Meeting at the Dark River - 3

It couldn't have been more obvious that he had been out in the wilderness for quite some time.

Haku looked at the boy curiously. He was unsure of how to act since he had hardly ever had contact with other children before.

The blonde boy flounced up to Haku, apparently thirsting to socialize.

"Hey! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Who are you?" Haku's ears were hurting.

Why was he so loud?

He answered in a quiet voice, "I'm Haku."

Naruto grabbed his hand and shook it, "It's great to meet you Haku! You're the first person I've seen outside of Konoha!"

Haku picked up on Naruto's enthusiasm and found himself smiling as well.

"Konoha?"

Naruto looked dumbfounded, "Don't tell me you haven't heard of the Hidden Leaf Village!"

"I'm sorry. I haven't."

The blonde boy folded his arms across his chest and huffed, "Well jeez! It's only the best ninja village around! I'm out here because-"

"Did you say ninja village?" Haku could not believe his luck. Not only had he met a friendly youth like himself, but Naruto was actually from a village of shinobi!

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I'll be going back there soon to see Hinata-chan, but I've been away for a couple of days so I can train myself. Maybe you can come too!"

Haku wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not, considering this stroke of good fortune. However his head was still spinning due to the disappearance of Hiroshi, and his fear of losing his only friend irked him to no end.

Naruto took a deep breath and then dropped his backpack to the ground with a thud. He landed on his butt next to it and stretched his arms.

"Man I went pretty far! I'm starved!" Naruto continued to puzzle Haku as he retrieved a cup of what appeared to be noodles from his bag.

Haku sat down as well, still surprised Naruto had actually liked his ability rather than feared it.

"Want some?" Naruto was preparing the cup ramen, and he held out an extra for Haku. Haku hesitated. Naruto had poured a thermos of lukewarm water into his meal and then tore into it.

The dark haired boy watched Naruto slurp his food rapidly, as if he was rushing just to move on to a second helping. Haku thought it disgusting to eat that way.

He lost his appetite.

"No thank you, Naruto."

The blonde boy shrugged and then stashed the extra cup back in his bag. He continued his messy meal contentedly.

Haku sighed inwardly. This was turning out to be a weird day.

He had to say something; now that he was aware that Naruto had actually come from a ninja village it may be his only chance for the training he wanted.

"Naruto?"

"Mff?"

"What's it like in your village?" Haku went straight to the point, "Can I train to become a ninja there?"

Naruto sighed and put down his empty cup, his face became solemn upon recalling Konoha. In his heart he knew it was a great place, just not particularly for him, but he promised himself he would find a way to change that.

He tilted his chin up in the air in thought, "Well..."

Haku looked at him with great anticipation.

"Training to become a ninja is hard no matter who you are. Do you think you have what it takes?" Naruto tried to unnerve Haku, but he only succeeded in confusing him more.

"Do I have what it takes?"

"Yeah, you know: jutsu, weapons, skills…that kind of stuff." Naruto himself understood very little of what he was talking about.

Haku shook his head. What was a jutsu? He had lived on a farm for Heaven's sake!

Naruto took a closer look at Haku.

'He's kinda...scrawny and…I don't know...'

"Well, you can do that cool thing with the water so that's a start..." Naruto tried to form a list of assets, "Can you fight?"

"I can with water."

Naruto shook his head, "No Haku, I mean like punching and stuff. I heard people at the academy call it something but I don't remember what exactly. Anyway, can you?"

"No, I don't know how." Haku felt embarrassed. He hadn't taken into account that he would have to be able to fight in more ways than one. He felt disheartened by the idea.

By some miracle, Naruto came up with another idea, "Well, you can learn to fight and stuff later! But are you good at anything else? Like medicine? How fast are you?"

If Haku could remember correctly, he could be impressively fast when he wanted to be. Yet he was not certain if his speed could compare to a ninja's. He decided to give it a shot anyway.

