Updated: This chapter used to be a part of "Women's Night", but I separated them because it became too long with the changes and additions. I hope whoever reads this (if anyone) enjoys the text.
Chapter 9: Blended in circle
"You know," Atsui explained, "when I first heard that we'd be participating in a ritual, I had a really" — he hesitated for a second — "perverted idea about it."
"What do you mean by 'perverted'?" Amai asked, caution flickered in his eyes.
"Well, in general, there are rituals that include... What was the polite word?" He paused, frowning. "Ah, 'copulation', that was it."
Amai shifted to fully face the younger shinobi but kept silent, letting him finish his thought, even though it sounded like a bad idea already.
"So I thought that maybe it would be something like that." He shrugged. "Or at least similar."
Omoi narrowed his eyes, while Ittetsu blushed in discomfort. It wasn't that they didn't talk about those kinds of matters, but somehow it felt odd to do it in front of the older men.
Chouji exchanged gazes with Shikamaru and Lee; unspoken wonder could be read in them.
Shee halted the glass just before it reached his mouth. His eyes shut briefly, as if he refused to believe that the conversation was actually going in such a direction.
Chojuro blinked a few times and let his head hang low, strangling a chuckle.
Ittan, keeping a calm and restrained tone, spoke, "You are right about the existence of rituals like that; it's a fact. Despite that, they've never had anything to do with honouring someone's self-sacrifice." He made a pause, letting his words sink into Atsui's overly hormonal brain. "So, I'd say, your train of thoughts seems to be travelling in a strange direction."
Kankuro flashed a mischievous smile. Leaning in, he asked with an amused voice, "And what did you imagine exactly?"
"I bet it was something like 'sex with a masked stranger'?" Omoi teased; a faint redness could be noticed on his cheeks.
"Actually, yeah… Something like that." Atsui blushed but didn't back down.
"Or at least similar?" Kankuro added, repeating the unfortunate Kumo shinobi's sentence from earlier.
"This is absurd." Shee breathed the words out, resembling a hiss. He took a big sip of his drink, finishing it. His hand shot up in Chouji's direction, presenting the empty glass for a refill. He'd definitely need more sake to handle all of this.
Shikamaru took a deep breath and let it out slowly; it was about time to interject.
"Alright, then. Let's assume you're serious and this isn't an awkward attempt at a joke—"
"I wasn't joking about my initial thoughts," Atsui interrupted.
"Then, I'm taking your initial thoughts seriously. Let's analyse them, shall we?" Shikamaru didn't wait for confirmation; instead, he continued, "I insist on emphasising that 'copulation' is a deeply intimate act coming from a mutual desire for physical closeness between two individuals. All of this aside from some exceptions we are not discussing right now." He clicked with his tongue and went silent for just a moment while holding Atsui's gaze. "Anyway! We come across a few basic pragmatic problems." There was irritation in his voice, which he quickly suppressed.
Ittan quickly hid the small underbreath smile at Shikamaru's approach — just like a patient adult towards a naughty child. Despite the age difference of hardly a year that Atsui and Shikamaru had, there were a few aspects that the former seemed to be much more immature about.
"Firstly, it's important to note that most of us have a preference for an eventual partner with whom we'd have intimate encounters... So, forcing anyone to participate in these activities with a random person seems... irrational."
"What about arranged marriages? Aren't people forced to have intimate encounters and children?" Ittetsu asked, visibly embarrassed.
"Frankly, arranged marriages have different purposes than simply sex," Kankuro answered. "They're used for strengthening relationships between clans and inside some of them. Their existence is mostly political, but it also often serves to salvage important and rare talents and genetic traits. Plus, creating children and living with certain people don't appear in these rituals we're discussing."
Ittetsu frowned at the explanation, though he couldn't ask anything more because Lee's voice could already be heard, interjecting.
"What is your type, Shikamaru?" He knew full well it would annoy the team leader.
And as predicted, he pressed his lips together tightly before turning his gaze to Konoha's young green beast. "That doesn't really matter, Lee. I'd be grateful if you just held your questions for later."
Ino was the first to notice the lack of laughter; the other group was weirdly silent all of a sudden. She perked up and looked over there. Shikamaru was speaking, drawing all of the men's attention. Something interesting is going on.
"Our girl's night has come to an end," she said with a serious face.
"What?" Ameno blinked in confusion.
The rest of the women looked at Ino, expecting further explanation, which she gladly offered: "The time has come that we move our little circle over there." She pointed at the guys. "And merge with them. Believe me, it'll be even more fun this way."
Kurotsuchi burst into laughter, while Temari just shook her head. Karui frowned, obviously not thrilled by the idea. She was tired of spending her time in male's company.
Ameno got up slowly and helped Ruka to her feet.
"You go," Ino said. "I'm finishing my shift, and I'll join you afterwards."
