Bloodlines

Chapter 11
Lost and Found


Fear. Naruto had felt fear, known it in the darkest moments of his life. As a ninja, it was the greatest enemy to overcome. But never had fear so choked him, burned in his throat like he had swallowed hot embers and made his heart beat like a frightened bird in his chest.

He hadn’t waited, all he had heard was that Haku had been taken and his feet were moving before his mind was. All his thoughts focused on was “Haku”. All he knew was he had to get back to Konoha, and find Haku if he had to tear the forest down and every town and village in between to find him. And the person that had taken him? Even though Neji and Sai followed behind, none had to look to know Naruto’s eyes had gone the blood red of the fox.


Haku woke to the smell of food. It stimulated his very empty stomach to gurgle loudly. Something was prickling his scalp, and he pushed his hands through his hair, dislodging an unhappy Ramen. The lizard crawled down the collar of his neck as he sat up, looking blearily around. Had it all been a dream? The bad man and being lost in the woods? But while there was a campfire, it was not the carefully built creation Iruka had made.

“Are you hungry?” The deep, soft voice was still startling, and Haku turned, finding yet another stranger looking down at him. He had a momentary fright, when at first he thought it was his kidnapper. . . but the face was younger, and the hair more like his own. He was dressed differently too.

The stick the man held out to him held steaming chunks of meat that looked and smelled delicious. After hesitating only a moment, he took it.

“ Don’t eat too fast. You’ll be sick.” The man cautioned as Haku decimated the meal as only a hungry 5 year old can. Haku watched him suspiciously as he crouched over the fire, turning another stick of meat over the coals. Haku swallowed a big mouthful, rubbing his arm over his mouth to wipe of the grease. The man seemed amused by this.

“ Your name is Haku. Uzumaki Haku?”

Haku just nodded, looking hopefully at the meat cooking in the fire. So far the man seemed a lot nicer than the first. This one was feeding him at least.

“ How did you get to be here, so far in the forest alone?”

“ Oh. This guy came and made me go with him. He said he was my uncle, but he was lying.”

Haku’s eyes followed the pale slender hands as they moved the stick off the fire, blowing on it before holding it out to the child. Haku didn’t wait, and ended up burning the roof of his mouth. He sucked air in and out of his cheeks to cool it , earning him an odd look from his rescuer.

“I ran away from him though . . . he was really mean and scary.” This said through a mouthful of food. Manners it seemed, had skipped this particular child.

“The man. . . did he have strange eyes?” Sasuke asked. Haku nodded, cheeks stuffed too full to answer verbally.

“Did he hurt you?” Long fingers touched the lingering stains of rust on Haku’s cheeks. They flaked and fell away at his touch.

“No. . . not really. He said mean things, like how he was gonna hurt my dad. And he made my head hurt cause I got so mad. . . but I got away before he could kill me or anything.” Haku poked a bit of meat down his shirt, where Ramen accepted with a prickle of tiny teeth. Feeling full, and not scared for the fist time in awhile, a little of Haku’s natural curiosity came back.

“What’s your name? How did you know mine?”

The dark haired man tipped his head, as if considering. Haku took a moment to notice he had a sword strapped down his back, and that he carried himself like a lot of the ninja his father had called Jounin. The sword looked really cool.

“Sasuke. I knew your father.” The man, Sasuke, finally replied. Something about the name was familiar . . . but his father had lots and lots of friends. Many from all over. It was more than likely this was one of them. His chakra even felt vaguely familiar.

“So, are you taking me home? I’m kinda lost.” Haku glanced around the forest, far less frightening in the light of morning. Birds chirruped cheerfully, and squirrels could be heard skittering though the canopy. Still, he was happy to have an adult here.

“Yes. Your father’s going to be worried.”

“ Oh, he’s on a mission. I was camping with Kakashi and Iruka sensei. They were trying to tell me that my dad’s gonna get married and stuff, but I already knew. Mika’s a Hyuga, and she told me her cousin Neji-san’s gonna be like my new dad or something.” He squinted his eyes at the empty stick, picking at the charred places.

“ I’m not sure what that means though. . .“

“ Married? Naruto and Neji. . .”

“Yeah. That means I have to dress up and stuff.” He wrinkled his nose at the thought. The man sat in silence for awhile, staring into the sky, Haku long used to Shikamaru’s rather long periods of doing nothing just waited. Finally the man stood, shifting dirt over the fire with a sandaled foot.

“Let us get you home.”

It would have been easier to take the boy piggyback, it would have taken maybe an hour to take him back to Konoha. . . but he felt no need to hurry. They walked, Sasuke shortening his stride to make up for those with shorter legs. Rather, Sasuske walked, and Haku talked.

And talked. . . .

Indeed however much he looked like Sasuke, he had Naruto’s inane ability to chatter on and on about absolutely nothing at all. The sky, a bird he had never seen before, a weird noise or rock. How many cool ninja things he was going to learn in school soon. And food, especially food.

Not very experienced with children, he none-the-less reminded himself that Haku was his offspring, and telling him to shut-up like he would have to Naruto wasn’t plausible. Nor was gagging him.

“So how do you know my dad?”
The sudden switch from “The grossest thing I was ever dared to eat-” topic gave Sasuke pause.

“We met as children.” He replied. He started to walk again, when he felt a tiny hand slip into his own. Staring down in surprise, he found a pair of large dark eyes staring back with perfect trust.

“Wow. Was that a long time ago?” The little nose wrinkled, the eyes curving half close in a startling impression of his father when Sasuke had first met him.

“No, not really.”

Sasuke felt his hands go clammy with nerves, not sure of the hand holding. Afraid to grip too hard, the little fingers felt fragile as a bird’s bones beneath his much larger hand. Strong though, he gripped tightly, head tipped up like a flower towards the sun. There was no darkness there, no shadows created by over expectant parents, or overshadowing brothers. It seemed Naruto’s sun shone bright within Haku. Like Naruto, there was nothing but hope and trust. Even with a perfect stranger.

“So we are friends now too, right!?”

A bright beautiful smile stretched the boys face from ear to ear and it was confirmed. Just like the night he had first laid eyes on his infant son, something deep within was moved.

“Yes. I suppose we are.”


Half of Konoha was out looking for the child it seemed. Sasuke felt them long before he approached the village’s invisible border. He paused, not interested in a skirmish with his former teammates. There, in the milling of chakra patterns, was one burning blue and red. Naruto, and he was letting a bit of the fox seep through.

He could have left the boy and disappeared back to his own mission, but something made him stay.

It wasn’t long, before he appeared. He was taller than before, and his golden hair touched his shoulders. The eyes though slitted, were still as blue as the summer sky. Just as he remembered.

It was the first time in five years that Sasuske had laid eyes on the one remaining link to his past. A small hand tugged at his arm, and looking down he realized with a flash of deep unsettlement that the chain had just gotten one link longer.