Update: With the corrections, the chapter, called "Closer," became too long (over 10k words), and I had to divide it. This is the first part. I will remove the respective first part of the text in the old chapter.
Chapter 6: Better Understanding
The trip to Iwagakure was planned for the early morning. The whole group had been at the gate of Suna even before the sunrise. Gaara came personally to say goodbye and send them off which, once again, surprised Tenten.
"Be careful," the Kazekage said and looked over at them.
Temari approached him and grabbed him in a tight hug, whispering "You too."
When she let go, Kankuro put an arm on his brother's shoulder and looked into the pale green eyes gazing back at him. A few seconds later both of them nodded to one another and the older one's arm dropped down next to his body.
Gaara remained under the gate until the shinobi disappeared from sight. He lingered a while longer to greet the sunrise and see all the shades of orange the great sphere of fire offered to him. When the village began to wake, he headed back to the Kazekage's tower to deal with the mountain of paperwork that politely waited only for him.
That night the shinobi were meant to sleep in the desert again, but they still hadn't conducted the sparring to determine who would be in charge of the night shifts. They voted to do the fighting when they stopped for lunch at noon in order to be far enough from the village not to cause unwanted trouble.
Ino smiled — the mood in the group started to feel different. The physical distance was comfortably diminishing; there were more smiles as well as more jokes. Lее had found a characteristically and enthusiastically similar shinobi in the face of Atsui and was heatedly telling a story about Gai-sensei and his rivalry with Kakashi-sensei — there was a lot to say on the matter because all kinds of competitions existed between Gai and the current Hokage. Kakashi himself had tried his best to avoid them or at least to choose something not so engaging like Rock Paper Scissors... Also, he didn't punish himself in instances of loss.
As the youngest of the men in the group, Sagan, Itetzu and Omoi had found common language back at the official dinner the previous night. As they walked, they talked to each other and laughed quite a lot. Even their faces had changed — they obviously felt much more comfortable together than in the beginning.
Ruka walked to the left side of Chojuro because she still felt the safest when she was close to him. She perceived him as a guardian, even though she didn't need protecting at the moment. His presence on its own made her calm and… he didn't look like he minded it at all. And since she could relax, she let herself quietly hum the melody of one of the dances from the previous evening.
"It looks like you liked the dance very much. It got under your skin, didn't it?" Ameno smiled.
"Oh, yes!" She exclaimed, her cheeks slightly flushing. I have been wanting to learn to dance for years, but... the training, the shifts at the hospital, the missions... and my friends don't know how." She smiled widely yet somewhat apologetically. "You know, I am not in the suitable social circle."
"If you truly want to learn it, maybe you should ask Temari, Kurotsuchi or Shikamaru?" Ameno suggested.
"I'm not sure any of them would agree," Ruka admitted thoughtfully. "And, honestly, I don't think they would spend their free time teaching me." She shrugged. Ruka looked at herself as a realist. However, to Ameno and Chojuro her words sounded belittling, pointing out low self-esteem and a lack of confidence.
"You know what? I will try as well." Ameno leaned in to her, whispering with a kind smile. "It looks fun and very beautiful. Plus, any extra skill is only useful."
"It does look fun, doesn't it?" Ruka exclaimed, making a few shinobi that were not so deep in their own conversations look at her.
"Ruka-chan…" Chojuro spoke with a typical shy smile. "Maybe… I can try?"
Ameno and Ruka stared at him.
Seeing the women's confused looks, he felt the need to specify: "Teach you, I mean."
"Can you dance... Chojuro-san?" Ruka asked carefully, her cheeks flushing with joy.
"Mei-sama insisted on me learning to dance a few years ago," he explained. "I accompany her on various occasions, some of them including dancing. When she found out I couldn't perform even the most common steps, she demanded I learn."
"It sounds practical in your case," Ameno mumbled, a slight frown appearing on her pretty face.
"Yes, I think most of the bodyguards can dance," Chojuro confirmed thoughtfully.
"Chojuro-san…." Ruka smiled sweetly. "Can you really do that? Teach us to dance?" For a moment, she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Please?" She pulled away immediately as if frightened by her own behaviour.
He smiled, and a slight blush of uneasiness crawled over his cheeks. "Of course."
"Thank you!" Ruka grinned, despite her blush, and looked at Ameno who returned the smile.
"Thank you, Chojuro-sama!" Ameno bowed, making his blush deepen.
Ruka felt the urge to jump for joy. Although she possessed a calm nature, her reactions of joy were honest and intense, similar to those of a child on the loose. She turned to the other woman, grabbed her hands, and spun around her, still with a wide smile on her lips. Ameno was forced to swirl around herself. Some of the shinobi gave them surprised glances, but comments on the matter never appeared. If anyone thought about it as weird or inappropriate, they preferred to keep their opinions from being vocally expressed.
