"It was part of our deal." I shrug.
"I'll have to keep that in mind." Ino wiggles around in the hammock for a bit, finding a new position. "So… you're not running away right now. Maybe taking over the hammock was a good idea if it forces you to stay here."
...
"Actually I was looking for you." I pull out another tag. "If you're willing to I'd like to place this seal on you. If not then keep this tag on you instead."
Ino takes the tag from me and intently looks over it. "Wow this is pretty. You made this?"
"Yep." That's a new reaction. I've never had someone call a seal pretty before.
"What's it do?" She asks as she continues to look at the intricate parts.
"I have this technique that can activate on its own. It kinda swallows up everything in a five meter radius whole. Not even air is spared." I explain. "Having this seal makes it not activate next to you. It's a failsafe so the things and people I care about don't get swallowed."
"You can put it on me." She hands the seal back to me. "Is there a particular spot it should go?"
Huh. Didn't expect her to let me put it on her. Honestly I'm still a little surprised Kakashi did. It takes a great amount of trust to let someone place a seal on you.
"It doesn't matter. Kakashi let me put one on his shoulder blade." I throw him out as an example. "I can put it wherever you want."
"The shoulder blade sounds good to me." Ino says. "If Kakashi thinks it should go there then I'll follow suit. He knows his stuff."
"Right. So there's just one problem with that." I didn't see this coming. "That means the coats have to come off. You're okay with that?"
"Oh. That would have to happen." She debates something in her mind for a moment, then settles on one of them. "I'll lay face down on the hammock. Not like it'll be any more revealing than what Anko stuffed me into."
She hops out of the hammock and takes off my coat. She's just in her purple one now.
"You'll have to turn around for this part." A pink tint blossoms on her cheeks. "I'm not giving you a show."
"Here." I unwarp my scarf from around my neck and toss it to her. "You can use that to tie around your chest. You never know when something crazy will happen. Like Anko randomly popping up here for some unknown reason."
"Thanks." She takes the scarf. "Now turn around."
"Of course." I turn around like a gentleman. It would be so easy to spawn an eye or two on the back of my head with Eyes of the Damned. Hell I could even spawn one on a string! NO! BAD ALVARCUS! BAD!
"Done." Ino calls out. She's laying face down on the hammock. "So how long is this going to take? It's even colder up here without anything on."
"I don't know, I've never gotten a girl topless before. I might have performance anxiety." I tease her.
"Shut up and get this over with!" Ino buries her face into the soft hammock. "It's embarrassing enough the way it is."
"Alright, alright I'll quit teasing you." I pull out my brush and ink. "This is going to be cold."
"Colder than it already is?" Ino points out. "Now hurry up!"
"You're going to have a terrible time in the Land of Snow if you're already bitching about the cold." I start to draw the seal and she shivers as the brush touches her.
"Hey Alvarcus?" Ino softly asks me with a lot of apprehension. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." I say as I continue to work on the seal. "Can't promise I'll answer though."
"What's that scar on your neck from?" She hesitantly asks. "If you don't want to talk about it that's fine, I've just always wondered."
"Oh that?" That's not what I expected. I was prepared for something like 'why won't you come back?' "It's from my first decapitation."
"First decapitation?"
"Yep. Crazy nutjob with a big ass sword."
"I feel like that was an oversimplification." Ino fishes for more information.
"That's because it was." I don't give in.
We fall into a silence for about twenty seconds before she speaks again.
"How many scars do you have?"
"So many that I've lost count. At this point I only remember the most severe ones or those that were given to me under unique circumstances." I conversationally reply despite the rather personal question. "What about you? Any scars to talk about?"
"Nothing like yours." She mumbles under her breath. "There's one on my left thigh. I didn't dodge a kunai from an enemy. I've never seen Asuma that angry before."
"I bet. I've only seen Kakashi pissed one time, that was when I had my first kill. We were on a mission and the client purposefully left out some key details, like there being shinobi after his head. They attacked, I killed one of them on accident. Kakashi was pissed at the client."
"You've been on the craziest missions ever." Ino sighs in forlornness. "You're always right in the middle of something crazy. You have to lead such an exciting life full of adventure. It makes me feel… well inadequate. We're the same age and I'm from a prominent clan. You're from a civilian family. You've done so much, you're so skilled, you're so untouchable. You stand leagues above everyone else. I ask myself a question every now and again, how can I possibly catch up?"
