SUMMARY: The three battle though the academy and struggle with other students' interest.
Ra doesn't know if she likes the Academy but it's better than waiting and hoping the next person they pester will hire them.
All three of them have jobs at one of the pleasure centres.
The clients pay well even if she thinks they are sick.
She manages by compartmentalising.
Re manages by dreaming that she's older and someone she actually likes is doing this.
Ru scrubs himself clean in the water.
It's okay though, they manage.
Not like any of the other children will ever understand.
They need to be careful though.
They are meant to trust their Shinobi comrades.
But the three of them are street rats first.
They don't trust them.
Ru thinks he likes the academy.
The teachers still treat him badly but he has Re and Ra and it's enough.
It has to be enough.
He likes that he can actually learn things. No one tells him he's too much of a monster to learn.
He knows that's what they think but flanked by Ra and Re, he knows it's enough.
It's annoying that the other students look down on them and the teachers don't really like them and they can't read and write properly, can't fight like the others but he's here.
He's never alone and it's enough to protect him from the mean whispers and judgements.
He's learning new things too and he'll be able to protect Re and Ra one day so he likes it.
Re tries not to flinch. She really does.
But when a girl says, "How did they get in?" it hurts.
It really hurts.
It would have hurt anyway but she would have gotten over it.
As it is, it's like picking at a half-formed scab.
Re managed to get herself and Ra in by some questionable means.
It took them quite a few looting jobs though the man in charge didn't think it was enough.
Re tries not to gag or cry when she thinks of what she had to do.
One day, when she's more than a little vicious, when she can make people tremble at the sound of her name, she'll serve justice.
As least for her it was somewhat consensual.
What if it wasn't the same for someone else?
The three of them know they need to be careful.
They need to be even more careful now because a broody dark-haired boy has taken an interest in Ru. A boy who only has one thing in mind - revenge on his clan murdering older brother.
The three of them can't judge.
Re the youngest and wisest simultaneously, raises a very good point: when that happens, what will the boy do?
He could be very dangerous if he isn't already.
They don't want in on his quest. They are too selfish for that.
A pineapple boy has taken to watching Ra every now and again.
He is too lazy to look all the time but something about her has caught his interest. He makes them prickle.
A boy with bugs has taken to associating with Re.
He is not threatening but he is clever.
Re hopes it's only because he saw her trembling away from his bugs but still lifting one up out of where it got trapped.
They have to be careful.
It's not a choice.
They're three watchers have finally made a move.
First the dark-haired boy lures Ru off by pummelling him.
Re and Ra remind themselves that they're in the civilian sector and Ru's not in real danger. The boy is trying to be a monster but he's nowhere near it yet.
They know.
Still, they all but cling to each other. The blond's gone so they need to make sure they're covered.
Then, Ra is distracted by a game of shogi.
They have never played games before - unless you count evading angry civilians and/or masks. Re tells her to go when Ra hesitates.
Re knows that Ra deserves it. To have some fun.
Bug boy takes that opportunity to join her. Re realises she still doesn't know his name.
It is Shino.
He wants to know a lot about her, too much.
She tells him as little as she possibly can.
He doesn't show any outward sign of annoyance.
But the game is on.
Ra, Re and Ru won't crack first.
If their three stalkers know anything, they aren't saying anything.
Ra starts to fabricate their stories.
They have to match but not so perfectly that they seem rehearsed.
This is Re's area of specialisation.
She knows how to make identical words sound different simply by a bit of juggling and tone inflections.
It's Ra and Ru who'll have a bigger problem.
Ru will forget if it isn't rehearsed.
Ra doesn't know how to 'stick to the basic facts but improvise the rest.'
She's not great at improvisation.
Still, they manage.
They have always had to manage and Ra wonders if one day, they can do something apart from managing.
That day is not today.
Ra and Re think Kunoichi classes are useless for them.
After spying on one, Ru totally agrees.
The problem is that Re and Ra already know how seduction works and how to do basic Medical Ninjutsu.
Unlike, Ru, they heal a lot slower so it to was a necessity.
Flower arranging is easy to learn.
The point is that for Ra and Re, the classes are more of an unofficial nap-time than something that furthers their education.
Still they pay as much attention as you can expect from two preteen girls. It is best for no one to know what they can do yet.
Their exams go as planned.
After studying the previous team formats, Ra made sure to tailor the three of them to fit.
Sakura scores well on the written exam, is passable at the clone and transformation techniques and enough of her shurikens hit the target.
Naruto is just passable on the written techniques, can Henge and manages to make his Kage Bunshin look like clones and most of his shurikens hit the target.
Sumire is in the middle on the written, is satisfactory with her transformation and clones and only one of her shurikens doesn't hit the target.
All three of them choose the black headband.
Black is reassuring, familiar.
No one sees the stains on black. No one sees anything when it is black.