"Tch…" Shee sighed and frowned for just a brief moment. Anyone who looked closely at him would eventually notice the smallest smile he quickly masked with that frown. Luckily for him, no one paid attention.
Amai laughed at the view of the two shining faces of the women.
"This sounds like something that will cause me a headache," Shikamaru whispered the moment Ino grabbed his elbow. She hung on his arm for a moment and pulled him down. He gave her a curt look. "No," Shikamaru hissed.
"You can't refuse, Shikamaru!" Ino stated firmly.
"I can," he retorted.
She put the most devastating smile on her lips; her eyes were big, blue, and pleading."Please?"
He looked at her again. "Ino, we've been through this two years ago."
"But I still remember some of the steps; we won't start from scratch," she attempted to bargain.
"No," Shikamaru repeated and turned ahead.
She sighed, placing her head on his shoulder. Normally, she would use physical contact to appease her victim. In the case of Shikamaru, as she knew he didn't like being touched, she used physical contact to blackmail him. The usual stage was, "Do what I want, and I will stop touching you."
Shikamaru's look shifted to Chouji as if he were seeking support. The other man shook his head.
"You know that in the end you will give up," Ino said, fluttering her long eyelashes at him. "You can do something useful and fun instead of sitting here grumping the whole evening as you are already doing."
He sounded a bit offended, saying, "I'm not grumping."
"Oh, but you are!" Kankuro chimed in, peeking over his shoulder to look at Shikamaru with a semi-challenging smile.
"Tch." The leaf shinobi clicked his tongue in displeasure.
"Come on, Shikamaru... If you teach me how to dance, I will massage your shoulders," Ino resigned, seemingly playing a trump card she knew her teammate couldn't refuse.
He took a deep breath. Ino's hands were very capable of doing massages and removing all of those little, tense, painful knots he hated. Also, she was one of the few people whose touch he could bear at times without feeling too uncomfortable. However, he succeeded in convincing her to massage him once in a blue moon. Ino was aware of his weakness, so when blackmailing him didn't get her anywhere, she tried to bribe him.
Shikamaru smirked at his partial win. "Okay."
Ino squeezed his hand once more and happily released him from her grasp. He scratched his neck, closing his eyes briefly. Shikamaru was aware that teaching Ino to dance would be a drag, but the massage was worth it.
Haunted by guilt ever since she woke up this morning, Karui walked in silence. She knew that the alcohol removed her inhibitions very quickly because of her low weight, and she blamed herself for not stopping earlier. Possibly before ruining a potential friendship, at least.
She felt merry during the dinner while she was talking with Chouji and Shikamaru... until she blurted out a comment about Chouji's weight. She had said, "I can say you like to eat." The glare he gave her made her shiver and forced her to sober up with a flinch. Tenten had noticed and taken action right away, dragging the man out on the terrace to cool off. Karui didn't understand the acuteness of his reaction. She failed to understand why he was in denial about something so obvious. But something was gnawing at her from the inside, as none of his friends had made even light comments on the subject. And that's exactly what one's friends did: they pointed out flaws and made light remarks and jokes about them. That shouldn't be a problem, as one's closest people should love each other the way they are...
He never returned to the hall, and Karui felt utterly guilty because of that. No one said anything about it. Tenten had smiled sheepishly but never explained anything either.
Ino approached Karui in an obviously good mood. She shared that there would be dancing lessons in the evening and asked her if she would like to join in. Karui agreed without really giving it much thought. She didn't exactly care if she could learn to dance foreign dances or not.
"Tenten told me what happened last night with Chouji," Ino said quietly, moving within whispering distance of the other woman.
"I am not really aware of what exactly happened," Karui countered, because she really didn't know and she still struggled to find a logical explanation.
"Well, alright. Maybe it would help if I explained something about the Akimichi clan." Ino sighed and paused, searching for the most suitable way to explain something she had the knowledge of since she was a baby. She wanted to make sure her eventual new friend would properly understand. "There are a lot of respected clans taking part in the establishment and development of Konoha as a hidden village. The Akimichi clan is one of the four nobles."
Karui's eyebrows raised, and she crossed her arms.
"So two of the other three are probably Nara and Yamanaka?" she asked bitterly.
Ino smiled. "Actually, no. The others are the Aburame, the Uchiha, and the Hyuuga. Our clans, mine and Shikamaru's, are in a close relationship with the Akimichi because of the way our clan abilities work together and the tactical schemes we are able to accomplish between each other. We are friends, almost relatives — hell, they are like my brothers."
Karui barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes, though she couldn't hide the annoyance in her voice. "Right, I got it. Chouji comes from a noble clan, and you see him as a dear brother of yours." She paused. "What I still don't get is the connection between all of this to his… weight."
