A/N: Hoo boy, this is gonna get a little heavier than it has been. This deals with bullying and some of Aoi's experiences growing up as a GN soldier, as well as poor mental health.
Note: Whenever someone mentions 'under the banner' or 'under my banner' they're talking about someone in the LGBT community. 'Under my banner' means, for example, that if you're bi, you're talking about another bisexual person.
Back near the gates, the rebel camp had quite the busy day moving positions near the wall.
The group had made use of Aoi's presence to have them do a lot of the heavy lifting. Due to the majority of their able-bodied comrades having stayed behind to help rebuild the village, they needed more muscle. Luckily, they seemed to be eager to help.
Ino was balancing three boxes in her arms as she came across them lugging around a large box of dried supplies.
"How are you holding up?" She asked politely.
"This is easy compared to what they put us through for shinobi training," they grunted with a slight shrug. "I've got it."
She nodded, watching as they squatted down, finally setting the box down on the grass. With a relieved sigh, they rolled their shoulders and popped their back.
She glanced across their body, noticing how their arms rippled with muscle. "If I'd gone into training, would I look like that?"
They raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing," she waved it off, her cheeks going pink as she set down her own load. "I just… I was supposed to go into military training myself. I was wondering what I might've had to expect."
Aoi relaxed a fraction, leaning up against the box while she sat nearby. "Well… I don't know how things are now, but when I went into military training as a kid, they were pretty harsh on the new recruits. They didn't do much to discourage bullying among the ranks, as I recall… older recruits would flagrantly push around the younger ones, especially those who were… ah… different."
Ino immediately caught on at the bitter, distant look in their eye. "You…"
"I knew I was non-binary for a while, and that was honestly why I went into the military in the first place. Figured nobody would try me if I was ready to go at all times. But even there… I was outed in front of my entire squadron," they said quietly. "The others… oh, they hated me. I was younger than most of them, yet I was just as capable. They called me all kinds of names. If you can think of a slur, I've heard it aimed at me."
Her breath hitched, and she reached for him, her expression softening into one of compassion and pity.
"When my parents died, they only mocked me more. Said they purposefully got themselves killed so they wouldn't have to be in my life anymore. Said they'd rather die on the front lines than raise such a freak." They looked down with a glare at the ground. "Not even the others under the banner would stand up for me. Guess they - especially the closeted ones - figured I was a better scapegoat in the end."
"I'm sorry," Ino breathed.
"Don't be. That's the world we live in."
"Isn't that the truth," she muttered wryly. "My own best friend was bullied a lot, too. Not for being under the banner, but for being poor and in an ill-fit body."
"Was she…?"
"She wasn't, no, but she had a massive forehead. Gangling limbs, bony body… she was a mess." A bitter laugh. "The other girls we hung out with constantly mocked her for her body, and she got really insecure about it. She was fairly well-off before her cousin died, but when she got real poor… I guess she just snapped. She always used to tell me that every night she wished she wouldn't wake up the next morning."
"Oh," Aoi murmured. Their heart was struck with sympathy. "I've definitely been there." "And… what happened to her?"
"She killed herself when she was thirteen." Ino sighed. "I never really got over it. She was my first best friend."
"I'm… sorry," the ex-soldier awkwardly said, patting her back.
"Don't be," she replied with a mirthless smile. "That's the world we live in."
She glanced about, catching sight of a Moondrop. Her stormy look lightened a bit as she trailed her fingers over the soft petals.
"This was one of her favorite flowers," she recalled. "I wish she could be here with us right now."
Aoi glanced over the flower, a contemplative frown on their face. They gave a petal a tentative touch, and their brows dipped lower when they felt its silken softness on their fingertip. It was cold to the touch, an oddity for summer weather.
"But what is this doing here?" They wondered. "I've never seen one in person before. Isn't it a bit too warm for it to grow?"
"Sakura is dead," Ino thought to herself with a quiet sigh. "All we can hope for is Shien's safety now in her place."
A/N: Please tell me what you thought!
