𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

17

"For the time being, do you want to take the other room?"

Sasuke tried without much success to get [Name] to engage in conversation; however, her answers remained as one liners, not inviting much opportunity to do so.

"It's okay. I'll sleep on this side tonight."

[Name] had already carefully laid out her gear for the next day, lining up both her clothing and equipment alongside her futon. She had opted to wear a short black yukata with black pants, for ease of movement. As for weapons, since everyone was expecting her to demonstrate her proficiency in kenjutsu, she had specifically chosen one of her own blades to take into the battle tomorrow.

"How are you feeling about tomorrow?" asked Sasuke, standing by their bedroom lamp as [Name] tucked herself into bed.

"Fine."

Knowing that he wouldn't get anything further out of his wife, Sasuke sighed and blew out their light.

"Okay. Goodnight, [Name]."

***

It was still dark outside when Sasuke sensed that [Name] was no longer at his side. Mumbling to himself as he sat up from his futon, he rubbed his eyes as he looked around for her. 

"Where has she gone..." he muttered to himself, standing up. The door leading outside to the yard was ajar, and he could tell that she was outside.

"[Name]?" Making his way to the door and sliding it wide open, Sasuke grimaced as he saw [Name] standing underneath the tree, fully dressed in her gear, moving slowly as she practised her sword strokes. She paid no attention to the Uchiha as she kept her eyes closed, zoning in on the weapon in her hand.

"Why are you here?" she asked, continuing to move. "You were tired."

"And so were you," pointed out Sasuke, crossing his arms. "Are you sure you're properly rested for this?"

"Absolutely. I know I have a slim chance of winning, but that doesn't mean I can't put up a good fight."

"Right. I'll find something for us to eat, then. I forgot to ask if the house came with groceries."

A small smile broke across [Name]'s lips, in turn causing Sasuke to smile with relief. That was the most promising sight she'd given him since they had gotten here.

Leaving the Kouhage to her own routine, Sasuke re-entered their room and shut the door behind him, now too alert to get back into bed. Instead, he shuffled across the room and headed towards the kitchen, where he would look around in the cupboards for anything consumable for him and [Name] to have for breakfast.

"Ah, this will have to do." Opening their cupboards revealed a meager supply of groceries, namely so rice, eggs, a handful of potatoes, and a vessel containing fermented soybeans. "Well, looks like we'll be going shopping after this."

Busying himself with making breakfast mainly for [Name], Sasuke stayed quiet as he pulled out all necessary equipment for creating something decent that would fuel [Name] for the day ahead.

By the time the sun had risen, Sasuke had cooked rice and miso soup for the two of them, and was now focusing on cooking the eggs to complete their meal. As he was doing so, the fusuma dividing the kitchen from the small dining room shifted, revealing [Name] standing on the other side looking gloomy.

"Ah, you're just in time," said the Uchiha, watching their eggs fry in front of him. "Could you have a look around for anything for us to eat on? Otherwise we'll probably be eating out of the pots."