disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters contained therein, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto who is kind enough to let fans write fiction. I make no profit from this nor do I intend to.
Re-write as of 10/2012
Chapter 53
When Girls Talk...
Ayumu sat back in her futon stunned at the sight of her cousin. It was a miracle that she didn't scream out she was so surprised, but thankfully for Yuzuki she didn't. What she did do was pull the covers up over her head and hide underneath them.
"Get out!" she croaked.
She could hear Genma chuckle and felt the slight vibration of the floor underneath her as he walked over to her prone form. He tried to pull the covers down but she held them firmly above her head. No way was she going to let him come anywhere near her in her present state and form.
"Go away, Genma!" Came a muffled reply to his constant pulling on the blanket.
"Come on, don't be such a big baby! I have seen a lot worse, believe you me. I've been a lot worse, so quite acting like a loon and lemme see you."
Genma ripped the covers of her face forcefully and was rewarded with an angry woman.
"I'm serious, Gen, give me back my kiver and get out..." Ayumu tried her hardest to pull the cover away from Genma, but it was all in vain as he wouldn't let go, and he even had the audacity to laugh at her.
"You are such a whack-job sometimes kiddo, what gives? And after all the worry you put everyone through..."
Ayumu stilled suddenly. Her eyes became large and round, and slight fear could be seen.
"What do you mean worry? What happened Genma?"
Genma immediately became serious at seeing the panicked look on Ayumu's face. He dropped the smile on his face and reached forward to brush a curl out of her face and place it behind an ear.
"You were really sick there for a bit- had everyone worried there. We had to call for a doctor."
Ayumu reached out and grasped his forearm, and squeezed it tightly. "What do you mean a doctor!? Yuzuki and I were just hung-over, that's all! Why would you have to call a doctor for that?"
Ayumu's eyes started to tear up and her bottom lip even quivered slightly.
"Well yes, you were pretty hung-over, but you also had a bit of sun poisoning and some botulism as well maybe. Whatever it all was you were burning up with fever and pretty much unconscious. Your boys and I had to soak you down with cold towels until the doctor could get here and heal you with his chakra."
"Oh, Genma...my babies- where are they?" Ayumu started to cry silent tears at the thought of causing her boys such grief.
Genma smiled and sat back on his haunches next to her.
"No worries, they are fine. I imagine that they are out and about somewhere right now. I also imagine Iruka is keeping an eye on them as well. No worries, 'kay?" He gently brushed his thumbs underneath her eyes and wiped the tears away.
Ayumu sniffed and tried to sit up, but she was still weak enough that Genma sat crossed legged next to her and helped to support her with the back of his arm. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Ayumu tried to pull away from discomfort.
"You better stay away from me, Genma- I positively reek to high heavens...I really need to brush my teeth and take a shower. I feel like I have cooties."
Genma chuckled and made a mock disgusted moue. "Yeah, you kinda smell like day-old garbage..."
He outright laughed when Ayumu none to gently elbowed him in the ribs. She was going to get up but then remembered her half-dressed state. She sat back down in embarrassment and pointed to the door.
"I need to use the convenience, and you need to leave."
Genma shook his head. "No Ayumu, you can't be trusted to be in a bathroom all alone in your weakened state. Let me help-"
"Absolutely not! No way are you going to help me in the bathroom...have you lost your mind?"
"Ayumu, don't be silly or bashful- there is no place for something like that. I'll help you in there and then stay outside."
Ayumu turned to him in indignation. "No way, Genma- I'm serious. I want to perform my ablutions in private, thank you. I don't need you outside and listening…"
Genma leaned forward close enough that Ayumu had to lean backwards in order to properly focus on him.
"Ayumu, there is nothing to be embarrassed about- going to the bathroom is a perfectly natural function. If you eat, you have to-"
"Not around you I won't!"
Genma and Ayumu were snarling at each other just as Anko walked in after softly knocking. She looked from one to the other and didn't quite know what to do or say.
"Ayumu, you're up and looking much better," she said partially smiling as she walked quietly over to the two.
