Blood Red Memories

Within a few days, it was decided in a letter from Uncle that Reina should be attending the local ninja academy. She was obviously bored at home and searching for companionship that only other children could provide. Her desire, however misguided, would not be ignored by her loving uncle. He expects good reports and insists that she be introduced into a higher-level class, as the expectations for the niece of an ANBU were much greater than that of the average child.

All of this was explained in the greatest detail to Kaiyo and Reina by a representative from the school who had taken the liberty of enrolling her immediately, without waiting for the next school term to begin. They were very excited to have Reina attending the academy, he explained with overpowering enthusiasm.

Without any delay, Kaiyo brought Reina out to shop for supplies, silently cursing under her breath about having all the responsibility but no authority, whatever that was supposed to mean. Reina was busy contemplating why there was such a great commotion over something as simple as school. She soon found out though that there was nothing simple about the requirements of the academy.

They spent what seemed to be endless hours going from store to store for supplies. Here, blank scrolls and ink. There, new clothes and real shoes, instead of sandals. Specially made metal kunai and shuriken, custom packs to carry them. Bento boxes to bring lunches. A backpack to carry it all. All of which took forever to purchase in the chaos of the shops. She breathed a sigh of relief when everything had finally been obtained, but began to worry about why she might need all these things.

Kaiyo’s arms were completely full of bags when they made their way home. Reina struggled under the weight of her own, stumbling slowly behind. The distance between gradually kept growing, until the annoyed, huffing care-taker was meters and meters ahead. Reina put down her bags for a moment to wipe sweat from her eyes, gazing up at the viciously hot sun. Before she could bend down to retrieve the bag, it was already being handed to her.

“Hello, again,” Gaara said shyly, offering the bag with a weak half-smile. Reina took the bag back with a slight nod of thanks. She gazed around uncomfortably, checking to see if Kaiyo had noticed; she hadn’t, yet. He looked confused. She nodded quickly once more, and scurried off to Kaiyo’s heels, mindful of her uncle’s veiled reprimand.

Gaara stared after her for a while, deep in thought. He shook his head, though, sure she had just wanted to get the heavy bag home. That must be it. Slowly, he began padding his way down the sandy, deserted street, eyes averted. He would try again later, maybe she would be back out then.

Of course, she wasn’t. Kaiyo ensured that she would get a full night’s sleep before she began school. After all, everyone had very great expectations for her, and she wouldn’t want to let them down, right?

“Sleep well,” Kaiyo said, knowing that it was a wasted assurance for the girl. Reina would probably never sleep “well”. It was shocking that she slept at all. Most children will try to stay awake to keep away nightmares. It seemed that she had resigned herself to the dreams, seeing no point in avoiding the inevitable.

That night, Gaara wandered close to his house in the hopes that she would come looking for him. Today had been the first time he had seen her in a while. With a resigned sigh, he headed back home. Perhaps she was avoiding him now. It wouldn’t be surprising to him. Just disappointing. He was sure he had found a companion. Yashamaru had been excited for Gaara as well, obligingly coaching him on how to treat friends. He believed however, that his new friend was purely imaginary. No one played with Gaara. Other children ran from him. As well they should, he thought hatefully. He’ll never have anyone that cares. Not that it would matter soon enough. The Kazekage was formulating a plan.

The next morning, departing from the usual routine, Kaiyo was actually in a panic. Every few minutes she would stop to muss up Reina’s hair, check over her backpack, twice, and clean something. This must really be a big deal, Reina mused to herself. Ten minutes after breakfast had been finished and Kaiyo had done three more checks on everything, there was a knock at the door.

The same smiling, enthused school representative had arrived to accompany Reina to school. Doubtfully Kaiyo asked if she shouldn’t come along too, a few times.

“Really, ma’am. We’ll take good care of her. Just be there this afternoon to take her home. I’d like to give Reina a full introduction to the school, and it will help if I can talk one on one with her along the way. Besides, it’s so close, I think she could even walk home alone.” He smiled again, reassuringly.

“If you insist,” she said with obvious worry. “But I do need to tell you she won’t talk to you.”

“Nonesense!” he exclaimed good-naturedly. “We’re going to become good chums, right Reina? I think you’ll find I’m a pretty likeable guy.” He tousled her hair, almost like Hiram, but more roughly and purely for the gesture, with no endearment. It was cold, callous. All a part of the job. With that, she was ushered out the door, Kaiyo calling after her and waving until they left the street.

“So, your uncle’s a pretty important man, huh? Don’t feel pressured to answer, I know you must be overwhelmed by all of this. Don’t worry though, I’ll be around to make sure everything goes smoothly your first day. And you can come talk to me anytime, too.” He continued to ramble along like that, not leaving time for Reina to respond, if she actually would.

Reina sighed. She wondered how much one person could ramble. The tour of the facilities was just the same. “I was pretty proud of myself. I couldn’t believe your uncle wrote to me! Just to get you in school. Naturally, I was obliged. Isn’t this exciting? You’ll love your class, just you wait!” He went on to talk about all the amenities, as if she even knew what that meant. “Top notch facilities, brand new!” he said every so often.

With his incessant chatter, she was almost glad to finally get to her class room. That is, until she actually got there.