Preparing for the festival.

[youngesthokage]

He had a neat pile next to him on the counter, black and silver leather rabbit god mask at the very top. It was a bit morbid, the story of that, but it seemed like everything about this festival was morbid, so that was actually appropriate, in a way. He had the pale off white and frost blue kimono pulled most of the way up his shoulders, and he turned carefully one way, then the other as he examined himself in the mirror.

The reason? He was playing around with Oiroke, but he was doing it behind a closed door in the bathroom, and he sincerely hoped no one came to see what was taking him so long. He was just... curious. After all, he'd never spent much time in the shape and he had a memory of doing so.

Still, did it really change so little about his appearance?

Comments

[thepuppetuchiha]

"I can pay," He said almost immediately, simply staring at her but not exactly keeping the mask away from her either. In fact, he was already mostly holding it out to her because of her request.

[bunsofsteel]

"Sure you can." She took the mask and gave him a smile. "But I want to get it for you." With that, she moved to pay the vendor for it, ignoring any further protest Sasuke could make, before returning the mask to him sans price tag.

[thepuppetuchiha]

He only nodded when the mask was brought back to him, slipping it onto his face with ease and securing it with the strap before he looked to her again.

[bunsofsteel]

"Perfect." She smiled again and leaned up to press a kiss to the pointed beak, then took his hand again. "Alright, what now? Let's go see what else we can find, hm?"

[thepuppetuchiha]

"... All right. Let's go," He nodded, squeezing her hand and lacing his fingers with hers while she made to let her lead the way.

[bunsofsteel]

"Let's see if they've got games. Like, the kind where you throw balls at stacks of cans." Her lips curved into another smile as she stayed next to him, still tugging, but wanting to stay close to him, too. "You know, even if you don't want to be here, I'm sure we can find something fun for you, too~"

[thepuppetuchiha]

He looked down to her, his expression softening a bit before he shook his head and walked up to be closer to her, "Games like that are good for practice. It might not be a kunai, but it helps with aim."

[bunsofsteel]

"No, but it's a throw like what you'd use for a smoke-bomb." She nodded, catching that softened expression and missing it almost as soon as it's gone. "I was always the best at those, Neji would get annoyed when I'd make him play and then beat him."

[thepuppetuchiha]

"And you can beat me too?" There was a little bit of playfulness lining his tone, and he just looked at her while waiting expectantly.

[bunsofsteel]

Her smile was tinged with more than a hint of a smirk. "Absolutely~"

[thepuppetuchiha]

"You're on."

[bunsofsteel]

Her smile blossomed into a full-fledged grin, and she increased her pace, listening for the sound of children. Kids were usually the ones playing the games, after all! "We have to find one that'll actually be a challenge..."

[thepuppetuchiha]

"This one."

He indicated a booth that had lots of bottles and rings to try and throw around the bottle neck from a distance. True, from the standard distance it would be too easy... But who said they'd use the standard distance?

[bunsofsteel]

"Perfect." She glanced over the bottles, then approached the man with the booth, talking to him and handing over the right amount of money for both of them to get three rings. There was clear interest when she told him just what they'd be doing, and she returned to Sasuke, twirling a ring around her finger. "Set your distance, Sasuke-kun. I can handle whatever you decide~"

[thepuppetuchiha]

"We'll see," A ghost of a smirk graced his lips before, with the crowd parting around them to give them clear shots, he stepped back almost twenty feet from the stand. Good enough for practice.

[bunsofsteel]

She tossed him his own rings and followed along, eyeing the stand from this distance and weighing the ring in her hand. A beat as she threw it into the air and caught it in her palm, then drew her shoe along the ground to mark a line. "Third from the left, front row," she called it, then exhaled her remaining breath to throw, then smirk at the accompanying sound of metal ringing against glass as it bounced once, then slid down to fall neatly onto the called bottle.

[thepuppetuchiha]

"Third from the right, back row."

He took a breath of his own, closing his eyes before scanning the bottles. His eyes were still black, but with the way he was focusing one could have almost sworn his Sharingan was on. At last, quick as lightning, the right was thrown and nearly knocked the bottle down from how suddenly the ring impacted against it, whirling around rapidly until it finally settled into a still standing position.

[bunsofsteel]

Alright, she was impressed, and shot him a quick grin before tossing her next one into the air before her and catching it again. "Second from the right, back row," she announced, then twirled her third ring between her fingers. "Fourth from the right, back row."

She twirled her fingers through the rings, then crossed her arms, lowered her weight, and let them both fly. It's not with the same kind of speed as Sasuke, but they still land flawlessly around the two bottles, spinning around the glass.

[thepuppetuchiha]

So two at a time now.

"Second from the left, front row. Fourth from the left, front row."

He took his time a little more with those two, but one after another the rings flew and almost glided right onto their targets. Two rings left each, and they needed more points if they wanted to win any prizes... Meaning they had to start aiming for the ones in the center. Hm.

[bunsofsteel]

She let out a pleased laugh of surprise when his rings neatly flank her earlier one, and she twirled one of her remaining ones around her finger. "Not bad, Sasuke~" she had to compliment, casting her gaze over the bottles again. A small crowd had started to form around them to see what they'd do next, but she just blocked them out and focused.

Without bothering to call it this time, she narrowed her eyes and exhaled again, letting both rings take to the air, and land one after another around the bottle in the dead center. The impact nearly knocked it over, but in the end, it managed to stay righted. Both eyebrows quirked up as she rested a hand on her hip and watched him. "Your move~"

[thepuppetuchiha]

He frowned, glancing down at the rings briefly before letting them fly. For the first little bit, they seemed perfect; they landed on the rings, whirled around and seemed like they were going to land. The first one did slide down the neck, but the second unfortunately wobbled off.

The miss didn't seem to phase Sasuke however, and he only nodded before approaching the stand, "Which prize?"

[bunsofsteel]

She'd started to clap her hands together in with a bit of pride that he might have gotten it perfectly, but even with the one bouncing off, it was still impressive. Honestly, if hers hadn't been there as well, he probably could have gotten it.

"Whichever one you want," she answered, loosely linking her arm through his as she looked over the prizes with a pleased smile -- everything from coupons to local restaurants to stuffed animals, with all kinds of things in between. "But we should share it, since it was a group effort. You were great."

[thepuppetuchiha]

He only nodded before reaching for a restaurant coupon, holding up for Tenten to examine and ignoring the shocked looks they were receiving from the people around them.

[bunsofsteel]

Oh, that was for a nice place! She hadn't been there yet since it looked fairly expensive and she didn't recognize all the food, but it should be fun. "Perfect," she agreed, lips staying in that smile as she moved in and looped her arm through his casually. At least she has the grace to flush at the stares, then tug his arm gently, leaning up to brush her lips over his ear and mutter self-consciously, "C-c'mon, let's go somewhere before they start asking for autographs or something."

[thepuppetuchiha]

"All right," He nodded, pulling Tenten away from the crowed as they took their prize and left the bustle of the main carnival.

It didn't take him too long to pull Tenten into an ally though, and he pulled her in close to him. It didn't take even an instant for him to adjust their masks just enough for him to kiss her.