Tenten stretched her arms. "Should I take on the next one, or Ittetsu would?" she asked.
"He asked me to let him know when my turn is over. Come on, have half a glass of wine. You should be fine until your shift comes."
"I'm on it." Tenten grinned and didn't wait for a second invitation to pour wine in her glass.
Next, the women silently approached the improvised men's circle and stood behind their backs.
"Secondly," Shikamaru said, his eyes skimming briefly over the newcomers; his gaze switched to Kankuro and finally to Temari, but it didn't linger there, "in theory, if we follow the same protocol for picking up pairs via random draw, there will be a chance for a brother and sister to pair up together. Meaning, they'll have to have sex with each other, which is... wrong." He carefully picked the last word.
Kankuro snorted and chimed in, "Just call it by its real name — disgusting." He turned and looked at his sister, who was standing a few feet to the right of him, arms crossed. "You agree with me, don't you, Tem?"
She couldn't help but return his grin. "I completely agree. You're many things to me, Kankuro, but the man I'd take to my bed?" She shook her head, emphasising. "Nope."
"Sharing your feelings, sis."
"Due to all my respect, even if you weren't my brother, you are just not my type."
"This almost hurt, you know, being rejected so squarely" Kankuro laughed without showing any emotional discomfort; he looked like he was having a lot of fun. Though he opened his mouth to say something more but changed his mind and kept silent instead. That's not the right time.
"The emphasis here should be on the improperness, not really on your desire or lack of it," Ittan interjected.
"That's right. I'm sure we all agree that it is improper." Temari looked at Shikamaru and lifted her chin. He had closed his eyes and was rubbing his temples.
The tiny hairs on Shikamaru's neck stood up, a wave or excitement washed over. His lips curled in an invisible smile — there was no mistake, only Temari could shake his inner self with just a mere look. He lowered his arm and searched for her teal eyes.
"You can go on, Nara," she encouraged, even though she knew he didn't need any encouragement.
"Thank you, princess," Shikamaru said, using one of his nicknames for her that he knew she particularly disliked; she failed to hide her frown. "Third, there are minors in the group. Although it's paradoxical, age is not legally a barrier to killing, but it is a barrier to having sex, at least in the formal sense. And since the rituals are strictly formal, shinobi under the age of 18 can't be involved in any way."
There were a few chuckles and smiles when he mentioned the paradox. The group, however, played nicely, and no one interrupted. Atsui patted Omoi on the back with feigned pity; Omoi was turning 18 at the end of the year. He brushed away his fellow villager's hand, annoyance clear on his face.
Shikamaru tapped his fingers on the edge of his glass and continued: "And last but not least, fourthly. I want to emphasise that I've never been, and I'm still not, interested in any other fellow shinobi's sexual preferences regarding the biological sex of their partners. I still must mention the possibility that some shinobi, even amongst us, can be attracted to the same sex as their own."
Most of the shinobi glanced at each other, as that thought had never passed through their heads.
Kurotsuchi, being already tipsy, loudly cheered, drawing attention to herself. "Tell them, brother!" she exclaimed, making Temari burst into laughter.
Ittan smiled and shot a glance at Ittetsu, noticing his deep blush. The poor boy had no idea how to react to their leader's thoughtful and inclusive words.
"Atsui," Shikamaru's voice rose above the chatter, "I think we've covered the aspects according to your thoughts and why this is generally a bad idea." He paused briefly, as if debating whether he should continue or remain silent. "I'm… aware that I'll most probably regret it... I'm going to ask anyway: is there anything else you'd like to discuss on the matter?"
"Shikamaru," Lee interjected again, a wide smile on his face. "You didn't answer my question." Shikamaru turned to him with a murderous look in his dark eyes. "It is 'later' now, so... what's your type?"
"That's something I'm really curious to hear as well," Kankuro admitted, looking mockingly at Shikamaru.
"I can assure you," he said slowly after cleaning his throat, "that neither of you two is my type."
A wave of laughter burst out from the females. Some of the males also laughed, some just chuckled or grinned, but the whole mood suddenly became lighter. If the leader was joking, everything was fine again.
Kankuro placed his large hand over his heart and declared as seriously as he could, "You just broke my heart, Nara..." Only then did he wipe away the tears of laughter.
Shikamaru allowed himself a chuckle and returned one of his rare, genuine smiles to Kankuro. His eyes travelled a bit up and to the side until they were looking straight into the eyes he really wanted to look at.
Temari smiled at him freely, unrestrained — she was joyful, her cheeks flushed beautifully by the laugh and the wine; she seemed relaxed and in a good mood. But her expression changed to a serious one when he continued keeping his eyes locked with hers. In a few moments, her lips curled into a daring smile, as if she were trying to provoke him. The alcohol in her system had crumbled her walls of restrictions and formalities; she wanted him to come closer, she was ready to let him come closer.
