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“Ew; what is that thing?”
“Isn’t it so cool?” Sakura gushed, beaming as she tilted the object to and fro, green eyes alight with admiration. “It’s anatomically accurate and everything.”
The other woman, her best friend Ino, sneered in disgust. “No,” she insisted, leaning away. “It is the opposite of cool; it’s freaking creepy.”
She gasped, affronted. “Don’t say that! He said he worked hard on this one!” She clutched the miniature lung made entirely from candy to her chest protectively, her hold delicate so as to not damage it.
The blonde rolled pretty blue eyes, pretending to gag. “Yeah, I bet he did.” She stared at the treat with obvious judgment. “Why don’t you just go marry him or something?” She waved her hand dismissively. “Then you can be freaks together; spare the gene pool.”
“Don’t be a jerk.” She cut her eyes in a nasty glare of her own. “It is not freaky to appreciate biology.”
“If you say so.”
She huffed, setting the sugar-lung onto the counter. The women were in her kitchen, preparing to begin their weekly ‘girls’ night in’ when Ino spotted the latest creation gifted to her from the new candymaker in town. He was an odd guy, she could admit that, but he was nice to her and made fascinating candy, so she was content to look past his eccentricities. She brought Ino on exactly one visit to his shop, and that one visit was all it took to convince the blonde that he was ‘probably a serial killer or something’ as well as ‘obsessively in love’ with her. When she insisted that the two were just friends, that earned her quite a stinky look from her best friend, who was less than convinced.
Never mind that, yes , she was harboring an embarrassingly massive crush on the man (anyone who laid eyes on him would feel the same, she was sure), but as far as she was concerned, there was zero chance of anything to come from it. Despite Ino’s insistence, she knew her candy dealer viewed her as a patron and nothing more.
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As a girl that appreciated her sweets, Sakura was always vigilant for any new confection sellers that moved into Konoha. Her friends would tease her for it, call her ‘weirdly obsessed,’ but she hardly let their lack of understanding deter her.
Three months ago, she was strolling down the main street that connected the hospital she worked at to the subway following her shift, when a storefront she’d never seen before caught her eye. The moderate display window was encased in a black frame shaped like a coffin, with swirling, white letters that read ‘Deathly Sweet’ arching across the top, backed by a red blob that resembled a scorpion. Curious, she attempted to peer in, but discovered the window to be covered in a tint that prevented her from doing so. She glanced at her watch, debating: Investigate or miss her train? After a few moments, she glanced at the little sign on the door with the shop’s hours. Since it was due to close soon anyway, she decided it would be best to come tomorrow on her lunch break. Giddy at the prospect, she hurried on her way, anticipation humming under her skin the rest of the evening and into the next day.
She was strangely prompt with her noon lunch break, surprising her co-workers, but she hustled from the hospital to the imposing black door. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the handle, twisting it and entering the establishment.
The overly-sweet smell of pure sugar assaulted her nose, though she hardly found it unpleasant. The store itself was not very big, and she was the only occupant that she could see, but her eyes widened as she took everything in. The walls were also black, lined with pieces of stiff wood to continue the coffin motif, while the overhead lights reminded her of the ones in the mortuary. There were long shelves of…Animal skeletons and human body parts? Slightly scaled down, but intricately detailed nonetheless. Some of the skeletons were partly adorned with tendons and muscles, all perfectly hued and laid out, while the body parts were etched with their complicated system of veins and arteries, filled with what appeared to be faux blood. Continuing to visually peruse the store, she marveled at the sprawling display case toward the back, modeled to resemble a mausoleum, packed with chocolates resembling eyeballs and appendages, tiny brains made of something she couldn’t identify, and baskets of small, colorful, candy-coated things.
Bewildered and amazed at the sight, she didn’t register movement from the curtain to her left. The soft clearing of a throat startled her back to reality, her gaze snapped toward the sound. More stunning than the store’s wares was this man in front of her, an employee of some sort if his apron with the ‘Deathly Sweet’ logo were any indication. He wasn’t much taller than her, but his presence seemed so grandiose. His hair was a shock of vibrant red, wild and unkempt in a way that looked purposeful. His face was perfectly angular, like some master sculptor had a personal hand in shaping it. He stared at her passively with hooded amber eyes, head tilted slightly to the side.
He was gorgeous.
Realizing she was gawking at him like some crazy person, she gave her head a quick, harsh shake. “Um, hi?” she greeted hesitantly, wincing at herself. Really, Sakura? “Do you…Work here?”
The man said nothing, simply studied her, the stretching silence growing more tense and awkward. She was about to say something else when he eventually deigned to speak. “No,” he answered, that one word flowing over her like luscious honey. “I own here.”
