A/N: This is the last and only disclaimer. I do not own Naruto. Please leave a review and check out my other works Exiled Sage and Unholy dimension. Your support keeps me writing. Without fans I am nothing. Less than nothing. Lower than trash. It is because you believe in my work that I continue. Please read. please write. And please enjoy. Indeed. Most of all enjoy the story. I live to serve.

-

She was born in a small snowy village high up in the lands of water. There was subtle beauty about snow. Each snow flake is precious; together they gathered together and blanketed the surface. Or at least that's what she remembered.

From her memory the land was not very rich, despite the fact that it had great potential. Fish, farming, good climate, well not really. All of it was there.

There was a lot of water there. Clean and clear. It had a delicate taste, no pollution, but there was always that coppery feeling in the water.

She asked a farmer once when she was a little girl why that was. They didn't answer her at first. But once she overheard someone say the water was the tears the Heavens cried for those that were slain there. Tears made of blood, from the corpses of friend and foe.

Water Country. It was a land that had suffered from war not long before, she didn't know who caused it or why it occurred, and for what purpose. It just did.

Rumors say it might have had something to do with the Mizukage. A man with Red eyes, spiraling into infinity. But even now she wasn't certain.

In this war, different sides battled each other using ninja, some of whom possessed kekkei genkai, blood limits.

Blood limits allowed shinobi to become something more than man. DNA infused into their bodies to let them exceed boundaries imposed upon homo sapiens. She didn't know how the blood limits came about; there were stories of advanced civilizations in the past infusing bits of genetic material from creatures they found.

There were stories about people making contracts with demons to get bloodlines. There were even tales of a being called the 6th Sage who long ago descended from the sky in a space ship to gift mankind with a power that would destroy them all.

But alas those were all rumors.

After the war ended, memories of the horrific battles still lingered in the minds of the people. Children being dragged out of homes, young girls raped in the streets crying and begging for them to stop.

Eyeballs pulled out of sockets, arms and fingers butchered out, legs sliced off. Veins being pulled out from circulatory systems.

Organs being stolen from the bodies of civilians, blood being drained out from creatures that were between man and beast. Summoned creatures devouring everyone and everything.

People with bones coming out of their flesh impaling everyone in sight. A clan of ice users freezing the tissues of anyone around them. Then breaking them apart and draining their liquid plasma into the earth.

A horrifying man with a giant sword, blue skin, and teeth that could break through bone.

So it really wasn't a big shocker when those with kekkei genkai quickly became feared and hated for their ability out of concern that their existence would only bring about more war. The country has seen enough war as is.

The sad part is the country would continue to see war in the near future. Was the place cursed she wondered? It might have been.

The sad part was the world in her opinion had been getting worse and worse as time went on. Like there was a moving hand causing a cycle of pain and misery for a greater purpose.

Back to her musings.

The land of water wasn't rich, but there was hope. It had water. Water was life. With it one could live, without it one would perish.

It wasn't a question that this nation was important, in a way it was the most sacred but brutal portion of their world. So much blood seeping into its grounds. The country had an endless supply of liquid. An endless supply of life!

Yet after the war a population so great turned to a mere few thousand. And yet these fools kept fighting. Mist ninjas butchering and killing off anyone who got in their way. She remembered her time in Kiri, it wasn't her best memory.

But then she didn't have many good memories.

She shook her head as she continued walking. Walking past the streets of Wave.

She felt bitter about her past. It was a difficult subject to say the least. Her father and mother were simple farmers, and they lived a peaceful life. Work was hard. Wake up in the morning, sleep early to get up again.

Snow would pile up, sometimes they would get sick. A lot of people died in her village from sickness. Though now that she thought about it her mother never once caught a cold.

More than once was she lucky she even survived the winter. Her father was a simple man, her mother was beautiful.

She had soft black hair and pale skin. Her face was flawless and she never recalled her wearing makeup. But then they couldn't really afford it.

She wondered sometimes why she chose him, she could have done better. Much better.

She supposed they loved each other and were kind to her. She had seen children with parents who were not as nice as hers, a lot of children grew up never knowing what love meant. But it hurt to know that that love was not meant to be.

It was not a strong love; it was alright in her book. She didn't remember meeting anyone with the kind of textbook love she could point and call true love. Her parents love may have been more to do with survival then simple romantic fantasy.

They woke up together, farmed together and took care of each other when they were sick. Virus, sickness, it didn't matter; they stuck by each other in sickness and in health.

Though once again she never could remember her mother ever catching a cold. She should have seen the signs.

Right now in the present the girl took a step across the street and avoided some gangsters walking towards some poor people. She ignored their pleas and went back to her thoughts.

That day.

This all changed one day. She could still remember that day. It was snowing, just like most days. It was a white, cold, and icy.

Ice like her heart.

It hurt to touch, feeling so cold and empty.

Her mother was a carrier of a kekkei genkai: Ice Release. A deadly bloodline capable of controlling wind and water to the point where she could form ice.

There were more powers this blood limit allowed but so afraid of her power, the mother never did test out her limits.

All she knew was that she had a deadly tool.

A powerful tool, used effectively would be a valuable asset for war.

She hid this fact from her father, hoping that the love and peace that was shared in their small family would last forever. Oh but of course that was not to be was it? Love is a four letter word. Just like hope. But in the end its just words. Each syllable more empty then the last.

The girl stared off to look at some of the poor people in the streets. Some children were twisted and morphed from hunger. She could see a child on the side crawl with no legs; it seems someone had cut them off. Next to the child was a broken mother wearing a towel instead of robes, she looked like someone had roughed her up a few moments ago.

