Friends Hidden in the Leaves - 2

Sarutobi Hiruzen blew a puff of smoke slowly from between his teeth.

"Naruto, the last thing I need is to send a search party after a young boy such as yourself." The Hokage sighed, "Your safety is of great priority, however you should know better than to abuse my protection."

The Kyuubi container stood guiltily in front of the Hokage, while Haku, Gaara and Jiraiya stood behind him and watched.

A rebellious expression lingered on the blonde boy's face even while the Hokage lectured him on the path to becoming a shinobi and a respected citizen of Konoha.

"It isn't proper for anyone, child or adult, to run about and do whatever he or she pleases," The Hokage added while he inhaled on his pipe.

"I will have your word that from now on you will remain inside of Konoha until you are told otherwise by myself or an instructor, is that clear?"

"...yes, Hokage-sama." Naruto's voice was low and annoyed.

It was just a bit of 'training', no big deal right?

Apparently the Lord of the Leaf Village thought otherwise.

Naruto was tired of listening to adults condescend…he would rather visit a friend waiting for him by his favorite spot!

And what did these wise elders really expect? Naruto wondered to himself as the Hokage continued on about showing respect and obeying rules: he had no family, no parents; no one and nothing to teach him anything. 'They want me to follow rules, but hardly anyone talks to me! I find out what I do wrong after I do it and then they yell at me!'

He didn't have anyone to tell him anything. Not even that socks were supposed to match when you wore them...or that girls get upset when the toilet seat is left up. The common-sense things that others were taught by parents and families he had to discover on his own.

Always the hard way.

After ending his lecture, the Hokage turned to Haku, "And who is this?"

Jiraiya nudged him forward, "Well? Go on kid."

The dark haired boy stepped up and bowed respectfully, "I am Haku of the Water Country, Hokage-sama."

It was a pleasant change for Hiruzen to talk to a polite child for once. Between Naruto and his young grandchildren he was constantly being challenging by youngsters.

"Do you have a family name, Haku?"

The farm boy paused. The others had often introduced themselves with family names (with the exception of Gaara), and he felt awkward when he couldn't give an answer.

"I...I don't know my surname, Hokage-sama." Haku replied honestly.

The old man nodded, a wreath of smoke ringed around his head, "I see..."

Hoping he wouldn't have to, Jiraiya sighed when he spoke up for the boy.

"As far as I can tell, this kid came from a farm on the lands that surrounded the Mist Village," The sennin leaned in and lowered his voice, "It's really suspicious. This kid may have lived a commoner's life, but his chakra control is so advanced he must have shinobi lineage."

The Third understood, "You suggest he is of ninja descent?"

"There's no other explanation," Jiraiya shrugged, "It's freaky. He could be a survivor of one of the clans that had been ravaged in Mist during the war."

Haku had listened carefully and faintly understood. He dimly recalled his father ranting about he and his mother belonging to the 'clan-people' before he had been killed.

"I am descended from a clan," Haku said suddenly, startling his companions as well as the skilled ninja, "My father told me I was, so he...he tried to..."

"He what?" The sennin was impatient with his hesitation.

Haku hadn't expected he would have to confess to his family tragedy upon arriving in Konoha. Although he feared that admitting the truth would affect his chances for ninja training, he decided it was worth the risk.

He looked at Gaara and Naruto and then to the Hokage.

"He killed my mother...and then he tried to kill me."

There was a silence.

Naruto and Gaara only stared at their docile friend; never had they expected that gentle Haku could have been through such a horror.

Jiraiya and Hiruzen were less surprised.

"So he was fearful then," The Hokage then looked directly at Haku, "How did you survive?"

"I...I ran away."

Jiraiya saw through the lie immediately and shook his head. The Hokage had already assumed the answer.

"Very well, your story is proof enough, since you have no ties to the Hidden Mist Village. You are welcome here," The Sandaime declared, "I only have one question for you, Haku."

"Yes sir?"

"Can you tell me of any special abilities that you have?" The Hokage asked.

