Capítulo 73: Chapter 59 (3/5)
The Crow's Nest
"Hey Alvarcus -"
"Go away Ino." I cut her off from finishing whatever the thought was. "I don't really care what you have to say about that confrontation at all. I did exactly what I promised to do, keep Koyuki alive. I didn't help anyone else because I don't have to, they can look after themselves. So if you're here to rip me a new one save it. I'm not in the mood."
"It's not about-"
"What part of go away didn't you understand?" I say with just a hint of a warning in my voice. "You're not going to convince me to do more. It's not happening."
"Will you let me finish?" She snarls out at me. "I hate being interrupted."
"Will you go away? Because I hate socializing after a battle. Even if I didn't really do anything. Plus I've got to figure out how I'm supposed to do what I came here to do while also upholding my agreement with Shikamaru. I'm busy." I'm banking on Doto showing up himself at some point. Then I'll get his armor off of him and get him to tell me if there's any more of the metal that is easy to get to. I wouldn't hurt to have a good supply to work with.
"I WANT MY CLOTHES!" She shouts at me in anger. "YOU! ME! MY CABIN! CLOTHES! NOW!"
"Oh. Whoops. Totally read the situation wrong. My bad?" That's not awkward at all.
"I have waited long enough!" She snatches my wrist in her hand. "We're doing this now before you miraculously slip away again!"
Ino and Anko's Cabin
"Here." She viciously throws a notebook at me and I snatch it out of the air before it hits my face.
"Uh… thanks?" I hold up the notebook in confusion.
"You moron it's a collection of all the stuff I want!" She crosses her arms and starts to tap her foot in impatience at me. "Go on. Make them."
I crack open the notebook, correction sketchbook, and flip through a couple of pages. There are detail drawing and descriptions of each outfit. Yeah I'm totally at a loss. The hell is a camisole? Or a cardigan? There's a difference between a jacket and a coat? What? I think that one is maybe a dress? But there's only one shoulder strap, is that a thing people wear?
"Okay yeah so it's the Weavers that need this." I snap it shut and give it a little dramatic wave. "How are you with giant spiders?"
"Probably okay?" Ino squeaks out. "How big are we talking? The size of a dinner plate?"
"No, the size of a full grown bulldog." I bluntly tell her. "She also wears a purple scarf if that matters."
"Do… do you have to summon her?" Ino whines. "I'd rather not."
"At least you're honest." I sigh out. "If you want them made correctly then you two should sit down and have a powwow about all the stuff you want. Plus Murasakino can get your measurements and what not so that the clothes fit better. I did promise tailored and I will deliver it."
"Well… I suppose that's okay." Ino reluctantly admits. "Can you just be between me and her at first? Until I adjust? It would make me feel more comfortable."
"Fine. Thanks for not making it into a big deal, usually people freak the fuck out." I take two steps away from Ino and while facing away from her I summon Murasakino.
"Summoner?" Her familiar scratchy voice calls out to me. "Oh hello! I've never met one of his friends before! She is your friend right?"
"Yes she is. Ino meet Murasakino. Murasakino, meet Ino. She's going to be your new model." I blandly say to the two females.
Ino pokes her head over my shoulder and gives Murasakino a little wave. She's taking this much better than I thought she would. Probably because she dealt with Keji before.
"You… you got us a model?" Murasakino asks in confused surprise.
"That's not going to be a problem is it?" I hope not. "I did kinda promise her I could get her excellent clothes so she would stop blackmailing me."
"No no think nothing of the sort!" Murasakino scrambles to assure me it's okay. "We'd love to work with one of your friends! Step out from behind him dearie I'm not going to bite. I want to see what we're working with."
Ino hesitates for just a moment then she steps out from behind me. "Hello. Thank you for doing this for me, I truly appreciate it."
"She's gorgeous!" Murasakino happily says. "Summoner where did you find us such a beautiful model?"
Ino flushes pink under the praise and plays with the hem of her skirt in happy embarrassment. "Oh please, there's no need to be so bold!"
"She found me." I answer Murasakino. "Then blackmail happened. Now you're here to get me out of it. Fair warning she's got a lot of stuff for everyone to do."
"Well come on dearie! Sounds like I've got my work cut out for me, let's talk shop." Murasakino hops up onto a bed - pretty sure that one is Anko's but hey not my problem - and pats a spot next to her with one of her many legs. "What all do you want?"
