Chiyo walked carefully through the crowd of people, her brother doing is best to shield her from incoming villagers. She was holding the muffins she had baked in a death grip. It was a busy day and she had almost dropped them twice. They finally were nearing their children's house. Ebizo, her brother, was almost shaking with excitement. This would be his first time seeing baby Sasori. He knocked cheerfully on the door which was answered by equally cheerful parents. They were invited inside and they sat at the table for something to drink. The new parents accepted the gift of muffins gratefully from Chiyo. Ebizo didn't stay long. He had wandered and eventually found baby Sasori who was looking at him curiously. They took to each other almost immediately. They emerged from the baby's room. Sasori was beaming at being held by the old man. Ebizo was just as happy. The tea was finally served as they talked about recent news. Chiyo learned that Sasori was a very calm, tough baby, refusing to cry until he absolutely needed something. Chiyo nodded, half listening, half biting into a delicious muffin. Ebizo was playing with Sasori, yet silently talking to the father about recent missions. Chiyo could hear a small part of their conversation.
"20 ninja! All surrounding me.."
"Big deal, I could do that in my sleep, 40's more like it."
"Are you sure you haven't gotten senile."
"You young whippersnappers have no respect, none at all."
Chiyo stopped listening. This was a ritual. Her brother and her son-in-law would see who was better. It would usually end with her daughter telling them to stop but it seemed that she was too happy with Sasori to burst their bubble. After the long day of catching up, it was time for the siblings to return home. They said their goodbyes, well, most said their goodbyes. At the moment Ebizo and her son-in-law weren't on speaking terms but that usually ended around the next day. Chiyo was smiling on the way home.
"Why are you so happy?" He asked her gruffly. He was still mad that, truthfully, his nephew was surpassing him.
"They ate all my muffins, you never eat my muffins" She said proudly.
He merely grunted in reply. They soon got to their weathered but nice-looking house. Ebizo was tired and went to bed but Chiyo had other plans. She went down to her workshop. Failed puppets lined that walls and her puppets were at the back. She sat at her worktable. She was going to design a small puppet for Sasori. It couldn't be too complicated, she didn't want to confuse the boy, so it had to be simple.. She grabbed some wood and began to carve. It took four hours and she hadn't finished the final touches. She took a smaller carving knife to carve out the head and limbs. She wanted it to be perfect for Sasori. About an hour later she had a very small but functional puppet.. She began to test it out. With her years of experience she could probably make him back flip and stick a perfect landing but she wanted to test it for Sasori. She started by making it walk. His legs moved smoothly. She then moved to more complicated maneuvers like, picking up a pencil and drawing, or doing acrobatics off of the shelves. Satisfied with her work she needed to decide when to give it to him.
"I think I'll give it to him when he gets into the academy," She said out loud.
She then heard Ebizo call down from the room, "I'm already passed the academy, you're getting senile, go to bed."
She smiled. Her brother could be clumsy at times but he cared for her, just as she cared for him. She went to bed in the room opposite him and had a dream about Sasori the puppet master.