"Hello" - Person Talking
'Hello' - Person Thinking
"Hello" - Summons/Bijū talking
"Hello" - Summons/Bijū thinking
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" - Jutsu
Chapter 14
(Scene change - Unknown part of the forest)
After his little explosive monologue at the house, Naruto needed to get some fresh air, he still didn't know why he blew up and said such things. Seeing as he wouldn't be going back anytime soon, he pulled off his cellphone when Vincent gave him to calm his nerves, he out his earphones on and place it in his ears he played some music then sits down and watching the skies through the night, thinking his strategic plans and tomorrow honing his kenjitsu to a wonderful preparation for his rematch with Zabuza. Eventually, after a few hours of training, his body still recovering, he leaned against a tree and let sleep take over.
Morning soon came, with it a beautiful raven-haired girl in a pink kimono picking herbs. Haku was getting the remaining ingredients for a painkiller that she was making for Zabuza. Sighing at the attitude of her master, for the past few days he was complaining about blonde brats and weak-ass kenjutsu skills, she finally had decided to get some fresh air and leave their temporary hideout.
As she hummed a happy tune and foraged for what she was looking for, she froze when she saw him. The same blonde that had caused such damage to her master a few days earlier. She contemplated killing him here and now, from what she had seen he was much more of a threat if he was able to get Zabuza-sama this riled up. Slowly reaching out for his neck, she was surprised when she got her wrist grabbed by the still sleeping shinobi.
Panicking slightly, Haku was about to pry off his hand when she saw his eyes opened. Captivated by those dark navy-blue eyes, Haku momentarily forgot about the situation that she was in until it was broken by the blonde.
"Mind telling me what you're trying to do?" He asked, his face blank though his eyes seemed to stare into her soul.
"It looked like you fell asleep there; it's very cold out here in the forest you know. I was going to wake you up but you grabbed me instead." She said in a gentle tone, a smile on her face. As she said that, she felt the grip he had on her wrist vanish.
"My apologies, I'm a little on edge right now. Forgive my rudeness." Naruto said, getting up and bowing slightly, much to Haku's embarrassment.
"I-It's no problem, please don't bow to me, I'm not someone who deserves to be bowed at!" she replied in a slightly panicky tone, obliviously not used to being apologized to.
After the two introduced themselves, Naruto had offered to help Haku find the herbs that she was looking for, much to her surprise though she accepted. As the two worked together, Haku couldn't help but feel the need to talk to the blonde though she knew it wasn't a smart move.
"Naruto-san, may I ask why you were training so hard?" She asked, curiosity clearly in her voice. Turning to her, Naruto answered her question to her surprise, not expecting him to answer a stranger's question.
"I have the dreams and the honor of someone close to me riding on my shoulders. I need to get stronger so that in the future, I'll be able to stand next to him as his equal." He said with such passion that Haku blushed slightly.
"They must be someone very precious to you." Haku said in a quiet tone of voice as she looked down, looking up she was met with a small smile that had her heart racing for a little bit, a blush on her face from seeing the handsome blonde.
"Yeah, they were very precious to me." Naruto said, with a faraway look in his eyes.
Finishing up, Naruto stood next to Haku as he handed her the rest of the herbs that she needed. As they were about to part ways, Naruto called out to her.
"Haku-san, send Zabuza-san my best regards. I'm expecting him to be ready for our rematch soon." As the words left his mouth, she nearly dropped her basket, pulling out a handful of senbon as she questioned him.
"You knew? If you knew then why did you help me?!" She shouted, in disbelief that he would actively and knowingly help his enemy. But the answer she got wasn't what she expected.
"Because I feel like you're similar to me. We both have someone who's precious to us, and we'll do anything to make sure that they're happy. And also, I don't want a handicapped duel because he's still injured." He said, walking away back to Tazuna's house, leaving a speechless Haku behind.
Staring at the back of the blonde, Haku couldn't remove the light fluttery feeling in her heart that she felt from the blonde's words. Giggling softly to herself, she didn't know it herself, but she headed back to the hideout in a happier mood then when she left.
When Naruto got back to the house, he was once again interrogated by Anko about his little outburst and where he went during the night, getting the same blank faced reply of "It was nothing important," before giving up and letting him off the hook.