Hi, welcome back and thanks for coming. I hope you like Chapter 10 ;)

--J

Inari

If the piles of books and scrolls that littered the boy's room were any indication of how much he had yet to learn, then he definitely had a long, long, LONG way to go. Inari sighed and looked up from his desk out his upper-floor window that overlooked the sea toward the vast, star-speckled horizon. He'd already read so much tonight that his dark eyes were starting to cross. It felt like his brain was so crammed full of information on so many subjects that if he sneezed, a fact would plop out and be gone forever; not quite the path to ninja glory he'd expected.

Thinking back once again as he often did to his friends from the Hidden Leaf Village, or even Haku and Zabuza for that matter, it was still hard to picture any of them with their noses buried in a book…Sakura and Haku, maybe, being the exceptions. Of course, Inari had a better picture now of just how much work AND knowledge it took to be a ninja, even to reach the lowest rank of genin. But if he was ever going to have strength like that, enough to protect his homeland and those important to him against a world teaming with dangers, then this was the path he'd have to walk.

Though Haku was always quick to point out his own inadequacy as a sensei, his youth and relative inexperience, especially with teaching, Inari was well beyond such misgivings. After everything Zabuza's disciple had been through, all he'd done for the Land of Waves and the kind of ninja he'd become, Tazuna's grandson harbored no doubt. The Demon's Apprentice would show him the way.

Inari pushed himself up tiredly, paced around a little to stretch his legs then stood before the mirror that hung on his closet door. His reflection: a skinny, black-haired kid in teal overalls worn over a long-sleeved white turtleneck, stared dumbly back. A grimace fell over both their faces. Inari turned away, mentally set himself, then proceeded through the motions of the chakra-building form Haku had taught him called 'The Eight-Section Brocade'.

Feeling his internal energies bolstered, the boy returned to the mirror determined to get one of his jutsu to work. Pressing his hands together, fingers weaving to form a seal, Inari concentrated then announced grandly: "Transform!"

Chakra flowed within the young boy's little body but when he looked up it was still his own reflection standing there. The maddening familiarity of the image in itself made his failure abundantly clear.

Inari frowned, shifted the balance of his internal energies, tried again a few more times but got no better results. He locked eyes with himself, fists balled in exasperation, then tossed his head back and groaned.

I'll NEVER catch up to Chuuya at this rate!

A knock at the front door downstairs drew his attention. "I GOT IT!" he bellowed to the rest of the house, grateful for the distraction, took the full flight of stairs in two bounds then was at the door in only a moment. At least there were SOME parts of his ninja training that weren't a problem.

Who the heck could THIS be? Inari wondered with a little concern. It wasn't horribly late, but definitely past dark and past the time Grandpa normally got visitors.

Warily the boy turned back the bolts, opened the door, gasped then lost his mind.

"NARUTO!" he pealed joyfully at the orange visitor.

The blond leaf-ninja standing outside in the porch light smiled awkwardly, his eyes narrowed to cat-like slits as he rubbed the back of his head. "Hi, Inari!" he greeted cheerily. "I hope this isn't – oof!"

Naruto grunted then laughed as the boy sprang forward and threw his arms around the genin's waist, knocking him back a few steps. Regaining his balance, the young ninja returned Inari's hug then tousled his hair. "Hehehe, wow, it's really good to see you again too, Inari."

Straightening seriously, Naruto squeezed the boy's neck and shoulders appraisingly. "Hey," he noticed, "you're really getting strong."

Inari giggled uncontrollably as his friend kneaded him; and Naruto, noticing the boy's ticklishness, happily persisted. "Of course," Inari managed to affirm between fits of laughter then gave the newcomer a playful shove, "I've been working out and everything!"

The two parted and looked at each other with dumb, awkward but elated smiles. Inari gasped suddenly, grabbed Naruto by the wrist with both hands then nearly ripped the older boy's arm out of the socket as he abruptly turned and ran back inside, yanking the genin after him.

"Hey, Mom!" Inari called excitedly while Naruto stumbled to a stop. "Grandpa! Look who's here!"

Tsunami poked her head out from the kitchen then hurried out. "Oh!" she cried, "Naruto, what a wonderful surprise!"

"Great to see you again too, Miss Tsunami," said Naruto as they exchanged bows.

"Well!" a gruff voice hollered. "If it aint' the Leaf Village's hyper-active short-stack."

All three looked toward where Tazuna had just entered from the back hallway. Naruto's face set reflexively into a defiant, smirking grimace at the engineer's remark but then went wide when he saw him.

Inari's grandfather's shoes were black and shiny; his pleated and belted charcoal trousers were pressed with an edge any samurai sword would envy. Though his shirt was worn half-open, revealing an expanse of clean undershirt stretched over the man's barrel chest, it was indeed a painfully-white, starched and collared button-down. And though it hung around his neck like a stole Tazuna WAS, technically by definition, also wearing a tie!

Naruto's blue eyes traveled up the man in amazement as he noted too that (except for his trademark goatee and some wicked five-o'clock shadow) he was otherwise clean-shaven, and his mane of grey hair was not only combed but tamed into a semblance of a style!