His barely visible smile lingered on his lips — he liked her challenge; it was a game of turns, and he was good at those. His look intensified considerably as he focused solely on her. His attention was unwavering and so dense that it could probably be touched.
Shikamaru's analysis from earlier caused enough commotion to launch discussions within the group. So those gazes, between their leader and the princess of Suna, remained unseen to the rest of the shinobi. Unseen by almost everybody…
Kankuro took out one of his harmless puppets seemingly out of nowhere and put on a short show while vividly telling a story. He successfully stole the show.
Ameno quietly stood behind Amai and enjoyed the performance with one hand wrapped around Ruka's shoulders. She didn't know why, but she had felt a strong urge to protect Ruka, just as she would have done with a little sister. If she had one, that was…
When she laughed out loud at one particularly funny joke in Kankuro's story, Amai turned and saw her. His whole face lit up, and a happy smile appeared on his lips. He moved to the side, successfully breaking eye contact, and created enough space for both women to sit.
Ameno chuckled and took the mute invitation, stepping forward and taking the place next to him with no hesitation. Ruka, on the other hand, didn't dare to move but remained standing, her cheeks flushed.
Already seated, the older woman patted the ground beside herself and lightly pulled down the cloth of Ruka's vest, encouraging, "Come, sit down."
Ruka looked at the ground where she was supposed to sit as if she expected a direct call from it. Eventually, she nodded and attempted to step into the circle. But… She didn't consider how badly her balance had suffered because of the wine. She stumbled forward only to be caught by two strong hands — Ameno and Shee; each of them grabbed an arm at the same time. They supported the Kiri kunoichi until she found her balance again.
Smiling with embarrassment, Ruka was the sole personification of shame. If it was possible to disappear in a cloud of smoke, she probably would have taken the chance. Though even impossibly red, she focused on sitting successfully on the ground.
"I am really sorry to cause you trouble..." she apologised quietly. "I'll definitely be much more careful from now on."
Ameno smiled; Shee settled for a simple nod, choosing to stay quiet.
"We found out that the wine seems to be too strong for her," she explained cheerfully.
Shee looked at Ruka rather curiously than with annoyance. The sake had started to have an effect on him, increasing his tolerance for general stupidity. If he wasn't slightly dazed, he surely would have been pissed by Ruka's clumsiness. Normally, he would feel disturbed by her proximity; also normally, he would see the fact that her shoulder was touching his arm, unacceptable. But he didn't, thanks to the sake's intervention.
Chouji relaxed his head backwards and met Tenten's hazel pools, sparkling merrily; she nodded at him with a smirk. He shifted his gaze slightly and was met by Karui's hypnotising amber eyes; she raised her glass in greeting.
As Kankuro was standing in the circle, still telling the story, his place beside Chouji was currently vacant. Tenten headed there, pulling Karui between Chouji and herself. She sat down, stretched her legs ahead to the centre of the circle, and laid back with a sigh. She'd drunk half a glass of wine, as Ino suggested earlier. The alcohol has started to relax her, making her sleepy. Usually, there were two routes she could take from now on: either she could keep drinking to get over the sleepy phase and reach the true merry phase, or she could stop drinking and wait for the sleepiness to wear off. The first option wasn't a valid one under the current circumstances.
When Kankuro finished his performance, he put the puppet back in its scroll while the shinobi were still laughing. His mouth was firmly pressed, as if in annoyance, despite the fact that there was no obvious reason for it. He turned around to go back to his spot and halted right away — there was no spot available. Seeing the question in his raised eyebrows, Karui shrugged, smiling widely. Tenten didn't pay him any attention and kept lying down with blissfully closed eyes.
Kankuro's lips curled up in a predatory grin as he stalked forward.
Tenten's eyes snapped open at the sudden change in air. Less than a second later, she saw Kankuro's painted face hovering about a span away. He'd placed his palms on both sides of her head, supporting himself, and his knees were on both sides of her thighs.
She had frozen.
He ignored the laughter, whistles, and joking exclamations; he focused solely on her wide-opened hazel eyes. "Hi," he whispered, smiling. His breath caressed her face, and she sensed the light scent of sake. "I think you're on my spot."
Tenten shuddered when a memory of Neji landing on her this way after gruesome training appeared uninvited in her head. It was just before the war. His face with those almost white eyes was as close, his hands on the same spots, despite the fact that he had supported himself on his elbows; his hip had hit her thighs at the time, and she had carried the bruise for a week. The surprising similarity had her pulse rapidly accelerating, and a sudden wave of fear troubled her breathing. She shrank instinctively. Her brain forced her out of the memory fast enough, and she forced her hands up. Tenten placed her palms on his chest and pushed slightly in an attempt to make him move away. Her knees bent as her soles unwillingly searched for the ground's support so she could get up. She could have kicked him, but, strangely, this reaction seemed blocked.
