Even though I don't feel it necessary to say this, I don't own Naruto. Damn, that's disappointing. Imagine the money!

Just to get this outta the way, no harem.

I'm just warning you all now, the first couple of chapters have noticeable characterization problems along with being generally lower quality, it's a problem but I do get better. I think I do anyway... I would rewrite them, but to be honest with you guys I can't really be bothered.

I know many of you - like me - sometimes search stories based on Kekkei Genkai or pairings, so the summary now somewhat spoils the reveal of the Shōton. I realized that many of you would find the story a lot more interesting with such an uncommon bloodline, which I have resolved to make awesome.

Chapter 1: The Small Change

-Start-

The mission to Wave country. That was the beginning of a tale that would be told for generations; the start of a legend. However, what if that mission had ended a little differently, how much would it change?

Better yet, would it be for the better, or for worse? Only time would tell.

The battle between Naruto, Sasuke and Zabuza's apprentice was not going well for the rookie genin. The masked missing-nin was playing around with them at this point, launching senbon after senbon at the two young ninja.

Sasuke, being unable to melt the mirrors and having just awakened the Sharingan was trying his hardest to use Naruto's clones as a way of blindsiding the masked ninja.

Naruto - in his typical fashion - just churned out clone after clone, hoping that it would get him somewhere.

Suffice it to say, it really wasn't.

However, Sasuke was doing his best in an otherwise terrible situation and was getting closer and closer with his uses of the Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu) by using the Sharingan's time slowing capabilities to track the ninja's assaults. Having noticed this, the masked ninja made a decision.

Take the bait out of play.

The bait - being Naruto and his endless supply of clones - was the obvious choice for turning this battle around. Without the clones, Sasuke's leverage of the situation disappears. But instead of Naruto, Sasuke is taken down.

This drives Naruto - in a fit of rage and sadness of losing his first friend - to call apon the power of his tenant, The Kyuubi. He makes quick work of the masked ninja after giving basically everyone a heart attack by releasing the malevolent chakra of the Kyuubi.

After punching the masked ninja through the mirrors, Naruto goes for a finishing blow, however something happens that he does not expect; The mask had fallen away after the blow, showing him none other than Haku. The 'boy' he met in the woods not too long ago.

This time around however he cannot stop his attack fully - his momentum too high and his surprise clouding his mind - so he strikes the boy with the least amount of force that he could, which knocks the boy out. He simple stares at the boy, wide eyed.

"But... why? Why were you so nice that day?" Naruto said quietly to himself as he tried to come to terms with what was happening. Then he begins to hear the sound of chirping birds, and looks over to see Zabuza pinned by a squad of... dogs? While his teacher, Kakashi Hatake, the copy ninja is holding a mass of writhing electricity in his palm. This was his signature jutsu. The Raikiri (Lightning Cutter).

"Your future... is death!" Kakashi said, before running at Zabuza and impaling his hand through his heart. Zabuza's eyes widened and he let out a cry of pain before falling silent, the dogs immediately releasing him and poofing away. 'That... was disgusting.' Naruto thought while trying not to throw up. Who could blame him? His teacher's hand was in the guys chest!

Immediately clapping was heard, all eyes turned to see Gato and his army of thugs simply looking on at the ninja's fight.

"Well I guess the 'Great demon of the Mist' isn't so great after all..." Gato said smugly. "...good, wasn't planning on paying the guy anyway, this just makes everything easier for me!" At this everyone present narrowed their eyes, except Tazuna who looked a little worried. However, his thugs didn't get chance to attack, as a crossbow bolt landed in front of them.

Everyone turned to see Inari and the villagers at the other end of the bridge, armed with whatever weapons they could find. Naruto smirked at this. 'Seems the kid has courage after all.' He though. Naruto then proceeded to make an army of clones while Kakashi readied himself for another fight.