Anko had a slightly worried look on her face, but it wasn't for Ayumu as much as it was more about herself. She had noticed the close proximity and familiarity that Ayumu and Genma were sharing, and all her doubts and indecisions started to rise to the forefront again.
Ayumu though was totally oblivious to the other woman's dilemma She gave Genma a narrowed expression and then turned to Anko as if totally dismissing the man.
"Anko, would you please tell Genma that I can use the bathroom on my own? I really want to freshen up and take a shower, but I can't with him being in here. Would you please kick him out?"
Anko smiled at Ayumu, but she didn't know if it was because of sympathy for the woman's plight or just relief that she didn't want Genma around. Whatever it was she latched on and ran with it.
"Honestly Genma, leave her be. I'll stay and help her out. I don't blame her for wanting to have some privacy."
Genma looked at Anko with slight irritation. He could help her out just fine, and they didn't need any help what so ever. "No, she can't be left alone-"
"I will stay with her until she is settled again, and lower your voice- you'll wake up Miss Yuhara..." Anko gave Genma astern look and then she too dismissed him. "Besides, she probably needs to get to the bathroom and she can't because you are here blocking her way. So- go."
Ayumu turned to Genma with a smug look.
Genma knew when he was out-manned and just shook his head. "Fine- but I'll be back," he promised and then left in a small snit.
Anko shook her head ruefully and when the door was closed securely behind Genma she helped to raise Ayumu up so she could get to the bathroom. Anko was momentarily surprised by the shirt that Ayumu was wearing. It was many sizes too large, and she knew that it just had to have belonged to Ibiki. The sleeves went way beyond her hands and the hem trailed down around her thighs.
Anko let Ayumu lean slightly on her as she helped the woman into the bathroom, with the firm direction that she was to keep the door unlocked and that she was to call if needed. Ayumu nodded and went into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. After a few moments Anko could hear the shower going, and when she knew that Ayumu was safely in the shower she tapped on the door before entering.
"Ayumu, are you ok? Do you need anything?"
"No, I'm fine-thanks," came the muffled reply.
The room was already filling with steam, and she could see Ayumu's silhouette braced against the wall with both hands. She was facing the spigot and just letting the hot water do its magical therapy. Anko stood hesitantly in the doorway in contemplation. Whatever she was thinking she made her decision and entered the room and sat on the toilette. She sat waiting and thinking. Anko picked up the discarded shirt and stared at it for a moment. When she spoke it was softly, so as not to startle the woman in the shower.
"Ayumu, can I ask you something?"
Ayumu was slightly startled by the woman's appearance but none the less she stuck her head out of the shower. She looked at Anko with a question and nodded her head, and then disappeared back under the water.
"Is it serious between you and Morino?"
There was no answer right away.
Ayumu stood stock still under the spray and let her mind wrap around the question. She was flummoxed by the directness of the question. Why would she want to know? Didn't she know? Wasn't she with Genma? Didn't she like Genma? Was Genma just a second best?
Panic started to rise within Ayumu. Was Anko getting ready to make some sort of confession about her and Ibiki? Ayumu could almost feel some nausea start to rise in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know what to say...what had Ibiki said? What had Ibiki told (or not told) people? Had he even told anyone anything? The questions were streaming through her head at light speed and she started to feel almost dizzy.
"Ayumu? Are you ok?" Anko asked in concern, and even pulled the shower curtain back to make sure.
Ayumu was leaning heavily against the side wall and with a blank look on her face. Anko for the first time and with a woman's perusal looked at Ayumu. She saw a voluptuous and curvaceous woman that was womanly in design. Where Anko was thin and muscular Ayumu was soft and rounded. Everything about her-from her curly hair to her generous figure- spoke of being a woman. No one would ever mistake her for anything else. Ayumu wasn't like her who had on more than one occasion had to go in disguise as a man. Ayumu could never pull it off.
For a brief moment Anko was stung with jealousy. No wonder Genma was drawn towards her, as well as Morino. Here was a woman who would never have been able to be a Nin, she had just too generous a figure for that. Even if she had been of the athletic persuasion she would still have had large breasts and a rounded bottom that couldn't be hidden or helped. Anko felt sorely lacking in the feminine department next to such a creature. She slowly let the curtain drop and sat heavily on the seat of the toilette. She almost felt defeated.
