Author's Note: Yes, she is a girl in this story. End of discussion. Please read and review. Thanks.


"You're going to catch a cold if you sleep there."

He had heard those words before. He had heard that voice before. In fact, now that he thought about it, he had been here before, in this exact place, in this exact position. He opened his eyes. In his periphery, Naruto could see the shape of the one that woke him. He was almost too scared to look. He raised his blonde head slowly from the damp grass cushion.

He simply stared at the figure across him. There was absolute silence. The birds were mute, the wind silenced and the trees still. Naruto shook his head but the image did not part. It was a girl, tall and beautiful.

Naruto couldn't move. The shock was too great. His eyes were wide. His heart pounded so frantically he thought it might erupt from his chest cavity. His limbs felt numb, as if all the blood raced towards his head trying to wake himself up. But there was no waking up. This was no dream.

The girl was black of hair, pale skinned, slender formed, tall figured with kind eyes. He recognized her. She looked as pretty as the first time Naruto had seen her. His jaw hung loosely, leaving his mouth agape. And the voice! Naruto finally understood his own internal description. Cold and warm. Cold and warm.

It was too much. He couldn't believe it. Everything told him he was awake but Naruto stood as slack jawed as ever his mouth dry and absent any words. His face muscles were not reacting. He mustered the will to move his mouth, his lips trembling as he did so.

"H-Haku?"

OOO

Waters roared and crashed against the jagged rocks of the island's cliff coast. The island had no name. It was not significant enough to warrant one. Such a place was only fit for those who were either not significant enough to warrant a name either, or those who wanted to forget their names entirely. The island housed many who traveled from island to island, merchants, fishers and pirates. But the island laid claim to only one permanent resident. That man sat on the cliff of a rock, the furious waves, once again beaten back by the rocks, splashing at his feet. His hair was long, white with a hint of blue. His stubble was fresh and greying. And besides the growing bags beneath his eyes, the man's face carried the years of one far older.

He sighed heavily as he always did and gazed beyond into the vast ocean. They were out there. In truth, he didn't know exactly who they were. But whoever they were, he'd kill them. All of them, parading in this insulting façade of honor. All of them, trying to convince the world and themselves that they were above beasts. But he knew the truth. There was no honor to be found in men. They were little better than demons. The only different was demons had at least the strength to admit it. He laughed at these knights in shining armor, these champions of justice and honor. It was nothing more than a cheap trick designed to polish the character of man, the beast of consciousness but not the beast of decency. He felt the side of his blade against his leg. He liked to think of it and himself as a reminder – a reminder to all those before they perished before it. For in the final moments before these so called honorable men were cut down, they'd realize who they were. He could feel the power of the waves smashing against the coast as vividly as he could feel his own body, versatile and flexible in the final years of his prime.

On another rock facing him opposite, a man appeared, seemingly instantly rising from the ocean. His hair was damp but his sword stood in his hand, blades shielded, but ready.

"I knew you'd come for me one day. I knew one day you'd come for all of us."

"Ichiku," spoke the new man.

"Oh yes," said Ichiku. "That was what you used to call me. Ichiku Hozuki, Legendary Swordsman of the Mist, if I'm correct. Ha! Just thinking about it makes me vomit. We paraded around like we were some noble warriors. Ha! You've come to kill me haven't you, sensei?"

The man's silence answered his question.

"You may want to kill me, sensei, but I no longer have any desire to fight you. Your sickness was shed the first time. I have nothing to remind you of."

"Maybe not," growled the man. "But I still have something to remind you of. Like your two brothers you and the others cut down and the rest of which you left for dead! Like your childhood friends, your teammates, my apprentices that you murdered! Like the dozens if not hundreds of lives you have taken in this madness you call a crusade of illumination! I wonder Ichiku, with all your ramblings about the lies of honor, where do you fit in? Do you think killing anyone who has even an ounce of dignity and pride will bring you honor?"

