Asami wasn't sure she would ever get used to her current situation, and despite popular belief being reborn in the Naruto world wasn't fun. At all.

Most fangirls had this ridiculous notion that it was fun living in a world where 80% of the shinobi population died before they turned twenty, and innocent people were killed just for being near a conflict zone and said fangirls would jump at the chance of becoming a shinobi.

No fucking thank you!

Asami was perfectly content with being a normal civilian and living her life away from those crazy ninjas!

So, to ensure her survival, she came up with three rules that she would follow.

Number one: if you are unable to avoid becoming a ninja (which she sure hoped wouldn't happen), fail every goddam class until you can't graduate.

Number two: Avoid the main characters at all costs.

Number three: if by any chance you find yourself in a situation that could result in your death, prioritize yourself at all costs.

If she had any say in the matter, she would be a normal civilian and maybe travel around the elemental nations. However, she soon found out that being an orphan meant that she was automatically enrolled in the academy, and thus her nightmare began.

"Stop it! I'm not going!"

The blonde girl was currently being dragged by the academy teacher, who was trying to get her to go to said building. (The caregivers at the orphanage were no match against her stubborn nature, grabby hands and strength, and so they were forced to call shinobi for back up. Traitors!)

"Asami! Stop it with this silly behaviour! You'll never be a ninja-like that!"

"Who said I wanted to?!" She demanded, like, seriously! Was her obvious refusal to attend the classes not clear enough concerning her intentions!?

Asami kept yelling at the poor Chunnin, who was just trying to do their job and did not cease her screaming until they arrived at the academy, where she reluctantly shut up and paid attention to class.

What? Just because she didn't want to be a shinobi doesn't mean she wouldn't pay attention to her lessons. Regardless of that fact she would rather stay far, far away from the horrors of the battlefield, you can never know what life will throw at you (such as being reincarnated into fucking Naruto! In Suna!) And she would prefer to know how to defend herself.

Of course, she would still try her damn hardest to fail by flunking every test that the academy gave her. Asami was determined to not die young. Not again.

And the safest course of action was to stay away from any and all main characters.

Why would she interfere? Asami knew that everything ended up okay in the end. There was the occasional pang of guilt that she felt for not even making a small amount of effort to stop the many heartbreaking deaths from happening, even if she's not in Konoha, but she pushed the feeling down easily enough.

The teacher droned on about the history of Sunagakure and the warring states period, and Asami listened on, intrigued. She was the only one who actually listened to these types of lessons, as the other five-year-olds found it extremely boring. A few were even asleep!

Bitterly, a part of she wondered how it was fine for them to sleep, but she was still forced to attend this cursed academy. She meant, sleeping through the classes and not attending were almost the same thing!

And so time went by. Every day her sensei would come to the orphanage and drag her down to school, every day she would pretend to be uninterested but secretly pay attention, every day she would walk back alone to the orphanage (having to be dragged to class constantly turned off the other parentless brats from socializing with her) and every day, she would fall asleep thinking about the people she left behind in her past life.

Then, on one fateful evening when she was going back to the orphanage, she saw him.

A boy with seafoam green eyes and a shock of red hair was curled up on the floor, hugging a brown teddy bear and crying. And when he lifted his head up, she ran away. (Well, she ran as fast as her chubby five-year-old legs allowed her.)

It wasn't because she was scared of him, but because by talking to him she could potentially become friends and she would get dragged along into the main story and quite possibly get killed because Kishimoto is a ruthless little bitch. (She was still salty over Neji's death, okay?)

Upon arrival to at the orphanage, she ran to her bed, ignoring the caretakers' protests and buried herself under the covers. "I don't want to die. Not again, and if I become friends with Gaara, there is a higher chance that I might," thoughts clouded her head. When she watched the anime, the way Gaara had been treated left her a little sad, sure. But it was just an anime. There were no real-life consequences. And now that she existed within this universe, she had a chance to change that. So why didn't she take it? Why was she being so selfish?

She went to sleep thinking about that and found no comfort in the softness of her bed.

…..

The next morning, Asami started her day the usual way.

By being dragged to the academy.

What a beautiful way to begin your day.

The lessons progressed as normal, yet Asami couldn't focus on anything the teacher was saying, as she was still thinking about her encounter with Gaara the previous day. She really didn't want to get involved with the main characters and possibly die, but it turned into a completely different situation when she was faced with the abuse and neglect that Gaara was going through. Seeing people treat a child like that on an anime was not like seeing it in real life.

And now that she didn't have her blissful ignorance anymore (or what remained of it anyway) it seemed like Gaara was everywhere. Or, more acutely, Suna's monster was. In class, in the hallways, in the orphanage, and in the streets; there he was. People of all ages whispered about him as if the boy was a boogyman. He wasn't in her homeroom (thank the Gods) but she still occasionally spotted him around. In the hallways people, both children and adults, avoided his path like he was the plague. Sometimes the "brave" adults would spit at his feet when he walked too close -and damn it all, if Gaara's flinch and heart-breaking expression didn't make her feel worse every time.

