Update: Same case. With the corrections, the chapter, called "Woman's Night," became too long (again, over 10k words), and I had to divide it. This is the first part. I will remove the respective first part of the text from the old chapter.
Chapter 8: Women's night
They were supposed to arrive in Kumogakure the next day. Time seemed to slip away so fast that it felt like they left their villages yesterday. At the same time, they got used to each other to the point where they felt as if they had been travelling together for months.
Ino grew anxious about the desired development of the relationship between Shikamaru and Temari. She watched them carefully, wishing for the best outcome.
When Temari demanded that Shikamaru follow her into the forest, Ino felt hopeful. She thought that her teammate would finally do something — maybe tell Temari something or make some kind of move on her. Shortly after, they came back, keeping two feet between each other. At least Temari seemed calmer.
But Ino had a reason for a heightened and could put aside other people's problems for at least a bit — they finally decided to organise a women's night tonight. She loved casual gatherings, and this one surely was going to be great: Kurotsuchi had taken care of the alcohol — she brought a few bottles of wine for the girls and a few of sake for the male population of their group. Tenten had sealed them all in a scroll, making the transport a piece of cake.
And it was finally on, so Ino spread some blankets near the trees on one of the sides of the meadow, and Kurotsuchi took a seat on one of them right away. Tenten laid down the precious scroll but didn't unseal anything yet. She wouldn't anyway, since she suspected that before the fun, they would do some work.
"I'm off to check on the traps," Tenten informed, and without waiting for an answer, sprinted in the direction of the traps she'd set earlier.
Ruka approached and shyly placed three nail polishes on the ground near the scroll. She'd heard painting nails was a part of girls' gatherings and she wanted to contribute something.
When Ameno saw that, she laughed heartily and hugged her, whispering, "Has anyone told you how cute and innocent you are?" Her question made Ruka blush, and she shook her head, denying the attention.
Temari rolled her eyes at the two hugging girls and pulled a few paper bags out of her backpack. She smirked when Kurotsuchi asked her what she had — the bags were filled with various kinds of sweets she had bought from Suna. After all, that was her village, her home, and she knew well where to go to find whatever she wanted—and at a reasonable price, of course.
"So…" Kurotsuchi stretched out on her blanket. "Do we have a dance lesson tonight?" Not that she took any part in tutoring or learning. The other women wisely ignored her refusal to participate.
"Yes!" Ruka exclaimed and blushed yet again, realising she was overreacting.
"Right…" Ino smiled. "I'm not sure Shikamaru will play along, though. He still insists his shoulder hurts, and I really don't want to massage him all the time."
"Why not if he really has medical problems?" asked Ameno, switching on her brain for business.
"Because he can't relax, and even though there is some effect from what I'm doing, he still stays stiff. It doesn't work the way it should. That and… It's really exhausting to battle him all the time. He needs a few days in a hot spring inn, and he'll be cool as a cucumber." Ino shrugged, and Ameno nodded after considering her words.
"So, you are certain he'll refuse?" Ruka bit her lower lip. "There will be only Chojuro-san as a male dance partner, then."
"Why would it be only him?" Temari interjected while sitting down beside Kurotsuchi.
Ruka frowned. "Because only Shikamaru-san and Chojuro-san can dance?" She furrowed her brows in confusion.
Temari gave her a puzzled look and asked, "What about Kankuro?"
"What about him?" Ino asked.
"He kind of hinted that he couldn't dance," Kurotsuchi said. "At the formal event in Suna, he said—"
"He stated that he couldn't be bothered," Ino interrupted. "We can only conclude he meant the dancing."
Kurotsuchi frowned. "You are right. He actually never said he couldn't."
"That sounds like him." Temari laughed. "Sometimes he can be immensely lazy. But you saw Gaara at the formal dinner. Kankuro was the one teaching him to dance since he turned out to be more patient than myself." She grinned, and a mischievous flame flashed in her eyes. "Just ask him, Ino. He has an enormous male ego — use that and he'll do whatever you want him to do." Temari winked at the other woman, gaining a wide smile in return.
Ino exaggeratedly fixed her hair, tossing it behind her shoulder. She spread her arms wide and posed. "How do I look?" she asked.
"It depends," Temari said, assessing her. "I'm going to be the first one tearing your head off if you intend to hit on my little brother while you have a boyfriend back home."
