Naruto tapped his old instructor carefully on the shoulder, something since that day in the graveyard had been bothering him. The way Kakashi had reacted to that gravestone, wasn't like the laid back teacher. The ninja turned to face his student.
"Are you here to complain about the simplicity of your last mission?" he asked with a sigh. Naruto shook his head.
"Actually, I wanted to learn something from you, a history lesson I guess…" he stated shyly. Iruka fell down.
"What! You're joking right? Or is this just some ploy to get me to buy you lunch again." The instructor asked suspiciously. The fox boy sighed, was this the way everyone thought of him? Why wasn't he allowed to want to learn something every once in awhile?
"No, Sensei. Its just… do you know about the Hides-in-Snow village?" At the name, Iruka stopped laughing. It had been awhile, and that conflict wasn't something they teach in the schools. He nodded carefully; he wanted to know how much the boy knew before going on.
"Yeah, I've dealt with them a few times, but they've basically fallen by now, so what makes you so curious?" Naruto shrugged and looked down to the ground. He would just go straight to Kakashi and asked him, he definitely knew, but he seemed so troubled by that marker…
"Did you ever hear of a ninja by the name of Fuyu Tsukiko? The girl they called the Ice Wolf?" The instructor froze and his eyes widened, how did this boy know about that? Umuino Iruka shook his head; it was funny how the world fell together sometimes.
"Let's talk about it over lunch." He finally said with a smile watching Naruto jump for joy.
"I'm not to sure where to start," the instructor stated pushing the ramen noodles around, while Naruto was stuffing his mouth, "Have you ever heard the history of that village?" The fox boy shook his head, still with noodles hanging out.
"No, I mean I think we learned about it once, but I could have been sleeping." Iruka sighed, there was so much still kept quiet about that country.
"Well, it won't hurt to tell you some of the history of the Hides-in-Snow village…
You might know that it was founded after Konoha, yet they have had more Hokage's than us." Naruto thought about this for a while, there had been at least five generations in the village, since the first Hokage.
"How many have they had?" He asked. The instructor thought about it for a while.
"I think they are up to their seventh one now. Although we haven't had good relations with them for quite a few years, so it could be more."
"Seven!" Naruto gasped, " What keeps happening to them all, do they quit or something?" Iruka shook his head.
"They have all died, either in battle, or by assassins. The village has seen much blood shed in its time. Our village is very lucky; most countries go through many wars and lose many ninjas every year.
"But the Hides-in-Snow village was founded by a man named Fuyu Satoshi. He was a good man that believed in a greater peace through diplomacy, not war."
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, Kakashi said that was the girl's great-grandfather or something like that." He ordered some more noodles.
"That's correct, it went on for three generations like that, they named the child best suited for the job, most the time it was family. Tsukiko's father died early in battle and that's when the nation fell apart… by the way, why do you want to know all this kid?"
"I met a girl…" he said blushing, " she was kind of creepy, but nice though. I never got her name, but she said she was the girl's sister." The instructor shook his head.
"That's impossible; she must have been one of her students. Some people grow close enough to their Senseis to call them family." The fox boy looked confused.
"But how is it impossible, did she have no siblings?"
"She had two other sisters, but both were violently murdered years ago. And both of her parents were killed, so there was no way for there to be anymore." Naruto looked up to the ceiling.
"But what about her, Instructor?" he sighed, " I mean it's great know all about her family and stuff, but I really want to know about her." Iruka sighed; he was hoping he wouldn't have to tell him. He wasn't sure how much he was allowed to tell.
"I'm not certain what is still unauthorized about her, sorry. Tsukiko was a very legendary ninja in her time."
"But no one speaks about her now? I don't understand. And, honestly Kakashi-sensei acted very strangely when I found her grave marker. I guess I was just curious, that's all." He sighed and continued stuffing his face. Iruka smiled.
" You should ask him about it then, he knows what he can say about it and what he can't. They were kind of friends; as well as enemies can be. Your instructor has respect for all ninjas, not just the ones from Konoha. We were young then, a bit older than you. Though, we weren't as naive as our elders wanted us to be." Naruto sighed with defeat.
"I know… fine, I'll go ask him about it then." The young ninja hopped down from his stool and walked away disappointed. Iruka watched him go with a heavy heart. He wished he could tell the boy the whole story of the Ice Wolf. The similarity between the two ninjas sent a chill down his spine.
"Sir? SIR!" He snapped back to the chef, "you owe me $3000 yen" Iruka fell off the chair.
Naruto kicked the dirt. Kakashi had done one of his disappearing acts and the boy still hadn't gotten any answers. The sun beamed down on the grave of the Ice Wolf.
"Why are you so mysterious?" he muttered to the marker. A twig snapped behind him. The fox whipped around to see the girl standing in front of him.
"Some wish the past be forgotten." She whispered to him, "Especially when it concerns a traitor." Naruto gaped at her, wide-eyed.
"Is that why she is buried here, because she betrayed her country?" He looked back to the marker with interest, "The daughter of Hokages doing such a thing..."
The girl came up behind him and whispered in his ear.
"They say she killed her own father when she was just a child, then she murdered her two sisters and the next Hokage. She is said to be the reason that the Snow nation crumbles. Such a demon inside such an innocent face." She said with a sad smile. "Demons can't be trusted, they will kill all whom which they love." She looked into Naruto's soul with her iced eye. He had to look down. He had such a demon inside of him, a demon that had killed many innocent people.
"You and she share a kindred soul, I can see it. If you wish to know her truth, meet me in the grove just outside of the village at dusk. I promise not to hide anything from you my boy." Naruto looked up at her with a huge grin.
"You seem to know so much about her! Iruka must have been right; you have to be one of her old students huh?" The woman laughed, the air vibrating with the sound. The air almost seemed to chill.
"I guess you could call me the disciple of the ice wolf alright. I shall see you at dusk." She turned and walked away. Naruto jumped a bounded back to the village; finally he was going to unravel the mystery.
