All Too Frank Katsuragi Forest, Osaka Prefecture, Japan Katsuragi Forest was an odd place. The serenity and beauty of it wasn't very telling of the vast numbers of minute disturbances and significant events that often took place inside its expanses of greenery. From an overhead view that same sentiment would have been felt once more. But then to do so would overlook the fact that something else had happened inside Katsuragi Forest to expand upon that list. A union of sorts. A physical union between two kunoichi -- a union of flesh provoked by tears, regret, compulsion and at that one great temptation to the psyches of both man and woman; sheer, unadulterated, primitive human lust. The central clearing in the heartland of Katsuragi Forest was the point of that connection. All the animals that would have normally grazed or foraged for food there had gone. The flames of the campfire had burned themselves into submission with nothing now left of them aside from a small rising whiff of smoke emanating from a few puckering embers. Two female shinobi lay together astride that burned-out campfire. Those shinobi were the honey brown-haired Kasumi and the lily lavender-haired Ayane. Both were asleep. Both were adorned in nakedness. They faced each other in slumber whilst lying together on a soft patch of grass that had been smoothed out over the course of their night together. And around them in disorganized, scattered piles were their clothes, which had been torn off each other's bodies and tossed aside just as easily. By now the moon had fallen to the sun. Its rays of beautiful golden light filtered through the gaps between the surrounding trunks of the many trees and illuminated the bodies of the two women. In the distance were the gentle chirps and cries of the woodland animals as they scurried along the bushes and trees for the beginning of a new day. Besides that, all was quiet in the clearing; although it did not remain that way for long. A soft, broken moan stemmed from the crux of Kasumi's throat. Her limber legs shifted against themselves in the coolness of the morning breeze -- but the climate of her surroundings was the last thing on her mind at this point. Her long eyelashes fluttered open and the melancholy ninja cast her gaze on the exquisite creature lying next to her. Ayane. That palpable throbbing she had felt in her heart since their encounter yesterday made its unconditional return the moment that Kasumi dared to stare at her. She was still asleep, her arms and hands brought together at her chest in a manner that Kasumi could only describe correctly with the word 'adorable'. It was at serene times like these when Ayane was her least threatening. And when Ayane was seen in that light it was impossible to discern her natural beauty from who she was. Kasumi didn't often get the chance to see her rival in this way very often. But when she did... it had an empowering effect on her. At least enough of one to allow her to be more honest about herself than what was normally possible. A small and frigid smile was pulled from the Mugen-Tenshin Tenjin-mon ninja when she slowly brought up her hand and reached out to Ayane's head. Kasumi carefully and attentively ran her fingers through the thin strands of the girl's lilac tresses, staring breathlessly into her calm expression and listening openly to Ayane's soft breathing. In and out, in and out. Eventually Kasumi's ministrations descended into a caress of the cheek. She pressed her hand into that supple flesh and stroked it contentedly; completely forgetting where she was and how little control she had over her current surroundings. In her heart; Kasumi truly felt like that sole moment could have lasted a lifetime. Yet such serene moments have their zenith -- as all do. That one hit its pinnacle the second a scrambled groan echoed from Ayane's lips. Kasumi's smile fell immediately. When Ayane's eyes began to flutter open, the brown-haired one retracted her hand from the girl's cheek like she hand been burned. And when it dawned on her that Ayane was about to awaken, the natural realities (like her nakedness and the unsafe confides of the forest) came to her. Tired red eyes broke open abruptly; and soon enough they locked with nervous brown ones. "I-I didn't mean to wake you." Kasumi affirmed gawkily. "...W-where...?" There was a slight disorientation on Ayane's part. Then a flash of realization passed through her eyes and she leaned up from the grass. She covered her bared breasts with one arm and clutched at her skull with the other, muttering with a sigh, "Oh, Kami-sama..." Kasumi shielded her breasts in the same manner and brought herself up also. "Ayane, we..." "...Don't say a word." If there was a helium balloon that represented Kasumi's current elevation, it