Ino sneered, pouting her lips. "Oh, come on!"
Temari shook her head with a brief smile.
Tenten caught Temari's statement when she graciously landed beside Ino with a smirk. "Judging by her taste in men for the last decade, your brother doesn't really match," she chimed in, glancing at her blond teammate playfully. "He's not nearly pale enough, nor is he thin enough; plus, he doesn't openly show body parts."
"Tenten!" Ino protested through giggles.
"What?" She chuckled. "Tell them that I'm not speaking the truth if you dare." Tenten placed a hand on one of the sides of her mouth, feigning a whisper, "They'll all see Sai. And I'm sure they all know what Sasuke looked like."
Ino wiped her laughing tears away and took a few deep breaths before heading for Kankuro, who had just sat down. He had heard the women laughing and was somehow curious, though common sense told him to stay away from giggling females. They usually brought trouble.
He raised an eyebrow at the woman who came to a halt in front of him. "Yes?"
She smiled. "I got some information from Temari that you are the man I need."
"Yeah?" He sounded cautious as he gave his sister a glance full of suspicion. "What exactly do you want?" Kankuro asked bluntly, which caused Ino's smile to fade.
"Straight to the point, eh?" Ino shrugged. "Well, so be it, then... Will you be my dancing partner for today's lesson?" She forced herself to talk sweetly.
Kankuro looked at her before turning his attention to Shikamaru, who was trying to massage his left shoulder with a frown on his face. It took him mere seconds to assess the situation and shrug nonchalantly. "Fine."
"I know that you—" Ino had prepared a whole speech about how he should agree and failed to process his affirmation.
"You don't have to convince me," he interrupted her. "I already agreed."
Ino blinked a few times, digested his response, and then nodded. Kankuro found her reaction amusing and couldn't help but chuckle. Brushing past her, he headed to the middle of the meadow, where Chojuro was already waiting with the rest of the participants in the upcoming lesson. Slowly, Ino followed him — she was so surprised at his easy agreement that it felt almost suspicious; or maybe she was used to having to convince Shikamaru into doing whatever, which always cost her much more effort.
"Let's postpone the dance lesson, shall we?" Kurotsuchi said.
"What do you have in mind?" Ameno asked.
"We should decide on the sparring pairs and do the fights we put off. Better get this over with now," Kurotsuchi stated while stretching like a cat on the blanket. "I mean… Once we open the wine, I'm not fighting."
"Good point," Temari agreed. "Though we'll still need sober guards. You know, just in case."
"Lee doesn't drink," Tenten suggested. "Plus, we can always make a draw to decide who will skip the drinking."
"True," Kankuro said, crossing his arms. "I can volunteer. I like drinking, but I can have fun without it just as well." The women looked at him with shades of doubt, causing him to frown. "What?"
"Right, let's do that now," Shikamaru interjected and gestured to the bag with marked sticks, adding, "Please, get your marks, and we'll start sparring."
Tenten was closest to the marked sticks, so she picked them up and passed the bag into Kankuro's hands. He didn't take any; instead, he offered it to his sister and Kurotsuchi, then just continued to attend to the others.
Ino was following him around with her eyes, not paying much attention. When there was only one stick left in the bag, the man turned to head to Shikamaru. That was the moment Ino perked up — she didn't see him take out any, it wasn't possible to be just one left. But then the sticks were two, and then one again. Ino frowned; she was looking at Kankuro's hands the whole time and still didn't notice him switch, add, or remove anything. Yet, the number of sticks mystically changed.
She walked up to Kankuro before he reached Shikamaru, and with the kindest smile she was capable of, she grabbed his elbow, digging her nails into his flesh. Surprisingly, his arm was hard and sinewy, which wasn't visible through his baggy clothes.
Kankuro grunted and cursed quietly. "What are you doing, strange and vicious Konoha woman?" he asked through his teeth, while slowing down and turning his otherwise calm face toward her.
"What are you doing?" she returned the question, whispering, though the bright smile never left her lips.
He gave her an assessing glance. Eventually, he sighed in resignation as he realised there was no point in trying to lie. "I'm playing fate's helper," was his final answer. Ino would have expected some guilt in his voice, but there was nothing like that. He obviously didn't feel the slightest discomfort for meddling in someone else's life.
