[A/N] Hello everyone. Long time no see. I know it's been a long time since I updated any of my works, but I'm hoping to fix that soon.
Work has been keeping me exhausted. However, I've finally finished the manuscript for my first book. I've been trying to get back into my fanfictions, but it's been a slow process without any feedback or someone to bounce ideas off of. So please leave your feedback, it will help me get the dust off and get to work on these projects. I hope to get updates out for this more regularly and resume updates for Something New and I Chose Rapture soon, but we shall see.
If anyone feels up to being a beta reader for any of my works, feel free to reach out through PM.
Thank you all for your patience. I know this is short for how long it's taken, but I wanted to go ahead and get something out to let you know I'm still here and start collecting more feedback.
Also, I set up something in the hopes that it helps me organize my postings on other sites with this one and keep my readers updated. I created a twitter for the Averell Torrent avatar. Feel free to check out my profile for more details.
By the way, should I bother making Haku a guy in this? Honestly, I just don't care enough to go through the whole 'by the way, I'm a guy' thing unless you guys think I should.
Sasuke and Sakura followed Kakashi as they returned to the clearing. Sakura had been concerned that Zabuza might have returned sooner than expected once they learned Naruto hadn't rejoined them after training the night before.
It had been Sasuke that calmed her fears, stating that Naruto had probably just pushed himself too far. He didn't understand much about the blonde, but their days at the academy had taught him that the last thing Naruto Uzumaki would ever do is give up.
Kakashi acknowledged as much, deciding they should go check on him together. He had advised Tazuna to stay home until they were back and then lead the way. Sasuke and Sakura pushed a few branches out of his way as he moved into the clearing to see Naruto laying in the grass. His student's eyes were closed, but watching the deep controlled breaths told him he wasn't asleep.
"Hm…. Have you been training all night Naruto?"
Naruto's eyes slid open. "Yeah. we don't have a whole lot of time, and I can rest in a few days when Zabuza's more likely to be on the move. For now, I might as well train myself into the ground if that's what it takes to be ready."
"Sleep's just as important you dolt," Sakura chastised.
"And yet it's clearly done nothing for your manners," he shot back.
Sakura opened her mouth to argue before Kakashi cut back in. "I hope that going all night like that allowed you to better yourself."
Naruto brought his knees up to his chest and kicked out, pulling his body into a standing position. "You could say that," he said. "My tree-walking is still a little shaky, but I can make it to the top."
Kakashi looked to the top of the tree Naruto stood at, seeing his kunai dug into the bark. "That was sooner than I expected. Sasuke, you should have this down by the end of the day, if not a few hours. As for you two," he said, focussing on Sakura and Naruto. "I take it you're at least aware of the water walking technique? Since you're both ahead, you can start learning it as well. We don't have much time to train, but increasing your control should give us more of an edge than what we had."
"But sensei, shouldn't we be learning more combat techniques?" Sakura asked. "We don't have the fighting experience to stand up to Zabuza yet."
"And you're not going to," he responded. He looked at Sasuke as well, making sure his entire team was listening carefully. "Even if I had the time to teach you every move and technique I know, you still wouldn't have the time to master any of it. False confidence might make you take risks you shouldn't. By teaching you focus and control I'm teaching you how to see attacks coming and better avoid them. This won't help you fight back but it will help you stay alive. You are still Genin fighting an enemy that outclasses you. Staying alive will be the best you can hope for in this fight."
Naruto thought for a moment, mulling over Kakashi's words. "I assume it's the same basic concept as the tree walking?"
Kakashi nodded. "The difference is that the amount of chakra needed will change constantly. Just like you needed to adjust your output for the tree, you will constantly need to do that for water as it ebbs and flows."
"I'll take that into account, but I'm going to be training on my own again," he said adamantly. "There's some training of my own I want to work on as well."
"While I do recommend you train together and learn from each other, train in whatever way works best for you." He looked up the tree. "It clearly works for you. But try to be back at the house tonight."
"I understand. I'll try to be back, so long as I don't pass out again," Naruto said as he turned and walked deeper into the forest.
'Do we really know anything about you, Naruto?' Kakashi thought to himself as he watched his student disappear.
In the days since Zabuza's escape, Naruto had refused to rest more than he had to. He forced himself to endure migraines as his clones worked hard through the night to study the scrolls he had brought until he collapsed for the sixth time since the training had begun.
