Chapter 11
Their first few weeks in the Hidden Cloud were less than eventful. 'Juzo' and 'Sho' slowly developed daily routines to keep themselves busy and to get out and meet some of the residents here in the village. Many of the people Sasori seemed to end up meeting were usually civilians. He wasn't actively seeking his target out just yet, but constantly drawing in the attention of people who weren't shinobi was starting to grate on his nerves a bit. He had to keep his head level, though. This village was the Capitol of one of the Five Great Nations, a village full of highly trained shinobi, but still a village nonetheless.
This place wasn't small by any means, and with a large village came an equally as large number of everyday people who live here and keep the place alive. Even still, it took everything Sasori had to be patient. Rushing things now when they've gotten this far would end up being detrimental to the entire mission at hand. He sounds like a broken record at this point with how often he's had to tell himself this. Almost every day it was the same thing that played through his head. Don't rush, stay low, and keep your ears open for anything. Until they were completely certain they could start looking for their target without seeming suspicious, Deidara and Sasori just had to keep blending in with the crowds and stick to their plan.
That being said though, it felt like Sasori was losing his mind. He was so utterly bored, so tired of his own routine that he created! "Maybe I should try something else." He muttered to himself as he walked through the semi-crowded streets. The Artist Duo was running low on food, which was no surprise to Sasori. Though his partner was eating more than usual since they were both being much more active than they normally would be when they didn't have missions to complete. That aside, it was his turn to go out and buy the groceries for this week, so here he was. Walking about the Hidden Cloud as 'Sho' and trying to remember what stores he had gone to last time. Just as he was about to just walk into the nearest shop, a familiar name on a sign caught his eye. 'Fukuhara Groceries'. If he remembers correctly, Fukuhara was that woman Reira's last name wasn't it? He remembered Deidara mentioning it once before as the bomber had been the first one to visit the woman's shop during his trips to buy food and snacks.
The Puppet Master simply shrugged to himself and figured, why not? It's not like it would make things go any slower. He makes his way over to the shop, walking inside and being hit by the smell of warm bread. They must make their own here. Interesting.
"Sho? Hey Sho! Is that you?" A familiar voice calls out to him, and as he turns Sasori comes to face Reira herself. "I knew it was you! Your partner has been in here nonstop since you two settled in! Was wondering when I'd get to see your face pop up in my store." She gave him a friendly smile, and Sasori tried his best to give one back.
"I'm not as… social, as Juzo is. But it was my turn to go shopping, so here I am." Movement to the left caught his eye. He assumed it was another worker at the shop, as the woman was putting out still steaming loaves of bread onto a glass counter. "Are you a bakery as well?"
Reira grins, holding herself up proudly. "That's right! We don't always put it out, but my sister loves baking fresh bread. It depends on how much she wants to work." Reira whispered the last sentence to him, a playful tone to her voice. Clearly she wasn't trying to poke fun at her sister's work ethic.
"I see." He's not sure what to say next. It's been so long since he's held any kind of casual conversation with someone, let alone just spoken normally with a person outside of the Akatsuki. Sasori felt completely out of his element right now, and without Deidara around to fill the silence it made him feel awkward. Though, Reira seemed to find his sudden silence funny because she began to chuckle to herself. "What's so funny?"
"Juzo mentioned that you might not be the best conversationalist. Said you hated talking to most people, and that he felt lucky you even gave him the time of day. Don't worry, I get it. If you need help finding anything just give me a shout, though!" After that, Reira disappears into the shop. Leaving Sasori in a state of confusion.
Deidara had thought that far ahead? Sasori knew Deidara was sociable, and the boy certainly wasn't stupid by any means, but this just seemed to catch Sasori off guard. Maybe it was the fact that until recently, the two of them had never seen eye to eye. For Deidara to go out of his way to make sure Sasori didn't struggle in a situation like this, it almost seemed surreal. He'll have to thank the other when he returns, though in a very subtle way. And without actually saying it. He can't just go around thanking his partner out of the blue, it'll just inflate his already much too big ego. At least, that's what Sasori tells himself as he goes to search for Reira one more time before he decides to finish shopping.
"Need something, Sho?"
"What kind of snacks does Juzo buy when he's in here? I don't really pay attention to the junk food he stuffs into his mouth."
Reira lets out a light chuckle, before motioning for him to follow. "I showed these to him the second time he stopped by." She hands Sasori a bag of multi colored candies. They were shiny, more than likely some kind of had candy, but they were coated in a sugary looking substance. "They're sweet and sour candies my mother makes. You don't know what will be which, and Juzo seemed to really enjoy them. Especially since he's bought them every time he's been in here after the fact."
Sweet and sour? That was a thing? Who would willingly eat something that tasted sour? Let alone if it was supposed to be a candy. Though in all fairness, Sasori has been pretty out of the loop when it comes to food in general since he no longer needed it to survive. "Figures he would like something so strange." He mutters to himself, but nevertheless, he still tucks the bag of candy away to be purchased later. Now he just needs to get the actual food he came here for. Deidara couldn't exactly live on a single bag of candy after all. Not with his appetite, anyway.
It was a few hours before Sasori finally returned to their home, several bags full of food hanging from his arms. He was surprised that he hadn't dropped anything on the way up here. "Hey brat! Come and help me put this stuff away!" He called out to the other as he started dropping the bags onto the kitchen table. He heard Deidara scramble from inside the bedroom, probably just waking up from a nap if he had to guess.
"I'm coming, Danna! Just gimme a second, hm!"
Sasori just sighs. He was definitely asleep just now. "You'd think this was some kind of vacation to him." Without waiting, the Puppet Master starts to put things away, though he leaves out certain things that he's not sure of. Spending over fifteen years not needing food meant there were definitely new things he wasn't sure what to do with. As Deidara finally made his way out of the bedroom, his hair completely down for once, Sasori took the opportunity to simply toss the bag of candies at his partner. The other was reasonably stunned, fumbling with the bag and nearly dropping the thing on the ground. Once he got a good look at it, he gave Sasori a confused look.
"How did-"
"I'm not putting all of this stuff away by myself, you know. I'm not the one with an appetite that rivals a starving boar." Sasori barely even spared the other a glance as he continued to put things away. Though, out of the corner of his eye, he was sure he could see the blonde smiling at him. He wouldn't say anything of course, but it seems Sasori has been found out. Then again, he didn't exactly do very much to hide what he'd done.
You never were good at being subtle, ya know Sasori? But you sure are stubborn enough to deny you had anything to do with a gift!