It didn't take the girl much processing to figure out what happened to her. She didn't stare at her for very long. But she did take the time to brush a stray black hair off her pale face.

She turned back to her musing; those eyes that stared back at her were too depressing.

Her thoughts went back to her past.

One day she discovered the ability to manipulate water, bend the molecules to her will. It was something that made her feel so alive.

Amazed by this, she proudly showed this to her mother, who was horrified by what she saw and harshly scolded her for displaying her ability. She remembers being slapped, and then told never to show this to anyone ever again. She said this would kill them all, this curse that is.

At the time she didn't fully understand the implications.

Even now she may not understand, but she is trying.

Unbeknownst to her mother, her father had seen everything. She wondered what the man's expression was at the time. Was he angry? Sad? Happy? She could never tell with that man, he wasn't a bad man.

But he was a bit simple. A simple farmer. An illiterate farmer. Was it a shock he did what was expected of him?

No. It was not truly a great surprise.

When her father discovered that his wife and child possessed a kekkei genkai, he assembled a small mob of villagers and killed his wife. She remembers him using a large knife, the same kind one would use to saw the limbs off cattle. Ironic. He used the same weapon to kill her beautiful mother that he would use to kill an animal.

She remembered her father crying. His heart was breaking. She wondered if the man would kill himself after this was done. The daughter wondered now if the man realized when the wife had red blood that she was human, just like himself.

She had hopes and dreams, and cared for people. Just like him. She was just like him. She loved him. She loved her husband.

There were a lot of men gathered that day.

She was glad they didn't rape her. Perhaps her father had pity or some mercy on his wife.

Her mother should have killed him, she could have, but she didn't. She asks herself why she did that? She was powerful; the man was a simple farmer. But of course she was human. And she loved him.

He, the father, would have done the same to her, but before he could, she killed them.

The daughter killed the father. Scared and angry, furious and crying, she did something forbidden.

Ice came out from the area and impaled him, blood and organs flew everywhere. Some people ran, more likely than not the beautiful crystals stuck through their necks. It was painful to watch, and yet in a way it tempted her.

It was power, something she never had. And she paid a price for it. Perhaps there was something to those legends of demons? Though when she thought about it the only demon she could think of was herself.

In the present, she tells herself that she didn't do anything wrong. As a beggar asks for some food she reaches into her pink kimono and hands some herbs.

She continues to walk and think about what happens next.

Now orphaned, she became a child who was wanted by no one. She lived in a cruel world; it was her luck she was in the cruelest country. Water country. A nation of life and death. The Misty city. A bloody nation hidden among the fog.

She was forced to take to the cold streets and rummage through trash bins for scraps of food, even sometimes having to fight off the wild dogs that roamed the same streets eating the same scraps of food.

She hated dogs.

Sometimes the dogs would win, sometimes she would. Her ability to control ice was getting better, she could hunt rats now.

Now that she thought about it, she could have caught a terrible disease; in fact she should have caught a disease!

But then her mother never once, caught a cold.

Her blood limit, the water was life and it was keeping her alive. Even then the gifts passed on by her mother were keeping her alive. Even in the frozen lands walking around with only her shredded clothes in the snow, she was kept alive. All because of the blood limit.

But she still couldn't find good food. Everywhere she went she was turned away.

Her skin became so shallow, her height became affected. She wasn't sure if she would grow up to ever be her true height if she continued to eat this way.

In time she was found by Zabuza who asked her to become his "weapon", which meant to become a dedicated kekkei genkai shinobi for Zabuza. She still remembered what she said to him that day.

'Eyes…we have the same eyes.'

At the time she didn't understand the shocked expression on the man's face. But when his hands touched her forehead, she felt it.

Human contact.

But it wasn't soft. It was cruel. His hands were so rough, yet they were warm. Despite what anyone might say about the man, he had warm hands.

The man was powerful, he was tall and fearsome. His teeth alone scared off many people before the fight even began. He could even break off pieces of a person's flesh as a last resort.

He wanted to use his power to take over the bloody nation. He wanted to changed things. He wanted it all. But most of all he wanted her, and not for her body. But for her skills, something she could do, a power she could use to be praised, to be loved, to be made worthy.

It had not been a hard decision. A hungry starving girl, wanted by a powerful man. A man who was willing to share his power and maybe one day even share something she needed.

Friendship.

She readily accepted this role due to the purpose it gave her, devoting her life to becoming the ultimate weapon for Zabuza. She would tear off the limbs of all that came after them, freeze their hearts, ice their souls.

Pull out their intestines from their bodies, control the blood flow in their brain, a person could do a lot with water.

They could be very cruel with it also.

Nothing would get in between her twisted one sided obsession for the man with teeth so sharp it could break bone. Zabuza then trained her in the ways of the shinobi, as well as every fighting technique that he knew.

And he knew a lot.

He was a vicious teacher, breaking her more times than not. She still had scars running up and down her body from all the bruising, she didn't like to look at her body, it was so damaged underneath.

But that was okay.

Because her body didn't mean anything to her.

It was a girl's body. She had the heart of a boy, the power of one as well. In time she even convinced herself that she was a boy, trapped in a girl's body.

A boy named Haku, who was really a girl, underneath the shell of a scared child hoping for a future that may never come. A future paved in blood, with an ending journey that made her feel colder as each day passed.

She finally made it to her destination. It was time to collect the herbs.

-

He watched her pick the herbs from the ground. Inch by inch each plant was taken from the earth. It was morning. The weather was cold.

Sun was out, but it was dim. Naruto watched the girl pick the plants one by one. She made fast work of them.

Taking a look around he could smell the early morning dew drops, it was refreshing. The smell of the area made him more relaxed, it was a good way to start the day.

