruto. Mirror my footsteps and you'll do fine.

Naruto did as he was told and offered his hands to the girl across from him. Haku took one of his in her own and placed his other on her hip, Naruto flushed as she gently guided him in circles. They were perfect mirror images, and Haku appeared genuinely surprised that Naruto was keeping up with her.

Haku's grinned and chuckled. "You're a natural. At this rate, I won't have anything left to teach you."

Naruto struggled to speak. "Can't talk… concentrating."

She chuckled once more. "Oh, well then, squeeze my hand once for yes, and twice for no."

Naruto gave her an inquisitive glance before returning his gaze to her feet. Haku spontaneously decided to throw a spin or two into the routine before she began to talk.

"Do you remember which squeeze is which?"

Naruto squeezed her hand once, maintaining his attention on her feet. In reply, Haku reversed the steps, causing Naruto to sink into the water a few inches, but he managed to recover in a few seconds.

"Great recovery. Next Question... have you... ever lost something truly precious to you?"

Naruto looked up at Haku, and instead of squeezing, chose to answer her plainly.

"No, I don't think so… I never met my parents, so I can't really say."

Haku nodded understandingly and replied in a soft voice. "Always protect what's precious to you, but that... that's straightforward... It's figuring out what you take for granted—before you lose it... that is where the difficulty comes."

Naruto took the wisdom and began to internalize it, he thought about his guardians and Kakashi, and how painful losing them could be. He pushed the thoughts from his mind immediately, as they were beginning to worry him.

"Haku, what's wrong? This whole thing just took a turn I didn't expect... Is there something you want to tell me?"

Haku slowed down the dance steps and began to exaggerate them, Naruto took this as a cue to just focus on the dance. Naruto gripped her hand and they began to move in a clockwise fashion. Having figured out all the moves for the most part, Naruto finally looked up at Haku as opposed to staring at their feet.

Their eyes met and she smiled at him, Naruto flushed and looked off to the side; there was a tiny smile on his face. Haku took note of this and smiled back, but behind her serene expression—there was an affectionate mischievousness that was dying to throw another curve ball at Naruto.

"Naruto."

He looked toward her and stared into her eyes in unbridled anticipation. "Y-Yeah?"

"Let's go on a date."

Naruto's eyes bulged and he immediately shot beneath the surface of the water, Haku started chuckling, her hand positioned over her mouth. Once more, she placed her hand beneath the surface, expecting Naruto to grab it… he did…

He took her hand and yanked it, pulling her beneath the surface of the water. The lake bubbled for a moment before the laughing shinobi emerged once more. Haku climbed to her feet and pulled Naruto up as well, she took her hair and wringed it out with a chuckle.

"I supposed I had that coming. You're picking this up quite handily, Naruto-kun."

Naruto growled at the third pun of the evening before looked down at his drenched clothes and scratched his head for a moment.

"You're a real piece of work, Haku. You shouldn't joke around about that stuff."

Haku's lips curled upward and she cocked her head to the side. "Perhaps I wasn't joking at all."

Naruto was dumbfounded, unable to speak. Haku took him by the hand and led him back to the shore

"Come on, I've got some clothes you can wear while I dry these off."

"… Yeah, s-sure."

There was a rustle in the trees, but neither of them noticed. A certain pink-haired kunoichi stifled a laugh, seeing someone who could make Naruto seem vulnerable was a rare, and ultimately entertaining sight.

---

Naruto placed the blue lantern back down with an uncharacteristic tenderness. He smiled at the wave patterns on the lantern one last time. The fourth lantern was dark purple, with a white moon on it. This particular lantern was especially difficult for Naruto to make, with the memories still fresh in his mind.

"4 is death…" He muttered.

Everyone around Naruto had always said to avoid 4's like the plague, and while Naruto wasn't particularly superstitious, he wasn't completely indifferent toward the idea any more. This lantern… It represented the very last time that Naruto and Haku were on the same side of their struggles… The Battle of the Great Naruto Bridged would transpire the very next day.