She accompanied him to his destination and was nice enough to release his arm from her clutches.
Shikamaru was currently leaning on a tree trunk, his head against the bark, his eyes closed. He looked relaxed and unattentive, though Ino knew it was just a trick. He was able to keep track of everything going on around him while seemingly sleeping. Of course, there was a chance to seem asleep because he really was as well.
When Kankuro stopped in front of him, Shikamaru stuck a hand inside the bag without even cracking his eyes open — there was a little red square on the stick he pulled out. Ino's eyebrows shot up at the realisation but she held her mouth shut.
"What do you want, Ino?" Shikamaru's low voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"I... want to volunteer for the night shift," she said quickly.
"What?" Shikamaru opened his eyes and looked at her with suspicion. "Really. You want to stay sober and be on duty?"
"Yes," she confirmed confidently.
Her teammate's dark eyes observed her face for a few moments. Whatever thoughts he had, he didn't share them; instead, he shrugged, saying, "Suit yourself."
"Alright, if you would excuse me," Kankuro chimed in, "I'd gladly leave you two to sort the nightshift out while I find my sparring partner." He bowed and pulled his own marked stick out of his pocket — it had a small green circle.
Ino laughed out loud, mercilessly grasping his elbow. "Come on, your fate is to fight with me." She chuckled and showed both Shikamaru and Kankuro her draw — a small green circle.
Kankuro sighed loudly. "Oh, well… Let's go then."
He led her away, and when they were far enough, she whispered, "So, I see you possess the knowledge that fate needs a slight push to do its job?"
He smiled, not looking at her. "Yeah… But if by any chance she perceives that anyone is meddling in her personal affairs, she'll stubbornly pull back. I've got to be very, very careful not to cause the angry sister storm." He looked at Temari over his shoulder and smiled cheekily when their eyes met. "I'm simply giving him a chance. It's up to him how or if he'll use it."
"That's some kind of... male solidarity, that is?" Ino asked.
"You may call it that, I guess." He paused. "Though, I wouldn't do this for every man, so your definition is not fully accurate."
She nodded. "I see."
"He may be the only man, except for family and the trainers, that knows all of my sister's bad sides," he explained. "Nevertheless, he seems to be considering sharing his future with her."
Ino expressed her joy with a painful squeeze on Kankuro's elbow, causing him to growl in protest.
"Also," he added, "he has both Gaara's and my respect and approval... Would you stop stabbing me with those bird-of-prey talons?" Kankuro raised his voice with the last sentence, exasperation evident.
"Sorry…" Ino immediately released him.
Kankuro had been keeping a close eye on Ino and Shikamaru's relationship dynamics since the mission began. He wasn't sure if she could be useful in any way, but he was certain that he wouldn't want her to be against his meddling — her influence over Shikamaru was much too great to be overlooked. Kankuro definitely needed her on his side. It was decided that if he was about to use the helping hand of a supporter, the most suitable one was Ino's. Also, she seemed to know pretty much the same as him.
They stopped on the area's outskirts and faced each other. Ino looked into his eyes and delicately asked, "What about... Temari?"
He didn't answer right away; rather, he tried to assess her. She was a shinobi, however, and her face didn't give anything away.
Kankuro let his gaze drift into the distance over her shoulder. "I believe there is a soft spot in her heart for him. But honestly, I would never dare to ask. Firstly, she won't tell me, and second, she will bite my head off for prying."
Ino nodded slowly. She had her limited observations of Temari's character, and she knew that even if the other woman could talk freely about men, sex, and some other relatively uncomfortable topics, she'd avoid speaking about feelings, especially her own. Ino thought she could trust Kankuro about that one.
The sun had set about an hour and a half ago when the women filled up their glasses for the second time.
The laughter had definitely risen in level.
Ino was leaning on a tree, close to the other women, but she still paid attention to them only partially. Her shift was going to end soon, and then she was going to have a glass of wine. Until then, she listened distractedly to the jokes, her eyes scanning their surroundings constantly. She also used her chakra tracking ability periodically to make sure they were all safe.
Ruka's cheeks were deeply reddened, and she quietly chuckled at almost everything that was said. All of this was a totally new experience for her, so she decided to suppress her anxieties and live through it to the fullest.
