They're walking through the woods, and Sasuke's yawning. He's yawning because someone's snoring kept waking him up. Rubbing his eyes blearily, Sasuke shoots a baleful glare at Jiraiya. The other man gives him a wide-eyed look.
"What did I do now? I haven't even said anything!" Jiraiya says.
"You snore," Sasuke says, his voice quiet and menacing, "so fucking loudly."
"Hmm," Jiraiya says thoughtfully. He whips out his notebook, muttering as he writes. "Irritable in the mornings."
"I-I'm not irritable," Sasuke growls, and he musters the best one-eyed glare he can manage. "I just like sleeping-what are you writing? Stop it!"
"It's part of the interview. If I'm going to write about you, I need to know all your weird quirks," Jiraiya explains patiently.
"Weir-no. Nevermind," Sasuke sighs, walking faster and doing his best to keep his cool. Somehow, he doubts Naruto would approve of him throttling Jiraiya. The trees suddenly thin out, and now they're standing on a dusty road.
"Do you know where this road goes?" Sasuke says, peering up and down the deserted track. Jiraiya nods vigorously, grinning.
"If we keep going south, we'll reach this wonderful little town," he says, enthused. "There's an excellent brothel there, actually, if we have time-"
"We don't have time," Sasuke says flatly. "Here, give me your wallet for a second."
"My wallet? Why?" Jiraiya squawks, his hand flying to where the frog-shaped purse is clipped to his belt. Sasuke snaps his fingers impatiently, rolling his eyes.
"You said you would pay me for the interview, remember? I need new clothes."
"What's wrong with your clothes right now?" Jiraiya demands. Sasuke raises an eyebrow.
"I look like I robbed the evidence locker of a police station," he says testily, gesturing to his blood-stained pants and too-large shirt.
"Well, I think it looks cool. Makes you look dangerous, and shit," Jiraiya says.
"Stop thinking. You'll hurt yourself."
"You're so mean! After I rescued you from the squirrels-"
"Jiraiya! Give me the damn wallet!" Sasuke yells.
The other man sullenly hands it over, pouting.
He ends up splurging on clothes. It's not because spending Jiraiya's money is a way for Sasuke to punish him for being so fucking annoying. Nope. Not at all. Sasuke would never do anything like that. Sasuke certainly isn't hiding a smile everytime Jiraiya sputters at the price of something. That would be petty, and he's not petty.
"Which one of these masks do you like better?" he asks Jiraiya, having found the two most expensive ones that he could in the clothing store. He gets a groan in reply.
"Why do you need a mask?" Jiraiya complains. He's been alternating between frowning, and shooting mournful looks at the wallet Sasuke's holding.
"If you won't pick one, I'll just have to get both…" he threatens. Jiraiya immediately points to the cheapest of the two, a simple black mask with two narrow eye slits, and Sasuke can't help but smirk.