like a little scarab, crawling underfoot
Summary: Rasa has a date for the year-end ghost festival, and said date proves to be difficult.
How does a man go through life with a scorpion nest in his heart?
@narutoversevacation
Pairing: Rasa/Sasori
Rating: T
Read on AO3 or below :)
đŠđâł
Winter in the Village Hidden in the Sand was nearly the same as summer. The sun loomed above, bearing onto the aching spot where the knots in Rasaâs shoulders met the crook of his neck. It dripped down his vertebraeâhis spine, his legsâwith the slowness of lava, down into the core of the earth.Â
The air was thick with fire, and hard to swallow. Altogether, the heat and pressure wouldâve been ideal for diamond-making; instead, it only made Rasa grit his teeth, pocket watch in hand, and push through the crowd, the mask on his belt swinging with each step.
It was a peculiar mask, worn only during the ghost festival, as a way to tell mortals and spirits apart. Made from ivory, it had two pairs of slitted eyes, shaped into a stern frown which Sasori claimed had suited him. That made Rasa frown more.
It jingled at his side, nonetheless, as Rasa paced the sandstone blocks of the city bazaar. He stopped once at each stall, scanning the busy market for one particular face, before going onto the next, stopping, and scanning again.
Each Sunan he passed wore a mask of their ownâsome made of wood, others with clay, or boneâsome with many eyes, some with fangs, some with no features at all.Â
And then there was Rasa, with his ivory mask, searching for the man who made itâ the same man who was late.
âTook you long enough."
Speak of the devil.
âSays who.â Rasa snapped his pocket watch shut. âI was here first.â
Sasori tched. âDon't be such a child. Itâs not my fault youâre always early.âÂ
âRight.â Rasa scoffed. He had been early. Sasori had been late. âYour sense of time is unreliable, at best.â
Sasori cocked his head. âIâm never late,â he coldly said. âIf you had to wait, blame your poor judgment. Not mine.âÂ
The yellow light of the sun cut across his sour features, softened by several lines of teal face paint.Â
He was striking. Enough to catch his breath.Â
â...regardless.â Just like that, Rasa set aside his exasperation, and put on Sasoriâs mask, sliding it to the side of his head. As difficult as he was, it was hard to stay mad at Sasori, particularly when he looked like that. âWe should get going, before the sun sets.â
Sasori shrugged. âHurry up then.â
But he didnât move. Instead, he reached for Rasaâs snarling mask, his creation, tracing it with a red-painted nail. He nodded.
âPerfectly crafted,â he smugly declared.Â
More heat crawled up Rasaâs back. He rubbed his neck awkwardly, wiping away the sweat on his collar. âAren't you going to wear one?â
âHm?âÂ
Rasa pointed at the mask. âThis.â
âAh. That.â Sasori dropped his hand. âNot this year, no.â
Rasa frowned. âYouâll get mistaken for a ghost.âÂ
âDonât be stupid.â Sasori rolled his eyes, and walked ahead.
At the heart of the festivities, lanterns knocked together, strung between sandstone buildings like a spider's web. Light flickered across them, scattering colors across the sky. As the sun dipped, the lanterns gleamed, brighter than the stars.Â
âAs I mentioned, the sun will set soon.â Rasa carried on, setting a slow pace, âwhat would you like to do?â Nice. Polite. Formal.
âMmh.â Sasori hummed noncommittally. âYou pick.â
He always had to be difficult.
Rasa pressed again. âThere are a couple vendors that you might likeâsome artisans,â he rambled on. âGlassware. Dyed silks. Jewelersââ
Sasori cut him off. âAre they any good?â
ââIâd ⊠appraise them as expensive,â said Rasa.
âSo?â
âSo, I wouldnât know. I donât have an eye for that sort of thing.â Markets fluctuated with the tides of supply and demand. It was simple enough to calculate an itemâs value by its scarcity and the cost of production; by comparing this value to the value of other similar purchases, one could determine the relative worth of an item. Above average was good. Below average was not.
