Asami is, unsurprisingly, very tired. She's been very tired ever since she woke up in the body of a toddler. The nap break from class they had some 3 hours ago only did so much, but she has stuff to do and she's gonna do it.

Stuff, in this case, is a very crudely written letter to her genin teacher. Asami settles into her school seat, pulling out her stationary - it's admittedly very shitty , and honestly she's surprised it hasn't fallen apart yet, but that's what you get when you're an orphan in a poor orphanage.

Well, beggars can't be choosers, she supposes.

"Dear Mr. Sato," she mumbles as she writes. This is gonna show him!

"I am writing this to you in order to raise a concern of mine regarding your shinobi academy and the treatment of its students." She's trying her best to make her handwriting somewhat legible, but her dexterity is fucking shit, so it's not working out too well.

"Particularly the cruel and horrendous way in which some of us (not to be named) are dragged to school with extreme violence and -"

"Whatcha' mumbling about there, Asami-chan?"

Speak of the devil. It's Sato himself, no doubt here to have another conversation about her "bad attitude". Whatever that means.

Asami narrows her eyes and turns to face her teacher.

"I'm writing a letter." She mutters.

Mr. Sato raises his eyebrows in surprise. Asami has never put in effort into anything for all the time she's been at school; Sato thinks this might be progress!

"Oh? What about?"

Asami huffs and gives him the best side eye she can manage.

"It's a formal complaint. I'm exercising my right as a citizen of Sunagakure."

He doesn't look particularly bothered by her glare.

"Well, personally, I'd work on my handwriting first, seeing as I can't tell what you've written there. But I'd love to read it once you're done."

Asami is almost offended until she looks down and realises her attempts at making her writing decent were useless. It all looks like some kid just scribbled nonsense on a blank page, which isn't untrue, but it's disappointing. Being a four-year-old sucks!

She sighs again and crumples up the page, crossing her arms and pouting after she throws her hard work into the nearest trash can. She knows she's acting like a spoiled brat right now, and not the 17 year old she remembers being, but she doesn't really give a shit. Asami huffs again. Fuck this!

"Don't be discouraged, Asami-Chan! With enough practice, your handwriting will be fine in no time. You seem to be really applying yourself if you're working during break times, so it won't be long before you've improved! You could even start being this dedicated during lessons, this way your grades will also go up. I know the orphanage matron is concerned about them."

Asami can tell Sato is trying to be encouraging, but it's really just pissing her off. She pushes her ash-blonde hair out of her face and huffs again.

"I didn't even wanna come here in the first place, why would I be dedicated?!"

Sato exhales deeply, already used to this type of behaviour from her.

"Well, Asami, unfortunately, we all have to be here anyways. It's our obligation. Do you know what that means? Obligation?"

Of course she does. She's not a fucking moron.

"Well, it means we're bound to this. It's our duty. One day, you'll grow up to be a shinobi to help the village, to defend it, and some people would say there's nothing more honourable than that. Wouldn't you like to be someone who fights to help others?"

"No! I don't! I hate this place! It's like the millionth time I've said this!"

Sato just looks at her like he expected this answer. Asami really doesn't know why he asked in the first place. She's very vocal about her distaste for shinobi.

"I think you'll understand someday, Asami-chan. Maybe you'll even grow to love Suna enough to fight for it. It really is a beautiful place, y'know?"

Sato walks away. Asami really doubts that she'll ever grow to like Suna, or think that it's beautiful. It's just fucking sandy. And she hates this place. Very much. Everything about it screams death, and she's had enough of death! Asami has no intention of going out like her shinobi parents did. Like she did, in her past life.

It seems like fate really isn't on her side though, because when it comes to her future career she doesn't have much of a choice. According to Sunagakure law, all orphans must receive some level of government-provided education until they turn 12, which wouldn't be so shitty if it weren't for the fact that the only government-provided education is a shinobi one!

…..

Asami picks up a stick and tries to draw on the sand. Seriously, why is there sand everywhere?

Unsurprisingly, her stick figures are shit. Asami's come to the conclusion that she hates sand. So much. Suna sucks. It's unbearably hot during the day, and unbearably cold during the night, and she really cannot get over the fucking sand! It's literally everywhere! Sometimes she finds sand in her ears! And what kind of insane people are so desperate for a bigger military that they force kids to learn to fight? In what world is that a good idea?

And why are they so surprised to find out that she wants no part in it?

Asami swears the people in this place have some sort of fixation on being a shinobi because even the thought that she might not want to be one because of their absurdly high death rates is ridiculous. The first time she spoke to her orphanage matron about this subject, it was like Asami had said something taboo. Really , she was just being honest, like the matron had asked!

"But Asami," the matron had told her, almost pleadingly,

"Don't you think it would be cool to learn how to walk on water? Or- or breathe fire?"

She can tell that the matron is getting desperate after hours of trying to convince her. Too bad!