"Hey, easy…" He said it quietly.
Hearing Kankuro's voice, not Neji's, helped her to completely overcome the painful flashback.
She swallowed, hoarsely whispering back, "It was free when I came here."
There was a teasing smile on Kankuro's lips at first when he pounced on her, but her reaction quickly erased it, and caused a serious expression instead. Then he'd seen it — the rising panic in her eyes. Her pupils had become enormous, and the warm hazel colour had almost disappeared, leaving her irises mostly black. Tenten's face had stiffened, and her lips paled. Her hands trembled slightly.
A genuine concern settled on his face as he whispered slowly, "Tenten, please calm now." He instantly pushed himself back up and added, "I am going to pull away." The moment he felt stable enough, he retracted his hands from the ground, gaining distance.
To spare the group from worry, Kankuro masterfully kept a smile on his face, erasing everything else completely. It looked as if his joke had been successful.
Tenten sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly while briefly closing her eyes. One-two, breathe in, one-two, breathe out, she kept repeating, forcing her mind and body to relax. I'm stronger than that!
Kankuro wasn't going to hurt her; she knew that. His intention was simply to joke around; no harm was intended. She needed to let him know everything was alright, so she sat up hastily and grabbed his sleeve.
"Please…" she whispered. A plea in her eyes asked him to keep quiet about what had just happened.
"No worry," he whispered back with a curt nod and a smile.
Tenten patted Omoi's shoulder, asking him to move aside so Kankuro could sit beside her. She'd forced a smile — it was the best choice of weapon to convince the rest that everything was fine.
She didn't consider Ino. Her blond teammate had a perfect view of Tenten's wide and frantic eyes. But Ino had strong common sense and a sharpened sixth sense. She knew meddling was not needed and didn't take any action.
Ino's shift had ended, and she headed towards the circle of people. Her eyes quickly assessed every shinobi and landed on Shikamaru's gaze, which was so intense that her back hair stood up. She didn't remember seeing him look at anyone this way, so she followed it. It took her mere seconds to grasp the situation.
A wide smile decorated her pretty face.
Making a slight turn towards Temari, she stopped beside her, still grinning like the Cheshire cat. "There isn't enough space here," she said, snapping Temari out of her hypnotic state.
"You mean?"
"Let's go sit somewhere else." Ino grabbed her hand, completely dispelling the magic.
"Where?"
"We can sit in Ittetsu's place when he leaves." Ino noted, seemingly thoughtful.
"Is your shift over?" Temari asked smoothly, the expression of provocative amusement still lingering.
"Yes. It's wine time."
"Sure it is," Temari chuckled as Ino dragged her ahead. In a few more steps, Temari's breath hitched — she realised Ittetsu was located just next to the person she had challenged earlier.
Ino didn't stop, so she didn't give her a chance to protest. They passed near Kurotsuchi and kept walking until they reached Ittetsu.
"It's your turn," Ino informed him. "I suggest you climb up, though." The young shinobi nodded and stretched before preparing to jump on the tree Ino had pointed out. With a few deft leaps, he climbed up and hid from sight.
Clicking unhappily with her tongue, Ino turned to Temari. "I left my glass at our previous place. I'll just go grab it and come right back," she explained while already heading to the little, extinguished fire across the meadow.
Temari braced herself, taking a deep breath. Only then did she slowly turn to Shikamaru — he was looking at her. With a curt pat on the grass, he invited her to sit.
"I'm good, thanks," she tended to refuse, still standing.
"Temari," he insisted with amusement, "I'm not gonna bite you."
She looked at him, taken aback. "I know you won't bite." With disbelief still all over her face, she slumped to the ground, sighing.
To her surprise, he leaned closer. "Actually, I would bite you," he confided in her, whispering. She froze, gaining a chuckle on his part. "Only if you'd let me, of course…"
"Shikamaru..." she warned him, breathless.
Her hand reached for his cup and pulled it out of his hand. She drank the liquor in big gulps under his amused gaze. Temari knew that she had challenged him just a moment ago. Still, she didn't expect him to take her up on it. Flirting was something she'd never heard or seen him do. Chills shook her whole body; confusion filled her mind.
And in need of more alcohol…
When she issued the challenge, Temari wanted him to do something, while at the same time suppressing the fear that he'd actually do something. Now, standing in front of his ready-to-return-the-challenge self, she was mainly unsure and rather scared than happy. How the hell would she handle Nara, who stepped up and behaved like a man, not backing down?
But as she looked deeper into his eyes, a realisation settled in her dizzy mind — that was the moment she was going to get answers to the questions she didn't dare ask.
Come on, girl! You can do this! You've been wanting this for a long time! Have the guts to see what his response will be!
