I lay down on their bed, on the soft blanket. It was so good to be there, surrounded by them, away from all the worries of the castle, the attack and the responsibilities that awaited me. It was just me, the girls, and a moment of peace that I knew I needed to enjoy.
Ino started talking about yesterday's attack, with that light tone of someone who was trying to distract me from the stress. She talked about how Naruto and I were completely clueless for having made love in the middle of so much confusion, and I couldn't help but smile, remembering that intensely personal moment when, despite the chaos, it was just the two of us.
As Ino spoke, my eyes wandered to Karui, who was cutting up some vegetables that I had sneaked back from the castle. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a simple, almost undone braid. She was wearing a flowery dress, already worn out by time, and worn-out slippers. It was an image of simplicity that contrasted with the perfection everyone expected of her. Karui had been molded to be beautiful in a specific way, always looking for perfect angles and hiding what wasn't considered "beautiful". But there, in that moment, without make-up, without rushing to be something other than herself, her true beauty shone through. It was a beauty that came from her sincerity, from the way she simply existed, without artifice.
- "Did it hurt?" Ino asked, while playing with the kitten they had adopted. The little kitten, unnamed until then, seemed to be a good distraction for her as she tried to ease the tension in the air.
- Like death! - I said, still joking, and Ino rolled her eyes, but a smile formed on her lips. Karui then turned to us with a wooden spoon in her hands, ready to correct my dramatization.
- Come on, don't overdo it, Sakura! - Karui said, with that relaxed, funny tone, which only made me laugh even more.
At that moment, everything seemed to fall into place. I was with the people I loved most, laughing at the little things, and that was the kind of lightness I needed, especially after everything that had happened. Even with the threats and chaos outside, in that room, surrounded by laughter and friendship, I could find a piece of peace.
- And how do you know? Isn't making love to a woman a bit different? - Ino asked, with a touch of curiosity and perhaps even a little surprise, while Karui, with her typical defiant posture, shrugged.
- Because I've already had sex with a man. - Karui answered with a naturalness that made me swallow. My mouth dropped open, but my surprise didn't immediately translate into words.
- Who was that? - Ino couldn't hide her questioning, which honestly seemed more like jealousy than anything else. The tone in her voice was a mixture of curiosity and a kind of possessiveness that I knew came from a deep friendship. It wasn't just an ordinary question.
- But when we joined the Squad... we signed an agreement that we were virgins. - I asked.
Karui continued with a mischievous smile, as if she were telling me a secret. She had a unique way of saying things, without reservation, without worrying about judgment.
- And you've never lied in your life? - Karui raised one eyebrow, and I knew that the question was more to add a touch of humor to the conversation than a real question. Ino rolled her eyes, but she was having fun with the whole thing, just like me.
- And to answer your question, love, his name was Dex. He worked for my father, but I threatened to kill him if he told anyone, and I know my father would kill him if he knew. - She said it with a calmness that only Karui had, and at the same time, the answer made me curious. Dex? The man who somehow seemed to have been a part of Karui's past that she had buried deep inside.
I kept thinking about this as the conversation flowed around me. Wasn't it amazing how each person had a whole world hidden inside them, a world that was only revealed little by little? Karui had lived nineteen years before I met her, years that had been filled with her own stories, tears, laughter and even death threats. When we met someone, it felt like we were visiting a foreign country, and the most fascinating thing was how we wanted to be part of that story, wanting to understand every bit of it.
- Karu, what's your father like? - I asked, not really expecting the answer to be very different from what I had already imagined.
Her smile faltered for a moment, and I realized that the answer wasn't going to come easily.
- Busy. - She said, with a slight grimace. I knew she was hiding more, but I also understood that certain parts of a person's life were difficult to share, even with best friends.
- That's it? - Ino asked, curious, as if she wanted more details, but Karui just smiled, that smile of someone who knew how empty words could sometimes be.
- He's also flirtatious, gallant, funny. - She shrugged, as if that were a sufficient description, but I could sense that there was more there, something she didn't want to share yet.
- Do you miss him? - I asked without thinking too much, knowing that it was perhaps a delicate question. Ino looked at me with a fearful look, as if she wanted me to stop asking, but I just wanted to understand Karui a little more, this friend who had always been so strong and determined.
- All the time, but I always missed him. - Karui sighed, and the lightness that had previously marked his posture seemed to disappear for a moment. - He was always traveling, or on commissions, or I was always at photo shoots, or... we were always separated from each other, ever since my mother ran away. I almost lived in our house alone.
Her tone was softer now, more melancholy. I knew that Karui had been through a lot, more than most people could imagine. She, who always seemed the most light-hearted and full of life, had her own internal battles, and perhaps that was what made her so fascinating to me.
Now, she could hardly cook without looking at Ino's face, lying on the bed. The image of Karui, with her hands trembling and her eyes filled with a silent longing, was something I would never have imagined in her. She was so at ease with us, but at the same time, her father's absence seemed to be a shadow that accompanied her, as if she could never really free herself from it.
[author] Thank you so much for reading this far! Knowing that you made it to the end means a lot to me. If you like it and want to contribute, visit my Patreon and get early access to 25 chapters ahead: Patreon [/author]