Chapter 1: Apathetic Love
Ino jumped from branch to branch, trying to avoid being tracked down. She hid behind some leafy foliage and tried to control her breathing until it lowered to light inhales and exhales. Analyzing her surroundings, she turned her head slightly to try and identify any peculiar characteristics the forest might hold. Out of nowhere, a kunai flew straight towards her. She tried to dodge it, but the kunai managed to graze her arm.
"Shit," she cursed through gritted teeth.
She used her charka to bend the surrounding trees into a safe barrier to protect her from the rest of the flying weapons. However, the barrier began to crack as a monstrous arm peeked from a gaping hole, growing bigger as the arm applied more force. Ino tried to jump out, but the barrier was too high, and soon, Juugo ripped the whole partition out. The large arm was lifted up and quickly went down, but Ino jumped up before the force could knock her down. She jumped around, trying to escape, but stepped into a puddle that slowly started to wrap itself around her. The puddle morphed into Suigetsu, who pulled out a kunai and held it to her neck.
"Checkmate," murmured Suigetsu with a smirk. Ino struggled to get away, but he held her firmly. "Now, now, don't be a bad girl. It'll just earn you a spanking." He called over to Juugo. "Yo, I've got her."
But Juugo was still in his monstrous form. He approached them with a maniacal look in his eyes. "What the fuck are you doing?" hissed Suigetsu. "We're finished!" However, he commenced further and tried to decimate them. "Kabuto! Where the hell are you?! He's going crazy!" He jumped away with Ino in his arms.
"AHA GOT YOU NOW!" barked Juugo. "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME!"
The sounds of typing could be heard and soon the surrounding forest disappeared to reveal a large white room. Kabuto dashed into the room. "Juugo! That's enough!"
Juugo turned his head to look at Kabuto and looked ready to attack, but instead fell to the floor with his head in his hands. "Wh-what's happening to m-me?" stuttered Juugo. Kabuto tried to approach him, but he screamed, "G-get away! I might try to hurt you again!" He sank to the floor into fetal position and started muttering to himself. "No…no…this can't be happening again…I can't control it…" Tears poured down his eyes.
"I think that's enough for today," commented Kabuto lightly. "Yamanaka-san, Hozuki-san, are you two alright?"
"Oh of course, I mean it's not like I haven't been attacked by this demon before," replied Suigetsu, rolling his eyes. "I'm peachy as a bowl of tangerines." His words were practically dripping with sarcasm.
Ignoring his comment, Kabuto looked at Ino. "Well, Yamanaka-san, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Kabuto-san," said Ino softly. "Is Juugo going to be alright?"
Kabuto threw a glance at Juugo. "He'll be back to himself in no time."
"Geezes, Yamanaka, you think you're worthy enough to call yourself Orochimaru-sama's subordinate?" sneered a red head woman standing at the doorway. "Kabuto, just give up on her. She doesn't know how to use her powers."
Ino just blankly stared at her "That's enough Karin," replied Kabuto. "Come on, let's go. Suigetsu, help Juugo up."
"Oh, it'll be my pleasure. I'm just joyous to be Juugo's nanny."
"Shut up, you stupid bastard," spat Karin.
"Why are you always such a bitch?" retorted Suigetsu.
"Why are you such a sarcastic ass?"
"Be quiet you two," hushed Kabuto. "Hurry up." He walked out the door, followed by Karin.
"Hmph, he expects me carry this guy out all by myself?" muttered Suigetsu to himself.
"Suigetsu-kun? Would you like me to help?" asked Ino.
He looked at her suspiciously. "Fine, you grab his left side, I'll take care of his right."
She obeyed and they dragged Juugo out of the simulation room. Kabuto and Karin were already ahead. Ino struggled under his weight, but tried to keep the hefty man up.
"Are we free to go after this?" questioned Suigetsu.
"Yes, but we'll need you in an hour or so. Orochimaru-sama wants to see you three. It's about dinner." Suigetsu raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
"Three? And what about me?" asked Karin with a frown.
"You can ask Ino-chan. It is for her after all."
Karin turned her head and glared at Ino. "Her? Why would he throw a dinner party for her? She's a weakling and a burden to Orochimaru-sama!" Ino pursed her lips.
"Gawd, Karin, do you ever stop bitching at people?" muttered Suigetsu.
"What did you say Suigetsu? Do you want a piece of me?" Karin stopped in her tracks and turned to face Suigetsu.
"Karin, please," began Kabuto, also stopping.
"Karin-san…I would be honored if you went," interrupted Ino, still looking at the ground.
"At least someone knows how to treat a lady around here," said Karin. They continued on their way.
Juugo started to regain conscious and was able to walk by himself. "Are you okay, Juugo-kun?" asked Ino.
"Hn," grunted Juugo.
"Orochimaru-sama would like you all to look presentable. He has provided you three with some new clothes. I'll come get you all in about an hour. For now, just go to your rooms and rest. Toodles." He gave them a wave and made a turn, leaving them to go to their rooms.
"What would he want with you?" pondered Karin with distaste.
