Ren stared, and the girl stared back.
"Hana's a very, very good girl," cooed Hana's mother. She was twenty-something, hair up in a bun and wearing professional clothes; the perfect picture of a working mother who unfortunately had to hand off her daughter to other caretakers. But all for a good cause, of course: she was going to climb up in whatever company she was in and then her daughter would want for nothing.
To Ren, the whole thing sounded very off - her mom, the hardest worker she knew, had never shuffled Ren from one babysitter to the next. It'd always been constant, even if Ren had never spent much time with her actual parent. Alas, this thought, like many others that went through Ren's head, was kept quiet. The employer knew best, after all; that, and Ren doubted she could take the mother in an argument. The woman's voice was pleasant, but coupled with her attire and the near maniacal glint in her eyes when she talked about work... Ren would rather take her chances and just do her job quietly.
And today, that job was looking after Hana, the five year old from heaven. Or so her mother claimed.
"There are emergency contacts on the fridge, her lunch is in there too..." The woman tapped her heeled foot on her hardwood floors, and shrugged lightly. "She likes to be read to. I'll only be gone for an hour, so I'd rather she didn't go to the park or elsewhere."
"Right," said Ren mildly. Hana's mother rattled off a few more essentials - allergies, favorite games, and the like - before kissing her daughter on the head and leaving. The door shut quietly behind her, and yet the sound seemed to echo through the large house.
Ren glanced at Hana, who reached up and stuck a finger in her nose.
"O...kay then," Ren mumbled. Had she still been picking her nose like that at five? No, wait - she'd done it up until her ninth birthday, when she'd stuck boogers on Hiyoshi. Good times. "Uh, you wanna read a book or something?"
Hana tilted her head, her brown hair swinging into her face, and then turned around and flopped onto the sofa in the living room. Ren, after calmly deciding that yelling at a five year old was so not cool, followed and sat on the two-seater nearby. Hana made a groaning noise, and looked morosely at Ren. She was almost cute, Ren thought, in a creepy, horror story little girl kind of way.
"Why's your name Ren?" the girl asked, not bothering to push herself upright. "That's a boy's name." She stopped, squinted at Ren, and demanded, "You're not a boy, right? Mama says no boys, boys are bad."
Has she told your father that? Ren wondered idly, looking around the living room. There were a few children's books stacked on the coffee table, but otherwise, the area was bare. Hana's mother sounded like a scatterbrain, but she'd thought to stow away any valuables just in case.
"Reeeenn," Hana whined. The girl in question looked up to see Hana stick her tongue out. "You didn't answer."
"Uh…" Ren furrowed her brow, not too bothered by Hana's lack of honorifics. Why was she named Ren? Her mom, after denying that she'd chosen Ren when under the influence of medicinal drugs and a vague notion that her baby was a boy, had mentioned something like renga, the poetry form. But…that was just kind of lame. "Ren means lotus," she said, wincing even as the words came out. Lotus? Water lily? What kind of a crappy answer was that?
Unsurprisingly, Hana snickered. "Still sounds like a boy's name," she said. "Hana's a lot better - it means flower." The girl nodded, and looked at Ren like she expected to be praised.
"It also means nose," Ren pointed out. Hana's eyes went wide, and then criss-crossed as she attempted to stare down her own nose. "Ah - don't do that, you might hurt yourself…"
There was a pause, during which Ren frantically hoped her worst fears wouldn't come to life - and then Hana started crying. Bawling, more like, with her face all scrunched up and red, and she hurled off her sofa and onto Ren's, burying her head into Ren's side.
"I don't wanna be a nose!" she shrieked, getting Ren's shirt wet and probably snotty. Ren grimaced, and gingerly patted Hana's back. That was what her mom had done, right? Ren didn't know - she usually cried because of a bruised arm or cut lip, nothing for her mom to coddle her over. Whatever - Hana's sobs were subsiding, or at least she wasn't shuddering as much, and Ren kept patting.
"You aren't a nose," Ren told the girl, trying to think of a way to get out of this mess. Hana's mom would be back soon, and if - no, when she found out that her daughter had been crying, Ren's mission (and more importantly, her life) would be over. So caught up in deliberating her future - she'd have to resort to being, like, a foot-messenger - Ren didn't notice that Hana had stopped crying until the girl's breathing evened out. She stopped patting her back, and stared down at the girl's hidden face.
