Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters belong to Shonen Jump.

The sun was setting on the land that the Hidden Leaf Village called home, the shinobi metropolis more active than usual. It was not by mere chance, however, as the first Chunin Exam of the year was coming to an end.

For the jonin known as Anko Mitarashi it was an atypical situation. She had been involved for so long as a proctor for the second stage of the exams that having to abstain from the process was an almost alien experience for her.

I'd almost begun to consider the Forest of Death my second home... How messed up is that?

Despite her missing the experience, the jonin knew that it in six months' time she would be back where she belonged, initiating chunin into the rank of genin, or at the very least cutting the potential graduates down by half. Either way was fine by her.

Though much as Anko missed being a proctor, she was finding even greater joy in the role of an outsider to the exam. For this time it was her proteges that had undergone the rigorous proceedings. Due to any concerns of favoritism, it had only been natural that Anko step aside, Kakashi Hatake filling the void due to his standing within the Hidden Leaf Village. Anko, meanwhile, was up in one of the stadium's viewing booth, leaving her to look down with pride at those she had taken under her wing.

"Team Nine," the Third Hokage, dressed in ceremonial garb, began to say, his voice booming across the arena. "You have all worked hard during this examination, displaying your talents and skills to the Hidden Leaf Village. You have made us all proud. Each of you has shown skill and ability beyond your years. To that end..."

Anko could not help but smile with admiration towards her students, knowing what the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was about to say. You've all earned this...We.. we all have.

"Team Nine, you are all now officially promoted to the rank of genin."

Anko could hear the crowd's applause in response to the Third Hokage's words, her grin growing wider as she looked down at the children under her care. The lot of them were clearly ecstatic yet able to keep their joy beneath the surface. Anko had taught them well, though the Jonin could see their happiness slipping through the cracks. She was, after all, their teacher and new them well.

Helping the new future of the ninja world... Anko looked up for a moment, catching sight of the sun that was setting over the rim of the stadium's open roof. Her eyes focused on the sight, the jonin feeling an immense burst of pride in how her life was going. It's all I ever wanted. That I was able to do for my students what he did for me...

"Anko."

The purple haired jonin felt her breath stop for just a moment, exhaling slowly in response to the familiar voice. "Lord Orochimaru..."

Anko Mitarashi turned slowly, coming face to face with her former teacher. He was as she remembered him, clad in the combat uniform of a jonin as she was, the headband of Konohagakure adorning his brow. His long black hair draped down, framing his pale face.

"My dear protege..." Orochimaru continued, his voice low and quite, his snake-like eyes boring into Anko's own. "Your team has done well thanks to your teachings. Quite impressive."

"Heh." Anko wanted to grin in response to the words being uttered by Orochimaru, but still she did her best to remain composed. "Well, I've only come this far thanks to having been trained by one of the legendary Sannin-"

"Nonsense," the serpent-like shinobi interrupted. "I may have given you the tools, but your hard work has brought you to this time, to this place. And for that... I am so very proud of you, An-"

"-Ko! Anko!"

Anko Mitarashi's mind jostled at the sound of her own name, her eyes slowly opening in the process. "Where... am I?"

Anko could remember her last memories, of having stood side by side with Orochimaru in respectful awe as her team of students graduated the Chunin Exams. Those reflections, however, were quickly fading, the truth of her life settling in Anko's mind once more.

Orochimaru was no loving teacher, but a monster who had used and betrayed Anko so long ago. The Third Hokage was long dead, having sacrificed his life to save his beloved village from the twisted Sannin's threat. There was no Team Nine, Anko simply a special jonin without students to pass on her legacy as a shinobi to.

"I'm... alone..."

"Lady Anko?"

Mitarashi Anko could hear the unfamiliar voice once more. With utter sadness infecting her eyes, she opened them fully and took in the sight of whom the voice belonged to. It was a shinobi of the Allied Shinobi Forces, but it was the colors of his combat uniform that revealed his affiliation to the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Where... am I?"

Anko quickly remembered. The five hidden villages of the ninja world had joined forces to combat the forces of both Madara Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi in the Fourth Great Ninja War. Madara had declared his intent to take control of a beast known as the Ten-Tails and use its power to initiate a genjutsu that would leave the world forever mired in the peaceful bliss of illusions. Anko had led the a coalition of the stealth force into the duo's lair, only to be defeated by Kabuto's newfound powers, ones he had based around Orochimaru himself.

"The enemy forces' lair," the Hidden Leaf ninja answered. "We were doing one last sweep of the place and found you. No telling how long you were out though. Come on, we should get you examined by a medical squad. Sakura Haruno-"

Anko could see it clearly, the familiar cavern walls all around her. However, what really took hold of her attention were the large plants around her. She glanced around quickly, noticing that her body was half covered in a green pod. It was enough to startle her and make her snap, interrupting the ninja.

"What... what's going on?!" Anko's eyes went wide at the sight, unable to determine what happened.