---

Day 4: Moonlight

This particular day was proving difficult for Naruto. Kakashi had been watching him like a hawk, and Sakura seemed smug, like she knew something that he didn't. From the moment he woke up, there was always someone breathing down his neck.

Naruto promised Haku that he'd come see her as often as he could, and as far as he was concerned, this time would be no different. Initially, Kakashi had Team 7 work on tree climbing for Naruto sake, so that he could catch up.

However, he appeared to have miraculously improved over the past few days. Kakashi, in an attempt to minimize Naruto's opportunities to escape, had managed to keep Team 7 occupied throughout the entire day. The last thing he had planned for that evening was some light sparring. Sakura opted out, especially after seeing the impatient expression on Naruto's face (she didn't want to take her chances getting between Naruto and his 'girlfriend'), but Sasuke… he was especially eager to do something aside from chakra control exercises.

Kakashi took the genin out into the front yard and had Sasuke and Naruto stand a few paces away from each other, he began laying down the rules, as if Naruto gave a damn. He wanted to end this as quickly as possible, but his competitive disposition wouldn't allow him to throw the fight.

Kakashi said that the match would be taijutsu only, but Naruto wasn't having any of that. He reached into his pouch and grabbed a hard candy, and a smoke bomb. He ate the candy, but kept the smoke bomb in his closed fist as he got into a stance.

Sasuke charged Naruto and opened with a spinning kick. Naruto ducked under it and repositioned behind where Sasuke would land. The Uchiha heir adjusted and followed-up with an axe kick aimed at Naruto's head, Naruto dodged that as well and allowed the pellet to fall out of his hand, a cloud of smoke covered Tazuna's front yard, obscuring everything from view.

Naruto used the percussive sound of the bomb to mask the distinctive noise of the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The real Naruto came bursting out of the smoke, while his shadow clone finished the fight. Naruto figured it wouldn't be too long before they figured out that he'd given them the slip.

He darted through the trees as the sun retreated below the horizon. He'd felt like he was in the clear until he saw a flash of pink in the corner of his eye. He stopped and looked down, it was Sakura.

She appeared to be out of breath despite Naruto only going at about ¾ his top speed. She gestured for him to come down and talk, so he decided to humor her for a moment.

"Naruto, -pant- you can't just run off like this."

The blonde shrugged. "Sorry. This is just something I have to do. We're supposed to be heading back tomorrow once the bridge finishes construction… I made a promise."

Sakura nodded. "That water-walking girl..."

Naruto raised his eyebrow. "How'd y-?"

Sakura cut him off. "Kakashi-sensei asked me to figure out where you were going when he would leave to gather intel. I told him I lost you when I saw you went to meet her, she seems really nice… But at the end of the day, we're a team, and we're on a mission. You can't get distracted out here, enemy territory and all..."

Naruto sighed, feeling guilty for blowing off his teammates. "I know… I've just never felt like this before. You know how you're all goo-goo eyed around Sasuke-teme? … I think I finally get what you're feeling… but... I don't know, I just feel like I connect with her on a different level than I have with anyone else in my entire life."

Sakura blushed and nodded. "I see... so you're... hm." Sakura smiled and nodded once more. "It's fine Naruto… Go see her, just make sure you don't get hurt out there or anything. It's bad enough I'm letting you do this, please don't make me regret it... okay?"

Naruto gave a bear hug, lifting her off the ground completely. "Ya know, you're a lot cooler than I gave you credit for... Thanks Sakura!"

Sakura sighed. "Yeah, yeah... just go before I change my mind... or we get caught!"

The jinchuuriki placed his teammate back on her feet and grinned before disappearing in a blur of orange, generating a powerful gust of wind. Sakura was startled by his speed and patted down her now tousled locks before turning around to head back to Tazuna's house. Despite the upbeat nature of her exchange with Naruto, she still had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, like something horrible was about to happen.

