Naruto : Venom

”Mental note: Destroy all the footage of me before leaving.” I mutter to myself. ”Stupid idiots, do they really think I’m going to let my face be plastered to a big screen?”

...

”I don’t know, it could be your true calling.” Ino jokingly says from off to my left. She scaled the mast just to see me. She’s standing on the half of the crow’s nest that hasn’t been turned into a hammock. ”You really do have lovely hair. It’s gotta be easy to work with. Hm, perhaps I should style it for you? You haven’t really changed it at all since the Academy. You just let it lay down all flat like.”

”Don’t touch my hair.” I say with a hint of a playful warning. ”There’s a reason my style hasn’t changed, I like it this way. That being said you’ve sure changed a lot.”

”I have?” She asks in confusion. ”Sure I got a new hairstyle but it’s not that different from before.”

”I meant your attire.” I swivel my head to pointedly look at her. I slowly drag my eyes up and down her body. ”Or lack of. Did I mention I approve?”

Whoops, hopefully that didn’t come across as perverted. Can’t take it back now.

”You think so?” Ino blushes madly and she smooths out her coat. Yet she doesn’t make any move to cover herself. ”It’s a bit drafty but it’s been so much fun! You wouldn’t believe how easily flustered boys are!”

”Oh do go on.” I drone out. ”I’m simply captivated.”

”You know you’re the only one to react differently.” Ino huffs in mock anger. ”They all blushed then looked away. Or attempted to look away, they kept stealing glances whenever they thought I wasn’t looking. But you’ve simply accepted it and moved on. What? Am I not pretty enough for you?” Ino plants her right hand on her hip and uses her left to gesture to her body.

”Yeah I won’t be answering that.” I dryly respond. ”That’s not a loaded question at all.”

”What are you gay or something?” Ino blurts out. ”I mean come on! I’m hot! Though you do spend a lot of time with Sasuke and he’s dreamy. Oh! Are you two a thing?”

”Okay, first of all I’m not gay.” Clearing that one up right away. ”I can’t speak for Sasuke but I don’t swing that way. Though I have been hit on by guys before.”

”Wait really?” Ino asks in surprise. ”You have?”

”Yeah, it was very flattering. He thought I looked attractive enough to hit on me, that’s a compliment right there. I just thanked him for the compliment then explained that I’m straight. That was it, no big deal. We both got a good laugh about it and he still bought me a drink anyways. Nice guy.”

”Huh.” Ino doesn’t know how to respond to that.

”Second of all,” I continue before she can ask more questions like who was he and where did we meet and how was I someplace that I can drink. It’s for the best she doesn’t ask those questions since that particular experience didn’t happen in this lifetime, it’s from my first life. ”Yes. You are hot.”

”Then why aren’t you blushing! Or flustered! Or reacting at all!” Ino practically shouts at me. ”How are you not reacting!”

”Ino, when you’ve done the things I have something as simple as showing a lot of skin isn’t as impactful.” I bluntly tell her.

”Wait have you had… had…” She blushes madly and starts to fidget. She’s digging her toes into the floor.

”Have I had… come on. I don’t know what you’re asking.” I urge her to finish her sentence.

”Sex!” She blurts out then swiftly covers her mouth with her hands.

”Hold on a moment.” I fully swivel my head from the stars to give her my full attention. ”You’re okay with asking if I’m gay but you don’t want to ask me if I’ve had sex?”

”I didn’t think you’d answer the first one!” She defends herself. ”I was trying to fluster you, get you caught off guard! I didn’t know you’d actually tell me an answer! Now spill it! Have you?”

”Have I what?” I tauntingly tease her as a playful smirk forms on my face. Two can play that game Ino. ”I don’t know what you’re asking.”

”Alvarcus Mar you know exactly what I’m asking!” Ino correctly accuses me. ”I expect an answer!”

”I’m sorry, could you please repeat the question?” My smirk grows wider. ”I seem to have forgotten it.”

”You insufferable bastard!” She stomps her foot in anger. ”Have you… have you had… have you had sex?”

