[AN:] Glad you seemed to like some of the expansions. Right now I'm just trying to get them deliniated without overwhelming the plot of the story. I'm still several chapters ahead of what I'm publishing, but I'm trying to pace it so it doesn't overwhelm my other obligations. I'm glad so many seem to like it, and I'm very thankful for the constructive criticism. It may not be adopted immediately, but expect to see tweaks several chapters from now to slowly move it into a more consistant, or at least stable place. I apologize for the low quality it's been and the oversights and plea a bit of distraction from other sources. It's a reason, not an excuse. With the slower posting rate, expect to see the quality go up when the already written chapters have all come out and we're into the new stuff.
Haku's eyes flew open and her breath seized in her chest. She sat bolt upright with her hand over her heart when she saw him sitting in the chair across the room. Her eyes instantly narrowed.
"What do you want?" she hissed before the memory of seeing Zabuza's dead body flooded back into her and her shoulders sagged as her defiance fled, "Why haven't you killed me?"
"I was waiting for you to wake up," Naruto said softly with a sad expression on his face as he stood before kneeling down and pressing his face to the floor, "Haku-san, I beg your forgiveness."
Her nose twitched in disgust.
"I'll never forgive you Uzumaki Naruto. You've taken away the only thing I've ever had. You've destroyed my only happiness," she said coldly, "No, I will not forgive you."
For some reason he refused to lift his forehead from the floor and she huffed and turned her head away. The gall of that bastard. She bit her lip to choke back the tears that threatened and scrubbed her eyes with her sleeve. As she pulled her arm back her eyes widened in surprise. She wasn't wearing the stupid hospital gown anymore. Now she was wearing a soft felt pair of pajamas in the worst orange color imaginable.
"What's going to happen to me?" she asked softly. It wasn't like there was any point in running. She didn't have anywhere left to run.
"I pleaded with Kakashi-sensei to let you free but he says you're too high risk at the moment," Naruto said and Haku felt a bit of vindictive satisfaction when she heard him choke back a sob, "I'm so sorry. Kakashi-sensei says that we'll be taking you back to Konoha with us."
Haku sniffed softly, "So I'm to be breeding stock for the Leaf," she said in a nearly lifeless voice.
Naruto gasped in horror and she squashed any sense of pity she might have felt from hearing him sob.
"Never!" he insisted, "I'll do something! I'll talk to Jiji! I'll make sure that doesn't happen!"
She gave a derisive snort. Everyone knew what places like Konoha, Kumo and Iwa did when they captured kekkei genkai carriers. If they weren't in the village's bingo book and had someone to vouch for them, they let them join their village after a probationary period. Otherwise they were kept under lock and key, never allowed to leave the village, churning out bloodline carrying bastards through arranged marriages until they were used up. There wasn't any sense in fleeing, as unlike Kirigakure, they put special effort into hunting down their nukenin with kekkei genkai and had nearly impeccable success records. They wouldn't even kill her for fleeing. They'd just drag her back and turn her into a blood slut.
"Oh really? What will the mighty Uzumaki do for me?" she mocked, "You told the brat that nearly everyone in your village hated you. How do you expect to have any hand in my fate you sanctimonious jackass?"
"I'll talk to Jiji, he's the Hokage, I promise," Naruto said and Haku snorted again before lying back down and turning to face the wall.
"Get up;" she said in a harsh voice, "It's sickening to hear you whine."
She thought morbidly of what Zabuza-sama would say if he saw her now. She definitely didn't feel like being gentle and kind. She just didn't care anymore. Her only desire was to make the blond bastard's life a living hell, like he'd made hers. She felt a slight relief when she heard him get up, but that was cut short by the door opening.
"Naruto, is she up yet? We've got to go," Kakashi said as he glanced at Haku, "She's your duty, get her moving."
The door shut again as he left.
"Haku-san, please, you need to get up and around," Naruto pleaded.
"I'm not going to," Haku said with a smirk at the wall, "If you expect me to go with you, you better carry me on your own shoulders because I'm not about to walk to a place I don't want to go to."
The petty spitefulness did nothing to ease the gaping hole in her chest, but at least it gave her a touch of satisfaction as she heard him sigh in frustration. Her eyes widened as she was suddenly lifted from the bed and he hefted her over his shoulder.
"Put me down you prick!" she screamed and punched him in the back of the thigh, making his leg buckle as a ragged gasp tore its way from his throat.
When he dropped to one knee it knocked the air out of her and what's worse, he apologized for it as he struggled back to a standing position with shaky legs. It was obvious that he had torn something with his stupid super-headbutt that knocked her out. He was just trying to rub it in her face.
"Feel good?" she said acerbically, "Because until you finally give up and kill me, this is what every moment of your life will be like. I'm going to make you pay with every breath I have."
