Gates Cost Money Ya' Know!

Sasuke nearly chuckled. Nearly. He sat atop his favorite tree and leaned against the trunk with a grin.

"Hey, it’s the moolah that makes the world go ‘round, right?"

The young warrior smiled brightly, “I believe that that would be obvious, no? Me, our Lord, of course, and perhaps Lady Kasuga!”

The lanky man glanced at the General who sat beside him. It wasn’t hard at all to tell that Yukimura didn’t smile often. There were no laughter lines like those of the One-Eyed Dragon, nor a bright shine in his eyes that radiated happiness.

"General… doesn’t smile that often, laughter even less. Even as a child his state of ‘contentment’ didn’t necessarily mean that he was happy. I was lucky enough to be able to see Yukimura so cheerful a few times, and I don’t doubt the fact that I wouldn’t have seen them if I wasn’t one of his primary caretakers", he said almost ruefully.

"Yukimura never met his father, not at an age where he would remember him. If he had been raised by Sanada Masayuki, I think that maybe he would be more joyful in a different sense. A sense where he could outwardly show his lightheartedness instead of keeping it in from courtesy. I suppose he just hasn’t found what he’s looking for in life.

Yukimura smiled, “No, we never fought. Not seriously, anyways…”, he chuckled.

"Darn right he was polite and cute when he was young!", Sasuke laughed, patting his General’s shoulder affectionately, though he noted that the younger man still was very much both of those adjectives, "Personally, I think I spoiled him too much to fight with him ‘cause… well, let’s just say that it was hard to say no to him… but besides that, it’s not a ninja’s place to deny or argue with his master."

The pale man raised a brow, “A Klondike bar?”, he asked, biting his lip to hold back the, ‘…Of all things…?’, portion of his question. However, he did take a moment or two to take the odd inquiry seriously, running a hand through a few loose strands of auburn colored hair that just touched the base of his neck and twining it between his fingers.

He sighed deeply before responding with leisure, “I guess I’d give it to Yukimura…”

"Of course", Sasuke chuckled, "Lady Kasuga is a ninja I happen to see often, though I usually don’t have to worry about clashing. The stray ninja here and there as you describe are pretty easy to detain, but that’s fairly rare as ninjas are always taught to be loyal till the end. Self-taught ninjas are a different story, but both take steps that are as quiet as a pin dropping in an empty room, equivalent to that of an earthquake or a stampeding herd of elephants in ninja terms", the man grinned, "And lastly… no. Battles between two ninjas in one squad is also rare. We respect one another and the ’boundaries’ that they may have, minor disagreements are seen sometimes, but not over serious subjects."

The brunette shut his eyes, trying hard to remember his childhood— the childhood he had before he met his Lord, but he felt as though he was… stumped, to say the least.

"I have no recollection of my father, and because of that I can’t say that he truly was… my father… My Lord was the one who had taken that position in my life. For the same reasons, I also can’t say that I miss him, however, if I were given the chance… I would have loved to meet him, to create memories with him and my mother, except that could mean that I wouldn’t be where I am now”, Yukimura said somberly, “but please don’t worry. I’m not upset. I think that sometimes it’s quite nice to think of the past instead of having to worry for the future.”

The auburn-haired man tried his best to not think of anything dirty for the sake of the General, so he shrugged with a large, toothy smirk and a subtle wink.

"I don’t know… What do you think?"

Yukimura sighed, opening the next letter. He could hear Sasuke’s thoughts unintentionally reaching him. The older man was currently in another room at the moment, and he just wished that he would come back. He didn’t exactly feel comfortable knowing that he may be invading his best friend’s mind.

"My Lordship would not have such two-faced actions as you were thinking. I have not received hugs from him since I was a young boy…", he added with a slight smile.

Yukimura felt as though he must have stared at the letter for far too long. His eyes felt like they were drooping and his body felt a bit disoriented, but he could register Sasuke’s voice. Sasuke who was not currently speaking. No, his lips were set in a firm line, neither smiling nor frowning, however the words were as clear as day. The samurai had absolutely no idea that the ninja snuck a peek at the letter.

‘Hmm… the General looks nice today… His hair looks so soft, like a cloud… I could just run my hands through it and—’

"I-indecent!", the younger man shouted, no, it was not a shriek, thank you. For the second time that day, Sasuke burst out laughing as Yukimura’s cheeks turned multiple shades darker.

The warrior had no idea how long this would last, but he wished it was over already.

—Sanada Yukimura and Sarutobi Sasuke