Ameno sensed her nervousness and supported her by quietly whispering explanations of whatever Ruka had difficulties understanding. Surely, she had her reasons for lacking such experience, and Ameno wasn't the type to judge.
"Ok, girls," Kurotsuchi said and leaned forward feigning a whisper, "if you had the right to choose, who would you drag out in the forest to spend some time alone with?" She tilted her head towards the group of men talking enthusiastically on the other side of the meadow, a predatory grin on her lips.
Ino's head snapped in her direction, eyes wide.
"Kurotsuchi!" Temari exclaimed through laughter.
"What?" She asked, still grinning. "Surely there is at least one worth the effort, eh?"
Ruka chuckled. "Why would we drag them away?" A note of confusion could be heard in her voice.
"All right, sweetie," Ino said as she took a few quick steps. She reached and removed the glass from Ruka's fingers, a kind smile on her lips. She placed the glass aside, out of its owner's reach. "Let's get you a big, nice water bottle, shall we?"
Ameno got on with the task of getting water while Ino returned to her tree a few feet away.
"You don't usually drink, do you?" Tenten asked, smiling.
"Nope." Ruka shook her head — her short, soft brown hair flying around it. "N-never," she admitted.
"Don't you go to a girl's gathering back home?" Ameno asked with a curious expression.
Ruka bit her lower lip briefly before answering, "I'm not sure I have that type of female friends." She placed her thin and tender forefinger on her chin. "I have friends with whom I go shopping and to lunch; I have friends with whom I discuss my work... I don't have friends that are into drinking and partying, sadly."
"That does sound sad..." Kurotsuchi agreed, and a mischievous smile appeared on her face. "What about a boyfriend then? They can be nice drinking buddies once in a while."
Ruka froze, unable to say anything.
"You know... A boyfriend? Another person who is impatiently waiting to hold you and—"
"Don't say it!" Temari interrupted, glancing at the poor Ruka's red face.
"To get you home and—"
"Please, don't say it!" Temari insisted again, but Kurotsuchi, being herself, just ignored her.
"Make passionate love to you until you can't string two words together?"
Temari placed a hand over her face, laughing. "You still said it…"
"Come on, Temari, I even used a less ingenuous verb." She smiled and pulled the hand away from Temari's face.
Ruka tensed and gathered herself together. She waved her hand dismissively. "There is no problem, Temari-san." Then she turned to Kurotsuchi. "I want to sense the real atmosphere of women's night, even if that makes me uncomfortable. In the end, it's only us here…" She smiled briefly. "And from the impressions you've all made on me, I don't think any of you would go around telling my shameful secrets."
The women smiled as if they shared a secret with each other. Ruka was right — none of them would spread someone else's deep secrets just to keep the gossip going. Especially not when the secret could be so hurtful to such a kind and fragile soul... There were people who could handle the gossip, but Ruka wasn't one of them.
"To your question," Ruka squeezed her hands together to stop the trembling. "No, I don't have anyone that wants to hold me when I get back to Kiri." She forced a smile, her sides flushing bright red. "About getting home and doing..." She couldn't bring herself to pronounce the words.
"Mindless sex," Kurotsuchi helped with a grin.
"Y...yes, thank you," Ruka stammered and took a deep breath before continuing, "I've had quite a lot of indecent offers, though I haven't accepted any of them."
"Hm… That's interesting." Ino mumbled, raising an eyebrow. Not that she wanted to, but she made an inner comparison to Hinata and her shyness. It wasn't such an issue anymore, though. She had finally gathered the courage to confess to Naruto, and they've been happily together ever since. She was already able to talk about intimacy within their little girls' circle. So everything was possible with little support.
"Is it?" Ruka frowned.
"Don't you get a desire to have sex?" Kurotsuchi bluntly inquired; the question made Ruka's face pale quickly. "Scratch that..." she mumbled and leaned back, crossing her arms.
Ameno caressed Ruka's back for comfort. "That probably means that you haven't..." she began but chose another way of finishing mid-sentence and started over. "Will my guess be right that you haven't been with another person?"
"Not in the way you refer to, no." Ruka shook her head, still flushed by the uneasy topic but determined to push her narrow boundaries as far as possible.
"What about women?" Kurotsuchi asked, curiosity obvious on her face.
"Are you offering something in particular?" Tenten interjected with a sly smile.