Apparently, being left by her mother plus a fear of being turned into a nose plus crying equaled a sleepy Hana. A sleepy Hana whose eyes would be red-rimmed when she woke up, but a sleepy Hana nevertheless. Ren, who didn't dare move in fear of waking Hana, wondered if she had been this…temperamental at five.
Ren glanced at the clock on the wall, and twitched a little when she saw that only ten minutes had passed. Hopefully Hana would just sleep for the next hour, leaving Ren with nothing to do except create an elaborate story to tell the girl's mother. Peppers could work; they certainly made Ren's eyes water and redden. Okay - Ren had put peppers in the girl's (so far uneaten) lunch. That would have to suffice.
…One of these days, she would perfect the art of lying. Until then, Ren would have to suffer through a mother's (probably righteous) rage.
Already on edge, Ren jumped up when the front door clicked open. Her eyes darted to the house's entrance, and she thought wildly that she was a newbie student, she hardly knew how to do anything but kick someone in their shins. And there was Hana to consider; the girl was somehow still sleeping, but wouldn't be if a thief made a lunge for her.
Ren gulped as the door opened fully and a heeled foot stepped inside. Then the rest of the person's body followed, and Hana's mother glanced around before setting her gaze on the two girls in the living room.
"Ah… Niekawa-san," Ren stuttered out. Her heart hammered somewhere in her throat. "Your meeting ended early."
Niekawa rolled her eyes. "It was hardly a meeting. I work just down the street - it's why we bought this house, you know - and they had the gall to tell me that it had been pushed to tomorrow. They could have told me before I dressed up and went, honestly…
"Oh, did she start crying again?"<i></i> Niekawa came over to gently tug Hana away from Ren, settling the younger girl across the sofa with her head pillowed by the armrest. "She's so emotional sometimes, I don't know where she gets it from…"<i></i> Looking the other way, Niekawa missed Ren's flat look of disbelief.
"Anyway." <i></i>She turned back to Ren, and smiled. "I guess your mission's over, then. Must be a lucky day for you."<i></i>
Ren nodded slowly, not quite trusting herself to speak. Lucky? Try gray-hair inducing.
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"Hana's a very, very good girl," cooed Hana's mother. She was twenty-something, hair up in a bun and wearing professional clothes; the perfect picture of a working mother who unfortunately had to hand off her daughter to other caretakers. But all for a good cause, of course: she was going to climb up in whatever company she was in and then her daughter would want for nothing.
To Ren, the whole thing sounded very off - her mom, the hardest worker she knew, had never shuffled Ren from one babysitter to the next. It'd always been constant, even if Ren had never spent much time with her actual parent. Alas, this thought, like many others that went through Ren's head, was kept quiet. The employer knew best, after all; that, and Ren doubted she could take the mother in an argument. The woman's voice was pleasant, but coupled with her attire and the near maniacal glint in her eyes when she talked about work... Ren would rather take her chances and just do her job quietly.
And today, that job was looking after Hana, the five year old from heaven. Or so her mother claimed.
"There are emergency contacts on the fridge, her lunch is in there too..." The woman tapped her heeled foot on her hardwood floors, and shrugged lightly. "She likes to be read to. I'll only be gone for an hour, so I'd rather she didn't go to the park or elsewhere."
"Right," said Ren mildly. Hana's mother rattled off a few more essentials - allergies, favorite games, and the like - before kissing her daughter on the head and leaving. The door shut quietly behind her, and yet the sound seemed to echo through the large house.
Ren glanced at Hana, who reached up and stuck a finger in her nose.
"O...kay then," Ren mumbled. Had she still been picking her nose like that at five? No, wait - she'd done it up until her ninth birthday, when she'd stuck boogers on Hiyoshi. Good times. "Uh, you wanna read a book or something?"
Hana tilted her head, her brown hair swinging into her face, and then turned around and flopped onto the sofa in the living room. Ren, after calmly deciding that yelling at a five year old was so not cool, followed and sat on the two-seater nearby. Hana made a groaning noise, and looked morosely at Ren. She was almost cute, Ren thought, in a creepy, horror story little girl kind of way.
"Why's your name Ren?" the girl asked, not bothering to push herself upright. "That's a boy's name." She stopped, squinted at Ren, and demanded, "You're not a boy, right? Mama says no boys, boys are bad."
