AN: Hey guys, so this update is pretty heavy duty and as such, I might have missed some things here and there. Please feel free to shoot me a private message if you find a spot where I failed to alter Haku's gender and I'll go in and change it. Thanks guys.
The previous day, Naruto:
Naruto was nervous. His talk with Kakashi had helped him get his thoughts in order, certainly, but things still felt more than a little unsettled in his head as he approached the inn where Haku and Kimimaro had temporarily been provided accommodation. The receptionist helpfully directed Naruto to Haku's room and the boy found it easily enough, standing uncertainly in front of the door and rocking back and forth on his heels. Naruto swallowed, hard, raising a hand to knock and hesitating again. His indecision was cut short by a voice from inside the room.
"Hello? Someone need something?" Haku called.
"Uhh… Hi Haku. It's uhh… It's Naruto," he said weakly.
There were a few moments of muffled motion on the other side of the door before Haku pulled it open to let him in. "Hi Naruto," the girl said brightly. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you for a while after you asked me out, I was expecting you to take at least a few more days to build up the courage."
Despite the teasing, Naruto grinned, the nervousness beginning to fade away almost immediately as the strange lightness returned. "You kidding?" He asked, grinning. "As if I could wait to hang out with a girl like you some more."
Haku blushed just the tiniest fraction. "You charmer," she snickered.
Naruto gave her a playful wink. "So I was thinking, you don't really know the leaf village that well yet, do you?"
Haku smiled. "Nope, not a clue."
"Soo… want me to show you around tomorrow evening? I think Sasuke and Sakura were planning something similar, so maybe… double date?"
Haku nodded. "Sounds good."
"Great." Naruto grinned. "I'll pick you up at six." With that, he left, his insides buzzing warmly. So far, Kakashi had been right, he thought. Talking was easier with Haku around.
The date, Naruto:
Naruto arrived about half an hour early, knocking on Haku's door with an air of anticipation. It wasn't long before the girl opened it. She looked…
"Are you… wearing your ninja gear to a date?" Naruto asked.
Haku rolled her eyes in exasperation. "So, remember how a couple weeks ago, everything I owned got blown up by an assassin?"
Realization hit Naruto fairly quickly. "Uhh… yeah, stupid question. Sorry."
Haku smiled. "You're forgiven. So, where are we headed?" She stepped outside, producing a small key and locking the door behind her.
"Not telling!" Naruto said with a grin, taking Haku's hand and leading her from the small building out into the leaf village.
The two young ninja walked among the stalls and stores of the leaf village, occasionally stopping to make small purchases, but mainly just exploring. The two youngsters talked about their past, this time without the restrictions of mutual secrecy they had maintained on their first meeting. It was nice, almost as if, for the first time, they were truly alone together. Haku told Naruto about her day in the garden, and her battle against the old ninja, Kosuke. The pale girl couldn't resist giving an excited play by play of how the old man had countered her crystal mirrors.
"Wait, wait. Hold up. You can use ICE JUTSU?" Naruto asked, incredulously.
"Yeah," said Haku, smiling as she held her hand palm outwards, a small icicle beginning to form at the centre of it. "It's why Master Zabuza decided to keep me around as a kid."
"That's really cool," Naruto said in awe, his eyes wide.
"I'm not the only one who's cool, you know," Haku said, playfully poking the blonde boy's shoulder. "Not to brag or anything, but it's not just anyone who can fight me to a standstill. You're pretty tough."
Naruto groaned slightly. "Yeah, but now it turns out you weren't even using your best stuff to fight me with."
Haku giggled. "And you were? I think we both know you could have ended things way sooner with those paper bombs if you'd wanted to."
"Well, yeah, but I didn't want to kill you," Naruto replied, sounding slightly upset at the idea.
"And I didn't want to kill you," Haku countered with a grin. "So we were both holding back, weren't we?"
Naruto sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right." They walked together in comfortable silence for a few paces before Naruto laughed quietly and said "I wonder which of us is stronger for real, then."
"Me," said Haku without hesitation.
Naruto laughed. "Don't even need to think about it, huh?"
"Nope," the dark haired girl said playfully. "Sorry, funny boy, I would utterly destroy you."