Sasori, however, was a peculiar person. He was not looking for the objectively correct answer; he was looking for beauty, and Rasa didnât know where to start.
âYouâll have to judge for yourself,â he told Sasori.
âHmph.â His lips twitched in the ghost of a smile. âAs always.â
Heat flared up across the back of his neckâheat which could not be blamed on the sun. Rasa forced himself to look away. He cleared his throat. âOf course.â
The more they walked, the more Sunans milled about, dressed in red and gold and blue sashes, and bone masks. Sasori asked after the treasury, nodding as if he understood the mathâ(he did not); Rasa asked after his art, triggering a rant on the effect of oxidation on the color of golden heartwood (in one ear and out the other). Timed correctly - and finished with an imported lacquer - and it would replicate tanned olive skin with yellow undertones. Whatever Sasori was making with itâ
âhe didnât want to know.
âGolden heartwood,â Rasa began, searching for the words. âhow much is that going for?â
âToo much,â Sasori huffed. This, at least, Rasa sympathized with.Â
âPrices have been high lately,â he commented. âInflation makes things difficult.â
âArenât you in charge of fixing that?â
Rasa shot him a flat look. âDo you even know what inflation is?â
âYou talk about it enough. Of course I do.â
âThen what is it?â
Sasori did not dignify that with an answer. Pursing his lips, he instead walked faster, ducking into a stall. Rasa shook his head and followed, pushing past haggling customers, past dangling necklaces and heavy bangles, to find Sasori inspecting a small scarab pendant.
âWhen you win the warââÂ
Sasori shoved the pendant at him. âIf the wars end.âÂ
â When you win the war,â Rasa repeated. âIâll get you something,â he added, âWhatever you want.â
âWhatever I wantâŠâ
âAnything,â Rasa insisted. âYouâre Sunaâs greatest asset. You deserve it.â
âAn âasset,ââ Sasori laughed, then reached for a piece of amethyst. âMore like a tool.â
âThatâs not what I meant.â
âIt doesnât matter. Weâre all tools. I just so happen to be better made than most.â Sasori discarded the amethyst and picked up a strange yellow gem. âDull.â Another. âBoring.â And a necklace. âUninspired.â he dropped it with a clatter, and a sigh.Â
âWeâre done here,â Sasori told Rasa. âLetâs go.â
âJust a second,â Rasa replied, still holding the scarab pendant. It was pale, green, and cold, like Sasori was cold. The longer he held it, the more it warmed in his palm. âIâll put this back.âÂ
âHurry up then.âÂ
Their arms brushed as Sasori slid past him.Â
There was aâspark. A something. An extra stab of heat.
They both ignored it.Â
âł
When Rasa was done, he caught up with Sasori perusing some bone carvings. Rasa bought charms for both of them. They strolled along the street for some time, Rasa swimming further and further into his thoughts. He struggled to think of something to say. Anything.Â
A gaggle of children rushed by, a kite rushing after them. Sasori stepped away, his shoulder bumping Rasaâsâjust as Rasa blurted, ââhave you eaten? Would you like a drink?â
Sasori stayed icy. âIâm fasting.â
Rasaâs brows shot up. âFasting?â
âFor the festival. Is that an issue?â
Rasa frowned. His mask frowned with him.Â
For nomads of the land of wind, fasting was frequently invoked as a means of bringing the living closer to the dead, used mostly by followers of Jashin. The closer one was to death, the closer they were to the deadâ or so the tales went.
This sort of fasting was not common among settled Sunans, but was occasionally observed during the new yearsâ ghost festival, when the veil between living and dead was at its thinnest, until the sun set, and the year passed into the afterlife.
With the war being what it was, it had recently become popular among widows and orphans. When the year died, the mourning reached out, with clumsy, fumbling hands. It was said that when the spirits reached back, fingers rotten, and splintering, they did not let go.Â
This was the kind of tradition Sasori usually mocked. He had lost his parents a long time ago, and had no patience for such sentimentality. It was useless, pointless, and dumb.
