A/N: Hey-o! Ramadan Mubarak for everyone celebrating it.
I haven't written about my top-two favorite Naruto characters in a while, so I think I'll whip up some of modern Konoha city's AU story for you KakaAnko lovers.
Let me know what you think of the first chapter. I've got lots more in store of what's to come and I hope I'll surprise you. So please bear with me. :D
For any Japanese word that might sound unfamiliar, I'll include the glossary below each chapter.
Enjoy, wonderful readers!
UPDATE: Summary and chapter 1 revised.
He didn't look like anything she had expected. The advertising campaign that Kurenai had relentlessly spread over the past week got her anticipating for an artsy, perhaps almost hipster dude with leather jacket and sleek hairdo. Anko thought at first, yeah, she could deal with that. At least those guys usually smell nice.
Instead, the one who was now staring at her under such heavy lidded eyes that she was convinced he was at least half-asleep was a pathetic excuse of a man, reeking of something Anko suspected to be dog piss. His face was part covered by a flu mask and Anko wasn't sure how long since he last had a good bath – let alone if he was even familiar with the concept of grooming.
She gave her friend-slash-flatmate a good measure of ankle kicking under the table, on which the latter didn't even let out a wince and threw a conniving smile at the man sitting across them.
"So, Kakashi. What do you do for a living?" Kurenai said, unflustered.
The guy regarded the two women with the remotest hint of interest, as if he was talking to one of the dusty decorative ferns tucked in the corner of this restaurant.
"I take photographs."
"Oh, you mean you're a photographer?" Kurenai's obviously fabricated chirp almost made Anko gag on her skirt. "That's awesome!"
"No, I mean I put up a signboard on the side of the road telling tourists I'll take their photos for 1000 yen per picture."
"Well, that... sounds fun."
"Yeah, business' been pretty good," the man replied. He scratched his head offhandedly. Anko could only pray there wouldn't be apparition of lice poking up to say hello.
"Well, Anko here has an interesting job as well. Go on, Anko, tell him."
"I get paid to hurt people," Anko said in a flat tone.
"She's not serious," Kurenai's damage control consisted of calmly stabbing Anko's feet with her 8-foot stiletto heel, "She's a judo instructor for teenagers."
Kakashi's eyebrows rose a fraction. "Ah."
Anko managed to produce a grunt of response as she strained to keep her eyes from watering. As a result, an eternity of silence ensued, only broken when Asuma arrived with one of his friends from work, whom Anko recognized as Genma – the guy who seemed to be perpetually high.
Within seconds of sitting Asuma had already lit a fresh batch of tobacco, puffing smoke upon each word he said. "You guys are early, I see. That's new for Kakashi."
"I can be early if I wanted to," Kakashi said. Asuma didn't seem to hear him.
"Everyone having fun?"
"Oh, we're having a jolly good time." Kurenai grinned. Anko gripped the beer mug in her hand like it had done her a personal offense and gulped down its content. She never liked the taste, in truth. Why have it bitter when you can have it sweet? But necessity of the situation trumped her preference at the moment.
"There's just one more left, innit? Shizune?" Asuma asked, cigarette wiggled between his nicotine-stained lips.
Kurenai nodded. "She'll be here in 5 minutes, then we can start."
They kept their gaze lingered at each other before looking away: Asuma busied himself with Genma; Kurenai suddenly got so fascinated with her fingernails. Anko almost gave an audible snort.
It was excruciating to watch their on again, off again "non"-relationship. Especially for Anko, who was involuntarily given the front row seat to their late-night rendezvous soaked with alcohol and self-pity. Anko would pretend to stay asleep when she heard the front door of her flat opened at two A.M., footsteps rustled and whispers rushed, and the faint waft of stale tobacco when Anko came to breakfast the next morning. Once there was even a cigarette butt left stuffed in the dirt of Kurenai's potted begonia—this being a blatant proof, Anko frowned at the blushing Kurenai who mumbled that 'it was just for this one time'.
Knowing them, there would always be another of their 'just for this one time' in the next weekend or so.
