Solitude

Chapter Six: Old Friends

❝Sacrifice is an inevitable part of missions. Did you not receive emotion training?❞ ㅡ Temari

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CHAPTER SIX:

OLD FRIENDS

                         Rei thanked Ichiraku as he placed the ramen she had previously ordered in front of her. The sweet scent of roasted pork reached her nostrils, and she moaned in anticipation; it had been too long since she had last tasted one of those delicious meals the old man prepared. Her training was taking more time — and more energy — than she would have ever expected, and so she barely had an hour for herself, which she usually spent lying on the roof of Maki's house and staring up at the starry sky that resembled so much to her real home before calling it a day.

Speaking of her home, never in her life would she have thought she'd be sitting at Ichiraku's with two of her most beloved childhood friends. They both had grown into two strong-looking shinobi — that much was evident.

"I would've never expected to see you here, Rei," Kankurō spoke after devouring his ramen in less than a minute, which earned himself a disgusted frown from his sister.

The brunette nodded once and looked at him, and she could've sworn there was something akin to accusation shining in his eyes. Shifting her eyes along his face, she had yet to get rid of the shock upon noticing the purple paint smeared across by choice — was it a new thing in Suna?

"After the... incident, Maki's mum decided it'd be best for me to move in with them," she explained, trying her best not to mention anything about his new look. "That same day we came to Konoha."

Both siblings exchanged a knowing glance, like a secret spoken with their eyes, before they turned to the short girl.

To be honest, Rei hadn't really talked to anyone about the tragedy in years, and she'd rather keep it that way. In fact, there was only one person in the village that was aware of the horrors she had gone through when she was but a child; the same person whose own childhood was cursed with a similar memory, tainted in despair. As Rei gazed at her meal, she couldn't help but wonder about her blond, good friend. The last time they had met had been some days ago, when he was about to depart on a C-ranked mission to the Village Hidden by Mist, in the Land of Water.

"Where is Maki, by the way?" Kankurō inquired while looking about, as if he were expecting the girl to show up any moment now.

"I wouldn't know. Haven't seen her in days." Rei welcomed the change of topic and mused, "Probably training somewhere."

Upon hearing her words, Temari arched an eyebrow and spoke for the first time after minutes of suspicious silence.

"Training?" she repeated, as though the mere idea was hard for her to believe.

Rei nodded, finished her meal and waved a hand in a nonchalant way.

"I've been training myself, thus why I haven't seen her," she explained. Then, the corner of her mouth turned slightly up to form a lopsided smirk. "But I shouldn't be talking to you about this, considering we'll be competing against each other very soon."

At her words, Kankurō chocked on his own saliva.

"You're particip–ow!" he yelped when the elbow of his sister connected with his stomach, then paused to glare at the blonde before turning back to Rei. "So, you two made it to Genin."

"Isn't it obvious, idiot?" Temari rolled her eyes, annoyed yet used to Kankurō's thickness, and pointed to the blue band Rei wore around her waist. The symbol of the leaf that recognized her as a ninja of Konoha shone in its center, after having been printed on the metallic surface with care. "It suits you," she commented in a cool voice, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen upon them, while she placed a hand under her chin.