It was a very disappointing fight, Gato's men fought like brainless fools expecting the first slice to end it all. This made it rather easy for the ninja who simply knocked them all out while Kakashi killed Gato with another Raikiri, and with him gone Wave's freedom was returned.

The Konoha shinobi promptly made their way back to Tazuna's house. Sakura was able to wake up Sasuke, showing the enemy ninja had not actually killed him. They then bound said ninja in rope and took him with them. They then all had a well deserved rest while the young blond contemplated the events of the day.

'Was everything we spoke about in the woods just an act so that he could find out about my team, or was he planning on quickly getting rid of me if he had the chance? Or maybe... he was sincere.' These weren't the only thoughts going through the blond's head. He was known to be a little dumb, but he wasn't a complete moron, his brain was indeed functional.

So they all slept the day off, knowing that tomorrow they would have to deal with the building of the bridge again, along with having a little chat with their 'guest' Naruto however wanted this more than the rest of them for reasons they were not aware.

'I WILL figure out if he was sincere, no matter what it takes!' These were his last thoughts before he nodded off to sweet, sweet sleep.

-The Next Day-

Everyone awoke feeling a little stiff, the enemy ninja was still unconscious so they all decided to have a nice morning before the less pleasant activity of the day began. Interrogation never was a fun job.

Somewhere in Konoha a very scarred man felt the need to knock some sense into someone for reasons he didn't understand.

Naruto made his way into the kitchen and saw Tsunami making breakfast and smiled. She was such a kind hearted person, not like the Konoha population 'No need to be bitter, let's just enjoy the time we have here...' he thought a little glumly.

"Good morning!" Naruto said cheerfully, as Tsunami turned to him.

"Ah good morning to you too Naruto, how was your rest?" She replied with a smile. Naruto yawned a little before answering.

"It was great, after all that action yesterday it felt great to just rest you know?" He then saw his teammates at the table along with his sensei. So his thoughts returned to their prisoner, but he'd deal with that after breakfast.

After a nice quite morning Naruto finally piped up "So Kakashi-sensei what are we gonna do about that guy?" He asked with a small frown, not liking the possibility that his new friend could've been playing him for a fool.

"Well Naruto..." Kakaski began "...we don't really have to do anything I suppose, he isn't technically our enemy anymore, but we need to ensure that he won't go into a rage over Zabuza's death so we need to play this carefully." He finished with a very business like attitude that the rookies were a bit taken aback by, Kakashi could be serious?

"Fair enough Sensei" He replied, while Sasuke started to grin a little, maybe he could test some Sharingan Genjutsu on their prisoner.

"Kakashi..." Sasuke began. "...if we need to interrogate the guy, I want to try out my Sharingan on him." Meanwhile Kakashi simply sighed, Sasuke couldn't just stay out of it could he?

"Sasuke, simply awakening the Sharingan doesn't mean you have access to all it's powers, give yourself chance to train it a little ne?" He replied, while Sasuke simply scowled and went back to his brooding, while Sakura fawning over him. 'I really need to train that out of them' thought Kakashi with hidden exasperation.

Naruto then turned to address Sasuke about his 'death', thinking it best to be honest rather than continuing their silly feud. "Hey uh, Sasuke?" He said, to which Sasuke looked at him with a single brow raised. Naruto took this as a sign to continue. "I'm... uh... I'm glad you weren't killed on the bridge. We may not act it, but I do think of you as a friend." He said a little nervously. During the mission the two had seemed to become closer, but neither went as far as to mention 'friendship' to the other. He was a little worried Sasuke would just scoff and call him a 'Dobe'.

"Like that guy could kill me Dobe." He said, to which Naruto simply lowered his head. Sasuke, however was simply using this bravado to ease into the more unfamiliar thing he was about to be. Nice... ish. " But... Thank you... Naruto." He said, having to grit his teeth to say Naruto instead of Dobe. Naruto immediately cheered up at this, maybe it was a sign that the day would end well.

Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. She didn't hate Naruto anymore, but she was shocked Sasuke could be so nice, hell the guy barely spoke to either of them. Maybe they required a trial by fire to kick-start their friendship. A trial by fire she wasn't a part of. She sighed, wondering when she could get the attention of her Sasuke-kun. She would need to be there next time, maybe she should train a little?

Naruto decided to address his other teammate. "So Sakura, how are you doing about this? Seeing death isn't easy. I almost threw up seeing Kakashi kill Zabuza." He said. She simply looked at him and blinked, he could speak to her without being annoying? Nah, he was probably deep in thought about seeing that boy again, since he'd told them they'd met once before. Kakashi then scolded him about not telling them, but honestly could they blame him? The guy was so... Normal... in the forest. Not to mention Naruto was a rookie genin, he'd hardly notice something so... well hidden.

"Well... I'm doing okay, I guess. I don't think I'll sleep right for a while though, that was a pretty exhausting day." She said. Then she remembered something, something very important. "Naruto." She said with a hint of fear. "What... what was that power you used on the bridge?" She said with apprehension. Naruto raised an eyebrow, until he remembered what they were talking about. He was trying his hardest to come up with an excuse.

Kakashi was mentally leaping at the friendly interaction of his team. Alas all good things must come to an end and when the Kyuubi came to attention it was usually that time. So he needed to cut this short. "How about we pay our little guest a visit, ne?" He said quickly, not giving anyone chance to say no. All the genin walked with him, but Sakura made a mental note to continue this at some point.

-Later That Day-

Haku was not having a good time, no first the blond boy goes into a fit of rage and releases unbelievably powerful - and evil - red chakra and beats him outright. Then he was knocked out. He had no idea what happened to Zabuza or if he was even alive. Not to mention he was a prisoner. Who knows what they planned to do to him?

Then his heart sank. What if Zabuza was dead? What could he do without his master, he was never made to do anything himself. The only serious decision he ever made was to go with Zabuza and now that he was dead he had no purpose. 'Maybe I can just get them to kill me and get it over with...' He thought sadly.

Though, all this time alone in the room gave him plenty of time to think about things, which made him think 'Do I need to die? I have freedom now, freedom to do as I wish. Can I really put that as a positive though? I've... never had complete freedom, I don't know what to do... ' Haku thought, as his thoughts trailed back to the blond boy he met in the forest a few days before the battle of the bridge, the one responsible for him being taken out of the fight.

He sighed. What would Naruto think of him after he tried to kill him and his friend, the Uchiha? Haku legitimately liked the boy since he was honest and had a very positive goal, despite all the sadness and loneliness he saw in the blonds eyes. In a way, they were the same, it seemed.

His musing were finally stopped when the entirety of Team 7 entered the room with various expressions. Kakashi seemed neutral, Sakura was a little fearful of the one who could defeat 'her Sasuke-kun' and Sasuke was brooding. However it was the blond's expression which truly made him upset.

He looked betrayed, hurt by the fact that the one he spoke with so casually was actually someone who was planning to kill them. Though he couldn't help but think about the way Sasuke was spared, despite everything. This brought a little hope to his clouded mind.

The silence was palpable, which Kakashi decided was enough and began to speak. "So, let's talk shall we?" His only response was Haku looking up at him and inclining his head slightly.

"Alright then, let's start with names. My name is Kakashi Hatake, and you are?" He spoke cheerfully, despite the fact that this was - for all intents and purposes - an interrogation.

"My name is Haku Yuki. I am the last of the Yuki clan." He spoke with little emotion, something Kakashi could easily connect to the fact that Zabuza was dead.

"Well I didn't ask about your clan status, but I'm pleased you're being so co-operative..." He said "...now then since your friend Zabuza is dead, what do you intend to do? We can't actually accuse you of anything other than assault since you are neither a missing nin nor have you killed anyone." He continued in a serious voice.

"I... I don't know, Zabuza's goals were my life. I am little more than a broken tool..." He said sadly, looking crestfallen, with a few tears welling up at the confirmation on his masters death. Then he began to cry. Team 7 gave him some time to calm down before continuing.

