"Get up you manipulating little twit!"
Kiku felt a pair of hands violently shaking her awake and her eyes flew open. Blue eyes met their match as she stared into her mother's angry face.
'What time is it?' she wondered, groggily. She turned her head slightly to look at the clock and felt a hand smack hard against the side of her face, forcing her to look away.
"How long were you planning on hiding this from me?" Kanako yelled at her youngest daughter, shaking the girls small frame by her shoulders.
Still trying to register the situation, Kiku stayed motionless, accepting the violent gestures without resistance. She slowly began to remember Sana's warning the other day.
"What are you talking about?" she asked quietly.
"What am I talking about? You can stop faking innocence here, Kiku. Your sister and I both know!" Her mother spat back bitterly. "How long did you think you could hide this from us? Becoming a dirty ninja behind my back? How dare you...you horrible ungrateful little bitch."
Another slap to the face. Kiku winced at the impact and her eyes welled up with tears but none of them fell. She wouldn't give her mother that kind of satisfaction. Her hands balled into fists at her side.
"After everything I've done for you to put you on the proper path to life you turn around and pull something like this! Everyone in the village is talking about you! They probably think you're a total disgrace! How long have you been hiding this?"
Kiku wanted to reply to her mother that the only person people found to be a disgrace was her...not her daughters, but she kept her mouth shut on that topic. When Kanako had an opinion she couldn't imagine anyone having any others. She was always right...or so she thought.
"A few months..." Kiku whispered.
"What was that? Speak louder." Kanako shook Kiku again and Kiku replied louder.
"A few months! Mother can you believe her nerve! How horrible to keep such a secret from her own family!"
Kiku could see her sister smirking from her place in the doorway, instigating their mother further. Family? By blood maybe, but Aya was more family to her then both her sister and her mother. They'd stopped being her family a long time ago. Family did not treat one another like this.
Kiku's eyes narrowed as her mother's hand descended for another slap, but Kiku pulled her arm up to block it and push her mother's hand aside.
"Stop hitting me!" She yelled.
Kanako stopped hitting and instead grabbed her youngest child by the wrist and pulled her from the bed, dragging her towards the stairs.
"You should be practicing your etiquette to find a proper husband and instead you do this? Everything I sacrificed for you was nothing but a waste...you horrible ungrateful child!" She pushed Kiku forward and she tripped down the stairs, just barely managing to land on her knees instead of her head. Behind her she could hear her mother's steps and a small chuckle from her sister. Kimi always enjoyed to watch KIku's torment.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just toss you out of this house! You're nothing but trouble. Do you not understand that we are running out of money? You need to find a husband...and who's going to marry a ninja with all their scars and horrifying experiences? Nobody worth anything! You'll never amount to anything in this house and all you do is waste our money further!"
Kiku opened her mouth to speak but a knock at the door cut her off. Her mother walked to the door and fixed her hair a bit before opening it. An elderly woman stood at the door. She was dressed rather plain but the bangled bracelets on her hands were gold...she obviously had money. So Kanako put on her winning fake smile and welcomed this uninvited stranger into their home.
"I've come to see Kiku Hayama." the old woman said to Kanako. "This is her residence, right?"
"Yes...Kiku is my daughter." Kanako turned to look behind her. Her eyes flashed angrily for a split second realizing she was still crouched on the ground in her night clothes before her expression returned once again to that fake look of happiness.
"Oh...I didn't see you there young lady." The woman said with a toothless grin. "What are you doing down there?"
Kiku sat up and tried to force a smile.
"Oh I tried to rush to the door and tripped down the stairs." She said, knowing her mother would only punish her more if she told the truth.
The woman gave a laugh and walked to her. She stared intently at her for a moment before giving a sigh.
"So this is the girl who saved my granddaughter...so young...I must say I wasn't expecting that."
Kanako looked at the woman quizzically.
The woman turned to look at her and smiled.
"Oh...I should explain myself." She said, helping Kiku to her feet. "I've just come to give you a token of my gratitude. Kiseki is my only grandchild...all I have left of my daughter. Thank you for helping her." The woman pressed something into Kiku's palm. "I know how tough it is to be a medic-nin. I felt you deserved a little something extra for your efforts."
She turned to walk out the door. Kanako opened it and assisted the woman and she turned to face Kiku's mother.
"You've raised a wonderful girl, Hayama-san." Then without another word she left. Kiku's mother shut the door and her smile faded.
"So now you're luring crazy old women into our home!" she yelled before realizing what Kiku held in her upturned palm. A few pieces of silver and gold, worth what Kiku suspected was about two weeks salary for herself at the hospital.
Kanako was silenced, and stared intently at the shiny metal before snatching it from her daughter's hand.
"Do you enjoy working at the hospital? Do they pay you enough for your work?" her mother said quietly.
Kiku nodded and Kanako pocketed the coins.
"Well then, I won't keep you from something you enjoy. You can work until it's time for you to marry."
Kimi let out a small growl and the sound of her feet stomping away could be heard throughout the house. Kanako tried to smile pleasantly at Kiku, to make her feel that she was genuinely trying to be nice, but Kiku knew her mother well enough to know exactly what she was thinking.
She didn't want Kiku to remain at the hospital because she enjoyed it. She wanted her there for the money. Kanako was finally seeing the upside to her child becoming a ninja. Kiku's meager paycheck could give her mother a few months...a few years...extra to find her oldest daughter a wealthy spouse. Then everything would be fine. Her lifestyle would be saved and Kiku would have no more need to be a "dirty ninja". She'd be forced to resign.
All Kiku could think was that she wanted to be gone before that happened and she was forced to lose yet another thing that she cared for.
A/N: Alright...another quick chapter. Sorry if it's not that great...but next chapter is going to be an important one. :) I'll try and get it out within the week if my schedule clears up. ^^