For two months things stayed the same. Asami didn't speak or let Gaara see her glancing at him. She tried to bury the ever-growing guilt, but it slithered and withered inside of her, festering like some poison. There was a lump in her throat every time her ears caught hold of rumours about "the monster. " Her blood pressure rose every time an adult glared at the small boy as if he was the Devil reincarnate (because damn it; they at least should know better! Gaara never asked to be like this!)

One night fateful night was the breaking point for Asami. Most of the children were sitting on the carpet, facing the caregiver assigned to read them a story before bed. Asami was there, of course. What was the story, you ask? Gaara. The story, an actual published book, went on about how scary the monster (a little boy, just a little boy) was and how he'd eat any misbehaving children.

A boogyman indeed.

Asami didn't stay past the first three pages when it was made obvious who the "monster" was, but it still stuck to her like a parasite nonetheless. She rolled and twisted all night, unable to gain restful sleep.

The next day passed by in a blur, and when it was time to go back to the orphanage, Asami found herself walking to the place where she saw Gaara two months ago.

"Why the fuck am I doing this?" she thought to herself. "This could get me killed!"

Every glare, every spat, every whispered rumour and hateful look, the fucking story kept replaying in Asami's mind. She thought she just might burst with her spiral of emotions.

She kept walking, eventually reaching an almost empty playground covered in sand (just like everywhere in Suna was). Soon, she spotted the familiar redhead.

The boy heard her take a step closer and some of his sand started to surround him, forming an impenetrable shield. Asami ignored it and took another step closer, cursing herself for stepping closer to death with each step she took towards the boy. She had no clue what to say but eventually decided that beating around the bush was unnecessary, and she would simply be as straightforward as possible (without hurting his feeling or provoking him. As stated before, Asami did not have a death wish.) "Hey," she said. "I'm sorry for running away the other day. That was rude. Do you wanna be my friend?"

The boy's eyes lit up as he realized that the girl was talking to him. He hugged his teddy bear a bit closer. "Why are you talking to me?" he stuttered out in a barely audible voice. "Aren't you scared I'm gonna hurt you?" Asami's heart broke at the sight in front of her (against her will might she add). Neither the manga nor the anime did a very good job of portraying how badly he was treated and how alone he was.

"Why would I be? You didn't do anything to cause me any harm. Anyways, what's your name? Mine is Asami, and also, why are you alone?" she asked, knowing the answer, how could she not? Still, tiny children should not be left unattended like he is! (Never mind that she's also, physically at least, the same. She's earned the caregivers' trust to at least come back after the academy.)

When Gaara looked into the eyes of Asami, he saw that they looked tired as if she's much older than what she looks like, but what could a little girl such as herself be tired of? For a split second, Gaara saw not a young girl, but someone who had seen enough. He looked into her eyes and asked her, "Is being alone and being lonely the same things?" he already knew the answer to it. The answer was no, it wasn't. You could be surrounded by people, but still be very lonely.

"Stop it with the deep thoughts, I don't know the answer to them! You still didn't answer my original question though."

Gaara frowned. "What question?"

Asami tucked a strand of her dirty blonde hair behind her ears and said, "I asked you if you wanted to be my friend. It's okay if you don't want to, I just thought that maybe we both needed one."

"W-Why? I'm a monster… "

"Well, you look fine to me;" another snarky comment.

Gaara doubted that they would stop any time soon.

She looked at him again. "Why would you call yourself that?"

"Be-Because it's true. I… I killed them, the assassins that were after me, she made me do it, the blood, I tried to wash it off but it won't come off, it's on my hands, no matter how hard I scrub, no matter what kind of soap I use, it…. It won't come off… IT'S NEVER GOING TO COME OFF!" Tears started spilling down once again, his voice became rougher and she noticed that he was spiralling.

"Is that truly what you think?" she asked him, truthfully this time. No matter how bad it as, a father has no right to treat his child the way the Kazekage treated his son. The man was what turned Gaara into a monster and she sure as hell was going to try and stop him from becoming the "killer" that people believe him to be (or at least be able to control it more.) "They went after you even though you're just a child. You aren't the monster here, they are."

Which is another reason why she didn't want to be a ninja.

He raised his head and stared at the girl, analyzing her through his salty tears and wet sniffs. At first glance, she looked like a normal five-year-old. Short dirty blonde hair with side-swept bangs, which was extremely common in Sunagakure, and dark blue eyes. Her outfit consisted of a fishnet shirt, with a purple top that reached her mid stomach and black shorts, with the traditional everything-proof ninja sandals. (Later, he would note that her hair was the same colour as his sister's, whom after some years took a liking to Asami.) However, if you looked deeper than the average kunoichi facade, you would see that she was much more mature than what a five-year-old child was supposed to be. She was truly peculiar.

