Chapter 3 Finally back. Sorry to all those l made wait but school is finally over and l felt l should get this out. So enjoy!
Himika's eyes fluttered open as the first rays of sunlight began to peak through the tattered old curtain. The caretakers really needed to take care of those things. Golden iris's scanned the room for any oddities and when they found none, the owner sighed and relaxed.
Naruto would be leaving the orphanage today. The fact he was leaving was not much to talk about. The means however, was something else completely. It was clear the boy was someone special, someone important enough for the Hokage to deal with personally. Himika didn't dwell on it, it just didn't seem worth the trouble it was likely to be accompanied with.
It was not healthy for an eighth year old to think this much but when you rarely spoke there wasn't much else to do. Himika decided she might as well get the day over with and go to the academy.
It was not until half an hour later that she was ready and out the door. It was still pretty early in the morning, the clouds beginning to overshadow the sun in all its glory. The lack of warmth was quite disappointing but Himika made no comment on it. She taught herself not to complain often.
She trudged along the path to the academy at a steady pace, no rush whatsoever. Most kids were likely still getting ready while Naruto was probably asleep right now. As she walked on, she came to a halt by a large gate way. It was open but uninviting, an ominous feeling of foreboding set in her stomach. She realized where she was with a frown. This was the Uchiha clan district or at the very least, what was left of it.
She had heard a few rumors about the massacre of the once great Uchiha clan by one man. She wondered what kind of monster had the capabilities to slaughter a clan at ease in one night and escape. She shuddered at the thought of meeting that person.
'Mankind continues to surpass their limits, both physically and mentally,' Himika stared at the gate a little longer before moving on. She gave no further thought to it and moved on, unaware of the raven haired boy watching her walk away.
Naruto found himself extra attention in class, though only because they were currently on the topic of the yondaime Hokage, his idol. His eager eyes darted around the room, the need to soak up every bit of information on the Fourth being too great to hold back. It was in these rare days that lruka felt he was making progress with the boy.
" That's all for now. Class is dismissed for recess," this was met with cheers as the kids filed out to the playground. Naruto scanned the class and spotted the white haired girl. Himika hadn't made any attempt to move out as she was still staring out the window, eyes passively observing the outside world.
"Yo Himika," his shout got her attention, though barely for a second as she went back to staring out the window. Had he been smart, he would have known that his presence was an unnecessary entity in itself but Naruto was far from intellectual.
He sat cross-legged on the desk in front of hers, his eyes following her line of vision out the transparent window. She was staring at... he was not sure what she was staring at really. It all seemed really mundane to be honest.
"Whatcha looking at?" he finally asked, the curiosity was beginning to eat at him. She looked at Naruto plainly and tapped her finger against the desk lightly. "Nothing,"
Naruto scrunched up his face in thought. He didn't understand how she was looking at nothing.On Himika's part, she was confused how he didn't get it. She had simply been lost in thought while looking that way. You didn't necessarily have to be paying attention to look a certain way.
"You can't be looking at nothing," Naruto tried to reason with the girl but she just shook her head.
"Aren't you gonna go eat lunch?" she asked but the blonde boy shook his head.
"Nah, not today. I'll spend lunch with you if you don't mind," he offered though it was clear that he was not going to leave either way.
She shrugged and decided that him staying wouldn't be much of a problem but she intended to leave class, so he would have to follow her if he wanted to spend time in her presence. She stood and made for the door while Naruto quirked an eyebrow at her.
"Let's go," she uttered blandly and moved out, the blonde rushing after her.
As they walked out of class, an anbu in a dog mask watched them exit the sight only just managing to take his attention away from his adult novel. ' Interesting,' He decided he would follow.
Naruto groaned as Himika threw yet another stone into the lake. She seemed to want to see just how far she could throw. Naruto observed her movements with a keen gaze, his eyes completely focused on her at that moment. She could feel it, that gaze of interest. It was odd to think that he made her feel so self conscious and aware. She didn't like it at all. On reflex, her fingers lit up, all five consumed by a golden hue.
Both pairs of eyes looked at the dancing flame, its intricate movements sucking them in. "I don't really like the heat," Naruto commented offhandedly and Himika wanted to ask why. It was a fickle human preference in her mind. As if seeing the look in her eyes, he went on. "I just don't,"
Wait...was he reading her face? Himika frowned at him, and he raised an eyebrow. "You should stop frowning before it becomes natural ya know," he joked but the girl didn't laugh. She sat down and looked away at the lake. Naruto stood and offered his hand. "You don't want to be late," Right, they had to get back to class.