Well they WOULD have, if Naruto wasn't there.

Naruto couldn't take the way he thought of himself and decided it was his time to get involved. "What do you mean just a tool? You are a ninja, a human being! If that's all that guy thought of you as then there was no point of helping the jerk!" He said with anger leaking out. Haku hearing this let out a small laugh, though it was more bitter than cheerful.

"That may be, but what would you do if you had only one precious person? Would you do anything to help them, to get them to achieve their dreams? That was exactly what my goal was for Zabuza-sama." He replied, again almost emotionless. Kakashi decided to butt in before Naruto threw a tantrum.

"Alright, well that's good and all but we still don't know if you are safe to release. So until the bridge is complete you will be our 'guest' so to speak. After that you can do as you please, since you clearly were just following orders." Kakashi spoke, knowing that everything said was true by examining the conversation with his Sharingan.

The other two members of Team 7 were surprisingly indifferent. Sasuke was disappointed he couldn't use his Dojutsu to interrogate the guy while Sakura was silently fawning.

"If that is what must be done, so be it." Haku spoke with finality. Kakashi nodded at this, slightly glad the boy was so broken since it made his job here so much easier. He then untied Haku and allowed him to go and clean himself of all the filth accumulated during the fight.

After a while, he emerged and went downstairs. Tazuna's family, not realizing what went on during the boy and Team 7 had a silent heart attack thinking he was going to finish what Zabuza started, but were surprised when he silently sat down and did nothing. Oh and I mean nothing, he sat there near motionless. Like a statue. A creepy, mentally broken statue.

This was the sight Naruto arrived too after coming back from some light training with tree climbing, since he was trying to further hone his chakra control. Seeing Haku in this state made it easier to approach the boy, since he knew how loneliness felt. He sat down next to boy and took a few moments to compose his thought, not wanted to get upset over potentially nothing.

"So..." He began "...was any of it real? Was our conversation just a convenient lie to get away without making me see who you really were?" He said softly, not really wanting the answer, but steeling himself for it when it came.

"Yes it was. I could see we were the same. I saw it in your eyes, the loneliness and the pain and it made me happy to see another who had shared those feelings so I couldn't help but interact with you." Haku replied. Naruto let out a genuine smile at this. He was thrilled that the boy hadn't just been lying to him.

"That's a relief, I was afraid you were just lying to me or something. So what are you going to do when we finish the bridge? You can't exactly just wander, it's not really safe to do that." Naruto replied, never losing his smile.

"I still don't know. I have never really made my own decisions Naruto. I have been following Zabuza-sama's orders to the letter my whole life since... since the incident" Haku said, flinching slightly at the last part. Bringing up his past was never the easiest thing for him. He had major family issues.

"Do you... want to talk about it?" Naruto replied nervously. He didn't exactly want to drive the boy away by bringing up a topic he didn't want to discuss, but his curiosity got the better of him. Haku thought about this for a second, weighing the options. 'I think I should talk about this, to finally let it go.' He thought.

"Y...Yes. However could we speak somewhere more private? This isn't easy to speak about." He said, clearly apprehensive about doing so.

"That's fine Haku, let's go up into the room." Naruto replied softly. He wasn't exactly clever but if there was one thing he understood it was a painful past experience. Hell, he had a pretty damn good chance of beating most sob stories.

"Thank you, lead the way." Haku stated. Naruto nodded leading him upstairs and into his temporary sleeping quarters. They then sat down in an uncomfortable silent while Haku mentally prepared himself for the story he was about to tell for the first time. He didn't even bother telling it to Zabuza, knowing his past meant little to the man.

"My Kaa-san was a member of the Yuki clan, like I was. However in Water country the current Mizukage declared Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit(s)) to be impure, or evil. I can't remember the specifics of why he did it, but he did. My Kaa-san didn't want to be killed for something she had no control over so she kept it hidden, never showing it to the world. After a while she met my father and settled down with him, eventually leading to my birth." He recalled happily, this was the good part of her early life so she had no issue telling this part.