"I am not someone you want to compare yourself to." I calmly tell her. "My life is definitely full of crazy adventures but I would not call them exciting. Exciting sounds like they're good adventures and I assure you most of them aren't. Eventful would be more accurate. I'm done, you can put the coats back on."
I step away from her and turn my back once more as she redresses.
"I'm decent again." She gives me permission to turn around. "Hey Alvarcus?"
"Yes Ino?" I ask. She didn't hop back into the hammock, instead she walked over to stand next to me.
"There's more to you leaving than just spying on Orochimaru and protecting Sasuke, isn't there?" She asks me. "I have this feeling that you're doing more than that. I think that if it was just spying and protecting Sasuke you wouldn't have refused Tsunade's offer to come back. It was such a good offer, a clean slate, total forgiveness and Orochimaru would be dead. You could have come home. But you didn't. Why not?"
"I'm also going to single handedly destroy Otogakure and every single base of Orochimaru's I can find." I admit to her. Why not? It's not like it's going to change anything. I truly can't go back to Konoha now.
"See what I mean! You're always doing something exciting!" Ino lightly smack me on the arm. "That's not what I meant. When we last saw each other you said that everyone needs something to push them to improve. That they need to get better. You made it sound like something terrible is going to happen that we'll all be involved in. Why does everyone need to improve? What do you think is going to happen?"
"I hope nothing happens." I truthfully share with her. "If I have anything to say about it, it will never happen. I just don't know how to go about stopping it. I have a few ideas, each more crazy than the last, but I don't have a plan. At best I can plan to counter some things that might happen. That's it, I don't even know if those things will even happen at all." Too much could have changed from canon. I could have ruined my future knowledge completely. I may have to rely purely on my own skills now.
"What are you talking about? What's coming? What are you trying to stop?"
"War." I turn to look her in her wide shocked eyes. "I'm trying to stop the Fourth Shinobi World War."
"Why you?" She asks with a mix of pity and fear of what I've said is to come. "Tell the Kages! Surely they can take action!"
"I'm the only one who knows what's happening. I'm the only person besides the other mastermind trying to force the Fourth Shinobi World War to happen that has all of the pieces of the puzzle. That is part of the reason I've gone to Orochimaru. Orochimaru is investing a huge amount of his time and resources into my training and thanks to him I might be ready in time. Even if it is at the expense of my humanity. My dream is no longer just a dream, it is a necessity. I must become S-rank at the minimum if I want to stand a chance against the people I have to stop."
"I do not have the luxury of kicking back in Konoha. I have a war to stop at any cost. I will do whatever I have to do to make sure that it doesn't happen. If by damning myself I can save thousands upon thousand of lives I will gladly throw myself into Hell with a smile on my face."
"How can I help?" Ino has a fire blazing behind her eyes. She's brimming with determination and sheer willpower. She truly wants to help me.
"Become better." My words don't negatively impact her resolve. If anything they've only stoked the flames inside her. "Do not settle for above average. Strive to be the best you possibly can. Learn every clan technique you can. Push everyone else to reach a new level then surpass it. And until you can stand on an equal playing field with the most deadly shinobi of this world, until you think you can easily beat me at my own game, run away from the red clouds."
"The red clouds?" She repeats, not truly as a question, but to make sure she heard me correctly. She's taken every word I've said to heart.
"Yes. If you see red clouds abandon whatever you're doing and run. Run as if your life and the lives of everyone you care about depend on how fast you move. Run away from the red clouds."
"Okay. I can do that." She confidently assures me. "You don't have to do everything alone. I will make sure everyone in Konoha improves so much that they'll all be better than you. Don't worry about us, I'll keep everyone in line for you while you're gone. On one condition."
"What is it?" I ask her.
"Once you've stopped the war, once you've defeated Orochimaru, once it's all over come home. Come back to Konoha where you belong. Promise me that. Promise me that once it's done you'll come home. I want to hear you say it."
"Okay Ino. I promise. Once it's all over I will go back. Whether it's as a hero or villain, I don't know. But I will go back."
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The story still hasn't reached the rankings in 8 months, so every single stone really helps.
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