Ayumu slowly opened the curtain back up and looked over at the forlorn looking woman. "Why do you ask?" The question was asked softly and with slight trepidation.
Anko looked over at Ayumu with a blank expression. She didn't know what to say or how to say it. How funny...one of the requirements of her job was to be able to think fast on your feet, and here she sat confounded, confused, and vulnerable. This was a new thing for her...She who had always prided herself on her self-assurance and quick wits was now just sitting like a bump on a log. Anko shrugged her shoulders.
"I was just wondering..."
"About me? Or about Ibiki..."
"Both, I guess..."
Ayumu looked down and worried her lip. She didn't know what to say...Should she just tell the woman? Obviously Ibiki had never said anything to anyone...why? Was he ashamed? Was he embarrassed? What? Should she say anything at all? Maybe Ibiki didn't want people to know for some reason...that was the primary reason that he had severed their relationship once before after all. If that happened again Ayumu didn't know what she would do...
"I don't know..." was all that she could get out.
Ayumu let the curtain fall as she leaned back into the shower. She thought about all their private times together and the things that he had said to her, but that was in private moments. He never once outside of their small and tight group in Hiraku had ever made any public statements. But he did see her off at the front gates, and they had been witnessed by the guards. She knew that people talked, so word of it must have gotten around somewhere, but to where? Had the word spread through the Nin community?
Obviously not if Anko, who also worked closely with Ibiki, was asking. So obviously not then. She didn't want anything out that shouldn't be out. One thing she knew about Ibiki was that he was a very private person. She could tell by nothing else then she had never once seen anyone that he associated with at or around his apartment. He kept his personal life very personal. The only way that they had ever encountered anyone that he knew professionally was when she had worked at the bath house and there was no way that it could have been avoided.
Ayumu suddenly felt very alone and confused.
"Anko, could I have my tooth brush please?"
Anko nodded and readied the brush, and then she passed it into the shower where Ayumu took it from her. She could hear Ayumu brushing her teeth. Anko thought that Ayumu had cleverly used the tooth brush to divert having to answer her questions. So her silence was in essence her answer. The woman didn't want to answer her question, or couldn't she? They were simple enough, weren't they? She just wanted to know about her and Morino...were they together or not? Was Genma in the equation or not? Or were they both in the equation together? That was something that Anko didn't know how to deal with. What if Ayumu was seeing both Morino and Genma? If she was, did both men know about it? She couldn't see either man allowing such a thing.
Anko started to feel a few sparks thinking about such a situation. Anko liked both men, though Genma held the lion's share of her affection. But even with Morino she felt a certain loyalty to the man. He had been through a lot, and was this how he was rewarded? By possibly being two-timed? But Anko couldn't see such a sharp man as Morino readily having the wool pulled over his eyes like that, so maybe he was in accordance with it? What about Genma? He also was a brave and strong man, and he also was copacetic with such an arraignment? Couple that with the fact that Ayumu was family...that had to count for something. But then again many clans never paid much attention to such relationships, and their place on the family tree was not really that close. In all honesty they were on opposite ends of the clan's branches. They might even be so diluted as to not even be family in all matter's that counted.
"So what about Genma?"
"What about Genma?" came the reply from the other side of the curtain.
"What is Genma to you?"
Ayumu poked her head out again but this time she had a confused look on her face. "Genma is Genma, I guess. I never thought about it really," and she pulled herself back in frowning. "Genma has always been a part of my life and I figure that he always will be."
"And Morino? What about him?"
Ayumu didn't answer at first. What was with all these questions all of a sudden? Ayumu pulled the curtain back again and looked at Anko with an expressionless face.
"I think that you need to ask Ibiki. I don't know how much Ibiki wants people to know about his private life," and with that cryptic remark she went back to try and finish her shower.
Anko became thoroughly confused. She wanted-no needed- Ayumu to clarify what was going on with herself and the men, but the woman was not being cooperative with any information! Anko wanted to rip the curtain off the shower and demand answers, but she knew that wasn't really a viable option. She just didn't know what to do, so she did the only thing that she could think of- she silently walked out of the bathroom and consequently the cabin itself.