Naruto groaned and shifted her around to carry her bridal style and she glared at him for the indignity.
"If that's what it takes for you to forgive me, fine," he said with a defeated expression.
Her nose curled up. It wasn't like anyone important to him had died.
"You're a total bastard," she said and spat in his face. She resisted the urge to growl when he didn't even respond beyond wiping it off on his shoulder and biting his lip as he limped her out the door and down the stairs.
"Why are you carrying her?" Sasuke asked with a glare.
"Because she refused to walk someplace she didn't want to go," Naruto said softly. He felt horrible about the whole ordeal. She'd been so nice to him and then he'd done what was turning out to be the one thing he regretted more than anything else. He could only imagine how angry he'd be if someone he was nice to betrayed him and captured him before killing his sensei, or even worse, Ayame-chan or Teuchi-Jiji before dragging him off to some foreign village.
"Then just drag her. She'll decide to walk quickly enough that way," Sasuke said with a shrug and Sakura bit her lip while watching the exchange.
"It's fine, I'll just carry her," Naruto said, lowering his head.
"I'm right here you retard," Haku said and her lips twitched in satisfaction when she actually got a response out of that.
"I'm sorry," Naruto said directly to her, "I'll carry you."
"Whatever," she said before staring up at the sky.
"Let's get moving. We've got to get back to Konoha now that the situation's been resolved. I checked out Gatou's compound. Now it's just a smoking crater," he said with a grimace. It didn't bode well for the squadron of soldiers the Shogun sent. The area was still burning with unquenchable white flames, though they didn't spread, seemingly ignoring the blustery wind.
Haku shivered as the wind in question kicked up once more and she saw that there was nearly a foot of snow on the ground and the sky was dark and heavy, with a cyclonic storm front off toward the mainland hovering over an area that seemed to be sending up a haze of ash and hot air.
"Are you cold?" Naruto asked her and she glared at him.
"Does it look like I'm burning to death?" she sneered and he pulled out a scroll with one hand while trying not to drop her and unsealed his last surviving orange jacket, the only one that hadn't been stolen and put it over her. That made her feel sick to her stomach as she realized whose pajamas she was wearing.
Kakashi watched the exchange silently as they marched off toward where the boat was to take them back across to the mainland.
"Umm, Haku-san, why do you seem to hate Naruto so much?" Sakura asked quietly as Naruto screamed and jerked his shoe off then tugged a bloody thorn out of his foot as Haku smirked, "Kakashi-sensei was the one who killed Zabuza."
Haku shrugged, "It's that retard's fault, this whole thing. Kakashi was just doing the inevitable," she said with a sigh, "Then he acts so pathetic about it, after he captured me from behind when I was going to let him go without killing him. He's the most disgusting, cowardly, stupid, vile human being I know."
Sakura just gave an uneasy smile at the girl. Her hair had grown out a little in the two days since they'd left Nami no Kuni; it looked like she had a thin layer of fuzz over her entire head. Sakura wasn't sure how to cope with the other girl. She didn't try to resist them, but she did everything she could to spite Naruto by inches. Then again that was the only time she seemed alive. When she wasn't making his life hell she just sort of stared off into the distance.
Haku wasn't the only thing getting to Sakura. Naruto seemed to be different when Haku was around, like someone had killed his pet or something. He wasn't goofy, he wasn't cheery, and it was even more annoying than usual.
This stupid mission had even put space between her and Sasuke-kun. He seemed angry all the time now when she tried to talk with him. She knew he would get over it eventually, whatever it was, but it hurt. He spent more time glaring at Naruto and Haku and hardly ever spared a glance at her. She was just glad that they were only a few minutes out from Konoha and everything would go back to normal soon. It was a lot faster moving at a ninja pace rather than a walk to get home.
Naruto approached and bent down to pick up Haku when she pushed him away and straightened the shorts she'd gotten from Sakura and Naruto's black t-shirt that fit very poorly.
"Don't touch me, retard," she said viciously, "I have legs, I can walk."
"But you said…"
"Retard, don't you understand speech? I said I'd walk," Haku said before crossing her arms and glaring at him while his shoulders slumped.
Naruto gathered up his nearly empty pack and fell into position slightly behind Haku as they began moving forward at a light jog, only about twenty or so miles an hour. Kakashi-sensei had kept him on 'guard' duty the entire while, and Haku had been fulfilling her promise to make every waking moment of his life hell. He winced as he was too slow to duck a branch she'd pulled back as she passed and it whipped across his face, cutting a line on his cheek.
He wasn't sure why he was doing what he was anymore. It had gone past any feeling of self-punishment after the first day. He still felt horribly guilty every time he looked at her brown eyes and the dark fuzz on the top of her head, a silent accusation that it was entirely his fault that she had lost her precious person. But even though he didn't feel the urge to inflict punishment on himself he still put up with it.
