Porcelain

Puppet #2


Eirin opened her eyes to see a semi-brightly lit room. She squinted her pale green eyes. They adjusted to the brightness of the room. The room itself was quite bland, but there were a few puppets here and there in various sizes. They were made from a wood that shone softly in the light.

"Puppets…?" She questioned in a whispery voice.

Since when were they here…? Wait a minute…

"Oh, you're awake." A bored voice drawled. It was a young boy's voice, one that she'd heard before.

Blinking furiously and sitting up straighter, the young female looked at her surroundings with full attention. The voice had come from right in front of her.

"Sasori...?" His name slipped out of her mouth when she saw his red hair.

Sasori just stared at her with his grey-brown eyes. He had the first aid box in his hands, the one he had used the night before, and he seemed to be waiting expectantly for her.

"Good…morning…" Eirin nodded her head shyly towards him.

Sasori just gave her a nod of the head, proceeding to kneel down and open the box. "I'm just changing your bandages."

Eirin chewed on her bottom lip. She wasn't sure why this boy was being so nice. She was a stranger; for all he knew, she could have been an assassin out to kill him.

As Sasori replaced the old bandages with new ones, there was a knock on the door, followed by a light creak when it opened. It alerted the female getting treated.

"Sasori," The voice was of a woman. A head popped into the room. It was a middle-aged woman, with purple hair on both sides of her face and in a bun. Her dark eyes scanned the room to find Sasori, seeing his back to her. He had turned around a little to greet his grandmother. What shocked the grandmother, was the other female. "Eirin…!" Her mouth moved on its own accord and her name flowed out in a croaked whisper.

Sasori turned back to Eirin. Eirin just stared with wide green eyes at the middle-aged woman, having no idea what to say. How did she know her? She's never met her in her entire life!

"H-How do you know me…?" Eirin whispered.

"Grandmother...it's difficult to fix humans than it is to fix puppets." Sasori spoke gently.

"Sasori…do you have any idea who this child is…?" Chiyo side stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, taking a few steps forward. Her voice held incredulity.

Sasori raised his brows, turning to his grandmother. He was silent, waiting for her to continue.

Chiyo decided to remain quiet. She didn't speak a word, glancing at the pale girl against the wall. What was she to do?

Eirin felt unnerved about the encounter. Somehow, the middle-aged woman knew her, but she herself didn't know who that woman was.

"Eirin, my name is Chiyo. You can just call me Granny." Chiyo took another step forward and offered a smile, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

In response, the girl gave a small smile.

Sasori fixed the last of her bandages and closed the first aid box, standing up. He left the room quietly, leaving the Granny and Eirin there.

Chiyo looked around the room for the hundredth time – trying to find something to talk about. The girl in front of her wasn't someone that looked like she would start talking because there was another presence.

"…Eirin, do you like puppets?" Chiyo's eyes skimmed over a few of Sasori's puppets.

"Puppets…?" Eirin repeated. She glanced at the puppets around the room. "I like puppets…but I've never had one."

"Would you like to try and use one?" Chiyo offered.

Sasori re-entered the room and arched a brow. Chiyo was talking about puppets again; her profession. She had also taught him how to use puppets.

"…use a puppet…?" Eirin's mouth opened in surprise. "How do you use one?" She felt a little excited.

Sasori blinked. She had a bright look in her eyes, as if she had discovered something new, like a kid in a sandpit trying to find a coin. It was a different side to what he had seen before.

Chiyo turned to Sasori, "Do you mind if we use one of your puppets?"

"Go ahead." Sasori just watched as his grandmother used her chakra strings to bring down a small puppet that was easy to move. All the while, he stared at Eirin's distinctive reactions to puppets.

Her lips would curl into a smile that expressed happiness to more than a mere level of 'just happy'. She was excitable and whatever Chiyo did, she wanted to see more. It was as if she hadn't seen a puppet before in her life.

"Sasori, why don't you join us?" Chiyo suggested.

Sasori sauntered to the duo and joined in. He had fun when he played with his puppets, but not as much as before. Like his grandmother, he reached for one of his puppets and brought it down with his own chakra strings.

"You can do that, too?!" Eirin grinned and looked like she was ready to jump out of her seat.

"…you really like puppets, don't you?" Sasori questioned. It was almost a rhetorical question; the answer was right in front of him.

"Yes! Puppets are very cute!" Eirin nodded her head fervently.

'Cute'? Sasori deadpanned.

Chiyo watched as Sasori and Eirin exchanged conversation about puppets – it made her happy that a thing she introduced to both of them was the joining factor between them. A smile graced her features.

They would become good friends.

"Why don't you come again sometime so that we can all play with puppets?" Chiyo recommended.

Eirin's pale green eyes lit up and she was about to nod, but then realised that she might not be able to. Her hesitation was also because of not wanting to take advantage of someone else's kindness.

She was young, but she was forced to mature.

"…I, I'm not sure…is it really okay?" She questioned.