"Let me explain." Ino grabbed her elbow so Karui could be as close to her as possible and spoke in whispers. "The Akimichi clan possesses really great physical strength, as you may have noticed. But what distinguishes them from all of us is their ability to transform the calories in chakra. In order for them to do that, they need to have calorie excess all the time — so being overweight is kind of a must if they want to be able to use their clan's techniques and to be able to dip into their extra chakra pool." Ino looked the other woman in the eyes, finishing slowly with an even tone. "He doesn't really have a choice in the way he looks. In Konoha, we know that and have accepted it, so it is not a problem at all. We don't talk about it; we never tell him he is fat... It is just a part of him, of his metabolism."
Karui nodded slowly; she started to understand...
"But Karui, you won't ever find a shinobi with a better heart than his. Or a more loyal friend, or a kinder brother." Ino shrugged. "I am telling you all of this because I love him very much and I hate to see him struggle."
"I get it," Karui confirmed both verbally and with a nod. "That makes sense," she added quietly.
"I think he will understand if you tell him you are kind of sorry. I can see you didn't really mean to hurt him and he will hold this in a high regard," she whispered. "I really think you are one of the shinobi whose company he can tolerate easily and even like."
"Wha-what?!" Karui flinched and blushed, making Ino chuckle. The leaf kunoichi wisely decided to give Karui some time alone and moved away to talk with Tenten instead.
After they set up camp, the night shifts and the pairs were chosen, with both Chouji and Karui being first on duty. That night's sparring was a series of short games of shogi, which they both lost.
When the shinobi laid down in small groups near the campfire, Chouji sat silently on the ground. Karui sat down a few feet away, behind him — she had her back to him so she could observe everything that he couldn't see; and she used the distance to soothe herself as she was still feeling uncomfortable because… well, because of her words at the official dinner. Also, Ino's little admission that Karui was seen as a "likeable company" by Chouji made her feel even more uneasy. She had been called many things, but "likeable company" was not one of them. No one has ever called her something so kind in her entire life, however short it might have been. Karui was both thrilled and terrified — thrilled because she felt acknowledged for who she was without the need to pretend; terrified because she didn't know how to treat this new information correctly.
She sat silently until the last quiet conversation died out. The cold chills crawled back into her slender body. Her muscles were screaming, nagging at her to stand up and move. She didn't have much choice but to get up slowly, failing to suppress the quiet growl when one of her calves stiffened in pain. Calmly and methodically, while cursing inwardly, Karui started to massage the hard-as-rock muscle until it relaxed enough to let her step on it and walk.
Chouji had turned around, watching her carefully over his shoulder— pure pain was written all over her beautiful face. The sensation eased into something more like annoyance quite quickly. A few minutes later, she succeeded in fully standing up. Passing cautiously between the sleeping bodies, Karui aimed to reach the wide perimeter where she could make a few rounds of the camp. Chouji got up slowly and followed her without uttering a word.
When both were in the wide perimeter of the camp, Karui bent and stretched her knee a few times, then strained it backwards with her toes on the ground, trying carefully to step with her heel as well. The purpose of the exercise was to make the muscles on the back of the leg relax by applying pressure and stretching them. At least, she was trying to force them to relax. When she felt satisfied with the effect, she started to move slowly around the sleeping bodies, with Chouji walking alongside.
"I... erm..." she began quietly, causing him to cast a glance at her without responding. "Look… Ino told me about your… special… metabolism."
He now looked at her, raising an eyebrow questioningly. Maybe she imagined it, but she thought she saw a joyful flame in his eyes.
"I judged you too hastily." She sighed. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about something I don't know anything about."
Chouji slightly nodded, but kept silent.
"What I am trying to say is... that I am sorry." Karui was gazing at her feet. "I didn't mean to offend you."
A whole minute passed in silence before he broke it with an almost inaudible chuckle. "I know…"
She looked at him in surprise — his smile was really pleasant for the eye, somehow charming.
"I am also sorry. I still struggle to hold my emotions under control in some situations." His confession was accompanied with a sigh.
"I can guess those reactions come from... before? From back then, when... you were little?" she asked with a slight smile, very carefully picking her words.
"Yeah, you kind of guessed right. And sometimes I am so ashamed of my overreacting that I need to simply hide."
"So I haven't offended you then?"
He shook his head and turned his warm eyes toward her.
"I felt offended only in the very first moment after hearing your words. I needed to get away to fully calm down, but I almost immediately realised I had overreacted... Also, you were…" He hesitated to finish the sentence, causing a smile to form on her lips.
"Say it! I was drunk." She grinned.
"Well, yeah…" With a shrug, he admitted, "I felt bad and ashamed, so I just couldn't come back. I am really sorry I left you with the wrong impression — I wasn't mad or offended."