He laid in the clearing, letting his body relax. It was only as his eyes drifted back open that he realized he had fallen asleep.
Looking around, Naruto noticed birds perched on his body. Enjoying the feeling of soft grass below him and birds resting on him, he chose to lay there and rest.
As he took a deep breath, the birds shifted and ruffled their feathers. He wanted to enjoy the calm for another minute before getting back his training.
His mind wandered to the clones and his tests with them. He had experimented with their durability, learning how much damage they could normally take and just how far he could push them. While his hoard had quickly worked out the water walking technique, mastering it and performing any of the ones detailed in his scrolls still eluded him.
These thoughts evaporated as he sensed another presence enter the clearing. He kept his body relaxed and breathing even as they grew closer. Staying calm became harder as the presence stood over him for a minute. He could feel some sort of indecision radiating from it.
Breath brushed against his face as they crouched next to him. And then a hand against his shoulder. It shook him and he allowed his eyes to open. He looked up into a soft and beautiful pair of eyes.
"You could catch a cold sleeping in the forest like this," she said, looking down at him. "Have you been out here all night?"
Mizuki eyed the guards around him as they led him down dark and damp corridors. They stayed quiet and never looked at him. It wasn't until he was guided into a lab that one of them spoke.
"Master," the woman among them said. "Mizuki has arrived."
Without another word, the guards turned and left the way they came, leaving Mizuki behind.
"Ah, so you did survive. I'd heard rumors you had been killed," a sickly sweet voice called from the shadows. A pale, snake-like man stepped into the light. "Do you have the forbidden scroll as well?"
"No, Lord Orochimaru," Mizuki said. "It was destroyed. But I might have something even better for you. I just need some resources of yours to get it."
Orochimaru let out a curious coo. "Go on."
Mizuki lips split in a grin. "I can personally deliver the library of the Yondaime Hokage to you, as well as his son."
Naruto rested on his knees as he held another handful of herbs out to her. She looked at his hand a moment, giving a small smile as she picked a few from the bunch.
"These ones help with clearing the mind and keeping the brain healthy," she said, holding up a few with fan-shaped leaves. She then turned to where she had been digging with a small blade and pulled up a root. "And then this can help lower inflammation and improve circulation."
"What about the rest of these?" Naruto asked, looking at the rest of what he held.
She gave a small smile. "Grass."
His eyes widened slightly. "All of it?"
"All of it."
Naruto hung his head. "Well, at least I found those few."
She laughed lightly. "You still haven't told me what you were doing out here so early."
He nodded and thought for a moment. "Well, you still haven't told me your name."
She paused. "My name is Haku."
Naruto gave her a wide smile. "And I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I was out here training." He looked at his hands as they clenched into fists and relaxed again.
"I see," Haku said. "So you're a shinobi then? But why are you training? You look plenty strong already."
He shook his head. "No. I need to become so much stronger. I must keep training so that I can earn the respect of my village and the acknowledgment I've been denied for so long."
Haku was silent for a time, thinking about his words. "Tell me, Naruto. Do you have someone important to you?"
Naruto didn't miss the look in her eyes as she asked her question. "What do you mean?" he asked.
She showed him a small smile. "When someone has something to protect, someone special to them, that's when they become truly strong."
He thought about her words. "I know what you mean. There are people that I want to fight beside, friends I want to protect. My friends and the ones I love." His lips parted to speak. He paused, letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm going to ask a question you might not like. I don't want you to overreact."
He waited for her to give him a small nod.
"You said we become truly strong when we have something to protect. So then… That's why you protect Zabuza? Because he's someone precious to you?"
She stiffened, one hand reaching into her sleeve. "How?" she asked.
Naruto breathed deeply, laying back down in the grass. "Over the years-" He paused. "My hearing is pretty good. It took me a minute, but I recognized your voice."
"And what happens now?"
He shrugged. "I'd like to talk with you." He paused, taking a moment to think about his words. "You know, there is another skill I developed a long time ago. When I talked about gaining acknowledgement there was sadness in your eyes. I can see the longing you feel; the moments when memories are playing out in your mind. I know what that's like. The desire to be accepted, the need to feel anything other than loneliness. Life hasn't been kind to you either. I want to know what brought you to this point. What happened to you?"