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Chapter 92 - Hidden Club - 1

"Mmm? Who could that be?" Kushina, not expecting anyone after lunch, was surprised by the sudden knock at the door. She rarely had visitors. Mikoto, Mebuki, and that was about it. In the first years after Naruko was born, Kakashi used to stop by to help her with groceries.

 Back then, after the injuries she'd suffered from having the Nine-Tails extracted, Kushina couldn't handle heavy lifting. Once she recovered, her husband's former student started visiting less and less, always blaming it on more missions and assignments. 

These days, she only saw Kakashi on holidays - he'd drop by with a token gift and leave right away, never wanting to come in. Kakashi had become a rather solitary person, and it seemed like he even enjoyed his loneliness. Unfortunately, Kushina was powerless to help her husband's former student - when it came to healing emotional wounds, she was completely at a loss.

Mikoto? No, probably not. Now that Fugaku's gone, she prefers to spend time with me at her place. Putting away the last clean dish, Kushina quickly wiped her hands on the towel hanging over the back of a kitchen chair and headed for the door, calling out -

"Coming, just a second." She opened the door and, without even realizing it, broke into a wide smile.

Every time, I'm surprised, like I'm seeing him for the first time, she thought, giving her guest a quick once-over.

Akira never really understood how much his looks affected women. Plastic surgery, advanced medicine, a comfortable life, and a huge population meant that, in the twenty-first century, seeing a handsome man wasn't all that rare. Akira, judging his own appearance, always compared himself to celebrities and models - which was completely off base in a world where the male population didn't even reach ten million. 

Those handsome men he compared himself to - if we're talking Americans - were standouts among 150 million men. Here, the odds of running into someone as good-looking as Akira were fifteen times lower than in his old world, and that's not even counting the fact that almost seventy percent of men worked in agriculture or manual labor, which didn't exactly do wonders for their looks. 

Girls on the street didn't hesitate to approach Akira, but they never really thought they had a shot with him. You could say that, after meeting Akira, some girls even started feeling self-conscious about their own appearance.

It might sound like a joke, but the reality was that, during Akira's walks, there was sometimes a photographer trailing him, making a very decent living selling candid shots of Akira.

Kushina had even stumbled across a shop selling an ALBUM of Akira's photos. That was just a month ago.

****

Kushina, on her way back from Mebuki's house in the eastern district, found herself in the middle of a commotion - mostly women.

"One hundred ryo for a photo? That's robbery!" shouted a plump woman caked in heavy makeup.

"So this is the new collection? Can you give a discount for a mother of three?"

"What? The old collection album is two thousand ryo? Why did the price go up? I've been saving up fifteen hundred for two weeks!"

"Oh, he looks so cute in this one! I'll take it, I'll take it!"

"Ladies, calm down, there's enough for everyone! This time, I bought extra stock!" yelled a sweaty, chubby man, eyes sparkling as he rubbed his hands together.

Even as a former kunoichi, Kushina barely managed to push her way through the crowd of women, all wildly excited about something. Her curiosity got the better of her - and besides, she wasn't in any hurry.

As soon as she spotted the photos, neatly arranged on the stall and carefully wrapped in clear plastic, she froze, speechless.

That's... Akira? What nonsense, of course it's him. He's impossible to mistake for anyone else. The photo on the cover showed Akira sitting on a bench, one leg crossed over the other, gazing off into the distance. Judging by the leaves and branches at the edge of the frame, the shot had been taken from the bushes.

Looking over, Kushina saw another photo - Akira standing, covering his mouth as he yawned. Instead of looking awkward, it was actually kind of charming.

All the other photos on the stall were of Akira, caught out and about, doing one thing or another.

"Who's the photographer?" Kushina asked, quietly suppressing her anger.

What is this nonsense? How can someone secretly photograph a person and then sell the pictures? Akira would never have agreed to this. The thoughts raced through her mind.

"No idea, he never introduced himself," replied the shrewd vendor with a smile, wearing a wool hat for some reason in the middle of summer, clearly not about to give up his supplier.

What a creep. Grabbing the album from the stall, Kushina started flipping through it, wanting to see just how far the photographer's nerve went. The photos in the album had captions: Akira shielding his eyes from the sun, Akira tying his hair back, Akira petting a cat, Akira giving ice cream to a crying little girl, Akira wringing out a sweat-soaked T-shirt.

The last photo made Kushina bite her lip for a second.

The photographer might be a moral degenerate, but he knows his craft - these are great shots. Still, the real reason these photos were so popular wasn't the photographer's skill with angles and lighting, but the model himself. Even the photo of Akira picking his ear had a certain charm. Kushina didn't even get to turn the next page before the album was rudely snatched from her hands.

"If you want to look, look at the photos on the stall. The ones in the album are exclusive! Money up front."

