Naruto : Venom

Two Weeks Since Entering the Pit

”You know, it really isn’t that bad down here once we have the other experiments trained.” I casually say to Sasuke and Gina as we stroll over to the waiting table of food. It’s completely untouched but it has been down here for over twenty minutes.

”It does make things much easier. I’m surprised that it took a week to train them to not touch the food until we ate.” Sasuke adds as all three of us sit down to enjoy our meal.

”I thought it would take longer.” I remark as I pour myself a glass of chilled milk and grab some toast. Even down here I can still find solitude in my usual breakfast food. ”Pain is one hell of a motivator.”

”Gina is happy! She’s never been able to eat so well!” She excitedly starts to pile a mountain of food on her plate. The girl can eat.

”Well that makes one of us.” Sasuke drearily says. ”I still remember what good food is.”

”I do too, but I mean come on! What we’ve done is impressive!” I take a hearty gulp of my milk. ”Besides, as long as I can have something that reminds me of topside I’ll be alright.”

~Host! Don’t let them eat! It’s poisoned!~

”Sasuke Gina stop!” I order with the utmost urgency.

”Damn, I wanted to get all of you in one go.” A sultry voice I’ve never heard before calmly says from behind me. It’s walking up to the table. ”Oh well, I can work with just one of you.” The owner of the voice plops down right next to me.

How bold.

I get a good look at the voice’s owner. It isn’t an it, but a she. She’s a figure of pure grace, easily rivaling Sasuke’s elegant movement. She has a shockingly black segmented tail that extends out of the base of her spine and arcs gracefully over her head. There’s a vicious looking stinger on the end that is a bright white in contrast to the rest of the tail. Upon closer observation I can tell that she isn’t actually wearing clothes, rather she’s covered by some form of a carapace or armor that matches the black of her tail.

”Hold up.” I cut in. ”Are you supposed to be a scorpion?”

She tenderly drapes herself across my shoulders. ”How observant! Not only did you recognize that there was a poison in the food, but you deduced my species as well! Not everyone can do that, consider me impressed.” She grins maliciously at Sasuke and Gina. ”Now, your friend here,” She gives me a loving pat on the chest, ”is full of my most potent poison. Only I posses the antidote.”

”That’s nice.” Sasuke says with disinterest. He’s poking at his food with a depressed look about him. ”I was hungry too.”

”I only have a few terms if you want him to live.” She starts to stroke my cheek with the back of her thankfully still human hands. If they were pincers I would be freaking out. ”Nothing too major really.”

”Do go on.” Sasuke says in his still disinterested tone. This time he’s suspiciously looking at his water. ”I’m simply riveted. And thirsty.”

”I wish to be taken under your wing, so to speak.” The scorpion lady eloquently speaks. ”I seek your protection. I offer my expertise at poisons, obviously you all need that. After all,” she pats my head again, ”he had to ingest it to figure out it was poisoned. How are you by the way? Usually there’s twitching by now.”

”Just peachy, thanks for asking.” I casually reply. ”And yourself?”

”I am quite well! Observant and polite! Such a rarity down here.” She turns both her and my head to look at me better. ”You have such a lovely skin color, I haven’t seen anything this delicate in a long time.”

”Can’t say the same about you.” I lazily swat at her hand that’s holding onto my face. ”Although I am curious about something about you.”

”Do ask, it’s only fair that I answer. You are about to die after all.” She says with false concern. ”Unless... your friends decide to save you. All they have to do is agree to my terms.”

”Goodie!” I chirp out. ”What color is your blood?”

She blanches away from me. ”It’s... it’s red. Why would you ask that?” She looks me up and down. ”Why can you ask that? You should be nothing more than a spasming mess on the floor right now. Usually there’s a lot of drooling, then coughing up blood, then they eyes roll back and then death.”

”Well that’s boring.” I wrap my arm around her waist, trapping her next to me. ”Red gets repetitive after you kill so many creatures. I was hoping for a blue or even a green. Something to break up the monotony.”

”What are you?” She asks with her first hint of fear.

”Excellent question. For starters, I’m immune to poisons.” She goes ramrod straight in my grasp. ”And after that... well I really don’t know anymore.”

Sasuke is idly rolling an apple back and forth. ”Did she poison all the food or just the milk and toast?”

”Gina hopes it was just the milk and toast.” She frowns at her teeming plate of food. ”Waste of food.”

”Anyways, you’ve made an attempt on my life.” I start to squeeze her.

Her face contorts in mild pain. ”You must see reason. It was the only way to prove I could be useful.”

”Or... I don’t know... you could have talked to us?” I apply more pressure to her, there’s an audible groan as her carapace endures the stress. ”We don’t kill those who simply wish to talk. It’s those who threaten us, those who demand from us, those who try to trick us.”

”Release me!” She demands as she darts her tail at my neck. I casually slap it away with my free arm. ”Release me this instant!”

I don’t. I squeeze even harder.

CRACK

”You should have talked with us. You shouldn’t have poisoned me. But your biggest mistake was attempting to gain our attention through questionable means. You have it now, and this is your reward.”

”LET ME GO!” She is trying everything to get free. She’s beating me with her fists, she’s trying to spear me with her tail, she’s squirming. Nothing is working.

”Did you poison anything else or was it just the milk?” I ask in a level voice.

”Just the milk!” She instantly answers in a misguided hope that it will ease her pain. ”Usually all three of you drink it! I can only make so much poison, it was the best option for me if I wanted to get all three of you!”

”That’s good to know.” Sasuke says as he takes a bite of the apple.

”Gina could fix it anyways.” She says as she digs into her food. ”Just not for herself. Medical jutsu is hard for Gina to use on Gina.” That’s good to know.

”Please let me go now!” The scorpion lady begs me. ”I answered your question! I’ll leave you alone! You’ll never see me agai-”

CRUNCH

”Really?” Sasuke says with a great amount of disdain. ”You couldn’t have angled that better? You got her blood all over the food.”

”Oh gross!” I stand up and start trying to wipe myself down. ”That was a terrible idea! Gross gross gross I have her all over me! Who cares about the damn food! I’m covered in bits and pieces that aren’t supposed to be on me!”

Sasuke rolls his eyes as he moves to the far end of the table that’s not covered in blood and guts. Gina follows him. ”How did you not know that would happen? You crushed her right next to you!”

”Gina expected a pop not a crunch.” She helpfully adds on. ”It would have been funny if there was a crackle.”

”How are you two so calm! I’m covered in guts!” I shout at my seemingly indifferent company.

”Please, this isn’t the first time.” Sasuke waves me away. ”Go clean up in the waterfall.”

”But it’s so cold!” I whine. That water is freezing, but it is also the only thing we have to stay clean.

”That’s what you get for killing her like that. Serves you right.”

...

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