Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Closer ❯ Chapter 17

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

It was dark, she couldn’t see but she could hear, and smell. Her wrist rested firmly in Sasuke’s large, warm hand as she was tugged along. Orochimaru said it was precaution that she and Rei didn’t see where they were headed. Her blindfold pressed heavily against her eyes and temples. The only time it was taken off was when they rested for the night. She and Rei would always be in some kind of tent before they were removed as to ensure ‘security’ as Kabuto put it. It was like that for four nights before they arrived at another base.

Deep down, inside the clay walls of the concrete chambers, Ino arrived at her room alone. Six doors down from Orochimaru’s and Kabuto’s chambers. She tried not to think of the proximity, finding comfort in knowing that Sasuke was only two doors down and Rei, three doors down from her room.

The room in itself was nothing much to look at. A lone candle lamp lit the small dwelling making the shadows dance lazily against the grey monotone walls. The bed looked comfortable enough and she threw her lumpy bag on the wooden table in the corner. Kicking off her shoes, she sank on the firm mattress with a low sigh. So this was it huh? It was such a cold dark place, how could Anko live like this for so long? During their rest times, in between training when she got to go on missions with her team, Anko would tell her stories about her life living with Orochimaru. She told her the things she would have to do, and told her how easy Orochimaru would worm his way into people’s trust. Anko had trusted him with childlike awe and in the end, he only used her. He branded her with his cursed mark and left her to die in Wave Country.

No matter what, you can never trust him Blondie. Never…

Ino lowered her eyes to her hands, resting on her lap. She had experienced his charisma on her way here. He talked so nicely to her, smiled warmly at her with his borrowed body and had asked how Leaf Village was doing since he last visited. He sounded like he missed the place. She had to remember that Orochimaru and Kabuto were once Leaf Ninja like she and Rei, but she also had to remember that they had tried to destroy her home. The nice smiles, warm chuckles, earnest questions were just a front. It made her angry that they talked to her like that when she knew full well that Orochimaru would try and take over again. In Sasuke’s body…

Ino pulled her knees to her chest. That was something weighing heavily on her mind. Did Sasuke know what Orochimaru had planned for him? She found it hard not to think that he did, but, would he actually let the Snake Sannin do it? It was the price he was paying for power, she argued to herself. Such a heavy price for revenge. Every time she thought of Sasuke’s goal, she always thought of the last dream she had when Itachi told Sasuke about the Mangekyo Sharingan. The sadness in his last thoughts would forever vibrate in her head. It made her so confused.

Over that past two years since it had happened, she wondered if everyone was looking at Itachi’s actions the wrong way. The first time she thought about it, she was horrified at her train of thought. He had killed his whole clan. He had killed his family and left only Sasuke alive. Why? So Sasuke could cultivate his hatred into revenge? Could hate and anger really make someone strong?

No an inner voice whispered harshly to her. There had to be more, Itachi was a genius. He had a reason, one that she would find out eventually. Her first and foremost thoughts would be on surviving this. Hopefully she could change Sasuke’s mind, maybe he would come back to the village? Deep down she knew that that was wishful thinking, but she had to try. She had to stick it out until Naruto and Sakura came. With all three of them there, Sasuke would have to listen.

Morning in the new base was the same as most mornings. Ino thought that Orochimaru was trying to recreate family meals. Part of her could understand part of that since she knew Orochimaru lost his parents in the war when he was young. Kabuto as well. Anko told her that he had been found among the dead at the Battle of Kikyo Pass in the third war. He was just a baby and was taken in by a medic nin and raised in Leaf.

Rei was silent and brooding, and Sasuke was half heartedly listening to what Orochimaru was telling him. Kabuto stared at her with a small grin, no doubt anticipating their day together. Absently she wondered what Rei would be doing here and what Orochimaru had planned for him. Slouched in his chair, Ino saw that he was just playing with his food. She knew he could handle himself. Even though he would mumble something about what his skills were, she took comfort in knowing that at least he was a Jonin.

