Welcome to the first chapter of "The Death and the Snowflake". This FF will have Haku as the main character, but the Bleach cast will play a major role (perhaps I'll also integrate some Naruto characters). The story is set roughly two years before Ichigo and his friends enter Soul Society to save Rukia, but there'll already be a timeskip in this chapter. And now, enjoy the chapter^^

Faroush

Summary: When Haku died he didn't pass on peacefully. After meeting a shinigami, his afterlife becomes suddenly much more interesting. What kind of adventure awaits Haku on his new journey? Will he find friends and maybe even love? What role will Haku play in the Winter War? Only time will tell…

Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor Bleach.

"Speech"
'Thought'
"Flashback"
"Zanpakuto Speech"
'Zanpakuto Thought'

Please R&R!!!

Chapter 1: Endings and Beginnings

xxxxx
Wave Country – Battle on the Bridge
xxxxx

Haku looked down on what was once his body. Technically it still was, however, Haku was kinda, well, detached. There was a chain hanging from his chest which probably once connected him to his body, but now it was broken and hung down and slowly disintegrated, which he didn't know yet. He knew he was dead. How could he not be? He had taken an attack that was meant to finish Zabuza, the most important person in Haku's life. The young ice-user hadn't hesitated when he had to make the choice between Zabuza's and his own life.

However, it seemed like all his actions were in vain. Soon after his death Gato appeared along with his army of thugs, ready to finish things. Haku should have been angry at the short business man for kicking his corpse, but he was too focused on what happened afterwards.

The young blond shinobi, Naruto, cried for him. Haku was stunned. Someone was crying for him? Somebody… saw him as an important person? What was this feeling? He had once felt like this. Haku felt truly happy. When was the last time he had he felt like this? Back in the old days, when he had been travelling with Zabuza-sama…

But something even more incredible happened. Zabuza, Haku's father figure, the man called 'Demon of the Mist' was… crying?

'He did care for me after all… I just wished things wouldn't have to end like this. I'm sorry Zabuza-sama, I failed you. And now my failure will cost you your life and your dream.'

Haku watched in silent amazement how Zabuza tore through the ranks of the mercenaries with nothing but a kunai in his mouth. With a powerful swing he chopped Gato's head off, however, the weapons sticking out of his body showed clearly that his life was forfeit. But he still struggled; determined to return to the spot where Haku's corpse was lying. Kakashi granted the dying man's last wish and carried him to Haku's own body where he lay him down. Haku stood at the side of the dying Zabuza and listened to his last words.

"I wish I could go where you go Haku… Farewell… And thank you… for every… thing…"

Zabuza's eyes slowly closed. He was dead. And besides him kneed a young boy who cried for the first time since his parent's death. Now he had lost his true father too.

"Farewell Zabuza-sama. You'll always remain in my heart. I promise."

xxxxx

A lot of things had happened. Wave Country had been freed, the bridge got a name and Zabuza and him were buried. Haku felt grateful for this. A grave was more than he had expected. But what now? Haku was lost in thoughts as he sat beside his own grave.

'I'm clearly dead, and there's no one else besides me that walks around as a ghost. No one can see or hear me. What the hell am I supposed to do? If only Zabuza-sama was here…'

Suddenly a mysterious voice was directly besides him.

"So you're the one that emits reiatsu like crazy…"

Haku spun around, his reflexes still as sharp as when he was alive. However, the person that spoke to him had no problems evading him.

"That's not really a nice way to greet someone. I'm just here to do my job."

Now Haku got a look at his "attacker" for the first time. He had blond hair with a bang of it covering almost half of his face. He wore an outfit completely black, consisting of a kimono top and hakama pants. In his right hand was a sword, which only strengthened Haku's belief that this man was an enemy.

"Who are you? And what do you want from me?"

The blond man sighed. Why did his jobs always have to be so complicated?

"My name is Izuru Kira. And I'm a shinigami."

