The next day, Naruto was sleeping on the ground. A bird was standing on his forehead protector while two more were standing on his body.
While he was sleeping, he had created a group of Clones working on perfecting his water walking and he created another to be working on perfecting several basic taijutsu stances so that he could merge them to create his own unique style.
Not far away from him, there was a woman picking up flowers and herbs before putting them into a basket.
That woman was Haku and she was wearing a completely different outfit. She wore her long hair loosely, and wore a pink, sleeveless kimono, with pale red edges and decorated with small plum-coloured swirls, that went to her ankles. Around her waist was a simple white obi tied in a bow, and she wore a pair of light brown sandals with dark straps. She also wore a dark-coloured choker around her neck.
A bird landed on Haku's shoulder as she smiled at it. "Chu~!" She kissed the bird gently before it chirped happily and flew away from her. Haku giggled before noticing Naruto.
"Oh!" She widened her eyes, remembering who he was when she was observing Zabuza fighting Team 7 while waiting for her chance to fool them.
'He's the one who stabbed Zabuza-san.' Her breath hitched, wondering what should be done. This was her chance to get rid of him so that Zabuza could have an easier time dealing with the rest of the Konoha Shinobi.
She walked towards Naruto silently before kneeling beside him. The blonde had tears in his clothing, showing off the blonde's muscular figure underneath.
His figure surprised Haku who gulped. 'He's even more muscular than Zabuza-san. What kind of training did he put himself through?' She wondered before reaching her hand to the blonde's throat.
The boy was a hindrance to Zabuza's plan. The best option would be to remove him before he could cause a problem.
Suddenly, Naruto grabbed Haku's hand, making her widen her eyes in shock. 'How!? I didn't even make a sound!' She thought as Naruto slowly opened his eyes and rubbed them.
The answer to her question was that Naruto has an enhanced sense of smell and hearing which was even better than the Inuzuka Clan due to the Kyuubi.
Naruto groaned as he looked at her. Haku quickly put up a fake smile. "Sorry for scaring you like this, but you'll catch a cold if you sleep out here." Haku explained. Naruto grunted as he sat up and got a good look at Haku.
" Hey, are you an angel? " Naruto asked while rubbing his sleepy eyes. Haku blushed at being called an angel.
"I'm afraid not. If I was, you would have to be dead in order for us to meet." Haku replied. Naruto blinked as his vision cleared up. He looked away from her and yawned loudly.
He turned back to look at Haku who was smiling kindly at him. Naruto was instantly attracted to her smile.
He blushed a bit while staring into her large dark brown eyes, "Um…sorry miss. A slip of the tongue." He apologized, unsure what to say next to the 'angel' in front of him.
Haku giggled a bit, "That's perfectly alright. Though, you should be more careful, if you stay out here all night long you may catch a cold and die. Then you really would be seeing angels." She advised him. Naruto hummed.
" I bet they aren't as beautiful as you though." He commented but this time it was not a slip of the tongue. His words made Haku blush again. Naruto then raised an eyebrow at her.
"What about you? What are you doing out here? It's dangerous y'know, there's wild animals and everything." Naruto asked her. Haku smiled and lifted the basket she was holding.
" I'm picking some herbs for my…friend who got injured a while ago. I'm gathering these to help in his recovery. My name is Haku by the way." She explained to him. Naruto grinned at her as he stood up.
"Well I'm Uzumaki Naruto!! And I think you're really kind, Haku! Do you need any help picking them? Just point em out and I'll go get them. " Naruto offered his assistance. Haku nodded.
" That would be nice." She replied as Naruto created a Shadow Clone. Haku looked at him curiously.
"It's a Shadow Clone. Ninja stuff." Naruto explained nonchalantly. Haku nodded at the explanation and, feeling this would be an opportunity to gain some insight into Zabuza's enemies the fake hunter decided to start a conversation.
"So you're a ninja?"
Naruto grinned and nodded at her question. "Yeah! What gave it away? " Naruto replied enthusiastically.
" Your headband, that and the clone you just made. You're pretty incredible, becoming a Shinobi at such a young age. Why did you decide to become a Shinobi? " Haku asked him. Naruto paused as he grabbed a herb. He shook his head and pulled it out while thinking of an answer at the same time.
"I became a Shinobi so that I could gain the respect of my village through my actions! I plan on becoming the greatest Hokage to ever exist in the elemental nations!!" Naruto declared confidently.