"Oh yeah?" The blonde challenged, moving slightly behind his date as they walked. "As I recall, it was you who ended up in the river, Haku, not me." Before Haku had the chance to respond, Naruto closed in from behind, wrapping the pale girl in a bear hug and lifting her off the ground.
"H-hey!" Haku giggled. "Let me down!" Wriggling an arm free, she gave Naruto a playful jab to the side. "Pressure point!" She shouted. "I win!"
Naruto gave an exaggerated gasping noise as he pretended to convulse, letting his legs fall out from under him so that both children landed in a sprawled heap, laughing together.
Haku had landed on top of Naruto, leaving their faces only a few inches apart, the laughing subsided gradually as the two young ninja looked into one another's eyes. Naruto felt like he should do something here, in fact he had a pretty good idea what that something was. As is often the case, however, before he managed to pluck up the courage to make his move, the moment ended. The pair stood, each of them feeling a rather acute sense of anticlimax. They awkwardly began to walk together again in a disappointed silence.
"I'd totally win though," Naruto said after a few minutes. Haku snorted.
"Dream on, squirt," a voice called out from behind the two. Turning, Naruto saw the speaker, an older boy in a body covering black uniform, his face covered in purple ink work.
Naruto considered the other boy. Taller than he was, hard to read how strong he might be with his body concealed under that getup. From the headband, the boy must have been a ninja from the hidden sand. Naruto opted for a diplomatic approach. "Hey there, can I help you?"
"Sure," The sand shinobi answered, conversationally. "You can stop lying to people about how strong you are, that kind of thing makes me sick, you know?" From a nearby stall, Naruto saw a blonde girl approaching, also wearing a hidden sand headband. He made a mental note to keep his cool, it wouldn't be good to start a fight with foreign ninja here.
"Okay," Naruto said with a polite smile. "But, just for the record, I think I am pretty strong, you know." In the corner of his eye, Naruto saw Haku move, positioning herself next to him. He felt something slide into his hand as the girl brushed against him. Judging by the feel, Haku had just slipped him one of those small metal needles to arm himself with. Naruto placed his hand in his pocket, hiding the small blade from view.
"Really?" The tall stranger asked, his tone challenging. "Wanna prove that to me?"
The blonde girl shot her companion a warning look. "Kankuro, we don't wanna cause trouble here."
"No trouble," Naruto said, still forcing his polite tone. "I always love a decent sparring match. We could meet up tomorrow, if you like." Whatever he did, Naruto had to make sure he didn't give this other kid an excuse to start something in public. The other boy, it seemed, had no such concerns.
"What about here and now?" Kankuro asked with a grin. "I heard you leaf shinobi were meant to be tough." What few people were nearby had noticed the small confrontation, and were moving themselves clear of any possible fighting. Naruto felt a very slight tugging at his left shoe, a wire? Some kind of jutsu? Or had he just imagined it? Just in case, Naruto shifted his weight to the other foot, taking care to maintain the same stance as before.
"Sure, if you wanna," Naruto said with a shrug. "I know a place nearb-"
The older boy lunged, moving slower than Naruto might have expected, probably not a close combat specialist. Naruto made to dodge sideways, feinting a landing with his suspicious left foot, letting it hang limp as he prepared to take the landing with his right. As suspected, the other boy moved his hand in a pulling gesture, and Naruto felt his left foot jerk forwards. Had there been any tension in the limb, he would have been sent sprawling. As it was, Naruto landed as expected on his right foot, before launching himself at the sand shinobi, catching him off guard. Now that the other boy had made the first move, in front of witnesses no less, he was free to act. Naruto brought Haku's needle up under the other boy's chin, the tip pressing gently into his throat.
"Pretty good, huh?" Naruto said, forcing himself to sound cheery; the less aggressive this all seemed, the better. The other boy began to growl something, but Naruto forced the needle slightly harder against his throat in warning. The boy fell silent. They stood there as long as Naruto felt he could get away with, before Naruto pulled the needle back with a smile. "You were pretty cool too though, that string trick you pulled with my foot nearly got me."