When Kira saw the incredulous look on his target's face he knew that this would take some time.

xxxxx
Later that day, Soul Society - Rukongai
xxxxx

Well, that had been… interesting. Haku sat down on a hill in the area called Rukongai. Apparently there were several districts, but Haku had arrived only recently, and he hadn't spoken with any of the inhabitants yet. The blond soul reaper, Kira, had explained to him what had happened to Haku.

After his death Haku had become an unsent soul that would've turned into a being called 'Hollow' if he hadn't received a 'konso', a soul burial, from the shinigami. And aforementioned Hollows were always looking for unsent souls with high reiatsu, spiritual pressure. And Haku happened to have quite a lot of it; apparently it was enough to be a seated officer among the ranks of the shinigami.

Kira had been very vague when he explained the system of Soul Society, saying that when Haku became a shinigami (he said it was almost certain he would) he would receive lectures about it at academy. The blond shinigami had even promised to tell the patrol about him, so Haku wouldn't have to spend years in the districts until he was discovered. The former shinobi was glad he had met such a nice shinigami. Haku only wished they hadn't parted like they did.

But Haku still thought he deserved the black eye for calling him 'a beautiful lady'. Honestly, why did everyone mistake him for a girl just because he liked the color pink? Haku was sure there were others who thought so as well. He didn't know this thought caused the captain of the 8th division of the Gotei 13 to sneeze loudly.

Although Haku was quite absorbed in thought he still noticed the two approaching energies. What had that shinigami called in? Reiatsu? It felt quite similar to chakra, but it was permanently active and not like chakra only melded when needed for jutsus.

"What can I do for you shinigami-san?" Asked Haku without turning around.

The two soul reaper looked surprised at the young boy. Sensing reiatsu signatures was an advanced technique and shouldn't be that easy for a soul that came here just recently. Since the Rukongai was huge they had been patrolling for a while, thus Kira hadn't been able to get into contact with them. It was pure coincidence that the two shinigami had found Haku, his spiritual pressure while high for a new soul was nowhere that noticeable enough to sense it on a large scale like the Rukongai.

"Well, as you probably know we're the shinigami patrolling the area. When my partner and I noticed a large spiritual power we decided to investigate it. Did the shinigami who sent you here tell you anything?" One of the shinigami spoke.

"Yes, he did. He told me the basics of this world and about the fight between shinigami and hollows. He also mentioned I have quite a lot of this so-called 'Spiritual Pressure'."

"Indeed, and you meet all criteria to enrol in the shinigami academy. What do you think, do you want to become a Soul Reaper?" The other shinigami asked.

Haku was prepared for this question. He had been thinking about this ever since he had been sent here. But what should he do? Without Zabuza-sama, his purpose in life was lost. For a brief moment he had hoped that Zabuza's soul had also found its way to this place, but Haku's hopes had been crushed. For some reason Zabuza's soul never appeared to be sent by a shinigami. The young ice user was still silent. What should he do?

"You are more than a tool!"

Haku's eyes widened when he remembered the words the blond shinobi had said to him. How could he have forgotten them so fast? Haku stood up and turned around to face the two shinigami. He would use this chance he was given. With eyes full of resolve he said,

"I accept. I want to become a shinigami."

xxxxx

With a sad smile Haku closed his diary. Two years had passed since that fateful day. But even after all this time he still looked like he did on the day he died, only his clothing had changed. He had enrolled at the shinigami academy and learned a lot about Soul Society. With his former training Haku excelled in most areas of the academy, since most of the chakra control exercises were also based on the mind. Most teachers called him a genius, but Haku didn't like to be called a 'genius' or a 'prodigy'. He had seen one shinobi who was called the 'dead-last' surpassing him with pure willpower. Such titles only brought conflict among equals. This was probably one of the reasons why Haku had no real friends in the academy. Sure, he had his classmates and comrades, but no one was more than an acquaintance.

'I wonder what you would say now Zabuza-sama… Me being afraid of opening up to people. I guess I'm still the same little child you took in all those years ago.'