”There. It wasn’t that hard to ask, was it?” I tease her a bit more. She’s cute when she’s all angry and flustered like this.

”Yes it was! It’s so awkward!” She huffs out and crosses her arms and starts to tap her foot. ”Now. I expect my answer.”

”Nope!” I easily answer her and pop the p.

”Then what did you mean when you said ’showing a lot of skin isn’t as impactful?’” She asks.

”For starters we’re shinobi, privacy isn’t always an option. If you’ve never undressed in front of your teammates until now then you’re a fluke. Then the couple weeks I spent with Jiraiya the Super Pervert, you can imagine how that went. He tried his best to corrupt me, and I hate to admit it but he did succeed a little. Then there’s the whole Orochimaru having me sit in on some of his more… crazy experiments. Test subjects don’t need clothes.”

”Oh.” Ino’s voice softens. ”He’s had you sit in on experiments? Like on people?”

I’ve soured the mood. It’s not the light hearted, albeit very peculiar, one from before. I’ve stained it by bringing up Orochimaru, the nice moment we were sharing is gone.

”Yes.” I quietly reply as I turn my gaze towards the stars again. I don’t want to see her change her opinion of me. I don’t want to watch her begin to hate me.

”Have you… participated?” Ino hesitantly asks me.

”Only when he’s asked me to.” The once nice night isn’t so nice anymore. Even the stars seem dimmer. ”There are even a few I straight up refused to participate in. He didn’t like that.”

”Oh.” She softly says again. ”Do you mind if I ask what they were?”

”You don’t want to know.” I will not be sharing what they’ve entitled. What I’ve witnessed. What I’ve done. ”And I don’t want to remember. The difference is you have a choice. I’m going to always remember them.”

”Oh.” She awkwardly rubs her arms with her hands, like she’s trying to warm herself up. ”They’re that bad?”

”Ino.” I let just a hint of emotion leak into my voice. It’s not anger or rage at her for asking me. It’s desperation, the tone of someone who has simply lost hope. ”Can we not? Please?”

A long silence falls between us. She’s simply standing there watching me with mixed emotions. Pity, respect, fear, anger, sadness, trust, disgust. Every single one of those plays across her face. She feels conflicted about me. She doesn’t know what to feel towards me anymore.

”You know we all miss you.” Ino solemnly says.

”Ino. Please.” The pain in my voice causes her to flinch. I’m all but begging her on my knees. ”Don’t make this harder on me than it already is. Please.”

”I miss you.” She softly continues despite my plea. ”No one else knows what you’re really doing. They all think you went missing nin, that you’ve abandoned Konoha.”

”Ino-”

”They’re wrong.” She doesn’t let me get a word in. ”They’re all wrong. You’ve never abandoned Konoha, you never abandoned us. You willingly subjected yourself to this because you want to protect everyone. You’re one of the most compassionate people I’ve ever met, you’ve cut ties to your home so you can protect it. You always look out for everyone, you wouldn’t believe how much everyone has been training recently. They’re leagues better than they were because of you. You’ve never once stopped caring about us.”

”Alvarcus, no matter what anyone else says I want you to always know something. Even if all of the world calls you evil and a traitor, I want you to know that I’ll always see you as a hero. You’re a hero that doesn’t get any recognition, you’re a nameless hero that works in the shadows to achieve your bittersweet victory. But you are a hero. Never forget that.”

Ino doesn’t wait for my reply, she turns away from me and hops out of the crow’s nest. She expertly lands on the deck and walks away like she didn’t just do something that kills normal people.

She only makes it to four steps from the door before something unexpected happens. A dark green coat lands on her head, wrapping around her and obscuring her vision. She quickly pulls the still warm coat off her head and sends a questioning look at the crow’s nest. It’s my coat, the one I was wearing.

”It’s cold where we’re going.” I lean back into my hammock and gaze up at the stars once more.

”Thank you Alvarcus.” Ino pulls the slightly too large coat on and zips it shut. ”Wow. It’s really warm in here.”

”No Ino, thank you.” I whisper out to the sky, too soft for her to hear me.

...

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