Four Beauties Gathered

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the wisteria trellis in the rear courtyard of the Senju Main Residence, scattering dappled patches across the stone table and lending the four brand-new bamboo mahjong sets a warm sheen.

Chiba arranged the last tile, then leaned back against his chair.

"The rules are simple. Thirteen tiles each; form four sets of three and a pair to win. Pungs, kongs, and chows are all allowed. The only special rule is that the loser has to answer one question from the winner, and no lying."

Tsunade sat to Chiba's left, a sake flask by her feet. She had a bamboo skewer between her lips, stirring the dregs at the bottom of her cup. Hearing that, she spat out the skewer.

"So it's a wager? That suits me just fine. I, Tsunade, might be useless at everything else, but lose at cards?"

Anko crouched on the chair opposite them, a dango skewer held sideways between her lips, both feet tucked up on the cushion. She slapped the tabletop.

"With Lady Tsunade's luck at gambling, everyone here is probably going to get paid until their hands go limp."

Yuhi Kurenai sat properly to Chiba's right, elegant and composed, her hands folded on her lap. She tilted her head slightly and glanced at him.

"Did you add that question-and-answer rule on purpose?"

Chiba spread his hands, wearing an innocently punchable expression.

"You're overthinking it, Sister Kurenai. It's purely to make things more interesting and liven up the atmosphere."

Yugao sat opposite Anko. She had changed out of her ANBU combat uniform and into the black kimono Chiba had prepared for her. Her longsword rested against the back of her chair, and her purple hair was tied behind her head with a simple ribbon, revealing the full contours of her profile.

She sat even straighter than Yuhi Kurenai, her spine rigid like a drawn blade. Her hands rested primly on the edge of the table as she stared at the mahjong tiles before her, her brow faintly furrowed.

"Lord Chiba, I've never played this before."

"It's not hard. Watch a couple rounds and you'll get it. Just go with your instincts."

Chiba reached out to straighten the tiles before Yugao. His fingers brushed over the back of her hand, and Yugao's shoulders tensed for a beat as a faint blush crept over the tips of her ears.

Tsunade's gaze swept over from the rim of her cup and lingered on Chiba's hand for two extra seconds. She thumped her cup down on the table.

"Are we playing or not? Stop dragging your feet."

After the first round, Tsunade lost.

Neither the three women nor Chiba found that surprising. Tsunade herself was not surprised either, but her expression still darkened.

"Ask. A loss is a loss."

Anko spoke first, the skewer at the corner of her mouth cocked high.

"Lady Tsunade, exactly how many cup sizes can the Strength of a Hundred add to your bust?"

Tsunade punched the tabletop. The mahjong tiles bounced three times, and Anko slid back half a meter with her chair.

"Mitarashi Anko, are you itching for a beating?!"

"Just kidding, just kidding! I forfeit, I forfeit!"

Chiba's shoulders shook with laughter. Taking advantage of the chaos, he shifted his right foot beneath the table two inches to the side, his toe touching Yuhi Kurenai's ankle.

Yuhi Kurenai's hand, which had been arranging her tiles, stopped.

She did not look down, but her movements slowed as she drew a tile, her fingertips lingering against its surface for an extra second before pulling it free.

Chiba's toe slid an inch up along her ankle. The sensation through her thin sock traveled up from the top of her foot, and Yuhi Kurenai's breathing changed. The rise and fall of her chest visibly grew more pronounced.

"Sister Kurenai, it's your turn."

Yuhi Kurenai slapped a tile onto the table with more force than usual.

"Three characters."

Chiba did not withdraw his foot. Instead, he brushed against her again.

The tips of Yuhi Kurenai's ears turned so red they seemed ready to bleed, yet she forced her expression to remain unchanged. She even lifted her teacup and took a sip to conceal it.

During the second round, Chiba's left hand vanished from the tabletop.

His palm landed on the outside of Tsunade's knee. Through the fabric of her pants, the pads of his fingers tapped lightly twice.

Tsunade had been hesitating over which tile to discard. At that touch, her whole body jolted, and the tile in her hand nearly flew out. She whipped her head around and glared at Chiba.

