AFTER DARK | naruto

37 | legendary hero thief!

"40% off on Jasmine Rice...?" You were practically drooling, crouching to make sure you had seen the price tag right. After a while of eating air, you get tired of the taste. Besides, it was only filling, not nutritious. Jasmine rice was something you never had the pleasure of trying given its hefty price tag. And now that you saw it being reduced, there were stars in your eyes. "It's too good to be true!"

"40% off of 400 Ryo is..." You counted with your fingers, slow to come to an answer.

"240 Ryo." Someone answered for you, your alarm could be seen in the jolt that traveled through your entire body. Not only had you been caught obsessing over the price of rice, but you counted it with your fingers. You slowly turned your head up to look at who it was.

"Shikamaru, hi..." You answered him sheepishly—standing to your feet. "What're you doing here?"

He looked around the two of you, a discreet way to remind you of where you two were. "It's a complete drag, but I was put on grocery duty this month." He answered with a sigh. "My question is why are you obsessing over Jasmine rice?" He asked back.

You looked like you got caught with your hand in the cookie jar—a sheepish hand coming up to rub the back of your nape. "Uh... I'm a big fan..."

He looked at you for a second, he didn't believe you, but being a big fan of rice wasn't a big lie. He hardly cared about it. "Yeah... Choujis a big fan, too. It's complimentary or something." He shrugged—you watched as he begrudgingly reached down for one of his own, and then another one. One pack was expensive enough, but two?

"This one's for you." He clarified. It looked like he was holding it out to you for you to grab, but once you reached out for it, he tossed it aside and into his cart of groceries. "Carrying it would be too much of a drag... Pushing this thing around is already too much of a chore."

You sweatdropped. You already had plans of leaving, but now that he put it in his cart, you didn't have the heart to leave just like that. So you walked beside him, and to avoid awkward silence, (which you highly doubted he thought was awkward) you tried your hand at a conversation. "So... Do you cook, Shikamaru?"

He lifted a bottle of spice you'd been eyeing, checking its label and price before answering. "Nah, my mom does... Sometimes my dad, but his food is hardly edible." He placed the bottle into the cart and continued to walk.

You smiled, following behind him as you took a look around the place. Familiar in the sense you always came here without stable funds. "Do you love your family?" It was a strange question, one you asked with uncertainty and hesitance.

You loved the idea of a family. Having loving parents sounded like a dream, but you had no idea what Shikamarus family was like. Infact, with the way he stopped moving, you were sure you messed up in asking that question. He turned to you and reached out for something on the shelf beside you.

"I do." He answered, staring at what he had grabbed blankly. "Showing love isn't for me. It's just a drag."

Your smile didn't falter, hands behind your back as you watched him put a few more items into his cart. Seeing how other people felt about their family, of the concept of love was interesting. And Shikamaru's opinion of it was nothing short of what anybody would expect. "Even if it's a 'drag', that doesn't mean you're ashamed, right? I think if there's something or someone you love, or care for... You shouldn't be scared to show it."

He tossed what it was he stared at into the cart. "I'm not ashamed or scared. What's the sudden interest, anyway? 'Love' isn't something I'm all that into."