After a few moments of not hearing anything Ayumu timidly peeped out of the shower. She was surprised not to see the woman, but she was also relieved as well. She just didn't want to get into a discussion about Ibiki, and with that woman in particular. Ayumu still felt uneasy about who felt what about whom in regards to those two. Ayumu still couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy about Anko and Ibiki. No matter what Ibiki said or what she felt she just couldn't help but feel slightly inferior to the other woman. When she looked at Anko she saw a beautiful, strong, and confident woman who was smart and talented as well. Who could follow an act like that?
Ayumu finished her shower in silence and then dried herself off. As she was getting herself together she saw Ibiki's shirt sitting on the seat where Anko had sat. She picked it up and put her face into it. She could still smell small whiffs of Ibiki's scent if she concentrated. His scent couldn't be wholly banished away. Ayumu closed her eyes and thought of the man, and she felt a momentary bought of shame. Would Ibiki feel upset at her second-guessing of not only herself but him as well? Hadn't he made his intentions and feelings clear enough? Of course he had. The man clearly showed his affection and devotion to her almost on a daily basis, so why was she still feeling so second-best? Was there something wrong with her?
As Ayumu was standing and contemplating her dilemma she heard someone on the other side of the doorway and shuffling closer. She quickly put her clothing back on and when Ayumu opened the door she saw Yuzuki slowly making her way towards her. Yuzuki looked a bit better than she did earlier, but she still didn't seem up to snuff. Yuzuki stood stiffly against the door frame and smiled a painfully lop-sided smile.
"Hey," she said quietly.
Ayumu wrapped her friend in a loose embrace and hugged her. Yuzuki fell into Ayumu's arms and buried her head against her friend's shoulder. She just closed her eyes and hummed.
Ayumu laughed softly and rubbed Yuzuki's back. "You doing ok? It looks like we really showed our respective asses...I don't think anyone is going to let us forget it either..."
Yuzuki looked up with slightly red eyes and groaned. "Really? Were we really that bad? Oh grief...and in front of students to boot! Thank the heaven's the Head Mistress wasn't anywhere near because you know that we would be out on our butts..."
Both women smirked at their good fortune. It would have been truly awful if they had been on an 'official' school outing and wind of their lapse in discretion had gotten out. As it was they knew that when all was said and done they could trust Ayumu's students and Iruka to keep mum about the whole affair.
"Go take a shower- it will do you a world of good. It did for me," Ayumu said as she helped her friend prepare for the bath.
When Ayumu knew that her friend was safely and securely in the shower and didn't need anything further she left the bathroom with the full intention of going back to bed. She was surprised however to find Mrs. Akitada in the room and laying down all fresh bedding for both women. She turned to Ayumu with relief and a kind smile on her face.
"Well, if it isn't good to see you looking and feeling so better! You had us worried there for a bit, you know..."
Ayumu blushed and hung her head (as bowing would have caused her to topple over). "I am so sorry and so very thankful for all that you have done. I can't tell you how mortified I am by my-our- behavior. Please forgive us."
Mrs. Akitada laughed a light, peal of laughter, one that was very youthful for such an older woman.
"Feh, as if you were the first visitor around here to sow a few wild oats! Heavens! That's what vacations are for if nothing else, right?"
Mrs. Akitada walked up to Ayumu and in a gesture of motherly warmth put a hand to Ayumu's chin. "I am just glad that you are both right as rain, and that things weren't as bad as we thought. Just a little too much fun and all at once. Never fear." Mrs. Akitada finished with a light pat and a chuckle.
Mrs. Akitada next appraised Ayumu's choice of sleeping garments. She saw that it obviously was a man's as Ayumu was totally enveloped in it. "Would you like me to lauder that as well, dearie?"
Ayumu blushed and slightly clutched the shirt to her. She didn't really want to give it up as once it was washed all of Ibiki's smell would be gone. "No, I'm fine with it the way it is, thank you though.
Mrs. Akitada nodded in understanding. "I understand honey, it still smells like your man and you want to keep the smell as long as you can," and the older woman winked at Ayumu's obvious surprise.
