❝If you don't understand someone's pain, you can never understand them.❞ ㅡ Nagato
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CHAPTER TWO:
KONOHA
-Three years later-
Black eyes darted to the right, then to the left, only to lock on the blackboard before them once again. A frown formed on Maki's tanned features. There was no sight of her brunette friend, as usual. Ever since Rei had moved with her family to Konoha, she had not been the same. It worried nine-year-old Maki to no end; she missed her best friend, the one who always—even on rainy days—woke up with a smile on her face and wouldn't stop laughing at the easiest joke—always made up by Kankuro.
But old, happy Rei seemed to be long gone. Only the remembrance of it remained in Maki's mind, hoping to be brought back to life again. However, no matter how hard Maki—or her mother—tried, they couldn't even catch a glimpse of even a small change in Rei's now typical stoical expression.
Defeated, Maki let out a heavy sigh and leaned on the desk she shared with one of her classmates, Kiba Inuzuka—also known as 'dog lover', what with all the dogs with which he lived (he even carried one of them everywhere he went). Their teacher, Iruka Umino, was already explaining that day's lesson about Taijutsu*, and she was supposed to be taking notes. But, for some reason, her mind wouldn't focus.
Her dark gaze drifted towards the closed door one more time. She was late again—in fact, Maki didn't know if she was even going to show up.
The girl huffed, mildly annoyed. Rei kept skipping classes but always managed to pass the tests without really trying. Nevertheless, she wasn't the smartest in the class; as long as Sakura Haruno went to the same class as theirs, the pinkette would take that place.
Not that it mattered to Rei, anyway.
Suddenly, the door slid open. The sound echoed throughout the room and was enough to make Iruka stop and turn around. A
noticeable disappointed look crossed his face, before he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Rei, you're late!"
However, the brunette didn't even acknowledge his presence; she simply headed for her desk, causing the teacher to lock his jaw as an attempt to stop himself from barking. To be honest, he preferred nagging Naruto Uzumaki than scolding Rei; the blond didn't ignore him at least—but he talked back, the little shit.
In the end, Iruka decided to postpone the conversation; he would admonish Rei when the lesson was over.
Meanwhile, Rei had taken her seat next to the window, ignoring Maki in the process. She placed a hand under her chin as her orange eyes fixed outside. A distant, indifferent look was plastered on her face; as though her mind were elsewhere. There was a glint in her gaze, however; Maki could see it from behind her: that expression of despair reflected on the glass.
Rei was thinking of her parents; that much she knew. The two girls had spent most of their childhood together, and even though distance had managed to break between them, Maki still knew her like a sister.
"Hey, Rei!" Kiba called out,
Said girl blinked twice, quickly snapping out of her thoughts, before she glanced at the grinning boy. It took her a couple of seconds to realise school was over and almost everyone had already left. Only some of them remained, Maki being one of them, who gave her a look before walking out.
"I'll race you out!" Kiba shouted.
"No running in the building!" Iruka immediately demanded—only to be ignored as Kiba was already running.
Uninterested, Rei watched the boy as he left the room; she did not even attempt to follow. The boy always challenged her, but he always ended up running by himself as Rei was never in the mood to run; lying down was all she wished to do, that and hope for the pain the death of her parents had brought to her to disappear.
"Rei, come over here," Iruka said just when she was about to leave the classroom.
Her feet halted dead in their tracks, only to drag her to the front of the room, where her sensei was waiting. His hands were placed on his hips, and an unhappy expression decorated his face as he looked down at her.
"I won't tolerate your insubordination anymore. You can't just come when you feel like it, Rei!" he scolded. "Why must you keep acting like this? You are still young; all you have to do is come to the Academy and learn as much as you can. You don't want to throw your future away just because of this, do you? Why don't you try to make some friends; friendship is very important at your age. They can help you."
Rei tilted her head.
"I don't need friends," she muttered.
To say Iruka was in shock would be an understatement; he was at a loss of words, and as he stared at the girl in front of him, his mind wandered to the blond boy that always managed to get on his nerves. Somehow, the two kids gave off the same aura of solitude.
Speaking of, Naruto hadn't shown up for class so he was probably planning some pranks to pull on him or the rest of Konoha's population at that exact moment—the mere thought was enough to give Iruka a headache.
Ultimately, the man gave out a tired sigh and drifted his attention back to Rei. Deep inside, he understood Rei's mind; they both had a common, painful event in their lives.
"I lost my parents too."
At once, Rei looked up, genuine surprise written all over her face; she hadn't expected that.
"I thought I'd never get over that… and I almost gave up on happiness," he confessed.
"But you didn't, why?" Rei looked almost desperate; staring at him with those sad and lonely eyes.