Greedy bastard! Kushina fumed, but she wasn't about to leave just yet. After another minute, she gritted her teeth, pulled two thousand ryo from the fuin on her wrist, and took the album from the suddenly polite vendor.

I just want to see how shameless this photographer really is. That's how she justified the purchase to herself. For Kushina, two thousand ryo was like two ryo for an ordinary person - basically pocket change. And her purchase had nothing to do with the fact that, on the next page, she'd glimpsed more photos of Akira working out.

She hadn't gotten far from the stalls when a sudden tap on her shoulder made her stop. The surprise nearly made her kick the person behind her, but she managed to hold back. Turning around, she found herself face to face with a smiling, dark-haired woman about her own age, maybe a little older.

"Sister, I see you're an appreciator of beauty too." The woman glanced at the album in Kushina's hands and added with a smile, "Want to join our club?"

"Club?" For a second, Kushina lost track of reality.

"Yes! We have tea parties, fun events, recipe swaps, and the most interesting discussions about the latest news in Konoha. Are you interested?" The woman's tone was familiar, but she really did spark Kushina's curiosity. Seeing her thoughtful look, the woman continued, "By the way, my name's Hanaske. I'm the vice president of the Lonely Women's Club - 'Goitagu'."

"Um, I'm Kushina, I... I'm not sure."

"Oh, don't worry, sister, I'm not pressuring you to join. If you want, you can just come along with me - I'm heading to our weekly meeting right now. If you like the company, you can join. By the way -" she leaned in to whisper, "all our members get discounts at Lady Rina's grocery stores, at Makinasa's bakeries, and at Sister Nakure's beauty salons. After joining, every member gets a special and precious gift."

"Is that so..." Kushina said, surprised. Discounts always catch the eye, and a special gift for joining definitely piqued her interest.

But what she said at the start... Well, I guess nothing bad will happen if I spend an hour of my time.

"All right then, Hanaske-san..."

"Just Hanaske," the woman replied with a warm smile.

"Then, Hanaske, I'd be happy to..." Kushina started, but was interrupted - not by her companion, but by a passerby.

"Hehe, nice! An exclusive Akira album. I finally got my hands on one."

Kushina and Hanaske watched the young man's back in silence.

That's a guy, Kushina realized, not seeing any feminine features.

"That's a guy," Hanaske echoed Kushina's thoughts.

The realization sent a shiver down both women's conservative spines.

I like to joke about these things, but seeing people like that in real life... For a moment, Kushina wondered if she should just take the kid out, to rid Konoha of heresy.

Not lingering, the two women headed to the club meeting, which was being held at one of Lady Rina's houses. On the way to the southeast district, Kushina learned that the club had only seven members: the president, whose real identity was unknown, Hanaske herself as vice president, Rina, Makinasa, Nakure, and two twin sisters - Kaori and Kasumi.

 Kushina knew the twins as well, since they owned all the hot springs in the Gonsen prefecture in the northeast of the Land of Fire, bordering the Land of Hot Springs, as well as three public baths in Konoha. People usually called them the "Ko sisters," and rumor had it they lived in Konoha because of their adopted daughter, who'd been accepted into the ninja academy.

All in all, Kushina's first impression was that every club member was a prominent woman, known for her beauty and considerable wealth. In other words, Women with a capital W, the kind young men chased after.

"Hanaske, and you..." Kushina began, after a quick rundown of the club members.

"Oh, I just own a few lines of cleaning products." Hearing this, Kushina, no longer so surprised, nodded.

Still, every housewife buys cleaning products at least once a month. She's not an ordinary woman either, Kushina thought, and suddenly another idea struck her.

Looks like they don't invite just anyone to this club... so why did she notice me? Kushina didn't get to ponder the question, as Hanaske announced they'd arrived.

A beautiful, fenced-in, two-story wooden house appeared before Kushina. In the southeast district, such houses were rare, since there wasn't much free land - it sold like hotcakes because of the low prices.

Yeah... this house probably remembers the First Hokage, but it's held up well. Passing through the unlocked two-meter metal gates, they headed straight for the house. On the way, Kushina noticed a small gazebo with a pond, the scent of fresh lacquer still lingering in the air.

Inside, the house felt much bigger than it looked from outside. Only half the house was given to the second floor, which created the illusion of a huge living room that greeted guests right at the door.

"Oh, Hanaske-chan, we were wondering why you were late - you're usually so punctual." A short-haired young woman greeted them with a smile, waving at Kushina.

Mmm, the rumors are true - Makinasa's chest is as big as the fluffy buns she sells in her bakeries. Thanks to Hanaske's earlier stories, Kushina already had a rough idea of what the club women looked like.

Simple, pretty features, chestnut hair cut to the shoulders, and a bit of extra weight, mostly in the chest. At first glance, Makinasa seemed active and cheerful.

