It was midday when the Kazekage appeared. It immediately became louder in the hall. The children whispered to each other as the man with the reddish hair and straight posture walked through the rows. He paid less attention to us children. Rather the headmistress, who was already waiting for him with a mild smile. I had only seen him once before. He had given a speech then. It must have been two years ago. And the memory of it was dark. Especially since it had been a war speech to encourage us, the inhabitants of Sunagakure. That was shortly after they had taken Haru away.
Now he was not alone. He had a boy with him who was maybe a year or two younger than me. His hair was a dark brown, as were his eyes. He stood upright next to his father and looked around. He was probably the Kazekagen's son.
But I didn't know why he had taken him with him. The head of the home also seemed confused by his appearance. I squeezed my way through the many children to catch a bit more of their conversation.
„Kankuro really wanted to come with me," he explained to the older lady, who nodded in understanding.
Nevertheless, she seemed surprised. Meanwhile, the boy looked around. To the children, the shabby tables, the food, which probably didn't even come close to what he got on the table at home. So why would someone like him, who had a family and enough to eat, want to come to a place like this?
I returned his gaze when it brushed against me. He didn't flinch. Looked me in the eye, despite the one-sided blindness. I stared back until he turned away. Seemingly bored, while I was triumphant inside. If he felt my gaze, he didn't let on.
I had forgotten all about my soup. It was probably cold by now. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Akio was trying to fish for it. He was sitting just two seats away and his chair was wobbling menacingly as it was right on the edge of an old carpet. Very slowly, I stood at the other end of it and slid my foot underneath, only to pull on it afterwards.
„Wahh," Akio said and fell forward. Head first into the bowl of soup. There was a loud clatter and almost every head in the hall shot around to Akio, who had just managed to cling to the edge of the table. His hair wet from the sauce, he stared around angrily. I scrutinized him while my glee increased. That was what he got for his egotism.
I knew that he would probably find out in the next few days. But this prank had been worth it. After all, yesterday's situation had shown me that I wasn't helpless. And I would fight back. With my wits. I would work on my strength. And if I could get Akio to stop terrorizing me, then I could survive in the desert once I left the home.
The Kazekage ignored the commotion and leaned down to whisper something in the headmistress's ear. Meanwhile, his son looked over curiously at what was happening. Akio's expression darkened as the laughter increased. Even his buddies hadn't been able to contain themselves. Grinning, they patted him on the back. When I looked back at the Kazekage, he had disappeared. As had the headmistress and his son. Imperceptibly, I began to move away from the scene. A caregiver had rushed to Akio to help him, while the other children slowly turned back to their cold food.
I quickly disappeared from the hall in search of the unusual visitors. I suspected that they were looking for a place where they could talk to each other undisturbed. I was more than interested in what the Kazekage was doing here. I knew that he wanted to support the home. But maybe it wasn't just about that.
Despite my curiosity, I did not become careless. I moved quietly through the empty corridors of the home. Listened for footsteps or other noises. Nothing stirred. The walls were empty and barren. Some of the plaster was hanging down and many spiders had taken up residence in the corners of the ceiling.
A caregiver had once found a scorpion in the girls' room. Nothing had happened. But this house needed renovation more than any other in the country. Instead, the oldest ones were torn down and rebuilt. I didn't know much about taxes yet. But I had once heard the caregivers talk about how it couldn't be the case where the money was going.
The hospitals or our home needed it much more. Wasn't it always said that we children were the future of the country? Why did the economy and some influential shinobi seem so much more important to those up there? Didn't they care that twenty children died of colds and flu last winter because we didn't have enough money to renovate the house?
Some parts of the rooms were leaking. Cold air leaked through them. The blankets in our beds were thin. We often slept close together to keep warm. With clammy fingers and pale faces. Hoping that we wouldn't fall ill. Sometimes I wished that they would take a little money from the rich to give it to the poor.
Our country had suffered a lot of damage from the war and we did not seek proximity to the other countries despite the peace treaty. Konohagakure was rich. At least that's what the adults said. Why didn't anyone form an alliance with them? Was it because they had killed our shinobi in the war? But we had that too. How could we go on if no one took the first step? How was the world ever going to get better?
I flinched when I heard the squeaky sound of a door not far away, followed by dragging footsteps. Holding my breath, I crept closer and recognized the Kazekagen's son, who apparently had to wait outside the door and was not allowed to overhear the adults' conversation. There was a look of discontent on his face. He huffed angrily and turned around. I jerked my head back.