Ayumu didn't know what to say but to flush slightly and look away.
Mrs. Akitada busied herself with the laundry but still kept on with her observations, oblivious to Ayumu's uncomfortableness.
"Yes, I was once in love too- still am- and I know all about it. I know that you aren't with the young man that escorted you and your mob here. That one is with Miss Yuhara," she said and smiling a knowing smile. "No, you must be with the man from ANBU," and she turned with a letter in her hand and a laugh as Ayumu squealed and ran over to it. Mrs. Akitada handed over the letter and surreptitiously watched Ayumu tear the letter open hungrily. She watched as a look of pure adoration spread across the younger woman's face as she read the short note.
Ayumu laughed at Ibiki's note. How like him, short and to the point. The post script also garnished a laugh and a big smile. Leave it to Ibiki to not forget about the 'girls', she thought fondly. The letter was short and sweet, and every word meant the world to her.
"Do you think that he might come and visit while you are here?" Mrs. Akitada said, interrupting Ayumu's thoughts.
"No, he has too much work to do back in Konoha, he can't get away I'm afraid." Ayumu looked crestfallen but proud none the less. In as much as she missed him she knew that she couldn't be so selfish. Ibiki was a man with a full plate, and many people depended on his expertise and prowess. He had more to his little world then just her. She would see him soon enough, but she couldn't help but think how her mess wouldn't be so bad if he was here...
"So, that handsome young man that arrived with that woman is kin?"
Mrs. Akitada smoothly changed the subject away from the present one.
Ayumu nodded and smiled. "Yes, Genma is my cousin and the young lady Anko is his companion- I guess." Ayumu frowned at thinking about Anko again. Having her and even Genma here might cause problems that she didn't want to think about.
Mrs. Akitada gave Ayumu a sharp and calculating look. "Oh? They seem like they are together, but if you look real close it seems a bit more one-sided then originally appears. She seems a bit more into him then he is with her. They are trying to re-kindle something?"
Ayumu looked at Mrs. Akitada stunned.
"Feh, forgive me, that really is none of my business. It is just that when you have done what I have done for so many years you get to know how to read people pretty well, and pretty accurately I might add."
"No, you aren't intruding. I just never thought about it like that. I really don't know too much about them, as a couple that is. I never knew how serious or casual the relationship was. In fact, I thought that Anko and Ibiki were..." but Ayumu quickly stopped herself. She didn't want to appear paranoid or daffy to the woman, no matter how much she really might be.
Mrs. Akitada nodded to the letter in Ayumu's hand. "Ibiki your guy from ANBU?"
Ayumu nodded.
"Well, let me tell you something about that letter. It came special delivery just now and the Nin- it was no regular post boy, mind you- who brought it must have had orders to get it here asap as he was half dead from running it here top speed. So by that alone anyone can tell that there is some serious commitment there. Also some serious pull as well," and Mrs. Akitada smiled knowingly.
"I know, but sometimes I can't help but wonder why he would pick me over someone like Anko. I mean, he has always been surrounded by strong and capable women, and here he has one that causes a big scene by just having too much fun," Ayumu looked at Mrs. Akitada with wry smile on her face.
Mrs. Akitada finished putting the old bedding in a pile and motioned for Ayumu to sit on newly fresh futon, and then sat herself down as well next to her.
"Let me tell you another little something, and this is about men that I have learned through many years of living with one, raising two, and watching them come and go through here. We may think that men are simple creatures, but they aren't really. They have a depth to them that is seldom investigated by women, or even by themselves. So because of all that undiscovered territory we tend to think of them as having only basic needs and wants: eating, sleeping, fighting, and sex. A lot of sex. But that's ok- we women don't mind a lot of sex either. And if you say otherwise you are only lying to yourself. But they are so much more then that- they have so much potential. Just by seeing how your letter came, and it was a simple thing really, but it made a loud statement. Your Ibiki wanted you to know that he was thinking about you and he wanted you to know about it as soon as possible. Most other guys would have just sent a letter regular post and had it come here whenever anyone was passing through. Not yours- it was sent priority. So your Ibiki sounds like a guy who knew that you would want to hear from him as soon as possible."