would have started deflating right at that instant. She lowered her head sadly and looked away, her medium long mane of brown hair waving around her shoulders. Ayane had untied it from its normal ponytail last night and now Kasumi was thankful for it because her bangs succeeded in hiding the disappointment in her eyes. Ayane tightened her hand into a fist. One that was shaking. But she ignored that about herself and looked upwards, away from the dejected kunoichi to her right. Ayane squinted at the skies and evaluated something. Between the branches and foliage of the overhanging trees she could just about make out the height of the sun from this point. Judging but that alone, she could tell that it was around eight in the morning. Maybe a little later. After checking out that one thing, Ayane wordlessly lifted herself off the grass patch against Kasumi and went about picking her discarded clothes up off the ground. Kasumi noticed the movement and spoke, if only from force of habit. "What are you doing...?" Ayane didn't look back. "...What does it look like?" "I knew it..." Kasumi tilted her head sadly once more, "...you're going to run away from this, aren't you...?" The Woman Tengu emotionlessly grabbed one of her purple leggings. "There's... nothing to run away from." "Yes there is..." Kasumi stared at the girl's back. "...We made love..." Ayane's shoulders jerked. But there was no reply to that one. After stopping for a moment, she stepped across to grab the red panties that rested next to Kasumi's bandaged ankle. It escaped neither woman's notice that there was a large and noticeable wet patch there -- with a most telling odour of vaginal discharge. You couldn't score points in this kind of situation but the look on Ayane's face more or less said who landed the goal right there. Kasumi, however, was far beyond that. Pride was no more on her mind, either. "You made love to me, Ayane. We were together... that way. You... can't pretend like this isn't happening!" Ayane froze but she didn't turn around. Or speak. Yet Kasumi was unabated. "Please just talk to me!" "Look just back off, alright!" Ayane growled, "I can't... deal with this right now." There was silence after that; if only occasionally broken by the chirps of the distant birds. Yet that pleasant sound of woodland fauna did nothing to quash the notably unpleasant lack of verbal exchange between Ayane and Kasumi. After a few seconds of it, Ayane marched around the campfire and continued picking up all of her tossed articles of clothing. Kasumi stayed hushed throughout all of it. She merely drew her knees up against her chest and swallowed the lump in her throat. Considering that she herself was also naked, that might have seemed slightly odd. But the truth was that neither of them was thinking very clearly in all of this. Yet there was enough ill-gotten confidence in Kasumi to utter a half-scathing, half-impotent remark. "...And you always call me the 'coward'." Ayane froze in place once again, just whilst reaching the red and gold robes that normally forged the bow around her waist. The hand that sought out its fabric clutched into a fist. And she turned around angrily, finally allowing herself to make eye contact with the other girl. "You think this is easy for me!" She shouted, "You don't understand anything!" Kasumi looked up at her insolently. "How can I understand you if you won't let me!" A stalemate. Ayane stared angrily at Kasumi while Kasumi looked back defiantly. The stand off didn't last long either, however. The moment than Ayane looked away, she turned her back fully and clammed up. Kasumi couldn't read her like that. Her Ki was so out of whack from last night that trying that in itself would be impossible. And right now she was in no fit state to assess what was going through Ayane's mind. Aside from Genra, hardly anyone could. The auburn-haired kunoichi sighed and rose up from the smoothed patch of grass that herself and Ayane had slept on. Then she did as Ayane had done, going for her clothes. Ayane resumed that action herself. The time re-dressing was again spent in silence. No talk of where they went from here, what their feelings were, what their feelings meant, nothing. When the two women had gotten their clothes back on, the silence between them was starting to seem less... unpleasant. For there was a preoccupation on Ayane's mind and an unwillingness to rock the boat from Kasumi's perspective. So Kasumi acted out on the first thing that came to mind. Immediately she closed her eyes and made the two-fingered sign of the shinobi. Then she used her hands to make a series of fluid and highly-coordinated gestures. The final sign she invoked clamped her hands together. Her honeysuckle eyes opened and the complexities of her