"Are you still on that?" said Suigetsu. "Yo, Juugo, did you hear anything Kabuto said?"
He grunted.
"I'll take that as a yes."
They came to a fork in the path and Ino took one of the turns, waving a farewell to the other three and walked alone down the dark hallway. The lanterns hanging on the walls barely provided enough light. The sound of footsteps could be heard echoing, bouncing off the walls. She stopped, but there was another pair echoing. She turned around and scanned down the hallway, but saw no one. Strange, thought Ino to herself. She turned around again and before she could take another step, a man appeared in front of her, smiling. "Hello Miss Lovely."
She jumped back from being surprised. After she calmed down, she greeted him. "Hello, Sai. You seriously have to stop that." They began to walk. "Sai, can I ask you something?"
"Hm, what is it?"
"Well, it's kind of weird, but when I'm with Kabuto…I feel different. Like, I want to always be near him, but the moment I get closer…my heart gets all weird…I don't know, like it speeds up or something, and when I'm not with him, all I want to do is hear his voice…and when I look into his eyes…I don't know, I just want to know if I'm going crazy. Have you ever felt that way, Sai?"
He put his hand under his chin and thought for a while. "I can't say I have. During my time in Root, they taught me how to get rid of all my emotions. From the books I've read, it seems to me that it sounds like something they call 'love'."
"Is this 'love'…good?"
"Well, the majority of the time, it ends up in pain and something else called 'heartbreak', but most claim that it's one of the most beautiful things that lavish this earth. There are, however, different kinds of love. Personally, I don't see what's so great about it."
"Will I get hurt, do you think?"
Again
he paused to think about his choice of words. "I'm not certain,
but you're strong. I'm sure you can handle it."
"…thank
you, Sai."
"I think," began Sai, "if I could feel emotions more easily, then I would maybe feel that way about you."
"Can you love someone without feeling nervous?"
"I suppose so. I've read somewhere that children love their parents and sometimes companions love each other."
They took another turn and stopped at Ino's room. "Sai, is it okay if I love you then?"
He pondered her question, letting the idea roll around in his mind. "Yes, I think I would like that."
A smile appeared on her face as she opened the door with a key. "Good-bye, Sai."
"Good-bye, Ino-chan. Tonight, be careful, okay?" He gave her one last smile and disappeared before she could truly decipher what his last words meant.
Ino just finished putting her hair into a bun when the knocking came at the door. She went to open it and found Kabuto there. "Yamanaka-san, you look stunning," complimented Kabuto.
She wore a white kimono with purple flowers and a lavender obi. "Thank you, Kabuto-kun," replied Ino, blushing.
Stepping outside, she saw Juugo and Suigetsu, both wearing white and blue yakutas. Suigetsu looked at her and gave out a low whistle. "Who are you and what did you do to Yamanaka?" Ino let a smile escape. Juugo just continued to stare at the ground.
"I don't see why we have to wear this," spoke Juugo, his eyes still on the floor.
"Lord Orochimaru would prefer for you all to wear something other than your training clothes," replied Kabuto simply. "Let us proceed."
As they walked, Ino asked, "Is Karin-san going to be joining us?"
"Yes, she should be there right now," answered Kabuto. "She came early."
"Gawd,
Yamanaka, cut it out with the 'san' already. Just call her the
great, red, ugly bitch, AKA G.R.U.B.," said Suigetsu with annoyance
in his voice.
"Why do you have such a dislike for her,
Suigetsu-kun?" She glanced at him.
"I have my reasons."
A silence fell. Then another question popped into her head. "Kabuto-san, what exactly is love?"
Without
even pausing, he answered, "Love is a strong affection for another
arising out of kinship or personal ties that are usually based on
admiration, benevolence, or common interests."
"You can hand
it to Kabuto to be a walking dictionary," smirked Suigetsu.
"Well, it's what love really is."
"Have any of you ever felt love?" She awaited their answer with eagerness.
"Yamanaka, you're asking the wrong guys here. We've been raised to know and embrace only hate. We know nothing else. Our love is just apathetic. Anyways, if we could love, who's there for us to give the love to?"
"Someone else has to take it?"
"Well, yeah, or else it's just one-sided. That's the worse kind, when someone doesn't return the feelings you share."
"You seem to know a lot about love for not falling into it, Hozuki-san," commented Kabuto.
"I'm just stating the obvious."
"We're here," said Kabuto as he stopped and turned the doorknob. The room they walked into was small with sliding doors on the opposite side of the hinged door. There was a small rectangular table made from rosewood surrounded by seven cushions, two on all sides except one where there was only a single cushion.
Orochimaru sat on the single cushion with Karin, wearing a plain cream kimono, by his left side. "Come in, come in," said Orochimaru in his peculiar voice. "Karin-chan, can you move a seat over? I want Kabuto to sit here."
She scowled, but moved and cried, "Sasuke-kun, come sit next to me!" All heads turned to a dark corner in the room where Sasuke stood, hidden in the shadows.
