Disclaimer: I own nothing! Belongs to Masashi Kishimoto!

Okay so I'll make this clear in the beginning Haku is a boy… but I'm going to call him a girl in some parts. To clear up any confusion right now

Chapter 21 A Meeting in the Forest…!

Birds sang in the morning sun urging the black tank top wearing girl to open her tired eyes. Her loud groan captured the attention of a single black haired individual.

"It's her…" he reached out towards her sleeping form.

Back at Tazuna's house

"Naruko's been out all night again hasn't she?" Tazuna noticed the imbecile not among them. "Ever since you told us that story, she's been training day and night… if she exhausts her chakra she could very well be lying dead somewhere" Sakura yawned.

"I hope she's alright, she looks so fragile. And a little girl shouldn't be out in the woods out on her own." Tsunami walked in holding breakfast.

Kakashi smiled "Oh, she's not as fragile as she looks quite the opposite actually… and she might act childish sometimes but there nothing to worry about. She's a full-fledged ninja."

Sasuke was quiet but glared into his hands, a habit of lacing his fingers together in front of him. "What if the idiot actually killed herself...? that ditz." It was whispered to himself but his master caught it easily.

"Well Sasuke, if you're so worried why not go and get her for breakfast?" The teen boy gave him an annoyed glare.

Back in the forest

"Hey… you'll catch your death if you sleep outside like this"

Naruko opened her eye to see the same girl with soft hair, a smile fluttered onto her face. "… soft… hair"

A few minutes later…

"Hey, Hey have I picked enough of those herbs you wanted?!" wide awake she jumped to the black haired girl's side holding an armful of the herbs.

Without saying a word she smiled, and went back to picking. "Hey are these actually medic herbs? Cause I remember you in town and you had a basket full of the stuff like right now!"

"yes their actually quite potent… I... have to apologize for asking you to do this. I never wanted to impose." The blond brushed the apology off.

"Don't worry! That's some job you took on! Collecting herbs in the middle of a forest all on you're on!"

"Well you're one to talk, what were you doing in the middle of nowhere at the crack of dawn?" she questioned.

"Training!" Naruko jumped at the question. Haku forced a smile down at her expression "Cute, puppy…"

"Really? With that head band are you a ninja?" she asked.

"YEAH! I am! Can you tell?! Do I look like one? Because I am!"

"That's incredible.." They both shared a laugh at her antics.

"So what are you training for?" the black haired girl asked.

"To build my strength and become stronger!" she was a simple girl with simple answers, Haku noted.

"Really? But you already look so strong!"

"Nope! Not enough! I need to be much stronger than this!"

Now Haku was genuinely interested in the girl. "But… why…?"

Looking up at the other girl she smiled brightly "So I can be top dog in my village! All the people in my village would have to say, She's number one ninja! But… right now I kinda have to prove a point to someone right now!"

A serious expression replaced her clam features "… Are you doing this for the sake of that person… or for your own satisfaction?"

"What?!" the blond looked cute when she was confused.

She giggled, "What's so funny?!" she crossed her arm's over her chest and childishly pouted.

"I'm sorry… do you have anyone special?"

This surprised the young girl, a heavy blush engulfed her face. "Someone… special? Like a… like a lover?" now it was Haku's turn to blush. "Well, yeah… almost anything in general… when a person is protecting something truly precious to them… that's when a someone can become as strong as they want to be!"

Naruko was embarrassed of her naivety, of course she had people that were precious to her! Everyone had someone. Inari had his family. Naruko had the old man Hokage, Master Iruka, Sakura, Master Kakashi… and she would never say but also Sasuke!

"Yup! I know all about it!" they smiled.

Haku blushed at the cute girl, bending over he lightly pecked her whiskered cheek with a kiss. Naruko seemed surprised by the action but just kept on smiling. Haku stood and turned to walk away "You'll get stronger… until we meet again."

He stopped and turned around to look back at the still sitting blond "By the way… I'm a boy" with that said he walked away, leaving a shocked blond.

"Whoa! Mind blower! He's so much pretty than me and Sakura!"

Realization hit her and she touched her cheek, remembering the kiss he had given her.

A shadow hovered over her, blush still in place she didn't remove her hand from her face to look up at the figure. The silhouette revealed itself to be none other than her very first kiss. The thought of her first kiss mixed with the one just now brought even more color to her face. "Come on you dizzy ditz…!"

"WHY I'M I ALWAYS BEING KISSED WITHOUT PERMISSION?!"

The next morning: seventh day of training

"Where did that Naruko go this time…?" Kakashi was getting awfully tired of keeping track of children.

"Not only that… at breakfast Sasuke says he's going for a walk and he ends up disappearing…" Was she worried that they both could be together right now? Of course not… it was impossible!

Just when she doubted herself a kunai struck the ground at her feet, both master and student peered up at the tree. Surprised to find a laughing female blond dangling playfully on her stomach, Sakura was stunned. "She can climb all the way up there?!"

The exhausted Uzumaki stood up, one foot getting caught over the other. "Uh-oh…"

Sakura screamed and closed her eyes, not wanting to watch the death of her teammate. Kakashi panicked "No! from that height she could…! I'm not healed enough to help!"

She fell back but did not fall, her feet remained on the branch swinging her back to look at them both. A big stupid grin spread out across her face. "GOTCHA! SUCKERS!"

Her pink haired teammate was not amused "YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" The upside down Uzumaki gave her a cheeky grin. "Oh! Come on Sakura! Learn how to take a-!"

With a poof her feet unlocked from the branch, letting her fall to her most certain doom below. "NARUKO THAT'S ENOUGH!" Kakashi knew she wasn't joking around.

Naruko felt a hand tightly clamp onto her ankle, looking upwards at an indifferent Uchiha. "SASUKE SAVE'S THE DAY! Oh he gives me shivers!" Sakura was blushing like a mad women.

Naruko noticed a blush on her saviors face, looking at herself to see her shirt was halfway up her torso. And he had a pretty good view of the white bra she wore underneath.

"NO GOOD SASUKE PERVERT!"

The next day

"!97, 198…" with both old man Tazuna and Sakura on his back Kakashi did 200 push up's "Yes! I have most of my strength back!"

Zabuza examined the apple in his hand, without so much as blinking an eye his hold on it tightened. The fruit exploded in his palm, leaving his hand dripping in juices. "Excellent…"