Chapter 3

On the way home, Harī stopped by the market long enough to pick up fresh ingredients for a good home-cooked meal. He was sure the guys would appreciate it after the last few weeks of travel.

Arriving at the Kuro home, he stood watching the property for a few moments once he was past the point where the illusion projected by the protective wards vanished.

There was a small stretch of forest far to the right, a small pond in its middle and a small number of unusual plants growing freely in its shade. To the right stood a wooden barn-like structure with a big fenced area around it. In the middle of the property was the main house.

His father may have hated his family, but he had still grown up being rich. One of the first things he'd done upon arriving in Konoha was build them a home, one that had nothing to envy the other clan's compounds.

After his death, the big house had simply felt lonely to him, but now he was grateful for Sirius' taste as there was more than enough room for them all to live comfortably. He was sure the pond ―which was really more of a small lake― and the training grounds at least were going to be greatly appreciated.

He could clearly remember his younger self's incredulous looks at his father when he discovered some of the more eccentric things that, in true Black fashion, the man had brought with them.

But even as eccentric as the late Black Lord had been, nobody could deny he was also intelligent and talented, his pureblood upbringing not up to question. Those traits had aided him in his quest to protect that which he loved most: his godson.

All that hard work geared towards that sole objective had given as a result Kuro Harī, last member of Konoha's Kuro Clan.

A shout of 'Sora!' followed by a crash shook him out of his thoughts and he couldn't help but chuckle.

He doubted the Kuro compound would ever seem too big and silent ever again.

HPNHPNHPNHPN

"Did you each choose a bedroom?" asked Harī when they were finished eating.

The three boys nodded.

"We've also unpacked." Said Sora. "So what will we do today?"

Harī looked at them thoughtfully from where he was busy putting together a bento box.

"Well, I've got to see someone this afternoon, but I was thinking it's best if you familiarise yourselves with the village's layout first. At least enough that you won't get lost."

"So we're exploring?"

"If you want."

"Great!"

"Should we ask Uncle if he wishes to come?" inquired Haku, big brown eyes blinking up at him.

"You can try, but I doubt he'll be leaving the training grounds in what's left of the day. Here, take the bento to him if you're going to ask, please."

Haku nodded and went to take the bento, but Sora got impatient and grabbed it faster, hurrying to the door. Haku blinked before a small fond smile quirked his lips and he followed after the youngest boy.

"Aren't you going with them, Kimimaro-chan?"

"Later." Answered the white-haired child quietly. "I wanted to take a look at the forest outside first."

"I see." Smiled Harī. "There should be a book in the library to help you identify the plants there. Do you want it?"

"Please."

"Come on."

HPNHPNHPNHPN

When Naruto came across a pretty girl, not much older than him, looking a bit lost as she stared between two streets, he only hesitated a moment before approaching. After all, even as a genin shinobi now, he still wasn't all that liked amongst the villagers. Or the shinobi, for that matter. So when the girl accepted his help without a fuss and even thanked him, he was pleasantly surprised.

"So where did you want to go?"

"Uhm, I was thinking of visiting the market?" asked more than answered the girl. "I'm new to Konoha and I wanted to get to know it, so I thought the market might be a good place to start at."

Naruto nodded, understanding. That explained why she didn't seem to immediately hate him. His hope that they could perhaps become friends grew.

"Come on, then, I'll help you!" he exclaimed, suddenly excited at the idea. "I know all the important places to know!"

"I wouldn't want to bother you…"

"It's no bother, I'm happy to help. After all, one day I'm going to be the Hokage. It's only right that I help!"

When the girl didn't protest or even mock his dream, he was even gladder to have approached her. With a bright smile, he dragged her to her destination: Konoha's main market.

"It's very busy." She commented when he finished off listing each shop and what it sold. "I thought there would be less people at this hour."

"It's because the Chūnin Exams are coming up. A lot of shinobi from other villages are coming to compete." He explained trying to look wise as he did. "They're losing their time, though, because I'll kick their asses in the exam. It'll show them not to mess with Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!"

His shouting attracted a lot more attention than their presence already had and Naruto shrank back at some of the looks directed at him from the village people. Hate, disdain, indifference… He should be used to all the range of negative emotions, but instead he just hurt inside.

Looking at the black-haired girl, he saw she had noticed and tensed, but when she looked back at him there was only warmth in her eyes.

"I think I've seen enough of the market. What else do you think I should see?"

Naruto beamed at her before enthusiastically beginning to list off places, already leading her towards the Hokage Tower and out of the more populated area. He was grateful when she didn't comment.

"So you want to be Hokage?"

"Yes, that's my dream! But first I've gotta kick ass in the exam."

"Can I ask you a personal question?" she waited a moment for him to nod. "Why did you become a shinobi?"

"Why? Ah…"

Naruto frowned thoughtfully, giving the question the consideration it deserved. After his last mission, which was supposed to be a C-rank before it escalated to an A-rank, he had been asking himself that very question.

During the mission to protect the bridge builder Tazuna, they had been confronted by a missing nin from Ame. His team had, mostly thanks to Kakashi-sensei, managed to complete their mission, but it didn't change the fact that he had almost died. Still, when they got back to the village, nothing had changed. The village as a whole still hated him and he was mostly alone, the group of people he held dear pitifully small.

"I guess…" he started, stopping in the middle of the deserted street. "I guess I thought if I became a shinobi, people would grow to look past… well, maybe they would grow to respect me."