ninja-honed vision were taken to a new extreme. Kasumi's eyes focussed unblinking with the sight of a third eye, her Mind's Eye. That enhanced prescience brought a vivid picture of the green terrain around her for a good 300m distance. No more than 20 metres away was the thing she was looking for. A water source. Ayane noted the technique but was ignorant of the need. "...The hell are you doing?" Kasumi's eyes rolled in their sockets for a moment. Then she released the sign made by her hands and started walking forwards, albeit gingerly, thanks to the shuriken that had slashed her across the ankle yesterday morning. "There's a clean river nearby. I need to bathe and drink." She continued walking down the forest past leading out from the smoky remains of the campfire. But she stopped when she realized that Ayane wasn't following her. Kasumi blinked and looked over her shoulder at Genra's future successor with an almost expectant glare. Ayane stared back at her without uttering a word. The pair of them observed each other for a moment, until the intent dawned on Ayane. She heaved a sigh of defeat and started walking forwards; brushing past Kasumi with a slurred, "Get outta the way." When the other girl followed behind, Ayane couldn't help but take note of the throbbing in her chest. '...Damnit...' She thought irritably. ---------- The powers of Ki, harnessed by the techniques of either house of the Mugen-Tenshin style, could never fail in a tight situation. There was indeed a source of water deeper into the forest. And Kasumi's sight had been accurate in its location. She might not have been at the peak of her ability at the moment (for more than one reason) but this was the least she could do for herself. And to a greatest extent, for Ayane. Kasumi had been the one to follow Ayane to the location of the water source. In the end it turned out to be a thin stream of spring water, less than a few metres wide. The Woman Tengu traced the tiny river merely with sound alone; after all the Hajin-mon style taught as many techniques for better sensory perception as the Tenjin-mon did. Judging by the length of it, Ayane had guessed that it cut through the entire forest for at least half a mile. Geographic memory kicked in too, and she also remembered that there was a larger river curving around the outline of the south-east edge forest which was probably interconnected with this one. Knowing that gave her a good idea of where she was right now; but that was only a thought that came from habitual assessments. A kunoichi had to know her surroundings and make them as her own. Yet this was only a distraction for her. Ayane's thoughts were far from fully concentrated on any of it. Kasumi knew that without even guessing. When the two reached the river, Kasumi went about her business while Ayane remained dreadfully stoic. In the three and a half minutes between leaving the campsite and getting here, the talk between them was at a zero. Yet Kasumi dealt with it by busying herself. The clothes she had put on earlier now had to come off again. Ayane settled by the trunk of an old tree in a slumped position, cracking her knuckles in a fidgeting manner, as if to distract herself from the sight of Kasumi undressing. Kasumi turned her back to the other woman and removed each article from her body. First came the blue wrist and shin guards. Then she pulled at the side-strings of top to pull it from her chest and waist. Along with it went the sheathed short sword. Kasumi soon after removed her shoes and rolled down both of the white leggings and removed them from her legs, allowing herself nakedness again save for her underwear. Finally she peeled off the 'bandage' she had made for her injured ankle out of her clothes. The wound was healing by now thanks to the balm, the flesh re-sealing itself. But it still needed more time. So with a sigh she lowered herself into the babbling water stream. It wasn't very deep. In fact the water only reached about neck-high. But it was enough for now. It was better than walking around with blades of grass clinging to her back. Eventually she closed her eyes and just enjoyed the moment of washing herself, running her hands through her hair and pelting her face and skin with the morning-cool waters of the forest. It went on for over half an hour. Through that time Ayane held her fist and distracted herself in anyway she could, occasionally stealing glances of her rival from afar until her gaze settled on Kasumi alone. Then from the bushes a little pouting-cheek squirrel came shuffling out. It scurried up to the bank of the river in disjointed strides with its sight set on a little nut that rested near her. With a sad smile Kasumi swam (or rather walked, considering that her bare feet were touching the