Porcelain [Sasori]

Puppet #3

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.