Hours Later
"Here we are, the Land of Snow. Hope you all enjoyed the trip! I know my bank account did!" The Captain happily shoots me a thankful look. "Laddie, that offer stands. If you ever need a job come find me, no questions asked. If you want it, it's yours."
"Thanks Captain." I roll up the large scroll that I used to seal away the cargo hold. Then I seal that scroll into one that's much smaller, who knows? Maybe I'll end up needing it later. It is convenient to have a whole bunch of large storage seals already made. Plus I have no idea how much metal I'm going to end up stealing, I highly doubt that all of it is on Doto. There's got to be some in a lab or something. I should really get Shirokumo to look into that. "But I like what I do."
Usually.
"Take care Laddie." The Captain smacks me on the back affectionately.
"You too Cap." I send him a wave as I leave the ship's crew to go to the movie crew and the Konoha shinobi.
They're loading up all of their equipment into large trucks but these trucks have been customized for the snowy and icy conditions. Instead of having rear wheels they have tracks that span almost the entire length of the vehicle. That way the weight of the truck is spread out over a greater surface area and that makes steering and maneuvering much easier.
The Land of Snow is a lot more technologically advanced than the rest of the world.
"So…" I open up conversation with the only other shinobi present. "Which one is Koyuki in?"
"You don't already know?" Shikamaru condescendingly says to me. "I'm sure as hell not going to tell you. Information is a two way street."
"Are you still pissed that I didn't tell you about Koyuki?" I snort in amusement. "Funny, if I recall correctly I agreed to keep her alive and that's it. Where in there does it say sharing information?"
"What the hell is wrong with you!" Naruto joins Shikamaru to gang up on me. "You're supposed to tell people important things like that! It doesn't matter if you said you would or not it's called being a good person!"
"But it's completely irrelevant." I brush off both of their anger at me. "It doesn't matter who she is. It doesn't matter what she's done or will go on to do. The entire mission parameter is keep her alive as she goes around the Land of Snow. That's it. None of us are here to save these people. None of us are required to do anything to either aid them or hinder them. We don't even have to look after the movie crew or Sandayu, it was only Koyuki listed. So that's what I'm doing. I'm keeping her alive at all costs. Because that's what the mission is. It makes no difference to me if it's Snow shinobi or Iwa shinobi or Konoha shinobi. If someone tries to kill her I will stop them. Simple as that."
"Orochimaru has sunk his fangs deep into you, hasn't he?" Anko says in disgust. "I remember you, before you left. You wouldn't idly stand by as others suffered."
"She's right." Kakashi joins the surprise intervention. "Remember our first C-rank? I was set on returning to the village because we were lied to about what the mission entitled. But one of my genin, moments after taking a life for his first time, stood up and looked me straight in my eye and said 'we can't let a whole country die.' What happened to that shinobi? Where is he now that another country is in need?"
"You know damn well what happened to me!" I snarl at my former sensei. "Don't you dare play that card! I am anything but apathetic!"
"Yet here you are." Anko gestures to me. "Idly standing by as your friends fight life or death battles. Telling us that we don't have to do anything simply because the mission didn't say so."
"You know nothing about me!" I growl out at her. "Do not think for a second you know who I am and what I've done!"
"We are Konoha shinobi." Naruto takes over speaking. "It does not matter if the mission scroll did or did not say so, if there are people in need how can we just ignore them? How can we go back to our home and say we left them to suffer and die?"
"You are Konoha shinobi." I scathing shout at the whole group. "I am an Oto shinobi."
"You're right." Naruto reaches into his coat and pulls something out. Before I can make out what it is he throws it at my head. Out of pure reflex my left arm darts up and catches it before it can connect. "But you used to be a Konoha shinobi."
I take a look at the object he threw at me. It's a rectangular piece of metal on a dark blue cloth. I know what this is.
"You used to call him sensei." Naruto points at Kakashi with a sharp stabbing motion. "You used to call us allies. We fought together, we saved Konoha from being trampled by a jinchuriki. You used you own body as a shield for me and because of that you lost your original heart. Alvarcus I thought you died to protect me. Only one other person has ever shown me that kindness. Someone as good as that, someone willing to do anything to protect his friends, is who you are."
It's my old Konoha headband.
"You're not him." Naruto viciously points at me. "You're not someone who stands by when he can make a difference. You're not this uncaring and disconnected person."
"You naive child! You know nothing of the real world! You don't know the horrors out there! The things that people do, the things I've done!" I pull out a kunai and with a quick slash I forever desecrate my own Konoha headband. "This is who I am now. I am not some naive child that thinks he can save everyone. I am not some innocent that believes that there's good in everyone. I understand that there are people in this world that are beyond redemption. Beyond forgiveness. There's evil in this world, I have seen it. I have experienced it. I have done it. You all need to understand that there are people who are simply beyond saving. I am one of them."
I drop it in the snow and turn away from them all.
"I'm done wasting my time here. Summoning Jutsu: Care Package!" A large parcel appears in a cloud of smoke and I viciously rip it open to reveal a long stark white cloak. It's too big for me, it's even too big for Kakashi. But it's the perfect size for one of my minions.
With a sickening squelch my water monster rips itself out of my back and I throw the cloak at it.
"Find Koyuki and protect her at all costs. I'll come back and pick you up when my own business is done. Maybe." My minion swings the cloak over its shoulders and pulls the hood over itself. All that can be seen of it is the white mask on its face and just the faintest slivers of its feet when walking, everything else is covered.
"Alvarcus what are you doing?" Kakashi demands an answer from me.
"None of your damn business." I snarl at him. "I am here for my own purposes. I did not just appear to help you on this meaningless mission."
I start to storm away from the group, heading towards a treeline that the large truck have no hope of passing through. I do not want them to follow me and since they're required to stick with Koyuki the only hope they have to chase me is to get the entire convoy to do it. But with where I'm heading they have no chance to do that.
"Alvarcus wait!" Ino shouts at me. "They don't know -"
"INO!" I roar at her with so much ferocity that she steps back and Anko steps between the two of us. She's protectively shielding Ino from my wrath. "You should not know. The only reason you do is because if I didn't tell you you would have ripped it from my mind."
"What the hell are you two talking about?" Shikamaru asks as he's preparing himself to go on the defensive. My actions have set everyone on edge.
"The real reason he went missing nin!" Ino shout to everyone. "He's still loyal to Ko-"
I release the full might of my killing intent. The already below freezing temperature plummets even further and a very surreal sensation falls on each Konoha shinobi. It's the feeling of being watched from the shadows, the feeling of something much more powerful and deadly than you gazing longingly at every kill point on your body. It's the feeling of a monster hunting its prey, it's a feeling that promises an inescapable death.
"Ino Yamanaka." I don't shout these words. There's no need to, everyone's attention is directed fully onto me already. It's not just the shinobi, some of the movie crew came out to see what we were yelling about.
A few have passed out, some have wet themselves in fear, others have simply fallen to their knees in defeat with tears streaming down their faces. "If you value what remains of our friendship you will say no more."
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A/N:
If we hit 500 Power Stones by the end of this week, I'll drop an extra chapter as a thank-you!
Thanks for the support! ;)
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