The young ninja burst out laughing, clutched his stomach then pointed at him. "Wow, old man!" he hooted. "Look at you! You sure cleaned up nice!"

Tazuna canted his chin and returned a smug smile. "Don't let the disguise fool ya."

Inari chuckled at the exchange. "Grandpa just got a big promotion at work!" he added with considerable pride.

"Eh!" grumbled Tazuna. "It's too much damn office work. Give me nuts and bolts any day."

Inari wheeled on their guest. "Naruto!" he blurted, dark eyes afire with ebullience. "You must have had all kinds of crazy stuff happen since you were here last time. You GOT to tell me all about it – all the places you got to go, all the fights and adventures and stuff!"

Naruto grinned wanly, wilting in the face of the boy's overpowering enthusiasm. "Oh, well, sure --."

"Inari," his grandfather scolded. "It's a good long way from the Hidden Leaf Village, give the poor kid a chance to sit down, rest a little and have something to eat."

"We have lots of food left over from dinner," offered Tsunami.

"Thanks," Naruto piped, brightening at once at the prospect, "that'd be great!"

Naruto

The blond leaf-ninja grinned eagerly as Inari and his family ushered him to the dining room table. His eyes went wide then when Tsunami set before him a feast of grilled tuna steaks, rice and steamed vegetables. It was all quite an improvement from the last time he was here when food of any sort had been hard to come by.

The fare wasn't the only thing that had changed, Naruto noticed. Though Tazuna still lived in the same dockside house, it was freshly painted on the outside and completely refinished inside complete with suites of new furniture which made it seem like a different place entirely.

The old guy really was doing well!

As Naruto ate happily, Tsunami, Tazuna and Inari took turns telling him about all the things that had changed since he and Team Seven left – about how the Land of Waves had become a protectorate of Water Country, the various transitional difficulties, and all the ambitious new buildings and infrastructure projects that were under way.

All three of Naruto's hosts looked great and seemed so much happier. Of course, not living in poverty anymore and not having ninja assassins trying to kill them had to have a lot to do with that.

As his mouth was full, the blond nodded most his replies; there was so much, it was hard to keep up with. But the substance of what they said almost seemed beside the point. Just being at a table like this and having a home-cooked meal, surrounded by friends, smiles and conversation felt so nice to Naruto, so different from almost anything in his experience.

A rare, cozy feeling settled inside the young ninja.

This is what it must be like to have a…a family, Naruto mused, moved by the sentiment. It was times like this that reminded the orphan of what he had, and still, missed.

With that thought came a twinge of guilt that bothered him. Although he'd come back to Wave Country for his own personal reasons, the genin was also here on a mission basically, to SPY on the man he once protected. There was a word for that, Naruto was sure, and it wasn't a nice one though he couldn't remember off the top of his head what it was.

After Naruto had cleaned his plate and the conversation fallen to a natural pause, the young ninja was more than happy to try to satisfy Inari and regale the boy's mother and grandfather with tales of his exploits. The blond ninja launched into a lively description of how he'd risen to the challenge of tough training under his bizarre and disturbingly-lecherous new sensei, the Toad Sage, Jiraiya, then his series of stunning victories against fellow leaf-ninjas Kiba Inuzuka and Neji Hyuuga during the chunin exams.

Though thrilling, especially to Inari who hung on his every word, the young shinobi's simple, dynamic prose foundered unexpectedly with the Third Hokage's death, lost focus then kind of…stalled.

Naruto looked around the table, troubled at how he'd unintentionally spoiled the mood. The boy tried to move on to happier subjects but found himself stuck momentarily in the bleak, unvoiced thought that Orochimaru had murdered that magnificent old man and nothing the entire Hidden Leaf Village could do had stopped it.

Gathering himself then starting over, the leaf-ninja picked up again and retraced some of his missions, to the Hidden Waterfall Village, to Nagi Island and the Land of Birds. But no matter where Naruto's tales of adventure began they all seemed to lead back to the one matter he was trying to avoid, or at least put off for now -- that his teammate Sasuke Uchiha had deserted the Leaf Village to become the Snake Sannin's disciple.

Saying it at last took the air out of the room and dampened Naruto's enthusiasm for saying much of anything more. As unspeakably sad as Sarutobi's death was even now, three months after the fact, memories of Sasuke evoked in Naruto a more complex and turbulent brew of sadness and anger, the sting of his friend's betrayal and his own failures. These feelings, once stirred, were not easily set aside…even for the normally light-hearted ninja.

An awkward silence fell. Nobody really knew what to say.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tazuna sympathized at last in a paternal voice deep and earnest. "Try to keep in mind that he's young, like you. You kids just…go off like that sometimes, act on impulse and make mistakes, sometimes big ones. Sasuke definitely wouldn't be the first to make a wrong turn." The bridge-builder's brow narrowed in thought. "It's a shame though, he was a good kid though a little serious. But you shouldn't take it so hard, Naruto. There was nothing you could've done and you can't live his life FOR him."

"Yeah," agreed Naruto who tried to sound more upbeat.

"Uh, so," piped the engineer in a brave and obvious attempt to revive the flat-lining conversation, "what brings you back to Wave Country?"

