Five and One Makes Six (A Gaara Love Story)

Chapter Nine: Learning to Communicate

**Wow, it's been forever since I updated this... Oops. Problem is, if you recall, I said I was taking out a bunch of OCs, and that it was gonna be hard for me to figure out how to write what needed to be written, without using any of the characters that I don't want to. I promise I haven't forgotten about this story, but I've just been taking the time to think about what I really want to do with it. Honestly, once I finish it, I'll probably put the story under construction, and rewrite some of the chapters. However, that will be a while before that happens. So for now, bear with me and my slow updates, and somewhat short chapters! And in the meantime, if you want something to read, check out my Kiba story! It's updated every two weeks :3**

<Reiitsu's POV>

I stared at the starry sky, pulling my knees to my chest. I didn't know what time it was, nor did I care. The only thing I could think about were the exams.

There had been three parts. A written, a survival, and a final round. However, due to the fact that too many of us survived, they put the finals on hold for a month, on account that we held a preliminary round to eliminate more candidates. The written exam didn't bother me, and the survival round was almost insultingly easy for both me and Tsumika. The preliminaries were a valuable time to observe the people we would be considering our opponents, and they, too, were easy. I had emerged on top, as had Tsumika, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. A slow smirk spread across my face. Yes, the Suna ninja were a force to be reckoned with, alright. I almost couldn't wait for the final rounds to finally commence.

However, at the moment, that wasn't my concern. Bloodshed was something that I was well used to, so casualties and fighting weren't really that big of a deal. It wasn't the exams I was dwelling on, no... it was what happened during them.

During the preliminary rounds, opponents were drawn at random. Tsumika had been paired against a boy with a particularly interesting power (A/N: one of the OCs that I had to leave out *cries*), and the fight wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. His power had Tsumika on the defensive, as opposed to the offensive, which is where she preferred to be. She had been on the ropes, figuring out a way to overcome his jutsu, while still not losing control of her own body and abilities.

I was scared for her. I remember hearing her cry out when she was cut, and I remember fighting to remain calm. Normally, calm was something that came naturally to me, but as of late, my emotions were not only intensifying, but slowly creeping out of my control, and that wasn't something I was happy about. In order to calm myself down, I had dug my nails into my arms, not stopping even when I felt the blood tricking down my elbows. I needed something to hold on to, and the closest thing was my own body.

Then something happened. I heard the soft rustle of sand, and felt a tug on my wrists. Startled, I had looked down, and saw that my wrists were now slightly pulled away from my arms, preventing myself from drawing any more blood than I already had. I looked over at Gaara, confused, and saw that he wasn't meeting my gaze. He was watching the fight, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

Why?

Why had he protected me?

I heard Tsumika's voice in my head. 'He loves you, Rei. I wish you'd understand that.' 

'What is love...' I wondered to myself. People kept talking about it, all the time, everywhere. From the time I was a child, I was told I'd never be loved. But then, Tsumika always said that she loved me. But Gaara had told me that he only loves himself. That word, love, being thrown around all the time. What exactly was it? I stood up, taking a moment longer to gaze at the stars.

I decided it was time to talk to Tsumika.

**Yeah, so it's pretty short, but at least it can kind of lead up into what I want to happen. The hardest part was (and is still) figuring out how to do the exams without using the characters that are in me and Tsumi's larger story, the one that Reiitsu and Tsumika were originally a part of. At least it's something to read, after having not updated in five months. I hope you like it! Hopefully, I'll have another up soon!**

-Rei :3