smooth pebbles underwater) to the bank of the stream and picked up that nut, holding it out in her hand. "C'mon." She said softly. The squirrel stood motionless (save for the tail) for a moment, then cautiously advanced on the nut in Kasumi's hand. "That's right, I won't hurt you." It couldn't have understood a lick of what she was saying. But animals could read feelings. And right now that squirrel was aware that Kasumi intended it no harm. So it hopped over to her open hand and began nibbling on the nut for sustenance. Which was when Kasumi giggled. It was faint enough to be ignored and drenched in enough sadness to come off as the beginning of a volley of tears, but she giggled. If for only a moment, she cleared her mind of what Ayane had brought to it (or awoken). Once the squirrel was done it scampered off into the bushes again. And Kasumi continued to bathe. All through that little scene; Ayane had been watching. As much as she hated to admit it, Kasumi had a kind of affinity for nature. It was obvious that she was as comfortable out here in the wilderness as she would be if she were in one of the cities. Even the animals liked her. Creatures like that judged humans by their souls and the Ki they give off; it clearly sensed security and kindness from Kasumi. Ayane didn't know how she felt about that. Did it make her angry? Did it upset her? Did it humour her? Could she possibly have found it... endearing? The Female Tengu didn't like the way her heart felt when she thought of it. Chalk it up to a system of Ki recovering from sex (makes for very obscured emotions, they say). Kasumi by now was busy braiding her hair back into a ponytail. She worked her fingers through the locks of her hair effortlessly -- until she turned around partially and asked, "Why are you staring at me?" Ayane's crimson orbs narrowed and darted to one side. "...Don't flatter yourself." "Hmm. Cowardice..." Kasumi said, "such a strong word, isn't it?" "What are you getting at?" "Do I need to tell you...?" She prodded. The glare on Ayane's face grew irritable again. "Go fuck yourself." And the last thing the lavender-haired woman would have expected in reply to that would be a laugh. But that was what she got. A laugh. A chortled, offended and dull laugh. By the way it sounded you could tell that it didn't happen often. And so the silence returned. But by the time that Kasumi had finished braiding her hair into a ponytail, she was ready to break it. "...How is he?" Ayane finally looked back at her. "...Who?" "You know who I mean," Said the Tenjin-mon shinobi, "my brother." The thought of him made Ayane aware of her heartbeat again. "...What exactly do you expect me to say? He's doing fine. Better than fine. There was a reason he was selected as leader of the Tenjin-mon before you were." Kasumi frowned. "I don't doubt his abilities to lead the group. I never have. No one is better for it than he is. It's one of the reasons I-" "...You what? Ran away?" Ayane suggested sardonically, "But the words 'Kasumi' and 'runaway' go hand in hand, don't they?" "You'll never understand me..." She answered. "Like I give a damn," Remarked Ayane, "You gave up your rights to him when you did it." Kasumi stared hard at Ayane. "And to you as well...?" Quiet came once more. Ayane and Kasumi were left watching each other; Kasumi waiting for an answer and Ayane fumbling for some smart-ass comment to retort with. In the end Genra's successor heaved herself off her feet and stood upright, dusting the blades of grass from her clothing. "This doesn't change anything. What happened last night was a mistake, got it? As soon as we get out of this forest we're gonna finish the fight. Understand?" Again, Kasumi cast her one of those sad, heartbreaking smiles. "...As you wish." ---------- Five hours and twenty minutes had passed since Ayane and Kasumi lingered together at the stream that ran through the distances of Katsuragi Forest. But with the current climate between them, it would have felt like five years. At this point the two of them made their way northeast of the old campsite by leaping across the tree branches and tree tops. Branch after branch they leapt upon and thrust themselves off artistically, moving like blurred yet constant gusts of the wind, rustling the foliage and frightening the birds that dwelled near it. Ayane and Kasumi jumped together over the branches at a very similar pace and speed -- which was when it occurred to both of them that they had learned their outdoor survival training together. The basic skills like these were not allocated to a specific group within the Mugen-Tenshin (neither the Tenjin-mon nor the Hajin-mon) because they were taught at such a young age. It seemed like such a long time ago by now. Especially for Ayane. They