This entire chapter is dedicated to chibi-Haku and chibi-Sakura and how utterly adorable both were as children.
I'm on a roll bitches.
-BTW Sakura refers to Haku as 'Haku-chan' and not 'Haku-kun'. '-chan' is a general endearment for little children, while '-kun' could be considered slightly more romantic when coming from someone of equal age. But since our two favorite litte ones are too young for romance, they both stick to the '-chan'.
I DON'T OWN NARUTO
Chapter Two: Beaded Bracelets
They were traveling west through the Land of Hot Water towards the coast which faced Kirigakure. Zabuza pushed hard towards Yugakure, hoping to reach the village in time to grab a good deal from the hot spring resorts in order to spend the night in an actual bed. Haku had been unusually silent that day, but then again, the boy was always silent unless spoken to. But his silence was different today, somehow warmer, happier, words that Zabuza would never use to describe the boy.
He would admit, the story of the forest sprite was a little surprising. Did Haku actually meet someone of such strange coloring in that forest? Zabuza did not think it possible for anyone to have bright pink hair. The girl that Haku had briefly described sounded like nothing but the wishful thinking of a lonely boy –even if Haku was still too young to have such urges. The boy was so gentle and naïve sometimes that it frustrated the demon shinobi. Of course he would come up with an equally feminine and outlandish imaginary friend.
The Land of Hot Water was a mountainous, heavily forested region. However it was easy to tell that the pair was approaching Yugakure due to the increasingly heavy and warm fog and the faint scent of sulfur on the breeze.
As the path that they were following sloped upwards, the walls of Yugakure came into view, appearing like a ghost out of the mist. Zabuza felt his body relax slightly, knowing that shelter was within reach and that Yugakure was a relatively peaceful and neutral state.
The innkeeper did not even blink twice at the sight of the imposing missing-nin as Zabuza entered the resort. Then again, the Land of Hot Water was a popular retreat for ninja of all backgrounds, and there seemed to be an unspoken agreement between most shinobi to avoid confrontation while within the village's territory. Even Haku seemed happier there, judging by the lessening tension in his shoulders and the placid look on his face.
"I'm gonna go ahead and jump into the hot spring." Zabuza grunted as he and the boy entered the room they had rented, the older man throwing his travel pack upon one of the two futons. "You are allowed to look around, but don't get into trouble."
Haku bowed obediently to his master. "Of course not, Zabuza-sama." Haku murmured softly.
Zabuza smirked, the very idea of Haku causing trouble was nearly laughable. Shrugging, Zabuza left the room to head to the baths, eager to feel the heat on his muscles.
Haku had always liked traveling. He loved seeing new places and watching the different people go about their daily lives. He especially loved looking at the local crafts and souvenirs. Though Haku had few disappointments in the life he was now living, his inability to collect trinkets from his travels was always one of them, due to the nomadic nature of Zabuza and himself.
As he stopped to stare at a vendor selling brightly colored stone beads which had been carved and set into jewelry by local craftsmen, Haku caught a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye. His heart leaping into his throat, Haku spun around to scan the crowd.
And there she was.
A little pinkette, dressed in a pretty blue hakama over green capris and sandals, stood across the marketplace. His gaze followed the upward reach of her right arm, where her tiny fingers grasped the larger hand of a blonde woman which Haku assumed was her mother. He felt a pang of jealousy at the sight, suddenly wishing for his own mother for the first time in years.
Haku felt frozen as the girl he had thought a figment of imagination turned her head and smiled up at her mother, those bright green eyes impossibly innocent. He ached to go to her, to have that smile aimed at him again, to touch her hair and stare into that viridian gaze and never look away. He wanted to steal her away from her mother, to keep her by his side forever, to hide her beauty from the world and the corruption of men. Haku was surprised by surprisingly possessive thoughts which crossed his mind, though he also felt vaguely righteous by them.
"Sakura…" He whispered, an impossible warmth blooming in his chest, thankful that he was even able to see her again when he was so sure he never would.