"My early life was very good. My Kaa-san and Tou-san were nice people. We weren't rich or anything but we could live comfortably. However... that all changed when I awoke my Kekkei Genkai." Haku said. Naruto could immediately tell where this was going and so steeled himself for the tragic end.

"I used my Hyoton powers carelessly. I wasn't even aware it was a Kekkei Genkai. At that age I knew little about the shinobi world. My Kaa-san saw that and slapped me across the face, something she NEVER did unless it was extremely serious. She yelled at me never to use it again, but my Tou-san... saw everything." He continued, barely containing his anguish.

"My... my Tou-san... he... he killed my Kaa-san, something to do with demonic bloodlines or something. I wasn't really listening, I was far too afraid. He came at me with tears running down his face. I don't think he really wanted to do it. He was likely told by his friends that they'd report his family. So I did the only thing I could, unconsciously channeling my Hyoton powers and... I killed everyone in the house... I had no... choice." He said, no longer containing the tears. Naruto couldn't help but hug the poor boy. He noticed something though. Haku's chest did not seem like something a guy should have.

'OH MY GOD HE'S A SHE!' He exclaimed mentally. Though honestly he was cheering, glad that he wasn't hugging a guy. He could bring this up after the boy.. no girl... finished her story.

"So then... I just went away, scrounging food wherever I could and just trying to stay alive. Then when I had sat down of a bridge one day a masked ninja came up to me. He offered me a place at his side, as a tool. That man was Zabuza-sama. From then on I simply did as he required and helped him however I could. I had a purpose. Then this all happened. Now I have nobody again!" She finished crying again. Naruto couldn't help but comfort the girl.

"It's all right Haku. If you want, I'll be your precious person. I'll be your friend." He replied soothingly. Haku could do little but widen her eyes. 'I tried to harm his friends and the bridge building. I tried to break his will within the mirrors. I did all that and... he wants to be my friend?' She thought, frantically trying to make sense of this.

"You... what? You want to be my friend?" After a quick nod, she couldn't hold back her confusion. "Why?!" She all but screamed. "I've done nothing but harm your team since you got here! I attacked your friend, the Uchiha. I could have killed him, and allowed the death of your sensei and your other teammate!" She said. Naruto just smiled up at her though, since she had risen to her feet in her rant.

"That's not true. Did Zabuza make you speak to me in the forest? Did Zabuza tell you to take non-lethal shots on Sasuke? That was all you Haku. You are a good person with an unhappy life." She couldn't hold back the tears with these words, jumping at him and hugging him fiercely.

"Thank you!" She repeated like a manta. Naruto was happy that she was comfortable enough around him to run her emotions like she was. Then again, the topic isn't exactly easy to speak about.

"You're welcome Haku...chan" He said unconsciously. Then both he and Haku realized what she said and she jumped back with a cute 'Eep!' and looked at him with a small blush while covering her mouth.

"Wha..What did you say?" She spoke slightly nervous. She wasn't expecting such a term of affection. 'Wait a minute... that was the female term!' She exclaimed mentally. Did he know?! Her eyes widened for a moment before returning to normal. 'Why should I care, I have no orders to hide it anymore.' She thought happily while a small smile formed.

"Nevermind..." She said "...thank you again Naruto...kun." She said somewhat nervously. She didn't know how he'd react to being called that. All fears were erased when a huge smile greeted her words and he just sat there looking in her direction.

"No problem Haku-chan!" He spoke cheerfully. Haku simply returned the smile and they went back downstairs, unknowing of what just began. A Legendary partnership had been started.

-After the Bridge's Completion-

The rest of the week went smoothly. The Team - along with Haku, who was surprisingly cheery - guarded Tazuna and his men while they constructed the bridge. It wasn't really like they needed to but it made the village feel safer having it's heroes overlooking them. They had no issue guarding the bridge since it was an excuse to do nothing for the rest of the week.