She looked at his hand and it had her wondering why she even sat down in the first place if she was just going to get back up a few seconds later. She had been immature, she decided quietly. She put out the flame in her hand, though her finger tips still burned. Without regard for his safety, Naruto grabbed her hand and pulled her up.
Himika realized this was the first time she ever willingly came into contact with someone as far as she could remember. Still, she knew his hand was colder than the regular temperature, that much she was certain of. Something pulsed and she could suddenly see clearly. No, she realized, she wasn't seeing, at least not in the normal way.
She could feel everything, inside and out. Every presence in the village became visible to her and she could suddenly perceive things differently.
' Its chakra,' she realized in slight awe. Had Naruto done something? She needed time to process things alone. She was sure he had felt it too.
She stood straight and released his hand before dusting herself. She looked down at his hand once more and then at hers. Once the contact broke, her senses dulled a bit but the feeling was there now and it wouldn't be leaving.
"Let's go," she said and Naruto followed oblivious to what had transpired with Himika. The anbu member however, had observed the whole exchange with a keen eye.
It was later in the day and Hiruzen had decided to treat Naruto to a few bowls of ramen as a celebratory gift for him moving out of the orphanage. The boy was currently wolfing down his fourth bowl, with Hiruzen still on his first.
"Tell me Naruto-kun, how do you like your new apartment so far?" the aged Hokage asked with genuine curiosity. Naruto had been waiting for this question all day long. Part of him expected Himika to ask it but that was never really likely to happen.
"It's great and full of room but it feels kinda empty, ya know," he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. Hiruzen hummed to show he was listening.
"Empty as in...lonely," the elderly man offered and the blonde nodded without looking at him, his main focus being on the ramen in front of him. This brought on the sandaime's next question.
"I see you have a new friend these days," the old man said and that got the younger boy's attention simply cause he felt he had to correct something about the statement.
"She isn't exactly my friend," he started and Hiruzen looked at him. "Not yet anyway. She said l gotta earn it or something like that. She's pretty smart," he added on before slurping more noodles quickly.
Hiruzen finished his bowl delved into deep thought. The girl that associated with Naruto was an enigma, one he had watched for the past few years nearly as much as he watched Naruto. When
Kakashi had reported that they were together, he was far from relieved. There was nothing wrong with the two being associated with one another but precautions were precautions. Kakashi had also reported what had transpired when the two children touched and that alone was alarming.
The man had described it as a pulse of chakra that had collected in that one area and opened his eyes, though barely for a second. The girl would have to be watched closely in her interactions with Naruto.
As Himika trudged home, she came up to the Uchiha clan district once more but this time she was compelled to walk in. She blamed Naruto for this. Ever since their brief contact, her senses had been going haywire and had been a bit numb.
Now, she could detect the presence of one Uchiha Sasuke within the large inane district. His chakra pool was large, larger than most and it had this dark side to it that contrasted the lightness that followed Naruto around.
She hadn't had the chance to walk in when Sasuke seemed to start moving in her direction. Had he sensed her? No, that was unlikely. Was he expecting her or was it a lucky guess. She looked down and saw the tripwire she was stepping on. Had it set off some alarm she hadn't managed to hear from the front entrance.
Sasuke came face to face with her and said nothing. There was mild surprise on his face but it was quickly covered up by a large frown.
"Himika," he said her name so blandly that she wondered if it was that horrible. It wasn't, she decided. It couldn't have been worse than his or Naruto's. She would make more comparisons between the two boys just for reference.
"Sasuke," she intoned just as dryly as he had, intent on emphasizing each syllable. Sasuke felt she was dirtying his name.
This was an unnecessary meeting that could have been avoided but neither was in the mood to regret that. The confrontation was bound to happen eventually.
"What do you want?" he finally conceded, and Himika nodded in content that she had managed to win that battle of wills. Now she would dictate the pace of their conversation.
"I didn't come here for you and l don't remember calling you out," she looked him in the eye and saw him falter and clench his fist. He was annoyed by her while she just let her eyes bore into his. Obsidian black met auspicious gold and Sasuke's eye twitched. She was irking him.
It was clear that she was not one of his fangirls so what could she want? Himika walked past him, stopping briefly next to him and looking up at the crescent moon. "See you tommorow, Uchiha," she whispered.
She moved along and kept her eyes trained on the moon. Something was beginning to draw her to those two boys, something beyond her current control. She frowned and stopped. Something had changed that afternoon and she would get to the bottom of it if she had to.