Naruto's golden eyebrows knitted. "Listen," admitted the boy in a subdued voice, "I…the new Hokage sent me here to find out more about what's going on with that Mist Magistrate and all the new buildings and stuff." He looked down guiltily. "I hope you're not mad."

Tazuna nodded and frowned; his kind eyes looked up at the genin. "You saved my life, Naruto, my family's and my entire tiny country. I can't be mad at you," the grey-haired man offered. "I've always hated how your ninja villages send kids like you out to kill and die for them; or spy on people. Ha!" he laughed wearily. "Your bosses in Konoha would probably crap a diamond if they knew you just came out and told me what your mission was. But I'm not gonna sweat something as small as this.

"Naruto," Tazuna continued, putting his young guest at ease, "you're a good friend and a good person. So if YOU want to know something then I'm more than happy to tell you anything I can."

The genin gave him a relieved smile. "Thanks…old man," said Naruto in a trembling, heartfelt voice. "But there's something else too. I don't know if you know this… Actually, you probably do since everyone else seems to."

"Ah," said Tazuna with a thoughtful air. "I did wonder if you'd ever come back to see Haku. Even though his master tried to kill me, he turned out to be not so bad."

"Hey," Inari gusted, "so you know he's alive too, Naruto! That's awesome!"

The blond smiled fondly. "Yeah," he explained, his mood brightening, "I nearly fell over when I got his letter 'cause I was so sure he was dead! But yeah, I HAD to come back."

Tazuna's eyes narrowed. "Naruto, did…did you only get that letter just now?"
"Mm-hmm, a couple of days ago."

Inari's grandfather cursed under his breath, raised his hand then let his palm smack flat on the table. "He wrote that thing months ago!" he cried disgustedly. "Sorry about that. It's my fault for not entrusting it to someone a little more reliable."

"It's ok. I'm just glad I got it!" said Naruto with a smile that made him seem much more like his usual self. "So," he ventured eagerly, "where can I find him?"

Tazuna gave his grandson a sly look and canted his head towards the boy. "Why don't you ask his student?"

Naruto's eyes darted toward Inari. "What! Really?! Inari, Haku's training you to be a ninja!? That's great!" he pealed then frowned with thought. "It's a LOT of work though."

"I know, I know," the boy lamented in good humor then winced as he realized: "Oh, no! Naruto, I think Haku-sensei might still be out of town right now."

"WHAT?! Awwww." the young genin yelped then hung his head. "That just figures! I missed him when he was in Konoha, NOW I'm gonna miss him here!"

Trying to sooth his friend's feelings, Inari stammered hastily: "Well, um, he…he might be back by now." The black-haired boy gave Naruto a wide, reassuring grin. "I know just who you should ask."

Sakura

Just after flying past a pair of mile-markers along the forested trail, the pink-haired kunoichi slowed to a stop, huffed for breath for a few moments in her damp, grey sweats then raised her arms and stretched a little before checking her time.

19:45:43! Sakura smiled, quite pleased with herself. That was the first time she'd cracked twenty minutes on the grueling steeplechase course.

Keeping herself in shape while she studied was important, for if she wanted to be even half-way decent as a medical ninja, she'd have to do much more then learn how to heal the sick and mend the wounded. She'd have to be able to keep up with any ninja in the village, perform rescue missions into dangerous territory and, if necessary, be ready to fight off any enemy that might present itself.

And, the girl added, it's good stress relief; and I always study better if I get in some good exercise first.

As Sakura patted her face with a towel then took a grateful swallow of water from her canteen, she was drawn to the sight of a small white puppy who sat there waiting for her.

"Hr-ARF!"

The kunoichi startled then stared for a moment before a grin crept over her face. "Hi there, Akamaru," she greeted the doggy then looked around. "So where's Kiba? Don't tell me you've gone solo! Well," offered the ninja with a sanguine smile, "it's probably for the best. You always were the brains of the outfit."

The girl knelt down in a broad patch of sunlight that streamed through the trees and patted the puppy who wagged his tail eagerly then smiled with eyes shut in pure canine bliss.

Sakura looked around to see if anyone was watching, patted Akamaru some more, sleeked his fur back then played with him. "Who's a good boy?" she teased and batted his head this way and that, grabbing his grey ears, nose and paws, letting him bite gently at her hands, then rubbing his belly when he rolled over. "Huh? Whozagooboy? Whozagooboy?! You are! That's right! You're suchagooboy!"

Finally the girl rose, still giggling. "Sorry, Akamaru, I could play with you all day but I got a TON of lab work to do so I'd better get going or Lady Tsunade'll break me over her knee." Sakura frowned at how almost literal an idea that was then looked around. "But I wonder where Kiba went off to?"

When the kunoichi turned back, Akamaru was gone.

"Huh? That's weird," she mused to herself, turned to go then stiffened.

Kiba Inuzuka was right there with an absurdly nonchalant smirk on his face, leaning against a tree with loyal Akamaru perched atop his head.

Sakura laughed lightly at being surprised, a little embarrassed at the idea that her classmate had seen her act silly, made a face then shook her head. "My goodness, Kiba," she offered teasingly, "we're being awfully sneaky and ninja-like today. What's going on?"