His lips turned upwards, forming a small smile.
"My friends didn't let me." He paused then, only to add, "that's why you need people in your life: to stop you from giving up on it."
Rei was silent for some seconds. Her gaze had dropped to the ground once again, and her hands were tightly clasped in front of her. Finally, she lifted her head to look at him.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei."
-#-
Footsteps echoed throughout the hallway as the brunette worked her way towards the exit. Her mind was filled with thoughts of her previous conversation with her teacher; she didn't know how to move on. She missed her old life; her friends in Suna, and her family. She practically begged the Hokages every day to bring that life back; a hopeless prayer she knew wouldn't become true. Sometimes, she wondered about the people she had left behind… at home.
She wondered if Temari still punched his brother every time he made fun of her.
She wondered if Kankurõ still complained about the village being so hot.
She wondered if they still went to the park to play with that ball…
And Gaara.
She wondered if he still had that cute teddy bear of his; she hoped he did. Because it seemed to be the only thing that didn't mind to be nears him. Rei wondered if the redhead was still glared at everywhere he went, if people still looked at him as if he were some kind of pest. Rei missed him too, even though they didn't really share too many moments. But for some reason, she still thought of him as a precious friend.
Rei had been so lost in thought that she hadn't realised she was already out. Blinking, she glanced around. But as usual, there was no one else in sight. Nozomi used to take them —Maki and her, that is— home, but the woman stopped waiting for her when she started to skip class—Nozomi never knew whether she was at the Academy or not, and she couldn't afford to be there all day.
The thought saddened her. It was her own fault; Rei knew it. But it still hurt her to know that no one was waiting for her to get home. With her gaze glued on the dirty ground, she started her way back.
However, movement caught her attention as she was about to walk through the gates. Frowning slightly, Rei looked over only to see a boy her age sitting on the swing under a tree, alone.
If it weren't for the colour of his hair, she would have thought him to be Gaara—but he wasn't. Hesitantly, she approached him, not really knowing if it was a good idea. However, she had always been a curious girl and she couldn't help but wonder why he was there.
The boy seemed to be lost in thought as his eyes stared at the solid ground. Nevertheless, as if he had suddenly become aware of her presence, his head snapped towards her. Surprise shone in his eyes before he sent her a glare.
"What are you looking at?" he demanded to know. "Are you here to insult me? Throw rocks at me maybe? Well, go ahead—I don't care anymore!"
Rei stood there, speechless. He might didn't have the same quiet attitude as Gaara, but their similitude was obvious. The look in his eyes, even though he was glaring at her, was way too familiar to her. He could almost see those aquamarine eyes staring straight at her, silently pleading her to approach him, to not run away like everyone else seemed to do. Despair... and hope. And even the girl didn't know it, her gaze held those same feelings.
"Why would I do that?" The words escaped her mouth in a whisper, and she was shocked he heard her.
"I don't know! But that's what everyone else does," his voice broke at that point, and he stopped glaring at her in order to lower his blue gaze. "So why wouldn't you?"
Her heart ached. She was young, and there were many things she couldn't understand. However, she doubted she would ever understand the reason as to why people seemed to enjoy being mean towards the sweetest souls.
"You don't understand now because you are too young, Rei, but you have to promise me you won't come near him."
Rei could practically heard his father... warning her about that boy the same way he had some years back, when she tried to approach Gaara.
That boy; Rei knew him: he went to the same class as hers, always sat alone, always pulled pranks on others.
Iruka's words repeated in her mind then, and she immediately knew what to do. Maybe she didn't need friends, but that boy definitely did. Because her parents had been wrong about Gaara, and she didn't want to repeat that mistake.
"I'm Rei," she stated. "What's your name?"
The blond looked up at her, confusion glowing in his bright blue eyes. There was no trace of malice in the girl's face, but he still stared at her in suspicion.
"Naruto," he finally replied.
Silence fell upon them, and she began to panic; she didn't know what else to do or say. Naruto kept looking at her as if she were about to kick him or something, and it was making it difficult for her to strike up a conversation.
He watched as the girl fidgeted awkwardly.
"Why?"
Rei tilted her head, confused.
"Why are you trying to be nice?" he asked.
"Because no one deserves to be alone," she whispered after a moment of hesitation as the sketch of a smile drew on her lips
for the first time in too long.
The grin that broke in his face would have illuminated the darkest alley—the sudden joyful look in his eyes was enough to relieve the despair that had filled her heart for years. Rubbing the back of his neck out of nervousness, he jumped off the swing and eagerly asked,
"Hey, wanna pull some pranks on Iruka-sensei?!"
Poor Iruka didn't know what he had gotten himself into.