His eyes once again went back to the girl picking. Little by little, fast and efficient work. Naruto didn't know why he was looking at her, it wasn't even that interesting.

His eyes trailed up to the sky, the sun didn't shine so bright but against the misty air it had an interesting hue. It wasn't a cloudy day either; he saw a ray of light fall nearby.

He saw some birds flying into the early morning light, a couple of butterflies, and maybe even a bat. He wasn't sure, maybe it was a glider, but of course that wasn't really possible, but there was always a chance with ninja.

Again his sight went back to the girl after a time. He chided himself to stop that; the girl wasn't doing anything but picking grass. Herbs, maybe for cooking, maybe for something else.

It wasn't even important, why should he even bother looking at that direction, what is the point. He could barely even make out what she looked like.

The thing was that she was getting closer.

Her body was small, that he could tell, but she was still taller than him. He could see she wore a collar around her neck, it was black. It wasn't hard to spot. She wore a pink Kimono, it looked clean.

That to him was unusual.

Naruto had been in wave for the last few weeks and almost everyone wore clothes that consisted of rags. The only reason Tazuna wasn't in the dirt was because he was one of the few remaining people who still had money.

But the girl didn't look poor. In fact the closer she got, the more obvious it was that she was well fed.

She must have taken care of herself really well as Naruto could not detect any flaws in her hair, strands sticking out or anything.

Sakura was a cute girl, that's something that he couldn't deny. Her pink hair made her stand out from many of the other females in his life, even if almost all the females in his life consisted of two fangirls and possibly a loner who hid in the corner, who went by the name of Hyuuga Hinata.

Though Hinata was a nice girl, so he wasn't really going to complain about her, and she didn't talk very much but that was okay because he talked enough for the two of them either ways, and once again he was getting off topic because the pink kimono wearing girl was almost by his side.

His clothes were in horrible shape, training was taking more and more out of him. He was certain he smelled like garbage but there really wasn't much he could do except weather it until he could get back to the house and take a shower.

The water wasn't really even that hot because of the piping, but Kakashi had found a way of heating the water with some light powered Jutsus but of course his teacher couldn't do that while he was still drained.

Naruto was pretty sure that if Kakashi had the energy, he would most likely only heat up the water for Sakura. On account that she was the only female in the group, and that thought didn't really bother him.

He felt around for his pulse and noticed it was getting back to normal, his eyes felt so tired but he wouldn't allow himself to sleep.

He spent almost all night training and he didn't know what the results were going to be. All he really wanted was to beat Sasuke. The guy was getting closer to him emotionally as time went by.

Sasuke was by no means a friendly individual, but he wasn't that bad if you could ignore his constant jabs. Naruto tried to stand up, but felt numb all over.

His nose picked up the scent of the girl who was barely a few meters away from him, picking grass one at a time.

She didn't seem to want to be noticed and Naruto wasn't sure if she realized he was staring at her.

But looking at her body more closely he wondered how any male his age could stand not looking at the pretty girl in front of him.

She had a traditional beauty about her.

The kind you would find at the upper noble class of society. Long dark hair that fell down her back, and brown eyes to match it. Her skin was pale, even more than Sakura, but not so much that it looked unhealthy.

Like Hinata, but Hinata was cute in her own way.

Each strand looked well cared for, clean even.

Sakura had nice hair too, hers was long, but she had split ends down the side.

It was hard not to notice it, but if you told her about her flaws Sakura would flare up and deny it of course.

So Naruto never bothered to tell her to fix it, but of course Naruto didn't care so much for shouting things that didn't concern him, so it didn't really make much difference to him anyway.

So the girl in front of him wasn't paying attention to him, which got him a little curious and also a bit self conscious.

It wasn't doing much for his self confidence by being so completely and utterly ignored, especially by someone like her.

His eyes trailed to her long neck, which had that black color wrapped around it. It looked expensive; the material didn't look cheap, not by a long shot. It looked to be made out of black silk.

The people of wave could sell something like that and keep their family fed for good amount of time. It didn't make sense to Naruto why she would so easily wear that around such poor parts.

But of course he could easily be wrong, perhaps that was just an imitation silk collar, there are many who care about the aesthetics of fashion, not the actual material.

But by seeing the girl's authentically perfect, near flawless face, he was sure this was the kind of girl that preferred quality items.

Naruto's dark blue eyes went down to her chest and he saw no hints of breasts, but of course that could just be the fact that she was in her early teens. There weren't that many Kunochi who had the nice firm shape that he was accustomed to transforming into.

Naruto thought himself an expert on that matter.

He had after all spent a lot of time looking through magazines after magazines trying to find the perfect body image. He settled for a back alley hooker and that was the end of that.

This girl of course was far from a prostitute, he looked at the eye lashes, very long. Longer than Ino's, if he had to compare he would say they were as long as Hinata's.

Hinata came from a noble, or royal ninja clan. He didn't of course know that, but he knew she was rich.

He knew she had money; it was hard not to know your classmate had wealth when she got her own Jounin to take her to school, what was her name again? Kurenai-sensei?

He wasn't sure but he didn't care.

He was too worried about his body, it just wouldn't move.

So of course with his body being so tired he continued to look at the pretty noble girl, or at least he thought she must have been some noble, even if she wasn't, the fact that she was pretty was good enough in his book.

Every time she moved, it showed him something about her.

He saw peeks of her hand and feet sometimes, and noticed that they were soft and long. But at the same time understood there was power behind them.

And that troubled him.

How could she be doing this so easily when she had the appearance of a delicate flower herself, she didn't look winded at all?