The only thing she needed to do was relax and go with the flow, keeping her walls down.
"What do you mean?" Lee shouted, drawing the group's attention to himself. "How could you possibly measure something like 'good in sex'?" The question was thrown mercilessly at Atsui with all the indignation his being could hold.
"Well…" Atsui stumbled. He didn't expect the discussion to provoke such a sharp reaction from an otherwise cheerful Lee. "To... like the sex with her?" he tried.
"Your personal preferences couldn't be taken as a measuring scale for something so subjective," Lee reiterated, his face red.
Atsui looked at him as if he had just started to speak another language… or suddenly turned into another creature.
"But still, you can't deny that the sex with some women is better than the sex with other ones," he said carefully.
"You may find sex with a certain person pleasant, but there's no guarantee that each of us would find sex with the same person pleasant to the same degree as you," interjected Shee, who was currently finishing his third cup of sake. "Lee-san's right. Because the experience of sex is subjective, it can't be measured on a" — he gestured as if looking for the correct expression — "standard scale." He paused briefly and added, "Also, it's an intimate act, and you shouldn't measure it on a scale. It's disrespectful at the least."
Atsui looked even more confused; his face was flushed.
"Think about it: How many women out of 20 do you believe you'll be "good in sex" for based solely on their subjective opinions?" Amai inquired. Although he had been listening since the discussion started, he spoke just now.
"I can answer that — less than one fourth," Shee said impassionately.
An expression of bewilderment and helplessness appeared on Atsui's face.
Ruka's compassionate nature forced her to speak. "Five," she said. "Shee-san means less than five out of twenty."
Shee granted her a curious look and raised his cup in approval, though his face remained still.
"Really?" Atsui was obviously taken aback.
"For real." Amai nodded after exchanging looks with Shee. "Let's look at a realistic example, hm?" He didn't wait for his younger teammate to agree but continued, "There are seven women here," he said, making an open gesture with his hand. "If we accept that you sleep with each of them—"
"What!?" Temari snapped, making the man blush and frantically wave his hands.
"No, no, I'm not making suggestions! It's just an example..." Amai explained, his cheeks burned red. When Temari relaxed, he turned to Atsui once again. "So in this case, you'd probably like the sex with no more than three of them, which is about half. Well, two and a half, but in this case, half a person is not a brilliant idea…" He mumbled the last sentence under his breath. "Anyway! With no more than two of those three, the sex could be really good. And eventually, maybe one of them will find having sex with you great."
Ameno nodded at his words.
Ruka was stuck in a stance of deep blush since she had helped Atsui with the simple maths. She had stopped drinking the moment Ino took her glass away, but the effects of dizziness and her wildly running emotions were still present. She was really struggling to maintain some kind of loose control over herself. In the beginning, her senses had become painfully sharper. Both the scent and warmth coming from the two shinobi, Shee and Ameno, next to her were enough to overload her senses. She felt a compelling urge to get away from there, needing silence, darkness, coolness, and calmness. Ruka's body acted on its own and attempted to get her up on her feet.
"What's wrong?" Ameno asked, her voice worried.
"I… I've got to get away…" She placed a hand over her own forehead. "I have a strong headache that becomes worse with loud noise; I feel nausea; my hands are shaking; everything's just... too much," she tried to explain. "I've got to get away," she repeated almost desperately.
"Alright." Ameno attempted to get up; she intended on accompanying her. It was obvious that leaving Ruka alone at the moment would be irresponsible.
Shee dismissed Ameno with a wave of his hand, saying, "I'll go. All of this starts to be too much for me as well. The sex talk isn't something I'm anxious to take part in."
He got up easily, sure on his feet; it looked as though the alcohol didn't have any effect on his balance. Carefully grasping Ruka's upper arm, he led her to the side, at the end of the meadow. It wasn't far, nor was it especially quieter, but it was darker, and he knew that decreasing visual stimulus would do wonders for her.
"I think I should still go," Ameno whispered, watching after her teammates.
Amai chuckled. "No fear. Shee-sama is one of the best medics in Kumo. And he has extremely sharp detection abilities. Ruka couldn't be any safer."
Ameno bit her lower lip, unsure, but eventually nodded and leaned towards him before whispering, "It's not the lack of skills that worries me, but his awkward... personality," she confessed.
The man looked at her with amusement. "He may be austere; that's true. He isn't a bad person. I've seen him being gentle and caring." The soft smile made his face even more handsome. "You see, Shee-san has to look tough. He's Raikage A's bodyguard. You must understand that he's supposed to demand respect, and he does that via fear."
"Kankuro and Temari are also bodyguards of the Kazekage, but they don't emit fear and—"
"I can't agree with you," Amai interrupted. "Temari-sama makes me bristle and get goosebumps." Ameno gave him a wide-eyed look. "And they are definitely not of the good kind," he specified jokingly.