If he was right outside the door, I couldn't eavesdrop very well. Maybe I could get around him. Or maybe... I peeked around the corner again. Kankuro was standing quite close to the door, his ear pressed against the thick wood. He was trying to eavesdrop himself. But I had to be careful. Some of the floorboards here squeaked or were loose. By now, I had already crept through this corridor quite often, so I knew the pitfalls. It wasn't the first time I'd stood outside the headmistress's office and eavesdropped.
Only once had she caught me doing it. And that was only because I had stepped on one of those darn floor tiles. It didn't happen to me a second time. I had watched the other supervisors walking down the corridor and avoided the tiles that squeaked under their feet.
Concentrating on not doing anything wrong, I crept along the corridor when I tripped. But not just like that. Someone had pushed me. I whirled around and looked into Akio's eyes. A smirk of victory had spread across his face. Someone grabbed me from behind. I recognized Ren from the firm grip.
„Ren said you made my chair wobble. You'll pay for that," he threatened.
„Not everyone gets a hot bath. Even if it was soup in this case," I slipped out. Something that only fanned Akio's anger even more. He lunged at me and rammed his fist into my stomach. Sharp pain shot through my body. The air was forced from my lungs. I squirmed in Ren's grip, trying to get away.
With my right foot, I stomped on one of the loose floor tiles to my left. The end of it came off the ground and flew towards Akio. He stumbled. Ren's grip loosened for a moment. I took advantage of their surprise and jerked his head back. It collided hard with Ren's nose, and he finally let go of me.
„Stop it!" thundered the headmistress's voice through the corridor.
She stood at the end of it with her arms crossed. Directly behind her was the Kazekage and his son. He stared at me unabashedly.
„Asna started it," Akio defended himself. "She made me fall earlier. I just wanted to scare her a little so she wouldn't do it again."
„I don't care who started it. I'm much more interested in why you're not sticking to our agreement."
Akio fell silent, avoiding her gaze and looking to the ground.
„This will have consequences for all three of you," she said and was about to turn away when a third voice spoke up.
„She was only trying to defend herself. That Akio tried to steal her bowl at lunch. I'm sure it's not the first time he's done that."
Taken by surprise, I stared at Kankuro, who returned the headmistress's gaze. But that faded into the background when I felt the Kazekagen's eyes on me. The way he stared at me. I felt like a rabbit in front of a hawk. But his attention was also on the other two boys. Whatever he was thinking at the moment, it certainly wasn't good.
That look stayed with me for the next few weeks. There was hardly a day when I didn't think about it. Akio stayed away from me. Especially since one of the counselors was almost always near me. Unfortunately, it wasn't always Kairi. Her presence was still my favorite.
At night, when I could hardly sleep, I would sneak out of the girls' dormitory and down to the small library. I didn't need a key. I knew how to pick a lock. In the years I'd been here, I'd had plenty of time to practise. And it made me proud to be able to do at least a few things.
During the week, we always got a few lessons from the caretakers. They weren't qualified teachers themselves, but they still tried to teach us a few things. Reading was one of them. I just couldn't quite write yet. I knew that children my age could normally do that. But only those who had a family and could go to school. I probably wouldn't.
At some point...maybe in ten years I would be too old for the home. And then I had to survive. Maybe I could manage it if I acquired a little knowledge in the library. It was small. But it was better than nothing.
I still kept my distance from Akio. Even though he hadn't done anything against me for a long time. It was strange. Because regardless of that, he seemed pretty out of it. I almost had the feeling that he was trying to behave inconspicuously. But why?
Two months had passed since the Kazekage's visit when the head of the home called me into her office one morning. She was in a pretty good mood. She usually just sat there with a grim expression and glared at us children.
Himiko, the caregiver who had fetched me, also seemed to know something. I looked suspiciously back and forth between the two of them. I didn't feel comfortable with the whole thing. And the feeling didn't get any better when the door opened again. Akio and Ren entered next to me. Unlike Ren, Akio seemed to know what was going on. He stared impatiently at the headmistress.
„I'm sure it hasn't escaped your attention that our Kazekage visited us for a reason. I've been talking to him over the last few weeks. Not only about the financial support for the home, but also about placing you children with a family."
It took me a while to realize what the older woman was trying to tell us. Akio and Ren exchanged an excited look, while I didn't know what to feel. I had wished for it for a long time and now it finally seemed to be coming true.
I would have a family, a home.