still weren't talking to each other. But all that speak about Hayate had been like a bucket of ice water. And for some reason they couldn't bicker like before. While the two of them didn't speak to each other or even look at each other directly, one couldn't help but find herself stealing peeks of the other as they jumped together. But right now that behaviour was more common from Ayane than it was Kasumi. The Woman Tengu hazarded a glance to her left whilst vaulting to a new tree branch. She could see the expression on Kasumi's face. It wasn't very happy. That's not to say that Kasumi was always a bright and extravagant person in nature, but... this felt different somehow. Her frown was almost lacklustre in some ways. It probably couldn't be properly explained without seeing something of the kind -- but to Ayane it was an unusual curiosity for her. Unusual in the sense that... she actually found herself caring about it. And as if there was something in her mind she wanted to suppress, Ayane shook her head violently and steeled her expression into a hard one. Kasumi called out in monotone voice. "We should be nearing the edge of the forest soon." A dark grin crossed Ayane's face and she sped up her jumping. Kasumi gasped when she saw Ayane flash past her deftly and leapt at one of the higher perches of the trees before them. The lavender-haired teen didn't even give herself the time to adjust to the new foothold before jumping higher to reach another one. Kasumi maintained her own pace but narrowed her eyes at that cautiously. "...A-Ayane!" She yelled, "The branches are less stable in this-" The Woman Tengu growled. "Shut up!" It was strange how those two words, so simple in nature, could cut a person down. Kasumi silenced herself before she said anymore. Ayane continued to pick up speed between the branches until she braced her foot against a thinner one. It snapped the moment it bore the full brunt of the girl's weight -- and in her haste, she was too startled to react. Ayane lost her momentum and went screaming down southwards towards the forest floor. Kasumi was aghast. "Ayane!" A rush of adrenalin overtook her. Kasumi immediately resolved herself and darted down from her position, making her way below by striking into and launching off the opposing trunks of two parallel trees. But by the time she caught up with the falling Ayane it was too late. The red-eyed woman grunted violently and Kasumi cringed when the crash was heard. Ayane's body smashed through the raised roots of one of the mighty trees which softened the blow; but ultimately she landed across her back, neck and skull. Her body came to rest limply along the grassy floor with an alarmed Kasumi descending quickly to her side. Kasumi urgently tucked her hand underneath Ayane's neck and inspected her body. She was bruised. And her eyes weren't open. "Kami-sama! Ayane? Are you alright? Ayane?" The tears stared welling up again. Before any of them dropped from Kasumi's eyes, Ayane groaned weakly. Kasumi's moist eyes widened when Ayane opened hers. "K-Kasumi?" "...You're okay..." Ayane remained noiseless for a moment then pulled a dark grimace. She shoved herself out of Kasumi's embrace, yelling 'get your hands off me!' Even after a fall like that, one which would have killed a normal human being, she was still conscious of her close proximity with Kasumi. The chestnut-haired woman felt herself forced against the tree roots that Ayane had broken in the midst of her fall. Ayane held a hand to her head and stood upright. She started walking slowly forwards but her steps both looked and felt awkward. A throbbing set into her skull and the Hajin-mon kunoichi ambled to a stop. Kasumi noticed it. Ayane exhaled hard and tried to start walking again. But the moment she looked ahead of her the dense forest path ahead was looking distorted. Wooziness overtook her head. Her crimson eyes rolled with disorientation and her vision became blurred. Kasumi was now aware that something actually was wrong. "...Ayane...?" She couldn't reply. Ayane could only look over her shoulder and cast a defiant glare, before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the forest floor once again, slipping into a deep unconsciousness. ---------- "That which is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil." - Friedrich Nietzsche ---------- When she regained consciousness, the first thing Ayane realized was that her body was tingling. Like someone else's Ki was at work inside it. And to be true with her feelings, her eyes opened to see what was happening. What came to her immediately was the sight of Kasumi and Kasumi alone. She was kneeling astride Ayane's body with one of her hands making the two fingered sign again. Golden spiritual energies were surrounding both