It started out as a normal day in Suna Academy for the three siblings.
They had been assigned to combat training duty for a year, and there were 18 students in their first class of the day.
The three tables in front of them were loaded with weapons of all sorts: swords, nun-chucks, spears, etc...
As the clock struck 10:00 AM, all 18 students walked in and stood in 3 neat rows of 6.
Temari put on her best smile. "Before you begin combat training, you must choose a weapon that suits you both physically and mentally."
A girl in the middle row raised her hand timidly.
"Yes?"
She hesitated. "Um… I'm sorry to interrupt, but is it absolutely necessary that we all choose a weapon?"
Kankurou frowned. "Why do you ask?"
"If all of us have weapons, there's a chance we'll end up hurting each-other. Someone could get killed."
Gaara looked up from his thoughts. "That's only half of the point."
All 18 students gasped.
His eyes met hers.
She had such kind eyes; deep, dark, perfect ink blots in a sweet-tempered, finely shaped face. His heart twisted in all directions at once; grateful for the prospect of a friend with an innocent mind untainted by the lies spread throughout the village that he was a monster, and yet terrified by the thought that she could reject him instantly if he made a wrong move. He was completely unaware that in the space of half of a minute, the fear he felt in his heart was written clearly on his face.
Suddenly he felt the pressure of the attention he was getting from everyone in the courtyard.
"Forget it. It's not important."
Temari noticed his discomfort and attempted to salvage the situation.
"This isn't a game you're playing. Shinobi also invented weapons to defend themselves against others, and if you don't learn to defend yourself, you'll end up dead by the enemy's hands. I think that's what you wanted to say, Gaara... right?"
He looked away in embarrassment. "Yes. Sort of."
"Uh... I'm sorry." The girl bowed her head, and Gaara could tell from her body language that she was very shy.
A blond-haired boy behind her whispered, "Hey, if you're gonna make that short redhead guy mad by asking ridiculous questions, then you're on your own."
Kankurou cleared his throat and continued. "For your combat training, you'll be working in a group with one of us. You may choose which one you wanna work with, so as to avoid any, um... uncomfortable situations." His eyes glanced at his brother apologetically.
The students whispered amongst themselves.
"Gaara," Temari hissed. "Smile for once in your life. No one will wanna be in your group if you don't."
He raised his head slightly and his face gradually lost its sour expression.
When almost everyone had chosen their teachers, the girl stood alone in front of the tables. She looked indecisively at Gaara.
He knew what had taken place outside of the darkness behind his closed eyelids, and there was no need to make the situation worse: no one had come to him after all. His chest ached with disappointment.
He heard undecided footsteps coming towards him, and looked up. There stood the girl from before, her hands clenched at her sides.
"Excuse me, sir. Will you be my sensei?"
He was reeling inside from the shock, but his face remained impassive. "Are you sure you want that?"
She nodded. "Please, sir?"
His siblings stared in wonder. She had really chosen him, of all people?
"You're not... afraid of me?" he asked incredulously.
"Um... a-a little," she admitted. "But... maybe you're not as scary as they say..."
His eyes widened slightly. Then he blinked, and his expression gradually relaxed. "Very well. I'll accept."
She bit her lip nervously.
The other students went up to the tables and chose their weapons.
"Hey, this one is cool!" "I'm gonna try it out!" "What the heck does this do, sensei?" "Whoa, that one's too big for you!"
Gaara waited until the chaos had cleared, and walked over to her.
"No doubt you've heard the rumors. You know who I am, don't you?"
She nodded. "Yes, sir. You're the Fourth Kazekage's youngest child. They say you're a monster, but... you've been nice to me so far. Maybe it isn't true."
"You may call me Gaara. What is your name?" he asked tonelessly.
"Amai no Matsuri, sir."
He felt his lips turn up in a shy smile. "It suits you."
She blushed. "T-thank you, sensei."
"Matsuri, you must choose a weapon."
She glanced down at the three remaining weapons. There was a sword, a club, and... something she'd never seen before, or knew how to use.
A sudden flashback of a sword whistling past her ear startled her, and she saw that the one in front of her looked exactly like the one from that time. The shiny cold metal glared at her menacingly.
Her hand floated over the unknown weapon.
"What's the matter?"
"N-nothing, sensei."
The only safe option was to pick up the club, although it had sharp thorn-like points.
He would have raised an eyebrow if he'd had any. "I want you to attack me with that. Attack like you want to kill me."
She raised the club. It was heavier than she'd anticipated, and she fell backwards, her legs flying up over her head.
He looked away modestly. "There's a saying: 'beware a demon with an iron club'. But that doesn't apply to you."
"You mean to say that I'm not suited for it, right? Then which weapon do you think would be best for me?"
"Hm."
She's obviously afraid of the sword for some reason, and the club was too heavy...
He looked at the table, and back at her. Then he picked up the unidentified item.
That'll do nicely, to start with.
"This is called a rope javelin," he said, unwinding the rope that held a metal weight to a five-inch wooden post with a hole in the middle. "It's used for defense rather than for attacking."
"I've never heard of it."
"Then I will demonstrate for you."
He jumped back about 15 feet away, raised the wooden post, and spun the rope over his head. The red cloth tied to the metal weight created a circular pattern that was easy to discern against the brown limestone building behind him.
"The sharp blade on the end of the rope is usually not meant for stabbing people, although it can be used like that as a last resort. It uses centrifugal force to create a temporary shield. The entire weapon is used like so-..."
Gaara flicked his wrist, and the rope flew at three large wooden posts stuck fast into the sand at the other end of the training ground. It wrapped tightly around the middle one.
"-which allows you to incapacitate the enemy."
He handed the small wooden handle to her. "You must practice with this until the rope feels like an extension of your body, and you are able to aim at or capture anything."
"Y-yes, sir." She reached out to take the handle from him, and their fingers brushed. His hand tingled from the faint touch.
"I wouldn't expect you, or anyone for that matter, to be able to use this properly in a day, so don't get frustrated if you're not getting it right. Make sure you get plenty of water today; it's hotter than usual."
"I'll do that, sir."
"Good. Go unwind the rope and try it for yourself. I'll be back late this afternoon to check your progress."