"Well…" Kurotsuchi grinned. "Technically, I wouldn't mind. I've tried both men and women. Unfortunately for you, I prefer men." She winked.
Ameno laughed, shaking her head. "You, girls… Give Ruka a break, will you?"
"Thank you, Ameno," Ruka whispered, "but it is alright, really. I need to handle this." She lifted her big, pleading eyes. It was an experience of utmost importance. "I haven't tried both men and women like you, Kurotsuchi-sama, but I am still convinced I'm... into men as well," she whispered.
"Right. Anyway," Kurotsuchi looked genuinely interested, "I'm really curious how it is possible for such a pretty and nice girl like you to have a problem setting up a date and getting a boyfriend."
"I really don't think it is so interesting. I've been on dates, and it was just — I felt nothing," she explained, placing her delicate hand just above her heart. "I didn't feel anything remotely resembling what my friends describe as attraction or the feelings I've been reading about; nothing I'd hoped to feel."
Tenten nodded slowly and glanced at Ruka with compassion. She felt her sight start to get blurry and quickly brushed off her invading tears, pretending that something had gotten in her eye. Drowning the sudden feeling of suffocation in wine was out of the question as she had guard duty a bit later, and irresponsible she was not.
Ruka continued quietly, sounding more like she was thinking out loud than actually talking to the rest of the women. "But if I have to analyse it, it's weird." She paused, her brows narrowing. "Maybe it is related somehow to my missions. The usual role I have…"
"What is it then? Your role?" asked Temari, swirling her wine.
"I am… I can... blend in." She stammered, as if she didn't expect anyone to ask her about it.
"What does that mean?" Ameno wondered aloud.
Ruka sighed, and when she spoke, her voice was trembling, unsure: "I focused on changing my role to medical shinobi a little before the war outburst. Before that, my missions were part of the intelligence gathering for Mizukage-sama. You all know how it is... Every village has those shinobi." She gave a sad smile. "For me, it meant constantly being undercover — sometimes being alone, sometimes having a partner. My special ability... is to not be remembered." No one dared to say anything during the following pause. "Wherever I go, whatever I do, I just blend in."
"Oh…?" Karui raised an eyebrow.
"If you try to talk with people that have seen me for just a bit — they never succeed in giving a description of me; they can't remember how I look or how I talk."
"That sounds…" Ino started with a frown.
"No, no!" Ruka waved both her hands. "It's not a bad thing! I mean, how many people can learn to do what comes naturally to me? My abilities are unique and really useful; there is always a need for shinobi that don't really make an impression and go unnoticed."
"It's true." Kurotsuchi nodded. "For undercover missions, this is the best you can ask one shinobi to do: go there, do the job, and disappear with no trace. The less people have seen and remembered them, and been involved in general, the better."
"Exactly!" Ruka exclaimed happily. "The only negative is that it messes up my personal life."
"Do you want to... explain what you mean by that?" Karui asked as she poured herself some more wine.
"I can try." Ruka fixed her gaze on the ground for a few moments, as if she were arranging her thoughts. "For example, there was a man who invited me on a date some time ago. He was nice, good-looking, and kind. When he came to pick me up from my home, he looked shocked, as if he expected someone else. It was a really unpleasant experience. On the other hand, it was funny because his expression was priceless." She shrugged. "I've learned to look at the bright side."
"I certainly don't see a bright side in your story," said Ino under her breath. Her eyes watched Ruka's face — the girl appeared to be philosophical about her way of being. She was definitely a bit sad, not angry.
"There was another time I was supposed to meet a man in front of a restaurant so we could have dinner." She burst into laughter. "He didn't recognise me! I stood there for five minutes and finally greeted him. He greeted me back and kept waiting. I left, of course."
"I really want to hug you." Ameno declared, tears pricking in her brown eyes. "Can I?"
"It's really not necessary to take pity on me." Ruka smiled. "You see, since I started my medical education, my life has only been getting better."
Ameno still hugged her tight. "You know what… You haven't met a man who is really looking at you. But you will; just don't lose hope, alright?" She said and peck-kissed Ruka's red cheek.
As if following some silent agreement, the women let Ruka recover from the intense emotional havoc these questions had caused.