With a sigh Haku got up and headed towards the academy building. However, when he and several other students were crossing the schoolyard a flashing light in the sky caught their attention. At the same moment as the flash started dying down, an emergency warning was transmitted to the whole Soul Society via kido.

"Warning, warning! Outsiders have entered Seireitei! All squad members are to return to their headquarters immediately for further information! Everyone else is to remain at their assigned post!"

Haku was surprised. Outsiders attacking the Seireitei? What was the meaning of this? Furthermore some things didn't add up. Apparently these guys had entered from the Rukongai, the glowing cannon ball was proof enough of that. But that meant the people there had helped them, and that wasn't something you saw commonly out there. Thus Haku came to the conclusion that some people in the Rukongai thought that this was the right thing to do.

Haku grabbed his still nameless zanpakuto as a small grin formed on his face. For some reason the thought of a hunt reminded him of his old days as a shinobi. Though he hated the constant running away back then, he had always enjoyed the thrill to some degree. And now the old feeling came up again.

"Well, this sure beats Hollow Theory. I guess I'll just call in sick."

With a speed and stealth unheard of from academy students Haku vanished from sight. He had some information gathering to do.

Haku was moving very carefully. Not only the fact that the 11th division was busy hunting the intruders since the announcement (to quote the Zaraki Kenpachi, the captain of the squad: "You can work anytime. Playing is more important."), now the other divisions had also finally organized and were running around like crazy. Haku had remained unnoticed so far thanks to his superior stealth skills, but if the 2nd division started looking around it would get much harder.

It looked like some battles had already taken place, if the blood stains on the floor were any indication. But things didn't turn out like Haku had planned. When he headed to a source of noise not too far away he didn't expect to get grabbed suddenly by a shinigami who then pressed his sword to his throat.

'Damn, I let my guard down! But what the hell is going on here?'

Haku noticed that a large group of the 11th division had surrounded the shinigami who currently held him as a hostage. The boy didn't look much older than Haku and had bright orange hair.

"Okay, listen up! You either let us go or your friend here is history!"

These words made Haku realize that he probably got caught by one of the intruders. In other words, he had just got himself a huge pile of problems, especially when one of the bloodthirsty shinigami told the orange haired boy and his companion (who Haku hadn't noticed first), that he was just an academy student and thus worthless in their eyes. This left only one option for the intruders. They ran like hell. Unfortunately they took Haku along with them.

xxxxx

"Man, that was close. I guess we were really lucky to escape to this place." The man known as Ganju Shiba said.

"Yeah, but we still don't know where we have to go. And we still have a hostage. What's your name by the way?" The orange haired shinigami asked.

He didn't like the situation one bit. Normally he would never do something like taking a hostage, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And Haku didn't like the situation either. He knew that no matter how advanced he was in the academy, he stood almost no chance against a shinigami who had unlocked his shikai already like the boy apparently had. Thus Haku decided to lay low and wait for an opportunity to escape. He might as well use the situation to gather some information.

"Haku. My name is Haku. And I guess you're the intruders everybody's talking about. You made quite an entrance. What are your names if I may ask?"

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. The guy over there is Ganju. By the way, what is an academy student doing out here? You look rather out of place."

That was true. Haku certainly stood out like a sore thumb with his white and blue robe among the black clad shinigami.

"Well, to be honest, I snuck out of academy. When I was alive I used to be, well, I was often in life and death situations. Ever since I came here I found myself missing this feeling of having your life on the line. I guess old habits die hard, especially if you aren't dead for that long."

"Huh? You remember your former life? Then you're either a really young soul or extremely attached to your old life, perhaps even both." Ganju intervened, who knew more about the souls of the Rukongai than Ichigo for obvious reasons.

"You're probably right. But even if I could, I wouldn't want to forget these precious memories. They are all I have left." Haku said with a sad voice.

Silence settled in the group, and the atmosphere became heavy with guilt and sadness. That's why Ganju decided to lighten the mood and prepare to move on. Unfortunately he made a little mistake.

