A/N: I rewrote Chapters 12-14. Anyway, I haven't updated lately because I was depressed. Really depressed. Never mind nyan.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto which is good because I can't draw anything more than a stick figure to save my life.
Chapter 14: Konoha
"What's Konoha like?" Haku asked, forcing the shovel back into the soil.
"Well, there's a lot of greenery and you can see trees everywhere you look. It's really peaceful and the living standards are good, if that's what you're worried about," Minato replied flashing her a grin, "the ramen's awesome too!" Haku blushed and jerked the shovel outwards and upwards too vigorously, showering Minato with dirt. "Hey!" said blond shouted indignantly.
"Sorry." Haku said serenely, fighting the blush that was slowly creeping onto her cheeks as she watched Minato brush the dirt out of his hair, his warm crystal eyes squinted to keep stray pieces from getting into them.
They had gone to the hillside to dig a grave for Zabuza, Haku insisting that they dig it manually instead of using jutsu, because she wanted to honour her master's memory. Minato had 'mastered' the tree-walking exercise and proved it to Kakashi, asking the latter for permission to stay with Haku that day. Kakashi had lazily agreed and there they were, shovels in hand and a large hole waiting to be dug.
It was nearing afternoon now, and they had not made much progress on the hole between the two of them despite them being omnipotent ninja. Minato pushed the shovel back into the ground and dug out another wad of dirt. He sat back to inspect the hole and noticed that it looked odd. The hole looked more like an ink blot than a rectangle. "Haku, maybe we should mark out what we want to dig first. The hole looks wonky." Minato voiced.
"Maybe you're right. It does look a little weird." Haku replied, putting her shovel to the ground and dragging it, leaving a straight indent in the dirt. She continued on until the shape of a rectangle was carved neatly into the ground. "Let's take a break and eat first." Haku suggested as she wiped her hands on her clothes. Minato nodded and reached for the bento they'd brought with them, courtesy of Tsunami. The two ninja sat by on the hillside and ate their packed lunch before clearing everything and resuming the dig. They continued to dig within the boundaries Haku had drawn, sweat trickling from their hairline and down their cheeks. They made slow progress, but finally finished some time in the afternoon. "Who knew digging a grave would be so difficult?" Haku sighed as she sat down next to the Zabuza-sized hole in the ground.
"It is harder than it sounds." Minato agreed as he sat down beside her. They sat in silence, resting their aching backs as they inspected the hole. Minato slowly righted himself and watched as Haku did the same. The brunette slowly lowered her master's body into the grave, tears welling in her eyes and sliding down her face. They dripped onto her master's face and glistened in the sunlight as she drew away from the grave. "Do you want me to fill it in?" Minato asked her softly. Haku looked away and nodded, not wanting to see her master get buried. It would only make the fact that he was dead more real. She wanted to hold on to the times she'd spent with him for just a little longer. Her eyes travelled over to the village and glazed over as she lost herself in reverie.
Minato looked over to his brown haired companion and turned back to the grave, slowly shovelling the soil back into the grave. He looked down sadly at the prone figure in the grave. Just yesterday he'd been breathing, fighting, threatening, alive. It was heartbreaking to see him lying in the grave, blood crusting on his bandages, dirt encompassing his body. 'Kushina.' Minato thought, tears sliding down his face. The loss of his wife seemed as fresh as ever, but he shook his head to get rid of the cobwebs and continued to toss dirt back into the grave, soon losing sight of Zabuza's body.
The filling of the grave was faster than the digging, and soon Minato was patting the soil down. Haku looked over her shoulder to see that the blond was done. She picked Kubikiri Houcho up and walked over to the grave, tears flowing down her cheeks. She raised the hilt above her head and stabbed it as hard as she could into the ground, grunting with the effort. The sword went a third into the ground and she stepped back to inspect the grave. She closed her eyes and let her tears flow freely, saying a small prayer for him in her mind. Minato turned away and took up the spot Haku had left. The two of them departed from the hill together.
