Naruto paused as he grabbed a herb, he shook his head and pulled it out. "I became a shinobi so I could gain the respect of my village!" he said enthusiastically, "I plan on becoming the greatest Hokage to ever grace the elemental nations!"
Haku raised an eyebrow as Naruto jumped to his feet and pumped his fists into the air. "I see…that's quite a grand dream," Haku paused for a second before plunging on. "So what's a ninja doing out this early in the morning?"
"Erm…" Naruto blushed a bit as he remembered his destructive therapy session, "Training!"
He answered with enthusiasm. After all, destroying several hundred copies of one's self can constitute as training, right?
Haku noticed the lie but let it slide, "So why are you training?"
"To become strong of course!" Naruto shouted with a wide grin that stretched across his face and closed his eyes, making him look like a fox.
Haku looked the blond up and down, noticing the tightly packed muscles underneath Naruto's cloak, "You seem plenty strong now."
Naruto shook his head, "Maybe, but I'm not strong enough. I have to become stronger."
"To become Hokage?" asked Haku.
Naruto nodded, "Not just Hokage, but the greatest Hokage."
"Are you doing this for someone else? Or yourself?" asked Haku.
Sitting back down Naruto looked at her curiously. "Er…huh?" was his rather unintelligent reply as he scratched the back of his head.
Haku noticed the look and covered a hand to her mouth as she released a giggle.
"Hey!" Naruto shouted, a blush adorning his face at the sound of Haku's giggle, "What's so funny!"
"Nothing," Haku replied with a smile, "So do you…have someone who is important to you?"
"Someone…important?" Naruto asked in a questioning and perplexed tone.
Haku nodded, remembering the day Zabuza had come and gave her a purpose. "When a person has something important to protect, that's when they become truly strong."
Naruto paused in his herb picking as he looked up at Haku. Listening to those words, Naruto remembered Iruka-sensei protecting him from Mizuki and allowing him to graduate afterwards.
His mind flashed to Hokage-Ojisan who had been with him ever since he had been kicked out of the orphanage.
And he remembered the Ichiraku family, who owned the only restaurant (AKA food stand) that did not kick him out.
More images played through his head. Anko helping him with his tort…training in the Forest of Death, sparring against the literal fighting Hurricane Rock Lee. His growing improvement with a bo staff and recently a katana, thanks to Tenten. And her father Kaito, who sold him goods at the same price as everyone else and had given him said staff for free.
They were all people who he had grown close to. He would easily fight to protect them, even give his life.
"I know exactly what you mean," Naruto said solemnly, his usual enthusiasm and occasional snarky attitude diminished.
"You'll get strong," Haku said, seeing the understanding light enter Naruto's eyes. Standing up Haku looked at Naruto. "By the way…I'm a boy."
Naruto froze for a second, his eyes went wide, his face turned green and he felt like he wanted to vomit.
Oh no! Oh No oh no oh no! If I called a boy angel I'm gonna- he paused mid rant as Haku began to walk away and his nose caught a scent.
"You're lying," Naruto stated, causing Haku to freeze and look back at him. Grinning Naruto stood up and walked over to her, "You almost had me fooled, but there is no way you can be a guy."
Haku kept calm and merely raised an eyebrow, "Oh? What makes you say that?"
"Well, the first thing is you have no Adam's apple" Naruto had been reading up on human anatomy and so he knew that was one of the…differences between male and female.
The other differences are… he shook his head, Mind out of the gutter Naruto. Looking back at Haku he continued.
"Second, you're far too pretty to be a man," He grinned as Haku blushed, It's too bad I can't make Anko turn red like that…Gah!
He shook his head again and cursed Anko for corrupting him. "And finally, no self-respecting male would ever smell of lavender and lilac."
"I…see," was all Haku said, to surprised that someone had called her out to actually say anything, though a part of her mind was trying to come up with an excuse for posing as a boy.
"I'm guessing you're posing as a male because of Gato's reign of tyranny over the island?" Naruto asked.
Haku felt herself relax as the blond unwittingly provided a cover story. "Yes, Gato's men have been known to do things that were…less than savory to women that they catch alone."