"Okay Ichigo, we should go on now. We came here for a reason after all. And you should also return to the academy, the war-zone out there is no place for a young lady like you."

Suddenly a massive killer intent flared that made even Ichigo flinch. They looked at Haku who looked at Ganju with eyes that screamed bloody murder. It was partially coming true when Haku delivered a vicious right hook while screaming -

"Why the hell does everyone think that I'm a girl?! I'm! A! Guy! Goddamit!"

A few moments later Ganju was bandaged and Haku apologized for his rather violent reaction (but after two years of constant love declarations from guys he had to snap at some point) and Haku finally asked why they had even entered Seireitei. Reluctantly Ichigo answered.

"Well, you see, I'm not a real shinigami since I'm in fact still alive. One day a hollow attacked my family and I borrowed shinigami powers from the shinigami that was assigned to protect the area since he was injured and unable to find. I acted as a substitute shinigami for some time until two other shinigami showed up. It was their job to take the first shinigami, a girl named Rukia, back to Soul Society. But for some reasons she is now to be executed for lending me her powers! And that I cannot allow, no matter what!"

Haku was silent for a few moments. These words… they held the same conviction he had once held.

"So you'd willingly storm the gates of hell for a precious person of yours, eh? That's a good attitude Kurosaki-san. If I learned one thing in my former life it was that one can only become truly strong when he fights to protect someone. Ichigo… One who protects. That's the meaning of your name, right?"

Ichigo was surprised. This boy was roughly the same age as him when they considered his death. And yet his eyes held wisdom and experience one couldn't gain that easily. And he had even guessed the correct meaning of his name. Ichigo was interrupted in his thoughts when Haku stood up.

"You want so save a prisoner, right? I can show you the way to the prison where she's held. It's the least I can do for someone like you." Haku said with a genuine smile.

"T-thanks I guess. But you better be careful, you'll be branded as a traitor when you're seen helping us."

Haku's eyes had a mixture of sadness and joy for some strange reason.

"It wouldn't be the first time I'm hunted by a whole division. Believe me; I'm pretty good at running and hiding. But enough of that, let's go. We have a prisoner to save."

They had just exited the sewers they had used as a cover and wanted to continue to the white tower, but a thick fog covered the whole area. This made the group a bit anxious. They could easily get ambushed.

"Someone's here…" Ichigo muttered.

They stopped in their path. Before them stood a young man with flaming red hair and a strange headband. Ichigo knew only one person who matched those criteria.

"It's been a while. I wonder if you still remember my face." The newcomer said.

"It'll be gone soon enough once I'm finished with you. Abarai Renji…" A grim looking Ichigo answered.

"So you remember not only my face but my name as well? You're full of surprises." Came the redhead's mocking answer.

"Who is this guy? His spiritual pressure is on a completely different level than those other shinigami we've encountered till now." Ganju wondered.

Haku had been frozen in his place one he had recognized just who was approaching them. There had been a ceremony for the newcomers of the academy, and all captains and their lieutenants had been present. He had been one of them.

"This isn't good. This is the lieutenant of the 6th division… Abarai Renji."

Ganju tried to stop the substitute shinigami. This wasn't a battle like the others. "Hey, wait a minute Ichigo! Don't just rush in like that!"

"I don't know how you survived, but I'm impressed. You've got my compliments." Renji stated.

As they drew closer, Renji unsheathed his sword and Ichigo took of the bandages from his sword Zangetsu.

"But this is the end. I told you I'd kill the bastard who took Rukia's power! As long as you're alive, Rukia's powers won't return!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! You brought her back to kill her! You're gonna let me pass!" Ichigo yelled back, both opponents only mere meters apart from clashing. Haku and Ganju were both watching the opponents with a mix of fascination and in Ganju's case, horror.

"Just try it!" Renji shouted.

The battle had begun.

Aaaaand cut. I know cliffhangers are a bad thing, but I needed a stop somewhere. ^^
Tell me your thoughts and please review, us authors can hardly live without them XD

Till next time,
Faroush