"Are there different types of goosebumps?" Ameno chuckled.
"Yes."
"And what's the 'good kind' then?" She asked, aware she was involving herself in a hopefully harmless flirt. Because, frankly, she wasn't looking for anything in particular — not a relationship, not casual sex, not even a one-night stand — just a pleasant evening, that was all.
Amai smiled. The glint in his eyes caused her to get goosebumps on her own. He leaned in towards her ear and whispered something that made her blush.
Tenten looked at Lee; he was carefully listening to what Amai and Shee were trying. Atsui, on the other hand, didn't seem to agree with them, judging by the expression on his face.
Attracted by sudden movement, her sight drifted to the left: Shee had gotten up on his feet. Tenen's eyes followed him as he supported Ruka, leading her to the side. The girl wasn't stable on her feet.
"Oh, that looks promising," Kankuro mumbled, amused, drawing Tenten's attention.
She turned to him, meeting his warm eyes. A mischievous spark flickered briefly in them as he tilted his chin towards Amai and Ameno — he had just whispered something to her; she was blushing.
"Well, what do you know, eh?" he chuckled.
"Don't you have anything better to do?" Tenten asked him mockingly, forcing a feigned offended look from him. "Something better than sticking your nose in other people's personal affairs, I mean?"
"No," he said bluntly; she laughed. "Plus, they don't seem to mind… They aren't hiding, are they?"
"What do you want to say with that exactly?!" Lee exclaimed, grabbing all the attention.
"Now what?" Tenten hissed quietly.
Kankuro shrugged. "I'd bet he didn't agree with Atsui yet again."
"Hush! Let's listen to find out." Karui invoked silence; she looked like she was having a good time herself, witnessing all kinds of shows.
"Women with more experience should be better at it," he stated. "Scilicet, I'm sayin', older women are expected to be better at sex."
"Expected by whom?" mumbled Karui, chuckling.
Tenten raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Obviously, by your soon-to-be-dead villagemate."
Karui glared at her as if she didn't want to be reminded about their mutual place of birth and service.
"That sounds frivolous to me," Kurotsuchi taunted, interjecting.
"Oh, now he's gettin' his ass kicked hard," Kankuro commented, drinking from his glass. He'd love the liquid to be sake, but it's been water for some time now. He also had night shift duty, and keeping a sober judgement was important. Fortunately, he envisioned a good show coming his way. Had he had a bag of popcorn, he'd certainly stick a hand in it right about now.
Kurotsuchi sipped slowly from her drink before continuing, "I noticed you liked examples, so... Let's look at an example with three women of the same age, say, 25. If one of them started having sex at 16, the other at 20, and the third one had sex just a few times at the age of 21... Who would be the most 'capable' and 'experienced' according to you?"
Atsui saw the warning gleam in her eyes a bit too late; he realised that he was going to be doomed no matter what answer he gave.
"Erm… The one that started at 16?" he carefully suggested, frowning.
"So, if the age is the same, what matters in this case is the real experience. Do you agree?" She smiled almost pleasantly.
Atsui nodded... cautiously.
"Now, when comparing the first one, when she was 18, and the third one, when she was 21, the first one will still have more practical experience, despite being three years younger." Kurotsuchi leaned forward; her smile turned into a grin. "That's why I say age isn't important," she concluded, and Atsui couldn't disagree; he didn't dare to either.
Ittan shook his head. "Age and experience can be extremely subjective, so you can't rely on them to assign a certain value to someone's abilities, especially something like sex." He kept his voice calm.
"Well," Kurotsuchi smiled playfully, successfully maintaining an innocent expression, "the age can matter if you talk about some serious difference, coming with a lot of experience, take 30 years, for example. But, Atsui, you don't strike me as the type to fall for women that are much older than yourself."
The disgust written all over his face forced a laugh out of her, leaving bitterness burning in her chest. Sometimes the restraints and narrow minds of some people made her really angry. But she kept her smile on. She'd learned to mask her feelings perfectly. She had to. The pain related to certain memories still lingered, far too real. Fuckin' old vultures, she couldn't stop but think before coercing her mind to leave the memento fade.
"That nailed it," Kankuro commented quietly, leaning in; Tenten nodded silently.
"Ok, let's look at it from another point of view," Lee said, crossing his hands in a challenge. "You agreed with Kurotsuchi-san about the experience over a period of time and age. What do you say about the number of partners?"
"Oh, really, Lee?" whispered Tenten desperately. "Why do you keep encouraging him?"
Kankuro chuckled; she was kind of cute when exasperated.
Atsui blinked, realising he was in the spotlight again.
"What is the matter with that criteria for 'good in sex', according to you? How many partners do you think are enough for a person to develop the required 'skills'?" Lee elaborated. He seemed to rant about this particular topic more than usual.