She blinked, nonplussed. “Oh! Well, I was passing by yesterday and I spotted your store-”
“I know,” he cut in, continuing to study her. “I saw you.”
Heat flooded her cheeks as she was awashed in embarrassment at being caught trying to look in. “Sorry,” she mumbled softly, reaching up to scratch her cheek.
“For what?” he challenged, shrugging lightly. “You looked interested, so why not come in?”
“I didn't want to miss my train.”
The attractive stranger hummed in acknowledgement, but said nothing further. She wasn't sure how long they stood across from one another, but after what felt like an eternity, she motioned toward the case display. “Those candies are very impressive. Did you make them yourself?”
“Yes.”
Definitely doesn't say more than he needs to, does he? Unbothered, she nodded. “Where did you buy the figures from? They're really cool. I'd love to get some for my office!”
One red brow arched. “Buy?” he queried, skeptical. When she nodded slowly in agreement, his perfect lips twitched in a subtle smirk. “They're not bought; they were made. They're sugar sculptures.”
She balked, eyes flying back to the shelves. “Sugar sculptures?” she parroted, squinting. “No they are not.” She marched to the wall, leaning forward to observe the skeletons and organs more closely. Upon inspection, she could make out the undeniable glossy sheen of stretched candy in that hardball stage. Her jaw fell open as her vision passed over each item in succession, confirming that, yes, all of them were made out of candy. Turning back to the owner, she was surprised to see he had approached her while she was distracted, standing a short distance away, arms crossed over his chest, eyes shining with undisguised pride. “How?” she breathed, gesturing vaguely. “How did you do that?”
“Practice and a steady hand.”
She opened her mouth to question him further (her friends would describe her as nosey, but she preferred the term inquisitive), yet the tingling jingle of her phone alarm cut her short. Ugh! she grumbled internally. What rotten timing! The sound meant she had 15 minutes until her break was over, therefore she needed to commence her trek back. Eyes narrowed in determination, she met his placid gaze squarely, thrusting one, pointed finger behind her. “I would like the fish skeleton to go.” She planned to dissect it between appointments, as well as consume it. “But don't think you're off the hook of explaining how you made those; I will be back tomorrow,” she warned ominously.
The red-head observed her, and she could see the gears of his mind churning as he did. Suddenly, he smiled, the first true smile she had seen thus far, pleased. The sight made her heart rate accelerate uncomfortably. He's too damn attractive for his own good. “Very well,” he complied, moving past her to secure the candy in question. “Tomorrow, then.” He strolled to the counter, placing the fish into a coffin-shaped box before striding back to her. He held it aloft, waiting for her to grab it. Once she did, she gave a curt goodbye, hurrying out and onto the bustling sidewalk. She wove her way through the crowd, sugary fish skeleton tightly bound between her fingers, arriving back to work in record time.
(It was the most delicious candy she had ever eaten in her life.)
True to her word, she was back at Deathly Sweet the following day, shamelessly interrogating the handsome shop owner. However, he didn't appear to mind it too much. In fact, he almost seemed to revel in the attention.
She learned his name was Sasori, and he recently relocated to Konoha from Suna. He had been a surgeon at their largest hospital for many years, but out of the blue decided he was going to quit that career and pursue his true passion in life: Art.
Using his educational background and experience as a doctor, he utilized that knowledge in creating realistic, macabre sculptures and paintings that sold for ridiculous amounts of money. One day, while perusing videos for inspiration, he came across a person crafting a lizard corpse using only sugar. Fascinated, he proceeded to delve into the concept, absorbing the information until he was ready to give a go himself.
And the rest was history.
Sasori told her he found Suna suffocating (though she suspected he meant he found his family suffocating based on his description of them), so he up and moved without notice, purchasing the storefront to market his candies here instead.
Except business was slow, most people too freaked out to even enter his shop.
Sasori wasn't bothered by the lack of engagement, however; he explained he had made plenty of money from the hospital as well as from his other art, so candy making was more of a hobby at this point. ‘The right people will come,’ he stated, lips curled in a self-satisfied grin. ‘I only want to serve those that can appreciate my craft.’
She visited daily, either during her lunch break or making time in her schedule to stop by on her off days, forming an easy not-quite-friendship with him. Despite the near-decade age difference, the two had a fair amount in common. When she revealed she was in her final year of residency to become a surgeon herself, Sasori spent the entirety of that visit discussing her experience, essentially comparing notes. They debated pros and cons of various surgery techniques, treatment options, the perils of different departments. She adored the medical field, and meeting another person that felt as passionate as she did about it felt too good to be true.