of them. Those energies were Kasumi's manifest Ki. The brown-haired teen had her eyes closed. And after a fixed period of time the Ki started to fade from both Ayane's body and her own. When that happened, Kasumi opened her eyes once more and looked down. She was more than surprised to see that Ayane was conscious again. "You're... awake...?" Ayane now took deeper notice of her surroundings. They were still in Katsuragi Forest. That fact hadn't changed. But this was clearly a different area. The trees around here were thinner than those before; which probably meant that they were nearing the exit out of the whole place. There were also more shrubs and flowers along the ground, if that meant anything. The most obvious difference now though was that it was dark. Night had fallen while she was out of it. Which also meant that she had been unconscious for at least half a day. A short distance from the two of them was another campfire. This time there was another set of sticks fixed up in a makeshift manner to cook up two fish, ones that had probably come from the stream they had passed by in the morning. Kasumi looked at Ayane as she acclimated herself. "I did a spell just now. From the looks of things you don't have any broken bones -- but still, I don't think that it's a good idea for you to be moving around right now. The edge of the forest is less than two kilometres away. We should be out of here by noon tomorrow. Though we could have made it by nightfall... you need to rest for a while." "Did..." Ayane blinked, "...you carry me here?" Kasumi's head lulled. "I am sorry... perhaps I should have asked you for your permission first, but you were..." Despite her nature, that comment didn't ring well in Ayane's ears. It actually sounded... almost a little ridiculous. But it really wasn't considering how the red-eyed woman had been acting of late. Still that wasn't Ayane's chief concern. It surprised her, that's all. Kasumi had really carried her all this way? If the exit out of the forest was less than two kilometres away then Kasumi had covered a hell of a lot of terrain with Ayane in her arms... but why...? And why after what happened...? "Why did you do that?" Asked Ayane. Kasumi raised her head at that. "...Do what?" "Carry me here..." The Female Tengu looked down, "You should have just left me behind. I was the one who screwed up like that..." The runaway shinobi pressed her palms into her lap. "...I would never do that... especially not after what... we..." Ayane gave out a small smile, despite herself. "You're so na‹ve..." "And you're so stubborn." Kasumi said in reply. There was another silence after that. But for some reason, neither Ayane nor Kasumi could quite rightly begrudge it. The crackling of the fire and the hoots of the nocturnal animals added to the serene feeling of the forests around them. It had a calming effect on Ayane in particular that it did not have before. Before she knew it, she was rolling over to her side to get more rest -- still maintaining that small smile. Sleep did not come as easily. She spent a good thirty minutes trying to reach it. And when she was halfway there, she found herself with what was becoming a welcomed intrusion. A pair of thin arms wrapped themselves around her lower waist. They belonged to Kasumi. The blood rushed to Ayane's cheeks when it happened, and even more so when the girl's body was spooned against her own. "What are you... doing?" Ayane asked lightly. Kasumi tightened her possessive hold around Ayane's gentle waist. "Can... can I just hold you for a little while...? Please?" Ayane said neither yes nor no. Neither did she move from the spot. She remained as she was and shut her eyes, fully conscious of the body heat pressing against her back. She was confusing herself about it all. Truth be told however, Ayane was not the only one to realize that her heart was softening. Kasumi's embrace made that all too frank. End of Chapter Two Kaiser's Afterthoughts Meh. I'm not satisfied with the way this came out. But at the same time, I'm comfortable enough with it to let it slide this time. Right now I've seen my writing style hit a kind of 'stagnation' in itself -- I just don't feel like I've improved at all in the past three months. The main reason I started writing fanfiction was to motivate myself out of this slump, which is important as I do intent to start writing something to be published in the later half of the year. There was a scene in between Ayane's unconsciousness and her waking up; but for more than one reason I left it out and added a quote instead. If Ayane's change in attitude seemed somehow abrupt then now you know why -- but once I write a lemon version of this fic I'll add that scene.
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