"What about you, Tenten?" Kurotsuchi asked, displaying some sort of diplomacy by changing the subject. "Have you had an inti—" she interrupted herself and frowned, going for the blunt speech she felt comfortable with. "Have you had sex, girl?"
Tenten shrugged. "I happened to share my bed with a man. However, sex has never been a primary goal or necessity. If I feel like I want to have sex, I just find someone with acceptable physics and the same desire at the same moment. Simple! Men usually don't need a lot of convincing." She smirked, glancing at the men's general direction.
"Earth bless them for that!" Kurotsuchi lifted her glass and drank, supported by all of the kunoichi who had glasses. "So who would you drag to the trees?" She leaned in, a playful flame flickering into her pink eyes.
"I don't feel an especially strong desire for any of them," Tenten admitted.
"Alright. Haven't you ever been impatient to find yourself in someone's specific embrace? A man that you really, really like? Someone special?"
"There was… But he... became a war victim," she said quietly. "Actually, we never had the chance to have sex together. Ever." She gave them a bitter smile. "That was a man I loved deeply. It's just… It just wasn't written for us to be."
Ino looked at her and caressed her shoulder, saying, "I'm sorry..."
Tenten shifted uncomfortably in her spot and sucked in a deep breath while closing her eyes. Her voice was stern. "Can we not talk about that? I don't want to ruin everyone's nice mood with my past tragedies."
The women exchanged gazes and silently agreed to fulfil Tenten's desire to drop the subject.
"And you, Karui?" Tenten turned to her briefly before finishing off her drink.
"I"— Karui slightly smiled —"have some small experience in the area." She shrugged and her eyes drifted to the ground; she didn't intend to specify anything more. "Although I have been on missions with targets I had to seduce, I've never had to have sex with anyone. If such a requirement appeared, Samui was usually the one taking it on, as she was older, more experienced, and more... feminine." She grinned, placing her hands over her small breasts, and lifted her chin up. "She has much greater natural instruments for attracting male attention and spinning their heads."
The women burst into laughter, causing a few confused gazes from the male group.
"Ameno?" snorted Kurotsuchi, wiping a few tears away.
"I've had boyfriends almost constantly for the last three years." She shrugged after successfully stopping laughing. "The sex is just that — sex. It is nice and all, but," she sighed, "honestly, what I really want is a vacation from men; from their insecurities and their permanent need for ego boosting. I just want a kind man with enough confidence that I won't have to hold his hand and support him for basically everything. Oh, and no more men that are the jealous type, please… For me, they are just... unbearable."
"I'm going to have to agree with you on that one," Temari said with a nod. "I used to have a really jealous boyfriend three-four years ago. He was stalking me! Can you imagine it? He didn't believe me when I said I was going on missions with my brother, for fuck's sake!"
"That sounds like it didn't end well." Tenten murmured, amused at the mere thought of it. The sand kunoichi was exceptionally independent and confident. Tenten just couldn't grasp the idea of a man with full possession of his faculties trying to put her under the cat's paw. It was unthinkable.
"Why would you even stay with him?" Ameno asked.
"The sex was pretty good." Temari grinned. "I was often on missions, and it was just a convenience to have someone waiting for me. He had a different perspective."
"What happened to him?" Karui asked, curious.
"Kankuro heard a comment that this man shot at me once." Temari laughed. "I couldn't bother myself with it, but... I've no idea what my brother said or did afterwards, but the next day, this boyfriend of mine came crawling. He kept apologising and begging me to end our relationship, claiming he wasn't worthy of me."
Tenten's eyebrows shot up. Smiling, Ameno nodded as if she agreed with that man's last statement. Ruka's mouth formed a surprised 'o', and Karui giggled. Ino didn't say anything but looked ahead with a hint of a smile.
Kurotsuchi glanced at Kankuro over her shoulder, then turned back to Temari. "You may be his elder sister, but it seems he cares for you quite a lot."
"Yeah..." she also looked at her brother, with a kind expression and a soft smile. "He's one of the two men who accepts and loves me exactly as I am."
"And who is the other one?" Ino asked, giving her the briefest glance.
Temari kept the same smile. "My other little brother — Gaara."
Ino smiled knowingly at Temari's ignorance about the true number of men who loved her, despite everything else. Her immensely strong intuition told her that the third one might have loved Temari differently, but surely not less.