Kakashi was guarding the bridge with his students when Sasuke approached him. The Uchiha had been trying out his dojutsu and familiarising himself with it, it wasn't odd that he'd ask him about something seeing as he was the only other Sharingan user there. "Sensei, what's this thing on my arm?" Sasuke questioned, his Sharingan active.
"Where?" the silver haired Jounin drawled lazily.
"Here." Sasuke pointed to a spot on his arm.
"I don't see it."
"Try using your Sharingan."
"I really don't think I should be wasting chakra on something like this."
"Then I'll tell you what it looks like. It looks like… the seals on the explosive tags, but this is more complicated."
"What?" Kakashi jolted, wide-eyed. 'Someone wants to blow my student up?' Kakashi thought, lifting his hitai-ate up and opening his Sharingan eye. What he saw stunned him. It was a seal, and it looked painfully familiar. 'Where have I seen this before?' Kakashi thought, calling his pink-haired student over.
"Yes, sensei?" Sakura asked, confusion written all over her face.
"So you have one too." Kakashi breathed, noticing the seal on her leg.
"Have what sensei?" Sakura cocked her head, clueless as to what her sensei was talking about.
"Wait!" Kakashi reached into his kunai pouch and produced a tri-pronged kunai. 'You gave this to me when I made Jounin.' Kakashi reminisced, gently flipping the kunai around to inspect the seal on the grip.
"Where did you get that sensei?" Sakura gasped.
"The Yondaime was my Jounin sensei, Sakura. It was a gift for becoming a Jounin." Kakashi answered, placing the kunai near Sasuke's arm. "How long has this been there?" Kakashi asked urgently.
"I only just noticed it thanks to my Sharingan." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
"Sensei's dead so there shouldn't be anyone else able to replicate the seal. It's not possible." Kakashi breathed, his eyes wide.
Minato was walking towards the small gathering on the bridge, having left Haku at Tazuna's house. "What are you three doing?" the blond inquired, curious as to what had his ex-student so flustered.
"Naruto, come here." Kakashi instructed, his eyes wide. Minato joined the huddle as Kakashi inspected him.
"You don't have one on you."
"What are you talking about sensei?"
"I found a Hiraishin seal on your team mates, but it seems as though you don't have one. Why is that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you the one who… sorry. I'm just so shocked. No one knows how to replicate sensei's seals, not even Jiraiya-sama, yet it's clearly on their bodies. Sasuke has one on his arm, Sakura has one on her thigh. Does that mean that someone got their hands on sensei's jutsu? That's very dangerous. Inform me immediately if something out of the ordinary happens or if someone appears in a flash of yellow got it?" Kakashi instructed, his seriousness stunning his students. They all nodded, promising to do as they were told. "Good. It seems that they're packing up for the day, so let's wait for Tazuna-san." Kakashi calmed down significantly.
Their client met them at the head of the bridge and they headed back to Tazuna's house and were greeted by Haku. "What happened to Zabuza's body?" Kakashi asked, looking around the living room.
"We buried him, sensei." Minato said, sparing Haku from having to say it, knowing that it would only make it even more real for her. Haku just left for the kitchen and helped Tsunami with dinner.
"Sensei, I don't think you should talk about it in front of Haku." Sakura observed.
"Oops." Kakashi eye-smiled and sheepishly scratched his head.
The days passed without incident and soon, the bridge was completed. "We couldn't have finished the bridge without you. I can't tell you how much we'll miss you. Take care." Tazuna said at the send-off.
"We'll come visit." Minato called to them.
"You swear you will?" Inari asked, his chin trembling and his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Of course! And it's okay if you want to cry; sometimes you just have to let it out." Minato smiled serenely.
"Who says I wanna cry!" Inari shouted indignantly, the tears streaming down his cheeks contradicting him. Tazuna put a hand on his head to comfort him.
Minato let another smile grace his lips as he watched the boy cry. It was heart warming, and he was glad that they were finally free of Gato's reign. Team 7 bid their last farewells to the townsfolk and set off towards the village along with Haku, who had visited Zabuza's grave beforehand with Team 7 to say their last goodbyes. "We'll name it the Great Naruto Bridge!" rang out behind them, startling the group bound for Konoha.