It was mean, spiteful, but it was acknowledgement. It was completely different from any hate he'd experienced before, one where someone just wants you to stop existing. Haku had made it painfully apparent that she wanted him to exist so that he could suffer more for what he'd done. It was a twisted form of acknowledgement, but she saw him for Naruto, and hated him for it, rather than as any demon fox like the villagers.
He'd resolved to somehow make it better though. He was determined to outlast her anger and become her friend if it took forever to accomplish. Even if he didn't feel any relief from her continual punishment anymore, it was the least he could do. At least it seemed like she had a purpose when she was angry at him. Seeing her just sort of drift when it became obvious she was thinking about Zabuza was like a punch to the gut. It seemed as though she didn't really have any reason to live anymore, save to make his life a personal hell.
The gates of Konoha approached quickly and to Naruto's surprise there was an escort of Anbu waiting there. Kakashi who had been fairly silent on the return trip back motioned to Sakura and Sasuke.
"Tomorrow at the same time as usual, near the bridge," Kakashi said, "I'll bring the payments."
Sasuke just grunted and turned, walking off into the village.
"Hey Sasuke-kun, wait up! Now that we're back in Konoha…" Sakura called out, her voice being quickly lost as Sasuke tried to put distance between them and she refused to be left behind.
"Hatake-san," an Anbu in a Goshawk mask said making a waving motion toward the Hokage tower deeper in the village, "Hokage-sama has requested your presence and that of your guest. Are you sure he is needed as well?"
Kakashi just gave the Anbu member a flat stare with his visible eye before he turned to Naruto and waved him to follow. Several of the man's fellow Anbu seemed to express silent displeasure at their comrade's attitude, their eyes hardening inside their masks. Haku fell right in with them while walking through the streets. Seeing the foreign village made her feel cold all over. No deeper proof of Zabuza-sama's death could be provided than standing in the middle of this place. It was as unlike her homeland, or any of the places Zabuza-sama preferred to visit as possible. Even in the early March air it was warm, warm and quite a bit drier than other places Zabuza-sama had frequented.
The streets swarmed with people going about their business as they walked through the village. She couldn't help but notice the looks the blond bastard got from the villagers, as though he were some sort of stain upon the pride of their village. Like a particularly nasty disease.
She glanced at the jerk in question and found him staring at the ground as they walked rather than meeting the villager's eyes. How pathetic. A ninja afraid to glare down mere villagers. In Kirigakure if a villager ever looked at a ninja like that they'd probably never look anywhere again.
It was strange though, how quite a few younger ninja seemed to look at him the same way. However the closer they drew to the tower that was their destination the less frequent the glares became, and as the reached the tower proper some of the looks were mostly of pure interest, untainted by disdain. Sharingan Kakashi led them up the winding stairs of the tower before they stopped in a small waiting room for a moment. It didn't take long at all for the doors to swing open and she followed the blond bastard in.
Sitting behind a desk was none other than the Sandaime Hokage, his wrinkled face and wreath of grey hair unmistakable to anyone who had seen his entry in the bingo book. The one thing the bingo book hadn't properly described though was his sheer presence. It was as though he wasn't just sitting in the room, but rather that by his presence alone he occupied the room.
"Kakashi-san," Sarutobi said with a quirked eyebrow as he removed his pipe from between his teeth and rubbed its stem with his thumb, "I assume this is the guest you mentioned?"
Kakashi nodded briefly, and Haku couldn't help but wonder how much of the Kirigakure propaganda about the Leaf being 'weak' and 'tender' was just propaganda. She could feel the palpable aura of power filling the room and the sheer deference that Sharingan Kakashi felt for the old man.
"Haku-san, do you have a surname?" Sarutobi said while pointing at her with the stem of his pipe.
"No," she said softly as she felt his intensity surround her.
"I'm presented with a difficult situation, Haku-san," Sarutobi said as he tucked the stem of his pipe back between his teeth, "I'm presented with a young girl with a bloodline of significant use to Konoha, but of dubious trustworthiness."
Haku kept her lips shut as he peered at her.
"So I am left with the question of what exactly I'm to do with you," Sarutobi said with a frown on his face, "Considering most ninja in this village would not be particularly willing to offer sponsorship to a kunoichi from Kirigakure, regardless of whether or not you were registered there."
Haku's eyes dropped to stare at her feet. This was one of the things she'd been dreading the entire trip.
"Sponsorship?" the blond bastard asked as he looked curiously at the Hokage.