"No, I don't! It's dangerous and boring and bad and I don't wanna!"

"But Asami-Chan ! Wouldn't it be nice to help defend your country ?" The matron grows exceedingly exasperated, waving her hands around desperately.

"No!"

God, what is wrong with these people?!

Asami states impassively at her, furrowing her eyebrows into the most menacing expression her chubby 4 year old face can manage. The matron stares back and sighs.

"Fine, Asami. But I can't change the law, and you have to attend the Academy whether you like it or not."

Asami huffs and brings her focus back into the playground. The kids are running around, trying to tag each other and playing shinobi. None of it seems tempting to her. The matron had tried her hardest to make Asami even somewhat open to becoming a shinobi, but to no avail. No matter how hard these people try, she won't let them make her a shinobi! She'll flunk every class if she has to! After all, they can't make her graduate if she's absolutely terrible, right?

Well, anyways, Asami is terribly stubborn, and she'll be damned if she doesn't try.

The bell rings, signalling the end of the break, and Asami reluctantly stands up to go back to class.

…

The academy teacher is droning on and on about the Warring States, trying his best to make it sound interesting to a bunch of 4 year olds who're barely paying attention. Asami doesn't bother trying to look like she cares; instead, she's looking at the clock on top of the blackboard - there's about 10 minutes til the lesson is over and she can finally leave this place. She sighs. It's so unbelievably boring, she can't even fathom the idea of memorising everything. She pities the kids who try, she really does.

'Five more minutes to go.' Asami thinks to herself.

"Psst. Hey. Ruka-Chan!" The girl next to her starts whispering to her friend. Her black hair, blue eyes and tan skin make her stand out among the rest of her classmates. Asami's pretty sure this is the girl that half the class has a crush on.

"My mother made me a new dress yesterday! It's so cute!" The girl continues.

"Really, Kin-Chan? I want to see it!"

"I'll wear it tomorrow!"

Asami looks sideways at the two of them. Kin is the top kunoichi, and also incredibly insufferable. She goes on and on about how she can't wait to be a great shinobi, and how she's going to be the best one ever, without ever thinking about what's actually going to happen when they go out into the field. Not to mention, she's one of those kids who stays away from anyone who doesn't fit into the norm, looking at them weird when she thinks they're not paying attention.

Asami is one of those kids. She's an orphan, and not one from a well off orphanage. Kin has never made an effort to even pretend to be nice to her. Asami huffs. She's been doing that a lot lately.

At least class is almost over. Listening to the teacher's spiel about the extensive history of Suna is almost preferable to listening to Kin's voice.

Just when Asami thinks she's at the end of her wits, the bell rings. Finally! She wastes no time in throwing all of her stuff into a ratty old bag the orphanage gave her - she wants out of here as soon as possible. She's thinking about the nice nap she's going to take when she gets back, and maybe, if it's not too hot, she might even go to the playground. If she gets there fast enough she might even have the swing to herself, since most kids don't like her. She turns to walk away from her seat -

And rams her head right into Kin's.

"Ow!"

Kin and Asami recoil from each other. Through the fingers covering her eyes and forehead in an attempt to reduce the pain, Asami can see Kin cradling her own forehead and glaring at her.

"Can you, like, be more careful? You hurt me!"

Ruka is rubbing Kin's side, asking her repeatedly if she's okay.

"Sorry." Asami mutters.

"Well, don't be clumsy next time! It could've been worse!"

Asami looks at Kin's annoying face, with her annoying black hair and her annoying glare, and decides she's going to act her physical age.

"Well, you should have moved faster too! You heard the bell ring, everyone knows it means you have to leave!"

Kin looks like she's about to respond before the teacher tells them to quit it. Kin glares at her one more time, and Asami glares right back. Both of them, however, keep their mouths shut and walk to the door in an orderly fashion.

Asami wants to go to the playground before she goes back to the orphanage. Even though a nap sounds really tempting right now (damn her new body!) She's realised that it's fun when no one is bothering her, and technically, she is a four year old girl, despite the memories she carries. Being childish for a bit wont hurt her ego too bad.

…

The walk to the playground is short, barely 10 minutes, and when Asami gets there she notices that there's a crowd of kids looking at something and talking amongst themselves. The 'something' in question is a boy. A red haired boy. Shit. Fucking shit!

Asami is strongly considering walking away before she does something stupid, like talk to him. She's trying real hard not to. After a while she realises she's been standing there like a total idiot just staring at the playground, and before things can get more embarrassing for her she walks to the swing set and plops down on one of them.

The air is a little cooler today, and all of the kids are too preoccupied with avoiding Gaara to go to the swing set. As a result, Asami has it all to herself today, and she's going to try to enjoy it as best she can before she starts second guessing all of her hard work for some random kid she's never even talked to.

Except he's not just a random kid, is he? While her memories of the show are vague, Asami remembers how lonely he was through his childhood, and how a younger version of herself used to think that it all could have been avoided if only people had been kind to him.

