Purple petals
Death might as well be freedom, he thought, remembering pearl-like eyes fading in an endless void that the seal consumed until nothing was left behind. He knew because he had served the poison that brought death to the man's fingertips, who left with a smile on his lips and a slight tilt on his head. It was a shame that, after, his corpse was simply put inside a wooden box to be delivered, instead of having his ashes scattered to the winds. Inoichi could not fathom the enclosure.
And what a pretty corpse he left behind, a beauty that even Inoichi felt jealous of. The brother had an unkindness to his brow that made him particularly less beautiful, but the man's son shared his father's predisposition of awakening women's desires when passing through; pink and red-painted lips opening in shushed whispers of want.
When a child, Ino blushed and giggled whenever he brought flowers for her to paint with, often squishing them in between her chubby hands. The day Hizashi passed away he brought her the most beautiful flower yet –for it had been the one he used to send a beautiful man to his deathbed. The Wolf's bane petals fell to the floor as she pressed his gift to her chest, even without knowing his little game, she was instantly enamored with the plant's shape and color. He never told her what transpired that evening, yet he did eventually warn her about the dangers of her favorite gift, it was a mistake to show her how beauty could be destructive too.
The sky had given them some respite and the rain had calmed in its falling, but it will soon resume its journey. It took him all his strength to allow his men this small break, but the look in their eyes –of pity of all things, had been so incredibly difficult to bear that he couldn't fathom allowing them more reasons to glance in his direction. There he left them, around a small fire where they heated their bodies and dried their clothes, while he sought the protection of darkness –of absolute solitude.
He moved around trees' roots and branches, shaking the small water drops trapped in their leaves and soaking even further his feet; and finally, all whispers around him vanished, and finally he was alone in the wonderful embrace of darkness and, finally, he allowed himself to mourn. On his knees he fell while he brought his now trembling hands to his eyes, pressing so harshly against them that pain blossomed in his lashes. The remembrance of Ino's lifeless body in his arms hit him so harshly that he could do nothing but sob harder, barely able to bring enough air to his lungs so as not to faint.
If she had to die, he suddenly thought, she should have done so when she was still an innocent child in his arms; when he knew where she rested and this doubt didn't hunt every cell of his being. Now he didn't know if she was still breathing, if she was cold or warm, and that question was even more painful than having her lifeless body in front of him –for the hope, the shred of hope was unbearable.
It was the elders' fault, they gave him the responsibility of having an heir, if they wanted to blame someone for his actions, a father's actions rather than a leader's, then they should blame no one but themselves for forcing this love upon him.
He glanced up and saw nothing –the sky was a deep black slightly broken by the branches of the tallest trees; no moonlight picked through nature's foliage. Little by little, he picked up the pieces of himself scattered on the floor –he felt the absent weight of one of his kunai, the weapon laid concealed somewhere in the mud and there was left, abandoned; for he had no desire to look. Shaking fingers buried themselves in the mud and sank even further down with the weight of his body standing, the dirt in his pants will be quick to tell his whereabouts, but the moist of the rain will masquerade his tears.
To them he returned, and orange hues sparkled against him with warm touches upon his skin, the small noise of the fire broke the heavy silence surrounding the shinobi that tried to conceal the truth on their faces –they have heard their master's sadness, and Inoichi was surprised to discover that it mattered to him; that even in grief, his pride could still be hurt.
He swallowed and cleared his throat to prevent his voice from breaking, the way his men looked at him when he spoke was just a pretense –for they all have sensed him, rather, they've never stopped knowing where he was. "We'll be moving now."
The ones that were seated stood, and the ones that were standing turned towards him. None of them asked to dry his clothes, none of them wondered if he thought it to be best to arrive during the night still, smart men he had gathered –they will question nothing, refuse nothing; they knew not to poke the bear now that he was gritting his teeth.
Mist arose amongst them from the deepest connection it shared with the earth, the humid air froze their muscles and traveled up to meet its fate and fall back again to soak their already spent bodies. Inoichi's fingers twitched and a string of white air left his mouth when a mournful sigh moved past his lips. In the distance, trees disappeared to allow sand's reign, and the wind picked up its pace to hunt prays and prayers, earth's particles violently clashing against their skin and picking apart wounds.
Rain's fragrance disappeared slowly from their senses, Suna's territory chased away the gray clouds and darkness became clean without the storm's whispers. The dryness of the environment claimed the wetness of his body greedily yet he continued moving, sweat gathering in his brow, sand clinging to his wet garments and reducing his speed.
With their senses out in the open, it was easy to spot the three people running towards them and the vegetation growing ahead, Inoichi knew millionaires were eccentric, but to construct a garden in such a hostile environment instead of moving somewhere more humid spoke of power not even he possessed.
As he halted, dust fell from his clothes and onto the floor again, his Hitai Ate slipped from his forehead and fell on his eyebrows, yet he stood unmoving, for two men and a smiling woman detached themselves from night's cover and appeared in greeting.
"Well," she said, the fire of the lantern she held illuminating half her face, "this is incredibly rude." She moved the source of light and placed it in both hands right at her belly; the men beside her deepened their scowl. "To arrive at this hour…"
He blinked, exhaustion and worry made him lose control over his features, and a feral expression placed itself upon his face, the woman looked at him and her expression –soft as petals despite her harsh words, stiffened. He breathed the scent of grass –incredibly foreign in a place where sand still clung to his nostrils, "it has been days since your missive, we thought your absence meant you found the woman that you looked for."
A missive, that Hokage of them truly warned them about their search? He bit his lip and saw the woman following the movement. "We apologize for the intrusion," he said, his fingers pinching the side of his leg to keep composure, "we weren't able to arrive sooner."