Ino snatches the sketchbook out of my hands and eagerly plops down next to Murasakino. "For starters all of these. I've been keeping this with me for years now, whenever I see someone wearing something I like I'll sketch it down in here and add notes. I've even tweaked a few to how I personally would want them to look."
"Oh Kami she said for starters." I groan out as I collapse onto the other bed.
"You have other ideas to use? Ones that aren't in this sketchbook?" Murasakino eagerly asks.
"Yes! I've got plenty of ideas and images in my head that I haven't put in here yet." Ino easily confirms. "You're the expert here, I'm just a girl dreaming about what she wants. If there's something wrong with these designs let me know and we can tweak them."
"True some of these are a bit intricate but there's nothing in here that we can't make!" Murasakino turns all eight of her beady black eyes onto Ino. "Say, deary, is this all you want or can we make more for you? There's a whole bunch of us back at the Nest and we all like to make our own ideas too. Plus we rarely get to work with a model, not to mention one as pretty as you! It'll be so much fun!"
"Of course that's fine! A collaboration effort is much better than a single mind, I'm sure they'll think of things I never would have! I'll gladly accept whatever you decide to make me!" Ino has stars in her eyes and she's drooling at the prospect.
"I've created a monster." I say to myself while watching them both dissolve into giggles about clothes.
Anko is casually strolling around the ship. First she went to get something to eat, maybe tormented a few people, bothered Kakashi about whatever puppet man meant, and now she's bored.
And tired, she's heading back to her cabin for a nap.
She's about to open the door when a noise stops her. It's coming from inside her room and she knows exactly what it is. It's Ino's voice.
"Yes!" Ino passionately shouts.
"Keep it down!" Alvarcus hisses back to her. "People are going to hear you."
"But - but it's just so good!" Ino whines.
"That doesn't make it okay to yell! I don't particularly want people to know about this, they'd never leave me alone."
"But Alvarcus what if I want more?" Ino whines and Anko can visualize the cute pout on her face. "It has to be you! You're amazing!"
"I know I am." Alvarcus has smugness bleeding off of his words. "But I don't do this for just anyone. You're a special case."
'They're boinking. They're totally boinking.' Anko lecherously grins to herself. 'And Ino loves it.'
"Alvarcus!" Ino whines out yet again. "You can't do this to me! You've shown me so much you can't take it all away now! I won't stand for it!"
"Ino you don't get a choice. This will only happen if I let it happen, this one time is a unique instance. I don't care how much you enjoyed it."
'They're figuring out who wears the pants in their relationship.' Anko draws a conclusion. 'It's in this moment that they figure out who is the alpha. My money's on Alvarcus, when his eyes are set on a goal almost nothing will stop him from completing it. And now that goal is Ino. This is so good! I get to hear the pivotal point in their relationship! YES! Ino remember everything I've taught you!'
"Alvarcus Mar you will let me do this whenever I want to!" Ino demands, she's asserting her authority.
"Ino Yamanaka do not mistake my kindness for weakness." Alvarcus growls out wielding much more authority than Ino ever could. "I allowed this to happen because you mean something to me. You do not hold the key to this, I do. It is by my will, my actions that I let this happen. I do not have to show you this kindness. Do not abuse the amount I have already shown you."
'Alvarcus won.' Anko smirked to herself. 'I bet he has her pinned up against a wall and everything, ready to claim her as his! Oh I've got to see this, it's too good to pass up!'
Anko tightly grips the doorknob and yanks the door open so quickly it's a miracle she didn't rip it off its hinges.
"COME ON! THIS IS BULLSHIT!" Anko shouts at the two fully clothed teens.
Alvarcus is casually lounging on one of the beds while Ino is sitting on the other with a giant spider next to her. They're both intently poring over a sketchbook.
Or they were, Anko's outburst drew all three of their attention to herself.
"If you're here for clothes too you can fuck off." Alvarcus growls in anger an Anko. "I'm already regretting doing this for Ino."
"It would be nice to have more than one model." Murasakino eyes Anko up and down. "She'd do nicely."
"OI!" Ino lightly tugs on one of the spider's legs. "Me first, once we're done you can move onto her. We're barely halfway through."
"GAH!" Anko throws her arms up in angry defeat and storms out of the room. 'How does this keep happening!? What do I have to do to get them to fuck each other already! This beating around the bush shit is pissing me off! They're alone in a room with beds and they're not screwing each other senseless? They're teenagers! How are they showing such restraint?'
