A Bit of Shopping. [Solo]

“Why do I bother coming into the village?”, Sayuri muttered to herself, once again annoyed. She had been living on the outskirts of Suna, staying in a little cave she called home, for well over two weeks now. She had come to town every few days for supplies, and each day had run into the same hassle. Her small size prevented anyone from really noticing her, or perhaps they did but because she was but a child of ten years they thought her insignificant and ignored her. It was a stark contrast to the way she had lived in the temple back home, even the smallest of beings were seen and heard, their opinions and voice respected. Here and now the case was different, but she didn’t blame that on Sunagakure itself, as she was able to assume this was something she would have had to tolerate no matter her location.

“Excuse me, please?”, Sayuri tried again, raising her voice a bit louder this time in hopes to draw attention to herself. Thankfully it worked this time, and the annoyed looking food merchant looked in her direction. “Yes, miss?”, the man inquired, obviously hoping to listen to what she had to say and then get back to work.

Clearing her throat Sayuri regarded the small written list in hand, “I need two pounds of potatoes, a pound of beef, carrots, and celery, please?” As if anticipating being questioned if she had the ryo or not needed to pay for such a list Sayuri, money bag in hand, raised it up into the line of the merchants sight and gave it a little shake to allow the coins within to jingle and clank merrily against one another. Sayuri waited patiently while the merchant regarded her thoughtfully before with a grumble he went about gathering up her list, weighing and measuring the contents, something which Sayuri made sure to pay close attention to so that she didn’t end up getting jipped out of her coin. Each item was placed in a brown paper bag and once full the merchant put it on the table. “15 ryo, please.”, the merchant spoke.

Sayuri didn’t hesitate to pay the man, and after securing her pouch within the confines of her hakama pants to make sure no one swiped it when she wasn’t paying attention, she gathered up her bag and headed to the next stall. Each step was quick as the young girl bobbed and weaved through the other patrons in the market, eager to get her shopping done as quickly as possible so that she could return to the relative peace and quiet of her cave home.

Stepping off to the side a bit so that she would be out of the way and not in risk of being pushed over, Sayuri regarded her shopping list once more as she planned out where to head next. She had a general concept now of where the different shops and stalls were, and wanted to make this trip as easy as possible. With the food on her list already handled, dinner tonight being a roast of some kind, Sayuri planned on grabbing the needed supplies for washing next. After a quick glance around she headed back into the bustle of bodies going to and fro, making her way down the road and maneuvering herself to the left side where a small stall was selling homemade soaps.

Homemade soap was rather a favorite of hers, she preferred it over mass-produced products. The range of scents were more varied, but there was also the ability to buy soap that either was overly fragrant, or very mild while still retaining the slight hint of that scent you wanted. For Sayuri she preferred lightly scented items, and more importantly those that were naturally scented, which this stall provided quite well. “Hello, miss. What can I do for you?”, the kindly woman asked as Sayuri approached.

“May I please get a bar of your rose petal soap?”, Sayuri would speak while gesturing with a nod of her head towards a pinkish tinted bar of soap which within had hundreds of tiny pieces of rose petals solidified within its contents.

“No problem. Would you like light, medium, or heavy scented?”, the merchant inquired, the varying pink bars different shades of pink depending on the strength of their scent - the lighter colored ones being more lightly scented, while the heavily colored ones were more heavily scented.

“The lightest scent you have, please.”, Sayuri would reply in kind to the merchant. Watching as her choice was picked up and wrapped in parchment paper, Sayuri reached into her hakama pants and pulled out her pouch of money, pulling out enough to pay for the soap before slipping it back into place. The soap, after being placed into a small paper bag with handles, was then exchanged for the appropriate ryo and once more Sayuri slipped back into the crowd of people and began making her way to her next location. The next item on her shopping list was another pair of hakama, her own was becoming slightly worn and torn around the ends, despite her constantly wearing gata. She figured it was time to retire them to training only, while snatching up a new pair - or at least getting the basic needed supplies to make her own.