Disclaimer: I only own my OC(s) and the twists and turns along the way.
Purpose
.-.-.-.-.-.
My arms drooped from being held out for so long. The tailor delivered a sharp slap to my shoulder with his lovely ruler. I bit my lip to keep myself from snapping at him.
Kankuro was watching from his wooden chair, a smug smile on his face. The tailor had been working on my suit for nearly forty-five minutes, he had yet to begin on Kankuro.
"That should be-." He didn't get to finish before I dropped my arms. "You are very lazy, aren't you?" He straightened his spectacles and motioned for Kankuro to step onto the small stool. Kankuro and I changed seats, and he handed me the bag of chips he had been working on. Barbeque—it reminded me of Chouji.
I plucked a chip from the bag and bit into it. He smiled when he heard the crunch of the potato chip between my teeth. He held his arms out for the tailor.
"This clothing is very bulky. Don't tell me you're that chubby," the tailor glanced up at Kankuro and tugged on the large shirt.
"I like my clothes to be baggy," Kankuro said with an annoyed smirk.
"You'll have to take them off," the tailor sighed.
"W-what?" I flushed as the tailor and Kankuro looked at me. "Can't you just stick the ruler up his damn sleeve?" Kankuro laughed as the tailor insulted me.
Kankuro muttered about the sacrifices he made for Temari, and then he slipped his shirt over his head. I noticed that I was holding the bag of chips a little too tightly, and I quickly put another chip into my mouth.
"The pants, sir," the tailor frowned and tapped his foot.
Kankuro held my gaze as he stripped down to his boxers. His boxers were of a light gray hue, but I wasn't staring.
"That wasn't so hard, was it? Easy measurements! I'll be right back," the tailor smiled and whisked out of the room.
"Took him forty-five minutes for me," I said angrily.
"You weren't half-naked," Kankuro said as he collected his clothes.
The muscles in his back flexed as he picked up his shirt. For living in the desert, his skin was pale. He wasn't as pale as Gaara, but he wasn't as dark as Temari.
"Why are you staring at me?" He sighed and slid his arms through the sleeves of his shirt before sliding it over his head.
"I was eating a chip," I lied and crunched on another barbeque potato chip.
"Listen, I-." Kankuro didn't get to finish.
"The suits should be ready in a week." The tailor swept into the room as if nothing had been going on.
As I looked back over at Kankuro, I saw that he was fully clothed. Sighing, I tossed him the half-eaten bag of chips and led the way out of the small shop.
"Now what?" I kicked my feet along the sand road.
"Want to get a drink?" Kankuro jabbed a thumb in the direction of a shady pub.
"No. Remember what happened last time," I smirked and turned to head back to Temari.
"Come on, I'm not going back to Koito. She'll just bitch about how I treat her like a housewife," Kankuro said as he slid his arm over my shoulders in a friendly fashion.
"She does all your laundry, she cooks all your meals, she gives you sex on command, and she draws your baths..." Her shrugged as if it were all nothing.
The hostess of the pub took us to a table in one of the corners. Even though it was four in the afternoon, people were already wasted and grinding on the dance floor. Kankuro ordered four bottles of sake.
"I should get back to Temari," I sighed and attempted to slide out of the booth.
"So, you let her whip you, is that it?" I stopped and glowered at him.
When the sake arrived, I took claims on two of the bottles. Taking a swig of the alcohol, I coughed as it burned my throat. Kankuro laughed at my inexperienced drinking, and he demonstrated how to drink it the right way.
Suddenly, everything lightened. Everything was funny. Women were jokes. The wedding was nothing. In that haze, we went out onto the dance floor with two pretty redheads.
.-.-.-.-.-.
Author Rant
.-.-.-.-.-.
I have one more chapter completely finished after this, and then I have to write the rest. I've been having some trouble staying focused on this story, but it's only a temporary thing. I do get distracted easily. Haha.
I had to include the bag of chips, mostly because people remember their friends in the smallest of gestures. That bag of chips symbolizes Shikamaru's childhood and all the hardships he went through to be a shinobi. And to think, some people assumed the chips weren't important.
Next Chapter: Euphoria
Who is Sumi? Shikamaru makes the mistake of listening to Kankuro. Someone has hard evidence on the two.
Reviews are loverly!
Ja ne.