She didn't sweat, she didn't stop, and she was doing this with near mechanical concentration. To a normal person there was nothing wrong with this, but to Naruto he had watched people his entire life.

He had watched everyone from the shadows, trying to fit in. Only to be rejected and hurt, no matter what he did it was never good enough. Coming into a playground full of life, only to find it empty.

Parents taking children away, kids running when they saw him.

Walking down the street and people glaring, he glared back of course. Sometimes they would move in his way, but they would never hurt him.

They would never beat him, they never attacked him. But they didn't have to; they hurt him with their whispers, with their lies.

He didn't understand it then, but as he grew older he saw the value of lies. Lies are not truth. Truth is honestly, truth is reality.

Lies are something dark, something hidden. He could tell when someone was hiding something from him, someone was lying to him.

But only to a certain extent. When he was desperate, when he panicked those lies were much harder to detect.

But even with this ability, it was still easy to trick Naruto.

But why was that? Why so easy to trick a boy who had been lied to his whole life, a boy who grew up in the shadows observing people talk about him?

It was actually very simple. If you take a minute to think about it, the answer will come within moments.

Naruto wanted to believe in people.

It didn't matter that he saw the untruth in his face. It didn't matter if he knew people were hiding something, telling him something but meaning something different.

Uzumaki Naruto wanted to know there was good in the world, a child wanted to live in an idealistic fantasy.

Creating a reality that was built on hidden facts and mystery.

He built his wall of happiness, day by day, year by year. It festered and grew, like a tower. Building an illusion so thick that at some point he started to believe in the lie. Day in and day out, it continued.

But that day with Mizuki had changed something in him, he didn't know it then but he started to become more and more distrustful of people.

Started to see things for what they really were, it was as if the world he created shattered, those whispers he heard all made sense.

All those days he told himself that people didn't hate him, came back to him at full force.

His dark world shone with light and it hurt him.

It made him cry, made him angry and betrayed.

But he didn't show it, never expressing it. He didn't rip off his orange shirt, or orange clothing. He didn't burn down his apartment or go insane. Instead he accepted the truth that he was the container of a monster.

He didn't ask who his parents were; he didn't ask why they picked him. There were reasons he didn't do this.

Because he was afraid he already knew.

'If you keep sitting there, you might catch a cold.' The girl's voice cut through his thoughts, his eyes brightened at the prospect that the girl heard him.

He smiled. His white canine's shown in the morning light, it was as if that moment things were already getting better.

'Bah, I'll get up in a minute, just a bit tired.' He shifted up a little and saw into her eyes.

Brown like chocolate, delicious and exotic. Fine details, so filled with life. But there was a trace of something inside them, but he ignored it.

He always did like ignoring things.

'You need any help.' She came up to him, her long hands reached up to hold his own.

Naruto shifted up and took it, and was pulled off the ground. He looked both directions, he didn't know why but it seemed like it was a good idea.

It seemed like a good idea, because the girl was strong. He didn't feel any real tension when she pulled him up, it just happened so effortlessly.

He wasn't sure if the girl even knew that she had done something normal people didn't do. But Naruto didn't show any of that worry in his face, he smiled.

Smiled like a fool. An idiot who didn't know any better. He even looked very happy to be picked up. 'Oi, thanks Nee-chan. Been wondering when someone would help me up, damn my lousy teammates aren't here yet.'

He made to look a pout. His eyes never leaving her face, flawless and beautiful.

She giggled, it was a lie. But he didn't pay attention to it; he saw that it showed her teeth.

Sparkling white and full of life. It looked like she had taken good care of them, as if it was her duty to keep them clean.

'No problem, your team you say?' She asked him. As if she was interested. Like the topic was of utmost value. It sounded like she really wanted to get to know things about the boy, like the boy was important.

Naruto smiled. Another smile that wasn't true. He nodded to the girl. 'Iya, Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan, they should be here soon.'

He made to scratch the back of his head.

A gesture to signal he was nervous. And he was nervous, scared as the girl kept talking. Every move she made, it did not really make much sense.

This was Wave country, talking to a stranger who she didn't know.

She should know Gato's men were about, but she didn't seem afraid. What was more she laughed at him when he called Sasuke a bastard.

She didn't ask why he called him that, she just laughed that fake laugh. It made him worried, her hands were so delicate and they pointed to his headband. 'So you're a ninja?'

Naruto froze but of course he realized the girl was referring to his headband, so he calmed down. What made him do that? It wasn't as if the girl was a danger to him, she was strong, she was a liar, but that didn't mean she was an enemy.

But then why did it make him so paranoid about everything this girl said, her laugh, her smile, the way her beautiful eyes darted up and down his body, the way she just casually touched his forehead where his headband was, it just felt so wrong.

He nodded. 'Yeah, the best!'

He said this, but he didn't of course mean it. He never did, but he didn't know that.

A boy made of untruths could never fully be aware of what he is saying.

He just reacted with words that didn't make any sense, believing in dreams that had no real purpose.

He wasn't even sure if it was even his dream to be the man that he thought he could be, or if it was again another illusion that he made at some point of his life.

But of course he didn't know that, he didn't know anything.

'Oh, the best ninja? You must be strong.' She asked him, laughing again.

So beautiful, yet deadly. So subtle, like a knife hidden behind someone's hands. Naruto laughed with her as they shared that moment, both having fun, but both keenly observing the other.

Naruto puffed out his chest, trying to show that he had a strong pectoral set. 'I'll be Hokage of my village someday! Believe it!'

The girl laughed at that again, she gently shoved him and Naruto made to look like he was falling, and laughed with her. Giggling at the girl who just pouted. 'Oh, well you're too busy to talk then.'

