Ray of fucking sunshine
“I couldn’t make this up if I tried…”, “A slap on the wrist and the rest brushed under the rug, like what the fuck?”, “They’ve lied to us before, what’s to stop them-“
“Sasuke!” He nodded in greeting as green eyes practically sparked with glee, the wind blew softly through her pink hair, short and half pulled up into buns on her head. “It’s not often I’d find you here, especially this late in the afternoon.”
Sakura’s steps kept pace with his own as he continued on his path through the busy market. He nodded again, as his shoulders shrugged, “I’ve been trying to force myself out of the house more often.”
Surprise raised pink eyebrows slightly before a serene smile crossed her lips. Apparently she hadn’t been expecting such an honest answer.
“I’m glad I didn’t buy my groceries yesterday then.”
Sakura laughed softly as he peeked at her from the corner of his eye. He nodded again and slowed down to stop in front of a fish stand on the right side of the busy street.
Vendors and carts lined the main road of Konaha from the early hours of the morning, merchants from all over would fill in the spaces between the resident sellers, and pedal their wears. They’d stay open all day -- well into the lamp post soaked evenings, set up for several weeks, some for months before vacating their spot and giving it up to someone else and leaving just as quickly as they’d come.
He pursued his lips as he scanned the selection, the short stocky woman who ran it off to the side with a customer. She argued his offer of 200 yen a kilogram, with a scowl set heavily on her face. “It’s as fresh as the day it hatched, my husband caught it this morning, ¥500 or fuck off, yee?”
Sakura chuckled from his right, a hand coming up to run through her bangs and push the few loose strands up and over her head as she bent toward him slightly, “She isn’t married, though she does do all her fishing herself at night after the markets closed.”
The man she was talking to didn’t seem aware of this fact and fed up with the woman, slapped some coin into her outstretched hand grabbed his fish and walked off, shaking his head in disbelief.
The woman flashed her teeth at his retrenching back before turning their way with a charming smile.
“Hello! What can I do for you today, Mister Uchiha and Miss Sakura?”
His left hand trembled, to disguise the motion he raised his hand to rub over his stubble covered chin. He felt hairs raised on the back of his neck and his heart started to beat the faintest bit faster.
Obviously, this woman knew who he was.
“Uchiha Sasuke? Yeah, I’ve heard of him, that traitorous prick just up and disappeared one nightand now he thinks he can waltz right back in here and everything will-”
Despite being a hidden village in the middle of a towering maze like forest, they had a pretty decent influx of foreigners and temporary traveling caravans, but word still spread quickly and she seemed to be a permanent fixture.
To distract himself from darker, intrusive, thoughts he cleared his throat and asked about her freshest salmon.
He specifically kept browsing as she spoke, curious expression observing him, “It’s about 15 hundred yen a pound and these two were caught around 2 am, gut and kept on ice. They weight in about 9 kgs a piece.” He hummed something close enough to an acknowledgment while he debated his budget.
Sakura’s presence to his right, statuesque and thoughtful just moments ago, twirled in a sudden movement and he startled looking up and following after her with his eyes.
“Oooh,” She crossed the busy street, weaving past a jogger and a group of woman standing rudely in the middle of the road chatting, to a smaller stand. It looked like it was being run by a child, no older than six or seven who had big blue eyes and a shaved head. He stood behind his stand (if it could really be called that,) of three big brown barrels and was selling candies.
“I’ll take a pound of your salon, Ma’am, and if you wouldn’t mind wrapping it?” He scowled at himself and reached in the pocket he had sewn into the shorts of his black jinbie. He pulled out his wallet and counted out ¥1,600 before trading it for his wrapped up fish.
“Thank you...”
The woman- “Eri.” smiled brightly at him after having count her coin and bowing slightly. He nodded, “Thank you Ms. Eri.”
“Thank you, Mister Uchiha, have a good rest of your day.”
He stiffly bent forward an inch before turning and heading to his left, continuing on his straight path from earlier. He heard Sakura come up from behind and join him in his walk, once more standing to his right. She was crunching on some candy as she came into view of his peripheral vision, and stretched out the small bag in her hand in invitation.
He turned his head toward her and peaked inside, before side stepping around what could only be a ronin leading his horse through the market. Wide set shoulders hidden under layers of heavy metal looking armor, which appeared battle worn and caked in dirt.
He rolled his eyes and inhaled irritability, accepting a few pieces of Sakura’s purchase and slipping one past his lips. He grimaced. “Konpeito? Really?” She beamed at him seemingly unfazed and pop a couple into her mouth, “I know right!? I haven’t had these since I was a kid, it’s so nostalgic.”
He almost didn’t replied when he caught sight of a foreign vegetable stand with a yellow sale sign, “Ya, wonderful.” He heard her tut once and fought the twitch of his lips against his cheeks.
“Real fucking ball of sunshine you are, huh, Sasuke?”
He failed, and a small smile spread.
“It’s fine tho’.” Sakura spoke slowly, after he had grabbed a bag and started carefully inspecting some asparagus. “Why’s that? He mumbled, unsure why he was even asking. He could see her grin out of the corner of his eye and his eyebrow quirked.
A smooth voice above his head answered his question,
“We still love you, even though you’re a real bastard.”