Naruto arrived at Haku's house just as the sun had finally disappeared from sight. The lights were off and the blinds were shut, this initially gave Naruto pause.

He moved to knock on the door, and just before his knuckles touched the wood, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"It's nice to see you again."

Naruto turned with a smile, but was thrown for a loop when he saw her. She looked positively amazing. The moonlight reflected off of her black and silver kimono, giving her a serene glow.

Naruto twitched. "You go into town or something today?"

Haku nodded. "Your shadow clones gathered far more herbs than I initially needed. I went to sell off the surplus."

She offered Naruto a stack of bills from her sleeve. "You're the one who did most of the work… it's only fair."

Naruto politely refused the money. "It's fine. I don't really care about money all that much… You'd find a much better use for it than I would."

Haku pondered for a moment before putting the money back into her sleeve. "I suppose you came to talk?"

Naruto nodded. "My team will be leaving tomorrow afternoon and I don't know if I'll be able to come see you one more time…"

Haku nodded and paused for a moment, obviously thinking to herself. After a short moment, her eyes lit up and she grabbed Naruto's hand.

"There's a hill nearby where you can see the moon clearly, no trees at all. Let's talk there."

"Huh? … Sure, of course." Naruto could feel the blood rush to his face when she touched him; it was like electricity was zipping up and down his nerve endings. The cool air made Naruto chatter as Haku ran with him to this so-called hill.

She took him toward a tall shrub and she leapt into the air, pulling Naruto up with her. They both came down on the other side of the shrubbery, the hill framed perfectly by the blue moonlight. Haku smiled and walked up to the top, gripping Naruto's hand tightly, she sat down on her knees and looked up into the black sky.

Naruto observed her; she shut her eyes and let the wind rustle her hair as she took in the moonlight, as if she were some sort of lunar flower. As far as Naruto was concerned, she was an image of perfection. He smiled at her laid down on his back; curious, the boy also stared up into the night sky, the stars formed beautiful splashes of color, some red, some purple, most blue… Naruto could stay this way forever as far as he was concerned.

"Naruto-kun?"

"What's up?"

"… Thank you. For everything."

Naruto looked at the girl, he was visibly confused. "Eh? It's me that should be thanking you! There's no telling what could have happened to me if you hadn't found me when you did… you also made it so that I got to meet you. That's a plus as well."

Haku smiled and took Naruto's hand in her own. "Up until now, it felt like everything in my life was in grey… You've injected some color into it, if that makes sense…"

Naruto shrugged. "Sorta…"

Haku replied, smiling at the stars. "All I have is my… adoptive father. He takes care of me and treats me well, but… You're the first person I feel like I can talk to about such personal things. That's why I say… I'm just happy that I decided to help you that day."

Naruto chuckled. "... I don't believe in fate, but sometimes… I wonder if certain things are supposed to happen or not. That day you could have taken a different route through the woods, you could have decided to head into town before gathering your herbs, but no. Right then, right there, you found me… and I found you…"

Haku squeezed Naruto's hand. "It's an interesting thing to think about, but thinking about it too much isn't good for you… I prefer to enjoy this our meeting for what it is."

"And… what is it to you, Haku-chan?"

Haku turned to Naruto with a tiny smile. "Everything."

Naruto chuckled. "Now you're just trying to be profound."

Haku chuckled as well. "But meeting you was profound. You've become so important to me even though we've only known each other for a short few days..."

The two shinobi fell silent and allowed the calming sounds of nature to overtake them. The chirping of the crickets, the flowing water of the nearby river, the soothing whistle of the wind… it all came together in a beautiful medley of sights and sounds that sent a chill down Naruto's spine.

Naruto found his hand drift toward Haku's once more. Once their skin made contact, the blonde turned to her with an anxious stare.

"Haku-chan? … What happens after tomorrow? I don't have the rank to travel on my own… it may be a while before I can come back to see you."

