Disclaimer: Hey, you! Yeah, you! Have you had enough of these yet? Naruto has been disclaimed!
Kakashi had a very interesting night without Naruto to contend with. No matter where he went, however, he couldn't escape that boy's influence, it seemed. The bridge-builder's grandson had a nice little bruise on the side of his face, ad Kakashi knew full well where it had come from. Judging from the boy's mannerisms throughout that evening, the jonin came to understand why Naruto had use the kid's face for target practice. The pessimism streaming off of Inari was almost nauseating.
Halfway through the evening meal, Inari tore from the room in a miniature tantrum, yelling at the trio of Konoha ninja to just leave, and that there was no chance, yatta-yatta. Kakashi would have been perfectly content to continue eating as if it had never happened, but unfortunately, there was a female present. He'd never quite understand the feminine need to fix things. Sometimes life was better when left alone.
"Why is he like that?" Sakura had asked Tazuna, referring to his moody grandson. The slightly-drunken man had regarded her blearily and began a story of heroism and loss. Inari's adoptive father's death had broken him, and the child had gone as far as to cut the man's face out of the family photograph and hide it in his room.
Sasuke listened impassively, but Sakura was disturbed, to say the least. She didn't understand why her teammate would hit someone who had been through so much.
"How could Naruto be cruel to Inari?" she went as far as asking aloud.
"Naruto knows suffering, Sakura. He was like Inari once, I believe. For him, however, there was no father, no mother, no family." Kakashi answered her, evoking thought and an incredulous expression from the girl.
"But-" she interjected, most likely condemning the act of violence that her comrade had committed.
"It's his way, Sakura. You've no right to judge it."
If Naruto's actions hadn't been the teacher's partial responsibility, Kakashi doubted that he would have even bothered pulling the kid outside like he did. Inari had been unwilling to look at him, and held his arms in a bunch. It would have been cute in a photograph, but circumstances were entirely different in reality.
"Don't hate Naruto, Inari," the man had stated casually, not bothering to make eye contact with someone who wasn't interested. The addressed allowed his face to sour even further, if it was possible.
"He punched me! What's his problem, anyway?" the boy muttered contemptuously, not really expecting an answer.
"…Inari, Naruto grew up without the love of a family or friends. He was treated as a monster by our village for something he didn't do. Instead of feeling sorry for himself like you do, though, he just worked harder for respect. He is trying to become the Hokage-"
Inari interrupted with a hoot of disbelief. "Him? Hokage?!"
"Yes, Inari. He toils for what he gets. While he's not especially skilled at anything, Naruto strives to become the greatest warrior in our village. Strange as it sounds, I'm beginning to think he'll actually accomplish his dream. He has a strange ability, that boy."
Inari was actually looking at Kakashi in the eyes now, a spark of vitality lit in his formerly frigid expression.
"Now, you can imagine that he had to train himself off of tears. What would he have accomplished if he had locked himself away and cried all the time?"
Shamed though he might have been by the Hatake's statement, Inari's clouded mind became somewhat clearer. A revelation came to him.
"He… did it to teach me?" the builder's grandson asked quietly, earning himself a nod and hidden smile from the elite ninja to his right, who then stood up and re-entered the builder's house. Inari was left in solitude to think about his life(and where Naruto went, as the orange-clad genin was hard to miss).
Sakura felt a pang of guilt from her seat on the windowsill. Eavesdropping was invasive and rude. Why was it, then, that she had played the hypocrite and listened to Kakashi speak with Inari? What she had learned about Naruto was admirable, but all the same, shouldn't she have already noticed these things?
No, Sakura. You were too busy being irritated by him, weren't you?
Her thoughts were laced with guilt, but at the same time, she realized just how quickly she had judged her potential ally yet again. It was wrong; a testament to her selfishness. Not just me, she reminded herself, -nearly all of Konoha. I grew up thinking it was nothing, but now…
Sakura did not sleep well that night. Most of the pre-morning hours were spent staring at a ceiling that was in need of repair while she restlessly tried to understand the mystery that Naruto Uzumaki had become.
Haku's brown eyes regarded the lush foliage of the Wave Country with admiration. The world, which he had long since concluded was not for him, was a complicated and beautiful place. Everything and everyone had a part to play inside it, both at once simple and profound.
