Three days later and there she was, standing before her father with a scar forming against her face.
It still hurt to lie down, so that little woman couldn't sleep. The welds in her back kept those eyes peeled open, until the insomnia got so bad she didn't have a choice but to pass out. The bags underneath her eyes were black and hung onto her cheeks.
There was so much distain in her face it was a miracle she could see straight.
But it was business as usual.
Her father didn't even ask where the cut on her face came from.
"I need you to pick up some medicine for me, as well as some other supplies." Kabuto stepped forward and handed her the list. "If you're not back in two days, I'm going to send someone after you."
And there it was again, that ice cold chill between them. A bitter wind that sent unease into Ashita's fucked up back. Their eyes met inside it and she thought of all the ways she could kill him right now. But he'd find a way back. Orochimaru clung to life the way shit clings to the soles of shoes.
"Why did you even bother brining me here in the first place?" The list of items was folded in half and set into her kimono's sleeve.
A thoughtful silence filled in the black hole, the negative space in between them, but an answer never came. That stupid old bastard just looked at her, kneading a stare into her flesh like she already knew why.
"I guess it doesn't really matter."
Then the woman turned and left, to retrieve the medicine and gauze and the other crap on that little piece of paper. And that was that. Another day. Another mission. Another lifetime wasted inside The Sound Village.