Ino glance over the table at Sasuke who was finishing his rice. He had become a bit distant since their arrival. Sure they talked and stuff, but she could tell his mind was elsewhere. He was probably in one of his moods, she thought in a bit of irritation.

“Finished?” Kabuto’s voice brought her from her thoughts and she put her eating utensils down.

“Yes.” She stood when he stood not bothering to hide her displeasure at the thought of beginning her training. He led her to his spotless lab where there were already two others working. When he entered both, a long faced older man and an expressionless younger woman, turned and bowed their heads in respect. They had the same white lab coats she had on buttoned sternly to the throat. She opted for a more casual approach, leaving it open to reveal the front of her purple uniform. Her headband had been confiscated when her clothes were returned to her at the last base.

“This is Ino. She will be my cute student from now on.” Kabuto introduced her nicely.

“Until I escape.” Ino corrected, sending a defiant glare at his boyish smile.

“Until she escapes.” Kabuto mused dryly and took his own lab coat from the woman. “Treat her kindly.”

The young woman eyed her haughtily, not hiding her distaste. “And if we don’t?” She had the nerve to ask. Ino skewered her with ice blue daggers, instantly putting her hand to her hip in challenge.

“You have a problem with me?” Ino demanded. The woman shook back her two black braids that rested on both shoulders and her mud brown eyes clashed with Ino’s.

“And if I do?” She said in a clipped tone, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin. She didn’t get to answer. Kabuto began to chuckle softly at her side.

“Be careful Ume. She’s Sasuke’s girl.”

Ume’s eyes lost some fire. Ino continued to glare at her for a second before she turned her glare to Kabuto. He didn’t need to drop Sasuke’s name for her benefit. She could have handled frizzy haired Ume herself. She fisted her hand. She would show them that she was strong without Sasuke.

There was a tense silence. The long faced older man hadn’t even lifted his head. He seemed meek.  A simple follower Ino decided. “Well now, shall we begin Ino? Ume, Kenji finish with the patients in lab four.”

Kenji bobbed his salt and pepper head and scampered out of the room, but Ume stayed where she was, her round lips pursed in anger. “You’re going to stay in here alone with her?”

Ino lifted an interested brow, finally realizing why Ume took a sudden dislike to her. She had a thing for Kabuto. Ugh, gross. If it had been any other person, they would have just let it be, but Ino wasn’t any other person. She would give Ume a reason to dislike her.

“What are we going to start on Kabuto?” She asked, leaning forward on the counter, her back to Ume to exclude her from the conversation. It also showed Ume that she wasn’t afraid to turn her back on her. Kabuto smirked, pulling a couple of clipboards from his neat desk.

“We’re going to make rounds first. So you can get acquainted with our patients and the different labs we’ll be working in.” Ino took a clipboard from him, feigning interest in his neat scrawl.

Ino glanced to her side at Ume. “You’re still here? Kabuto, didn’t you send her on her way?” She asked sweetly.

“I did.” He said with a heated glare at the fuming woman. “Why are you still here? Get going!” He barked and walked out of the room. Ino smirked and sauntered out of the lab, giggling when she heard a glass breaking against the wall. Her first friend here. This would be interesting.

Her smug happiness was short lived once Kabuto began showing her the different patients. They were hardly patients at all. She unconsciously stuck close to him when they walked down rows and rows of dark prison cells that housed way more people then she saw in the first base. Most of these ones were naked from the top, only wearing tattered, stained pants and rusted chains. It smelled worse than the last place as well. A mixture of sweat, blood, body odor and death hung in the air like thick fog and she had no choice but to put a hand to her nose and mouth.

“Where did these people come from?” She asked behind her hand.

He glanced in disinterest at the cells. “Oh, everywhere and anywhere.” He said with a nonchalant wave of his hand. “It’s not hard to find patients.”

She scowled, thinking back to Wave Country and Fish Girl. He took her from the dungeons and back to where things smelled normal. The labs held a variety of things and a variety of people she was introduced to. She found herself at the end of more heated glares and whispers, and not just from the girls. A few guys were looking unhappy as well so she was beginning to think that there was something else that was making her an enemy.