Or so Rasa had thought.
âSo?â Sasori snapped. âIs there an issue?â
Rasa exhaled. âNo. No issue at all. Justâsurprised.â And worried. They were walking around in boiling hot weather. If Sasori wasnât eating, or drinkingâŠ
He held his tongue, shook his head, and changed the subject.Â
âMoreâŠI was thinking. Iâll also abstain,â he said. That was only polite. âBut we should get something for laterâ what do you want?â
âLemons,â Sasori immediately answered, âlots of them.â
Rasa raised a brow. âThatâs not real food.â
âTheyâre fruit,â Sasori said matter-of-factly.Â
It wasnât worth arguing over. âFine. What else?âÂ
âSome sweets, too. Tarts, or pastriesânothing with icing. Cheese is better. With syrup and nuts and flaky crust.â Sasori listed, counting on his fingers.
âMaybe something easier to carry?â Rasa offered.
âI can carry lemons just fine,â Sasori retorted.
Rasa could only sigh. âWeâll see what we can find.âÂ
Luckily, they wouldnât suffer for lack of sweets. The government made a point of importing sugar, rice and water to be publicly distributed during religious holidaysâ specifically, the harvest festival in the summer, and the ghost festival in the winter, which they were celebrating now.
(Supposedly, this improved morale. In reality, Lord Third would not survive without throwing an extravagant party every couple of months.)
They circled through the streets, slinking through alleys and under lanterns. Closer to the bazaar, the scent of cinnamon spilled over the city, fragrant and sticky with the scent of baked goods. Some were sprinkled with herbs, others with cheese, and still others with burnt sugar. Sasori darted towards the sweets, while Rasa hung behind, scanning the market for something suitable. Maybe even healthy.
He ended up purchasing a half dozen lemons (as demanded), a bag full of red dates, and some hot tea in a thermos (handed to him with a wink). On second thought, Rasa added a basket of âreal foodââwrapping everything in a sheet, which was then sealed in a scrollâbefore circling back for Sasori, who had stopped to extort a blacksmith.
âLike I said, my order was due weeks ago.â
The blacksmith, a Kumori man named Han Ye, looked like heâd swallowed poison. âMm.â
He crossed one thick arm over the other, towering above Sasori. âIt festival. Have much to do.â Han Ye jerked a shoulder at his booth. âMany orders. Buy if want.â
âAt those prices?â
Han Yeâs dark eyes glowered under his headscarf. âNo buy, no deal.â
Sasori sneered. âAs if Iâd do business with you.â
Before he could make things worse, Rasa slid between them. ââI think thatâs enough.âÂ
âFinally,â muttered Sasori. âLetâs get out of here.â
Despite his blunt manners, Han Ye was a thorough man, who meticulously ranked everyone who he interacted with. When it came to his wallet, Sasori ranked number oneâ he bought more custom blades and needles than all of Suna put together. But when it came to personality, Sasori ranked dead last. Han Ye was glad to see him gone.Â
âOkay,â Han Ye waved Rasa off. âGo. Take loud bug with you.â
Sasoriâs eyes widened. If looks could kill, Han Ye would die on the spot. âYouâ â
ââare leaving.âÂ
Rasa grabbed Sasori by the elbow, yanking him away.
âYou never take my side!â snapped Sasori.
âYou always pick fights!âÂ
âWho cares? I win them.â
ââWin?ââ Rasa snorted. âYouâre too much.â
âAnd youâre not enough,â cut Sasori. âBe grateful I even bother.â
He shoved Rasa away and marched ahead, parting the crowd like steel through flesh.Â
Rasa exhaled and pinched the bridge of his nose. Even with all his emotion training, it was hard to stay unaffected. Sasori had a knack for stabbing his weakest spots. This, in particular, hurt more than most, stinging like a knife through the ribs.Â
He allowed himself a grimace, and carried on, chasing after Sasori.
Someone had to look after him. Even if one else would.
part two tba âĄ
26 notes
·
View notes