"No, I don't believe that's possible," informed Orochimaru. "Ino-chan, I would like you to sit at my other hand, and Sasuke-kun, you will sit next to her. Juugo and Suigetsu can choose from the last two seats."
As everyone sat down, Suigetsu immediately took one seat away from Karin, leaving Juugo scowling as he sat down next to her. "I'll kill you two one day," muttered Juugo in a soft, but audible voice.
A geisha came through one of the sliding doors carrying sake. She gracefully placed a cup in front of everyone and poured it. "Tonight, we are celebrating an important occasion. It has almost been Ino-chan's third year working for me. A toast to Ino-chan and may she put many ends to unworthy lives and bring forth power to my hand." Everyone lifted their cups to toast, even if some did it reluctantly.
"Third year, huh?" sneered the Uchiha next to her. "It doesn't seem like you've improved at all."
"Sasuke-kun," Kabuto looked up at him, "just last week, while you were busy sleeping, she took out the whole Takigakure village."
Ino thought back to her first raid. Kabuto-san, is it okay for me to just kill all of these people?
Yamanaka-san, these people have all done wrong. They have all sinned against Orochimaru-sama. You do want to help him, don't you? We need you, Ino-chan.
But do I have to kill the children, too? They cannot be blamed for their parent's wrongdoings.
Ino-chan, a tiger's offspring is nothing but another tiger. If you give these children another chance, all they will do is turn their backs on Orochimaru-sama and continue to burden him and forget all of his graciousness.
But Kabuto-san, I can hear their voices sometimes…at night, I can feel their grief...I can hear them talking…
Ino-chan, don't be silly, although I do remember Hidan mentioning something about that…
Hidan?
Don't worry about him, Ino-chan. Please help us bring justice back to this village.
Yes, I'll do it for you and Orochimaru-sama…
"Hmph, I bet she hesitated before killing the children," Karin said disapprovingly.
"It doesn't matter, as long as the job's finished."
"Sayuri," said Orochimaru to his geisha, "Bring out the food." He turned to his 'guests'. "I'm sure you all will enjoy what I have prepared for tonight. We shall see if Ino-chan is worthy enough to serve me. I want you all to see what it takes to be my subordinates." Sayuri came back with bowls of miso soup, steaming with fragrance and warmth. "Eat and enjoy yourselves." Ino closed her eyes and took a sip of the savory broth. Rarely did she ever get to eat something as delicious as this. The sounds of a shamisen being plucked could be heard.
The dinner proceeded with a few more courses being taken out and small talk (or as small talk can be with infamous killers) and the usual argument broke out between Karin and Suigetsu. Dessert was what delighted them all the most. It was sweet and cold coconut ice cream. The flakes of fresh coconut coated her tongue as she licked it. None of them remembered what ice cream tasted like.
"Did you all enjoy that?" asked Orochimaru, licking his lips. They all murmured their opinions. "It's time to see what we've come here for. As you all know, Ino-chan can manipulate the minds of her enemies. While in their minds, she can force them to do anything she desires. She has been trained to assassi9nate them while in their bodies without killing herself, but tonight is when she is going to truly test herself. Sayuri, get me the case." The geisha went through the sliding paper door and came back with a glossy lacquer box. "Death is an inevitable force that will grasp us all one day, or so we believe now. There is nothing worse than death, and the aspiration for immortality is growing each day. Man seeks eternal youth, but to get there, he must first reach immortality. Ino-chan, please stand up and come a bit closer." She stood up and neared him. "Our foolish ancestors always thought that man would be the first to achieve immortality, but today, it may be a woman." He opened the box and took out a large dagger. Ino's eyes widened and everyone looked up. The only person who looked bored was Kabuto. "Pain may come from living, but it cannot compete with death. This dagger has been laced with a poison that has no known antidote." Juugo pursed his lips as he eyed the dagger. "Ino-chan, you may have been chosen to carry this gift. Do not die." He stabbed her into the stomach, the hilt of the blade nearly burying into her. The room began to tense up with heavy breathing and shock.
"O-Orochimaru-sama," gasped Ino before falling to the ground and succumbing to unconsciousness.
He smiled. "Do not underestimate what I look for in each one of you. Be ready to serve for me and put your lives at risk or die at my hands. Tomorrow, we shall see how Ino-chan does. You all may go. Good night and pleasant dreams."
-------------------------------------------Author's Notes----------------------------------------------
So that was the first chapter! Eh, it wasn't as well written as I thought it would've been, but don't worry as the story progresses, it'll get better, as will my writing skills. The seating arrangements had a special meaning, but then my editor thought my other option was better, so then the arrangement lost all meaning. Sorry if the character's are a bit OOC, but it's alright for Ino to be OOC since she's…well you'll find out in a very later chapter. It'll be a shocker! There's going to be a lot of confused romance in here, but please bear with me. Read and review, because I want to know if people are interested or not. If they aren't, I might discontinue because a) I'm a lazy person and if no one's interested I might just be like 'blehh no use going on', b) it makes me go all emo ): and c) I'm a lazy person. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Oh, and by the way, I'm flammable. No flames please, I'll catch on fire. Constructive criticism is alright.