Haku raised an eyebrow as Naruto jumped to his feet and pumped his fists into the air. "I see..... That's quite a grand dream.....so what's a ninja doing out this early in the morning. "Haku continued to ask.
" Training!" He answered enthusiastically. After all, destroying several hundred copies of one's self counts as training, right?
Haku noticed the obvious lie but let it slide. "So why are you training?" She asked him.
"To become strong to protect my precious people and to become Hokage! Believe it!!" He declared confidently.
" You seem pretty strong now. "
" Nah, my current strength is not enough for me to become Hokage. I want to become the greatest after all!"
"Are you doing this for someone else? Or yourself?" Haku asked. Naruto sat down and thought for it.
"Uh....." Was the only reply he could give her while scratching the back of his head. Haku noticed his confused look and covered a hand to her mouth as she released a giggle.
"Hey! What's so funny?!" Naruto asked while having an embarrassed blush on his face. Haku smiled at him.
"Oh nothing. So do you have someone who is important to you? When a person has something important to protect, that's when they become truly strong." Haku asked him while remembering the day Zabuza had come and gave her a purpose.
Naruto smiled. "I know exactly what you mean." Naruto replied to her, remembering the precious people in his life. They were all people who he had grown close to. He would easily fight to protect them, even give his life.
"You'll get strong, I can tell." Haku muttered before standing up. She smiled at him.
"By the way, I'm a boy." Haku suddenly revealed with a smile on her face, making Naruto freeze in his spot. Naruto felt like he wanted to vomit.
'Oh fuck fuck fuck!!!! I just called a boy an angel—' Naruto widened his eyes as he picked up Haku's scent as she was walking away.
"Hey! You're lying!" Naruto shouted at her. Haku froze and looked back at him. Naruto walked towards her with a grin on his face.
"You almost had me there Haku, there is no way you can be a guy. Unless you're a guy at heart. " Naruto whispered the last sentence to himself as Haku remained calm and raised an eyebrow at him.
" Oh? What makes you say that?"
"First of all, you don't have an Adam's apple like I do." Naruto stated, knowing that was one of the difference between the body of a male and female.
"Second, you're far too pretty to be a man!" Naruto grinned, making Haku blush at his compliment.
"And finally, no self respecting man would ever smell like flowers." Naruto added.
" I... see.... " Haku whispered, too surprised that Naruto called her out that quickly. A part of her mind was trying to come up with an excuse for posing as a boy.
"Maybe this is a stretch, but I'm assuming you're posing as a boy because of Gato?" Naruto asked, Haku nodded at him, relaxing as the blonde unknowingly gave her a cover story.
"Yes, Gato's men have been known to do things that were less than savory to women that they catch alone." Haku explained. Naruto nodded.
" Yeah I could imagine that trash who already works for a scumbag like Gato would do...things like that. " Naruto then pointed at himself before grinning broadly at her.
" I know! Why don't I escort you home? That way if any of Gato's goons even try to touch you, I'll beat the shit out of them! " Naruto offered. Haku giggled at the blondes kindness but grew worried as she tried to find a way out of this situation.
"That's ok, please do not concern yourself with me. I have been evading Gato's men in the morning ever since he came here. " Haku replied, making Naruto slump down as he got rejected.
He perked up again after a few seconds. Looking up he saw Haku walking away again. "Wait!" He called out as he ran to catch up with her.
"Yes?" Haku asked as she turned around, wondering what the blonde haired Shinobi would want this time.
"Umm.... Well if it isn't too much of a problem.... I want wondering if I could you know.... maybe see you again tomorrow??? "
Haku bit her lip as she was presented with this new dilemma. On the one hand this would be a good opportunity to learn more about Zabuza's enemy.
On the other hand, she would be playing with a young boy's heart, someone who for some odd reason reminded her of herself. However, her desire to help Zabuza overrode her desire to keep the young blond from being heartbroken.
"I can do that. What time would you like me to meet you!" Haku asked him as her stomach churned a bit.
"How about 7:00 tomorrow morning?" Naruto suggested with a smile, relieved that she had not turned him down.
"Ok, I'll meet you here tomorrow at 7. See you tomorrow. " Haku gave him a small bow. Before she left, she gave Naruto a warm smile. Her smile sent an arrow that had a heart at the tip through his heart.
When Haku was gone, Naruto sighed to himself before realizing something.
"Wait, why does she have a lot of chakra?"
To be continued...