Naruto: Snow Cold

Yet another day that goes by, flying like the wind.

Sora hadn't shown up at all the day she learned the Shadow Clone, which Amai found strange. There were times where he would show up to train with her, and others when he just didn't go.

She just assumed he wanted his privacy, or that he had something to do, which was understandable to her.

Right now, Amai was on her way to the Academy earlier than usual, hoping to sneak in a quick nap before classes started. Once she mastered the jutsu to a sufficient degree, she'd have plenty of free time to spare.

The streets were mostly empty at this hour, save for a few early risers and shinobi already heading out on missions.

Peace and quiet.

Amai exhaled, relishing the stillness.

'Maybe I should start going early more often.'

However, just as she was about to dismiss the thought entirely, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching from behind.

Amai turned her head, curious to see who it was, and it was none other than her sensei, Sarutobi Kenjiro.

"Good morning, Amai."

'What the fuck? Isn't he always five or ten minutes late? Why the hell is he here so early?' Amai thought with wariness.

"Good morning to you too, sensei." she replied smoothly, her posture relaxing as she stood up a little straighter, and put a polite smile on.

Kunoichi classes were helping with acting skills, but she still felt shy when it came to talking to people she didn't know so well, hence why she struggled to talk to the likes of Hyuuga Yui.

'Fuck, today I have to follow through with that intel gathering thing they assigned us, don't I?

"You're quite early today."

"Yeah, I guess I am. You're early too, sensei." For the first time in almost a whole year!

"Indeed, it is nice when there's this much silence. Makes mornings tolerable. Any particular reason why you're up so soon today?"

Amai tilted her head at him, keeping her expression neutral. "No real reason, sensei. I just wanted to arrive early for once."

Kenjiro raised a brow, clearly unconvinced but choosing not to press the matter. "Huh. Well, good habit to have." He paused for a moment before continuing, his tone casual. "That aside… a little bird told me you've been practicing a B-Rank jutsu. That true?"

Hearing that, Amai almost immediately stiffened. Her confident smile froze and her left eye twitched. Her expression shifted to one of comical horror.

How could he—? Hiruzen couldn't have been spying on her with that stupid crystal ball of his, right?

'No, let's be logical here,' she thought. 'I borrowed it from the Academy library, so of course, they'd know. They probably keep logs of every student's activity. He must've just checked them, especifically for me.'

"Maaaaybe?" Amai said, slowly turning her head to him.

"You crack easily under pressure, Amai. Work on that."

Amai blinked, then mentally screamed inside her head. 'Of course? I may have been a teen in my past life, but I'm basically seen as a child here! Is a child expected to have an iron will?!'

"I-I'll try." she stammered, attempting to mask her inner turmoil with an awkward smile.

"The Shadow Clone, right? Do you mind telling me why you choose to not participate in class or talk with your classmates, when you have such abilities? Or better yet, why do you choose to do worse on purpose, when it comes to things such as chakra control? For example, at the beginning of the year when I first evaluated your class. You dropped the leaf on purpose that time."

Amai's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected him to bring that up, especially not now. She just didn't want to stand out from the others because she wanted a few friends, is that so much to ask for?

"...I did. What of it? I simply don't want to be treated differently. I don't want to deal with expectations I can't even keep up with."

A half-assed excuse, but a reason nonetheless.

Kenjiro studied her for a moment, his gaze unwavering. "I just wanted to know why. You can't just keep hiding what you're capable of. Your marks are nothing short of excellent when it comes to theory, despite how much you refuse to talk in class."

He paused for a moment, letting his words hang in the air before continuing, his tone more serious than before. "I've seen students like you, Amai. They bury their potential, thinking they're protecting themselves. But all they're really doing is keeping themselves stuck. And if you keep doing that, you'll miss out on what you could truly be."

Those words.

Amai had heard them before, even worded differently, many times.

