A Dash of Chili Powder

20

[Indeed, indeed. Poor Gaara-kun. He gets with some Matsuri bitch anyhow -.-']

Reaching back into her pouch again, she produced a small black purse containing five thousand ryo. The remainder of the money she received from the mission before this last one. She sighed inwardly. Her money. 

The only thing keeping her in a room with central heating... She didn't really expect to be payed attention to so she placed her purse back in her pouch.

She noticed an emptiness beside her and looked up, not too confused but still wondering where Rage had gone off to. For a half second, she wondered if she was getting comfortable with him because of the similarity and that damned cookie. 

"Rage-kun wants to go shopping - apparently he saw some sales while he was out buying our lunch. He's got a good eye for bargains." She looked at him, his smile widening. "We're just gonna check some places out. If you feel like helping out you could probably carry some grocery bags with Rage-kun."

Saying nothing, Amaya merely dipped her head and turned around in the direction Rage was walking off in, following at her usual quick pace. She felt like a little duckling following its mother. Maybe he had another cookie? Or maybe he saw a sale on them? Hopefully both.

She stared up at him in childish wonder, praying he would produce another cookie for her. Ooooh, or some extra spicy curry. That ALWAYS works.

Then it hit her. Not even a single day goes by and she's already forgotten the trauma of losing her brother. Yuki frowned deeply, her eyes downcast, paying Vell and Kakashi no mind. How could she forget her own brother like this? It hadn't even been a full twent-four hours. No. Not even close.

And how desperately she wanted a brother wasn't exactly helpful either. 

She sighed, too choked up to cry. Her brother, the great Kusanagi Yasuo, had been murdered. Dead. And the hands that were stained with his blood were hers. 

She closed her bandaged hands and stared down at them. He was dead...

Now that she had started to think about it again, she felt weak and stupid, and she blamed herself for everything. He may have been dying already but...he was still her brother. He was still her family.

How could she let something so small as a genjutsu control her? How could she let herself fall prey to something so simple?

"Kakashi, Vell," she started, her heart lurching. "Could you both...please be quiet for a little while?"

Gracie

Rage looked down when he heard scuffling to stare into wide, hopeful purple eyes. His own peachy ones blinked in surprise. Looking behind him, Scythe and Awaji were headed in another direction. So Amaya had decided to go with him? Rage returned to looking down at the girl, and he shrugged at her a little: This isn't going to be any more fun, you know; he seemed to be saying.

A couple blocks later and they were in the store culmination of Konoha. Rage walked into a grocer's, holding the door for his little follower, not really used to having someone accompany him when he looked for food.

"Welcome! Is there anything in particular I can get you?" a middle aged man with a round belly said cheerfully from behind the counter. There were only two other people in the shop, and it was a mother and child.

Rage reached into his satchel - only to retrieve a marker and paper pad. His usual tools for shopping. He had not the time nor the patience to teach the salespeople he did business with his unspoken language, so he'd decided to compromise a long time ago. Unfortunately that hadn't made his writing any better.

"sine say beef 4 sayel" was quickly scrawled and then portrayed for the clerk to see by Rage's big, childish hand.

"That'd be over in that corner," the man confirmed with a point of his finger. Rage bowed low to him and headed over to the refrigerated little section of the store.

Vell glued his eye to the floor and shut his mouth. A few seconds later and he sat on the floor against the wall near the door, settling in for a wait.