"Yes Naruto, sponsorship," Sarutobi said as he shifted a few papers on his desk, "If Haku-san wishes to attempt to join Konoha she will require a sponsor, who will vouch for her loyalty for the entirety of the probationary period. During that time any misdeeds she performs will be as though the sponsor performed them. It's also the sponsor's duty to cover living expenses until the probationary period has ended. Otherwise…"
Naruto frowned as he glanced over at Haku who was staring at the floorboards. He'd offer to sponsor her, but he was worried that if he did she'd do something to ruin his chances as a ninja. Her head came up at her eyes met his in a glare of challenge.
"Otherwise what?" Naruto asked with a frown.
"Otherwise she will remain at civilian status and placed in governmental observational housing until a suitable civilian position can be found for her," Sarutobi said with a sigh, "A necessary precaution."
Haku swallowed hard.
"So umm, a sponsor?" Naruto asked, "What exactly does that mean?"
"If she can obtain a sponsor she will essentially remain under house arrest unless her sponsor or a ninja of chuunin rank or higher is present. A probationary period of six months is required at which time she may join the ninja ranks under observation by a jounin sensei," Sarutobi said, "As she has no official rank she would become a genin."
"I'll do it," Naruto said and Haku's eyes widened in surprise, "It's my fault anyway, so I'll do it."
Sarutobi quirked an eyebrow at him, "Very well then, I'll have the paperwork filled out," he said, a tiny smile on his lips, "Haku-san, I trust you have no objections over living in governmental subsidized projects for now?"
Haku shook her head, grateful for any opportunity to avoid the alternative.
"Then," Sarutobi said as he shuffled some paperwork around and looked down at it, "I am assigning you room 304 in the development at 3100 Red Street."
"Wait!" Naruto said with wide eyes, "That's the empty suite next door! We'd share a bathroom!"
"Is there a problem with this?" Sarutobi asked with a quirked eyebrow and Naruto shook his head.
"Very well then," Sarutobi said, "It should be open to you at any time. The rent is low and it will be put into forbearance until you begin taking missions and can repay it."
"Thank you Hokage-sama," Haku said with a small bow. It wasn't a bad thing in her opinion. It would be easier to make his life hell, even when he was at home for the evening. It couldn't have been more perfect.
"Umm," Naruto said, eyeing Haku nervously, "Thanks Jiji, I think."
Sarutobi nodded with the corners of his lips twitching upward, "I think that will be all. Haku-san, be aware that there will be an unseen Anbu escort about you at all times to ensure that you do not break the terms of your probationary period," he said, "Otherwise, you are both dismissed."
After the two left the room Sarutobi gave a small chuckle, "I see what you were speaking of," he said as Kakashi sagged into a seat.
"I think it will be good for him, to have a friend his age," Kakashi said with a laugh, "I think that her little cruelties toward him are more just so that she feels alive at this point."
Sarutobi nodded, "I trust your instincts Kakashi. If you say she can be an asset, I can act on that assumption. I just hope she doesn't do anything to endanger Naruto by her actions. He's already in a precarious enough position as it is," he said with a glance at the door they'd left through.
"I think it will be good for the both of them," Kakashi said with a shrug, "Team Seven is starting to come apart at the seams anyway. If he at least has one person his age, well other than Gai's student…"
Kakashi shuddered before continuing, "Then I think he'll be able to weather it. He's surprisingly durable emotionally," he said with a nod, "He's held up very well under the stress."
'I wonder if I can jump off the apartment roof and end it now,' Naruto whined in his head as he limped along, Haku's innocent whistling accompanying the bruising on his shin.
"I don't know why I'm doing this," Naruto grumbled in frustration as he dodged out of the way of a food cart that the owner hadn't been particularly careful about avoiding him with, "You're crazy, and you've promised to make my life hell… what's to stop you from screwing up and getting me in trouble?"
Haku smirked, "Unless it's a way I can screw up enough to both leave you alive and tormented forever," she said, ceasing her innocent whistling, "Then it's really not an option. If I break this probation I won't be there to make sure you get what you deserve."
Naruto groaned softly. He'd tried to be repentant for the entire trip back, but it became obvious that she wasn't going to forgive him anytime soon and he wasn't about to mope over it forever. It just wasn't his style.
"Whatever," Naruto said as they turned off toward one of the less cleanly areas of the village, "What's wrong with you anyway? You were so nice before…"
Haku sniffed at him, "Before I was nice because I thought you were a nice person," she said with a scowl, "Now I know the truth."
"Look, you can't hate me forever, it just isn't possible," Naruto said after they'd walked for several minutes in silence.
"I think I can," Haku said, "You make it surprisingly easy."
"Ugh," Naruto groaned as he opened the door of the apartment and she used the opportunity to step on his heel, making him trip and tumble to the floor.
"Hey!" Naruto shouted as Haku just walked past him and up the dingy stairs, forcing him to hurry and catch up.
She was standing in front of the door of her apartment with a frown when he caught back up with her.