It wasn’t long after that Sasori began, in her opinion, showboating his skills, having some new, painstakingly detailed creation to present to her. It began with a completed leg, every bone from thigh to toe accounted for, filled with a lemon-flavored malt for the marrow. Then he showed her a dissectible chest cavity covered in red licorice muscles, with miniature candied organs inside. Each creation enthralled her more than the last, and it wasn’t long before she noticed her admiration for the man shifting to something more akin to interest. Her heart would race before she saw him, giddiness exploding in her veins as she stood in his presence, eyes noticing minute details and gestures as he’d speak. She would chide herself as she left, feeling like a fool for having some schoolgirl crush on him, but she would return the next day and experience the same symptoms over again.
There were times she wondered if he noticed the change in her demeanor, even times she speculated he was flirting with her, but it was simple to dismiss them as fancy follies of a wishful romantic.
Sasori was so ridiculously out of her league, it was practically comical.
Content with where they stood, quasi-friendly businessman and customer, she cherished their brief interactions for what they were, and tomorrow would be no different than it had been the past few months.
At least, she thought it would.
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The door to Deathly Sweet banged closed behind her, the booming sound reverberating around the small store. It was unusually windy today, the weather forecast calling for a nasty storm to roll in this evening. Sakura winced, surveying the room, hoping the wrestling shockwave didn’t knock anything from its place. She had debated on even coming to visit, but when her lunch break came, she found herself bundling up and making her way to the shop as though on autopilot. Everything looks fine. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hello, Sakura.”
She startled, whirling around toward the doorway to the hidden kitchen, instantly feeling silly. Who else would be here but the two of them? “Hey, Sasori!” she beamed, heart fluttering at his small smile. “What’s new today?”
“Nothing.”
Her face fell. “Aww, why?” Her tone was saturated in disappointment, but she didn’t care to disguise it. “Did something happen?”
He shook his head, wayward crimson hair swishing against his forehead. “No, I was just thinking.” He stepped forward, standing before her in a few strides, close enough she could smell the saccharine scent of the candy mixed with something spicy wafting from him. “Instead of me making you something, perhaps you can help me make it.”
She blinked, unsure she heard him correctly. “You…Want me to help you? Make a candy?”
His tone was measured, gaze steady. “If you’d like.”
“When?”
“When are you available?”
“Oh, well…” she trailed off, mentally reviewing her schedule for the week. “I’m off on Friday?”
He nodded. “Very well. Let’s meet for dinner, and then we can come back here and make whatever you want,” he supplied smoothly. “What do you think?”
She hesitated, caught off guard. His suggestion sounded a lot like… “Are you asking me on a date?” she blurted, face glowing with red-hot heat immediately after. “Oh gods! I mean-”
“That depends on if you accept or not.”
Head spinning, she spluttered. “I- Yes!” She winced as she all but shouted at him. Why am I such a disaster?! If Ino were here, she’d be rolling on the floor, hysterical. She took a deep breath, smiling ruefully, amending her statement. “Yes, I think that sounds great.”
He huffed a laugh, clearly amused, reaching into his back pocket to produce his phone. “Perfect.” He swiped the black screen, unlocking it and pulling up the contact list before holding it out to her. “Here; put your number in.”
She gingerly seized the device, pointedly ignoring the frisson that passed through her as their fingers grazed one another. If he noticed, he showed no outward signs of it, just kept his patient gaze trained on her. Her fingers flew over the screen, typing her name and number, then tapping the messaging icon to send herself a text. She felt her phone buzz in her own pocket, signaling the message came through. She handed his back, feigning confidence she didn’t feel, pulse roaring in her ears. “Thanks.” Silence lingered, charged but not awkward. The moment was disturbed once more by the alarm, her spirits drooping. “Well, I guess it’s time for me to go.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Her brow arched. “Don’t you mean Friday?”
He shrugged, lips quirked. “I’ll see you then as well, yes.”
Always so sure of himself. Feeling bold, she decided to tease him a bit. “I don’t know…” she hedged coyly, grinning. “Maybe I won’t come tomorrow. Maybe I’ll be too busy and decide to stay at the hospital during my break for a change.”
His responding smirk was all arrogance, like the cat that caught the canary. “You will,” he replied, honeyed voice soft and low, and it did unmentionable things to her insides. His hand lifted, brushing her bangs from her eyes, tucking the pink strands behind her ear. She stifled a gasp. “Better hurry; you don’t want to be late.” With that, he turned, strolling to the curtain-covered door and disappearing behind it.
Dazed, she jumped when her alarm sounded again, now five minutes closer to her designated return time. Gripping the front of her coat, she darted out the door, falling in with the few pedestrians still traversing the sidewalk. She bumped into one of them, yet paid them no mind, muttering a half-hearted apology. She felt like she was on Cloud Nine, thoughts whirling with what she and Sasori could create together.
And how sweet it would be.