"I'm fast."

"Good! Let's see!" Naruto jumped to his feet, his energy practically radiating off of him. It made Haku feel tired just by looking at him.

Haku stood up as well, 'I'm fast. I can prove it. I have skill...'

It was the first time in Haku's young life he had heard three specific words used in the same sentence.

"Tag! You're it!"

In a flash of yellow, Naruto was gone.

Haku stood where he was, completely perplexed, "I'm afraid I don't understand, Naruto."

Naruto sighed in exasperation and leaped down from his hiding place among the tree tops.

"You're 'it', so you know, you gotta run after me and try to catch me. That way I can see how fast you are."

Haku was still bewildered that the blonde boy jumped in and out of trees like it was nothing, which could explain all of the foliage he was covered in. He shook the thought out of his head and nodded.

"Alright."

'I don't think I can get up into the trees though...I suppose I'll have to find a way to keep him on the ground...'

Naruto laughed gleefully as he disappeared into the tree tops again, and Haku quickly pursued him while on the ground.

"Why don't you just come up here Haku? You're pretty fast!" Naruto called down to him, leaping from tree branch to tree branch.

Haku frowned up at him, "I...can't jump that high..."

"Then you'll never catch me!"

Naruto certainly wasn't concerned with stealth; his laughter echoed through the entire forest and made it easy for Haku to follow him. It was frustrating for the dark eyed boy to stay grounded.

Luckily Haku had something that Naruto had not counted on: brain power. He was clever enough to fix his problem.

'Naruto makes it seem that I can only catch him if I chase him around. But maybe if I…'

"Too slow!" Naruto laughed while jumping over Haku's head. He raced like a yellow blur back towards the river.

Haku was not willing to be out-done. He nearly matched Naruto's speed and let him lead the way through the forest while he waited for the blonde boy to play into his still-forming trap.

"Come on Haku! I thought you said you wanted to train as a ninja!" Naruto taunted playfully as he bounced around the treetops with ease.

Haku remained quiet in his pursuit, waiting for the right moment to strike...

Suddenly Naruto made the mistake of coming too close to the water's edge.

'Now!' Haku waved his hand in a diagonal motion he had practiced before, letting a thin jet of muddy water land a direct hit on Naruto's face. His accuracy was alarming and his timing was flawless.

"Wah!" The blonde boy slipped from the tree branch, blind-sided by the attack. Since his calculations had served him well, Haku quickly pounced on Naruto with a triumphant smile as he collided with the ground.

"I got you!"

Naruto was still hollering in laughter, aware that Haku had used wit rather than speed to catch him, but he was impressed all the same.

He spoke between pants, "You're...not as...fast as...me..."

"Not yet." Haku admitted it with a smile since he had still proved himself.

"I didn't expect a trap!" Naruto dried is face on his sleeve once he had caught his breath.

Haku felt accomplished; if only Hiroshi had seen how well he had done!

Hiroshi!

Haku leapt to his feet, remembering his friend and how he had not completed his search.

"Oh! I need to find Hiroshi-san! It's getting dark."

Naruto looked up towards the red and pink sky and then to Haku, "Who's Hiroshi?"

"My friend. I fell asleep a little while ago and when I woke up I couldn't find him." Haku explained. He didn't feel as panicked as he had before, but he was still worried enough to keep looking.

Naruto slipped his back pack on and also stood.

"I'll help you find him!" Naruto volunteered. His main reason to help was that Haku was an enjoyable playmate, and he did not look forward to being left alone again.

"Thank you." Haku was glad Naruto had decided to come along. It took a moment for Haku to get used to his new companion as they ventured back towards the town.

'He's like me…more than Hiroshi or the man with the sword...Naruto wants to be a ninja.'

Haku was startled when Naruto spoke up in a normal tone of voice.

"So...does this make us friends?"

Haku smiled, "It would be an honor to be your friend, Uzumaki Naruto."