The leaf-genin's wolfish eyes lifted toward her. "There's been something on my mind for over a week now," ventured Kiba in a husky, detective's voice, "about that so-called Hiroo Okame guy."

Thoughts flashed through the girl's mind. Haku hadn't exactly snuck in then snuck out unobserved, probably like he'd intended.

"See," Kiba continued cleverly and wagged his forefinger, "the first thing anyone who met him had to say was – 'I can't believe he's a mist-ninja', including me. I guess it took a little while for the obvious to sink in, that he's NOT."

Sakura gave him an uneasy frown then shut her emerald eyes, knowing where this was headed. Her choices, as they were beginning to emerge, were: either to lie to one friend and have him know it; or betray another's confidence.

"So," asked Kiba with a touch of insistence, eyebrow raised, "what's the story?"

Mari

Dressed in white coveralls with her head shaded by a broad, white hat and her freckled face shrouded in gauzy netting, Mari Tezuka walked across the bright meadow carrying in her lean arms a large, square cardboard box. It's one and only remarkable property was that it hummed, though for good reason, because inside were about ten-thousand bees – a captured wild colony that the girl was now intent on ensconcing in a proper hive.

Working at Mr. Hsing's apiary was one of the many odd jobs that kept her occupied. She'd started doing them at first for the extra money she could bring in but somewhere along the way the girl found she actually quite enjoyed the challenge of getting to do so many different things.

As she approached the hives, four white wooden boxes that stood like mini-monoliths amidst the green and gold grass and with roving worker-bees flitting back and forth, a young, spastic kind of voice suddenly called to her.

"Hey, Mari! Hi!"

The girl paused and peered through her veil toward the tree-line where some skinny little blond kid waved.

Her eyes narrowed. First of all: people she didn't know shouting out her name like they did annoyed her. Second: anyone who DID know her knew enough not to bother her when she was working.

"Hey, WHAT?!" she answered caustically.

"I, um, I really gotta talk to you!"

Mari blew out a breath. I very much doubt that, she thought but answered: "Well I'm kinda BUSY just now as you can see."

The small stranger paused. "Oh, ok," he answered back. "I'll – I'll just wait over here 'till you're done."

The girl returned a noncommittal nod, continued on toward the one hive that was empty, made her preparations then poured the box of bees out onto a cloth the lip of which fed into the box's opening. The freed bees trouped at once toward the entrance. Though this is what they typically did, it still struck her as something almost magical.

All the while Mari worked it remained in the back of her mind that that strange kid was waiting on her. She looked off to see if he was still there. Irritatingly enough, he was.

"Look," she called out. "If it's so important, why don't you just come over here?"

The boy's head popped up. He took one look at her then at the air which was thick with bees and quickly declined, waving his hands. "Oh, no, no, that's ok," he answered in an anxious, gravelly tenor. "I'll just wait!"

Mari rolled her eyes. "Have it your way."

After finishing up, Mari made her way towards the shade, peeling off her beekeepers hat and veil as she went.

The boy who waited for her among a cluster of trees looked up eagerly at her approach then scrambled to his feet.

Mari's brow rose uncertainly as she scrutinized the little stranger – his dandelion yellow hair, dark grey t-shirt and orange pants.

Orange pants? she wondered at his fashion sense but otherwise didn't know what to make of him other than he seemed a bit too well-kept to be a vagrant.

"So," Mari ventured uncertainly, wondering what on earth this could be about. "What, uh, what can I do for ya?"

The blond smiled, "I'm looking for, um," his startlingly-brilliant blue eyes lifted in thought, "Hiroo."

"Oh," said Mari, slightly taken-aback. That was actually a far better reason than she'd expected. "Well, he's off the island right now, you know, doing some ninja crap."

"Oh," muttered the boy in aching sadness. "Do you," he ventured in a barely-audible whisper, "do you know if he'll be back soon?"

Mari shrugged, surprised at how hard he'd taken the news. "Yeah," the girl answered reluctantly, not quite sure how much of her boyfriend's business she should blab to a total stranger, "he should be back tomorrow."

"Oh, ok," the boy chimed a bit more brightly. "I'll just check back then."

Mari nodded, affirming that that was a good plan. Her dark eyes narrowed then and she probed cleverly: "I'll let him know you're looking for him when I see him."

The kid's expression froze, lost in his own world.

"Soooooooo," the girl continued in a subtly impatient drone once it was clear that he needed a little more prodding, "what's your name?"

"OH!" the boy laughed then broke into an awkward smile. "Sorry, I forgot – I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto --?" Mari stopped. "What, you mean like the Great Naruto Bridge Naruto? THAT Naruto?"

"Uh, yeah, that's me!" answered the young stranger with sheepish pride.

Mari grimaced and crossed her arms. Oh, please! she thought, sour with disbelief. YOU can't be Naruto, Haku told me all about the guy and you don't look anything like him. Haku said Naruto was, uh, short…skinny…blond…blue eyes.

She looked at Naruto again, ticked off the list but remained only half-convinced. Well, the girl allowed, you're still nothing like what I THOUGHT you'd look like!

"Alright then," Mari conceded half-heartedly, "well, I'll be sure to tell him."