The older boy seemed about to make a retort, but Haku cleared her throat, shifting so that the needles in her hands were noticeable for just the briefest moment. The boy decided to change tack. "Yeah," he said in a voice of angry forced civility. "I'll be even better next time, promise." The two strangers walked away, the blonde girl seeming quite relieved.
Naruto and Haku watched the strangers walk into the distance, joined shortly after by a third, a red headed boy with some kind of gourd on his back. "Soo…" Haku broke the silence eventually. "Is that normal around here, because I'm gonna go ahead and assume that was weird."
"Yeah," Naruto answered truthfully. "That was pretty unusual, thanks for the blade by the way." He handed the small needle back, and the girl returned it to the sheath in her sleeve.
"No problem," the dark haired girl replied. "Good job noticing the chakra thread, by the way. You're more advanced than I thought you were."
Naruto shrugged. "I felt something tug my foot, assumed it was a wire or something. What's chakra thread?"
"Strings of chakra you can use for stuff," Haku replied, putting her fingers together briefly before pulling them apart, a small glowing line spreading between them. "They're usually pretty hard to spot unless you pump them full of chakra like I'm doing."
Naruto nodded. "Okay, second question. Why did you bring weapons on our date?"
Haku shrugged. "In case something like that happened."
"D-date?" Said a small voice nearby, Naruto turned to face the newcomer, his heart sinking.
"Hey… Hinata." Naruto said, blushing furiously.
The night before, Sasuke:
Sasuke and Naruto sat together in their small kitchen, eating dinner. They had just finished training with Sakura for the night. Naruto had made curry and the two were chatting quietly as they ate.
"Sooo…" Naruto said eventually. "I… have a date with Haku tomorrow night."
Sasuke almost choked on a piece of fried pork and gave a long series of loud, spluttering coughs. Eventually he asked. "Seriously?! Didn't Haku try to kill you though?"
"…Yeah," Naruto replied, blushing slightly. "She nearly managed it too. To be honest, I think that's kinda hot…" Sasuke looked across at his surrogate brother for some time, his face expressionless.
"Yeah, no. You're right," he said eventually, grinning. "That is kinda hot."
"I know right?" Naruto said, relieved. "So yeah, I wanna… test it out with her, I guess. I was gonna bring her along to meet up with you and Sakura tomorrow."
Sasuke shrugged. "Sure, whatever, not as if I care either way."
The date, Sasuke:
He and Sakura had arrived at the barbeque place a little early, ordering a few sodas while they waited and holding hands under the table. The date had been fun, they'd gone to see a horror movie that, for some reason, just seemed funny to them after everything that had happened recently; laughing together in the back seats while other cinema goers shot them angry glares. Sasuke felt Sakura lean in to plant a kiss on his cheek and smiled at her. Had she always been this pretty?
The door swung open and, taking a sip of his drink, Sasuke glanced up to see if it was Naruto. He caused himself a severe coughing fit as he tried to gasp with the sweet liquid still in his mouth. It was indeed Naruto at the door, with Haku… and Hinata.
Naruto:
Naruto felt like dirt. Why had he invited Hinata along? Why? It made no sense, all he could remember was panicking and inviting the unfortunate girl along with them. Hinata hadn't even been angry; she just kept shooting Haku reproachful looks which was somehow a thousand times worse. Haku had noticed too, and was now giving him questioning glances every chance she got.
He walked into the restaurant and immediately spotted Sasuke doing a spit take. Oh yeah, this was gonna go great. The three of them sat down, and Sasuke decided to open the conversation with his usual tact.
"Wow Naruto, when you said you wanted to test it out, I didn't think you meant two at once."
Naruto threw a spoon at him.
Haku:
Sasuke rubbed the bridge of his nose, wincing as he touched the sore spot where the spoon had struck. "Oww… Not cool, Naruto." The blonde boy just glared at him.
Haku watched the interaction, confused. What had Sasuke meant by 'Test it out'? What had he meant by 'both at once'? She was pretty sure they had planned this meetup in advance, which meant the only out thing here that was of the ordinary here was Hinata, the girl who kept looking at Haku like a kicked puppy. All of these ideas ran through Haku's head, forming a hunch, a hunch that had to be wrong. There was no way Naruto would do something that stupid. Just to check, Haku leaned in to whisper in her date's ear. "Does that Hinata girl… like you or something?" Naruto went red. Oh god, he really would do something that stupid. Haku started poking Naruto repeatedly between the ribs.