When they recovered from the shock Kakashi turned and eye-smiled at his blond student, "Well, looks like you have a landmark named after you." Minato kept quiet and fell into step beside Haku.
"We're finally going to Konoha. I wonder what it'll be like." Haku mused.
"It's rather humid for one, and I don't think it's as cold as your hometown, but it's amazing in it's own way. You'll see." Minato smiled at the brunette and watched as her face went pink.
"Are you okay? Do you have a fever? Should I get sensei?" Minato flustered, putting a hand to Haku's forehead, causing her cheeks to become even redder.
"I'm okay." Haku said and pulled away from Minato. 'Weird girl. She does the same thing as Hinata.' Minato thought.
"Hey! Naruto! Me and Sasuke are going out to eat later. Wanna join us?" Sakura called over to her blond team mate.
"It's 'Sasuke and I' and yes I'd love to." Minato responded. Sakura fumed at having to be corrected and took up a position beside her love interest. They reached the gates around evening.
Team 7 headed straight to the Hokage Tower for mission report, not having much trouble with the Chunin on gate duty. Haku walked alongside Minato, staring around the village in awe. She caught sight of the Hokage Monument and tugged on Minato's sleeve, "Naruto, what's that? Why are there faces in the cliff?"
"That's the Hokage Monument. Basically, the heads of the four who once led the village are carved into the cliff as a tribute. The current Hokage in office is the third." Minato informed the brunette.
"What happened to the fourth? Why isn't he the one ruling this village?" Haku questioned.
"It's not ruling as per se, but the fourth died twelve years ago." Minato told her.
Haku gazed up at the fourth's head and whispered a question, "What was his name, the one who died twelve years ago?"
"According to the academy textbooks, his name was Namikaze Minato-sama." Sakura chimed in, having listened in on their banter. Haku stiffened and stopped in the middle of the road. "What? Did I say something wrong?" Sakura asked, perplexed.
Haku resumed her walking, falling into step beside Minato and Sakura saying, "No, you didn't I'm sorry. It's just… I know this sounds crazy, but I met him in the forest right before I met… Sasuke." She struggled to remember the Uchiha's name.
"That's impossible! He died-" Sakura was cut off.
"Twelve years ago. I know. Zabuza-sama said the same thing." Haku finished.
"We're here. Let's go in." Kakashi interrupted their talk. They entered the tower, Haku glancing around, trying to take everything in at once. They finally entered the Hokage's office, finding the Third Hokage sitting behind his desk, going through paperwork. He looked up as they came in and noticed Haku. "Mission report." He commanded and Kakashi launched into his report about how the mission went from a C-rank to a B and possible A-rank.
The Hokage just listened and nodded knowingly as Kakashi gave his mission report. "So you want me to let this young lady become a citizen of Konoha and possibly a ninja in our forces?" Sarutobi asked, sceptically eying Haku, receiving a nod of confirmation. "Well, I will trust your judgement Kakashi, but who's going to house her while I arrange an apartment for her?" Sarutobi stared at Kakashi, who shook his head.
"I will." Minato offered. Sarutobi nodded curtly, and addressed Haku.
"Your name is Haku?" receiving a nod from the brunette. "Well, what would you say is your area of expertise?" The Hokage inquired.
"I'm good with medicine and it's also my preference because I don't think I have the heart to kill someone. I can fight with my kekkei genkai, and I pride myself in my speed… I used to until Naruto defeated me in terms of speed." Haku said, hesitant about telling the Hokage about her kekkei genkai.
Sarutobi, seeing Haku's nervousness laughed heartily and reassured her, "Don't worry. We practically worship anyone with a kekkei genkai. They're an incredible asset in battle. So, what's yours?"
"Hyoton." Haku answered simply.
"I thought they were all wiped out during the bloodline purge. Apparently not! Well Haku, welcome to Konohagakure. Would you settle for being a Chunin Field Medic? Though we're not in need of those for now, you can work at the hospital. How does that sound?" Sarutobi asked kindly.