"You see," smirked Ichiku. "You see, now, we can have a real conversation. Now that you have stripped your false pretenses of righteousness we can finally talk."

"I'm not here to talk!" snapped the older swordsman. "I'm here to end the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. I'm here to correct my mistake that cost so many lives. I'm here to stop you from killing anymore good men that you believe can't exist."

"Mistake?" spoke one of the famed Seven. "Maybe not so much of a mistake. Maybe I still have a reason to live. Maybe I still have a role to play…I got responsibilities you know, haha!"

"Responsibilities?" boomed his sensei. "To whom? The sons you never saw? The village you never served? The comrades you never protected?"

Even Ichiku was taken aback at the ferocity and anguish laced in the deafening bellows of his sensei.

"You are right, sensei," Ichiku whispered. "I don't really have a reason to live. Nevertheless, I want to continue doing so. If you intend to fight me, that is your choice. But you will not find me easy prey. The ocean is a vast place, sensei."

The older swordsman gripped his blade tightly. "I fished you from the sea once before, I can do it again."

"We'll see, sensei."

Instantly, Ichiku Hozuki, one of the famed Seven Swordsmen of the Mist vanished as soon as a high wave struck his rock. He had turned to water and was intended on making his escape. But the older shinobi watched with close eyes. He had trained the Hozuki. He knew his tricks. He knew how to track him. And he would pursue, at whatever length. He'd follow his former student until there was no water left for him to hide in. And then, he would kill him.

OOO

She smiled at him. It was a smile from the icy shinobi that warmed Naruto's being. He jumped up, stumbling backwards. He was perspiring and unsure. This was all too surreal.

"What?" he asked. "How? You…I saw you die! I buried you myself!"

She smiled sadly at the bewildered blonde.

"How are you here?"

She paused before speaking. "I died on the bridge, Naruto. I laid on my back, dead as dead can be."

"Then how are you here!" Naruto demanded again, fearful and alarmed.

She looked perplexed. She lifted her head to meet his gaze. "I woke up."

Naruto finally realized what was going on. He couldn't make any sudden movements. He couldn't afford to waste a single move. He had to be quick. His eyes rolled around to as far as his sockets would allow, trying to fish out a potential spot where the interloper hid. He could not see. And thanks to the damned freeze, he couldn't rely on the Kyuubi to shake him from the illusion. He'd have to do it himself. And he'd have to do it quick. The longer he was trapped in this trickery the more and danger he was. With unmatched speed, he brought his hands together.

"Release!" he cried.

After a few seconds, he looked up. She was still there. He looked back down at his hands.

"Release!" he called again.

"Naruto what are you-"

"Shut up," Naruto commanded. "This isn't real. You-you're not real. You can't just wake up from death! If you could, then…then…"

He felt hot, feverishly so. He stumbled backwards, unable to understand what was going on. Before he could do anything, the girl he had met 4 years prior at this same spot, rushed him, placing a hand on his forehead. The feeling was cool. The feeling was real. With merely a touch, she cooled his mind.

"Is this real enough for you?"

Naruto sat down, Haku beside him. He saw her basket of herbs had been overturned, probably when she had appeared next to him. He felt bad.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"You woke up," Naruto repeated hollowly. "How does one-"

"I don't know!" Haku cried, exasperatingly. "All I know is that I woke. And since then, I don't know what to do with myself! Meeting you…here of all places…"

"Surprising?" he offered, dryly.

There was no answer. Naruto felt the need to say something. But he was at a lack of words. The situation was bizarre enough without these awkward silences.

"What…what are you doing?"

"Picking herbs," she replied.

"For who?"

Haku paused. "I don't know."

She stared at her basket. "Do you want them?" she offered.

"Uh…sure," Naruto replied, hesitantly.

"And what are you doing?"

Naruto opened his mouth, then closed it regretfully. "Honestly? I have no clue. I'm doing nothing here but fumbling around in the dark. I tried…but…you know…"

"Well then, lets do something," Haku concluded. She grabbed him by the arm and forced him to his feet.

