Tokyo Tempest

Part XVI: From where I can see you

Finally, he realized what he was trying to ask.

"No."

"Please."

"No."

Shikamaru gave a visible frown. "I just need you to model the prototype for the remainder of the school day. I gotta have some feedback on how much more practical I can make it, or else Sakura-chan might have my head too."

At his dilemma, the Uchiha smirked. "Good luck."

Sasuke shoved the bag back into the shadow user's hands before walking ahead to resume his search for the pink-haired girl. Shikamaru stood still in his spot for a few seconds before narrowing his eyes, immediately jolting his head back to the Uchiha.

Before he had the chance to get very far, Sasuke felt a hard grasp on his shoulder. Giving a tiny sigh, he turned around to face the shadow user once more, only to be hastily dragged into a nearby classroom.

--

"Oh my god, what is that?"

"It looks like some kind of cat. It's kind of cute.."

The raven-haired boy frowned at the audible chatter around him. After a dreadful few minutes, he was allowed to exit the classroom he had been abducted into, although those few minutes were probably the worst moments of his Tokyo life.

Sasuke squinted at his reflection inside the hallway window, only to scowl at the monstrosity before him. His head was placed inside a gigantic ball-like thing that was uncomfortably larger than the rest of his body. At the very top was a pair of tiny, pointed feline ears. And on his forehead? The worst headband he'd ever seen if ninjas were to ever exist here. Replacing the symbol of a notable shinobi village was a dinner plate with a small winky face in the center, accompanied by two forks on either side.

The rest of his body was enclosed in a puffy onesie of a dark grey color to match the head, with a tail on his behind that was far too long for any human to walk without tripping on. Now, he'd go on to look at what the actual face of the mascot looked like, but he realized at this point that he had yet to care one bit. If anything, he felt a great equivalence to the chicken-wearing people KFC. Almost pitied them, even.

The worst part is? He couldn't see a damn thing in here. The net in front of him that was supposedly "vision-enabling" according to Shikamaru, was definitely too thick and obstructed almost his entire view.

"Don't take it off until the day ends, alright? I'll meet you in the class at the end of the day. Thanks man!"

Remembering the shadow user's words, Sasuke felt the irritation increase inside of him. In a split second, he placed two hands on either side of the huge cat head, attempting to tug it off with a single pull.

-Only to realize that the damn thing wouldn't budge. At all. How was that possible? It's not like it's connected to anyth-

Suddenly, the Uchiha reached around to the back of his neck, running his hand around the perimeter only to widen his frown. Instead of letting the wearer pull off the head right away, the damn Nara opted to use a zipper to enclose the costume, and now that zipper was broken.

Did I pull too hard? At this, Sasuke released his hands from the costume, slowly placing them back on either side of his body. He stood still for a tantalizing second, taking in a giant, deep breath from the bottom of his lungs as he stood on the side of the hallway. He'd let Shikamaru suffer the consequences later. For now, he was relieved that at least he wasn't claustrophobic.

Unsure of what to do from here on out, Sasuke opted to resume his original goal. Where did Sakura go?

As he took a few heavy steps further out into the hallway, the Uchiha continued to find displeasure in the difficulty of navigating in the proper direction. Spending the next few minutes slowly turning corners and dodging silhouettes, he never felt more dehumanized.