Has she told your father that? Ren wondered idly, looking around the living room. There were a few children's books stacked on the coffee table, but otherwise, the area was bare. Hana's mother sounded like a scatterbrain, but she'd thought to stow away any valuables just in case.
"Reeeenn," Hana whined. The girl in question looked up to see Hana stick her tongue out. "You didn't answer."
"Uh…" Ren furrowed her brow, not too bothered by Hana's lack of honorifics. Why was she named Ren? Her mom, after denying that she'd chosen Ren when under the influence of medicinal drugs and a vague notion that her baby was a boy, had mentioned something like renga, the poetry form. But…that was just kind of lame. "Ren means lotus," she said, wincing even as the words came out. Lotus? Water lily? What kind of a crappy answer was that?
Unsurprisingly, Hana snickered. "Still sounds like a boy's name," she said. "Hana's a lot better - it means flower." The girl nodded, and looked at Ren like she expected to be praised.
"It also means nose," Ren pointed out. Hana's eyes went wide, and then criss-crossed as she attempted to stare down her own nose. "Ah - don't do that, you might hurt yourself…"
There was a pause, during which Ren frantically hoped her worst fears wouldn't come to life - and then Hana started crying. Bawling, more like, with her face all scrunched up and red, and she hurled off her sofa and onto Ren's, burying her head into Ren's side.
"I don't wanna be a nose!" she shrieked, getting Ren's shirt wet and probably snotty. Ren grimaced, and gingerly patted Hana's back. That was what her mom had done, right? Ren didn't know - she usually cried because of a bruised arm or cut lip, nothing for her mom to coddle her over. Whatever - Hana's sobs were subsiding, or at least she wasn't shuddering as much, and Ren kept patting.
"You aren't a nose," Ren told the girl, trying to think of a way to get out of this mess. Hana's mom would be back soon, and if - no, when she found out that her daughter had been crying, Ren's mission (and more importantly, her life) would be over. So caught up in deliberating her future - she'd have to resort to being, like, a foot-messenger - Ren didn't notice that Hana had stopped crying until the girl's breathing evened out. She stopped patting her back, and stared down at the girl's hidden face.
Apparently, being left by her mother plus a fear of being turned into a nose plus crying equaled a sleepy Hana. A sleepy Hana whose eyes would be red-rimmed when she woke up, but a sleepy Hana nevertheless. Ren, who didn't dare move in fear of waking Hana, wondered if she had been this…temperamental at five.
Ren glanced at the clock on the wall, and twitched a little when she saw that only ten minutes had passed. Hopefully Hana would just sleep for the next hour, leaving Ren with nothing to do except create an elaborate story to tell the girl's mother. Peppers could work; they certainly made Ren's eyes water and redden. Okay - Ren had put peppers in the girl's (so far uneaten) lunch. That would have to suffice.
…One of these days, she would perfect the art of lying. Until then, Ren would have to suffer through a mother's (probably righteous) rage.
Already on edge, Ren jumped up when the front door clicked open. Her eyes darted to the house's entrance, and she thought wildly that she was a newbie student, she hardly knew how to do anything but kick someone in their shins. And there was Hana to consider; the girl was somehow still sleeping, but wouldn't be if a thief made a lunge for her.
Ren gulped as the door opened fully and a heeled foot stepped inside. Then the rest of the person's body followed, and Hana's mother glanced around before setting her gaze on the two girls in the living room.
"Ah… Niekawa-san," Ren stuttered out. Her heart hammered somewhere in her throat. "Your meeting ended early."
Niekawa rolled her eyes. "It was hardly a meeting. I work just down the street - it's why we bought this house, you know - and they had the gall to tell me that it had been pushed to tomorrow. They could have told me before I dressed up and went, honestly…
"Oh, did she start crying again?"<i></i> Niekawa came over to gently tug Hana away from Ren, settling the younger girl across the sofa with her head pillowed by the armrest. "She's so emotional sometimes, I don't know where she gets it from…"<i></i> Looking the other way, Niekawa missed Ren's flat look of disbelief.
"Anyway." <i></i>She turned back to Ren, and smiled. "I guess your mission's over, then. Must be a lucky day for you."<i></i>
Ren nodded slowly, not quite trusting herself to speak. Lucky? Try gray-hair inducing.
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