Anko continues to storm down the hallway of the ship.
'Before this trip is over it's happening. I'm going to do everything in my power to make it happen. They're just too cute together to let this opportunity slip away.'
Hours Later
"Here we are, the Land of Snow. Hope you all enjoyed the trip! I know my bank account did!" The Captain happily shoots me a thankful look. "Laddie, that offer stands. If you ever need a job come find me, no questions asked. If you want it, it's yours."
"Thanks Captain." I roll up the large scroll that I used to seal away the cargo hold. Then I seal that scroll into one that's much smaller, who knows? Maybe I'll end up needing it later. It is convenient to have a whole bunch of large storage seals already made. Plus I have no idea how much metal I'm going to end up stealing, I highly doubt that all of it is on Doto. There's got to be some in a lab or something. I should really get Shirokumo to look into that. "But I like what I do."
Usually.
"Take care Laddie." The Captain smacks me on the back affectionately.
"You too Cap." I send him a wave as I leave the ship's crew to go to the movie crew and the Konoha shinobi.
They're loading up all of their equipment into large trucks but these trucks have been customized for the snowy and icy conditions. Instead of having rear wheels they have tracks that span almost the entire length of the vehicle. That way the weight of the truck is spread out over a greater surface area and that makes steering and maneuvering much easier.
The Land of Snow is a lot more technologically advanced than the rest of the world.
"So…" I open up conversation with the only other shinobi present. "Which one is Koyuki in?"
"You don't already know?" Shikamaru condescendingly says to me. "I'm sure as hell not going to tell you. Information is a two way street."
"Are you still pissed that I didn't tell you about Koyuki?" I snort in amusement. "Funny, if I recall correctly I agreed to keep her alive and that's it. Where in there does it say sharing information?"
"What the hell is wrong with you!" Naruto joins Shikamaru to gang up on me. "You're supposed to tell people important things like that! It doesn't matter if you said you would or not it's called being a good person!"
"But it's completely irrelevant." I brush off both of their anger at me. "It doesn't matter who she is. It doesn't matter what she's done or will go on to do. The entire mission parameter is keep her alive as she goes around the Land of Snow. That's it. None of us are here to save these people. None of us are required to do anything to either aid them or hinder them. We don't even have to look after the movie crew or Sandayu, it was only Koyuki listed. So that's what I'm doing. I'm keeping her alive at all costs. Because that's what the mission is. It makes no difference to me if it's Snow shinobi or Iwa shinobi or Konoha shinobi. If someone tries to kill her I will stop them. Simple as that."
"Orochimaru has sunk his fangs deep into you, hasn't he?" Anko says in disgust. "I remember you, before you left. You wouldn't idly stand by as others suffered."
"She's right." Kakashi joins the surprise intervention. "Remember our first C-rank? I was set on returning to the village because we were lied to about what the mission entitled. But one of my genin, moments after taking a life for his first time, stood up and looked me straight in my eye and said 'we can't let a whole country die.' What happened to that shinobi? Where is he now that another country is in need?"
"You know damn well what happened to me!" I snarl at my former sensei. "Don't you dare play that card! I am anything but apathetic!"
"Yet here you are." Anko gestures to me. "Idly standing by as your friends fight life or death battles. Telling us that we don't have to do anything simply because the mission didn't say so."
"You know nothing about me!" I growl out at her. "Do not think for a second you know who I am and what I've done!"
"We are Konoha shinobi." Naruto takes over speaking. "It does not matter if the mission scroll did or did not say so, if there are people in need how can we just ignore them? How can we go back to our home and say we left them to suffer and die?"
"You are Konoha shinobi." I scathing shout at the whole group. "I am an Oto shinobi."
"You're right." Naruto reaches into his coat and pulls something out. Before I can make out what it is he throws it at my head. Out of pure reflex my left arm darts up and catches it before it can connect. "But you used to be a Konoha shinobi."
I take a look at the object he threw at me. It's a rectangular piece of metal on a dark blue cloth. I know what this is.
"You used to call him sensei." Naruto points at Kakashi with a sharp stabbing motion. "You used to call us allies. We fought together, we saved Konoha from being trampled by a jinchuriki. You used you own body as a shield for me and because of that you lost your original heart. Alvarcus I thought you died to protect me. Only one other person has ever shown me that kindness. Someone as good as that, someone willing to do anything to protect his friends, is who you are."