"Thanks, thanks a lot!" Naruto piped, ran off, ran back, gave her a giant, cheshire-cat smile then added: "oh, and it's really nice to meet you, Mari!"

After the kid had gone Mari stared after him not believing HE could be a ninja and wondering, if that really was THE Naruto Uzumaki, what his sudden reappearance might mean.

Two days later, just after breakfast, Mari went back to her room to rest awhile longer before school started later that morning.

One of the policies Magistrate Hirai had instituted was compulsory education for anyone under the age of seventeen and available education for everyone else. Since there wasn't any one building suitable, classes were held on literacy, the sciences, mathematics, the arts and vocations in various places throughout the city, from the docks, the lobbies of public buildings, parks and clearings to people's porches and living rooms. Instructors were paid from Hirai's seemingly inexhaustible coffers.

Gazing at the ceiling from her bed, Mari played absently with the necklace Haku had given her from his trip to Konohagakure – a jade ring carved with characters. The ninja had explained that he'd originally bought her flowers but then got distracted and lost track of them somewhere along the way…long story.

Another fight, the girl considered with a frown, having figured that part out by reading between the lines, but sighed and remembered that it kind of went with the territory.

Haku was, after all, not a fisherman, farmer or construction worker anymore. Mari had known from the start that he was a ninja – a dangerous job that he happened to be pretty good at from what she'd seen. And if she really had some kind of major problem with that then she should have fallen for someone else.

As much sense as all that made it didn't help Mari worry any less about the inherent hazards of Haku's profession and that he was overdue getting back from Kori no Hana Island.

Don't get all worked up over nothing, the girl warned herself. Where Haku went is a good three days by boat away anyway, so being a day late doesn't mean anything.

Naruto had come by again too, right when Mari had been in the middle of trying to sandblast off a stubborn patch of old paint that clung to the hull of her neighbor's dry-docked boat. Agitated at first by the intrusive kid, even she had to admit feeling sorry for having to send him away disappointed again. It was like…like kicking a blue-eyed puppy or something.

I can't believe THAT kid's the big hero from the first battle at the bridge! I know Haku doesn't exactly look tough either, but SHEESH!

Closing her eyes and resting her head on her pillow, Mari contemplated Haku's absence in the strange silence of her usually crowded and noisy house. Her brothers must have gone to their jobs or classes already, leaving her the rare gift of a few moments of peace and quite that almost lulled her back to sleep. But then a whispering sound tickled in her ears – the faintly audible rush of water flowing through the plumbing, and her dark eyes snapped open.

Haku's back! she realized, for he was the only one in the house capable of being this quiet.

The girl's dad and brothers stomped around like so many rhinoceroses (rhinocer-I?). And though you'd assume any normal person could get a glass of water and wash their face and hands without it sounding like a hundred trash-cans bouncing down the stairs, you'd be wrong!

Mari restrained herself from springing out of bed, deciding instead to give the returning traveler a chance to settle in first. One valuable lesson she'd picked up over her fifteen years, the entirety of her young life, of sharing a house with so many males is that they sucked at shifting mental gears quickly. Attempting conversation with any of them right when they got back from doing something was a painful waste of time.

After about twenty minutes, the girl made her way downstairs to the basement Haku still rented from her parents. The place was so much more habitable now cleaned up, with Uncle Maceo's stuff moved out and some Spartan furnishings moved in.

Haku himself lay wide-awake on the made bed, wearing her older brother's cast-off work khakis and hooded grey sweatshirt, resting his head on his hands. The young ninja glanced over as Mari came down then rose at once, swept towards her and took her in his arms.

Oh! Mari started a little then returned his embrace, nestled her head against his sloped shoulder and listened to the gentle whisper of his breath.

Haku always was affectionate with her but it was different this time, longing, even desperate. The realization struck her as awesome in a way, thrilling and romantic to be needed like this by the boy she loved, but at the same time daunting too. As she settled against Haku, feeling his warmth and surprising strength, Mari could tell that he'd been to the infirmary.

Lady Hirai's medical ninja used a peculiar unguent that helped somehow in the healing of serious wounds. It had an earthy scent, mildly spicy – really it would've made for a decent cologne except for that slightly vinegary kick right at the end.

Inferring what must have happened to explain all of this drove the thousand questions Mari wanted to ask from her mind – all but one.

"Are you alright," Mari whispered in earnest against the basement's quiet.

The teenager softened his grip, ran a long-fingered hand along her freckled cheek then tenderly kissed her. "Much better now," he quipped with a romantic, theatrical air but the tenor seemed threadbare.

Taking one of the chairs, Mari sat then leaned forward with concern. "What happened?"

Haku paced randomly for a moment then picked up the cracked, guilt-edged porcelain saucer Mari had discovered at his gravesite and held it out. "This," he began in his low and lilting, somewhat feminine voice, indicating the design painted on it, "is the crest of a once-powerful ninja clan called the Aramata."

"Did you find out anything about them on Kori no Hana Island?"

The black-haired teenager chuckled without humor then sighed. "It was like," he recounted, looked back at her confidingly then shook his head with a tired smile, "it was like one of those old monster movies where the intrepid inspector visits the remote peasant village searching for answers, but all the people there give him are fearful looks and vague, cryptic statements." Haku sat down on his bed. "Nobody living there now was around when the Aramata owned the island, but they were able to direct me toward the ruins of their castle." His grey eyes flicked up. "And warn me that it was haunted."

