Legacy [ Naruto Reader-Insert ]

Dinner Table

Ino greets you in the front of the Main House with an outstretched hand. A big smile that spreads slowly on her face as you get closer to the property and a cheerful, "Okaeri." That falters as your bruises and the bandages and the stains on your haori get clearer to her vision but she tries her best to keep a strong face up.

She approaches you with worry in her eyes, glancing at everything that's wrong with you. Messy hair, puffy eye. An eye-patch that she just cannot miss. Your gloves are missing and she can see the marks around your wrists when you remove your fingers to give her a quick wave. The size that her eyes grew into when she sees the dark stain on your normally white haori. It's almost comical, really. But you can't bring yourself to say anything in your own defense when Ino's gaze turns into a sharp glare.

Ino moves to grab your wrists. You tug them to hide them behind your back, shame engulfing your torso and your neck but she takes hold of both of your palms in her hands.

"Y-you..." Her voice disappears in her throat as she further examines the bruising around your wrists. She drags her fingers to your face, thumb grazing the top of your eye patch, "Shikamaru's going to pop a vein when he sees you."

You just smile, letting your arms go limp in her grip, "Tadaima."

She lets out a quiet sigh, bonking the back of your head with a chop of her hand, "C'mon, let's get you cleaned up. You look like you haven't properly washed in ages."

Ino grabs you by the forearm and leads you into the building and up to her room. You don't know how to react to that, on one hand you really didn't have the luxury to do a deep cleanse. On another, she's basically implying that you're a mess. You are. But you don't think it's a good idea to look like a drowned rat in front of Father.

The two shinobi by the main door acknowledges her with a deep bow as she drags you past them.

He shoulders shake as she pulls you up the stairs. You're sure she's trying her best to keep her emotions and questions in check. Knowing her? It's taking up all of her willpower not to open her mouth.

"Ino?" You say, the sound of footsteps ascending the wooden steps rings loudly in the narrow stairwell.

A pause. Then an answer. "Yeah?" Her voice shakes with emotion.

"I'm okay," You offer quietly, "I didn't get injured during the mission. The bloodstain on my haori isn't mine."

Silence again. You're almost in front of her room when she speaks. "What about the eye patch? The bruises around your wrists? Your obi isn't even on you. Have you been going around with your ribs and thighs out?" Each word pierces your consciousness like a sharp spears through an Iron-back boar from the hills that your class hunted for a lesson when you were nine.

You look down at ribs and thighs just to make sure if what she said is right. She is. Your inner-wear curves and morphs at all the slopes of your body, while not totally visible, the black shows a very slight hint of a rib. Shit. You haven't been maintaining your nutrition properly. One thing you've noticed after getting Shisui's eye is that your body has been consuming twice the amount of energy that you usually take in for the day, to make up for the chakra that you don't have maybe?