"The Infinite Tsukuyomi," the ninja said, helping Anko to her feet as he did so. "Madara, the real Madara, completed his goal of becoming the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails and casting his ultimate genjutsu on the world."

"The... real Madara?" Anko asked weakly, confused by the shinobi's words.

"It's a long story," he replied. "Seriously."

That was a genjutsu? That... was my ultimate desire? Anko had never been one to let her personal feelings dictate her life, her future. She had always been so focused on moving beyond a past that had haunted her that Anko had never had the time to think of her future. Still it was clear that her heart knew what her mind could not. "The genjutsu is over, so... Madara and Kabuto were defeated?"

"That's the info that's spreading through the allied forces," the shinobi said. "Word is that our village's very own Team Seven defeated our foe, ending the Infinite Tsukuyomi once and for all."

"Team... Seven?" Anko forced herself to wear a weak smile, the right corner of her lips curling back into a grin. "So... hyperactive little Naruto Uzumaki saved the world, huh? Always knew that goof had potential..."

Relief washed over Anko Mitarashi, the world's salvation having been verified as it was. Relief and surprise. She had always expected great things to come from the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox ever since seeing his actions during the Chunin Exams, even if her tough love form of teaching never allowed her to show it, but the Special Jonin had never guessed he would be a hero to the world itself.

This new generation is full of surprises...

However, in that moment did Anko's thoughts turned their attention back to the world she had created for herself in the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

I... want a team of prodigy all my own? Being a full-fledged jonin over simply holding the rank of a dpecial jonin was not all that surprising to Anko, but to wish for her own team of shinobi to nurture and protect, that was something that had clearly been hidden in the depths of her heart.

However, if that illusion was plucked from her inner most desires, then there was one last part that left Anko to shiver. The Third Hokage being alive and well was of no surprise to her, the leader of the village having long since become etched in her memory as the hero who had taken her in and cared for after the atrocities that had been commited by his protege had come to light. That was of no surprise to Anko, no, but it had been the appearance and role of that very same protege that had left her haunted even now.

"Orochimaru..."

"That creepy Sannin?" It was now the Hidden Leaf shinobi's time to be confused. "Yeah, he was involved in the war's final phases. But if the reports of you being captured at the conflict's start are true, then how did you-"

"What?" Anko's eyes suddenly flared to life, her cracking voice cutting off the ninja's words. "He what?"

"Wait, you didn't know? Then what-"

"Just spill it!" Anko shouted as she grabbed the shinobi by the collar of his combat jacket. "What do you mean Orochimaru was involved in the war! He died! You hear me? He's dead!"

"Calm down, please," the shinobi stammered, his composure completely shattered by Anko's sudden outburst. "He-"

"I'm... sorry."

Anko forced herself to take the man's advice, trying to reign in her surge of anger. She let go of his uniform and clutched instead at her head. She had heard it before, reports indicating that Orochimaru's latest prodigy, Sasuke Uchiha, had slain him. Anko had been set at ease at the monster's death, though left with a longing for true closure. Closure that could only have been brought about by her own hands. Still, it had been a step towards moving forward. Now however, knowing Orochimaru was walking among the living once more, Anko's mind was being overwhelmed with a fog of despair.

"I'm so sorry, I just... How can he be alive?"

"Perhaps the enemy forces revived him with the Kabuto's reanimation technique," the shinobi offered as a possibility. "Ironic, if true. But the reports haven't been entirely clear in regards to his role in the war yet."

"It just... just... Wait..."

Her eyes wavering with confusion, it was then that something came to Anko's attention. Or, for better wording, the lack of something. Long ago Orochimaru had inflicted upon the special jonin the Heaven's Curse Mark, a seal that could increase a person's power, though the receiver only had a one in ten chance of surviving its application. In the end Anko had survived, but never would she allow herself to use such a dark power no matter the price. The curse, located by her neck, led to terrible pain, something that only first the Third Hokage and then Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage and another member of the Sannin, could suppress.

Still a slight twinge of pain always radiated from the Curse Mark. Until now. The absence of the irritation left Anko even more confused. She quickly fumbled for her long coat, pulling it away from her body. "There! Do you see it?"

"Uhhhh..." the male ninja did not know what Anko was referring to, his gaze instinctively focusing on the kunoichi's mesh clothing, the garment adhering tightly to her upper body. "That is...Well..."

"Not those!" Anko rasped, a red tint crossing her face. "Do you see a marking around my neck?"

"Oh." The ninja said matter-of-factly. "Well, no. Should I?"

"It's gone?" Anko's facial expression became puzzled, more so than before. "What the hell is going on?"

Orochimaru was back, the mark he had cursed Anko with having vanished. Deep in her heart, deep in her mind, the special jonin knew it could not be a simple coincidence. An inkling came over Anko, one that left her with an overwhelming sense of dread.

Did Kabuto... Am I... Am I responsible for Orochimaru's resurrection? Please... It... can't be...