"Ow!" He yelped, cringing away. "Ow! Oww! Stop it! I'm sorry!"
"You're not sorry enough!" Haku said angrily. "You do not invite someone who likes you along on a date! What kind of tactless moron are you?!" It took a few moments for Haku to realize she had been speaking quite loudly. Hinata was suddenly bright red, sunk so low in her seat that it seemed like she was trying to escape through the cushions. Naruto gave Haku a pointed look and she blushed. "…Sorry."
Hinata spoke quietly, a single tear running down her cheek. "I-I'm sorry, your night's probably ruined because of me… I should just go." She stood up, making as if to leave when Naruto grabbed her arm, stopping her.
"Hinata…" he said quietly, his own face a very deep shade of red. "I'm really sorry, I didn't want you to find out like this… It's… it's really complicated and… I'm sorry."
Hinata sniffled. "Why? Why should you be sorry, Naruto? It's not your fault if you don't like me. I mean, why would you?"
"No!" Naruto protested, almost angry. "You are awesome, Hinata! You're smart and cute and kind, and you're just about the only person I know who can stand up to me and Sasuke in a fair fight with that gentle fist thing you do. You're amazing."
Haku watched with interest, predictably, Naruto's praise only seemed to be making the girl more upset. She asked the obvious question. "I-if that's true… then why are you with h-her…" Hinata choked out. Haku might have been offended, but the girl hadn't made it sound like an accusation, there was no venom in her voice. It was more like a genuine question, she really was asking what Haku had that she didn't.
Naruto was silent for a long time before he answered. "Honestly? I don't know what to say here… and I'm sorry about that. I really am. But the truth is, Haku and I went through some stuff together, some serious stuff, and I… I asked her out because of that, because of how… how much that stuff let me see about her as a person, about what she values. What she cares about. I'm sorry if this isn't the answer you wanted to hear, but it's true."
Hinata:
Hinata was confused. Not only confused, but also deeply saddened and crushingly embarrassed. This new girl was pretty and slim and had features like brushed porcelain. How was she supposed to compete with that?
"What kind of stuff?" Hinata asked, it being the only question that came to mind.
"He helped me kill forty nine people to avenge the death of the man who raised me." Haku responded quietly, a shadow of something cold crossing her face for just a moment.
Not for even a second did Hinata consider that the other girl might be lying. Looking around the table, Hinata saw that Naruto and Sasuke had that same, dark look in their eyes. Sakura, sitting across from her, looked deeply concerned.
"O-oh…" Hinata said, her voice tiny. "I… I see."
"No, you don't." Naruto replied flatly, not cold, just honest. "And honestly? I hope it stays that way. I wouldn't wish what brought me and Haku together on my worst enemy."
After several long minutes, Hinata shakily pulled herself up to her feet. "I… ok… I get it. If you don't like me that way, I… I understand. I-"
"But I DO like you that way!" Naruto groaned, bringing a hand to his face in frustration. "I really do! I think you're pretty and kind and fun! I was going to ask you out when we got back from the Wave, but then… well, Haku happened!"
Hinata gaped at Naruto. "Y-you mean you…?"
Naruto sighed. "Yeah… I like you too, Hinata, but… I'm dating Haku… and I really like her too."
Hinata nodded, slightly dumbfounded. "I… don't know how to feel right now." She said quietly.
"Me neither," Naruto said with an embarrassed laugh. "I guess… If we're ever both single at the same time, I'll ask you out. But, no offence… I kinda hope that never happens. I'm happy right now with Haku, and I care about her a lot."
Hinata nodded, that made sense. She sighed. "I guess… I guess I'll move on, try and start looking at other boys, and if it happens between us someday… I dunno."
"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "'I dunno' sums it up pretty well for me too."
The two smiled sadly at one another before Hinata departed, refusing the groups offer of free barbeque.
Naruto went to bed that night deeply confused, pondering the last few months of his life and wondering whether or not he had said the right thing.