Chapter 8: Haku

I woke up the next day and went to the kitchen to eat breakfast. I looked around and saw that everyone was at the table except Naruto.

"So where's Naruto?" I asked.

"He's been out all night climbing trees in the dark." Sakura informed me.

"Have I ever told you that I hate your voice?" I asked her. She looked at me bemused. "Well I do. It's very annoying and squeaky."

"Naruto could be dead right now and you're insulting my voice?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I am." I told her. "Anyway, we should probably find Naruto, because your right, Sakura." Sakura's face lit up. "For once." I added. It dropped. Harsh.

"I'm going for a walk." Sasuke said. What ever! He's probably going to find Naruto himself!

"I want to go!" I said, following. And Haku might still be out there. I never did tell anyone that I saw him. But I was going to see what Sasuke would say about it. I caught up with him.

"Hey Sasuke?" I asked.

"What?"

"Um… I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"You know when I took a walk yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I kind of met Haku- you know, the tracker ninja." I told him.

"And you didn't tell anyone?" He asked.

"I'm telling you, now, aren't I?" I asked, annoyed. "Well, anyway, what if Naruto saw him, too? He would be so stupid that he wouldn't even realize that it was Haku. And Haku was dressed like a girl…" I added.

"Are you sure this wasn't just a dream?" He asked skeptically. I thought about it for a moment and then I took his hand and ran to the tree that I carved my name into. It was there, of course.

"It wasn't a dream. I did that last night when I saw him." I said. "And now he knows my name! Let's just go find Naruto." I said, walking off. Then I saw him. Haku. I quickly pulled Sasuke behind a tree before he could notice us.

"What's your-" Before he could say 'problem' I put my hand over his mouth and pointed at Haku. He was coming away from where Naruto was sitting.

"That's him." I said to Sasuke and took my hand off his mouth. When Haku was out of sight, I went to where Naruto was sitting. Sasuke followed.

"I've seen a lot of weird stuff in my life, but this one takes the kick!" Naruto said while Sasuke hit him upside the head.

"You idiot! That was Haku!" I said.

"Who?" He asked, clueless.

"The hidden mist tracker ninja!" Sasuke said.

"What? Why didn't you kill him?" Naruto yelled.

"Did you see what he did to Zabuza? We don't stand a chance against him!" I yelled back. After that, we went to climb some trees. I made it at least 100 feet into the air. Then Sakura and Kakashi came by.

"Woah! Naruto can climb that high using his chakra now? That's great!" Sakura said. Then Naruto stood up on the branch he was on and slipped. That baka! Sakura screamed but Naruto caught himself upside down on the branch. Now he was hanging like a bat.

"Haha, just kidding. You guys really fell for it." he's such a showoff! One day he's really going to fall. And today's that day. I saw his feet pop off the branch. I ran onto the tree to catch him. I did, but the weight was too much and I fell, too. I screamed. Then Sasuke caught my foot. Thank Kami!

"You both are losers." he said.

"Thank you, Sasuke! Now get me down from here, I don't like dangling from high places!" I yelled.

"Alright, Sasuke! You're the best!" Sakura yelled from the ground. What a baka.

That night, me, Sasuke, and Naruto made it all the way to the top of the tree.

"Let's go home." Sasuke said smugly.

"Alright!" Naruto said excited. I smiled widely. When we all got to the house, me and Sasuke were carrying Naruto with one arm around my shoulders and one around Sasuke's.

"What were you guys up to? You look like something a cat dragged in." Tazuna said.

"We made it . We climbed all the way to the top." Naruto said. I smiled just a tad.

"Good. Now we move on. Starting tomorrow, you all are guards for Tazuna." Kakashi said.

"Alright!" Naruto yelled in joy, causing me and Sasuke to fall down.

"Naruto, you are such a loser!" Sasuke said. Everyone laughed. When we were all settled in and eating dinner, Tazuna said that the bridge would be done in a couple of days.

"I have you to thank for that. So why did you stay here and protect me, even though I lied to bring you here?" Tazuna asked.

"Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage, but under the wing of a good leader, cowardliness cannot survive. That was a quote from the third hokage." Kakashi said. Then Inari started crying.

"But… why?" he asked. "All this training is just a waste of time. Gato's got a whole army and they'll beat you down and destroy you. These cool things you all say- they don't mean anything. No matter what you do, the strong always win and the weak always lose." Did he just call me weak? I should kill him!

"Just speak for yourself. It won't be like that for me- you got that?" Naruto asked and laid his head on the table.

"Why don't you just be quiet? You make me sick. You don't know anything about this country, you're just butting in! always laughing and playing around. You don't know what it's like being treated as dirt." He yelled.

"Whining and complaining like some little sorry victim. Look, you can whimper all day for all I care, but you're nothing but a coward." Naruto said. That was a bit harsh. Then Naruto left.