"That's more than I could have hoped for. Thank you very much Hokage-sama." Haku sank into a deep bow.
"Now, now. There's no need for that. Just serve your village well and carry on the Will of Fire. I wish you luck in your new career Haku." Sarutobi laughed, his eyes dancing with mirth.
"I'll show you to my house and after that we can meet up with Sasuke and Sakura at the bridge!" Minato said enthusiastically, practically dragging Haku along.
"How odd. He never acted like that during the mission. Oh well. Maybe he has Multiple Personality Disorder." Kakashi shrugged and left through the window. Minato pulled Haku through the streets towards his apartment where he finally stopped. Haku was panting from having to keep up with him.
"Sorry Haku." Minato apologised, ushering her up to his apartment.
"It's rather well kept. I was expecting something really messy." Haku marvelled, walking around the apartment. 'Kushina always forced me to keep the house clean, whether I liked it or not.' Minato groused inwardly, before sadness washed over him, knowing that Kushina wouldn't be there to nag at him anymore.
"Well, this is the guest room. You'll be sleeping in here." Minato showed her the room.
"I thought you'd make me sleep on the couch or something." Haku said, astonished.
"Why would I?" Minato cocked his head, eliciting a blush from Haku.
"Thank you for the lodgings. I'll find a way to repay you." Haku turned away to hide the blush lest the dense blond think she was sick again.
"No, it's okay. Now let's go meet my team mates at the bridge and we can go for dinner together!" Minato chirped, taking Haku's hand and leading her out the door, locking it as they went. Minato was moving slower on their walk to the bridge, so as not to tax Haku.
Upon arriving on the bridge, Sasuke and Sakura waited patiently for their blond team mate and were surprised when he turned up with Haku in tow. The picture of 'Naruto' standing over Haku's prone figure with a bloody tanto in hand, poised to strike, assaulted Sasuke's mind. He shook his head vigorously, not wanting to believe that his bubbly blond team mate could be as cold as his traitorous brother, Itachi.
"Hey! I was wondering if Haku could come along with us for dinner!" Minato asked cheerily, receiving a stoic nod from Sasuke. They made their way to Ichiraku's, Minato having used his big crystal blue eyes and I'm-irresistibly-cute pout to win them over. Dinner found the four at Ichiraku's eating ramen. Minato was inhaling bowl after bowl yet retaining most of his dignity when Haku turned to look at the rest of Team 7, who were ignoring the staggering pile of bowls and calmly eating their dinner. "Erm… Is he always like this?" Haku asked Sakura figuring that she was the most approachable besides the ramen guzzling boy.
"Yeah, he's a ramen junkie. You'll get used to it." Sakura answered and went back to her own ramen. Haku looked at the blond beside her who was still eating the ramen like there was no tomorrow. She shrugged and went back to her ramen. 'Naruto was right when he said that the ramen was awesome.' She remembered the blond's comment back in wave. After the hearty meal, they parted ways and left for their respective homes.
Minato and Haku were walking back to the apartment when Minato exclaimed, "Haku, there's something I wanna show you!" and proceeded to drag her towards the Hokage Monument. They arrived on top of the Shodai's head at the Hokage Monument. Haku looked down upon the village and gasped in awe at the beauty of the village from their vantage point. "That's not all. Look up." Minato whispered into her ear. The latter did as she was told and was lost for words.
When she finally found her voice, she breathed, "It's beautiful!" star struck. The night was clear and the moon took centre stage. The stars shimmered in the blanket of darkness in a myriad of white, rosy pink and slight tinges of orange. The darkness only served to enhance the glow of the millions of stars that dotted the sky. "Isn't it?" Minato breathed from beside her, as a shooting star blazed across the sky. When Haku finally managed to tear her eyes away, she let her eyes drift towards Minato. "Welcome to Konoha, Haku!" Minato grinned, the picturesque night sky backing him.
A/N: Please don't flame me. I had to deal with my annoying sister today. Couldn't really concentrate. Those with really irritating siblings will know what I mean. Sorry for all the negative vibes. Please review. Thank you.