Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights belong to its creator.
"That's the girl."
"You stay away from her. She can't be trusted."
"She's his student. Probably a spy. It's a wonder she was allowed back into the village."
Anko pretended like she didn't hear the whispers as she passed. It had upset her the first time, annoyed her the next and now it just angered her. She had been in this village for months now, and they still treated her like a parasite. She had lost their trusts, and now she had to deal with the consequences.
It wasn't even her fault. He took her away from the village for months. He took away her memories, leaving her a shell of the girl she once was. He was to blame for the villagers' looks of disgust and pity.
Because of him Anko Mitarashi was branded a freak.
She used to have friends at the academy and throughout the village. Now they all looked away when she passed. Their parents had warned them to stay away from her. Anko couldn't blame them. Who would trust the girl who had been his student? She could be a spy. But at least they left her alone for the most part.
For the most part.
"Hey, you!" a man shouted as he walked noisily toward Anko's table. She sat alone, as she often did, snacking on her favorite dango.
"What?" she snapped, trying to get the man to go away.
"I don't want you in my shop anymore," the restaurant owner said, pointing a grimy finger at the door. "My shop doesn't serve spies."
Anko stood up suddenly, glaring at the man. He easily was two feet taller than she, and yet she still stared at him straight in the eye.
"You have a problem with me, deal with it. I'll eat where I want," she growled, her gaze unwavering.
"It's not just me with the problem. All of my customers steer clear of you. I'm losing money every time you walk into my shop. So now it's time for you to leave. Crawl back to that sensei of yours where you belong," he said. When Anko made no move to leave, the man extended his hand to grab hers. Anko felt the rage inside her reach a boiling point, and her Curse Mark pulsed angrily, threatening to consume her. It only had ever done this one other time, and the results had been disastrous. Or so she had heard.
Before the owner's hand could touch her, though, it was grabbed and yanked away.
"Now, don't you think you're being a little rude? She is just a young girl after all," the new person said, smiling behind his mask. It covered up to the bridge of his nose, but Anko could tell he was smiling at her. Or at least, she thought he was smiling. She hadn't been smiled at in so long.
"Hey there," he turned his attention to Anko, releasing the owner and pushing him forward. "Do you want to come train with some friends and me. I promise we're a lot nicer than that guy." He extended a hand toward her, and she stared at it for a moment, trying to decide if he was being sincere. "Oh, by the way," he added, "And I know a great place with better food than this. We can go there after." Anko saw the owner of the shop glare at the boy.
When she deemed the boy trustworthy, she found herself following the boy to the forest. The whispers seemed louder as they passed people in the street.
"What is he doing with her?"
"Doesn't he know better?"
"What has she done to him?"
Anko looked down, trying to block out their words. She gritted her teeth, feeling the words seep in despite her efforts. They were overpowering.
The boy looked at her silently, taking in her pained look. He faced the villagers' stares and looks of disgust with an indifferent expression. He noticed how people turned away when they caught sight of him looking at them.
"People sure are shallow here," the boy said. "You should try to ignore them."
Anko didn't reply, following in silence, ignoring their words.
"She's a spy."
"She's a traitor."
"Can't be trusted."
"Would you guys come out now so I don't have to track you down," the boy called into the forest. Anko hadn't even noticed how far they had walked.
A dark haired girl appeared first, her red eyes peeking out from behind a tree.
"You brought a girl," she said, stepping out from behind the tree with a smile.
"Good, because I hate training with too many guys," another girl said from her perch on a branch. This one had short black hair and black eyes.
"Hey, we're not that bad," another boy said. He had darker skin and spiky black hair.
"Of course not. We're youthful and full of energy," yet another boy said, this one wearing a hideous green jumpsuit. He had the worst haircut Anko had ever seen as well as the largest eyebrows in Konoha. It almost made her smile.
"Stop with your stupid arguments and try to act like normal people for once," Kakashi sighed. "Anko Mitarashi meet these four. We train together a lot." Kakashi pointed to each in turn. "Kurenai, Asuma, Guy, and Shizune. And I'm Kakashi."
The other four all nodded in turn, each greeting Anko.
"Is she going to train with us?" the one named Asuma asked.
"I didn't really ask, but do you want to train with us?" Kakashi asked her, feeling a bit idiotic for not asking her sooner.
Anko was confused. "You want me to train with you? Don't you hear what they say about me? Why would you want to train with me?" Everyone avoided her. No one was nice to her. No one would train with her.
"You can't always believe rumors," Kurenai said.
"And it helps when you know someone who tells you the truth about what's going on," Shizune added, earning a look of surprise from Anko. She shrugged. "My uncle's girlfriend talks a lot. She tells a lot of stories."
"Come on now. I want to train!" Guy exclaimed. "I need to beat Kakashi!"
Anko was quickly accepted into the group. She hadn't even said yes to their offer and yet she found herself training. She found herself among friends.
And slowly, the whispers disappeared.
~AN~
I've really missed writing for this fandom but here I am... with another Anko fic. :) Does anyone else find the aspect of little sensei's incredibly adorable?
I have another Anko/Orochimaru story in the works that is nearing completion but no promises to whether or not it will ever be published.
Thank you for reading