Naruto couldn't keep his mouth shut, "Yeah! He can control water! It's SO cool!"

Jiraiya lightly whacked the blonde in the back of the head, "Shut up, squirt. He didn't ask you!"

Naruto glared viciously at the sennin.

"What Naruto said is true," Haku said quietly, "Water and ice...I can use however I want."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, "Er…I didn't know about that one. Heh, it looks like we have another unique Kekkei Genkai in Konoha, eh Hokage-sama?"

Naruto pouted even more. He had at last realized Jiraiya had been sarcastic while referring to him as the Hokage. Gaara noticed Naruto's reaction and sighed inwardly.

"Just more paper work really; there's no use in prizing shinobi with blood limits over those that have none..." Sarutobi sighed, knowing that recording Haku's progress would span the course of the boy's lifetime.

Despite the random child winding up in Leaf and needing to be raised, the information on one of the survivors of the Water Country's old clans would be invaluable.

Seeing he was through, Haku went to stand by Naruto who had gone quiet.

Gaara took this as his cue and stood before the Sandaime.

"I already know who you are," Hiruzen's voice was guarded, "You are aware that your home is in Sunagakure, yes?"

Jiraiya mentally slapped himself.

Crap. He had forgotten the Hokage wouldn't be very pleased with having the One-Tailed jinchuriki as a resident. For political reasons, the Leaf Village was technically not supposed to have more than one jinchuriki: the Kyuubi was promised to Konoha when the First Hokage had been arranging peace treaties. To take in anymore could anger any village that found out.

Would the Hokage even consider sending him back to Suna? Back to his death?

It was bad enough Gaara hadn't even responded to the hostile Hokage's question, but Jiraiya assumed his input may be the last straw for the Third.

'Screw it.'

"Hokage-sama," The sage chose his words carefully, having a hard time of doing so with his still-buzzing head, "You know as well as I that if the Kazekage was truly concerned with the boy's welfare he would have doubled his efforts to locate him. I mean, sheesh, the kid's in Konoha now! Obviously he wasn't trying very hard to find him-"

"The Kazekage had ended his search two days ago, according to a report I received." Sarutobi took a deep drag on his pipe.

"Oh, er..." Jiraiya hadn't been informed. What could he say? He was a hermit after all, and distanced himself from anything that didn't revolve around his precious 'research'.

Gaara stood quietly while Haku and Naruto watched the discussion.

"So I guess he doesn't want the kid back then after all?" The sennin inquired.

"No, he assumes this child is dead…saving some work for him," The Hokage answered simply, "It would be unwise to return Sabaku no Gaara to the Kazekage…who believes him to be long deceased."

"You mean...he should stay here?"

The Hokage sighed, "...we'll have to keep this quiet."

Jiraiya grinned to himself, "Well that will be a kick in the pants for him when the Chunin Exams roll around, huh? How will you explain that if the sand kid is participating?"

Hiruzen said nothing and took a very long drag.

"Where does Jiraiya-sama keep going to do his research?" Haku asked while Naruto led them through Konoha, drawing a few stares.

The sennin had once again left them up to their own devices.

"Who cares? That old man isn't good for much anyway!" Naruto snorted scornfully.

"He leaves us alone a lot." Gaara said quietly.

"He's just a jerk, that's why." The blonde asserted.

Gaara, who walked behind Haku, suddenly paused when he felt a pair of eyes on him. He looked back, wondering who may have been inspecting him.

Haku noticed his actions and also stopped, while Naruto obliviously kept on walking.

"What is it Gaara?" The dark haired boy asked.

He said nothing in response, and noticed a set of curious white eyes examining him from across the street. It was a boy, young like themselves, with long, dark hair tied back. He stood next to a tall man who Gaara supposed was his father.

He felt a twinge of jealousy over the boy for a moment. He had never felt such attachment to anyone in his family.

"Gaara?"

The boy kept watching him, as if he could see right through him. Gaara felt almost compelled to lash out at him but he willfully suppressed the feeling.

Gaara turned back to Haku, "Nothing. Let's go."