Scarecrow's Tiger [[*Naruto Fan Fiction*]] (On Hold: Editing)

PART ONE - Kioku ni nokoru

  “It is, isn’t? Now it’s yours. I am trusting in you to take good care of it, Toralei.” The girl’s grandmother told her, looking quite serious, though there was a sense of amusement as she saw the young girl look up at her with wide eyes and nod eagerly, holding the kimono close in a protective way. “Let’s put it back in the bag so it won’t get dirty, shall we?” 

   The little girl looked up at her with a smile capable of blinding an angel. Such sweet and innocent little tiger, the elderly woman thought with a tender smile. It was a wonder such bundle of joy and innocence was part of the broken and bloodied family they called clan.

    Such thoughts brought a saddened light into the old woman’s eyes.

   “Baa-chama! Baa-chama! Hurry! Lei wantsh to show you shomething!” The little girl urged her grandmother, sharply tugging on her skirt three times before taking off in a run.

   “Toralei! Come back!” The elderly woman called out to her, picking up the few bags they had with themselves, and hurried after the child, but, as if the gods were in the mood to jest, the crowd thickened in the precise moment and the woman lost sight of the young girl.

   Her son was going to try and give her the scolding of her life if she said she had lost his precious tiger princess, the old lady shook her head with a tired sigh before hurrying towards the direction her granddaughter had last taken off.

   The little girl, however, was giggling as she watched a man make ramen. He wore a funny attire, one she had rarely seen, but knew it was for those that dedicated themselves to cook for others... for a certain price, of course.

    The place was packed and little people did notice such small and quiet toddler among them and the noise that filled the small restaurant. Large brown eyes shone with awe and amusement before they shifted around quickly as she was shoved from one side to another. 

   Confusion blurred hearing and vision as the girl looked around wildly while the space she was in got more crampedm thanks to some that moved around and the additional people coming in. The little girl's breathing pattern turned more franctic and unregulated as the realization that her grandmother wasn’t anywhere in sight and she was lost made panic and fear starting to nip at the edges of her small 

  “Baa-chama...” The little girl whimpered, pushing against someone’s leg once more as she pushed through, and broke free from the crowd, running away from the now scary cluster of unknown people. Strangers that could mean harm.

   Her legs started pushing and carrying her farther away from the earlier confusion, and into another cluster of people, one filled with shoppers and wandering people. She looked around, her long black hair becoming tangled with each bump and spin as she called out for her grandmother, her soft and panicked voice being muffled by the chatter and loud noise of the individuals passing by.

    Small Toralei could not make her voice any louder as fear and tears kept a tight hold on her young vocal cords.

   She was going to call for her grandmother once when she felt a warm hand settle her shoulder. Her little body froze on the spot, her little heart stuck at her throat as she let out a weak shreek, almost jumping out of her skin.

   “Hey, it’s okay. Are you lost?”  A young male voice asked, seemingly mildly friendly and well intentioned.

   The toddler turned around and looked up at a boy that seemed no older than eight, he was so much taller than her, who was a bit short for a toddler. She was truly a little thing compared to the tall boy in front of her. Her dark brown hair was on the way, obscuring most of her round and chubby features. Her lower lip trembled, her cheeks chilled thanks to the air getting a bit more cooler and passed over the stains of the tears that had hazed her vision and spilt freely down her cheeks.