It's my old Konoha headband.
"You're not him." Naruto viciously points at me. "You're not someone who stands by when he can make a difference. You're not this uncaring and disconnected person."
"You naive child! You know nothing of the real world! You don't know the horrors out there! The things that people do, the things I've done!" I pull out a kunai and with a quick slash I forever desecrate my own Konoha headband. "This is who I am now. I am not some naive child that thinks he can save everyone. I am not some innocent that believes that there's good in everyone. I understand that there are people in this world that are beyond redemption. Beyond forgiveness. There's evil in this world, I have seen it. I have experienced it. I have done it. You all need to understand that there are people who are simply beyond saving. I am one of them."
I drop it in the snow and turn away from them all.
"I'm done wasting my time here. Summoning Jutsu: Care Package!" A large parcel appears in a cloud of smoke and I viciously rip it open to reveal a long stark white cloak. It's too big for me, it's even too big for Kakashi. But it's the perfect size for one of my minions.
With a sickening squelch my water monster rips itself out of my back and I throw the cloak at it.
"Find Koyuki and protect her at all costs. I'll come back and pick you up when my own business is done. Maybe." My minion swings the cloak over its shoulders and pulls the hood over itself. All that can be seen of it is the white mask on its face and just the faintest slivers of its feet when walking, everything else is covered.
"Alvarcus what are you doing?" Kakashi demands an answer from me.
"None of your damn business." I snarl at him. "I am here for my own purposes. I did not just appear to help you on this meaningless mission."
I start to storm away from the group, heading towards a treeline that the large truck have no hope of passing through. I do not want them to follow me and since they're required to stick with Koyuki the only hope they have to chase me is to get the entire convoy to do it. But with where I'm heading they have no chance to do that.
"Alvarcus wait!" Ino shouts at me. "They don't know -"
"INO!" I roar at her with so much ferocity that she steps back and Anko steps between the two of us. She's protectively shielding Ino from my wrath. "You should not know. The only reason you do is because if I didn't tell you you would have ripped it from my mind."
"What the hell are you two talking about?" Shikamaru asks as he's preparing himself to go on the defensive. My actions have set everyone on edge.
"The real reason he went missing nin!" Ino shout to everyone. "He's still loyal to Ko-"
I release the full might of my killing intent. The already below freezing temperature plummets even further and a very surreal sensation falls on each Konoha shinobi. It's the feeling of being watched from the shadows, the feeling of something much more powerful and deadly than you gazing longingly at every kill point on your body. It's the feeling of a monster hunting its prey, it's a feeling that promises an inescapable death.
"Ino Yamanaka." I don't shout these words. There's no need to, everyone's attention is directed fully onto me already. It's not just the shinobi, some of the movie crew came out to see what we were yelling about. A few have passed out, some have wet themselves in fear, others have simply fallen to their knees in defeat with tears streaming down their faces. "If you value what remains of our friendship you will say no more."
Ino musters up every scrap of courage she can find to speak. Even then she can't stop herself from stuttering in fear. "T-they have a r-right to know w-why you're g-gone."
"And I have the right to withhold that information from whoever I want to." I narrow my eyes at her and she shrinks on herself. "It is not your secret to share. So don't."
"If you l-leave I'm going to t-tell them!" She shakily threatens me. She's trembling behind Anko's back, she's - no one here - has ever seen me this pissed before. This unrestrained. This threatening. This exposed.
"You're just a girl playing at being a kunoichi. That's not how you threaten someone. This is how you threaten someone. Jiongu." I say and my loyal water minion falls down in a kneeling position before me. When I speak it is with all the warmth of ice. "If she shares that information slaughter everyone here except Koyuki."
"Alvarcus!" Kakashi roars at me in unrestrained anger. "That is too far!"
"You all need to get something threw your thick skulls!" I shout back. "I do not want to be here! I do not want to go back to Konoha! I can't be saved! Leave! ME! ALONE!"
I whirl back towards the trees and start sprinting towards them.
"Alvarcus stop!" Naruto shouts after my retreating form. "Alvarcus don't run away! Don't leave again! Please!"
There's real pain in his voice. This is hurting him, not physically but emotionally. He hasn't seen me since we got Tsunade together. He hasn't seen what I've become. But now he's seen it first hand. He knows now. And it hurts him to realize that I don't want to go back.
I don't look over my shoulder as I disappear from their line of sight. I don't spare them a glance.
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