She wished they'd just get on with it already; the only ones they're fooling are themselves. The way Kurenai's eyes light up when she mentioned Asuma's name or the way he fumbled with his cigarette pack when she was around sent clear enough signal that they were more than just friends with benefits. Anko raised this notion once to Kurenai, but she just looked at her as if being younger by four years meant Anko was none the wiser, said nothing, or unabashedly changed the subject.
Anko herself had thought she'd been in love once, but it wasn't. It was admiration turned into adoration, then total devotion, and eventually destruction.
He was her high school biology teacher and Anko was much too young for him. Anko had never had a real father growing up, and her mother was more absent than around. Then along came Orochimaru-sensei, with his gentle hands and mellifluous voice and nurturing charisma, to become the closest thing she ever had to a father, and a lover. She would hang around his class long after the bell rang to offer her help, but mostly she just enjoyed watching him. And he was more than welcoming.
It wasn't at all for the grades. It was for the comfort he offered when the world seemed to take a toll on her. It was for the feeling that she, too, chaotic and unmanageable she was, could be loved.
She was smitten.
On the night of her graduation, he asked for something more. He asked for the whole of her, in exchange that they could be together forever. She complied. She wake up the next morning to find that he'd left the city without a word and never came back since.
Feeling hurt and betrayed, all the way through college she never so much as went out on a date. Of course for Kurenai that was a problem of astronomical proportion, next to zombie apocalypse. Anko said she was perfectly fine, thank you very much, she didn't need a man in her life, she had her pet snakes—that of which, Kurenai pointed out while cringing, is exactly the problem.
Even as a roommate, Kurenai never objected to Anko's fondness of serpents, up until the moment she went home from work to see Anko "made out" with one of her darling pets ("I was only trying to feed him chicken from my mouth!" Anko cried, as if it made it any less creepy). She decided it was time to put her foot down. In Kurenai's eyes, Anko desperately needsa guy like a diabetic patient needs insulin shots.
"I've arranged a goukon on this Saturday night," she said. "For you and Shizune. Asuma's friends are going to be there and I will hear no objections."
Anko's protested in any way she could think of, but Kurenai was a mountain made of steel. Anko should've known better that nothing would move her, considering she'd known and lived with her for the last five years. When they first met, Anko was a freshman in Kurenai's old university. Their school had this program on which alumni was given an option to provide accommodations for the new students. Kurenai got a spare room since her former flatmate, Shizune, had to move out from the place they used to shared together, and she agreed to rent it with an incredibly economical price. Anko, being penniless, jumped at the opportunity.
She remembered knocking at the front door to meet an attractive woman with rich black curls down her back and lips the reddest color she'd ever seen. The flat was not that big, but everything was sleek clean to the point of near-blinding. Near the window stood a variety of plants and flowers, all looked well-nourished, indicating the fastidiousness of the owner. Anko was intimidated, to say the least, but the rent was just too tempting, and Kurenai didn't even mind if she brought along slithering animals as long as Anko do all the caring and making sure they do not stray anywhere unguarded. So she was sold.
Anko had no idea that this fussy albeit caring woman would end up to be the big sister figure she'd never had.
Anko elbowed Kurenai hard on the ribs, snapping her from her daze. "What?"
"The ladies room," Anko growled. "Now."
Kurenai trailed off behind her and closed the lavatory door. She faced her friend with an almost self-satisfied smirk.
"So? He's great isn't it?"
To say that Anko was incredulous at Kurenai's total lack of remorse would be an understatement. "Seriously?"
"Well… I might have exaggerated a little bit about him…"
"You called that exaggeration? I didn't put on this whorific costume you call a dress and splatter my face with rainbow war paint for that… that hobo!"
"Anko, that is rude!" Kurenai made a shush-ing gesture; Anko wasn't famous for speaking in a low volume.
Anko rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms on her chest, leaning on the sink with lips pursed. "This whole goukonthing is a stupid idea anyway."
"Anko, I'd rather slit my wrists than watching you canoodling another reptile," Kurenai said, holding one finger up to silent Anko's disapproval even before she had the chance to say anything. "You need a real, living, breathing, male human beinginteraction before it's too late. Now could you please act like an adult for a secondand take a chance on him? Or you'd rather see your pets mysteriously transported into someplace God only knows where?"
Anko threw the dirtiest look she could muster. "Fine," she said, nonetheless. "But only if you take off half of my rent next month."
