1 Child of the Water Country - 1

Haku stared with wide gray eyes as his father lunged for him. The man had retrieved the knife that had always been kept in the storage shed and bore down on his child, the blade already tinted crimson. Forgotten in the corner lay Haku's murdered mother. Her bloody hand prints stained the wall beside her. The young boy was screaming as he stumbled in retreat, but beneath his terror he felt his insides boil as he was consumed with the will to survive.

"Mama! No! Please!" Haku dodged his father's deadly strike, tumbling down to the hard, wood floor. Still her body lay unmoving. Her face was hidden by the frantic tangle of her dark hair.

The boy backed away from his father, who was shouting unintelligibly at him to hold still. Haku cowered back to a far wall, bumping into a bucket of water his mother had brought in barely a half hour before.

Haku squatted in the fresh snow, curiously observing the remnants of a snow man he had made the day before. It had melted and then refrozen into a thin layer of ice in the frigid morning air. His mother watched him from afar as she fed the chickens.

Life on a farm was simple, peaceful and something she had always wanted for her Haku. Before she had made her home in the farming town with her husband, her life had been troubled by shinobi wars. So long as she drew breath, she had sworn, her son would have no part in the violence. She noticed him crack through the sheet of ice with a delighted chirp.

"Haku, don't play in that water, you'll catch a cold!" She called out to him. He was too busy playing to pay her any mind.

The cold water stung his bare hands and he drew them back in a startled gasp, "Ack!"

His interest was quickly drawn to the glistening, frozen puddle he had discovered. He traced a small finger over the surface and smiled sweetly at his rippled reflection. In a harmonious moment of nature meeting human inquisitiveness, Haku had inadvertently tapped his chakra for the first time.

A shining thread of water rose up from the puddle, surprising him. He watched in awe as the droplet followed gracefully as he waved his hand about. Haku brought up his other hand that was puckered red from the cold.

He slowly shaped the water with both hands as he would a handful of clay. It was fascinating how easy it was to manipulate, almost like magic. It felt like a natural thing to do.

"Amazing!" Haku purred in delight, attracting his mother's attention again, and she dropped her bird feed in shock.

She ran over to him and dropped to her knees, watching in stunned horror as Haku shaped the water into a small sphere.

"Mama, look what I can do!" The boy was very pleased with his handiwork, "I have special powers Mama! I can make the water-!"

She cut him off, seizing both of his wrists. Haku looked up her, rattled, and the sphere splashed uselessly back into its place of origin. Her face was wracked with panic. It unnerved him; he had never seen her so worried...

"...Mama?"

His mother dropped one of his hands, and slapped his cheek in warning. It had been hard enough to get his full attention. Immediately, Haku squealed and recoiled in pain, cradling his injured face with his free hand.

"Mama..." He said softly, feeling a warm tear slide down his cheek, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do any...anything wrong..."

He looked up at her again, and saw that she had begun to cry as well. He was not able to understand it, that day, why she had been so upset by his discovery. Suddenly she pulled her son into a tight hug, burying her face into his ebony hair.

"Haku, never...never do that again, do you understand me? You must stay safe." Her voice was stern, but it cracked as she continued, "Please, never do that again…don't let your father see..."

He clung to her, sobbing, "Oh Mama, I'm so sorry. I...I promise, I'll hide it..."

"You little monster! Hold still!" His father swung his knife again, slicing Haku's shoulder.

"Papa no! No!" Haku was howling, terrified, scrambling along the wall. His shoulder throbbed, and his desperate screams went unheard.

The frightened boy tripped over the bucket of water his mother had fetched earlier and knocked it down. Its contents spilled out onto the floor, causing his father to slip.

The water.

His memory from earlier returned once he noticed the water. Maybe it could protect him?

"Papa, stop!" Haku cried out. He felt a magnetic and instinctual pull help him grip the water. His energy surged with a rush of adrenalin and something else…something that gathered in his stomach and flowed out to all parts of his body. The temperature in the house dropped abruptly, stupefying his assailant. A gust of wind swirled as a tremendous power drew on the moisture in the air.

"Monster!" His father was incomprehensible upon seeing his son's mysterious power.

Before his father could bring the knife down Haku let his instinct take over. His desperation to survive opened the floodgates of his power as energy poured out of him and ice pillars filled the room from all directions. The child's eyes were wide.

His father stood motionless and his weapon clattered noisily to the floor. Haku had impaled him through the center of his chest. Holes had been punched through the roof and walls. The young boy clapped his hands over his mouth in shock as he watched his father slide sickeningly down to the floor.

Haku hid in his room after he and his mother had discovered his power. He stood quietly by the door and eavesdropped.

"You lied to me!" His father's voice boomed, shaking him.

He heard his mother's response, "Darling, please…" She was crying, "I...I never knew it would be passed down to Haku...we are peaceful! You have nothing to fear!"

"You're one of them, one of those Clan people!" His father snarled. Haku could hear a glass object being shattered.

"Please! I never meant any harm, I'm sorry..." Her voice was pleading. Haku became extremely uneasy as he listened to his father's shouting. Never had he heard the man speak so angrily in his life. He knew something was very wrong.

"He's a monster! You're a monster!"

Haku's eyes welled with tears, 'Papa thinks...I'm a monster?'

"We'll keep it a secret! He won't hurt anyone..." She was begging now, "No one else will know..."

Haku listened and it was uncannily quiet. After a moment, he heard his father speak, "Yes...no one will know..."

There was a pause, and then his mother screamed...

Haku gasped, "Mama?" He raced out of his bedroom and into the fracas. He watched in terror as his father pulled a knife out of his mother's side and she slumped to the floor.

Utter disbelief was visible on Haku's face. He stood rooted to the spot as his father approached.