“Care to tell me why I have daggers in my back? Everyone you’ve introduced me to don’t seem happy to meet me.” She asked when they braked for lunch in one of the larger offices of the base.

“They’re just jealous. You’re the first apprentice I’ve taken on in a while. Many would kill to have your position.” He said with a bit of pride.

“Oh lucky me.” She muttered sarcastically, taking a bite of her warm rice ball.

“You’ll learn to appreciate what I’m going to teach you Ino.” He said, leaning into the lunch table. “You’ll learn things that Lady Tsunade would never allow you to do. Things that could be considered forbidden.”

“Considered?” Ino arched a brow. “You mean are forbidden.”

Kabuto shrugged. “Could there be a limit to knowledge? You have to define forbidden. Why are they forbidden when they could do so much? To benefit the many, a few are sacrificed.”

Ino’s anger flared. “Don’t try to preach philosophy to me. I know what you do. I saw you kill a grieving woman in cold blood. She was begging you to let her daughter go!” Ino exploded, slamming her hand down. “I saw the way you treated the dead! Piling them up like logs and letting them rot without proper burial! Do you know how many children you left to be orphans? You of all people should have more compassion for them! What if it had been you? What if you had been left to die in Kikyo  Pass?”

Kabuto’s face had gone stone cold and before she realized what had happened, he had a hand around her throat. She was slammed against the back wall of the office with a heaving mad Kabuto bearing down on her with raging anger. “That was nothing compared to what I can do.” He hissed, squeezing her neck with an iron grip. Grey bangs fell across his flashing dark eyes, over his glasses. “You are my student now and I can make your training a living hell. I know a lot about you Ino, I know your kind. Sasuke may be your guardian angel but you’re one to prove yourself on your own.” His hand loosened. “You won’t tell him anything you don’t have to. You’re independent and I’ll use that to serve my own agenda.”

Ino struggled, trying to pull his hand off of her throat. “I could tell him.” She bit out, finally freeing herself from his grasp. She rubbed her neck.

“But you won’t will you?” He shot back, straightening his clothes and shaking his hair back. Ino glared at him, the urge to mind rape him pressing urgently into her conscious. How dare he touch her! “If you go running to Sasuke every time you have a problem, gradually he’ll grow tired of it. He likes strong people.” She knew what he was doing but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing it was working. When she started this mission, it wasn’t just to bring Sasuke back. All her training was to make her stronger. She wasn’t lying when she told Lady Tsunade that she didn’t want to be a weakness to him. To know that he thought she was weak bruised her pride more than Sakura ending their friendship. Coming here and fighting her way through this mission was going to make her stronger. Kabuto knew this. She fearfully wondered what else he knew.

Ino summoned her courage. “You think that you have me at your mercy? You think pride rules me to be independent?” She took a step forward locking eye. “Are you going to test my limit to see if that’s true?”

That made him quietly glower at her with a clenching jaw. Her eyes didn’t waver, but his didn’t either. It was a silent surrender for both sides. A tentative knock made them turn to see old man Kenji at the door threshold. He hunched his shoulders and offered up a wooden hand box of scrolls. Kabuto schooled his featured with an easy smile. The tension they had been trapped in faded and Ino became neutral.

“Thank you Kenji.” He took the scrolls and the man scurried out with a muttered ‘welcome’. Turning to Ino he held them out. “For you. These are a bit harder than the text book so you have the rest of the week to study these.”

Ino took the box. “What are these?”

Kabuto smiled. “I find that there is only so much you can learn from books. I like the hands-on approach. Tomorrow, we’ll practice with this one.” He picked up a thin scroll before dropping it back into the box. “Read thoroughly.”

She wasn’t completely trapped in the base and was glad about it. Sasuke usually wanted her to come with him when he went into town for an errand or to get some supplies. He was greeted by the townsfolk and the females would stare openly at him. Ino smirked. Some things never changed, she thought tipping her head up and catching the eye of a few young men of her own.