"What, seriously?" Mari raised an eyebrow, saw the young constable's expression then raised the other one too. "Was it?"

"Yes," he answered. "Not by any kind of demon or ghost, but by a man."

"Whaaaaaaat?!"

Haku nodded and gave her a sardonic look, stroking strands of silken hair from his face. "I can't criticize those villagers though; it wasn't a normal man. He was a Kaguya and had their clan's kekkei-genkai." Before Mari could ask what all that meant, the ninja explained: "he could manipulate his bones and project them from his body to form knives, swords and spears."

The girl made a face. "Ew," she commented. "I'm guessing he wasn't happy to see you."

"That would be an understatement."

Mari considered the implications. "So, did you…I mean, y'know," she ventured, her gaze dropping away.

"Kill him?" Haku shook his head. "No. I wanted to. I can't remember ever being so angry." The teenager shut his grey eyes then continued, rushing uncharacteristically to explain: "He just kept coming after me. I tried to reason with him but nothing I said made any difference. I'm not even sure he could understand speech. Looking back, I think he must have been out there quite awhile by himself…alone. I think he must have lost his mind."

Mari nodded and waited for the former Demon's Apprentice to continue.

"Mari, I'm not sure how much I should tell you and how much I should spare. I've never had…I've never had someone like you in my life," said Haku in a delicate, apprehensive tone. "And I confess that, for concern over your feelings, that I'm often inclined to withhold the details when they are unpleasant. But the whole truth is that this man very nearly killed me. As it was, it was all the garrison's medical ninja corps could do that let me keep my right arm.

"When I was finally able to beat the Kaguya," he went on, "I wanted desperately to kill him – to punish him with death for what he'd done to me, for attacking with such fury without any provocation. I know you might not understand that given how reserved I am by nature, but sometimes the emotional effects of violence are greater than even I can contain." With that, Haku wrung his hands and fell silent.

The girl looked back at him. Though she'd known the shinobi for such a long time, eight months, so many things about Haku still struck her as utterly unfathomable.

"I don't really know what I should say," said Mari. It was at the same time an admission and an allegation. "But yeah," she ended up conceding, "I'm pretty sure if someone tried to chop off my arm I'd be mad enough to kill them." The girl looked up inquisitively. "So what stopped you?"

Haku shrugged. "I've killed before, Mari, as you know, but all those times it was either because I had to to preserve my own life, the lives of others, or because my master Zabuza wished it. This time, if I had killed the Kaguya it would have been only because I'd chosen to…out of spite, out of revenge. It didn't seem," the ninja paused, searching for the right way to put it, "appropriate."

The girl sighed. Trying to understand even some of the most basic things of a ninja's life was almost impossible sometimes. "Well, I'm glad you're back now and safe. That's all I really care about," she allowed frankly at which Haku looked up with a relieved smile. "Were you able to find out anything about your family?"

"There was nothing there but ruins," the teenager answered in clear disappointment. "It could very well have been the stronghold of a ninja clan but I couldn't find anything that would lead me to think that I'm descended from them."

"Did you feel any, well, I don't know, any vibes or anything?" she half-joked.

Haku shook his head and chuckled at the idea. "Not really. Though I did wonder, if I was part of that clan, if I would or should feel something, being at my ancestral home." The ninja's face grew pensive. "One thing I did discover, whether it was Kirigakure or Water Country Daimyo that did it, was that the forces that destroyed Aramata Castle were armed with forbidden weapons."

"Forbidden weapons?" inquired Mari, not liking the sound of it. "Like what?"

"As you know, certain technologies are limited or banned by treaty."

The girl hummed sagely. "I remember – that whole dust-up over all the heavy equipment the contractors are using for the construction."

Haku nodded. "The only reason they're still allowed here is through a temporary legal waiver authored at the highest levels of Water Country. But as you can imagine the most stringent limitations are, and have always been, on weapons."

"So what kind of weapons are you talking about?"

The grey-eyed ninja thought for a moment. "You remember the fireworks display they had when they reopened the Great Naruto Bridge?"

Mari's eyes widened then as she remembered something unrelated. "Uh, sure."

"Skyrockets have been around since well before the hidden villages. Used for fireworks they remain perfectly legal. However, the same principles used for them translate, without much modification necessary, into the creation of weapons easily capable of destroying a castle…or even an entire city."

The girl sucked in her lips. "So whoever killed off the Aramata must've wanted them dead pretty bad."

The young constable closed his eyes. "They were willing to risk war with the other elemental countries; face their combined wrath. That's what the penalty would be for such a blatant treaty violation."

Mari frowned and couldn't help but shake her head. It kind of figured that anything her shinobi boyfriend got into would turn out to be complicated.

"Maybe it's better to just," the girl ventured in a slow, wishful thinking, "let the past stay in the past."

"You're probably right," Haku sighed. "There doesn't seem to be much there for me." The teenager shot Mari a welcome smirk. "Though I have to say -- 'Haku Aramata' sounds a touch more lyrical than 'Hiroo Okame'."

