Naruto: Champion of Avalon

By Quick-n-Popular

Chapter Eight: Trials and Tribulations

Naruto stood in the doorway of the guest bedroom in Tazuna's house. Inside the room, sitting in a chair, facing the window was Haku. The girl showed no signs of recognizing Naruto's presence since he arrived fifteen minutes before. Naruto had mixed feelings about how he should approach her as he was somewhat responsible for her precious person's demise and had a hand in keeping her from joining him in death. Literally, he had a hand as when he had seen her arrive and knew what she was going to attempt; he immediately sought to stop her and restrained her as she watched her master, Zabuza, die after killing Gatou and fighting the rest of his hired men. However, there was another reason as to why he was hesitant to approach her as the words from his senseis kept ringing in his ear….

-A Week Before, on the Bridge-

Haku was shouting, screaming, and sobbing hysterically as she thrashed around in Naruto's grasp while never tearing her eyes away from where her master, her most precious person, Zabuza Momichii, The Demon of the Bloody Mist; lay dead and defeated. Then her mind seemed to practically shut itself down and she fell to her knees like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Naruto watched with a heavy heart, as she became a silent, twitching, mess. However, half of his attention was on the scene of Inari, Tsunami's son, leading the majority of the populace to come to help save his grandfather and the others working on the bridge. However, their presence was not really needed as Yugao, Tenten, and Lee had managed to wipe out the remainder of Gatou's horde, what little remained running for their dear lives. In a span of nearly three hours, the threat that was both Zabuza and Gatou was over. The town erupted in a vast cheer in response that they have gained their freedom after years of tyranny. Naruto snorted at the fact that had he and his team had not accepted the mission and rejected Tazuna outright for lying to them, this whole village would be whistling a different tune, one of surrender and obedience. The blond-haired Genin sighed and shook his head. These people had a right to celebrate and he should not berate them for taking this long to find the courage to confront those that oppressed them. In the midst of his musings, Naruto missed his team coming right up to him and his shaken person, still held with her hand behind her, tightly.

"Naruto-kun, is she all right? She looks really bad." Yugao kneeled down next to the girl who was staring out into space muttering in faint whispers, "Zabuza-sama", repeatedly.

Naruto sighed sadly, as he looked down at the girl before swinging his other arm underneath her knees and picked her up, bridal style, and held her closely to him as, in a way, to convey to Haku that she was all right. However, she didn't respond to this action as her eyes were glazed over and her mutterings continued. Avalon's Champion saw his teammates look sadly at her while his senseis seemed to be thinking.

Hayate was the first to speak, the formerly ill-Jounin sighed before walking up to his student.

"Naruto, there's something you need to know….as does Haku."

Naruto's eyebrows lifted in surprise that his sensei found out what her name was, as he had never revealed her name. He suddenly heard Haku stop muttering though tears escaped from her eyes, he looked at her gave her a squeeze to try to reassure her. He turned back to his senseis, nodding to them while Haku seemed to shake and stare off into space.

"Well," Hayate began, "Before Zabuza took my kunai…"

-Flashback: twenty minutes earlier-

After Gatou gave his smug order to his men, Zabuza sighed, despondently before turning towards Hayate.

"Leaf-nin, I have a favor to ask."

Hayate raised an eyebrow, "A favor?"

Zabuza closed his eyes before turning to meet the eyes of the grinning henchmen of Gatou, reaching for the swords as they made their slow approach.

"Use Haku well. Don't let her talents turn to rust."

Hayate's face, at first, became contorted in confusion before realization hit and he nodded in understanding.

Zabuza continued looking ahead, though it appeared that he, at least, saw Hayate's answer. He then turned to look at Hayate

"Well, I'm officially not your enemy anymore. Your bridge-builder's safe from me. So, got a kunai?"

Hayate smirked as he tossed him one, which Zabuza caught between his teeth as he faced with oncoming horde of samurai with animalistic-eyes.

"By the way," He said with the kunai in his mouth, "That blond-baka of yours…he's coming along fine." He said no more, nor did he look back at any of the remaining Leaf-nins as he soon headed straight for Gatou…

-Flashback, ended-

Naruto, surprised by Zabuza's request, not to mention his off-handed compliment towards him; looked at Haku to see how she would react. Sadly, she was still in her catatonic-like stare, still whispering Zabuza's name in repetition. Sighing he turned to his senseis, Hayate being the one who seemed to be waiting for answer.

