Myst and Leaves

by Wanderer D

AN: I've always wanted to write a Naruto fic... especially if it involves Haku! Tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan-fiction. Written by a fan, for fans. No infringement is intended, all characters belong to their respective creators/license holders.

Chapter 1

Life changes in seconds.

She had heard once that moving faster and faster would let you escape time since everything else moved so much slower. Seconds could stretch to minutes, minutes to hours... And it seemed to her, at the start of the fight that it was true. She could see ALL their movements in slow motion. Every twitch of a shoulder betraying a punch, a flicker of the eye warning her of a hasty feint.

The life of a shinobi was not easy. The life of a kunoichi less so. But the life of a tool... it was simple. It lived as long as it was useful. Tools were to be discarded once they couldn't serve their purpose. Even swords, if they broke, had to be almost melted into a new thing altogether before becoming the tool they should be.

She was a tool. A willing, loving, feeling tool. Breathing, growing... but now her purpose was coming to an end.

The young shinobi, Naruto, had exploded in a strange red chakra; freeing himself and the Uchiha from her mirrors. Part of this failure was her own fault for underestimating Konoha shinobi. And thinking she could spare them both.

Now, as she struggled to move faster than ever before, she merged into her ice mirror. The world slowed down, like it always did, but she could see the Copy Ninja Kakashi moving faster still. He was so fast even teleporting she could just stand between his attack and her master.

o.0.o

Naruto watched horrified as Kakashi's Chidori pierced Haku's chest. One second the Mist ninja had been standing in front of him, the next he was taking a deadly attack to allow Zabuza to live. Naruto felt his stomach grow cold as if it had been dunked in icy water.

"This can't be happening!" he thought furiously as he ran towards the falling ninja. He was vaguely aware that he was screaming Haku's name.

o.0.o

Red eyelids slowly opened revealing eyes the size of a standing adult human. They gazed into darkness as it felt its chakra flare. The Kyubi growled and tried to suppress the sudden absorption of chakra, but to his surprise found that he couldn't. The infinitesimal amount of respect he had towards his jailor grew considerably. It could only be the kit's willpower that was divesting him of the chakra.

The bijuu concentrated, trying to find out what the kit wanted his chakra for. It was bound to be amusing.

o.0.o

"Weren't you always together?!" Naruto screamed, desperation and anger coursing through his body. A slight red mist started to surround him. "Don't you feel anything at all?!"

Zabuza looked over his shoulder at Naruto. "Haku was a tool. I used him as Gatou used me. In the world of shinobi you can either use or be used. I wanted his blood. I have no regrets.

o.0.o

She knew she should be dead by now. She could see Gatou kicking her face as she lay there on a pool of her own blood. She felt absolute detachment from her dead body, but she could not leave either Naruto or Zabuza. She could hear every word her master said, and although logically she understood he was right, she couldn't help but feel a stabbing pain with each of his words. As Naruto kept screaming, more pain cursed through her soul. "Why am I still here?"

o.0.o

Naruto pointed an acussing finger at Zabuza. "You are still my enemy!" His gaze shifted to Haku's dead body. "He really loved you! Enough to sacrifice himself for you! He loved you that much! He threw away his dreams! He died as a tool!"

As the red chakra intensified and Kakashi took a step back, his eyes observing Naruto carefully.

"Tell me!" Naruto fought a loosing battle with his tears. "If I become as strong as you are, will I also become like you?" his chakra exploded. "It isn't supposed to be like this!"

o.0.o

Haku listened to the argument with a small smile. "Master, even now that I am dead and secrets don't matter, you honor me by hiding my true gender as was my wish." When she looked up she saw that tears were starting to fall from Zabuza's eyes.

It was then that Naruto's chakra exploded and she was washed in the red spiraling mist. She felt herself being pulled away. "No! Master! Zabuza-sama!" she tried to hold on to him, only for her hand to pass right through him. "Please! I don't want to leave you! I want to live!"

A sudden growl stopped her screaming. It was dark, although she could still feel herself spinning. A voice, cold and condescending, crackling like flames and strong as thunder echoed around her.

"So you are the one he wants to save." the voice said. "You are young, but potentially powerful... for a human."

"What his happening?!" Haku asked the darkness.

"What is it that you want?"

"I want to protect the people important to me... I want to work with those people, I want to fight for them... I want to make their dreams come true... That is my dream..." Haku found herself answering, repeating the words she had said to Naruto in the forest, just adding the hyperactive ninja as one of her precious people.

The voice snorted. "You have become a precious person to my jailor. You are lucky human, that he caught me unaware, because this will never happen again." the voice said with malice, "You have been given a second chance. Use it wisely."

"Wha..."

The sudden burst of light blinded her... and then she was standing outside a familiar house. She could not remember why it looked so familiar.

"Haku-chan!" a voice called behind her. She twisted around in shock, barely registering the voice, but completely aware that she knew it.

"M-mom..." Haku stared up at her mother, looking as young and alive as the last time she had seen her, just before...

Her mother knelt in front of her and held her close. "Don't cry, Haku-chan. I'm sorry I slapped you, but you must never, ever show anyone your power, okay? They wouldn't understand."

"M-mom..." Haku shook her head as she slowly hugged her mother back with as much strength as she could muster. She remember this... but then that meant...

Haku looked up to see the horrified face of her father slowly twist into hate. The man, for she could not call her father anymore, slowly stepped away. After a few seconds she could see him running towards the village.

A feeling of dread overcame her.

"Haku-chan? Are you okay? You're trembling..."

"Mom..." Haku reluctantly stepped back from the embrace. "We have to leave... father... he saw me use my power..." as she spoke, she remembered the strange voice... "Do we have family somewhere else?"

Her mother had gone absolutely pale. "I..." she shook her head. "I must speak with your father... I am sure I can explain... oh, Haku... wait here..."

"No! Mom! Wait!" Haku shouted as the woman stood up and ran towards the village.

o.0.o

Haku ran as fast as her short legs would allow. She didn't have enough chakra to create her mirrors; she barely had enough to create ice senbon. In mere minutes she was breathing hard and had to stop in the middle of the road.

Her heart beat was like a war-drum trapped within her chest, she wanted to go on, but her body was weak.

Desperately she tried to walk further and managed to do so at a crawling pace for a couple of miles, but finally, sheer will wasn't enough and she fell, face first.

"Oi, you okay kid?" a voice asked.

Struggling she turned to look at the man seating on the side of the road. She had been so concentrated on carrying on that she had barely paid any attention whatsoever to her surroundings. A big mistake for any shinobi.

The man was wearing a red coat, long spiky hair was held back by a forehead protector with the kanji for "oil" boldly written on it. He was sitting by the road, holding a notebook idly on one hand, a brush on the other. He seemed bored out of his mind.

"I heard there were some hot baths around here..." the man said, looking around at the mountains. "But all I've found is snow. You wouldn't know where they are?"

Haku looked at the man for a moment, studying him. "Are you a ninja?"

The man's eyes quickly changed mood, confirming Haku's suspicions. The man didn't answer, but he was concentrated completely on Haku now.

"I need help... I'm not strong enough..." Haku struggled to stand. "My mother is going to be killed... we have to stop them."

Haku's head spun and blots of black appeared in her vision, she felt herself begin to fall.

Next Chapter:

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"Who can you trust kid?"

"Only one person I know of..."

"I can't take you all the way there..."

Will there be a next chapter? Well, only you can tell me if it's worth reading! Leave a note!