Haku appeared worried, but not for the reasons that Naruto assumed.

"If we don't see each other again… perhaps it's for the best. You may meet someone that you wouldn't have otherwise if you were hung up on finding me again…"

Haku turned away from Naruto to hide her face, he froze and felt his stomach churn… a bad sign. The boy sat up and crawled over to Haku, he touched her shoulder and she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. The jinchuuriki inhaled and pulled her up into a sitting position, his hands on both her shoulders.

"Haku-chan…"

She shook her head and wiped her tears. "I'm sorry… It's just; I didn't think you were coming to see me today, and now, here you are."

Naruto smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood. "I always keep my promises 'ttebayo!"

"There's… something I have to do tomorrow, and I'm unsure If I'll get to see you again either…"

Naruto twitched and fished for a solution. "I-I'll help you do it right now! You're not talking about this like it's an errand you need to run or something… It sounds… dangerous."

Haku wiped her eyes once more and gave Naruto a surprised expression; his ability to read people was uncanny… even for a shinobi.

"Even now, you still find ways to amaze me, Naruto-kun. I wish I could be more like you… taking things head-on with reckless abandon… wearing your heart on your sleeve. Maybe I would be able to…"

"… To what? … Haku?"

She wiped her eyes once more and smiled at him. "Nothing. For now, let us enjoy what little time we have left."

Naruto tried to smile, but the sinking feeling in his stomach was increasing… Haku took not of his mixed expression and opened her arms, but Naruto refused the hug. His eyes had taken on the sharpness of a man on a mission, in that moment, Haku couldn't see the boy that she patched just a few days prior… she saw a different person entirely."

Naruto crawled closer to her and sat on his haunches. "I like to live in the moment sometimes… but I also think about the future a lot more than the average guy. I thought a lot about my future and what I want, and I want… I want you to be more than just a fond memory that I carry with me. I want to stay with you.."

Haku's eyes widened at the intense words the seemingly coarse boy had uttered, the look on her face descended into fear and regret as his words sunk in. Tears started to roll down her stoic visage once more.

"… I do too, Naruto-kun… but things don't always work out the way they're supposed to... I've learned that lesson the hard way."

Naruto peered down at his hands, he had no idea how to react. Suddenly, words started to pour out of Naruto's mouth, startling him somewhat.

"I don't want you to be right about this… but if you are… Tell me something, Haku-chan... How do you feel about me?"

She rose to her feet and Naruto did as well, she looked up at the moon with a blank expression before turning to Naruto. She took his hand in both her own and caressed it for a moment.

"You'll know soon enough… I promise."

"What? No! We're not dodging this! Tell! … Tell... me..." Suddenly, Naruto's eyelids felt heavy and his strength left his limbs. The last thing he could remember, was Haku, staring down at him with tears in her eyes.

Before it went dark, he managed to read her lips.

'I'm sorry... for everything.'

---

Naruto stared at the final lantern and pulled out a book of matches. Sure, he was trying to come to terms with what happened, but it just felt too close… too painful. It was hard enough thinking about the days leading up to the battle on the bridge, he decided to spare himself the tears and get on with the tribute as opposed to pondering the battle. There would be plenty of time for that later.

With a heavy heart, Naruto lit the lanterns in order, first the golden star lamp, then the tree lamp, third, the water lamp, and finally, the lunar lamp. They all glowed beautifully in the darkness of the night.

One by one, Naruto carried them to the shore of the river and gingerly placed them in the water. He felt tears welling up in his eyes as he watched the lights travel down the black waters of the lake.

He remained silent until the only spec of light in the distance was the lunar lamp, tears felt appropriate, but Naruto just couldn't completely bring himself to cry anymore. He instead offered one final goodbye.

"I'm glad I met you Haku… I just wish we could have met under different circumstances..."

Naruto fell to his knees as the purple speck of light finally faded from view.

"I'm sorry too..."

---

~ Breath of the Wiz

Signin' Off