"We beat them all into submission and Gina saw that as a chance to escape from her horrible fate. Ino she was broken, so very broken. She only referred to herself in the third person, she reverted back to a simple mind - almost childishly simple - to try and cope."
"Alvarcus why are you showing me this?" Ino asks me with a great deal of pity for Gina. "I get that what happened to her is terrible and I'm not disputing that. But what does this have to do with me going to Oto?"
...
I wave once more and the scene shifts again.
"Sasuke and I became kings when we were down here." Now we're looking at one of the more luxurious caves, one with blankets and other niceties that the others lacked. It's the cave that Sasuke, Gina and I took over. "Gina stood in our shadow, gaining our protection as long as she helped us. Quickly a friendship between the three of us formed. She was easy to get along with and made things more interesting when she was around. But being kings also means having enemies. The people down in the Pit knew that no one could stand up to us physically so instead they tried to outsmart us. They kidnapped Gina to try and force Sasuke and me into submission."
The memory Sasuke and I sprint out of the cave. We're desperately running towards Gina.
"Oh my God." Ino whispers out in fear.
Gina is tied to a stone column with fleshy rope. Surrounding her are ten beasts, all differing animals. They're enjoying this, laughing as she struggles in vain to escape and uproariously laughing as Sasuke and I halt before them.
"Do you think they… they…" Ino can't finish her sentence.
"I don't know if they used her again before we got there." I admit. "But every single one of them had the intention of using her later, I promise you that. Now do you remember our dear friend Apodora? He's the one who was behind all of this."
As if on command Apodora slithers out of his hole to beseech Sasuke and I with his asinine rules that we must abide by.
"What did you do? Did you save her?" Ino asks in fear.
"Watch." I order her.
We spend the next few minutes in silence watching the scene play out. My quick and efficient beheadings, Sasuke's Jiongu inspired genjutsu and Gina tackling us both with tears streaming down her face.
"So you did save her." Ino's tone has lighten up slightly.
"Yes. We did save her then." I wave my arm once more and the scene shifts again.
"That's Orochimaru." Ino can't help but stare at him in shock. "He's sitting down at a table in this place?"
"Yes, he's come to fetch Sasuke and me." I easily tell her. "We were never meant to remain down in that hole, it was a test that he put us through. Now watch."
"Oh you poor poor thing. You aren't coming with us." Orochimaru smiles sadistically at his failed experiment.
"Alvarcus what does he mean by that?" Ino asks me as she watches Sasuke barter with Orochimaru for Gina to come with us.
I don't respond. I'm not even look at the scene before me, I'm staring intently away from it at a wall.
"Alvarcus?" Ino asks again. "What's going on? What happens next?"
"Watch." I demand of her. "This is the life that you're asking to live. These are the kinds of things that Orochimaru forces people to do. This is -"
CRACK
"This is one of my worst memories." I weakly admit to Ino while doing everything I can to ignore the sound of a neck breaking. "It is when I truly started to fall into darkness."
"You… you killed her?" Ino asks in shock.
"Yes. I did." I force myself to stare Ino in the eyes. I'm trying to make a point here, I will not allow my own squeamishness to get in the way of it. "She was my friend. We joked together. We laughed together. I helped save her and she constantly healed us. And when the time came to part ways I killed her."
"But you did it to spare her from more suffering." Ino makes the same excuse I did way back then. "Even with the brief instants you showed me I know that only torture and hell were left for her down there."
"True. But I still murdered a friend on the whims of a madman. The very same madman that you want to go to." I wave my arm once more, banishing the memory and returning us to the black void. "I showed you that to make two points to you. One, you could end up like me and have to murder someone you care about. That action, it's soul breaking. I have never been the same since it happened."
"The only person I care about in Oto is you." Ino cuts me off. "Orochimaru likes you too much to make me kill you."
"Correct, but will he like you enough to make me not kill you?" I ask her and she pales. "Because that is something that could easily happen. The second point I was going to make is this: What if you end up like Gina?"
"W-what?" Ino stutters out with wide terror filled eyes.
"Orochimaru may - will - experiment on you and once your trip through hell is over he might decide that you're a failure." I calmly force myself to explain to her. "He could toss you down in the Pit. Ino you're a support fighter, not a frontline fighter. You wouldn't last a week without help. Gina was a healer, a medic, she could offer that to other people down there. But you? Your skills are not in high demand. You would be the lowest of the low."
"But couldn't you-"
"No. I couldn't." I don't let her finish. "I do not control Orochimaru. I can sometimes sway him if I have a very, very good point or if it's him who asks me for my opinion. I can demand nothing, absolutely nothing, from that vile creature. No one can protect you from Orochimaru in Otogakure. No one."
"Okay." Ino softly says. "I get it. I won't-"
"No. I don't think you do." I cut her off once more. "We're not done yet."
I wave my arm once more and the black void is replaced with Orochimaru's Lab.
"Oh God no." Ino falls down to her knees as the sight of the Lab. "Please say he's not going to experiment on you?"
"He does, he most certainly does." I darkly assure her while making no move to help her up or comfort her. "Just not in the way you think. This memory is the day I truly earned Orochimaru's trust. Now get up. You want to go to Otogakure? I'm giving you a taste of what you're seeking."
Ino forces herself to stand with every scrap of strength and willpower she can muster. "W-who is that?"
She's asking about the body strapped onto the operating table, the one Orochimaru and I are looking down on.
"That is the first innocent I have ever killed." I reply evenly to her question even though I feel sick in my stomach as I force myself to relive this memory. "And the kicker is he's a Konoha shinobi."
"Alvarcus please say your lying." Ino begs me.
"No. This truly happened." I point at the soon to be killed child. "These are the kinds of actions I have done. These are the dark deeds that I did in the name of Orochimaru. This is the kind of life you are asking for. You will watch this."
"No. I don't want to." Ino begs me, completely forgetting that she can leave my mind whenever she wants to. "I don't want to watch this! I don't want to see you do these things!"
"I don't care if you don't want to." I snarl out at her as my hand clamps down on her shoulder, forcing her to face the scene. "Ino you have no idea what you were asking for when you said that you wanted to go to Oto with me. You can't fathom how depraved Orochimaru can be. It doesn't matter if you don't want to watch. You need to. So you're going to."
"That was better than I expected!" Orochimaru praises me as he looks as the shredded insides of the dead genin. "This is a success. You're exceeding all of my expectations today!"
"No more." Ino fumbles as she tries to loosen the grip I have on her shoulder with shaky hands. "I don't want to see anymore."
"No. We're not done until I feel that you fully understand what you're asking for." I wave my arm once more, changing the scene back to the black void again. "Ino you once called me a hero. Once I'm done you'll never call me that again. What do you want to see next, me being tortured or me torturing someone?"
"Alvarcus please stop!" Ino begs me with tears flowing down her face. "I don't want to see you do those terrible things!"
"Both it is." I wave my arm once more. "Remember Ino, this is the life you were asking for. You asked for this."
...
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