"I don't have a key," she said and Naruto shrugged and opened the door to his apartment.
"You can go through mine for now," he said as he flicked the lights on and pointed at the bathroom that connected the two rooms, "I'll talk to Kakashi-sensei about it tomorrow."
He watched silently as Haku walked through the bathroom into her new apartment before walking back out. It wasn't until she'd grabbed his futon and begun to drag it toward the bathroom that he shouted in indignation.
"What do you think you're doing?" he groused in frustration.
"There isn't any furniture there," she said, shooting him a challenging glare.
Naruto met it with equal intensity, "That doesn't mean you can steal mine!" he shouted.
"Stop me," Haku said before turning her back to him and beginning to bang the futon through the doorway of the bathroom, putting gouges in the paint of the doorway.
Naruto just stared as his futon disappeared and heard the door on the other side of the bathroom slam closed.
"The hell?" he mumbled while scratching his head, "What exactly am I supposed to do or say in a situation like this?"
"I'm a whiny, pathetic, retarded bastard who is too stingy to give poor little me something to sleep on in this damned empty apartment," Haku shouted from the other room and Naruto blinked. Wow, she had really good hearing.
"Hey, I've got to go see Gai-sensei, let him know that I'm back," Naruto shouted and frowned as Haku marched into his apartment and into his bedroom, "Hey! What are you doing?"
"I stink. I'm going to get a shower, get out of these ridiculous spandex shorts, and then you can do whatever it is you wanted to do," she said and Naruto heard things being slammed in his bedroom before he ran in, just in time to see the picture of team seven that had been taken the second day they'd been together fall and smash on the floor.
"Oops," Haku said as she grabbed a pair of his pants and a shirt and marched out the door.
"The hell?" Naruto shouted as he chased after her, "You can't just steal my clothes and smash up my place! Screw apologizing to you! You should apologize to me you psychopath!"
The bathroom door slamming and locking in his face was the only response he got. As soon as the shower started up he went back into the kitchen, silently fuming as he threw a pot of hot water on to boil. Ramen. That would solve the problem. A little ramen and all the little annoyances of life would go away.
He gathered up the dustpan and his broom and went back into the bedroom to sweep up the fragments of glass from the broken frame. After removing the picture from the frame and setting it back up on the dresser he headed back into the kitchen while waiting the last minute or two for the water to boil before pouring it into the cup to wait the final three minutes. Instant ramen was awesome.
"You're out of shampoo," Haku announced as she walked out of the bathroom while wearing his clothes and snagged the cup of ramen out of his hand.
"Okay, that's it, give it back!" Naruto shouted as his eyes became narrow slits and he lunged for the cup. Haku spun around and he tumbled into the counter.
"You're as slow as an old man," Haku said smugly as she snatched the chopsticks from the table. She jumped up over his tackle and he barreled into the wall as she lifted his noodles to her lips.
"Yuck, ramen is disgusting," she said with a groan, "But food is food."
"You didn't just say that," Naruto said as he stared at her in disbelief, "You didn't just say what I think you said…"
"What? Ramen is disgusting?" Haku asked as she downed the last bits of broth.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Naruto screamed in rage.
"Naruto-san?" Lee asked nervously as he peered at Naruto's swollen face and then at the single black eye of the girl next to him who looked vaguely smug, "Are you okay? Who is your friend?"
"What friend?" Naruto growled.
"I'm Haku, but you can call me Haku-chan," she said with a gentle smile and gave a curtsey to Lee, "It's very nice to meet you. What's your name?"
"Don't believe her Lee! She's a psychopath!" Naruto whimpered and Lee frowned at him.
"That's not very youthful Naruto-san," Lee said as he peered at Naruto's face, "Did you trip and fall?"
"No that crazy…"
"Yes he did Lee-san. He accidentally hit me with his elbow when he fell," Haku said sweetly.
"Oh! Are you okay? Would you like me to get you some ice?" Lee said with a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Lee… where is Gai-sensei?" Naruto growled out through gritted teeth.
"He is over there," Lee said motioning into the distance.
"Thanks," Naruto said as he walked off without another word.
"Is he okay?" Lee asked Haku in a concerned tone for his friend.
"Yes," Haku said with a smile, "He's just going through a hard time. I feel so poorly for him. He finally confessed to Uchiha Sasuke-san and was rejected. He's been very irritable since then."
Lee's jaw hung loosely as she walked away, "Naruto-san is…" he said before fainting dead away.
"Gai-sensei!" Naruto called out as his spandex wearing taijutsu instructor came into sight.
"Naruto!"
"Gai-sensei!" Naruto shouted back.
"Naruto!" Gai cried out as he rushed toward him with his arms outstretched in a hug.
"Get the hell away!" Naruto shouted as he ducked to the side.
