Naruto: Snow Cold

[Amai's POV]

I sat there against a tree, looking at the sky in thought, wondering what the fuck I had just heard from Sora at the academy. I mean, I get it—you don't want some brooding goblin like Yuuma breathing down your neck, challenging you to a rematch every five minutes. But there was absolutely no need to go that far.

Shit, I thought I had a high tolerance for messed-up stuff, thanks to the internet in my past life. But even with that, what he said today? Beyond fucked up. How could you say that with such a straight face? And on top of that, he came up with it on the spot.

"Somethin' wrong, Amai?" said Sora, laying down on the ground next to me.

"Yeah, just wondering how a certain someone's mind can be so screwed up."

Sora tilted his head, resting his hands behind it. "I just did what I had to do. I don't want him to become my Naruto, so what better way than to mentally scar him?"

"You caught a whole class filled with seven-year-old kids in the crossfire. How do you not feel guilty? Some of them might have nightmares tonight. Although..." I paused, my voice softening slightly. "He kind of had it coming. I don't know what I'd do if he actually got you during that match."

He let out a light chuckle, "Mhm, you get it. It was practically life or death."

Silence ensued. The breeze felt quite nice today, to be frank. It felt... oddly peaceful, given the chaos that had unfolded earlier. I thought back to today's events... Training with Yamahiro-san was fun, but I felt like something was missing. I was itching to try using the 'auras' in battle, see what the 'attraction' really did. Maybe it's like some kind of lock-on thing?

"Hey, Sora?"

"What's up?"

"Whenever you try sensing with your chakra field, do you ever feel some kind of aura or anything like that? Not chakra, obviously. It's like a flame that flickers, and flares up whenever someone gets 'hostile' or is about to fight."

Sora looked at me, clearly intrigued but not exactly sure where I was going with this. "I... don't feel anything like that. What do you mean?"

"It's like something pulls me towards it. Like a magnet."

Sora raised an eyebrow, clearly curious but still unsure. "A magnet? You mean like, you can sense the hostility or whatever from a distance, like it's pulling you in?"

"Yup. Exactly like that."

"Huh..." He slowly got up from the ground, and stretched his arms out, his eyes still fixed on me as if trying to grasp what I was saying. "So, it's like some... sixth sense? You can feel when someone's about to throw hands before they even try?"

"Pretty much."

"I see..." He paused for a moment, then smirked. "How about a quick match? I wanna see what it can do."

I narrowed my eyes at him. He'd been especially competitive lately. "You sure? You don't want this smoke, Sora."

He chuckled at that, not backing down. "I sure do. Come on, let's do it! I'm curious to see what your magnet thing can do, and besides, you'll probably learn some stuff about it if you actually use it in a spar."

"True," I got up, brushing off the dirt from my pants. "How should I even use it, though? I have to close my eyes and actively sense with my chakra field if I want to do it."

"Hmm..." Sora tapped his chin thoughtfully, then smirked. "What about trying to block my hits instead? I'll go easy, of course. If you feel some attraction toward this aura you're talking about, maybe it helps you react on instinct?"

"Sounds like a good idea." I nodded, brushing my hands together and getting into a relaxed stance. "Bring it, sucker!"

"Hah, will do." Sora said, taking a few steps back. I had no idea what else he did, because I had closed my eyes by then, and weaved the seal needed to expand my chakra field. It had grown slightly, coming to a full 11 meters. Dunno if that was a good increase or not, I just hoped that it would grow way more in the future.

"Ready?"

I nodded, keeping my eyes shut and tuning into the flickering flame surrounding him. It wasn't an actual flame, of course—just how my mind visualized his fighting spirit. His figure stood out vividly against the darkness, shaped by his chakra, while everything else melted into obscurity.

It flickered faintly at first, steady but low. I could tell he wasn't moving yet, just standing there, watching me.

"Here comes the first one," he warned.

The flame flared, brightening for just a split second. The pull intensified to my right, and I instinctively raised my arms in defense.

However, nothing landed.

I frowned and opened my eyes in confusion, only to see Sora standing to my left, his hand hovering just inches from my midsection.

"Got you," he said with a small grin, stepping back into his stance. "Let's try again."

Prick. I stuck my tongue at him before closing my eyes again, and he chuckled at that. Expanding my chakra field again, I focused, and the faint flickering flame surrounded him once more, steady and unreadable.

"Go."

The flame flared sharply, pulling to my right again. I hesitated for only a fraction of a second before shifting my stance, bracing for the hit—only to feel nothing.

A feint, again. I quickly swung with my forearm to the left, where the real pull was. It was so faint it almost felt useless, like trying to grab smoke. At this point, I was practically relying on his chakra signature and raw instinct rather than whatever this supposed "magnet" effect was supposed to do.

Sora's fist was already there, inches from landing a light tap on my shoulder. My forearm managed to intercept at the last second, the impact barely grazing me.

"Damn, you caught it," he said, stepping back with a look of mild surprise. "How did it feel?"

I straightened up, brushing the tingling sensation off my arm. "Weird. Like… the pull was there, but it wasn't strong enough to really guide me. It's like I'm relying on my instincts and guessing more than the actual 'aura.'"

He held his chin in thought, his gaze analytical. "So, it's not like a radar that tells you exactly where I'm coming from—it's more like a whisper, giving you hints. Am I right?"

"I guess you are," I admitted, crossing my arms as I stared down at the ground. "It's not perfect, but it's something. It'll probably grow stronger as I develop the ability further."

"I see..." Sora's voice softened a bit as he considered my words. "These flames you see in this 'aura,' what would you describe it as? I doubt it's just hostility, because that would imply I genuinely want to hurt you, which I don't. You're my friend."

"As cringey and dumb as it sounds, I believe it's... some kind of fighting spirit? It makes sense to me, at least."

"Hah, fighting spirit? Like doo-doo-doo-doo!" He mimicked a flute, as if trying to play 'The Rising Fighting Spirit', one of the themes used in battle in the series.

"Shut up! I know it sounds dumb, but it's what I think it is!"

"Just messin' with you. I think it may be accurate, honestly. It's like a cheat." He smirked, clearly amused by my reaction.

"Yeah, it is. If my chakra field grows enough to be used passively, I could use this ability actively in combat, and not even have to look behind me to counter whatever is coming."

"Mhm. Say... Do you think we got any kind of boon when arriving here? Because I haven't heard of anyone having that ability in the series before."

"Huh?"

"Think about it. Reincarnators usually get some kind of advantage to help them in their journey, and perhaps this is yours, along with your Kekkei Genkai. That brings me to another question..." He raised his voice, shouting at the sky. "Where the hell is my own unfair advantage?!"

"You are keeping up with the clan kids and even surpassing some of them. What do you mean you need an unfair advantage as well?" I leaned against the tree, my arms behind my back.

Sora huffed, throwing his arms up in mock exasperation. "Yeah, but it's not enough. I need something that would make it at least a tiny bit easier to reach the top!"

"The top? You trying to become better than me or something? I'll have you know that I'm the main character, there's no way you'd surpass me!"

"As if," Sora smirked, crossing his arms. "You know that Naruto is the main character here, right? You're too full of yourself."

"Lalalala, I can't hear you over the sound of my glory," I teased, sticking my palms over my ears.

This caused a figurative vein to pop up in his forehead. Hahaha, I love getting people riled up!

"Anyway, what would you call your ability?"

"Uh... I dunno. For now, let's call it..."

I thought for a while, before finally looking up at him, and smiling.

"Frigid Compass."