Naruto laughed again, the more she talked, the more he thought about her. Putting pieces of all the things he had observed about her.

Nothing major, but nothing too safe either. He stepped up to her. 'Well I have people I want to protect after all.'

She laughed at that, and that laugh sounded wrong. And it made Naruto afraid. It was as if she was challenging him, telling him that it was pointless.

But that could again just be a paranoid behavior on his part. But something told him that she was trying to tell him something.

He wasn't even sure if even she realized that her body language was screaming at him that she was not what she appeared.

She smiled gently, so kind. She made the face of an angel, the kind of face that would touch a person's heart.

She gently grabbed his face in her thin hands and looked into his eyes. He could see her face more clearly and it took his breath away, she was female no doubt.

And then she put her hands back to the side of her body. As if telling him that that was his sample, that he wouldn't get to be so close to her again. 'Then you must be very strong.'

He nodded. He backed away. She was something that he didn't want to deal with. He wasn't even sure if he had the skills to even interact with whatever she was.

Beautiful yet lethal. He backed up unto the tree as she came up closer to him, his breath got heavier.

She just smiled at him. 'It is when you have people you want to protect that a person becomes strong.'

That made his blood run cold. So what was she saying. That she was also powerful?

That she was protecting someone, that he should just leave, get out of here. Don't come back, that if he came back he would die, was she going to kill him now?

Naruto's body started sweating, he breathed in louder and louder. The girl tilted her head and kept smiling at him.

He wasn't sure what she was thinking, but he wasn't sure if she knew herself what her appearance was saying.

'Then I am going to be very strong, because I am going to protect everyone in my village.' Naruto said almost shouting those words.

That was his challenge; he had more than one person to take care of, unlike the girl who was not what she appeared.

The girl laughed at that. Mocking him, he knew it. But she looked like she really was concerned, red lips so beautiful, but sinister.

He watched the bright morning sun; it made the paleness of her skin stand out, showing him a color that his tanned skin could never hope to match.

Her smile lit up with the sun. 'That is such a wonderful dream. I am sure you will achieve it.'

He would he thought to himself. If he could get out of here in peace, he knew that. The girl had been analyzing him all this time; from the moment she stepped here she had been watching him.

He lied to himself before, telling himself that she was just a pretty face.

But she wasn't what she appeared.

She was a pale mask of beauty, which hid something below the depths. Sad and lonely. Lonely like himself, her eyes were so brown. That color was so sad, but why? Brown should not have such darkness, such misery.

Telling of untold suffering, so much pain.

Oh she was lying. Every time she laughed, her eyes crinkled up, her smile making his heart race. This feeling that was attraction, both fatal and beautiful.

This wasn't love, it was lust and she was causing it in him. It made him afraid, the things she was doing to him. And she knew it, and she was going to use this.

He didn't get to talk with many people, and it showed. She knew what to say to him, even if they were lies, lies have power after all.

It could make him answer; make him give away information that was hidden in the masks of his persona.

She moved up against him, her eyes only a few inches away from his own, telling him to run, telling him to scream.

His heart beat so fast, she was agile. Too fast for her own good, she was nimble, and she was female.

All female, her scent intoxicating, sending feelings up and down his system that his body was not ready to deal with.

Her hands brushed up against his hair, plucking out a leaf. 'Don't give up that dream.'

He wouldn't, it was all he had after all. A dream made of lie, inside an insane illusion.

He nodded.

She smiled again, her full lips red, naturally so. It was eerie that a girl's lips could look so lovely, he backed away. But she followed, she wasn't about to let him go it seemed.

He backed away, farther and farther. She followed keeping pace with him. Closer she got, the farther he moved.

Soon she was up against him.

Naruto made a dash.

The girl chased him. Naruto ran farther and farther into the woods. The girl on his tail.

He dove into the bushes, rolled out and fell into a stream. The girl was right behind him, it didn't look like she was even trying. 'You are fast.'

She kept smiling as she chased him. She looked like she was having fun, as if this were a game to her.

Naruto panted running as fast as his legs would take him. He panicked all the way into the forest, trying to lose the girl behind him.

She was keeping up with him. That told him enough about what he was dealing with. It told him she had experience, and he didn't want to face something like her right now.

He jumped up a tree and ran up hoping to lose her.

She was already at the base of the tree and looked up at him. He was afraid; she didn't look like it took any effort at all find him. 'Nice, you have to focus more though, you could be faster.'

Naruto huffed and jumped to the next tree, the girl was walking and she was keeping up. It made him wonder how that was possible.

Her control of chakra must have been something. He knew the moment she brushed against him she was a Kunoichi.

He had heard stories about real ninja, he knew the tales of men being seduced and murdered.

It was the first warning when he saw the beautiful girl. Those types of girls were always the most lethal after all. So cunning, going after men as if they were honey.

If he wasn't careful she would devour him whole, and he would encourage her all the way.

She was already making him feel things he wasn't supposed to and he didn't like that, didn't like that at all.

Without being in control of his emotions, everything felt so wrong. The sun made it so easy to find him so he lost the orange coat.

"Oh, I liked that jacket." She pouted and laughed.

Naruto ran faster as he continued to jump from tree to tree. The girl so close behind.

He made a dash for the cabin of Tazuna when he landed on the ground and felt the ground below him become cold.

He jumped out of the way as it formed to ice. "Fast, aren't you."

Naruto didn't reply and continued to run. Hoping to get away from the girl who knew Jutsu that was above his skill.

That ice power was something that could freeze his organs and keep him…well dead.

He wasn't ready to die.

Naruto felt himself be impaled by hundreds upon thousands of knives. His eyes were shot out; his legs were cut off, his arteries spilled onto the floor.