"You understand, Naruto, that I have no authority to grant such a request from an enemy nuke-nin. It is a completely obscure request. However, I don't know Haku's past, so I cannot ultimately reject the man's last request. Should I honor his request at least until her case can be heard by the Hokage?"

Naruto nodded.

"You do realize the responsibility that comes with this, Naruto-kun?" Yugao added. "She's your responsibility and you know that she's not going to be happy with you when she recovers from her shock, despite whether or not you killed her master. Are you sure?"

Naruto nodded again, "It'd be easier to run from this, but I believe she deserves a second life." He sighed, "She may hate me for the rest of my life, but I'm not going to regret stopping her from throwing her's away."

Hayate nodded and left to walk over to the people of the village and offer their assistance in helping in the burial of their lost friends.

Yugao smiled, nodding as well, and then left to join Hayate. Tenten and Rock Lee approached Naruto with Lee shouting out about 'Naruto brilliant flames of youth' or some other thing. Tenten, while ignoring her green-spandex-clad partner, commented as well as to how she approved of Naruto's decision and then went on into questions about what type of a fighter Haku was. All through this, not once did Haku look at any of them or acknowledge that she had heard them.

-Back inside the guest bedroom-

A full week had passed which had Haku snapping out of her stupor but remained quiet and distant. Yugao told him that she had spoke with Haku for a little while, retelling her of what Hayate had said of her master's request, as well as the fight itself as it was the only thing Haku wanted to know. Naruto was not sure what the end result of all of this would be. A part of him really wanted her to forgive him while another respected her decision to not speak with him or acknowledge his presence. So far, Yugao has been the only one to have broken through to her, though it was only that one time as Haku, then, completely shut herself off to everyone once more. Watching her now, Naruto breathed out a sigh before turning to leave.

"I wasn't your fault."

It was quiet and barely above a whisper, but it had caught Naruto's ears as he was soon back to his position and he replied a little louder to her.

"I'm somewhat to blame, though."

For the first time in over a week, Haku turned in her chair and looked at him with parched red eyes.

"Zabuza-sama…died fighting; he had always told me that was the way he wanted to go." She chocked on a sob, her throat probably sore. She looked down, closing her eyes before taking a few unsteady breaths and then opened her eyes and looked directly into Naruto's. "At first I was furious that you denied me the right to die as Zabuza-sama's weapon. But, after talking with your sensei; I have a little bit more of an idea as to why you did what you did and her telling me what Zabuza-sama's last words were…well, it made me realize that I, unknowingly, would have went against my master's wishes, had I done what intended to." Haku then slowly rose from her chair and shakily walked over to Naruto, stopping before him. She closed her eyes and bowed deeply. "Arigatou, Naruto-san, for stopping me from doing something foolish."

Naruto blushed and turned his head away while scratching the side of his head, awkwardly.

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're feeling better."

Haku nodded and then smiled, "I heard your sensei's version of what happened before I arrived. I'd very much like to hear your version as well."

Naruto nodded and smiled as he began telling her….

In a week and a half, the bridge had been completed; during that time, there had been no signs of retaliation from the survivors who had acted with Gatou. For the Konoha Nins, their senseis trained them harder than ever during this time of rest. From learning to walk on water using chakra, sparring upside down on a branch, with Lee being the exception to these exercises; to sparring with every kind of weaponry and learning how to defend from each kind. Haku was invited by Naruto to join their training to which she, at first, shakily did after having a long period of inactivity; her whole body was stiff and the muscles unused. However even after she had her rhythm back, she had moments where she would suddenly breakdown emotionally. Usually it was either Naruto or Yugao that were able to help Haku through her moments. Lee and Tenten, while having sympathy for Haku, weren't sure how they would help her as they still felt to be complete strangers to the ice user. Hayate, though, felt it was Naruto's responsibility to help her through this period of grief. The three still helped the girl as much as they could and by the time the bridge was finished it seemed Haku was better than before. Still, they all knew she wasn't completely over losing her precious master.

Naruto sealed the rest of his things just as Haku entered his room with a similar scroll holding all the things she had over at Zabuza's old hideout. At first Naruto was going to send a shadow clone with her to make sure she was all right and, hopefully, prevent her to from going farther into grief and possibly taking her own life. Apparently, she seemed to have known what he was thinking as she had stopped short from her journey and told the clone that she'd be fine before discreetly taking out a senbon and striking the clone in the shin and dispelling it. Thus, Naruto smiled as he turned to her and his eyes comically widened, slightly, as he took in her appearance. The longhaired brunette has dressed herself in a lily-white kimono with orchid and crane patters along the bottom. The obi was crimson red in color, her hair tied back into a bun using senbon dyed red to disguise themselves, and her face was lightly atoned in makeup.

