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He woke up.
He found himself still in this cramped room, a room that was far from the outside world, a room that was illuminated only by an artificial light, a room that hid away the agony of a captured man.
A room that most likely would become his place of death. And that was good with him. Even if he wasn’t exactly sure what he was here for. He just knew he had a Mission to Complete. But he was aware this could happen when he signed up for it. And die he will if the others wouldn’t come get him. Which they probably wouldn’t.
So far he had been asked questions by an imposing man – his colleagues called him Ibiki-san – and his inquiries had been on the likes of who are you, who are you with, where are located your comrades, what are you planning on doing to Konoha, are there some particular jutsus we have to watch out for-
But not a word had slipped from his mouth, not even when they had begun with some physical torture – he was a shinobi, thus he had learned to endure pain – because he had a Mission to Complete.
To walk into his room in that moment was not the bulky figure of Ibiki. Instead, in walked one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on. Her athletic physique was clad in a purple dress, her long blonde hair cascaded over her back and her gorgeous blue eyes weren’t as stern as the eyes of the people he had (not) spoken to, but they seemed to read every inch of his soul.
He wondered if he was already dead and she was an angel.
“The others told me you aren’t being cooperative,” she started in lieu of a greeting, “so they asked my help.”
Or maybe his angel of death.
“Let’s start, shall we.”
He felt like he had blacked out, because he didn’t feel at all what that woman had done to him.
“Geez, you’re really a tough wall to break down. This is the first time in a while I have to call Forehead to help.”
He didn’t have any time to wonder who or what this ‘forehead’ was before she used the sleeping gas to put him to sleep.
The next time he woke was to the chattering of two people. He didn’t recognize one of the voices, but the other belonged to the woman who was here before.
(How long was before?)
“So, this time I have to help you with him?” asked the unfamiliar woman. He began to observe her, to see if he could understand who she was. And upon closer look he did recognize her. Short pink hair, stern gaze, a diamond-shaped seal on her forehead – maybe that was why her colleague (friend? partner?) called her so?
Anyway, it was impossible not to recognize her; she was Princess Tsunade’s apprentice, and after that great shinobi war (in which he hadn’t taken part of) she had begun to make a name for herself; she was known for her capacity of healing hundreds of people just as she was capable of breaking them; she was Haruno Sakura.
“Yes, and I’m sorry I dragged you here on your free day, Sakura. I know you don’t appreciate much this line of work.”
“Ino-Pig, I think this is already the tenth time you said sorry. Besides, I know you’d rather be at the flower shop than doing this. Let’s just get this over with. What’s wrong with him?”
With a sigh, the so called Ino-Pig woman (he couldn’t fathom how a person as beautiful as her could be called pig. Or maybe he could, because right now she was an obstacle towards the Completion of the Mission) replied, “He literally has mental wall. In order to shatter that wall, he has to feel a shit-ton of pain. This wall should regenerate when he is completely unscathed or dead. You already know where this is going, right?”
Sakura nodded, “So all I have to do is hitting him really hard while at the same time keeping him alive. And then you do the rest, I presume.”
“And then I do the rest,” confirmed the other woman.
So they really didn’t learn anything from the previous interrogation their colleagues had performed on him. It didn’t matter if they bruised him or broke his arm, he still would not have talked, with or without this mental wall, because he was a shinobi and a shinobi must endure and defend his secrets at all costs.
“Are you sure we should be discussing this while he is awake and can hear us?” asked Haruno Sakura.
“Whether he is awake or not doesn’t change anything, actually,” replied Ino, and then she finally acknowledged him and said with a cunning smile, “It will be over soon. Me and Forehead make a really good team.”
Then a piercing scream filled the room, and only after a few moments he realized that voice was actually his own, wobbly from the misuse. He didn’t have the time to realize where the Slug Princess’s apprentice had hit, because in an instant the pain was travelling through all his body. He was sure he would certainly be dead if it wasn’t for her expertise in medical ninjutsu.
The women then exchanged a look and a nod, then the blonde placed her hand on his head, in a grip that he couldn’t quite pinpoint if it was comforting or menacing.
Then he blacked out again.
The next time he woke was to the chattering of two people. This time he recognized both voices and he heard Haruno Sakura insisting to her friend that she will bring to the Hokage the scroll with all the information about their prisoner. The other thanked her.
As they were talking he checked his body, trying to feel if something was wrong with his condition. He was completely uninjured. Even the bruises inflicted on him by the other interrogators were completely healed.
The women were discussing the success of their mission. Which means he had failed his. He still wasn’t sure what he was supposed to protect. He didn’t think it mattered anymore.
What he was curious about was the method they had used to get the information out of him, since he hadn’t spoken, and with all that pain he felt he wouldn’t have been able to form a cohesive sentence anyway.
“Oh, he’s awake,” noted Haruno Sakura while grabbing a kunai, “Are you sure you have everything, Ino? I can take him out of his misery if you want.”
“Don’t worry, Forehead, I already troubled you enough for today. I’ll do it.”
“All right Ino,” responded the other while passing the kunai.
And then he came to him. The beautiful blonde woman was Yamanaka Ino, head of the T&I Force of Konoha; she was also among the shinobi who had contributed heavily during the war.
Before shutting the door behind her Haruno Sakura asked, “Listen Ino-Pig, can we go have drinks later? It’s not even noon yet and I already want to forget this shitty day.”
He didn’t have time to catch Yamanaka Ino’s response because she had already slashed the kunai in his throat.