As he ran, his feet shot out of his body, frozen solid, and sliced with ice. He crawled, she walked up to him and stabbed a kunai into his back, he screamed. He continued to crawl and she kicked him in the stomach. She conjured a blade of ice and shoved it into his ear, he could feel his brain healing up after the slice, but it still hurt.

Over and over he kept this up, she wouldn't stop that.

This pain was unreal.

Unbelievable!

And where the hell was his sensei? as he screamed.

"Why are you doing this?" Naruto asked. He already knew the answer, but he had to ask, for himself. Confirmation that his reasoning was correct, if twisted.

The girl looked at him; her face went from that half smiling expression to one of seriousness. The change wasn't quick, it happened so slow. Her face that was so pretty a moment ago became something more dark, something sad, painful, and mysterious.

Her eyes that were brown looked more colored, more hollow. She released the spell she had cast on him.

'Genjutsu.' Naruto's world vanished and he saw himself for where he really was. All along in the same exact spot, the place where he first met the girl. He looked up and found the sun was at the same spot even, so what was that all for?

What purpose did all of that serve; all it did was make him more afraid. Afraid of his own observations of the world at large.

He stared at the girl and noticed the spell of fabricated beauty and make up was no more and all that stood in front of him was a weapon that was poised to kill.

Her eyes looked at him with sadness; she had a kunai in her hand. It was ready to strike him down, he knew that. He had used up a lot of energy to break through this illusion, ice, he for a moment wondered why he thought she covered him with ice.

"You ask me why I would do this, but you already know why. Think about it carefully, think about what you did, and think why I had to reveal myself this way." She backed away and Naruto stood up, this wasn't the time to be inactive, he had to be ready for her next attack.

"I..I was watching you," he said. Her eyes darkened and she nodded.

"I saw that you had a collar, it looked expensive," Naruto continued.

Haku didn't say anything to that.

"You were moving very fast, faster than a civilian, but you didn't look very strong. I thought that you weren't what you seemed. It took me a moment and then that cold feeling, it started to catch up, and you looked.." he trailed off.

Naruto thought about what occurred.

"When did you put me in a Genjutsu?" he asked. Worried if this was all a complex tactic to separate him from his team mates while Zabuza attacked. Stupid. He should have realized the Demon of the Mist had a partner and that Hunter-nin was about the same size as this girl, and the same hair color, he became angry at himself.

"The moment you looked underneath the underneath," she said. No change in expression.

That's what he thought.

The moment his mind started formulating on what she may be, what she could be hiding.

That was the moment she spun her fabric of desire, and lust around him. Incasing him in a way that she could analyze him while he was trapped in his mind.

"Why?" It was a dumb question.

"Why did I capture you in this illusion? Do you really need me to answer that question? Why do other ninja take prisoners? It is simple really, for information. But I had to be careful, your teammate, that Sasuke-bastard you told me about, he is nearby." She said, her eyes looking towards something into the distance.

Naruto nodded.

"And I wanted to show you, a hypothetical situation, I wanted to show you what would happen to you if you even tried to escape. Reveal to you what I am capable of." Haku stepped back. Naruto wondered why she looked sad, is this guilt, but then that could never be.

She is a kunochi after all, what is guilt to those who use love and deception to kill.

"I didn't want to do this," she said. Naruto made no comment.

"If possible I would have preferred to leave you alone," Haku continued.

Naruto nodded. He was doing that a lot this day.

"But, you were acting smarter than you appeared. You showed keen observation, and that was troublesome. That wasn't something I was expecting, given a few more moments you may have found out I was the partner. You may have told your Sensei. Even the comments you make about me, well they could be used against me in time. I had to neutralize you," she said.

"I see…" Naruto did understand.

So he was going to die.

Shit.

So the first time he tried looking underneath something, he was going to get killed. So if he acted like a retard he would have survived this day, he wouldn't be in this position. Perhaps he should've just slept out a bit more.

Let Sasuke wake him up, instead now Sasuke was going to find his corpse. This day just wasn't getting any better, and he thought he was finally becoming a ninja, only now realizing it was just an imaginary ninja, with imitation skills, pathetic and stupid. An idiot he was today and an idiot he would be tomorrow.

"So are you going to kill me now," Naruto asked.

Haku didn't say a word.

"Later," Naruto asked.

Haku nodded.

Naruto wondered about the moments of his life to this moment, not much to say.

Living a lonely life, not many friends, perhaps some people to talk to here and there. Sure it wasn't the best life, but it belonged to him. It was his life.

Running away from bad mobs, well not all the time, sometimes it would be the mob running away from him.

Being told he was stupid by teachers, well not all of them, just all but Iruka. Iruka, great guy. He would really miss the guy; he was almost like a father, almost that is.

He didn't know his father, except he had a suspicion, but never, ever in his entire life will you ever here that from him.

Naruto continued to look at the girl, what was she thinking, he wondered that. But then what was the point, it's not like that would really change anything, his sensei, the icha icha pervert bastard would be here soon.

He was going to miss that guy too, sure he didn't know him for very long, and the guy ignored him to the point that it wasn't funny but his sensei treated everyone like crap, so it was not like Naruto was being excluded.

Sakura–chan, he was going to miss her lots, she was a great person. Really, sure she was loud, had an obsession for Sasuke, and Naruto wondered not for the first time why she was supposed to be the smartest girl in her class.

It was not like she was really that intelligent, she didn't seem to understand Sasuke was probably gay or just didn't like girls, or just had a death wish.

But of course Naruto still liked her, pink hair, the color of girls body parts that a lot of guys love, but would never say it out loud, because saying it out in the open would get the shit kicked out of them.