Gai coughed softly into his hand, "Well Naruto-san, I see that your first mission was a success," he said with a smile, "Who is your lady friend? Is she your?"
Gai made a crooking motion with his pinky, "Because young love is so youthful," he said.
"No," Naruto growled out before sighing as Haku approached, "I just came to let you know I was back. Should I come to the morning practice tomorrow?"
Gai rubbed his chin in thought, "I think that would be fine," he said slowly, "Until then, enjoy your afternoon, even if you are not in love there is much in life to fuel your youth!"
Naruto groaned once more, "Thanks then Gai-sensei," he said before walking off. When he caught the innocent expression on Haku's face as they left the training ground it made his blood run cold for some reason.
"Interesting, isn't it, Jiraiya-chan," a small and ancient looking toad said as he tossed another tiny pebble into the pool of water, "Some people, they are like grains of sand thrown one at a time into the sea."
The old toad repeated his action with a very tiny stone, eliciting almost imperceptible ripples before tossing another slightly larger pebble, the ripples of which passed over the minute ones.
"Then others," the toad said as he tossed a fist size stone into the water, "The ripples they make become waves that wash away cities, nations, ages."
The man with white hair and red marks in long lines down his face peered at the small toad, "I'm not sure I follow Fukasaku-sama," he said slowly.
"The ripples," Fukasaku said, "Are fate, chance or probability, whatever you wish to call it. They warp the nature of events around the stones themselves. Watch closely, you see how when the ripples reach the end of the pool they travel backward?"
Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow before Fukasaku sighed.
"It's a horribly simplified explanation," Fukasaku grumbled as he wiped the dirt stuck to his palms free, "But the ripples are already spreading. He is your third student."
Jiraiya stared down into the pool and saw a boy with bright blond hair and blue eyes, eerily reminiscent of his second student talking to a girl with black hair before she subtly tripped him into a mud puddle.
"This is the nature of prophecy Jiraiya-chan," Fukasaku said with a faint smile, "The ripples are easy to see when they are not in conflict with ones of equal size, but when that occurs… the chaos is beyond the hope of any to comprehend."
"I thought the ancient sage..." Jiraiya tried to interject.
"Told you that one of your students would either bring peace or destruction to the world," Fukasaku said with a smile, "And only you would be able to dictate the course. He possessed Foresight, the ability to read the ripples on a level beyond his own comprehension, and that was the best even he could say."
Jiraiya frowned at the puddle in thought.
"It's your decision Jiraiya-chan," Fukasaku said softly, "I just hope you have wisdom to go with your luck."
Jiraiya nodded before giving a laugh, "Then I guess I should take some time to consider my options carefully," he said with a roguish smirk, "I should at least do that once in my life before I get so old that it's too late."
Naruto groaned in exhaustion as he awoke to a sharp elbow in the side.
"Your alarm has been going off for five minutes. Next time turn it off," Haku growled before stomping back out of the room and into the bathroom and he heard the shower running.
He slid out of bed and his feet hit the floor before he stumbled into the kitchen to make some sort of breakfast, something light. He was finished reading and the water was still running so he walked over and pounded on the door.
"Hey! I want some hot water too!" he shouted inside and he heard Haku call out.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" before the shower shut off and she walked out in a towel, her skin already dry, with one of his manga from the rack of reading materials near the toilet in her hand, "This is a really good one you know?"
Naruto just scowled and stomped inside before stripping down and climbing in the shower. As soon as he turned the knob he shrieked, the ice cold needles prickling his flesh. He stood there shivering for a whole minute waiting for it to warm up before pounding his head on the wall and trying to get clean with only cold water. When he emerged from the shower his skin felt covered in soap scum that refused to rinse clean in the cold temperature.
His lips were blue, even after he'd gotten dressed and saw Haku toss an empty container of instant ramen in the trash.
"You're out of ramen," she said with a smirk.
Naruto clenched his fists and took several deep breaths, "I thought you said you hated the stuff," he said in a very slow calm voice, "I bought cereal for you this morning."
Haku gave him a dazzling smile, "Oh, I know. It's just that you seem to love that trash, so I figured I'd eat the last cup," she said with a laugh, "Now where do you have to go at this ungodly hour of the morning?"
"I have taijutsu practice with Gai-sensei," Naruto said as he strapped on his weighted armor armguards, breastplate and shin guards.
"Hmm, well if I don't go with you I know you won't come back until night, so if I want out I might as well go," Haku said while chewing on her fingertip and Naruto shrugged before walking out the door with her in pursuit.
It didn't take long to reach the training ground and he heaved a sigh of relief when Haku just sat against a tree in the pre-dawn light rather than choosing to harass him during training.
