Shizukesa: [5] - Youth

The village was bustling with activity, the afternoon summer air seeming to invigorate its inhabitants. Market stalls lined the busy street, civilians bought trinkets and groceries, and the blazing sun lazed across the sky. Naruto was walking backwards with his hands behind his head and a grin splitting his face, bragging to Kakashi about how much they’d improved. Sasuke and Sakura walked beside each other behind Naruto and Kakashi in silence, but both were thinking of the odd morning they’d shared.

“Ichiraku, Sensei! Please?” Naruto pestered, pointing to his favourite ramen stand.

“Sasuke, Sakura, what do you want?” Kakashi asked.

Both of them started, having been pulled from their thoughts.

“Pardon me, Sensei?” Sakura asked.

“Do you feel like Ichiraku?” Kakashi repeated.

“Sure!” She smiled gently, and turned to Sasuke.  “If that’s okay with you, Sasuke?”

“Okay.” His voice was flat and neutral. Sakura’s smile faltered a bit, but she knew not to expect roses and sunshine from Sasuke Uchiha.

“RAMEN!” Naruto bellowed, barging into the small shop, the fabric signs flowing closed after he passed through them.

After ordering, Sasuke sat on the leftmost seat, beside Sakura, then Naruto, and Kakashi on the other end. He ate slowly, chewing deliberately. Tendrils of steam floated into his face, and he inhaled in the moment of warmth, ignoring the conversation going on around him. Tuning in at random moments, he caught snippets of dialogue, nonsensical fragments of thought. He glared into his emptying bowl of Miso Ramen, envisioning his final revenge in his mind. Unwittingly, he
stabbed a piece of food and began flicking it around his plate mindlessly. Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the others staring at him until Sakura spoke up.

“Sasuke, are you alright?” Her voice gently punctured his bubble of isolation.

“Hm?” was his only response, unaware of what she was asking.

“You’re flicking a piece of pork around.”

“Ah.” he replied, skewering it and popping it in his mouth.

‘It’s been a weird day.’ Sakura thought to herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Sasuke eat as she finished her own food. His dark hair fell about his face like black tendrils of smoke, the steam that rose off of his plate making it look like there was a fire in the bowl. He was staring into it like it contained the answers to life. This boy was such a mystery.

Kakashi paid for the food and struck up a friendly conversation with the shop owner. Naruto put a hand on his stomach and grinned, satisfied with the meal. Sakura had given up any type of pretense and was openly staring at Sasuke, and he himself was silent, gazing off into space.

“Well, you guys finished the exercise so early, I don’t have anything planned for the rest of the day. You’re all dismissed. Enjoy your free time.” Kakashi rumbled, sitting heavily in his chair after his third plate of ramen.

“I’m going to go train!” Naruto proclaimed. “Wanna come, Sakura?”

“Umm...” Sakura mumbled, glancing over to where Sasuke... had been sitting. His seat was empty, like he had never been there in the first place. “No thanks, I’m a little tired. Besides, I have some errands to do.”

“Okay, see you around, Sakura!” Naruto smiled, turning and running off out of the ramen stand.

With a small sigh, she strode sadly out of the restaurant impersonation, and as she pushed the fabric out of the way, she paused to look at the busy street. The same sun that had set the village alight this morning shone down, illuminating a joyful scene. A group of children were playing tag, running around each other in the middle of the street. Parents were standing around, chatting and smiling, while the children tagged and chased each other. Seeing this cheered her up, and with a smile, she turned to leave - and walked directly into Sasuke’s shoulder.

He was standing and watching the children play with a dark expression on his face. His hands were tucked in his pockets, and his back was pressed against the outer post of Ichiraku's. Their collision seemed to have had no effect; his balance remained perfect.

“Sorry, Sasuke.” She apologized, blushing. “I thought you left...”

“Nope.” His answer was short, tense. It was visible in his body that something was bothering him.

“What’s wrong?” Sakura asked timidly.

“Those kids... remind me of myself when I was little.” his voice grated, filled with an emotion that Sakura couldn’t identify. Whatever it was, it was obviously upsetting him. At a loss for words, she just looked at his tormented face, trying to comprehend what he was feeling.

“Umm... do you want to talk about it?” she asked, rather pathetically, feeling stupid the second the question escaped her lips.

Sasuke stayed silent, glaring at the children for a second more, before turning his head to look her directly in the face. Underneath his eyes, Sakura seemed to see a scene playing itself out, blurry figures interacting, but the details were lost on her.

His voice was nearly a growl when he said “Come with me.” He grabbed her wrist and began walking briskly towards the outer edge of the village.