Though Naruto would probably say the word if he got the chance, as he was prone to doing stupid things.

Haku waited.

"So you had enough time to think," she asked him.

She actually didn't care all that much about the boy's thoughts it was just that he looked like something worthwhile was really going through his mind.

But what could possibly be so amazing about the mental abstractions of a retard who already accepted his death.

A part of her was worried he wasn't just going to go crazy and blindly attack her; it would make the kill a lot faster.

But of course the boy had to make it hard for her, looking so sad and lonely.

The kind of sympathy she would feel for an orphan, after all living a life of garbage, in the streets of wherever city she wandered from place to place.

Living day to day on trash and meager meals, living with a collar of metal around her neck.

She was surprised she hadn't been raped in the streets, a girl wandering alone with barely any clothes, walking through frozen lands.

Only to be found by a murderer, correction a mass murderer, who for some odd reason had a heart, and that didn't really make much sense to her, because he killed lots of people when he was a kid.

Shouldn't he have been in some mental asylum, but that didn't matter to Haku, Zabuza was a great butcher, and a great person, kind hearted, but not always, sometimes. Those times were nice, like eating food; it settled the stomach, sort of.

She wondered not for the first time if she was really all that lucky, from being a child tool, to a living breathing tool to kill, well it was a life, and she was living it.

The boy in front of her was going to die now, he was something more than what he appeared, she would have to go try a bit harder the next time they met, in case he was smart enough to signal the others nearby.

If she wanted him done, she would have to look for another entrance, take him out before he started to scream, because help would arrive, and that would not be good.

Right now was the time, the moment, but why hesitate. It's not like it really mattered if one blond corpse was found, he was an enemy, and didn't ninja kill their enemies?

Butcher, and sometimes maul them to the point where they are unrecognizable.

But of course she was becoming more and more like Zabuza as time went, she walked across and around the boy, he kept his gaze on her, she was nice to look at even if he could already feel the poison through his body she put into him with the Senbons, the beast inside of him was healing it.

She would be in for it, when she got closer.

Like a waiting predator, he awaits for the prey to come near. A crouching tiger, waiting for the dragon to make his move.

Haku's hands flew up in single seals preparing to make her strike.

The crouching tiger within Naruto made its move.

'Mass Kage Bunshin!'

-

Screaming across the forest Naruto made his run away from the girl. He continued to scream for Sasuke, Sakura, and his sensei. None of them came. But he continued to run. Hopefully they were just delaying. He could already feel every Bunshin being killed.

Feel them being killed?

Oh dear Kami. He could gain the memories of what was happening to them.

He ran even faster, knowing that the girl was getting even closer. The memories of every attack she used continued to scare him. The girl was vicious, and she had a mean streak about a mile wide and probably two miles deep. Needles and drills, the images of the attacks she used against him kept rushing to his head.

"Help! Help! Sensei!" Naruto screamed. He slipped as the memory of being shot in the eye came through his vision. The phantom pain stopped and he got up, like some tripped cat and scuttled back to where he thought Tazuna's house was.

It was then he saw Sasuke.

"Teme! Go get Sensei! The hunter-nin is behind me-," before he could finish that he felt a shuriken hit the back of his neck and he tripped.

He saw the image of Sasuke's horrified face come after him. It was all happening in slow motion. His eyes became bleary, red continued to cloud his vision as the large hole in his neck continued to seep blood.

He kept gurgling out words, but nothing substantial wanted to come out.

He turned to look at the girl who threw the weapon, her face looked sad, he could see tears go down her face.

"I am sorry. I am so sorry." In a blast a large water dragon came out from the side of the forest and engulfed the last Uchiha. Sasuke got slammed into the tree by the dragon, but quickly got up. His body was however drenched.

He made to make the Fire Style Grand fireball, but was stopped instantly when the girl sent a small trickle of lightning through the forest floor and made him scream.

Naruto watched horrified as Sasuke screamed his lungs out. He tried to get up, and even managed to get the shuriken out of his neck, but the blood continued to poor. He could feel the pain travel up and down his synapse.

It stopped just above the cut, meaning that the girl had stopped the feelings from that point and onward. This wouldn't do well at all; he needed to know how to feel the pain in his neck. It would be the only way to keep alive against someone who aimed at those regions.

He ran after the girl and was stopped by a mirror of ice in front of him. Before he could do anything a thousand ice needles came out and shot out from the crystal glass. They struck him on his face and chest, and he could feel the blood falling freely down.

He ran the other direction, but another ice mirror came up and stopped him. He ran back again and another ice mirror stopped him. Before he knew it he was cover in all sides by mirrors.

For an instant he saw her face. She frowned.

And out from the mirrors came a blast of water that was so thin it pummeled and punctured his skin. He tried to scream but felt a needle imbed in his neck.

As he fell on the forest floor he saw Sasuke who was barely being kept alive, needles were covering his back every where he looked. Sasuke was getting up and Naruto saw that he made to rush to save him.

The Teme was going to save him.

"Sasuke don't!" Naruto screamed as blood fell down from the place where the needles punctured. It felt like it was healing itself again, but it wasn't doing it fast enough.

Before Sasuke reached the mirrors a water clone appeared from the ground and stabbed the injured Uchiha in the neck. Sasuke fell and rolled out, pulling out the large Senbon.

He then looked up and Naruto saw that his eyes were red with sharingan tomoes in them. He saw him grin, but before Sasuke had a chance to do anything.

A needle hit the back of his neck.

Sasuke fell to the ground. He clutched the back of his neck and tried to yank out the needle; the girl came from out of nowhere, stabbed the needle deeper and pulled out a kunai from Sasuke's own pouch.

