| [Feb. 21st, 2015|04:11 am] |
Ueno sighed the sigh of the long-suffering and let her eyes fall closed, evidently unwilling to even try to puzzle out Ryouma’s attempt at humor. The inappropriate boundary crossing was in evidence, finally, and her chakra and appetite were definitely as advertised, but no bird noises yet. Not that now would be the time to comment on any of that.
Hakone raised one eyebrow at Ryouma instead. “I’ll just add ‘enjoys pegging’ to my list of ‘things I didn’t really need to know about Ayane’ then, shall I?”
Ueno sighed even more deeply, and leaned against Ryouma a little more determinedly, while Ryouma himself went a solid crimson to the tips of his ears.
“I didn't mean— Ayane didn’t—” he sputtered.
One of the empty pudding cups, jostled when Ryouma waved a defending hand, rolled towards Hakone’s feet. He flattened it to stop it rolling further, and snorted a laugh. “So she didn’t enjoy it? That’s not the way to get a third date, my friend.”
Ryouma’s cheekbones and ears were still furiously red. “She enjoyed herself just fine. And I'm not feeding you details, so you can stop fishing.”
“I would never fish,” Hakone said. “I know you’re not a kiss-and-tell type. But I couldn’t just let such a perfect opening go by, and Ayane is—”
“Boys,” Ueno commented in disgust. She reluctantly opened her eyes and asked, “Fukui Ayane? I met her in the elevator last night, right?”
Hakone switched off the banter like a tap, shifting his focus to Ryouma’s senpai. “You did. She’s on Team Three, but that’s probably—undoubtedly—changing. She and I were genin teammates.” He cocked his head. “Good memory. You looked tired enough last night I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d forgotten we were even in that elevator with you.”
“I always remember cute girls,” Ueno said. She patted Ryouma's shoulder approvingly. “Ayane looked tough. Hope she went easy on you. But if she didn't, don't tell me.”
Hakone laughed. “Ayane doesn’t go easy on anyone. I’m sure Ryouma-kun suffered appropriately.”
Ryouma managed to look just a little bit smug.
Yet another entry for the list of things Hakone didn’t really need to know about Ayane. Although given what he knew about Ryouma, it wasn’t any great surprise, he supposed.
While Hakone was trying to clear his mind of that mental image, Ryouma fished around in the take-out bag and came up with two cans of oolong tea. He handed one to Hakone, popped the tab on the other, took a swig, and passed it to Ueno, who downed half the contents in a single gulp.
“Ryouma’s told me a little about your team,” Hakone said, focusing on Ueno again. “Sounds like you guys get a lot of striking edge missions. Is that pretty typical for ANBU teams to be specialized like that? My team’s been doing almost exclusively defensive missions, but Sumeragi-taichou says that’s just because of the security situation with the trials and Hikouto.”
Ryouma turned to look curiously at Ueno, evidently as interested in the answer as Hakone was.
Ueno shrugged her uninjured shoulder. “Most ANBU teams are designed to be all-rounders, but there's always a few squads meant for heavy offense.” She pierced Hakone with an evaluating look. “Your captain should have told you this by now.”
“He did,” Hakone said simply. “But no information is definite without multiple sources confirming it. And what officers say isn’t always the same thing as what the rank-and-file say.” He smiled to show there was no challenge intended. “Just thought I’d get an opinion from a veteran outside my own team.”
Ueno’s shrewd expression didn’t change as she turned to Ryouma. “Your friend's a smooth talker,” she said. Hakone was fairly certain that wasn’t a compliment.
“Tell you what,” she offered, focusing her attention back on Hakone. “I'll give you as many opinions as you want if you tell me what went down in Bungobashi Province.” |
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