As Hiruzen sat in his office, he could not help but worry about the current outlook of the elemental shinobi nations. The rumormill had it that the village of Kiri was now involved in a civil war. He was unsure of the details but he was still concerned. There might have been a war on the brink and the Leaf would be caught unaware by it. They were still recovering from the attack eight years ago and were only now beginning to prosper. The aged Hokage wanted to protect the current generation from being ravaged by any bloodshed.
For now, there was not much that could be done to ease his worry but they would have to be optimistic about things. Kiri was a few ways off Konoha across the Kanashii ocean, so that would give them time to prepare and mobilise her forces.
Naruto groaned as he tried to get up. He felt stiff and cold, something that should not have been possible with all the blankets he had on. He opened his eyes to be met with the ceiling, grey and plain as it had always been. He didn't like very dull colours, at least not when they were alone.
He tried to grip his sheets but found that he couldn't as his fingers slid over them.
'What the heck?' Naruto looked down and his eyes widened. His bed had frozen over partially, a silver like layer of ice now encasing his poor blankets. Naruto was not sure what was happening but it freaked him out. Had he done that? He had felt off since yesterday's encounter with Himika and the subsequent contact that had followed.
He looked at his hands and suddenly, he remembered how Himika briefly looked at them as well. Had he blinked, he would have missed it. Perhaps she knew. It was really the only thing he had in mind. That, or he could ask jiji about it.
He jumped off his bed and held onto the wall for balance. He heard an odd sound, like that of a glass slowly fragmenting. He looked over to see the wall slowly freezing over. This only served to confirm what he already suspected. He needed some gloves, ones he couldn't freeze.
This time there were no excuses. It had been planned from the start. Himika had purposefully taken the path to the academy that passed through the Uchiha district. She was sure she was not being creepy, at least not to some.
She halted her movements and looked over at Naruto's direction. She could tell by the spike of his chakra that he was panicking over something. The flow seemed to be in constant flux. She decided that it would have to wait.
"Are you stalking me?" Sasuke asked. She didn't show surprise at the fact that he had caught her off guard. Instead she turned and looked at him oddly. She was intrigued by how he could say such a statement straight faced. This probably wasn't the first time that he found a girl by his gate.
To answer his question, she was but for other reasons. In that regard, she could also say she was planning on stalking Naruto but he didn't need to know these tiny facts. The details would bore him, she felt.
"Do l look like a fangirl?" her voice was even but she genuinely wanted an answer from him.
"Who said you had to?" he replied. It was an indirect answer, so she wasn't, at least not to him. It was a relief that she wasn't part of that group.
"Fair point. Walk me to school," she intoned in her usual voice and the raven haired boy frowned. Had she just told him what to do? No, he surmised. She had simply given him a suggestion, one that compelled him to think of it as a command.
Himika studied his murky appearance before turning towards the direction of the academy and taking a few steps. Sasuke followed knowing he couldn't afford to be late for class. He hated his circumstances. Who did his girl think she was?
He stuffed his hands in pockets and sped up. He would rather be next to her that to be led. His pride wouldn't allow it. Still, this girl made him wary of her presence and he found it impossible to ignore her. He narrowed his eyes. 'Himika,'
"Why are you so quiet today?" Himika asked as she took a seat next to Naruto. The blonde looked at her and laughed nervously. He rubbed the back of his neck with his gloved hand and gave her his usual megawatt smile. She didn't buy it though.
'Gloves,' she thought to herself. It wasn't even winter yet and the boy was already getting cold. ' No, that's not why,' she decided.
"Just got nothing to say ya know," was he trying to lie to her? She tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brow. He gulped as if he was worried he had been caught. The thought that Naruto himself had nothing to say was impossible. The boy could talk, that much was clear to everyone who knew him. That meant that something was wrong somewhere.
"You never have nothing to say," she told him flatly as sweat fell from the boy's brow.
"Since when were you this curious?" he fired back. The white haired girl blinked and answered without skipping a beat.