"Hey!" the girl protested, brow narrowing fiercely as she rose to the bait. "I was really on the spot when I made up that name! I had to come up with something quick!"

The ninja laughed then held up his hands. "Ok, ok," he snickered softly then slowly fell quiet. "Still, it would have been nice to have an answer – to know the truth of where I came from. All those years I was with Zabuza, it never seemed important." Haku looked off pensively. "But I wonder sometimes too how long I can continue under an assumed name. Though Haku is dead according to the public record, kind of a lot of people know the truth about me."

The ninja's words fell over Mari like a pall. Haku had a point.

After Gato's death (and not a moment too soon!) at the first battle at the bridge then Juri Chono's at the second, it had seemed like everything was going to be so wonderful – a fairytale future free of care and full of promise that would make all the previous years of misery seem like nothing more than a fading nightmare.

But real life was rarely so obliging. Things were changing in Wave Country in ways that were at the same time astonishing and troubling; the scale, the almost frantic pace! It was hard to tell if the new powers asserting themselves in Gato's absence were any more altruistic. But either way, they had drawn the attention of neighboring Water Country…and the Village Hidden in the Mist.

Mari shoved the thoughts aside. None of them at all succeeded in dissuading her from the vision of the future she wanted or the person she wanted in it. When it came down to it, everybody's life was tenuous and uncertain, so what?

"I know you ninja guys have to be prepared for the worst. And I guess some high-up mist-ninja could find out who you are, but then-again it might NOT happen too," ventured Mari hopefully. "We're a long way from Kirigakure no Sato, and there're so many new people living here now that you pretty much have to take it for granted that they are who they say they are. Everybody's SURE you're dead, including the ANBU; they even have a body or, y'know, the dehydrated remains of one. Plus you got Lady Hirai on your side and she's the freakin' magistrate."

Haku rubbed his chin, having to agree that there were in fact quite a few things that stood in his favor.

"Look," Mari continued surely, "the longer it goes the more people forget about Zabuza and Haku. Things just move too fast around here to be looking back."

The two shared a comforting smile then reached out and held each other's hands.

"Oh!" Mari piped then shot to her feet. "I got some news that'll make you feel better – BIG news! A friend of yours just showed up looking for you."

Haku's eyes rose, quite perplexed. "A friend?" he wondered. "Who?"

"Naruto! That's right," the girl exulted in a merry voice, "he came around twice while you were gone. He really wants to see you."

The ninja leaned forward on his knees, his face dropping into an inscrutable expression.

Mari startled a little then looked at him askance. "What's all that about? I thought you'd be happy."

Haku shrugged and said nothing.

"I don't get it." The girl straightened and tapped her cheek with a finger. "From the way HE acted it was like you were his long, lost brother or something; the only friend he ever HAD."

The teenager sat up straight and rested his hands on his lap. "I think Naruto's like that all the time. He's gregarious by nature."

Moments passed; the silence thickening like stew.

"Soooooo," Mari ventured uncertainly at last, "you ARE going to go see him, right?"

"It's a small village," Haku answered obliquely. "We're bound to run into each other at some point perhaps."

The girl frowned then bit her lip in thought at this unexpected turn. "Don't you want to talk to him?"

"I don't see why. After all, I've already said to him everything I had to say."

Mari stared for a moment, completely befuddled, before it occurred to her: "You're mad because he didn't answer your letter."

"I'm not mad," answered Haku in baseline tone, "but it really doesn't matter either way."

The girl paced one way then the other. "I think it matters to Naruto. The little guy came all the way from the Hidden Leaf Village just to see you. Look," she attempted to explain, "he's a ninja, so he's probably always going off on missions, or training, or in the hospital healing up after getting stabbed half to death by some bone-using guy or whatnot, just like you, right?"

Haku leveled a look at her.

"Hey, I'm NOT making excuses for him. 'Just saying that there could be a reason why you didn't hear back from him before now."

The teenager frowned.

"Just go talk to him."

Haku looked away unconvinced.

Mari paced over, sat down next to the shinobi, slid close and put her arm around him. "He's buggin' me at work," she intoned with playful seriousness. "You know I can't have that. Promise me you'll talk to him, just to say 'hi' at least."

Haku rested his head on hers then skipped ahead to the part where he surrendered. "I will talk to him."

Mari rose. "Good," she chimed. "Now, all because of you I'm going to have to RUN to make it to class!"

As the girl headed up the stairs she slowly drew to a stop and said. "One thing; I don't want to start anything, but did that little blond shrimp really beat you up?"

Haku's calm, grey eyes lifted at the question. He grinned tightly but offered in plain honesty, "Yes…he really did."

"I just can't see that," said Mari who vigorously shook her head. "You musta slipped on a banana peel or got struck by lightning or something."

Haku, doe-eyed, smiled sheepishly, held out his hands then let them fall.

Haku

Once Mari had gone, Haku lay back down in bed more or less resolved to stay there despite his promise. He was tired from his travels and hospital stay, still unsettled over his fight with that vicious Kaguya survivor and not anywhere close to being able to handle whatever changes Naruto was capable of bringing.