"Yes, it's fine." Chiyo nodded.

Then I can keep an eye on you.

Eirin stared at the floor, but then her eyes found Sasori. The puppet he was holding was nodding and moving its arms around strangely. Sasori had an impassive face, but he briefly tilted his head.

"If you're okay with it…then okay…" Eirin grinned.

"That's wonderful, Eirin." Chiyo smiled at her.

"EIRIN! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Eirin jumped with a sudden jolt, surprised. She sighed at the recognition of the voice. Her guardian. Sparing a glance at the puppeteers, she pressed her lips into a thin line.

"I'll see you soon…?" Although posed as a question, it didn't need a response.

"Stay safe, Eirin." Chiyo and Sasori both stood up and bid the girl goodbye as she jumped off the balcony and onto rooves that weren't too far down.

When she was gone, Chiyo laughed, "She's not a ninja but she can do that..."

Sasori glanced sideways to his relative. "Grandmother…why do you keep an eye on her?"

Chiyo abruptly stopped and she stared at her grandson in surprise. Sasori was staring at her, waiting for an answer. He reminded her of her son, his father, that had passed away in a battle against Konoha.

"Eirin…it's all in the name."

"Eirin? 'Eternal Jewel'?" Sasori questioned.

Chiyo just gave him a smile and exited the room, telling him that he should get ready for his missions.

The red head didn't know whether or not Chiyo was making a joke; did they keep an eye on her because she was precious? What was so special about this girl?

Sasori's eyes found Eirin and her parent down below. They were in clear view. His brow arched when he found that her parent didn't have the same porcelain skin and dark hair she possessed. He dismissed it as an unimportant feature and changed to his ninja wear.

When he looked back out the window, he noticed someone in the shadows between the houses, following after the duo. He couldn't see the person's face, but he saw the glint of an empty bottle. Sasori just watched with interest. What business could they have with them?

Once the person stepped out of the shadows, Sasori immediately knew who it was. It was the man that had been screaming out Eirin's name and chasing her the night before.

What exactly was he doing there? Sasori wondered. Does he plan to kill them?

He saw the ignorant looks of the duo and sighed inwardly. Jumping down from his balcony quickly and swiftly, he landed not too far away so that he could see both the man and Eirin's family.

Why am I even doing this? Sasori mulled over the thought. Why did he?

He heard the man's string of swears aimed at the people he followed. His voice not only got louder, but alerted the people around, including the duo. Once Eirin looked over her shoulder, she broke out in cold sweat at the sight of the man. Taking a step back, her legs shook. Eirin's guardian took her hand and guided her away from the man, giving him a cold glare.

"Get away from my daughter!" She seethed venomously.

"You…little…wench…" The man stumbled over his step but caught himself on the nearby wall. His grip on the bottle neck was so tight that his knuckles were white. His expression was filled with anger.

Sasori extended his hand and let his chakra mould into strings. He attached them to the arm of the man that held the bottle, restricting his movements. Noticing something had attached to him, the angry man saw blue chakra strings and growled lowly, seeing where they came from. He tried to pull them off, but to no avail.

"That won't work." Sasori said calmly. He pulled the strings into a different direction, taking the man along with it and making him fall face first into the ground. The bottle didn't break, however, as Sasori had snatched it with the strings from his other hand, placing it on the side, far away from him.

"Sasori…!" Eirin gasped. Her hands clenched her mother's.

He spared her one glance before turning his attention back to the fallen man. That man, like before, was swearing every single second he was talking. He insulted Sasori many times, but the boy was unfazed.

"Mother…he's being mean to Sasori!" Eirin frowned. Anger started bubbling inside of her – how dare someone insult him?!

"Dear, calm down." Her mother's voice was on edge, but she managed to reassuringly squeeze her hand.

"But…" Eirin protested, but a warning look from her mother caused her to stop talking.

"Are you done?" Sasori asked with boredom. He had tuned out the man completely. He wasn't even worth his time.

As if asking for a fight, the fallen man stood back up and decided to charge at the young Genin, climbing up the roof ever so slowly. Due to the loudness of his talking and swearing, Jonin from nearby had heard the commotion and were arriving at the scene, seeing the man up to no good. He had already climbed up the roof to challenge Sasori, but was taken down in a swift move with a hit to the back of the neck. The Jonin that had arrived carried the man on his side, asking Sasori to be careful, and that the civilians should go back to work. The Jonin saw Eirin and his eyes narrowed. He looked to Sasori, who only gave him a blank stare. Chewing the inside of his cheek, the Jonin went away.

Eirin stared up at Sasori, who was looking away. "Thank you Sasori!" She said it a little louder than talking volume. She bowed her head slightly.

Sasori's eyes flickered to her, before he turned to another location.

"Let's go." Eirin's parent tugged her arm in the direction they were going previously. Eirin followed after her, looking over her shoulder to see if she could spot the red head.

But, he had disappeared.