As if hearing his thoughts, the little girl glanced around the marketplace. Her eyes passed right over his, and Haku felt a twinge of sadness for a moment, before Sakura's eyes widened and her head swiveled back in his direction. Their eyes locked and again that impossibly bright smile stretched across Sakura's features, lighting up the entire world.
Ripping her hand free of her mother's grip, Sakura gave a little cry of joy and hurdled towards Haku. Without even his usual hesitation, Haku opened his arms and allowed the bundle of energy to slam into him. Thankfully Haku had a great sense of balance, otherwise he was sure that the force of Sakura's embrace would have knocked them both to the ground.
Yet he could have cared less. No one had ever been so overjoyed at the sight of him. Sakura was barely an acquaintance, yet she greeted him like a long-lost loved one, her grip around his ribs surprisingly strong as she buried her face into his shoulder.
"Haku-chan!" Sakura pulled back, her wild pink strands whipping around her face with the force of her energy. "What are you doing here?"
Her words were spoken fast and breathlessly, full of excitement and lilting with an undertone of laughter. Haku could not help but smile in return, raising his hand to tuck the unruly strands behind her ear.
"My guardian and I traveled here for the hot springs." Haku answered in a half-truth. Sakura's mother had followed the path blazed by her daughter and was approaching the two children with an exasperated expression. Sakura's mother was obviously civilian, and it wouldn't due to clue them in to the fact that he and Zabuza were shinobi. Civilians were never fond of that.
"Ne, really?" Sakura tittered. "Oh if I had known I would have invited you to join us! You guys could have traveled with my parents and I!"
The words tumbled out of Sakura's mouth so fast that Haku had trouble keeping up with them. He was so used to the quiet, reserved personalities of himself and Zabuza that Sakura's sheer vocabulary count had his head spinning.
"Sakura-chan, do you know this boy?"
The two children looked up at the mature female voice, a blonde woman with green eyes smiling sweetly at the two of them.
Sakura gasped and grabbed Haku's hand, the boy finally loosing his balance and lurching forward unexpectedly as the little girl pulled him to stand before her mother.
"Kaa-san, this is the boy I told you about yesterday!" Sakura exclaimed. Poor Haku stumbled behind her, bumping into Sakura's side. Sakura seemed unbothered by this, and in fact wrapped her arms around his arm and gripped it to her chest.
Haku felt his cheeks heating up.
Sakura's mother laughed and turned her gaze to the quiet boy. Haku was struck by the familiarity of her eyes, an exact replica of her daughter's.
"Hello child." The blonde woman greeted. "I am Haruno Mebuki."
Haku bowed politely, despite the fact that his left arm was now immobilized by Sakura's embrace. "I am Haku, Haruno-san."
Mebuki hid a smile behind her hand. "Ne, such a polite boy you've found, Sakura-chan. It is a shame that you seem to abuse him so."
Sakura gasped, offended. "I am not!" She pouted. Then Sakura paused and glanced at the increasing blush on Haku's face, turning back to her mother with puppy-eyes. "Can we keep him?"
Mebuki let out a loud laugh, and Haku turn so red he was sure that he would never return to his normal palor.
"Sakura-chan." Mebuki scolded, though her voice was still amused. "You can't just kidnap any boy that catches your fancy."
"But he's the only boy that has caught my fancy!" Sakura protested.
Haku had not thought it possible, but his face heated up even more. But his embarrassment turned into amusement as he listened to the friendly argument between the lady Haruno and her daughter. He was surprised at how well Sakura spoke for someone their age, showing intelligence and wit. Haku felt his heart speed up when he realized that the pinkette was probably a young genius, just like him. Suddenly he felt even more possessive of her.
Haku's thoughts were interrupted when Sakura and her mother seemed to come to an agreement. He felt confusion as the lady Haruno smiled and patted both their heads, before turning and walking away.
"Um, Sakura-san?" Haku asked.
The girl sent him a horrified look, adding to the boy's confusion. "Haku-chan! You don't have to be so polite with me! I thought we were friends?"