Locking his arm in hers, she led and he followed. The feeling was both cold and warm. The isolation of the grassy green quickly parted. They passed by Tazuna's old house. It seemed eerily empty with Tazuna now relocated closer to the island's center and both Inari and Tsunami in Kirigakure. Naruto had fond memories of this place. He remembered Kakashi teaching him chakra control. He remembered competing with Sasuke to see who climb higher. And he remembered late in the night when the pair of them would return to Sakura's scolding.

He remembered the sensei he had lost, the friend who had left him, and the teammate he had sent away.

"This place is serene," Haku sighed, peacefully. "I'm glad."

Naruto thought about bringing up Zabuza but refrained. He could feel the icy chakra in her hand but also the inexplicable warmth that radiated from it. He didn't understand the situation entirely but neither did she. He figured he had no business prying and complaining when the unknown must have certainly been plaguing Haku worse. She looked very happy. Naruto realized he was happy as well. He didn't want it to end.

He could abandon the hunt, for at least one day.

It wasn't long until the town spotted him again, walking down the smooth paved roads that were once only covered with dirt. They waved and smiled. Naruto waved back, grinning like a champion.

Haku looked to the sky and saw a fresh green leaf blown away. It danced and spun in the air like a little ballerina on the greatest stage of all, with only the sky and the world to hold her. It was the masterpiece, Haku realized. When the wind could no longer hold it up, the leaf was to sink to the water. It would dance no more dances, enchant no more drafts. And so it spun and spun and spun, knowing this choreography, this play, would never happen again. The wind died and the leaf floated down to the surface of the water. Before it could touch it, the water turned to bright white glass, frozen and sturdy. On the tiny surface of ice, the leaf sat. Waiting.

"First one to the leaf," Haku called.

"Your on!" replied Naruto, who leapt at once, trying to pass the water that separated him from the leaf.

Naruto yelped surprisingly as his water walk had slipped and he tumbled into the water. Haku laughed greatly as Naruto fished himself out, muttering about his stupid seal. Haku smiled at Naruto, who despite his situation wore a faint grin of his own. She held out her hand to Naruto who took it again. Her hand was cold and warm.

She advanced towards the water. Naruto hesitated.

"My chakra's kind of been wild, lately," Naruto said nervously. "Wouldn't want to bring you down with me…"

Haku laughed softly. "Do you trust me?"

He looked at her. "Yes," he said truthfully.

Wordlessly, she pulled him, hand in hand, towards the water again. They were at the water's frontier. The inhale and exhale of the ocean brought the waves to their toes but no further. The rest was up to them. Haku waited patiently.

"Naruto," she said, melodically. "Have some faith in me."

Naruto took a breath and placed his foot on the water's surface, half expecting to fall through again. But this time, his foot found solid ground. He looked down and saw ice where his foot lay. Haku gave him a comforting laugh. Together, Haku and Naruto walked across the water, the ice spreading beneath their feet like a protective path until it connected with the small surface of ice and the leaf that rested above it. Haku gazed at the leaf.

"A falling leaf will dance only once," she murmured. "The ice can stop if from sinking. But it won't dance again."

Naruto looked at the leaf and felt a hint of sadness.

"But Naruto," Haku said, cheerfully, pulling him to face her. "You're from Konoha. I think that leaf will dance once more. But only if it wants to."

Slowly, Naruto bent down and tenderly scooped the leaf into the palm of his hand. He lifted it to the sky and few seconds passed before it had caught another tempo, heard another rhythm. And so it danced from Naruto's hand to the invisible stage of the winds and skies.

"I think this dance will be better than the last," Haku whispered, comfortingly.

They left the shore.

"Hey," Haku stopped Naruto. "Let's eat there."

He followed her pointing finger to a ramen stand to which his silly grin spread wider.

"Back again Naruto?" said the old man.