"Naruto!" Gai said with a sad expression, "While I am not inclined in such a way, I can understand your frustration with being rejected by Uchiha-san. Lee told me about it. If you wish we can delay practice for a while so you can talk about it."
"Rejected? What?" Naruto asked in utter confusion.
"I understood why you said you had no interest in Haku-san and though it has never been for another boy, I can understand the heartbreak you must feel after Uchiha-san's rejection of your feelings," Gai said while patting him on the shoulder.
"WHAT?!" Naruto shouted, "What the hell are you talking about? Wait… no! No way! I am not gay!"
Gai gave a sad sigh, "I can understand how you would be hesitant to embrace such a part of yourself," Gai said, "But to achieve inner harmony, acceptance of who you are is a crucial part."
Naruto turned to Haku who was giggling where she said and his face became a mask of rage, "You! You said something to Lee! I'll kill you!" he screamed before Gai caught him mid-lunge.
"Now, now, Naruto," Gai said in a chastising tone, "While it may be humiliating and perhaps wrong of Haku-san to reveal such a secret about you, I'm sure she did it so that your friends would be able to help you through such a difficult time."
Naruto's face was bright red and there was a throbbing purple vein on his forehead that looked ready to burst if his blood pressure rose any higher.
"I'm not gay," Naruto said in a very controlled voice as chakra leaked from him from his lack of emotional control, filled with such desire to do violence that even Gai took a step back, "She is not my friend. She was a prisoner who was captured in Nami no Kuni, and as a result her sensei was killed and she returned with us to, and I quote 'ensure that your life is as much of a living hell as mine is'. This is her idea of a sick joke to humiliate me."
Gai quirked an eyebrow, "Is this all a prank Haku-san?" he asked sternly.
Haku looked a bit sheepish and shrugged.
"Hmm, the scorn of a youthful woman is fierce indeed," Gai said before looking slightly ashamed, "Perhaps I shouldn't have talked to so many people to get advice for this conversation."
"How many?" Naruto growled out through clenched teeth.
"Only about a dozen jounin and most of your contemporaries," Gai said looking horribly embarrassed.
Naruto's scream shattered every window in a mile radius.
"You utter bastard!" Sakura shouted as her open palm slaps echoed in the afternoon air followed by the tearing sound of hair being pulled.
"But Sakura-chan!" Naruto whimpered under the onslaught.
"Don't Sakura-chan me!" she hissed through slitted eyes that were quite literally glowing an emerald green in rage, "I should have known! All those times you were asking me on dates you were trying to pull Sasuke and I apart so you could sink your own filthy claws into him! And you stole his first kiss!"
Haku was nearly falling over in laugher where she was wheezing, propped up against the side of the bridge.
"Sakura! I'm straight! I don't like Sasuke! I like you! Really! Haku was just trying to get me in trouble!" he shouted in desperation.
"LIAR…Mrphml," Sakura shouted as her eyes went wide before she jerked back, spitting and choking.
"See? I'm straight!" Naruto said as Sakura scrubbed her lips before she turned back to him with the scariest expression on her face he'd ever seen as she advanced toward him.
"You stole Sasuke-kun's first kiss… now you steal mine… you deviant pervert! You've probably got a sick little fantasy where you seduce both of us!" she said, cracking her knuckles and all of the blood drained from Naruto's face.
"I'd run," Haku suggested.
"You realize that if he leaves you alone here it will be breaking the terms of your house arrest, don't you?" Kakashi whispered as he dropped down beside her to watch the show.
Haku's eyes went wide and she stuck out her foot as Naruto went past, tripping him in a heap as Sakura quickly caught up.
"Oh god, no, no, not the groin, anything else but the groin... not the kidneys either… the spleen isn't any better," Naruto screamed as the sound of meaty thwacks and the occasional cracking sound echoed in the air.
Five minutes later Sakura marched off in a huff to stand on the opposite side of the bridge. Naruto groaned and opened one eye.
"Is she gone?" he whispered.
"For the moment," Haku said as she leaned down beside him and her hands glowed green briefly and he began screaming once more as his healing factor catalyzed her medical jutsu and his bones practically flew back together.
"Oh god… that hurt," Naruto wheezed as he sat back up, "I have to thank Gai-sensei for the body reinforcement lesson this morning. It stopped the worst of it, but she broke my hands so I couldn't reach the healing pills in my pouch."
After a moment her hands pulled away with a confused expression on her face.
"That was awesome! You must be really good with Ijutsu," Naruto said with a smile at her, "Thanks."
Haku stared at him with a strange look, "What are you?" she mumbled as she stepped back, "No one heals that fast."
"They don't?" Naruto asked in confusion, "But I thought Ijutsu…"
Haku shook her head, "No, I'm serious. Healing jutsu and pills just don't work that fast. I barely touched you when it sucked the energy out of the jutsu and you healed nearly instantly," she said, "It's not possible, no one heals that fast."