"All of that matters for sure," Atsui agreed carefully.
"Poor thing, he will be torn in pieces very soon." Tenten pursed her lips.
"I think it's time to end this," whispered Kankuro just before he cleared his throat. "It doesn't matter," he said loudly enough to gather all of the looks. "It absolutely doesn't matter what one's skills in sex are or if their experience is comparable to another's." He paused to smile. "It doesn't matter, neither in terms of the time period one has been practising it nor in terms of the number of partners."
Atsui frowned at him. Kurotsuchi narrowed her eyes, as if she wondered where he was going with this.
Kankuro chuckled and continued, "I'm going to make a comparison here to help you get what I mean. The sexual experience with the same person, Atsui, can be looked at just like training with the same partner. The more you train together, the better you get at it. You can predict each other's moves; you can perform more complicated combinations; you can learn new techniques; and your training sessions become more satisfactory. All you need for mutual understanding is a gesture or a word; sometimes even a glance is more than enough." Kankuro paused, letting his words sink in. He'd carefully shaped his voice to not be too serious, but it lacked a mocking undertone as well. "And it doesn't matter at what moment you've started to train together; it's of lesser importance if any of you had other trainer partners before that — it may bring profit or not. But if you give it all, it gets better."
Tenten was left agape. That wasn't something she expected to hear when this discussion started. And from Kankuro, of all the people in the group… He didn't give off the vibe of a faithful gentleman. He might be a serious shinobi in his family and village. Anyway, he left an impression of a crude person and kind of a joker in his personal life.
"Impressive," Tenten whispered, giving him a smile.
"Well said, brother," cheered Temari with a grin, which Kankuro returned.
"There you go — something rational," Ittan said, turning to Atsui, ready to explain further. "When you have sex with the very same person — it doesn't matter if they're a man or woman — they learn what you enjoy the most, as you do for them. A trust appears. In addition, if the person is a woman, all the factors like her breasts' or bottom's size, her legs' length, or whether she makes sounds during the act of intimacy, just disappear."
Atsui opened his mouth to counter, but Ittan didn't give him a chance.
"All of the physical traits and appearances of a person lose meaning when you realise that your heart is in their grasp." He smiled. "The only thing left then is to hope that the hands holding your heart will treat it gently."
"And be gentle in return," Amai added.
A heavy silence fell over the whole group. The group, especially the women, was watching Kankuro and Ittan closely, first one, then the other. It was rare to hear mеn talk this way; it was pleasing to the ears, particularly if it was a genuine opinion instead of an impudent lie.
"Although," Kurotsuchi said, casting away the spell, "I can't help but mention one more case. Sometimes a one-night stand is all one needs to relieve sexual tension. Also, part of the experience is to never see the other's face again."
"Yes." Ittan nodded with a smile. "I think all of us have such moments sometimes."
"There are such urges, definitely." Kankuro backed her up. "And in case you've got a reason to stay away from a proper relationship… It's a good option."
"So you do that as well, don't you?" Lee asked.
"Personally, I like it more to have someone waiting for me at home. Moreover, I prefer to wake up beside the same person I've fallen asleep with." He grinned playfully.
"Because it happened to wake up beside someone else?" Kurotsuchi laughed, gaining yet another wide grin from him but not a verbal answer.
"Anyway! This way, neither of us would have to sneak out, taking the famous 'path of shame'."
Ino chuckled, and while shaking her head, she sat down between Temari and Chojuro, a full glass of wine in hand.
"That was... almost kind," Tenten whispered, nudging Kankuro lightly with her shoulder. She'd started to realise that the first impressions of sharpness, bluntness, and insouciance were like the paint he had on his face — it only served as a superficial layer, aiming to deceive and cover what was really underneath.
Tenten could almost swear she saw a faint blush on his cheeks as he smiled.
Shee took Ruka far enough away so the chatter wouldn't be so loud, even if it was still clearly heard. His intention was to relieve her discomfort by reducing the visual stimulus she received.
He spread a blanket on the ground near a tree's roots, and she just crumbled on it without waiting for an invitation or permission. She attempted to lay down on her back. Shee didn't let her do that, grabbing her shoulders.
"Slowly," he insisted.
She looked at him and concentrated on his eyes. Her mouth unwillingly opened as if to speak, but no words came out. Her face contorted into a helpless grimace.
"Your vestibular apparatus," he continued explaining in an even, impassioned voice, "is currently suffering. Fast changes in your body position will lead to severe headaches, nausea, and most likely vomiting."
Ruka hardily tore her gaze from his almost black eyes. She knew all that he said, of course. But knowing and applying the knowledge happened to be two things she couldn't make a connection between. So she just nodded.
The man loosened his grip, allowing her to slowly lie back.