Kneeling down, the young ninja's hands brushed over a moist bit of brush and reclaimed it from the earth. With the grace of a priestess, Haku placed the plant into a basket to join several others of its ilk. The plants in question were medicinal, and the child from the Mist Village was very happy to have found them. They would serve Master Zabuza well.
With a surprisingly clean hand, Haku counted the objects in his basket. There was almost enough for the salve he was looking to make, but there were a few ingredients to go. Sighing, the youth looked at the sky for some sort of measure of time. Morning was almost over, and with it would flee some of the tell-tale blossoms of an herb he yet needed to acquire.
Haku refused to be disheartened, and resolved to work faster. That being said, the shinobi in question continued his trek through the forest. He had little luck, but refused to abandon the search until something very orange caught his scouring eye. A person, perhaps?
A closer inspection revealed that the object was indeed a human being. Mud speckled the pallid face of a boy who couldn't be more than twelve years of age. The kid was a leaf ninja, but that didn't diminish or enhance his worth. In Haku's eyes, a human was a human. Nothing more; nothing less.
Compassion kicked into Haku's system immediately, and Zabuza was momentarily forgotten in favor of the young, blonde stranger.
Haku's delicate hands brushed over the boy in a short assessment, causing the orange-clad adolescent to mutter like one asleep.
The examination halted when Naruto's midriff was exposed, a bloody bandage covered in dirt. Grimacing at the new discovery, the well-meaning hand tensed. Whoever was responsible for the boy was a bad person. There was a reason bandages were changed regularly; infections can very quickly become deadly. With that thought in mind, Haku swiftly ripped the tainted gauze off his unofficial patient's torso.
Naruto woke up screaming. Even the ever-calm Haku resorted to wincing at the sudden arousal(in the old English way, not the perverted way) of the genin. The skin under the bandage was bloody and raw, but before Haku could get a close look at it, the orange jacket was closed by the now-alert Uzumaki.
"That hurt!" came the blonde's rasping voice, cracked with dehydration from sleeping for eighteen hours straight. His eyes took their time in focusing, but he could only feign surprise when the familiar silhouette of Haku blocked his few of the forest canopy. The situation suddenly became awkward. Well, more so than it could have been if Naruto had planned better.
"You're awake, I see." Haku took the first move, which was to Naruto's relief. The alto voice that was not distinctly male or female was soothing to the ear when compared to his own. "What are you doing out here?"
"Training, miss! I am going to become really powerful, you'll see!" he replied, once again opting to address Haku as a female. He couldn't help it, really. Nearly everything about the Mist ninja's aura screamed 'femme'. In truth, when Haku had confessed to being male, the hokage-wannabe had felt crushed. It was a silly thing that only lasted five minutes, but all the same, he REALLY wished Haku was a girl for both of their sakes.
"Why do fight to become stronger?" the gentle voice questioned, a repeat of Naruto's memories.
Unlike the last time Haku had asked that question, the current Naruto needed no elaboration.
"I have someone special I want to protect." Naruto answered firmly, earning a smile from his fated opponent.
"That's very admirable." Haku commented, standing up and looking at the forest floor in disdain.
"Do you need help, miss?" Naruto asked, earnestly wanting to assist Haku once again. Perhaps the other shinobi noticed this, because he nodded an explained the plant he was looking for in exquisite detail.
The next hour Naruto spent was employed with searching for the elusive(and by this time, flowerless) herb. When he finally located it, he quickly handed it to Haku's outstretched hand and grinned widely.
"Anything else you need?" he asked, absorbed in the strange euphoria he gained from helping people. Haku, in turn, smiled again and shook his elegant head slowly.
"I must leave now, leaf ninja. You will become strong."
Naruto positively beamed when he addressed Haku again. "My name isn't 'leaf ninja', miss. It's Naruto."
"Naruto is a good name." the mist ninja said absently, nodding .
"What's yours?" Naruto then asked, wondering if the other kid would even reply. True to his assumption, Haku did not acknowledge the inquiry, and started walking off to make the salve for Zabuza. There were a few seconds where Naruto didn't know whether or not Haku was going to drop his parting bombshell.
"By the way, I'm a boy." the words did come before Haku was out of sight, and Naruto was again left alone wondering how a boy so feminine could exist.
Author's note: Bleh. Dangnabbit. I lost three hours on this sucker.