"l don't like to be surprised," his change in behavior was a variable she had to consider. It might have been something insignificant but Himika wanted to be in the know.
"Nothing, I'll show you later," she nodded at his statement. So it was something physical she supposed. As the silence set in, she decided to looked at his chakra, the same system she had felt that moment yesterday as well as this morning. It was larger, larger than most and it had a certain glow to it. It was...nice and comforting. It was welcoming and peaceful, she decided at that moment.
She delved deeper into the pool, and then she felt it. The malice, the pure hatred. The venomous chakra that had been tainted red like the colour of blood. She couldn't explain it. It was Naruto's yet it wasn't actually his. The chakra was of a different entity all together, one that made her shiver, not with dread but an anticipation she didn't quite understand. One thing she was sure of was that it was familiar.
She snapped out of her trance and held her head in a bit of pain. She made sure to conceal it though. She needed even more time to process things.
Lessons were over for the day and Naruto and Himika had decided to head out to a secluded place inorder for the blonde to show his female compatriot his secret. As they walked, Himika couldn't help but notice the way people treated Naruto.
If they weren't ignoring him, then they were openly glaring at him with contempt.
"Isn't that the fox brat? What's that thing doing with that little brat?"
"It's the demon fox,"
"Shhhh, it's forbidden to speak about it,"
These were some of the things Himika overheard as she followed behind Naruto. She saw him clench his fists and stuff them in his pockets.
'So he hears it as well huh,"These random stuff insults only added to the mystery that was Naruto Uzumaki.
They walked in for a bit until they finally came up to his favorite spot, the Hokage's monument.
Naruto let the wind blow across his face as he inhaled the fresh air. Himika waited patiently for him to adjust while she watched him. He must have felt her eyes on the back of his head because he spoke softly.
"This is my secret spot. Gives you time to yourself," he said. She shook her head.
"It isn't really secret anymore,"
"I trust you can keep this to yourself," he smiled and she sighed.
"You trust far too easily Naruto,"she reasoned. Naruto simply smiled again.
"Isn't that why l have you," he retorted.
Himika closed her eyes and thought on it. Did he want her to work as a filter for him?
Her musing was interrupted when the blonde boy spoke once more.
"Anyway..." he pulled off his gloves and held out his hands. She looked at them but other than remembering yesterday's incident, nothing seemed note worthy about them.
That was until he touched a nearby rock, the small thing contracting due to the cold. Himika watched as it glazed over and cracked apart.
"You froze it," her voice betrayed her actual surprise to this new development. It was something she hadn't expected and this worried her. It made her realise that she wouldn't be able to control every possible outcome that may occur. "Since when?"
"This morning l guess," he shrugged. He didn't get how she could keep a straight face like that. Himika figured it had something to do with yesterday. She was starting to lose it.
"Naruto, show me to the library," now this, this was a command, one the boy had qualms with. He realised that she was threatened by everything she didn't know and that in itself was a problem. As the two walked away, they were unaware of the anbu member that had been concealing his presence.
Deep within the chambers of Naruto's mind, the fox stirred. Though unaware of what the brat was up to, the fox could still feel that things were happening, things that were gaining its interest.
Elsewhere
The metallic smell of blood coated the air in a layer of thick stench. Dead bodies lay across the plain as the yondaime Mizukage Yagura walked over each corpse. There was a far away look in his unfocused eyes. His army went down on one knee and each awaited his orders. They would make sure to crush all those who opposed the bloodline limit act mercilessly.
On one of the higher buildings a figure sat. The perspicacity of the onlooker indicated to some extent that he must have been connected to the carnage. The figure smiled down at the scene. A woman walked up next to him and watched the scene with an agonistic gaze.
"How much longer?" she spoke. The man closed his eye and hummed in thought. There is still some ways to go however, the first step has already been taken. To defeat a nation, first disarm its citizens," he opened his eye, a gleaming red in it.
"Soon we will have Kirigakure no sato and eventually, the rest of the elemental nations," he smirked and the woman left him to himself. He was already deluded enough.