He expected to find her looking at him with pity, but instead there was only a kind of… understanding?

"Well, shinobi are strong, strong enough to protect the people that are precious to them, right? I don't particularly like hurting people, but I would do it in a heartbeat to protect those who are precious to me. I think that's what makes true shinobi strong." She said. "As long as you fight to protect those precious to you and don't give up on your dream, it doesn't matter what the people in the village think, right?"

Naruto blinked, thinking over her words. He had never thought of it like that and he didn't think he completely understood what she meant yet, but it made sense. Fighting to protect those he cared about… if only he had more of those…

Deciding to think about it in more depth later, he changed the topic.

"When did you arrive in Konoha?"

"This morning."

"Really? No wonder you looked so lost! Where did you live before?"

"Nowhere, really. My family travels a lot, so we moved places often."

"Oh, that's cool! You'll be leaving again soon?" he tried not to show his disappointment, but from the way she looked at him he thought she'd noticed.

"Not soon, no. What about you?"

"I've always lived in Konoha." Shrugged the blond. "I'd never left the village until my last mission."

As his new friend seemed interested, he happily launched into a retelling of his adventure in the Land of Waves.

"It sounds really interesting, but are you sure you should've told me all that? What if I was a spy sent to infiltrate the village?"

"But you aren't, are you?" the girl shook her head a little, seeming amused. "And it's not like that mission's a secret. Besides, you're too pretty to be a spy!"

The girl looked like she wasn't sure whether to laugh or get offended, but Naruto didn't give her time to decide, dragging her after him again.

"So these… Sasuke and Sakura, was it? They're your teammates?"

"Yeah! Sasuke-teme is… well, a teme, but he's… alright, I guess. He's not as awesome a shinobi as I, of course, but he's better than others. And Sakura-chan is smart, she always got the best grades in the Academy and…"

Naruto kept chattering away as he showed his new friend around the village, pointing out things like the Hokage Monument and the Academy whilst answering her questions to the best of his abilities, even telling her what little he remembered from his lessons about the foundation of the village.

He was about to ask her if she wanted to go eat a bowl of ramen with him ―the idea of her possibly not liking it never even crossing his mind― when they came across a commotion in a park.

The girl next to him sighed quietly, but Naruto was too busy trying to figure out the scene before him. The blond recognised Kiba and Akamaru and Chōji easily enough, but the boy they were in the midst of fighting looked totally unfamiliar. Off to the side stood Hinata and Shino.

"Err… what's going on?"

The boys all froze rather comically and Naruto fought hard not to laugh.

Chōji was sitting on the unknown boy's back, Kiba's right foot on his left cheek even as the boy himself was held in a chokehold by the downed boy. Meanwhile, the puppy was hanging off Chōji's right arm, his sharp little teeth biting down on the loose sleeve.

"N-Naruto. Hi." Greeted Hinata meekly, her cheeks burning red.

"Hi; so, why are you fighting?"

The boys all looked at each other before they all started to speak at the same time, Akamaru joining in with muffled high-pitched barks.

In the end, it appeared Chōji had stumbled upon the unfamiliar boy, who he learnt was called Sora, with the unfortunate luck of his food staining the front of the boy's clothes. Sora had gotten angry and made the mistake of calling him fat, which just got the ball rolling. Akamaru had wandered off from Kiba's team and into the park, where the fighting pair almost stepped on him. Cue in Kiba appearing just in time to see that and you get the scene Naruto and his new friend stumbled upon.

"Hi, Sora! Pleased to meet you! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!"

"Who's your friend?" asked Kiba tilting his head to the side, much like a curious puppy.

"Oh, yeah! Guys, this is- eh, ah…" the blond blushed and stammered, scratching the back of his head sheepishly and realising with horror that he hadn't asked for a name.

His new friend didn't seem bothered by it, smiling calmly and not at all put off, before answering herself.

"I'm Haku. Pleased to meet you all."

"Yeah." Sighed Naruto, relieved. "She's new in the village, so I was showing her around."

"Oh, that's nice of you, Naruto." Muttered Hinata.

However, Sora started to laugh, startling everyone. Naruto started to feel annoyed.

"What's gotten into you?"

"He's laughing. Why? Because you have confused Haku-kun's gender, of course." Explained Shino from where he had been standing quietly.

"W-what?"

Naruto looked at Haku and studied her. Heart-shaped face, with big hazel-brown eyes surrounded by dark eyelashes, small nose and pale skin. Long black hair reached past the slender shoulders, with two bangs framing the beautiful face on each side. A dark choker around the neck was the only obvious decoration, but the soft pink kimono with purple swirls was pretty enough already.

"I don't see what you mean."

"He means I am a boy." Said Haku.

Naruto wasn't the only one who looked at the girl, er, boy, in disbelief. He wouldn't have felt so bad for the mistake if it hadn't been about someone he was beginning to see as a friend.

"B-but it can't be! You're prettier than Sakura-chan!"

Sora was still laughing his ass off as Naruto blushed a deep red colour.

"Thank you." Said Haku, no change in his demeanour.

'At least he doesn't seem angry.' Thought the blond before joining in the laughter. Until Kiba called him an idiot for not noticing. Naruto opened his mouth to retort, but Sora was faster.

"As if you hadn't thought the same." He scoffed.

Kiba blushed even as he tried to protest, Akamaru sticking up for him even as he internally shook his head at his human. If Kiba's mum or sister heard of this, his boy would never hear the end of it.