"And not a single scroll to warn us…" the woman's tongue clicked against her teeth, "there's no excuse for such misbehavior. It's about decorum." Her eyes narrowed and her cheeks blushed like a delicate doll in round-pinkish specks.
Inoichi nodded, felt the sparks of fury eating away his skin and leaving a red trail upon his neck, and, to everyone's concealed surprise, he bowed; felt his belt digging in his stomach. "Please, accept my apology, I ordered my men to continue the search despite the sun setting, for the kunoichi who disappeared is… the daughter of our clan head."
There was silence afterward, a silent vow not to tell from his squad and a mute appraisal from the woman, he could feel her gaze upon his back, and when he raised his head to look at her, he noticed the flame of the lantern dancing on her eyes. She was enticing thanks to her youth –it'll dissipate with the springs' passing. "Isn't the clan head amongst us?"
"He is currently speaking with Suna's council." Her eyes sparkled for a brief moment, yet he was unaware of the reasoning behind such gleam. "I humbly request your cooperation madam and, at the risk of plunging deeper into rudeness, your hospitality."
She furrowed her eyebrows, roaming her eyes around the group of men in front of her, "very well," she said while turning, "just for what remains of the night –Master will receive you in the morning to answer whatever question you possess."
"We are grateful." He said, and then he distributed his message amongst his men; 'they have a sensor amongst them, the one on the right –not particularly skilled yet he might alert them of our search if we are not careful.'
'Any counter-measures we are to use should that happen?' his second in command, Hiryur, replied through their connection.
'Yes.' Inoichi blinked, walking so as to not appear suspicious, 'kill all of them.'
Eyes opened in greeting, blond eyelashes trying to keep away from sensitive pupils the dust particles from the hostile environment. The body complained, hurting in places she had not thought about since her first training sessions –too weak, too stiff, her limbs had lost her previous cadence. At her back, she could hear them moving, they've been resting for hours, faint noises of breathing that halted slightly in response to any noise from the cave; they were alert –always, even when dreaming (did they truly dream? And what could they possibly dream of?). She was no match for them, she knew, and brought her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. Ashamed, inadequate –feelings she knew so well they were part of her, they had plummeted her self-esteem to the ground and she wondered, once more, what was truly her worth.
She thought she trained hard, she thought that receiving medical education will come in handy to put her in a more varied type of missions than the ones solely reserved for information gathering, that she could show her true value, that she could finally be seen as the asset she felt she was -but her knowledge proved to be worthless when standing opposed to monsters like these. Biology, it seemed, was truly relevant, and no training could ever match it; she thought of Lee –a man that defied her logic, yet not even him, whose training might as well fell upon torture's definition, was able to truly win against Neji, the Byakugan's beloved.
Ino's mind concocted Sakura's petals when spring, of bright pink color –such a beauty of nature, of fine chakra control that came naturally to her, while she struggled even to control her most basic family jutsu when a child, she had no help from nature, as her technique was nothing but a secret passed on through whispers to family members, like memories from previous ancestors.
Was that truly what she was? A mere receptor of whispers that will do nothing but dissipate in time's hands? –her entire legacy lay on a scroll whilst legends descended from heaven with nature's blessing.
And the sounds of lightest breathes became a singular note from a single voice, she was so trapped in her weakness that his soft steps were unheard by her –a ghost he was, when she turned on her back and glanced up, his eyes drank upon her last drop of vigor; she was left frozen as he watched her, slowly reaching for her.
As his hand passed upon her skin, goosebumps arose in response and compliance –she was most of all terrified, and yet, as he caressed the inside of her thigh, her legs parted slightly to allow his scrutiny. Had she become such a docile creature? Had he truly disintegrated her pride? More and more he touched, his thumb moving upon her soft skin, and she blushed while harshly closing her eyes –she knew that shinobi's culture held itself upon torments, it was so engraved in their sense of self that it could not be departed from their nature; she knew first hand because she inflicted wounds that did not bleed yet hurt far more than lacerations, and rape was child's play when next to her family's mind games.
This was not the end of her life –she refused to give her virtue deity status, she'll rise above pitiful men's glances of repulsion who refused to see value past women's virginity yet she will demand their respect by surviving.
She felt him move higher, pads gently touching the junction between her thigh and her womanhood, she tensed while gritting her teeth, fantasizing about biting his fingers off. Terror blossomed on her chest whilst she swallowed a whimper, and it was in that moment that he retreated, she couldn't help but sigh in relief and a small chuckle left her lips –for he had made her feel his teeth cutting chunks of her flesh the very first time she ventured to escape, yet it was this what society made her fear for the most.
As stoic as always, the beautiful creature stood –nothing betrayed his coldness, not even the little game he had played –oh, and Ino could have applauded such display if it wasn't at her expense; for he was a special monster, special indeed –she thought that even without eyes as powerful as his he would have been a remarkable warrior, for he excelled in toying with people's sanity.
"Two days," he said, voice tumbling against the walls.
The reply came from the swordsman, the edge of the sword cutting the stone under the blade, "I guarantee nothing." His partner replied, yet Itachi said nothing back, moving to the cave's mouth and disappearing in thin air.
"Wait!" She said while trying to reach for him, uneasiness tinting her tone, she glanced back at the figure sitting on the floor –his skin a tone slightly lighter than the rocks behind him. He had his head down, looking so relaxed –almost asleep; yet he spoke not a moment ago. A small smirk was everything she got from the man, and she knew instantly not to push her luck, so she simply settled and hugged her knees –they looked so skinny, and waited for the sunset.
A/N: I apologize for my absence, what I thought to be an issue that'll last few months became a nightmare that I haven't been able to escape yet. My life changed completely, and I'll never recover. However, I'm writing this story from time to time, maybe I'm simply projecting my demons -who knows?
It's a short chapter but I hope it's good enough to compensate.
Have a nice day.