Naruto: Snow Cold

"Whew."

Class had been interesting, to say the least. During recess, some of the girls kept trying to spark up conversations with the boys, and she noted that Hatake Kiyoshi was the one talked to the most. They had even got him to take off his mask, and lord, Amai couldn't help but look at him.

His face was almost like a carbon copy of Kakashi's, except he didn't have an eye scar. She didn't want to admit it, but... he was actually good-looking. The kind of good-looking that made girls giggle behind their hands and whisper excitedly to each other.

Of course, she didn't care about that. They were still just children, after all. What she really cared about was what words they might have used to get him to take off his mask.

Scary.

Most of the Hatake were notorious for keeping their masks on, so for Kiyoshi to just remove it like that... Either he was different from Kakashi, or those girls had some ungodly level of persuasion. Amai shuddered at the thought.

Amai had also tried to talk to some of her classmates for this assignment of hers, and it went well? She had tried making small talk with the Senju siblings—Masato and Kiyoka—mostly because she wanted to find out about their clan, and how it was still holding up.

Being in an Alternate Universe would suck, after all. To her surprise, they weren't too hard to talk to.

She had approached them mostly for information, but she ended up actually talking to them.

'Crazy, I know.'

---------------Flashback.--------------

Amai had hesitated before walking up to the Senju siblings during lunch. She wasn't exactly known for starting conversations, but she figured it was worth a shot.

Masato noticed her first, glancing up from his own lunch. "Oh. You're that guy's friend. Need something?"

Kiyoka, sitting beside him, gave her a brief glance before returning to her meal. She didn't say anything, but Amai could tell she was listening.

"I wanna have lunch with the both of you. Is that fine?"

Masato blinked in surprise before shrugging. "Sure, why not? Go ahead. You don't mind, do you, sis?"

Kiyoka didn't say anything, but she subtly moved her tray to the side, making just enough space for her to sit.

"Guess that means you're good," he said, gesturing for Amai to sit.

Amai took the seat without hesitation, placing her tray down and picking up her chopsticks. Now came the hard part—actually talking.

"So... How are you guys doing?"

Masato took a moment to chew his food before swallowing, looking at Amai with a raised brow. "Doing? Well, we're doing fine, I guess. You know, the usual." He replied, before continuing, "Why do you ask?"

Kiyoka, who had been quietly eating, briefly glanced up at Amai before returning her attention to her meal. She didn't offer much in the way of conversation, but her presence was still noticeable.

"Just wanna get to know you guys better. I don't think I've ever talked to you for this long before, other than in group projects."

Finally, Kiyoka spoke up. "And it's not for the assignment, is it?"

"What assignment?" Masato asked, confused.

Yeah, the boys didn't know about it. Her kunoichi sensei was truly a menace.

Amai felt a slight flush creep up her neck. "Uh, never mind," she muttered, quickly trying to redirect the conversation. "I just thought it would be nice to, you know... talk more. No big deal. Do you guys like fried rice?"

Masato blinked, his brow furrowing slightly at the sudden shift in topic. "Uh, fried rice? Yeah, it's good. Who doesn't like it?" he said with a shrug, clearly not bothered by the change in direction. "Why?"

Kiyoka, who had been quietly observing the exchange, looked up from her meal. "I like it, but it depends on how it's made," she replied, her tone thoughtful. "Too greasy and it's not worth it. But if it's just right... yeah, it's great."

"I made some with my mother yesterday." Amai replied, taking out a container from her bag.

"You know how to cook?"

Amai nodded, a little surprised by the question. "A little. Want some? I brought extra just for today, and I put my own spin on it. It has, uh... peas, carrots, ham, some green onions, soy sauce and butter."

Masato's eyes widened at the list of ingredients. "Well, I think it wouldn't hurt to try some. May we?"

Heh, it seems that just like in her old world, people could be won over with food. The way to someone's heart was always through their stomach.

-----------Flashback end.----------

All in all, she managed to get quite a bit of information out of them. The Senju clan was still alive and kicking, although the drunkard princess who was supposed to lead them—Tsunade—was still out there somewhere, absent from the clan's affairs. It was a bit of a mess, really.

