Dollmaker

The whole time they’ve been here, I’ve been watching. Four ninja, three around twelve and another in his mid-twenties. The three younger have been training or protecting Tazuna-san since they arrived. Inari doesn’t like them. Tsunami does. Me? I’m indifferent. Whether they sway my judgment or not will depend on how the act in battle. Now, the two young boys have just arrived in from training, saying that they reached the top of the tree with only their chakra. They’re eating like rabid pigs. It’s beyond disgusting, but not my problem. I am simply the girl in the corner, the decoration called Ningyo. The only one that has tried to speak to me is their sensei. He seems nice, if a bit too observant. He knows that I watch them. I wonder if he knows what I think or who I am. Does he see me as the girl in the corner or does he know my Bingo Book entry exists?

Ah, Inari’s inner emotion reservoir has broken. He’s yelling at the blond Naruto boy. “All this stupid training is just a waste of time. Gato’s got a whole army and they’ll just beat you down and destroy you! These cool things you all say, they don’t mean anything! No matter what you do, the strong always win and the weak always lose.”

Naruto decides to reply. “Speak for yourself, but it won’t be like that for me, you got that?”

“Why don’t you be quiet?” Inari’s getting pretty riled up. “Just looking at you makes me sick. You don’t know anything about this country, you’re just butting in! Always laughing and playing around. You don’t know what it’s like to suffer and be treated like dirt.” According to the look on Naruto’s face he does. Ah, Inari, how insensitive of you not to see it.

Naruto’s head stays down, but he still speaks. “Listen to you whining and complaining like a little victim. You can whimper all day for all I care. You’re nothing but a coward!”

Inari looks stunned as the pinkette, Sakura, yells at Naruto. “Naruto, you took it too far!”

He growls and stands up, leaving the room. 

I decide now is a good time to add my voice to the mix. “Au contraire, Sakura-chan. I believe that is the kick in the ass that we all need.” Inari continues crying as if I hadn’t spoken, but everyone else’s eyes are on me as I stand to my full four foot three. “Inari, maybe you need to think of another instead of yourself. You may have it bad, but there are always others with it worse.” I turn to Tazuna-san. “I will come with you tomorrow to help build the bridge.” I leave, going to my room. May he think on that. 

**

~Kakashi~

The minute she walked into the room, I recognized her. Ningyo, The Dollmaker. Her entry in the Bingo Book had little information, other than her name, approximate age, height, and weight, and her image. Her signature style of killing included leaving a doll of her victim in a public place to be found. By the time anyone could reach the real victim, they had been dead for mere minutes before the doll had been found with not a single mark on them. It was as if they simply died. Their faces were terrified, though. No one could catch her, but rumors always went around that they had seen a girl fitting the description of the Dollmaker. She has not struck in years, so why is she in the Land of Waves?

She’s young, though, so maybe she decided to change her ways while she was ahead? She is twelve, with cocoa-colored curls twisted into a braid to her mid-thigh. Green eyes watched from her perch in her chair, taking in every detail of everything. I have no doubt that she recognized me. Her black clothes only made her already pale skin look paler. She didn’t move much, and the Genin started to ignore her and her quietness. Tonight had been the first time she had talked since we had been here and her wise (if slightly rude) words surprised me. After she and Inari had left, I followed Inari to the docks. I think I need to tell him a bit about Naruto.