Friends. Haku felt like his heart was going to burst. In less than two days little Sakura had brought him more happiness than he had felt in years.
"Sakura-chan." Haku smiled warmly.
The pinkette grinned and bobbed her head in satisfaction. "That's better. Now come one, Haku-chan! My mother let us have the rest of the afternoon to explore the market together!"
Haku was surprised that the girl's mother would be so negligent with her precious daughter, but as Sakura began dragging Haku to the vendors, he glimpsed the lady Haruno hovering just out of Sakura's view. Haku quirked a smile, suddenly happy that Sakura had such caring parents. Such a bright and joyous girl deserved every ounce of love and affection which Haku could see shining in her mother's eyes.
"Haku look! Aren't they pretty?" Sakura pointed to a stall, selling little dolls. Her little fingers brushed over the brightly painted cloth which adorned the small figures, tracing the petals of flowers and leaves embroidered into the little dresses.
Haku nodded in agreement. "Do you like dolls, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura smiled but shook her head. "Dolls are only pretty to look at. They aren't very useful though. I prefer… practicality."
The little girl pronounced the last word carefully, pursing her lips when it didn't sound quite as punctual as she had aimed for. If Haku had thought Sakura was doll-like before, he no longer did anymore. He agreed with Sakura's description, she was far too lively to ever be compared to a doll. Her beauty did not lay in stillness, but in movement, the arch of her eyebrows, the sound of her laughter, the floating wisps of pink hair, and her constant movement, fluttering like a butterfly from vendor to vendor. And all the while she never let go of Haku's hand.
And if she noticed the way Haku entwined his fingers with hers, she never mentioned it.
Eventually they had managed to circle back to where they had begun, having visited nearly every stall and shop. As they approached the stall which Haku had been standing at when Sakura found him, he paused and glanced back down at the beaded jewelry.
"Do you like them, Haku-chan?" Sakura asked, peering around his shoulder.
Haku nodded. "Which do you like best, Sakura-chan?"
The pinkette hummed as she leaned over the stall, the beaded jewelry spread out before her. Haku saw a shadow approach them and looked up to see an older man from the stall next to them leering at little Sakura while she was distracted.
Rage filled Haku and his eyes narrowed in a deadly glare, his hand squeezing Sakura's and gently tugging her closer to him. She did not look up from the wares, obliging Haku by absently stepping closer to him, completely unaware of the situation.
When the leering man caught Haku's gaze, his face twisted into a sneer. But Haku was hardly scared by the man's animosity, allowing a senbon to emerge from his sleeve. The light glinted off of the weapon, catching the older man's attention. When the pedophile noticed the ninja weapon, the blood drained from his face and he quickly walked away. Civilians were well aware that even the youngest shinobi were capable of violence.
With the threat to Sakura gone, Haku slid his senbon back into his sleeve, though his anger remained. Just the memory of the way that man had looked at Sakura made him want to hunt the pedophile down and murder him for even glancing in her direction.
"I like this one." Sakura pointed to a small bracelet made of small, low-grade tiger's eye beads. She carefully picked them up and held them before his face.
Haku quirked a brow. It was an unusual choice. He had expected Sakura to choose a more girly color.
As if reading his thoughts again, Sakura smiled and glanced between the beads and his face. "They look like your eyes, Haku-chan. Brown and gold mixed together."
His anger from before melted away in shock. Then a smile made its way onto his face and he laughed ever so softly. When was the last time he had laughed? What an amazing creature this girl was.
He lifted his arm to catch the seller's attention. The man turned to greet his two rather young customers. Haku gestured to the bracelet Sakura was holding, and the man responded with the price.
Before Sakura could protest, Haku had handed the money over to the vendor and her bracelet had been bought.
"Haku! That was sneaky!" Sakura accused, though she did not pull away as Haku picked up her hand and slid the bracelet onto her wrist. However Haku could see that she was secretly pleased by his gift, and so he hardly felt any remorse.
"Fine." Sakura huffed. "Then I'll buy you one."
"Sakura-chan, that's not –" Her glare shut him up. Haku sighed in defeated and turned his attention back to the jewelry.