She knew that, and was glad it didn't diverge much from the main universe. It wasn't nearly as big as the Uchiha or Hyuuga clans, but it was still part of the main clans in Konoha, with a little more than 40 members.

From the way Masato and Kiyoka had spoken about her, it was clear that Tsunade's absence had created a leadership vacuum. The clan still held its ground, thankfully, due to the few elders who had taken on the responsibility of keeping the Senju legacy alive. Their influence was enough to maintain stability, though it wasn't without its challenges.

Not only that, she managed to ask them about themselves. Body language, asking the right questions, even the way someone breathed—every subtle detail could reveal even the tiniest bit of information about a person.

The two of them were similar in their personalities. Despite their clan's history, they were both big softies at heart—and surprisingly kind, too, once they started opening up a bit more. Masato and Kiyoka reminded her of how the Senju were depicted in the series: full of love and warmth.

They both had an affinity for Water Release, with Masato also wielding Fire Release and Kiyoka specializing in Earth Release.

"I wouldn't mind talking with them again." She muttered as she walked through the training grounds.

"I can't believe my precious friend is finally communicating with others. I'm so proud of you!" Sora chimed in, his voice full of mock enthusiasm.

"Zip it, will you, Sora? Do you want me to beat you to death?" 

"As if you could. Don't forget, I'm basically stronger than you."

"Uh huh, keep talking all you want, because it won't matter soon. After all..."

With that, she struck the most dramatic chuunibyou pose she could think of.

"I have learned the greatest of all techniques—The Shadow Clone! That's right, the one that gets spammed throughout the whole series, the technique that's basically a whole cheat by itself!"

Sora stared at her in disbelief, his mouth hanging open. 'Since when the hell...?'

"T-There's no way, right? We don't have enough chakra for that yet."

"Heh, have you forgotten? I'm a goddess when it comes to control. Naturally, I'd learn how to make one, at the very least! In fact, observe and revel in my greatness, you peasant!" She weaved the plus-looking hand seal, before shouting, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A puff of smoke erupted around her, and suddenly, standing in front of her was a replica, standing with her arms crossed. She lifted one arm, and waved.

"Yo."

An awkward silence covered the air, and Sora stared at the clone, his eyes wide. He opened his mouth to say something but immediately shut it, unsure of how to respond. It was simply unbelievable that his friend could manage such a feat.

The clone, unaffected by the tension, casually waved its hand in front of Sora's face once more. "Yo? Earth to Sora?"

Sora snapped out of his stupor and warily blinked at the clone. "Do these actually work like in the series?"

"They sure do." Amai smirked, clearly pleased with herself. "The thing is, she has some kind of free will, which I'm kind of worried about. I figured it must be because of how messed up our spiritual energy is. You know, the Yin aspect of our chakra."

Sora looked from the clone to Amai, his skepticism deepening. "Wait, so you're telling me your clone has their own thoughts? How does that even work?"

The clone smirked at that.

Amai shuddered at the sight. Whatever it was planning, it wasn't gonna be good.

"Oh, you don't know even half of it. I'm definitely planning to go for world domination," the clone continued, her voice dripping with exaggerated evil intent. She grinned as she dramatically tilted her head at him. "Maybe I'll help Orochimaru. Hell, I'll even replace the original me!"

He deadpanned at that. "Amai. Your clone might be a little messed up in the head."

"I... guess. Behave, or I'll dispel you."

The clone puffed out her cheeks, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Fiiine. Have it your way, you boring idiot." She crossed her arms and huffed, sticking her tongue out like a defiant child before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Sora watched the smoke dissipate and let out a slow breath, eyes narrowing as he turned to Amai. "God, if your clones are like that, I shudder to see what mine would be like."

'Goddamn it. Now there's one more aspect I absolutely have to crush her in.' He thought inwardly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. 'I'll have to kick it up yet another notch from now on.'

"Yup. Clones are just crazy like that," Amai responded, completely unaware of the storm brewing behind his gaze.

"Anyway, today it's practice for that song you want to play, right?" Sora asked, crossing his arms.

"Mhm. Storage seals are very convenient, don't you think?" Amai replied, inserting her chakra into the seal on her forearm, and causing a guitar to materialize in a puff of smoke. She handed it to him, and brought out her own, which was stored in a second storage seal.

This was gonna be fun.