Overall, Naruto thought she looked gorgeous.

"Uh…Uh…." Was his intelligent response, his eyes still wide and he nearly fell over.

Haku giggled at his reaction. "I'm glad you approve, Naruto-san. I decided to go like this when we enter your village as going in as a Shinobi may draw unwanted attention and may prevent me from gaining an audience with your Hokage."

Naruto nodded as he picked up his scroll and pocketed it. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He then walked with her out to meet with his team. After the goodbyes to Inari, Tazuna, Tsunami, and some of the villagers; the group from Konoha, plus one, made their trek as fast as possible back to Konohagakure no Sato. Pausing only once for a meal, the time was made up with Tenten and Lee breaking out of their awkward shells and began telling Haku stories of Konoha. Haku began to show a little reluctance after Tenten had told her of the village's pride in having numerous bloodlines; however, Naruto quietly assured her that he would let NO ONE treat her as breeding stock and would go nuke before that would happen. It seemed to help her spirits that and Naruto's assurance that the Hokage would not be someone who'd pressure her, or anyone else, into a position that they were reluctant, if not resilient, to take.

Haku felt safe around Naruto, that was a given. She could feel she could trust him despite of their roles previously being enemies to one another. He was a comfort zone where she would always be welcomed. With the others in his group, she was hesitant and cautious around them. Although Yugao-san exuded a pleasant atmosphere, to disregard her of being a professional assassin and her skills as an accomplished Kunoichi, would be tantamount to suicide. However, despite how Naruto made her feel, she knew she would soon have to build her own strength without leaning, emotionally, on those she perceived as a pillar of emotional support, like Naruto and Zabuza. Looking at Naruto caused other emotions to come bubbling to the surface, ones that made her glade her make-up kept well hidden.

The gates to the village soon appeared and within a matter of minutes, everyone was inside and Haku got a good glance of the 'Village hidden in the Leaves'. It was quite spacious and the street they were walking on was alive with people's chatter and with children running about in a carefree manner. This was the exact opposite of the demeanor of the Village hidden in the Mist. However, upon closer observation, Haku could see some similarities one being the Shinobi constantly being in movement on the rooftops and the glares towards those one was unfamiliar with. There was something different, though, this time. There were words, but instead of murmured, barely coherent, ones these were made loud enough to hear.

"Great. The demon brat is back alive."

Haku was stupefied by this remark. She doubted heavily that news of whom she was apprenticing at a time would reach back to this village quickly and become common village gossip. Their eyes, burrowing in a hateful manifested glare, did not seem to be directed towards her but more rather the one next to her, Naruto. Turning to look at her friend, she soon found herself stumbling in shock as she gaped at what the boy now looked like. He was about a few inches shorter than she was and all of his arsenal was now absent. He wore an eyesore, a bright neon-orange jumpsuit with hints of blue and white on the cuffs and pockets. His face had gained some baby-fat making his cheeks somewhat pronounced and on said cheeks were three whisker-like marks on each one. Quite frankly, he looked exactly the opposite of what a shinobi should look like. Haku consciously reached out with her chakra senses and found a very thick Genjutsu wrapped around his entire body and even his pores to mask his smell as well.

Haku leaned down, which was a change, and whispered into Naruto's ear, "Why are you looking like that? It makes you look like an idiot."

To her surprise, Tenten had heard her as she muttered, "Told you so, Naruto."

Naruto huffed at her rebuke but looked up to Haku and mouthed, "I'll tell you later inside."

Haku nodded and walked with them the remainder of the way and soon they were all outside a set of massive oak doors emblazoned with a black symbol of fire on the outside. When they arrived, the secretary had told them that the Hokage was in the middle of a meeting with his advisors and would be available in a short time. Thus everyone waited, Tenten conversing with Haku about senbon used in battle while Lee and Naruto talked about the pros and cons of using weapons with various Taijustsu stances. By the end of it all, Naruto and Lee were still in the midst of their debate when the doors of the Hokage's office opened and the advisors soon left. The secretary went in first to see if the Hokage was ready for new visitors and, after getting the confirmation, she let everybody in.