She then looked up at Naruto. Tears were in her eyes.

"No! Please no!" Naruto screamed.

Her face at that moment went cold and she stabbed the kunai deep into Sasuke's head. Naruto watched as the kunai fell into the skull, breaking the bone plates in the head, past the blood vessels, past the arachnoids, and go right into the boy's cerebellum. Sasuke was still alive, because that part of the brain being punctured does not constitute an instant death.

But he was obviously in horrible pain. Naruto's eyes went red and he felt madness and rage come out form a source that he wasn't even sure was there. He broke through the ice mirrors, to kill the girl.

But she shunshined out of there, and appeared right behind him, stabbing him in the ear. He sent a clawed hand to kill her, but she backed away.

It was then that he heard Sasuke.

"Naruto..my brother..Itachi..kill." And he died.

At that moment their sensei finally appeared.

The problem was he was in his crutches and he could only look at the scene in horror. Seeing the brains of Sasuke splattered across the forest floor and Naruto in Kyuubi form, with a girl covered in blood approaching them. It wasn't his day.

It especially wasn't his day when said girl appeared behind him in a mirror and tried to thrust a small needle in the side of his neck.

It was only through his highly trained and honed reflexes that he was able to avoid it by tilting his head to the side. He dropped his crutches to attack, but found the ground beneath him freeze. He blasted out with a chakra wave. But found himself in a dome of ice.

Sadly in his current state, even a fresh genin could take him down with only slight difficulty. He tried to avoid the onslaught of needles but just didn't have enough control in his legs and he couldn't use his jutsu since his body was still recovering from chakra exhaustion from his fight with Zabuza a couple days before. If he tried to use any jutsu it would only strain his body more and leave him in worse shape than he already is. As needles impaled him he could see Naruto coming towards him.

"Naruto don't! Stay outside!"

But it was too late. Needles came from inside the dome. Needles came from outside of the dome. The two of them got the full brunt of the attack.

Kakashi fell onto the forest floor covered in Senbon and Naruto barely controlled his fury.

His eyes locked at his target, he made for another bestial charge. But a voice stopped him from charging. The voice. It should not be here!

"Oh kami! Sasuke! Sasuke! Sasuke! Sensei! Sasuke! Ahh! Ahh! Ahhhhhhh!"

Sakura was running down from the cabin crying her eyes out. She was running to her death without even knowing it. Naruto went to stop a large ice dragon from coming from the side of the forest to get her, but a hail of mirrors stopped him once again.

He could only watch in horror as the Ice dragon devoured the girl whole. It chewed up the inside of her body and then the dragon dissolved leaving the mangled body of the girl, Naruto could see the scalp had been cleaned off.

Her clothes had been torn off her body and arms and legs were about a few meters from each other. Her long intestine was spilled out from her abdomen and he had to vomit seeing ice imbedded in her eyes.

"You shouldn't have called out your friends. You should have battled me one on one. Did this all have to come about?" She then appeared from atop a tree. Naruto looked at his sensei. He was still alive.

Kakashi was still alive. He ran over to him and hovered protectively over him. His weakened body looked mangled but he would protect him.

Haku looked down at the blond. Her brown eyes crying. "He is your precious person?"

Naruto didn't answer.

The heavy breathing of his dying Sensei weighed heavily on his mind.

"Were they your precious people?" Haku asked. She was clutching the Senbon on her hands tightly.

Naruto nodded, tears were falling down his face.

He couldn't muster the courage to act like an idiot at this moment. Everything had gone so wrong. Idiot! He was an idiot! He lead the girl to his weakened teammates and sensei! He forgot people didn't just heal like he did.

The girl nodded to him and then turned around.

"Wait! Where are you going!" Naruto shouted.

She turned back to look at him.

"I am out of Chakra." She said simply. The Ice around the area went away, going into the air, a hail of wind came out and dried the blood from her body and a gust of water surrounded her, cleaning her.

He then saw a water clone come out and grab Sasuke's mangled corpse.

Naruto roared. "Leave him alone! He is already dead!"

Haku looked down at him coldly. "Uchiha. This boy is an Uchiha. I am not just going to let this go. My master needs all the finances he can. I am sorry, but I am going to need to take him. His dead eyes have value. The marketable kind."

Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs. "You! You sick bitch! Why did you do this! Why did you kill everyone? What have they ever done to you!"

Haku lost her temper. "Shut up! It didn't have to be this way! I was discovered! You found me out! I couldn't just let you go!"

"Then why did you delay in killing me! You should have done that and left!"

Haku didn't answer.

Naruto kept on sobbing. Memories of the time him and his teammates spent together, the academy, his love for Sakura. Kami he felt sick, he wanted to vomit, but seeing the corpse of his mangled friends, sent a wave of hatred the likes of which he never felt.

Red eyes looked up at her.

He roared, "I'll KILL YOU! I swear if it's the last thing I do!"

Haku could sense something from behind the boy, a tail made of Chakra?

Before Naruto could start moving however he heard a voice behind him.

"Naruto…stop…" He turned to see his Sensei, sprawled in a heap of blood.

He turned to look at Haku. But she was gone. He continued to sob and made some Kage Bunshins to pick up his sensei. Before he left he heard a whisper in the wind.

"This is what it means to be a Ninja. This isn't a game. This is real life. In real life, things can go wrong. Horribly so. The next time we fight, I won't be so kind. I'll break my heart for my own special person. You'll have to break yours too, if you want to face me. Genin."

With that Naruto ran faster, hoping desperately to get the images of gore out of his mind. He just hoped there would be a next time. But of course, hope is just a word. Just a four letter word.

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Resource: Wikipedia