Naruto: Snow Cold

I rushed back to my mother, who was still clapping for me in the crowd, and hugged her tightly. She immediately hugged me back, her warmth and pride evident.

"Did you see, Mum?! I passed, I passed!" I exclaimed, my excitement spilling over. It was so damn thrilling! Almost five entire years spent in this world, and my road to becoming a ninja has finally begun!

"I saw you, sweetheart. Congratulations!" she said, gently patting my head. Then she tilted her head, her tone curious. "But why did you stop running near the end? You could have taken first place, and we both know that wasn't your limit."

"I... don't want to be the center of attention. I dislike having too much eyes on me," I admitted, looking away.

She smiled at me, like always. "That's okay, Amai, but don't be afraid to use your strength when you really need it, alright? Standing out isn't always a bad thing."

I looked back at her and grinned, almost whispering, "...Yeah, I guess."

"How about you go see your friend over there? Don't want him to feel too lonely, do we?" Right, I'm going to go check up on Sora. He most probably passed; I believe in him.

"Yeah, come with me, Mom!" I pulled away, and she accompanied me through the crowd. After a while, we found Sora talking with his own mother. A few weeks after I started playing soccer with him, I had gotten to know her a bit. My mom did most of the talking, though; her name was Mika Shiraishi.

I shouted, "Hey, Sora! Did you pass? Tell me you did!" Judging by the smile on his face, he obviously did, but I asked anyway.

"Of course I did! I pushed until the fourth round, what do you think?" He boasted. Damn, he really has been putting in the work, hasn't he? Meanwhile, my mom had been chattering with Miss Mika.

"That's amazing, I knew you could do it. Actually..." I realized. This was a good opportunity to start teaching him about chakra. The chakra control exercises should do for now, and I'll try to help him figure out his affinities later on.

"How about we play at the plaza like always? I'll teach you some cool stuff as well. Let's ask Miss Mika if we can!" I grinned, and he smiled back at me. A glint appeared in his eyes—but not one of joy. It was more like... a clever, calculating glint. I gotta figure out what's up with this boy. He's probably just a natural genius, isn't he? He must be.

"Sure, I think it'll be really fun."

We drew near to our chattering mothers, overhearing their conversation.

"...sometimes I just wish she'd open up to others and make some friends, you know? It makes me worry." Mooooom, shut up! I'm fine as I am!

"I can relate," Mika said with a sympathetic smile, then turned around and noticed us. "Oh, do you kids need anything?"

Sora spoke up for both of us. "Yeah, Mom. Can we go to the plaza to play? To celebrate getting into the academy and stuff?" Thank you!

"Can we, pretty please?" I added, putting on my best pleading face. They looked at each other and promptly answered at the same time, "Of course."

...

Half an hour later, we were at the plaza. I decided to start by teaching Sora the most basic of basics—the Leaf Concentration Practice I'd shown him months ago.

"Alright, so you just have to put a leaf on your forehead, let your chakra flow toward that point, and—"

"Done," he interrupted.

"What?" I blinked, staring at him. A leaf was already perfectly balanced on his forehead, not even budging. I was flabbergasted.

"I've been doing it for a while, actually," he said, smirking. "My record is 49 minutes and 42 seconds."

"H-How? It took me so long to get that far! Are you cheating? You have to be cheating!" I stared at him, half amazed and half indignant. He just looked even prouder.

"Nope, no cheatin' here," he said casually. "I figured it out on my own while messing around with my chakra. It's like you can make it stick to stuff at will—really weird."

"Damn..." I muttered, still processing. Then I perked up. "Well, uh... Can you climb trees yet? Using your feet."

"I... don't think I've ever tried that. Help me, please?" he asked, looking at me with a mix of curiosity and excitement.

"Hehe, sure," I replied with a mischievous grin. "Prepare to fall a lot, though."

Hours passed as I stood there, watching him repeatedly attempt to climb the tree. I acted as a sort of spotter, ready to step in if he fell to prevent any serious harm. Fortunately, the ground was soft, so even if I missed, he wouldn't hurt himself too badly.

"This is... fucking ridiculous!" he cursed as he tumbled down once again. Despite his frustration, his progress was impressive—he was already managing to climb halfway up the tree before losing his grip.

"Ooooooh, you said a bad word," I teased with a sly smirk. "You're not supposed to curse, you know."

He panicked, his eyes widening as he quickly stammered, "Sorry! Don't repeat whatever I said, alright?! It was a mistake!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. He's... something else. Yeah, I have a feeling he's going to be someone unique in the future.

"It's okay, I won't tell. Snitches get stitches, right?" I jested. Let's see if he gets the joke.

He paused, looking at me almost in surprise, and then burst out laughing. "Hahaha, right. Thanks, Amai. Seriously though, don't repeat anything I say, please. Mom would whoop me half to death if she heard me."

"Pffft, yeah. Oh, I haven't told you why you're doing this, have I? It's not just so you can climb like a monkey—it's also to improve your control over your chakra. You'll use it more efficiently, and your reserves will grow as you practice. The next step would be Water Walking, but I'll leave that for you to figure out."

"That sounds pretty cool. If I can't do it, you're going to help me, right?" he asked, looking at me with a hopeful expression.

"Um... Sure, yeah," I replied reluctantly. I couldn't just deny his request after spending so much time with him.

Just then, we heard a voice calling out from the distance. It was my mother's. "Kids, it's time to go! It's getting late!"

"Coming, Mom! Let's go, Sora!"

"Huh. That sucks," he said with a frown. "I was looking forward to learning a bit more from you."

"It's okay, we can just get together at the academy. Promise?" I offered, smiling.

"Promise," he replied, his smile returning.

As we walked back toward our mothers, I couldn't help but feel a warm sense of satisfaction. I was glad to have a friend, I really was. So many years of being an outcast in my previous life, and now? Hah, I couldn't believe it.

I took my mother's hand, and bid goodbye to Sora and Mika-san. We promptly made our way to our apartment.

"I see you had lots of fun teaching him," my mother teased, her eyes sparkling with a playful glint.

"You could say that," I replied, rolling my eyes.

I can tell the academy is gonna be real exciting. I can't wait!