But Asami knows that she has never been a particularly kind person. Self-preservation has constantly been at the forefront of her mind ever since she found herself being one of the many orphans in sunagakure, but even in her past life she was kind of a loner. She didn't really have any room to be kind, no matter how much she might have wanted to help others.

Sometimes, though, when she looks at the red-haired kid who's always alone at the playground, she wishes she wasn't such a coward. She wishes she could be kind for once and play with him, if only for a little while. And this bothers her. Very much. It's Gaara, for fucks sake, and Asami doesn't have a death wish. She's trying her hardest to survive as long as she can, and talking to him will make all her effort go to waste. But day after day, when she ignores him just like all the other kids who call him a freak and monster for something he can't control, she feels the weight of it all press down on her. Sometimes it's even hard to breathe. He's really just a kid, who hasn't done anything wrong (yet). Even so, no matter how horrible she feels for being just an observer, she tries her best to push it down and go about trying to survive in this strange new world.

She keeps playing with the swing set, trying to avert her mind from what could have been if she wasnt so afraid of death. If she let herself be a kind person regardless of the circumstances. A life where she didn't feel so selfish. It's hard to picture not having to worry about herself most of all.

Asami's trying not to look in their direction, but the group of kids is very loud. They think they're being quiet when they call him names, but if Asami is quite a distance away and can hear them, then Gaara, who's only a few feet from them, is definitely aware.

She looks at Gaara again. He's got this expression on his face as he watches the other children recoil from him in physical disgust. She feels her resolve break, and she steps away from the swing set. Oh, god. This is so fucking stupid. So stupid!

As Asami walks ahead, she notices the orphanage matron is there. It's Probably to collect the kids who went to the playground instead of going back to the orphanage after school. Asami also notices her side-eying Gaara.

"Haruki, Natsuo, Asami! It's time to come home!"

The other two kids she called go over to her without any fuss. Asami stands still, trying to gather her thoughts.

"Asami!" The orphanage matron calls out.

"It's time to come back in!"

"Yeah, yeah! I'm coming!" She responds.

Asami trudges through the playground, her pudgy legs and feet easily stumbling through the sandy ground. Seriously, what the fuck were people thinking when they decided to build a village in the middle of the goddamn desert?

She grunts as she gets stuck in a particularly sandy patch of ground. Curse her stubby legs!

"Asami!" The matron yells again.

"I'm coming! Just a minute! "

Instead of walking toward the matron, however, Asami walks in the opposite direction. Towards Gaara.

She notices the other kids staring at her as she walks towards him. Honestly, she feels a little insane for doing what she's about to do, but she wouldn't be able to handle watching him and not doing anything for much longer anyways, so she might as well do it now. It's only going to be for a little bit. Not enough to put herself in any mortal danger. Hopefully. She plops down on the sand next to him.

"Hey."

Asami is staring at him with a blank face, waiting for his reaction and trying her best not to freak out in front of him. He doesn't say anything, and Asami is too afraid to break the silence, so she just keeps looking at him. The other kids are whispering about her now, and while Asami isn't extremely annoyed at this it does grate on her nerves. Gaara turns to stare at them, then back at Asami, visibly confused. It's like he doesn't know how to talk to her.

'To be honest, I also don't know what the fuck im doing.' Asami thinks.

Regardless , she takes a deep breath and talks to him again.

" Hi. Um, I don't really have much time to talk to you, 'cause the lady over there's calling me back, and I have to go to the orphanage."

The matron is looking at her as if she grew another head. Asami clears her throat.

"Yeah, uh, she's my legal guardian. Or whatever. I couldn't help but notice you all alone here in the playground. " Asami is trying so hard not to cringe at her thoughtless words. Gaara is still staring at her, but now it's more so curious rather than bewildered.

"I don't have that many friends either, so i was thinking; you wanna like, uh, maybe hang out sometime?"

What the fuck is wrong with her. Who speaks like that when they're trying to make friends?

He's still just staring at her. Out of the corner of her eye, Asami spots the matron getting over her shock and walking towards the both of them, albeit tentatively.

"I'm gonna have to go soon, but I'll be here tomorrow right after school. That's like, four o'clock maybe? Anyway, meet me here, yeah?"

She stands up and walks towards the matron, waving goodbye. The closer she comes to her caretaker the more she can see that the matron's face is laced with fear. Asami tries not to let her own show. She takes a deep breath and unsuccessfully tries to still her shaking hands.

"We can go home now, yeah?" she says as she grabs the matron's hand. Asami recently found out that she's surprisingly knowledgeable about the paths with less sand in them, and a while ago had resolved to follow her closely in an effort to get home less… well, sandy.

The matron takes a deep breath, and squeezes Asami's tiny hand.

"Sure, let's go home then, Asami."

She can tell they're going to have a long conversation about today. Asami can't fucking wait.