Zenko; Feral

Haku

Naruto left extremely early one morning. He had one purpose in mind when he left everyone. He heard Kakashi woke up and he knew that the man saw him left. But this can't be delayed. He shot through the now familiar but depressing street of Nami. He hated going through the town. Hinata would always be sad and at times she smelled of salt whenever she saw those tiny kids in the narrow alleys, weak and starving. But there was nothing she can do. What use was money in a place where people could easily lost it to bullies?

But going through the town was the fastest way he can get to the bridge. Upon reaching it, he walked straight for the centre and then off the side. Sticking to the underside, he started his work...

Meanwhile, Sasuke yawned as he went out to look for Naruto. Hinata would have gone out but she needed to guard Tsunami while she went and fish for their meal. Kakashi followed Tazuna to the bridge. That left Sasuke to find the baka kitsune.

He was looking around when he saw someone in the grass. He noticed that they were gathering herbs growing wildly on the ground. They looked up upon sensing his look and Sasuke awkwardly gave them a nod. He was just about to continue his way when he realized something.

He turned back and asked, "Hey, uh...miss? Have you seen a kid around my age with blond hair that also happened to be a blond fox? He either have a giant ass squirrel tail or nine fox tails,"

The girl blinked before thinking about it, "Uhm...no?'

Sasuke scowled, "Great. Baka kitsune. Giving me problem. All I want is for him to be safe but he always go out of his way to get into one trouble or another,"

The girl looked at his hitai-ate, "Are you a Shinobi?"

Sasuke awkwardly nodded, "Konoha,"

The girl smiled, "I always wondered...why did you become a Shinobi?"

Sasuke paused at the question. He...surprisingly didn't really know the answer for that. A few years back, he would say for vengeance. But he didn't necessarily need to become a Shinobi for that, did he? If anything...

He shrugged, "My whole family was Shinobi,"

The girl hummed, "I see. You must be strong,"

Sasuke's expression darkened, "Not enough,"

The girl then asked, "Then...why did you want to become strong?"

Sasuke wondered why he was even entertaining this girl with all her questions. But then again, no one had really asked him all these questions. He thought about the final answer closely, "At first...it was for vengeance. Maybe justice, I don't know. There is someone out there that I really need to kill to lay everyone to rest. But then..." He thought about stupid Naruto. The dumb fox that won't leave him alone. He smiled, "Then there is someone I need to keep safe from that person,"

The girl's expression softened, "I see. I always think that true strength really only showed itself when there is something or someone that you want to protect beyond yourself," She then patted her hand and picked her basket, "This has been an interesting conversation with you, Konoha-san. Good day,"

Sasuke nodded, "Sure. Good day to you too,"

The girl suddenly stopped, "My name's Haku and...I'm actually a boy,"

Sasuke froze in disbelief. He wasn't blind. He have eyes. He noticed girls, which was a relief because had he been gay he'll be miserable since he wanted to revive his clan and he didn't want to cheat on his spouse or partner. That said, he will admit at least privately to himself when a girl was cute. And Haku was! Except he's a boy!