Her eyes' focus shifted, and she tried to distinguish the tree's branches against the dark sky's background.
A sudden, pleasant sensation brought her attention back to her own body — warmth was fusing over her stomach, and a faint blue glow hovered above her, emitted by Shee's hands. He was healing her, relieving her nausea, even if just a bit.
Ruka closed her eyes, savouring the nice feeling.
Shortly after, a rustling noise reached her ears. A sigh followed. Turning her face aside, she saw that Shee had seated himself beside the nearest tree and had leaned his back against its trunk. His legs were stretched out in front of him, his hands resting in his lap.
He met her eyes. "How do you feel?" he asked while examining her face for any indications of physical discomfort.
"Better," she admitted, turning her body to the side and placing a hand under her cheek. "Thank you."
"You should think twice before drinking that much again." Shee's voice lacked accusation; rather, he was calmly stating a fact.
"Yes, I am aware of that," she replied. "I really wanted to embrace all the sides of the adventure called 'women's night'," Ruka smiled shyly.
"Women's Night, as far as I understand, has the purpose of giving you an opportunity to have a good time." For a brief moment, his lips pressed tightly together as if he were reasoning. "If the alcohol doesn't make you feel well and have a good time, it's something that you don't have to do."
"Yes… But if I hadn't been drinking tonight, I wouldn't know it doesn't make me feel good," she replied. Her black, bottomless-lake-like eyes looked straight at him, a serious expression on her face. "I just have to stop after half a glass."
Shee nodded curtly. "That sounds reasonable," he agreed softly.
His head leaned back, and his eyes closed.
Ruka didn't want to shut the conversation down yet. It was her first chance to talk with this person without her personal restrictions getting in the way. She was looking up to him and inwardly wanted them to converse, but she was always too shy and cautious to do so. "What about you, Shee-san? How does the alcohol cope with you?"
He bent one knee and put his arm on it. The only thing that could be seen on her face when he looked at her was innocent curiosity. "For me, a mild dose of alcohol is just a tool, so I can… cope with other things."
Before she could stop herself, she asked, puzzled, "What things?"
Ruka thought she'd imagined it, but there was an amusing smile on his lips, making his stern and serious face much softer, even handsome. "In this case… Atsui." He said it with a sigh.
Ruka's vibrant laughter tenderly wrapped around him like a blanket made of countless little bells.
"He isn't really a bad person," she said when talking was possible for her again. "He's a bit rough, clumsy, and careless, but nonetheless nice."
Shee narrowed his eyes as if he really tried to see her. It was so rare to meet such an openly pure-hearted shinobi. They — all of them, him included — always held anger within. It was sometimes a desire for revenge or a striving to prove themselves. At other times, it was something else, but it was always there, shadowing their intentions, feelings, and thoughts. Ruka seemed like she was coming from another world, as if she weren't aware of what it meant to not be true and sincere. Shee thought communicating with her was like a breath of fresh air. He let his head relax backward and closed his eyes again.
"People are never bad according to you, Ruka, aren't they?" he asked quietly.
"People aren't bad," she confirmed. "But their choices sometimes are." He glanced at her beneath his heavy eyelashes. "And they take some of the choices of the other people badly." She turned on her back again, letting her eyes close. "I sense the goodness in people; I have since I was a little kid. And it's very hard to watch when people with good souls and hearts choose something that isn't for them — a bad choice… or when they're forced to walk a path against their true nature. It feels wrong, really... painful," she whispered, and it sounded like her thoughts were just spoken aloud rather than intentionally shared with someone else.
Shee didn't respond; he mulled over her words.
"Sometimes… some people are really difficult to approach." She clicked her tongue while searching for a particular word in her blurred brain. "I mean, there are people that have wrapped themselves in many layers, and don't want — or dare — to let others near."
She went quiet after that revelation, and just when Shee thought she had fallen asleep, Ruka spoke again: "Tenten is like that. Something had happened that left her in deep disappointment and pain." She lifted her hand in the air and started to paint something only she could understand. "It should've been so hurtful that it forced her to wrap herself in many layers for protection, to savour her soul and sanity. But her being craves to not be alone, and she's trying to let others near."
Shee nodded slightly, although he was aware Ruka couldn't see him. He had also noticed the pain and sadness that occasionally appeared in Tenten's eyes, but he never gave them much thought, nor did he feel the need to analyse them.
"You too, Shee-san." Her quiet voice rang once again, startling him and making him look at her. Her eyes stared back as if directly into his very soul. "I'm sure you have your reasons, but… You're also wrapped in many layers," she added, whispering.
He kept his sight on her without saying a word — he couldn't.
She also didn't say anything more but closed her eyes and sighed.
Shee continued to look at the small figure, laying two feet away from him. A wave of uneasiness washed over him, tightening the insides of his chest. And for the first time in many years, he felt... exposed.