Naruto was soon back at his apartment storing everything he had sealed in his scroll back to where they belonged. His mind, though, was preoccupied by what had happened in the Hokage's office shortly before they all had left…

-An Hour and a Half Earlier-

Things were going pretty good as far as Naruto could see. The Old Man accepted Haku into the village and was assigning her to do some training with the ANBU to gauge her skills for a proper ranking. After dispelling the illusion around himself, Naruto gave a lengthy explanation behind having to hide behind the 'mask' of his former self, Haku seemed to accept it however calling him an idiot still, much like Tenten did. The Hokage seemed pleased with the report, despite how he had been lied to by Tazuna, and told all three of the Genin that they did an exemplary job. When all had been said and done, Hayate soon caught everyone's attention.

"I think now would be a good time to announce that both Gai, Yugao, and myself have decided to nominate you three and Neji for the Chuunin Exams."

Everything was expressed with emotion as lee had his fist raised with a loud "Yosh!" to go with it, Tenten had excitement blazed in her eyes, while Naruto looked astounded and gave a "Huh."Naruto's expression became more serious as he turned to his senseis.

"What should I expect?"

Hayate mentally nodded in approval for his student to not be so caught up in the excitement that he would go in blind like so many others before him. "We'll discuss that in three days while we allow you to get some rest. Then we'll be training you harder than ever to make sure you're ready for this. Oh and another thing Naruto." He then walked up to his student and placed his hands on both of his shoulders as he looked into his eyes, "Promise me this, if you're serious about taking this exam, then you should go in as a serious shinobi and leave your 'mask' behind."

Naruto's eyes widened, "What?"

Yugao sighed, "Nii-chan, although it's admirable of you to keep up this farce of you still being the Jinchuuriki, just to keep the mournful happy; it's time that you show everybody something they're not prepared for."

"I didn't get the reputation for being 'the most unpredictable ninja in training' just as a hand down title; I earned that for doing the unthinkable. Besides, going in looking as what I really am won't change people's perception of me." Naruto argued.

"Then what are you afraid of that you still want to hide behind an illusion?" Hayate asked.

Naruto looked to the ground while everybody else looked at him, expectantly. That is, everyone save three: Haku, Yugao, and the Hokage.

The Sandaime sighed as he gave a knowing nod, "You still want people to accept you, isn't that right, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto still stared at the floor but by not denying seemed to confirm Sarutobi's insight.

"But Naruto-kun, Tenten, Gai-Sensei, Yugao and Hayate-Sensei; even Haku-san, we all accept you." Lee said with a confused expression.

Yugao sighed as she kneeled down and put her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You're right, Lee-kun, we all accept Naruto as he is, but the council and villagers…" She ended on an endnote, sadly, as she patted his head while Naruto gave a sigh.

"Who cares?" Tenten said gaining everybody's eyes on her. "Who cares what their impressions will be after he reveals what he really looks like. What could they do?"

"They've managed to convince the entire village save a few people that I'm a demon who would eat their children when their backs are turned, that I'm responsible for all the deaths committed by the Kyuubi, and that I'm better off either exiled or executed. If I show what I really look like I might be looking at either being arrested or banned from the village." Naruto answered and then sighed before looking back at the ground.

Tenten and Lee looked horrified at what Naruto predicted.

"You can't be serious," Tenten whispered, "The Hokage wouldn't-"

The Sandaime raised his hand stopping her before sighing himself and looked sadly out of the window at the village. "It'd be nice if the title of Hokage matches the image and ideals talked about it. However, in reality, there is only so much I can do and much half is governed by a democracy of voting in the council. Naruto has some truth about how the council might respond to his new appearance." The Hokage then let a small smile loose on his face, "However, There have been moments where people might change for the better."

Naruto looked up from the floor at the Hokage with surprise. "But Jiji, it's been six years and-"

Hayate, this time, stopped the line of discussion. "Naruto as nice as it is for the Sandaime to spend so much time, it's getting late. Like I said, YOU need to decide whether or not you're going to do this. Nevertheless, my condition still stands. If you're ever to really rise in the ranks, you need to have faith in yourself even if others might not. Let me know in three days what your decision is."

-End Flashback-

Naruto sighed as he put away the last of the items from his scroll. Could he really show himself? He had gotten so used to hiding everything from everybody but that soon changed with his senseis, Tenten, Lee, and finally with Haku. Could he really show his true self to a village filled with people who thought the Kyuubi had changed into a child just to mock their hurt and anger? What would the end result be? Naruto didn't know, however, he felt the best thing to do, right now; was to sleep on it.

To be continued….

A/N: Sorry for the wait and the next chapter will be up, hopefully, in a couple of weeks. Till then review this chap and let me know what you think of the series thus far.

Till next time,

Q-n-P

Chapter Nine: The Torture of Morino Ibiki (this will have an entirely different spin on it as well)