Sound Village seemed normal enough. It was a lot like other villages in Fire Country with their own brigades of ninjas and common folk. Children ran about happily and the street vendors called out their wares. It was…normal.

“Here.” Sasuke opened the door to an herbal shop. The smell reminded her of Sakura’s lab. During her short medical training Ino had helped her out on different concoctions for medications and balms. Even Hinata had helped. Her homemade ointment was used for the base of many different remedies.

Kabuto had given Sasuke a list, and it was apparent to her that he did this a lot so she took the chance to look around. In the back was burning incense. The smoky lavender fragrance calmed her but suddenly she felt a pang of heartache. On one of the rickety tables, was just a simple vase of flowers. Some daisies and clovers with a few gnarled branches to offset the colors of the flowers. Ino stroked one of the daisy’s petals and wondered how her dad was doing. If he was okay and eating right. Sakura would be getting along in her training and so would Naruto. Shikamaru was probably doing his missions with the same annoyance and boredom and Choji…she missed his sweet smile. It had only been a few weeks since her capture, but it felt like years since she left Leaf.

“What are you doing?” Ino didn’t jump at his voice because she felt his chakra signature snake around her before he spoke.

“Nothing.” She murmured, removing her fingers from the flower. She smiled at him, hiding the sadness in her eyes the best she could. “Finished?”

He held up the brown paper sack in answer and they left the shop, arriving back at the base a short while later. She was going to head back to her room to start studying Kabuto’s scrolls when Sasuke stopped her, closing her door with his foot.

“Let’s take a walk.” Ino raised a brow.

“But Orochimaru—”

“I don’t care. Do you want to come out or stay in?”

Ino smiled. “Such a hard choice.” She muttered sarcastically. It was dark by the time they left the base so Ino stuck close by Sasuke. The night was a bit warm since the sun’s heat still clung to the ground and hung in the air. There were low overhanging clouds in the sky and the visible stars glowed brightly against the inky depths. “Where are we going?”

Sasuke didn’t break from his stride. “You’ll see. We’re almost there so be patient.” He gave her a side look with one of those smexy Sasuke smirks. “I know that’s not one of your strengths.”

Ino smirked right back, lowering her lashes to shadow her blue eyes mysteriously. “Better be some place good.” She put her hands behind her back and sauntered ahead of him. He ‘tch’-ed and motioned her to follow him over a shallow cresting hill.

“The moon should be coming out soon.” Sasuke murmured once they stood, overlooking a dark meadow-valley. He tilted his head up. His black hair fluttered weakly in the breeze. Ino delicately frowned. Why did he bring her here? Her eyes were roaming over the darkened valley when the moon broke free from the clouds and hundreds of white daisies lit up the valley. A gasp escaped her lips and she greedily took in the sight. Slowly she left his side and walked down the hill to the valley pausing at a patch of unopened bulbs. She took her special kunai from her thigh holster and crouched down, inserting it into the ground. Her chakra easily erected the kunai and began lacing itself into the dirt and roots of the flowers. One by one, the flowers began opening, stretching their petals out as if waking from a nap.
She lingered in the valley for a while, stoking the different flowers that surrounded her and allowed her happy memories of home flow through her. Her heart felt better. Smiling, she looked over her shoulder to see Sasuke lying on the hill, staring at the stars. Her smile softened and she quietly hiked up the hill and sank to her knees next to him.

“Feel better?” He asked, cracking open his eyes. Ino leaned down, inches from his lips.

“Thank you.” She murmured before giving him a teasing brush with her mouth. It took her some will power not to take it further. He was being nice, but she wanted him to work for her kiss. Darkness surrounded them as once again the moon hid in the clouds. She was about to sit back down but Sasuke’s arms shot around her waist and he pulled her back down.

“I think I deserve more than that.” He breathed before crushing his mouth down on hers, possessively tightening his hold on her. She mentally grinned, opening her mouth a little more. Sasuke…thank you for being there, even if you’re a missing nin, you’ll always remind me of Leaf…

Ino’s cedar necklace fell from her blouse and swung freely in the air…