The ninja squeezed the bridge of his nose. It was probably unfair to assign the leaf-ninja a larger role than he'd really played in the genesis of those fateful events but still…whenever Haku thought back to that first battle at the bridge it was Naruto he remembered most, more than Gato who'd paid for Tazuna's assassination, more than Zabuza who'd shamefully accepted, or even Kakashi who'd come so close to killing him.

"Naruto," he muttered, closed his eyes and saw once again the face of the young ninja who'd seemed to accept him with such an open heart; whose intensely-emotional, gut-wrenching eulogy had moved even hard-hearted Zabuza to tears.

At the same time though, the blond ninja had in part wrought the death of Haku's beloved master and destroyed his former life. And there was no doubt, none whatsoever, that of all the leaf shinobi who'd guarded Tazuna, Naruto had been the stone that moved the balance.

Blowing out a breath after many long minutes of consideration, Haku rose, paced upstairs reluctantly then headed out the front door in search of the so-called number-one, knuckle-headed hyperactive leaf-ninja, Naruto Uzumaki.

That he found him the very first place he looked unsettled Haku, striking him as a twisted sort of providence. But really, the ninja had never even thought to look anywhere else for Naruto than the last place he'd seen him – in the middle of the reconstructed bridge that carried his name.

But there he was, blond as a sunflower, resting his arms atop the concrete guard-wall and looking out over the calm channel's shimmering cerulean waters, with a look of distant contemplation Haku hadn't thought him capable. Without his orange outfit and blue hitai-ate, he seemed so different anyway, wearing instead some baggy grey pants and a cream-colored t-shirt which carried the abstracted flame-like sigil for Fire Country on the sleeve.

Haku let out a breath then rolled his eyes at how awkward and discomfited he felt at seeing him again. Not even with that vengeful Kaguya bearing down on him bristling with bone-razors had he felt so unsure.

All you have to do is say hello and ask a couple of conversational questions, he proposed uneasily as the ocean breeze stirred through his hair and hand-me-down clothes, then you will have fulfilled your promise. That's all you really have to do.

The ninja approached Naruto hesitantly, having no clue at all how he'd react. He opened his mouth to speak but what he'd planned to say suddenly left him.

"I'm sorry, sir," Haku commanded politely instead in his best 'constable's' voice of authority, "there's no loitering on the bridge."

Naruto's head swiveled to give him a defiant look before his bright, sapphire eyes widened with recognition and a fond smile spread over his face. "Hey!" he piped raggedly then laughed. "What, no DRESS?"

Haku's brow rose at the unexpected question then settled. "Maybe next time," he reposted wryly, "but only if you're good."

Naruto's surprised, happy expression suddenly went cross. "Hey," he barked, "what gives?!"

Haku stared at him confused then shook his head. "What gives…about what?"

"FIRST I get your letter telling me you're alive so I go out and tell Sakura but SHE already knew!"

Haku nodded weakly in agreement, a little disconcerted. "Uh, yes, I happened to run --."

"THEN I told Kakashi-sensei 'cause, of COURSE, I knew he'd feel a lot better knowing that he didn't really kill you, but HE already knew too!"

Again Haku nodded.

"So THEN I ask Granny Tsunade for a few days off so I can see you and SHE already knew!"

Haku's face screwed in thought. "I suppose it stands to reason that Kakashi would tell her, especially after --."

"Did EVERYONE in Konoha get to see you but ME?!" fumed Naruto with a wild gesture.

Haku puzzled for a moment. "Not everyone," he allowed, realizing now that though he'd written that letter to Naruto months ago, the genin had only just received it in the last few days AFTER his visit to the Leaf Village. "I met Rock Lee, an interesting character to be sure," he reported, "Izumo and Kotetsu, Anko…Sakura, Kakashi and Lady Tsunade as you mentioned, Ino, Kiba and Akamaru, Hinata, Shino, Neji, Ten-ten, Shikamaru, Chouji…oh, and Pakkun."

Naruto glared at him, his countenance sour as curdled milk, blond brow furrowed, blue eyes intense and narrowed to slits. Yet despite all that, despite anything, despite everything, Haku began to grasp that this strange, peach-colored, whisker-marked face really was…the face of a friend!

The former Demon's Apprentice's heart lifted with joy as all the doubts about the young ninja left him. The black-haired teenager studied the leaf-genin's pinched and choleric, constipated-looking expression for a moment then almost hurt something trying not to laugh. He didn't at all want to hurt Naruto's feelings, quite the opposite! But there was something so funny about the blonde's consternation that Haku couldn't help it and had to turn away, shoulders quivering, lips pressed shut.

"Hey, wait!" cried Naruto in a worried tone. "Where're you going?!"

Haku gulped hard then composed himself. "Come on, Naruto," he answered in a voice quaking with laughter. "Since you've come all this way, I might as well show you around."

A smile as big and bright as the sun lit the yellow-haired ninja's face as he ran up beside Haku, put his arm around the slender ninja and gave him a big, bracing, affectionate squeeze.

Ok, so what do y'all think? Is ok?

FYI, I'm borrowing the concept of 'forbidden weapons' from top's story The Uprising.

Thanks for reading! XD

'till next time!

--Jonohex.