Naruto just looked confused for a moment.
"Naruto has some unusual abilities," Kakashi said slowly as he approached, "From what I understand from his medical reports they're similar to his eyes."
Naruto looked surprised, "Huh? You mean it did more than just change my eyes?" he asked in confusion and he realized Kakashi threw a pointed look at his stomach and he swallowed, "Umm yeah, it's like a bloodline thing."
"Why does everyone glare at you though?" Haku asked with a frown, "Konoha loves kekkei genkai."
"I think that's enough questions, Sasuke is here," Kakashi said as Naruto scrambled to his feet.
Naruto nearly screamed in frustration as Sasuke covered his ass and side stepped around Naruto with wide and slightly scared eyes.
"I hate you so much," he hissed at Haku.
"The feeling is mutual," she retorted with a smirk.
"Alright, well, since teamwork has been flagging a bit of late we're going to be doing some teamwork exercises," Kakashi said with a laugh as he watched Naruto blanch.
"So is this all you do?" Haku asked as she watched Naruto frowning at a book while his clones tried through sheer numerical advantage to puzzle out the sealing arts through trial and error, "Practice taijutsu in the morning, get beaten on by your teammates and sensei in the afternoon and practice fuuinjutsu without a clue what you're doing in the evening?"
"Hey! I know what I'm doing!" Naruto protested indignantly.
"Fine then, what are you doing?" Haku demanded.
"Umm, the power thingy that makes the stuff go to this other thingy… I've got to make it umm," he said before scratching his head.
"How in the hell did you manage to catch me in Zabuza-sama's jutsu using a seal then?" Haku asked in disbelief as Naruto went red faced.
"Umm," Naruto said in embarrassment, "Well my eyes can sort of see the seals that compose a jutsu, and if I see it long enough I can remember enough to figure it out I guess. I just had to use a storage seal from the book and one of these thingies."
"An elemental conversion sigil," Haku said with a smug expression.
"Yeah, that thing," Naruto said proudly.
"So really you have no clue how fuuinjutsu actually works, do you?" Haku asked with a derisive laugh.
"Hey, cut it out, I'm trying really hard here," Naruto grumbled, "I'll just leave you at your apartment tomorrow if you aren't going to let up for an instant."
"Whatever," Haku said dismissively, "Why aren't you using any math to figure this out? I mean you haven't even done any of the thaumic conversion factors or anything."
"The what? Look, I suck at math," Naruto said with a scowl.
"Fine, shut up and listen," Haku said as she snatched the book out of his hands and began writing junk on a piece of paper while explaining it to him. She felt like she was trying to teach a chunk of lead how to be gold, but she was at least making some progress by the time it started getting dark.
"So if I want the seals to do what they're supposed to I need to use the conversion factor thingies to calculate the umm, throughput?" Naruto asked in confusion, "Like knowing how much water pressure that has to go through a pipe?"
"Yes," Haku said with a relieved sigh, "Finally, I thought I was going to die of old age before you figured it out."
"Umm, Haku, why are you helping me?" Naruto asked with a strange expression and Haku glared at him.
"If you get yourself killed because you're a retard then I won't be able to make you suffer anymore," she said as she stared at the ground.
It was more because he was the only person she really knew here, and the only real option she had for company. Making his day bad was really the only thing that eased the pain in her chest anyway, not that it helped much. It wasn't even so much about punishing him even. She understood why he'd done it, why he had to do it, but to just forgive him felt like it would be a betrayal of everything Zabuza-sama had meant to her.
To tell the truth it was more to keep from going mad than anything. When she was ruining his day it made it so she didn't have to think about the fact that she really had no purpose, no reason to exist anymore. It was better than just following him around aimlessly all day.
A grin only one who had met Hoshigaki Kisame could appreciate spread across Haku's face, "Besides, it's fun to rub your nose in your own stupidity."
Naruto stared at his hands for a long time before standing up abruptly as his clones began to pop away one at a time. She quickly scrambled to grab the books and papers before chasing after him.
"Wait up you jerk," Haku said with a frown, "You can't just leave me behind."
"Shut up, okay?" Naruto said in a tired voice, "Look, I know I'm stupid, I've always been stupid. You think I haven't tried to change it? No, you can teach ignorance, you can correct foolishness, but you can't fix stupid. My academy teachers told me that much, so just leave me alone for a little okay?"
Haku was about to mock him more before she closed her mouth and just walked in silence next to him as the sun went down. Naruto was surprised that she hadn't jumped all over his moment of weakness, but he wasn't about to open his mouth and ruin it.
[AN:] And so ends another chapter of KDK. Expect the story to move more through in village interactions and character building/refinement/moderation for a bit.
