He could smell her cooking when he left the bedroom. It was an hour till sunrise and the world was cold and quiet. The floor creaked under his weight and he made no attempt to silence his movements as he slunk towards the front door. A shadow fell over him.
"No breakfast?" She asked and he noted the way her hands were folded below her waist, spoon held loosely in her fingers.
"I must leave early." He responded while pulling on his sandals. She cocked her hip to the side and hummed.
"Alright, you're missing out." She wagged the wooden utensil at him as she sauntered back into the warm kitchen. "I don't know about you but my appetite always jumps after a long night." Sasuke's mouth watered as he pushed the door open.
Autumn's teeth nipped at Sasuke's nose and cheeks as he stalked through the sleepy hours. A few tired looking people, bundled tight, trudged to work. Here and there in a window a light flicked on or a shadow moved. Man snuck out of a window clutching his shirt.
Sasuke dug his cold hands into his pockets and watched his breath fog in the air. Every step made him want to turn back and see what else she had to offer him. Warm food, a hot bath, and a soft bed all tickled his senses with their delights. He could imagine her body moving quick and fast against his with unending stamina. It was a struggle to put one foot in front of the other and continue on to the bathhouse where the company was coarse and did not smell like violets and linen.
It sickened him how greedy he was about things as trivial as a bed and a bath. In all of his years of wandering, he had never desired such ridiculous comforts as much as he did now. He was strong and hardened and needed no pampering. The soft life she lived was something he had never wanted. Her bed was soft because she was too weak to sleep against a tree. Her home was warm because she could not brave the frost. Her food smelled delicious because she could not stomach the grit of rice portage and dried rations.
She was the weak one, so why were his legs trembling?
He had slept in again that night. They had drifted between sleep and sex for hours before she no longer stirred and he felt too tired to rise. He made sure not fall asleep on any of her limbs again but she managed to snag her arm under her head. She drooled in her sleep.
Sasuke flung his clothes into a heap by the basket and angrily stalked over to the washing station. The bath was blissfully empty and hot and he heaved a sigh as the scalding waters kissed his skin and turned it as red as her passionate cheeks and demanding lips.
He hung his proud head until his chin touched his chest. Steam curled the ends of his midnight hair and fluffed it. Sasuke let his mind wander to warm summers and fresh watermelon. To salty ramen and taunt tomato skins. The feel of well-worn cotton rubbed his cheek and he thought of his beautiful mother and her warm arms. He remembered pillowing his head on the swell of her breast as she sung sweetly with the cicadas. She was warm and soft but had smelled of tree branches.
Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and he hunched his shoulders and drew his arm to rest on his knees. His chest was hollow. He sat still in the water and listened to its trickling music. He open-eyed-dreamed of koi ponds and the tang of sake slipped when eyes were averted. The feel of hot dirt under his nails and the sting of a scrape. He dreamed with dark eyes until his skin wrinkled like a sponge and the heat ceased to sooth his muscles. He rose and stepped out a broken man.
It wasn't until he was darting through the trees that he realized he had forgotten something. He discreetly tugged on the hem of his pants. His kunai were gone.
His target spun and lunged, sword like liquid steel in the air. Sasuke gave little thought as he parried, so consumed he was with the idea that he had forgotten something so important—again. He remembered dressing carefully and checking his possessions before exiting the room. What would she think if she found it?
This time the target was quicker and nicked Sasuke's forearm. Dark eyes narrowed at before melting into crimson. The man fell to the forest floor in a heap. The chase terminated early.
Sasuke vaguely heard Karin kicking at the unconscious body before Suigetsu intervened. Sasuke turned his eyes to his wound, a small cut, with distain.
"Sasuke-kun, let me see." Sasuke turned away from Karin.
"Collect the bounty and pick up a new one." He ordered briskly before leaping into the tree limbs above.
He sipped the warm sake slowly, letting it slither down his throat and burn in his stomach. She was sitting across from him with her eyes fixed on his face. Her expression was vexed, her brow raised as she looked him over. Sasuke calmly set his shallow cup down and waited for her to speak. Cold fall rain drummed against the window to his left. She blinked at him before flitting her gaze down to her wine glass.
The silence stretched on for several minutes. The gentle lull of restaurant played with the warm lamplight above her head. Sasuke looked her over as she turned her glass slowly and thought. Her lips were tightly set and although her posture was casual he could feel the tap tap tap of her foot under the table.
"You forgot something."
Sasuke make no comment and she looked up at him. Her gaze was serious and uncaring. It reminded of him of when she first glanced at him. She saw very little in him.
"It's not as if I didn't know. " she started accusingly. "I suppose it's a little less frightening when you leave and I don't have to see. But finding that," her plump mouth twisted into a sneer. "Was too much."
She stopped swirling her glass and set it in the center of the table. Sasuke was fixated by the strength in her gaze as she burned her message into him without words.
"I don't want any weapons in my house ever again."
She leaned back and crossed her legs and Sasuke quivered at her control. There was no agreement to be had. No excuses could be made. "I am meeting a client in a few minutes. I threw what you left into the river. You may fish it out if you wish."
And just like that, she brushed him off, like a leave on her shoulder.
Sasuke stayed still and clenched his fist into his pants. He wanted to say something to shock her. He wanted her stop looking at him with such callousness. He wanted her recognition.
As he reached the door, he turned and glanced back. A short man had reached her table and captured her attention and smile. Her words flowed freely as the stranger took her hand and she shook it firmly. Sasuke watched quietly and worried the waiter with his intensity before he opened the way to the fall deluge
Her city was colorful at night. And it was her city. Everything about the place reminded him of her. The bright lights, the old buildings, the trickling water beneath bridges. The busy nightlife kept the streets warm and noisy. Sasuke felt his skin turning blue pink and green with the neon lights as he wandered. His clothes had changed into nondescript black that made him stand out like wolf among the sheep. The sheep could sense the dangerous wolf but he had no desire to taste their blood.
Sasuke stopped by a ramen stand and watched two boys go in together. They punched and bickered but sat eagerly on the stools to order. Again, they teased and boasted until their bowls were put in front of them. Sasuke decided to step in.
The boys were too busy talking and gesturing wildly to notice him. Sasuke sat a seat away and poked at his spicy broth with disinterest.
"Tomorrow when Immato-sensei has us do the rope climb I'm going to get to the top before you!"
"Ha! In your dreams! You're too skinny to get up that fast. I'll beat you!"
Sasuke eyed the boys and snorted quietly. They fell silent as they devoured their piping hot food and Sasuke inhaled the spices to make his nose tingle. He somehow managed to finish before the boys. He laid a large bill on the counter, an amount worth three meals, and nodded his head at the youngsters. The cook smiled warmly as Sasuke turned and walked back into the neon streets.