"But they-"

"You still didn't answer my question," Asami interrupted the boy before he could say another word. Gaara didn't deserve the treatment he got as a child. He needed a friend to help deal with all the horrible things that will happen to him here in Suna. "Because I need a friend. Perhaps you could fill that position in for me?"

"Plus," a little and unwanted voice spoke up, "Being as abused as he is, he's sure to protect you viciously because you're the only one that doesn't treat him like shit."

Gaara couldn't believe his ears. Someone wanted to be his friend despite him telling them that he had killed people? He didn't deserve this. All he deserved was pain and despair. That's what he was taught. So why did this girl just ask him to be her friend? Wasn't she scared? Perhaps she was also told to say this, paid to betray him at the moment he expected it last. After all, his own father told him he didn't love him and said that he didn't deserve to be loved. He was no fool, he wasn't going to trust her. Gaara was angry, he was not going to be deceived again. His sand started to surround him.

"Did Tou-sama tell you to say that? Are you going to betray me as well?" he shot his hand in her direction.

Asami didn't move, she knew that she was probably going to die but she couldn't move, all she could do was stare at him with determination on her face. (Truthfully, she's already paralyzed with fear. Her feet were rooted in place without her say-so.) She had finally gathered the courage to break her rule a little, and she wasn't just gonna give up that easily. "I don't want to die." she thought, "Not again. Not like this." Her mouth was bone dry, and she could feel her legs shake as sweat runs down her body (and this time, it wasn't just from the unbearable heat that Suna is cursed with.) Despite what she was feeling though, She didn't let her fear show. The sand got closer and closer and she was seeing everything in slow motion. It was only a few inches away from her face now, shaped like a spike, she waited for the sand to pierce her forehead, but it just stopped there.

"Why aren't you moving?!" Gaara asked as even more tears flowed down his cheeks, he was confused. Most people would've run away by now, was she really paid that much?

"As I said before, I'm not scared of you." she lied through her teeth, she caught her voice shaking but she didn't think Gaara would notice. "Why would I be scared of an angry little boy?" Of course she was scared. Scared shitless, in fact! How could she not be? Gaara could kill her in the bat of an eye.

But she didn't show it. For his sake and hers, she decided to hold it in. "And I told you I wanted to be friends already." She could see he hesitated, perhaps just like an animal, he could smell her fear?

She outstretched her hand towards him. "No backing down now…" she thought as she waited for the boy to shake her hand. Gaara stared at the hand for a few seconds before shaking it, the warmth of Asami's hand feeling good on his cold ones.

"Also, why would your father pay a scrawny little five-year-old girl to try and murder you? I'm sure he has better uses for his money. And besides, his best shinobi couldn't kill you, how would I? Hiring a five-year-old is just stupid."

He laughed at her, and together they began to play with the sand in the streets of Suna.

….

After an hour or two of talking and playing with the redhead, Asami walked to the orphanage where she currently resided. The matron, who was a young woman with long brown hair rushed at her.

"Are you alright?! Someone came to me earlier and told me they saw you playing with that boy, the monster. He didn't hurt you did he?! Listen to me, you better stay away from him, he could kill you!"

Asami stared at the woman in front of her. She tried to push down her burning anger. Really, Asami was finding that all the adults were the same. "No, he didn't hurt me. He's actually really nice." Her tone was short and clipped.

The Matron gasped. "Asami! Are you crazy?! I don't want you to be near that boy anymore, do you understand?! He could kill you!" She repeated.

"But he's my friend!" Asami had become friends with one of the most dangerous and badass people on earth, she was not about to let it go to waste!

And also, being friends with Gaara might give her a chance to help him change, and since she will most likely become a ninja (despite all of her effort), Gaara could protect her in the situations where she couldn't protect herself. Because you see, in this world ruled over by Darwin's theory, you've got to do everything in your power to survive, even if you felt guilty about it. "I will not be selected out!" Asami thought as she headed back to her room for the night.

Sometimes she wished she wasn't reborn at all.

….…

The next morning, Asami got to the academy like she always did: Dragged by the hair by one of the teachers. "Let me go! I don't want to become a ninja!" She yelled as curious citizens stared at the way she was being brought to school.

The Chunnin sighed. "Why must you be so complicated, Asami-chan?"

"I'm not complicated! I have free will and I don't want to be a ninja and die before I turn twenty!"

"Asami, you know you're complicated." The Chunnin's hold on the girl's shirt loosened just a little bit, but it was enough to give Asami a chance to get away.

"YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME!" she crackled as she ran away as fast as she could. She probably wasn't going to win thanks to the fact that her current speed comparable to that of a snail, so she decided to try to hide. But of course, she was caught by the Chunnin in a matter of minutes and dragged to the academy. Maybe her teacher finally snapped, because she got two hours of detention for running away. Needless to say, it started off as an extremely shitty day.

And it was only going to get shittier.