Ayumu smiled and shrugged. "Yes, but he has such things at his disposal as a matter of everyday availability. It was no big thing-"
"Sure it was! The look on your face told me so. Tell me something: who packed that shirt of his?"
"He did, he put it in when I wasn't looking."
Mrs. Akitada beamed. "See? Now tell me what man would do something like that? That is something a woman would do. He was tacitly showing his claim as well as making sure that you had a little something to remember him by. That is what I meant about having a certain depth that men rarely show or investigate in themselves."
Ayumu laughed, "So you are telling me that Ibiki is in touch with his feminine side?"
Mrs. Akitada laughed and nodded her head.
"Yes, and it is a rare and wondrous thing to see. He seems like a man who is so confident in his masculinity and his place in your heart that he can do such a thing, and without thinking twice about it. I think something like that is much more endearing and romantic then sending flowers. You can't cuddle up to flowers..."
"He did buy me some koi as well," Ayumu said shyly.
Mrs. Akitada nodded, "Again- he chose a personal gift that had deep meaning to you. Very sensitive and heartfelt. You are a lucky woman."
Ayumu hummed in agreement. "I guess that I always felt weak when placed next to women like Anko- other Nins. I mean, I can barely look after myself, and here he has always been around women that could kill by just using their pinkie finger..."
"Maybe that is why he doesn't want them; maybe he doesn't want what he considers 'run of the mill'. To him you are exotic and unusual. Maybe he likes to take care of you – nothing wrong in that. And maybe he just likes you as a person. Maybe you are what he wants. Maybe he just likes you for you and it makes him feel good."
Ayumu was quiet for a moment and then laughed wickedly at Mrs. Akitada as she thought back to the note. "I think that he likes my 'girls' a lot...I once told him that he was a slave to the sight of them."
Mrs. Akitada cupped her own generous 'girls' and smiled her own secret smile.
"Nothing wrong with that- my own husband would lay down his life to protect these 'girls'. Some men can't help but be drawn to them. Breasts enhance a woman's femininity to some men. Some men like curves, they like to know that they have a woman underneath them and not a skeleton or someone's kid brother. Besides, tell me that there isn't some physical part of him that enhances his masculinity that you aren't drawn to..."
"His wide chest and shoulders. I like a lot of things about him, but his chest and shoulders are so wonderful to sleep or snuggle against," Ayumu answered immediately.
"See? They announce his masculinity and you can't help but be drawn to them. For myself it was my husband's backside. I just loved watching him walk away…His whole backside was-and still is- very masculine and appealing to me. We are the same as men in that we are also very visually stimulated. But now tell me: what is it about him mentally that stimulates you?"
"His ability to make sense of my nonsensicalness," was her second immediate answer. "Ibiki seems to be able to wade through all the strangeness surrounding me and make everything clear. He can simplify or solve anything," Ayumu stated proudly.
Mrs. Akitada nodded again knowingly.
"He must be able to if he is in ANBU, and I doubt that he is the cook over there...So, after my long-winded and probably convoluted pontifications do you see what I am getting at? I think that you stimulate him physically as well as mentally in ways that all those other girls never were able to. I bet that if I was able to ask him these same questions that he would give me almost the same answers. Bottom line: I bet you mean a lot more to him then a shag and a smile."
Ayumu looked at Mrs. Akitada with wonder.
Mrs. Akitada stood to leave, but not before she put a hand to Ayumu's cheek and gave her a serious and almost stern warning look.
"So have confidence in yourself. But know this: if you keep thinking or acting like you expect him to cheat or want someone else he eventually will. There is nothing wrong or abnormal about being unsure, we all are from time to time. I bet he has felt unsure about himself around you, and you just didn't know it maybe. But if you keep thinking that you aren't good enough soon not only will he believe it, but worse- so will you."
And with that last piece of motherly advice hanging between them Mrs. Akitada took her leave.
Ayumu watched her exit and thought hard about her words. She was right. She was too down on herself sometimes and unsure of her place within Ibiki's life. That would stop. If Anko wanted Ibiki then she would have a fight on her hands, and the kind of fight that they didn't teach at the local Nin academy.
