A Cruel Mistress

By: A Little Girl Blue

Her world is reduced to the searing pain spreading from her right shoulder. Like some kind of demonic, black fire, it consumes her whole body. Her lungs expand as she tries to breathe, but nothing comes in. She can't breathe! Please let her breathe, please, she'll do anything.

In the background she hears a terrified scream. With growing horror she realizes it's her. Her screams sound like some kind of dying creature… with a jolt she has one coherent thought: I'm going to die.

He had abandoned her. Oro-sensei, the one person she loved since her parents had died, was trying to kill her. But why? What had she done to deserve such a sentence? She had done everything he'd asked her to do and more. Why? Why her?

Then suddenly, Oro-sensei appeared, shadows covering his face and body. She screamed louder. She didn't want him anywhere near her. Go away, go away, go away!

"Go away! Go away!" she screeched out loud. He was going to kill her. He was going to kill her. She didn't want to die. Please don't come near her, please don't.

"But Anko-chan…" he hissed with an evil grin on his face. "I want to help you. Come to me. I will give you more power than you ever dreamed of. Come to me Anko-chan."

"No! No, No, No, No! Leave me alone! Your gonna kill me! Leave me alone!" she screams at him. The pain increases. She's gonna die, she's gonna die, she's gonna die. Somebody save her, please save her. She doesn't want to die.

"Okaa-san!" she cries. "Please save me Okaa-san!"

Her Okaa-san is the only one who can save her now. Okaa-san, Okaa-san, please save her, please save her. Come back from heaven and save her Okaa-san. Don't leave her here Okaa-san. But Okaa-san never comes. Why?

Is Anko a bad girl? Did she disobey Oro-sensei? Was Okaa-san mad at her? She was sorry, she was so sorry. Please, she begs, please forgive Anko, please forgive Anko, and let her be free, please.

She can feel the darkness coming in. No! NO! Darkness is death, death is the end. She doesn't want to end. No! Make the darkness go away. Please, please, make it go away! It's coming; it's coming, make it go away! She doesn't want to die! She's going to die all alone. Okaa-san! Okaa-san, save her! OKAA-SAN!!

She leaned over and threw up into the bucket she keeps by her bed. The stomach acid burns her throat horribly. Her nightshirt was soaked with sweat, clinging to her body. Grabbing the bucket, she headed over to the bathroom, dunking the puke into the toilet. Mechanically, she brushes her teeth.

Once she's done, she wordlessly she turns on the shower and steps in, not bothering to remove her clothing. The water is scalding, just the way she likes it. She doesn't make a sound, letting her silent tears mix with the water.

This was familiar procedure, occurring whenever she was home from a mission. The nightmare, reliving the night she was cursed. The vomiting, the shower… all of it was endlessly repeated. Over and over again, without fail.

Nothing helped; drugs, alcohol, therapy… none of it. Subconsciously, her hand drifted to her curse mark. Anger flashed threw her, and then was quickly doused. She was a cursed child, the snake's legacy.

Her nightmare always occurred at midnight. Always. Just once, just once, she wanted a dreamless sleep in her own home. Here in Konoha, the village she would give her life for without a second thought. Kami was a cruel mistress, indeed.

Author's Note(s):

This is my second one-shot… ever. So what do you think? Did I do well? Was it bad? Please tell me. I want to improve as much as possible.

I did Anko because she's a deep character that I can relate on a level. Plus I've never done an "angst-y" story before. I wanted to see if I was any good.

Do you think I should do a pseudo-sequel involving Sasuke or Naruto? Or do both… or I could make this a whole angst series about the characters in Naruto-verse who have horrible pasts/presents. If I did, these would be the characters: Naruto, Sasuke, Itachi, Minato, Kushina, Tsunade, Gaara, and Yuugao.

This story takes place about two years after Orochimaru left Konoha, so Anko's about 11/12. Reviews are much appreciated, whether anonymous or signed.

Love,

a little girl blue ^_^