Naruto and the girl had gotten a little closer over the week, since due to the fact Sasuke would still brood and train while Sakura fawned and... did little else Naruto didn't really have anyone to talk to but Kakashi, and his sensei still scared him a little after the fiasco with his Raikiri. Haku and Naruto just chatted a little and got to know the other a little. The week did wonders to cure Haku's sadness over losing Zabuza, she was now aware what the man never offered her. She never felt wanted with him... but now she was beginning to understand how it felt again.

Now that the bridge was done Team 7, Haku and the villagers were standing at its end. Team 7 was preparing to return to the Leaf Village and the villagers of the town were seeing them off. There was one other matter of business left, however. Kakashi felt it necessary to sort it out as quick as possible.

"So Haku what do you intend to do now?" He spoke seriously, his tone commanding respect. Again, the genin gaped at their teacher not being a silly, perverted time-waster. Haku sighed, she was dreading this. Before she could speak however Naruto spoke with a loud and happy tone.

"She's coming to the Leaf with us of course!" He said. Team 7 were surprised by this, but mostly by the word 'she'. He'd neglected to mention that little development of course. Kakashi coming out of his stupor decided to clear this up.

"What do you mean she's coming with us? More importantly, what do you mean by 'She'?" He said. Naruto blinked multiple times before realizing he hadn't said anything and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oops, forgot to mention that did I?" He said, earning nods all around. "And obviously I said she's coming with us because she is! Right Haku-chan?" He said. Looking at the newly discovered girl they could all tell she was in an internal struggle - except Naruto, being oblivious as he is - and all waited for HER answer.

"Well... I..." She said. 'What if they hate me for my Kekkei Genkai there? What if I'm treated like an outcast again?' Her thoughts raged on before she composed herself and continued. "Would they... hate me there?" She said meekly. Naruto was a little confused and decided to put his questions to rest.

"Why would they hate you? It isn't like your a... Oh." He said, remembering her childhood. "They wouldn't hate you Haku-chan, Konoha loves Kekkei Genkai. It would be the opposite of Mizu no Kuni (Land of Water), I promise." He said calmly, not needing to explain what happened to her to his team since Kakashi pieced it together immediately. Haku still looked unsure but decided nothing could come from inaction.

"OK... I'll go to the Leaf Village with you." She said with a small smile. That in turn caused Naruto to smile, not going unnoticed by Kakashi. He simply decided to ask about it later though and they went on their way.

-Near the Leaf Village-

The travel from Wave to the Leaf Village was peaceful. Serene, even. It was mostly a silent trip, but not uncomfortable. Haku was thrilled and frightened at the same time at the prospect of living in the Leaf, Naruto was ecstatic about his new friend coming with them, Kakashi was enjoying his book, Sasuke was enjoying his brooding and Sakura was fawning over said Uchiha. All in all it was a pretty nice trip.

Near the Leaf Village Haku decided to break the silence. "So what's the village like anyways?" She said calmly. Kakashi decided to answer before Naruto could get into a rant.

"Oh it's a very lively village, not like the other great villages. It's always calm with a happy air around it. You'll probably love it." He said but finished with another sentence in his mind. 'If the Sandaime lets you in that is. Oh who am I kidding, Naruto will vouch for her and the Sandaime can't turn Naruto down." He thought with a small chuckle.

They finally arrived at the village gates and they all just waited for Haku to finish taking in the sights when Naruto said. "Welcome to the Leaf Haku-chan!"

-End-

Well, that was something. I have little to no experience with writing stories so feel free to leave criticisms, but I will completely ignore flames. I don't have time for that crap. I don't really have a schedule but I don't really have much to do so expect it regularly. The latest should be every fortnight. Any later than that and feel free to kick my ass.

Hope you guys (and girls) enjoyed the first chapter.

LiamMorg. Out.

Ja Ne!