Porcelain
Puppet #3
"That girl…" Chiyo shook her head and sighed deeply.
"What is it, sis?" Ebizo, Chiyo's younger brother, questioned.
"Recently she's been targeted by that thug down in the streets." The middle-aged woman shook her head yet again. "That Jonin that came by told me."
"Sister…are you talking about Eirin?"
"Eirin, indeed. Thankfully, my grandson was there to help out."
"Sasori…was it?"
"What to do…what to do…" Chiyo was muttering to herself, trying to find a solution to the situation she found herself in. Although not directly related, it was something to think about.
"Sister, you're talking to yourself again…"
"Shush, Ebizo."
"Eirin, what were you doing, not coming home?! And to top it off, you were even staying at someone else's!" Her mother closed the door quietly and ran a hand through her blonde hair stressfully. Her golden coloured eyes were laced with slight anger and partial worry.
"B-But, m-mother…" Eirin stammered. She normally didn't talk back to her mother in arguments, but she had a good reason to, this time.
"Now, no excuses! I told you again and again not to leave the house at night!" Her mother's words were stressed and expressed tiredness.
"I-I'm sorry…" Eirin's eyes watered and the tears threatened to fall. She didn't like getting scolded. She didn't want to get into any trouble.
Seeing her child like this, the woman calmed herself down with deep breaths and a long pause. "Eirin, it's dangerous out at night. People just like that guy before, who knows your face, will try to kill you."
Eirin looked up to meet her mother's eyes. Her own green ones held confusion. "Mother, but I don't know how he knows me…I don't even know him." It was true. Eirin had encountered that man after he had surprised her when she was coming back from another place. He looked like he knew her, too, but she had no idea why.
The blonde woman pressed her lips into a thin line and cast her gaze to the side. "He was one of my former clients that I had to escort."
"Oh yeah…mother's a ninja, so you had to take him to places outside, right?"
"That's right. He was…infatuated with me, and I guess when he found out that I already had a daughter, he became jealous and wanted to take you away." Half-way through her sentence, she knelt down so that she was eye level with her daughter. She brushed a stray hair behind her ear. Eirin blushed at the action – she hadn't gotten used to it.
"But…I don't understand…if he likes mother then why does he want to hurt me?" Eirin questioned innocently.
Her mother shook her head and rested her hand on the child's shoulder. "It's too soon for you to find out."
"O-okay…" Eirin nodded her head slowly. She was a little disappointed that she didn't get an answer, but in the end, she knew her mother meant her well when she didn't answer.
"Alright, sweetie, now I just want to ask, what were you doing? To get all these bruises and cuts?" Her mother's voice was concerned as she inspected the damage. Last time she saw her daughter, they weren't there. "What exactly happened to you? Did it hurt?"
"I didn't cry, mother! It hurt, but I didn't want to cry…because mother is strong and she doesn't cry, so…" Eirin's small hands clenched the bottom of her shirt.
"Yes, Eirin, you're strong. But how did you get these?"
"I was running away from that person who liked mother," Eirin stared at the ground to try and remember the events of that night, "But I kept falling over and bumping into things…but that person didn't catch up to me! I was too fast for him."
"Who did your bandages?"
"Sasori did! He's a really nice boy. He helped me hide from that man." Eirin grinned, showing her baby teeth.
"Sasori?" The woman's golden eyes widened. Does she mean Elder Chiyo's grandson? "Is he the one with red hair?"
"Ah! Mother, have you met him before?" Eirin emanated happiness. Her mother just blinked at the reaction. She nodded her head and gave a small smile.
"Yes, I have. He's…an interesting boy." She concluded.
"He knows how to play with puppets and, and, and puppets are really cool!" Eirin's beamed. She looked even happier than before, all traces of sadness or disappointment gone.
Quirking a brow, the older woman held the smile.
Her eyes scanned where the bandages were. There were a few patches here and there, but what stood out to her was the large bandage around her leg. Her eyes narrowed slightly (unnoticed by Eirin).
How could she get so many cuts even though she only tripped over and bumped into things? Things aren't that sharp to bump into…
There was a loud knock on the door.
"Hana, are you there?" The voice was a male voice.
The mother, Hana, stood up and made her way to the door. "Yes? What is it?" She opened it to reveal the Jonin Eirin had seen before that had took the bad guy away.
They spoke in hushed whispers that Eirin couldn't hear. She just stared at them silently, waiting for them to finish.
"…Alright, that's fine. I'm counting on you!" Hana nodded her head and the Jonin left.
"Mother, what was that?" Eirin asked.
"It was just one of my friends. We discussed something that shouldn't be that important to you, so don't worry about it!" Hana smiled.
"Okay…" The young child nodded a few times, taking what her mother said on board.
"Oh, that reminds me, he also told me that Granny Chiyo wants to see you in a few days' time. He said it was something about playing with puppets." Hana rubbed her neck.
"Puppets?!" Eirin lit up like a lightbulb. It surprised her mother.
"O-Oi…you don't need to be so excited about it!" She laughed.
"But…puppets…!" The kid was bursting with excitement.
"Yes, darling; puppets."
Hana helped her only daughter to remove and replace her bandages. She did them carefully and inspected each wound. She was hoping to find nothing wrong with those wounds, but that was a hope that couldn't be fulfilled.
"Mother, what's wrong?" Eirin asked. Her mother was staring at the wound on her arm for a long moment, her face slightly paling.
"…nothing. It's…nothing, Eirin." Hana spoke.
Her golden eyes trained onto that wound, seeing the sharpness that had cut it. She knew – it wasn't just an ordinary cut. It was way too clean and precise to be a wound 'inflicted by a sharp edge via bumping into things or tripping over'. She had seen the wound in battle many times before. She would know if it was accidental or not. The cut was from a kunai. It wasn't poisoned at all, which was a relief.
She moved to Eirin's injured leg. Other than the burn of ground against skin, there was a wound similar in appearance to her previous one, except the ridges were a little different.
Shuriken, Hana thought bitterly. I don't know who it is, but they're targeting this child.
She questioned herself; when did they inflict it on her?
It must have been when she was running away from that crazed client of mine…that is the only way. How else could they trick her into thinking that she got hurt whilst running away? They're smart ones.
"There, all done!" Hana finished off the last touches and tucked her child into bed. She kissed her forehead and flicked off the lights, making sure everything was safely closed and secured. She left the door open as Eirin always requested.
Once Hana heard the steady breathing of Eirin inside the room, she sighed very deeply, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples.
This proved harder than I thought.