Karui kept smiling. Many times her teacher, Killer B, had repeated to her and Omoi the importance of good communication for honest relationships and the importance of discussing one's problems in order to solve them. Together with the bad rap most people couldn't understand, there was some wisdom in his words. She could finally see it.
"I think I would like to go back near the fire, if you don't mind?" she mumbled, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to warm them.
Chouji didn't need to be told twice; he turned to the middle of the camp and headed to the campfire. When he reached it, he set one more wooden piece into the hungry blaze. He then sat down, bending his knees toward his chest; Karui looked around and chose a spot a foot away from him. When she attempted to sit, he held her by the skirt with two fingers, pulling her lightly towards himself. She accepted the silent invitation and perched right beside him, gazing in the other direction; her feet were close to the fire, and her left side was receiving some warmth from a living body.
"Thank you," she whispered, resting her elbows on her knees.
"You are welcome," he replied, and his focus silently drifted off into the distance.
Karui also lifted her eyes, gazing somewhere ahead, over the flames. She couldn't believe how relaxed she felt. The sensation that filled her was one of warmth and calmness; Chouji's presence didn't threaten her or make her feel uneasy. She just accepted him in the big space he occupied, and it was just ok.
She chuckled quietly, causing him to turn.
"What's up?" he whispered.
The glance she gave him was mischievous and playful before she leaned in. "Horseradish, you say?" she asked quietly, chuckling. Then she leaned backward so she could inspect his face.
Chouji beamed brightly, and true joy could be seen in his eyes as he leaned in closer to her, whispering back, "Oh, yeah... "
When the second night shift had to take over, Chouji and Karui woke Tenten and Kankuro.
Chouji sat down near Ino and prepared himself to sleep.
Karui took her blanket out of the bag, wrapped herself in it, and sat down close to Omoi. Sighing, she tried to lay down and at least press her back to him to keep it warm; he snorted unhappily and moved to pull away from her. Karui frowned and twisted her frame into an embryonic pose, making sure to cover her feet with a double-folded blanket — she knew her feet were the first thing to get cold. Her damn body... It was so easy and comfortable to move when no extra weight was clinging to her. But on the contrary, keeping her body warm in quiescence had turned into a real problem. She shivered both helplessly and out of frustration. Omoi had never been the type to share his body warmth, anyway. When they were on missions, if she ever had to use someone's body to keep her temperature intact, Samui was the one who hugged her, and Earth blessed her hidden caring nature because of that.
From the corner of her eye, Karui caught a big shadow approaching her. Chouji was up on his feet and headed in her direction. He stopped beside her and hovered over her curled body like a giant grey cloud. She turned her head upward, meeting his eyes. They exchanged glances, silently asking and answering a question. He nodded, and she smiled, his hand reaching out to help her stand. Chouji's chin tilted toward Ino and Lee, giving Karui one more silent suggestion. She took his hand and got off the ground, still hesitant about accepting the invitation. Oh, she was so cold, but... It was almost like she was agreeing to sleep in his bed, wasn't it? Karui forcefully kicked these thoughts out of her head — no, it was nothing like that. All of them were in a common bed here, and he didn't mind sharing his body warmth with her, which Omoi didn't want to do. Chouji hadn't shown any indications of improper thoughts or behaviour. He was just being friendly and invited her to lay down beside Ino, for fuck's sake! Just next to the woman, whom he called a sister... And she was calling him a brother as well...
Karui made up her mind and nodded, squeezing his hand to let him know she was OK and ready to move. She followed him to the place where his teammates slept and laid down beside Ino. The blond woman half-opened an eye to assess the situation and, as if happy with it, snuggled with the newcomer just like a cat. Karui looked questioningly at Chouji, but he just shrugged in a gesture she translated as "It is just the way she is." Finally, he also sat down. Karui noticed he moved overly carefully to not crush her in any way, and she barely stifled the bubbling chuckle. However, Chouji spread his blanket over both of them and relaxed on his back. Right away, his eyes were closed, and he drifted off to sleep.
Karui couldn't force her eyes closed as fast. It was all too new to her and too exciting to let her relax. She looked at Ino's serene expression and imagined herself stroking her blond hair, as real female friends did. Karui was surrounded by nice people for a change; it was comforting to have those around. She would have Samui's female company, but she was older and more mature, like a mother. Ino and the rest were different, somehow warmer and closer to Karui's age.
She let herself breathe slowly and deeply. Eventually, her eyelids covered her beautiful amber eyes, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
Karui's ears perked up — there was an almost inaudible whisper coming from the second night shift. She couldn't possibly distinguish the words, and sometimes she even doubted that she was hearing any. The noise of the cracking fire made her calm, and finally she succeeded in falling asleep.
Thank you, girls :)