Hoshigaki

Porcelain

"Papa, you have ta' tie my hair like this!"

"Like what? What kinda—okay, hold on, what was the first step? Make everything into a circle?"

Five year old Sakura giggled. "No, Papa, that's silly! You just gotta get all a' my hair and put it all together! Like a horsey's tail!"

Kisame fixed her hair to look like cat ears and grinned. "Like this?"

"That's a kitty!" Sakura laughed and pointed to her reflection in the mirror. "You need ta' do a horsey!"

A couple of bobby pins were set in his teeth as he pulled her rogue pink tresses together high at the back of her head. Finally, he took her favorite red ribbon and tied her hair up into the ponytail he spent the last year trying to get right and carefully pinned away any stray hairs that might fall in front of her face.

"Remember it's important to keep your hair up and away when you're out on the field, pup," Kisame explained, giving her shoulders a light squeeze. "Make sure it doesn't block your vision or get caught in your weapons. If you want to grow your hair out longer, then I guess I can teach you how to put your hair in a bun."

Sakura hopped off her stool and followed her father out of the bathroom. "A bun? Like a steamed bun?"

"Kinda like that," he said. He laughed when her nose wrinkled in distaste. "Trust me, when I say I'm going to put your hair in a bun it doesn't mean I'm gonna stick some bread on the top of your head. You know how many birds you're gonna attract?"

"I like birds!"

"You won't like 'em when they're chasing you around the village. Come on, pup, put on your shoes. You remember how?"

Sakura bobbed her head and hurried over to the door to plop on the ground and clumsily tug on her sandals. Kisame let a fond smile take over his face as he watched his daughter get herself ready for a day out. He really had nothing to worry about with her—she was such a good kid. Smart, always smiling, never complaining. 

She deserved so much more than this.

Once Sakura wiggled her toes and made sure her footwear was on correctly, she popped up onto her feet and took hold of her father's hand. 

"We'll see Mama now?" she questioned. Kisame made sure her cloak was on securely before opening the door and letting her step through first.

"Yeah, we'll go see her now."

"Can I pick the flowers?"

"'Course, pup. You can pick any ones you like."

::

Sakura chose a bouquet of lilies this time and carried it all the way to the cemetery without any help, and she was proud. She even carried it to her mother's grave: a slate gray stone tucked in a corner near the trees, Hoshigaki Saki carved in the stone above the words a kind nurse, a loving wife, and a mother who could have been. Rain pooled in the etchings and the cracks of the brick walkway beneath their feet as she set down the flowers and back up against her father's legs, holding her hand up to grasp his once again.

"How'd you meet Mama?"

Kisame smiled sadly. She asked that a lot and never got tired of his answer.

"After I left Kiri, I wandered around for a bit before coming to Ame and moving to the dingy apartments down in the southern districts," he said, as he'd told her thousands of times before. Sakura kept her eyes on the treeline, but hummed to assure him that she was listening faithfully. "Not long after I moved in, she knocked on my door and offered me a plate of cookies. Then I slammed the door in her face and she yelled at me through the wood."