Hardly five seconds passed before he found what he was looking for. He snatched up the bracelet and held it up to Sakura, comparing it to her eyes.
"Jade?" Sakura asked, glancing at the surprisingly bright green beads. "You don't seem like the type…"
Haku chuckled. "They match your eyes, Sakura-chan."
Said eyes widened and Sakura's mouth dropped open in a cute little 'o'. Then she grinned and handed her money to the seller, before eagerly sliding the bracelet onto Haku's wrist.
"Now I'll always remember you." Haku murmured softly.
Sakura glanced at him with a mischievous smile, making his heart flutter. "Silly. You would have remembered me anyway." She stated confidently.
At that moment Haku sensed another presence approaching them, and he looked up with a guarded expression, stepping protectively in front of Sakura. Belatedly, he realized that it was only Sakura's parents approaching them.
A man was with Sakura's mother, with mauve-pink hair and twinkling eyes, his face set into a permanent smile. His hand rested comfortable around his wife's waist, and Haku could not help but feel happy for the perfect family.
"Mom! Dad!" Sakura greeted happily, although she stayed next to Haku, holding his hand.
Her father seemed to pout at the sight of Sakura with a boy. "Mebuki, how could you?" He whined. "Throwing my precious daughter at boys already! I am appalled!"
Mebuki rolled her eyes at his over-protective display and smiled warmly at Haku. "Hello Haku-kun. This is my husband, Kizashi."
Despite his attitude about Sakura and boys, Kizashi was quite friendly to Haku they bowed to each other and exchanged greetings.
"Sakura, honey, it's time to return to the inn. Say goodbye to your friend." Mebuki told her daughter.
"But –!"
"No 'buts' young lady." Mebuki interrupted. "We gave you some time with your friend. You can play with Haku-kun tomorrow, if he is available. But now it is dinnertime, and after that it's off to bed with you!"
Sakura grumbled, displeased, but acquiesced to her mother's wishes.
"I guess we part now, Haku-chan." Sakura turned to him, a slight pout still upon her lips.
Haku smiled at her fondly. "I had fun today, Sakura-chan."
The pinkette grinned, nodding her head enthusiastically. "Oh yes! It was great! Can we play tomorrow, Haku-chan?"
Now Haku let his smile fall, and shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. My guardian and I are going to continue traveling tomorrow morning."
"What?" Sakura gasped, throwing herself at Haku unexpectedly and hugging him tightly. "B-but I don't wanna say goodbye!"
Haku chuckled at her behavior and patted her back. "Ne, Sakura-chan, I'm sure we'll see each other again someday."
With watery eyes, Sakura pulled back but kept her arms around him. "Promise me you won't forget me?"
"I could never." Haku promised.
Sakura surprised him by cupping his face in her hands and planting a kiss on his cheek. Haku was once again rendered immobile in shock, while in the distance Mebuki tittered and Kizashi wailed in protest.
Sakura stared into his eyes one last time before her hand fell away and she sadly rejoined her parents. When she looked back over her shoulder, Haku was gone.
When Haku returned to the room, Zabuza had been in the middle of sharpening Kubikiribōchō. The older nin looked up and his sharp eyes immediately focused on Haku's new accessory.
"Jade beads?" Zabuza stated in astonishment. Then he scoffed. "You'll only attract more bandits with such a trinket."
Haku returned his barb with a soft smile. "Then that provides you with more enemies to defeat, ne Zabuza?"
The rogue scoffed again and turned away from the boy, wondering if Haku had finally lost his mind. It was such an unusual accessory for the simple boy.
Haku climbed into bed and ran his fingers back and forth across the beads, smiling softly as he fell asleep dreaming about his little sprite.
In case it isn't clear from my (admittedly very few) clues, Sakura and her parents are on a family vacation in the Land of Hot Water (famous for its hot springs resorts). Zabuza and Haku were just passing through (on their way to Kiri, actually).
Little anime children are adorable AF. Cuteness overload commence, ne?
Review please!
~Lilithia