From her family, her teachers, the few friends she had, even from herself when she dared to listen closely. The same sentiment wrapped in different phrases— "You're capable of so much more. Why do you hold yourself back, Marie?" "Man, you got a B on the assignment without even studying? If you actually started trying, you'd leave me in the dust." "Try a bit harder. I know you can do better than this." "Why do I not bother putting in the effort? I could be so much more."

Each time they came, she would push them away, dismissing them as if they didn't belong to her. She wasn't like everyone else. She didn't need to try harder. It wasn't worth the pain of failure or the weight of expectations.

Worse, she had heard them from her mother in this life, too. Back when she entered this building for the first time.

"Standing out isn't always a bad thing."

Truth be told, she used to be pretty average. No special qualities, besides liking chemistry, gaming, and watching anime. Just your average loser—one who hadn't done a single thing worth mentioning because she hadn't put in the effort.

At least, that's how she often saw herself. The only thing she had going for her was cooking, honestly. Anything else? Gaming. The few friends she had practically had to drag her along— not literally, but you get the point.

Even then, she would just kind of awkwardly exist in their midst. She hated socializing and interacting with people the most.

"I won't force you to go all out, but just start opening up a little more, got it?"

Amai blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. She glanced up at her sensei, who was watching her with that same calm but expectant gaze. He wasn't asking for a miracle, just a step forward.

"I'll give it a shot, Kenjiro-sensei." she muttered.

It wasn't a promise, but it was something.

Her instructor gave a slight nod, seemingly satisfied. "Splendid. Now, tell me a bit more. How has learning the Shadow Clone been? I haven't seen a student since Itachi actually learn it."

The cat was out of the bag already, so might as well tell him. It's not like they don't know about me, because what can I hide if I am being watched from time to time? Hell, they may even know about my progress with Ice Release.

I just hope Hiruzen isn't so spineless as to lose another one of Konoha's 'talents' to Danzo's schemes.

"It's been alright, I guess. I still haven't fully learnt it, and it might take me a week or so."

"O-Only a week you say?"

'I see. So he just checked the logs, which means he doesn't know just how much progress I have with it. Poor guy doesn't know that I had learnt it in just one training session!'

"Yeah. Is that a lot of time or too little?"

Kenjiro-sensei coughed into his fist, composing himself. "It is less time than average. What makes you so confident in learning it?"

Amai had a hard time figuring out his thoughts. His expression was calm, but there was a certain sharpness in his gaze, like he was analyzing her every word.

"My chakra control, I think. You've seen it first-hand during the ninjutsu evaluation at the beginning of the year, haven't you?"

Kenjiro-sensei nodded slowly, his gaze unwavering. "I did. I suppose it makes sense," he continued, his tone thoughtful. "I'm proud of being the one to teach this generation of shinobi."

'How did a simple walk turn into a lecture? All I wanted to do is to sleep a bit more!' Amai thought, suppressing a sigh.

"Have you been studying for the finals of this year? I know you'll do well, as you've been during this year, but I can't help but ask how you're doing."

Amai blinked, caught slightly off guard. Finals? Right. Those were coming up. She still had to study up a bit on politics, but she believed she'd do well on the exams.

They consisted of five parts; Theory, Taijutsu, Shurikenjutsu, Ninjutsu, and Chakra Control.

Kenjiro-sensei was still watching her, waiting for an answer. Amai gave a slight nod.

"I'm doing fine, I think. I still need to go over some politics stuff, but the rest should be alright."

He hummed in acknowledgment. "Excellent. Don't feel pressured, okay? I have no doubt you'll perform well in all of them."

Amai nodded again. "Yes, sensei."

She had just spent ten minutes talking to him, but she felt those were well-spent. One day, she'd break out of her introvert shell—one step at a time. Maybe not today, but the fact that she was even able to have this conversation was progress.

Although she would barely be able to sleep half an hour because of this.

'Why can't people mind their own business for once?'

Fuck, she still had to talk to her classmates for that assignment.

Goddamn it.