Tropical Paradise
Chapter Twelve
Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?
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It rained for the next three days on and off. Every time it seemed like it would stop, or take a pause for the cause, the rain poured again; shimmering sheets assaulting us from the heavens. Every day, Sakura talked with Konohamaru, telling stories about her adventures in South America as a doctor.
I closed my eyes and listened with my head against the rough stone. Letting my imagination paint a picture of the place she described while my finger traced it into the ground.
"... it wasn't much." She continued, looking down with a soft smile on her pink lips. "It's wasn't the most up to date hospital. Actually, it was closer to a shack with a couple of machines that beeped than a hospital." Sakura giggled to herself, keeping Konohamaru's attention easily.
"I met all sorts of people, it's a completely different world over there. Money isn't as important, it doesn't define peoples lives there like it does here. I once had a mother pay me with a chicken for treating her son, and to it, is was one of the most valuable things she could have given me for saving her child."
"What did you do with the chicken?" Konohamaru asked and I snorted, pulling their attention to me on accident. They both looked at me, Konohamaru with confusion and Sakura with... well, let's just say if looks could kill I'd be dead.
"What? She fu-" Sakura narrowed her eyes and I covered the slip up by clearing my throat. "She ate it of course."
"Actually, I kept it as a pet." The blonde smiled when I shook my head in disbelief.
"Why would you keep a chicken for a pet? Just chop off it's head and eat it, you could have probably started some sort of fried chicken chain down there and become a billionaire. They would have thought you were like, Gaundhi or somethin'."
"Is all you think about money?" Sakura snapped. I huffed and looked out at the rain, letting the argument go for now, the look on our young male companion's face a silent plead for us not to fight again.
I don't just think about money, but when you are about to lose your apartment and be thrown out onto the streets because of it, it does have a common presence in your thoughts. If doctors weren't so grossly overpaid, maybe she would have some idea of what it's like for people who don't live in mansions.
"What did you do with the chicken?" Konohamaru asked again, trying to draw back Sakura's attention from throwing daggers at my turned back. I continued to listen more because I had nowhere else to go than because of any real interest.
"Well, I named her Tayuya and watched her scratch at the ground and squawk at things that she couldn't understand." Sakura replied curtly, ignoring the look I threw back at her. "She was a stupid chicken, always picking fights and getting herself hurt. She died when a cart ran over her because she was too proud to listen to the advice from other chickens that told her not to run out into the road."
Akamaru whined and hid his nose between his two front paws. Grinding my teeth in frustration, I smiled and replied just loud enough that I knew she would hear me, and only because I also knew she was waiting for me to respond.
"Or maybe, your pet just got so fed up with you that she decided to commit suicide." To my surprise, Sakura laughed, the sound of it filling the cave. It was light, and seemed to dance with mirth as she continued to laugh until the noise finally quieted down.
"Yes, perhaps." Sakura giggled, ignoring the confused look Konohamaru had fixed us both with, looking back and forth before shrugging at his canine companion.
I found myself smiling when I went to sleep that night, waking up to the sun in my eyes and the blonde by my side.
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I know, I know. Super short filler chapter. I felt this was something I needed to get out, and also something that seemed to cut off naturally. This actually makes the half way point for this fic as well.
I'll update this soon, I promise! Promotion at work has had me at my limits, so by the time I get home I find myself too exhausted to get much done.
On a lighter note, there's an announcement coming in the next MPP chapter which is about ¾ done, so look for that! What you might want to know now, however, is that I have two new fics posted in the site. Pink Crush and The Passage of Twin Disciplines!
Check them out, let me know what you think! Thanx, -Kiravu