"Yup," he cheerfully replied. "2 Miso Ramen bowls this time."

"Starting with 2, eh?" the old man laughed. "Why not?"

Naruto's stomach swelled, several minutes later, telling him that his appetite had been satisfying. Haku giggled at the sight. After regaining his balance, the pair walked. Seemingly without direction, but neither complained. Naruto listened to her speak of her homeland. Haku listened to Naruto's recounting of his master. They smiled, the pair of them. Naruto felt strangely as if he had come closer to Haku after this four year absence than he ever was back when the Great Naruto Bridge was a dream yet to be finished. He felt as if he knew her, understood her…almost as much as he knew himself. Their pain lied on different shores but he understood it all the same. He had thought as a boy, he knew what pain was when he watched his best friend skewered by a dozen needles. Little did that young Naruto know how long was the road of anguish that he had yet to walk. And now, Naruto 4 years older, four years more mature through the pain did not fool himself as he did back then. He wasn't at the end of the road. Maybe he hadn't even made it to the middle. There was great pain in his past and great pain yet to come. Perhaps that is why he felt so comfortable with this girl he hardly knew, yet fulljy understood.

Their likeness had drawn them together four years ago and so it had again. Naruto knew, like himself, Haku's road of anguish was not over. He could tell there would be trials to test and attempt to crack the solid layer of ice she named peace. And Naruto thought to his own trials, the red dawn that would try to extinguish the legacy of his father, his master and his sibling disciple. There was much pain in the pair of them. And Nagato had been at least right in this. Pain helped people understand one another.

Their absentminded pace was kept up for a while. The sun was just about ready to set. Somehow, they had made their way to the edge of the island, with the Great Naruto Bridge at their feet. The white mist was there again, as always. Haku's arm was still around Naruto's. He felt strangely comforted by it.

She parted from Naruto and walked towards the bridge. Her foot touched the first stone of the bridge. She stood upright as if memory shot through her spine. Her back was to a curious Jinchuuriki. Neither spoke but they both felt the pain. The bridge stood as a beacon of hope to some, but a painful memory this pair. It had been his first true experience of pain, as Naruto realized. He could only see the back of Haku's head, and he shivered to guess what thoughts swirled in her mysterious head.

"Naruto…" she whispered mystically, her register singing hauntingly in the mist. "I need to ask you to do something for me."

Naruto clenched his fists and his heart near froze absent any jutsu Haku could have thrown his way. He couldn't do it again…he wouldn't. The bridge carried enough pain in its foundations. It did not need its namesake to make fresh wounds.

"I need you."

Haku turned around slowly, facing Naruto. The blonde Jinchuuriki was looking out to sea. "What?"

Naruto took a deep breath. "I said I need you."

"Why wou-"

"I remember the last time you ever asked me to do something for you," Naruto interjected suddenly. His voice was grave and low. "It was four years ago but I remember it as clearly as if it were yesterday. I stood, bleeding and angry on one side. You stood mask-broken and resigned on the other side. I remember what you asked me that day, Haku."

Haku closed her eyes in melancholy.

"You asked me to kill you," Naruto spoke. "You told me that the pain of not being needed by anyone was too great. You said you had no reason to exist…now that you had no important people you could protect."

Naruto stopped averting his gaze and stared straight at Haku. Her eyes were wide with wonder. Behind her, the backdrop of the ominous white was stained gold with the final rays of the falling sun.

"I need you," Naruto repeated, firmly. "I'll be your reason to exist. Please help me Haku. I don't how you'll help me or even if you can. But I want your help even if you can't actually help me."

Naruto closed his eyes, half in plea, the other half in wish. "I'll be your important person. T-that is, of course, if you'd be okay with-"

He was cut off and silenced. Cold yet warm. That was the feeling on Naruto Uzumaki felt as Haku, tearful and shocked, pressed her lips to his.

It was the loveliest feeling he had ever felt.

And for that brief moment, he was at peace.