As if on cue, two more women came in from the next room, still chatting.

"I'm telling you, you shouldn't hide your beauty. That outfit's fine for home, but not for going out." A tall woman with long, wavy, sandy-blonde hair, dressed in something bold and revealing, walked beside a shy, dark-haired girl of average height, who was trying to keep her enormous chest from bouncing as she walked.

"Mmm, I smell chocolate. Did you bake something?" Hanaske asked, taking off her sandals.

"Heh, I decided to bake some chocolate cookies. Rina and Nakure took care of the cleaning," Makinasa announced, striding over to Kushina. "I'm Makinasa, nice to officially meet you." She gave a small bow.

"Kushina, nice to meet you too," Kushina replied, bowing back. The others introduced themselves as well.

The tall blonde was Nakure, and the dark-haired woman - the owner of the house - was Rina.

Nakure is very confident, unlike Rina, who acts like a guest in her own home. That old shinobi habit of sizing people up at first glance never left Kushina - if anything, her people-reading skills had only gotten sharper over the years.

"Wonderful! Let's continue getting to know each other over cookies and tea," Hanaske said happily, and after a while, she asked -

"Kaori and Kasumi aren't here?"

"They said they couldn't make it, but invited us to the hot springs with them tonight," Rina replied, a little embarrassed.

"Hot springs are good for the skin, but I don't get how anyone can go in this heat," Nakure said.

At the table, each woman shared a little about herself, but to sum it up, they were all successful and single.

Heh, in a way, I'm the same, Kushina thought, smiling. She decided to open up a bit about herself too. As it turned out, her new acquaintances already knew a little about her - even Nakure, who'd moved from Suna, had heard of her "fame."

"That's a shame... I heard the Fourth Hokage was a wonderful man," Nakure sighed at Kushina's brief bio.

"I'm a little jealous... At least you, Kushina, even if only for a while, got to know what it's like to be loved. I... I never met my soulmate," Makinasa added with a sigh. After that, the other women's faces darkened, as if remembering failed relationships.

"Maybe not finding love isn't as sad as losing it," Kushina said, voicing the thought that came to mind.

"Sorry, I didn't think," Makinasa apologized right away. Kushina waved her hand, signaling it was fine.

From the painful topic of relationships, the conversation shifted to hobbies. Nakure, who seemed all about looks and fashion, surprised Kushina with her knowledge of poetry. The blonde beauty salon owner even shared a few poems she'd written herself.

After the last lines, which were actually quite good, the club members applauded, and Kushina joined in.

"Hehe, I made a new cream pie... chocolate, but with white cream. I'm sure you'll love it," Makinasa said with a meaningful tone after Nakure's poem. She quickly got up to fetch the pie.

Why are they smiling like that? And Rina-chan is blushing... Kushina didn't have to wonder for long. A white box, carefully tied with a red ribbon, was set on the table and opened.

I've never seen a pie shaped like that... wait. Realizing what kind of "pie" it was, Kushina blushed and glanced at Makinasa, who was watching her "masterpiece" with pride. Catching Kushina's look, Makinasa laughed nervously.

"Well... I don't sell these pies. They're just for us."

No wonder - who would buy something like that! Kushina glanced at the pie again. She didn't doubt it would taste good, but the shape was... questionable. It looked way too much like a certain male organ.

"Ahem, ahem, this time I had a flash of inspiration and outdid myself." Makinasa transferred the pie to a big plate, put it in the oven, and set it to low. Five minutes later, wearing oven mitts, she took out the steaming pie, grabbed a knife, and carefully made a hole in the tip of the "head."

"Whoa," Nakure reacted right away.

From the hole, a thick white filling began to ooze out.

"It's white chocolate. I added a little to the... well, you get it. So, who wants the sweetest part?" She cut off the tip and put it on another plate.

Kushina thought nothing could surprise her anymore, but Hanaske managed it. It turned out the sweet, calm-looking woman was into sculpting - and not just any sculpting! She made life-sized male torsos out of plaster. Two of her works were stored at Rina's house, and she promised to show them later.

"Rina, your turn," Makinasa said, turning to the embarrassed woman - who, as Kushina later learned, was actually the oldest of them all. The conversation had turned to hobbies, and it was Rina's turn to share hers.

Her eyes keep darting around, she's nervous and embarrassed. Kushina realized Rina was hiding something.

They spent several minutes coaxing her, and when Kushina promised that nothing she learned today would leave the club, Rina finally agreed.

"Why not? Sounds good! What happens in the Goitagu Club stays in the Goitagu Club. That'll be another one of our rules," Makinasa declared with feeling.

"Kushina-san, are you joining our club?" Rina asked shyly, and all eyes turned to her.

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