Chiba faced forward, studying Anko's tiles across from him with a perfectly serious expression, without the slightest flaw.

Tsunade's teeth ground audibly as she slapped Chiba's hand away.

The next second, Chiba put his hand back, this time higher than before.

Tsunade drew in a sharp breath. Her face flushed, and the heaving of her chest noticeably quickened. She forcefully pushed Chiba's hand away again, but used too much strength and tilted toward him.

Chiba seized her hand with the motion, his five fingers clasping the back of her hand beneath the table while his thumb traced circles over the soft web between her thumb and forefinger.

"You!" Tsunade squeezed out in a low voice through clenched teeth.

"Hm? What's wrong, Lady Tsunade? Your face is so red. Did you drink too much?"

"Senju Chiba, you'd better stop while you're ahead."

"Fine, fine. I'll stop. Letting go now."

Chiba released her hand, but as he did, his fingers slowly slid from her palm all the way to her fingertips before finally leaving.

Tsunade's face had gone red down to the base of her neck. She grabbed the sake flask beside her and took a huge gulp, glaring at her tiles while clearly seeing none of them.

Across from them, Anko had no idea what was happening beneath the table and was happily arranging her tiles.

"Here it comes, here it comes! I'm about to win, so get ready to answer questions."

Yugao did not know either. All of her attention was on the tiles in her hand, her brows drawn together as she tried to understand why she was always one tile short.

But Yuhi Kurenai knew.

The warmth of Chiba's toe still lingered at her ankle. Catching sight of Tsunade's flushed face and Chiba's innocent expression from the corner of her eye, she immediately pieced everything together.

Yuhi Kurenai lowered her eyes and forcibly turned her attention back to her tiles. Yet when she reached for the next tile, her fingers met Chiba's hand as he extended it to help arrange her tiles.

Their fingertips touched over the back of a tile, and Chiba's index finger hooked lightly around her pinky.

Yuhi Kurenai's shoulders went rigid. A watery shimmer floated in her dark red eyes, her lips pressed together slightly, and the breath leaving her nose carried heat.

Chiba withdrew his hand, picked up his teacup, and took a sip before turning to Yugao.

"Yugao, that eight dots is useless to you. Swap it out."

He reached for Yugao's tiles. As his arm passed by her side, the fabric of his sleeve brushed her forearm.

Yugao shuddered all over. The fingers gripping her tiles tightened, and her purple eyes turned toward Chiba—only to meet his profile at close range.

There was only a fist's distance between them.

Chiba tilted his head as he examined Yugao's tiles. The line of his jaw stood sharply defined beneath the sunlight, and his tea-scented breath brushed over her cheek.

Yugao turned her face away, her throat bobbing.

"I-I'll swap it myself."

Chiba chuckled and straightened up, returning to his seat.

"Fine. Do it yourself."

After the third round, Tsunade lost again.

This time Anko won. She was so delighted that she bit her skewer in half.

"Lady Tsunade, Lady Tsunade, what are you even thinking about today? Every tile you discard is feeding me."

Tsunade shoved her tiles away and thumped her cup down on the table.

"I'm done, I'm done. If this goes on any longer, I'm flipping this table."

Chiba shook his head and sighed beside her.

"Lady Tsunade, throwing a tantrum and flipping the table after losing a bet—what do we young people call that again? Oh, right. Being a sore loser and giving up."

"Senju Chiba!"

Tsunade threw a punch. Chiba dodged sideways, and her fist smashed into the back of the chair, reducing the entire thing to wood chips.

Anko hugged her dango and ran to the far side of the courtyard to watch the show, shouting encouragement at the top of her lungs.

Yuhi Kurenai stood in the shade beneath the wisteria trellis with her teacup in hand, the corners of her lips curved as she watched Tsunade chase Chiba in circles around the courtyard.

Yugao stood beside the stone table, her purple eyes following Chiba's moving figure. Her right hand unconsciously touched the spot on her forearm where his sleeve had brushed against her.

The warmth had yet to fully fade from that small patch of skin.