note.
We're at 40 chapters! Let me just do a my celebratory dance for a moment as I present you this longer chapter.
Since my exam period has officially started, I won't be able to update as much, but I'll try to be uploading at least one chapter (instead of the usual two) starting next week until the end of May.
track 40.
When she returned to the table, Sasuke had already left to go back to his room. Following Naruto's instructions, the two of them had regrouped with the Uchiha following breakfast, where she was glad to find him the same as always.
Unfazed by her earlier actions.
And Sakura couldn't decipher whether she should be relieved or disappointed as they walked through the golden arcades. There isn't much to buy on their budget at such a location apart from the touristy goods, but it's really the atmosphere that they come for.
Glittering silks and precious jewels hung from shop to shop, chains of gems and mother of pearls connecting them in the spicy bazaar. It's peppery fragrance awakening the senses in the cooler morning. And as one inhaled, took a deep breath; the mosaic roof greeted you in its marine palette. There was nothing understated about the luxurious market.
Linking his arm with her's, Sasuke muttered a quiet 'stay close', as they manoeuvred through the crowds. A protective instinct on Sasuke's part as he saw the girl's popularity. Walking around, the boy can't help but notice how Sakura is the center of attention in her mid-riff baring traditional outfit; revealing smooth skin and flat stomach. Eyes followed her every move and her skirt sashayed with each step. The fabrics suited her so well, shop vendors even asked to take photos as advertisements.
According to them, green eyes were a symbol of good luck in Wind, particularly amongst the older generation. The shade of their precious ocean that initially allowed trading to take place and help the port country grow to be so affluent. Those blessed with eyes the any shade of forests, emeralds and seas were to be admired and loved by all. In their words, the cherry blossom hair and pretty face was merely a gold plating on top to hide the true treasure.
"Dear me, I never thought I'd be able to see eyes so bright." Her hair - thinly woven dove silk - settled into a limp bun, toddled as she walked over to study Sakura. Up close, Sakura could tell that, despite the whiteness of age settling into the elderly woman's eyes - they were green too. A moss in snow type.
"You've beautiful eyes too." Sakura answered, her cheeks rosy by the compliment.
"But they don't hold a candle to when I was young." The old lady tutted. "They were just like yours... Hmm... What was it that they used to describe them as again...?"
"Jade." Sasuke offered as he stared into Sakura's eyes. There was a translucency in them that was only ever revealed under certain lights. The lighter veins of green in her irises - so pale that they imitated fresh snow - laid thinly and softly over the imperial shade.
"Ah, yes. Jadeite." She smiled, the wrinkles of time adorning her face whilst she nodded at Sasuke. "You know how to flatter a lady, young man. Move along now, I don't want to interrupt you two on your date."
The two of them sputtered out their answers at the same time.
"Sasuke-kun and I-"
"There's Naruto-" Looking around for Naruto, they found that their friend had already ran ahead.
"Bless you two, no need to be shy. Go on now, your friend was probably tired of being the third-wheel, because that's how I feel. It's been so long since I've last seen two youngsters so in love with each other."
Sakura dipped her head down quickly before pulling Sasuke along with her in embarrassment. "We'll go find him then. Thank-you very much." She could feel Sasuke's hold on her arm tighten, and she wished so dearly that what the elderly woman said could be true. But Sasuke wasn't her's. Not the way he had her anyway. Something nagged at the back of her mind because of Sasuke's words though. "The obaa-san had beautiful eyes, didn't she? They really did look like jade."
"I wasn't talking about hers." I meant yours.
"Oh."
"You don't have something to say."
It was a statement rather than question. But it was still strange that Sakura didn't have any childish comeback prepared like she normally had. He didn't know that it was her defence mechanism that normally did that - that this lack of reply was her way of letting down her own walls around him, but Sasuke could tell something was different in the way her fingers curled up and her body leaned a little closer to his warmth despite the heat.
She looked up at him, as incandescent lights shone and golden hue of the bazaar coloured her. "Why would I? When you can be spoiled, you should let yourself be spoiled."
"Ah." Meeting Naruto by the shops, she would once again bombarded by offers and her sole attention on him would be robbed again. So, he moved closer to her too, two dots in this sea of people. He would didn't mind being spoiled temporarily by Sakura's kindness either.
"The three of you should go take a picture by the wishing fountain for good luck." One of the vendors told them after the pink haired girl agreed to be showcased on their shop wall, paved already with dozens of celebrities and their autographs in the form of Polaroids. "Take two. One for me, and one for you"
The burly man had shoved his camera into their hands and guided them down the main lane, without having asked for their thoughts- but ever the mood makers- both Naruto and Sakura easily agreed. It was one of the great things about Wind they said; the trusting nature of happy people after a once hard life. It was well known that before their gold trade had been established, Wind had been infamously corrupted until the turn of the last few centuries. But to confuse rudeness and openness was not a trait for Uchihas.
"Stand here. I'll take the picture." The blond ran off with the Polaroid, snatching it off Sakura's hands in a yellow flash as he pushed them towards the fountain.
Despite their individual agility, neither of the pair had the speed nor strength to react at that moment. Their arms too preoccupied. Interlocking. If Naruto found it strange, he hadn't mentioned it.
"One. Two. Three."
Snap.
The shutter went off.
It's a good picture. Naruto is a great photographer. And it's the first picture of Sasuke and her together. The film the photo is printed on says: 'in travels, we find ourselves'; and as the colour develops; she finds herself a little more lost in the magic of moment. When they become proper adults, she wonders - well aware that they were still young leaves being blown by the winds around them - would they still be able to spend time together like this?
How happy. How lucky, she was to be able to spend such a time with her best friend and the boy she loved.