Kurenai scoffed. "Not a chance."
When they walked back to their table, Shizune was already there, apparently hitting it off pretty easily with the stoned one—sorry, Genma. Asuma was chugging on his beer and that other one, Kakashi, was just sitting there looking like a disheveled totem. Anko sighed, dejectedly. Here goes nothing.
o0o
As smooth as group dating could go, the tonight's goukon successfully produced one new connection—only it doesn't include Anko. Shizune had expressed his favorable impression through the entire proceeding (it was normal to whisper about the guys with your girl friends, even when they're right in front of you), and she won't shut up about him since.
"Not to mention he has excellent taste in music," Shizune chattered from behind the wheel. She was giving Kurenai and Anko a lift back to their flat in her car. Being a physician, Shizune gave out the air of a sophisticated, professional young woman. Her dresses were chic, her shoes designer-made, her perfume smelled like a million dollar. But once you got to know her, you'd be surprised how much of a teenager she was at heart. She even had this life-size stuffed pig she named Tonton that she carried with her everywhere she went, even to bed. Her attachment to Tonton which mirrored Anko's to snake probably what urged Kurenai to involve her in tonight's goukon. Well, mission accomplished for her, thought Anko.
"Anyway, he asked me to go to this really cool concert this weekend with him. I mean, I never knew anyone who liked the same music as I do before I met him. It's like it's written in the stars."
"That's wonderful," Kurenai said, absent-mindedly. She had the rest of her attention at her mobile phone, which she was now typing on vehemently. Shizune wasn't noticing, still too busy listing aloud all the pluses of Genma, but Anko did take a peek. Kurenai was texting Asuma.
Anko mentally groaned. Pity she was such a light sleeper; once they got home, she had to prepare extra pillows to drown the sound of Asuma's inevitable visit.
"By the way, Anko," Shizune glanced from the rearview mirror. "You're awfully quiet tonight. Was it going well for you and Kakashi?"
Anko avoided her eyes and chose to look outside the window. "Fine."
"Tsk, doesn't sound like it, dear." Shizune said. "Did you even exchange numbers?"
"Oh, Kakashi will call her all right," Kurenai piped in, dropping her phone back to her handbag. "Just wait and see."
Anko puffed a 'whatever'. No, she and Kakashi didn't exchange numbers. They barely even changed more than two words the whole time, and that was because of Kurenai fishing it from them back and forth. It was so unbearable.
"Anyway, Shizune-san, I've been meaning to ask you," Anko thought it was best to change the topic. "Do you know anything about the murder near your workplace a few days ago?"
Shizune's expression turned grim. "Yeah, actually. It was horrible, wasn't it? The victim used to work in administration at my hospital. I didn't know her personally, but they said she quit last year to get her degree. That was the last we've heard of her, until they found her body in the dumpster…"
She seemed to be contemplating something, then said, "Let me tell you something I got from a friend of mine in the force. It turns out that that girl wasn't the first one. These past three months, there have been two other identical cases in the other parts of the city. Same age, around mid-twenties, same height, same method of killing… The Konoha police have been trying to cover it up, now with the mayoral election coming up and all."
"So you're saying, right now, there is a serial killer on the loose? In Konoha?" Kurenai said, a shudder coating her words.
"Why do you think I drove you guys home anyway?" Shizune said. "Even if Anko could mangle the limbs of that son of a bitch—which I have no doubt she can—we can never be too careful."
Nobody said anything more until Shizune's car reached Anko's apartment building. "Arriving," Anko said, eager to get back to the safety of her room and to her beloved pets.
"Well, thank you for giving us a lift, Shizune," Kurenai said. "See you later."
"No problem," Shizune waved as they got out of the car, and added with a cheery yell, "Thank you for the awesome goukon!"
o0o
Anko didn't feel like talking with Kurenai, so she said to her she was going to call it a night. She made sure all her snakes were fed and safe on their boxes before going to sleep. Or rather, trying to.
She squeezed her eyes shut for the umpteenth time, only to have it wide open again. Somehow the image of her high school sensei kept creeping back. His long black hair, his lithe figure as he bent over her and lingered his touches on her shoulder blades, his breath so close to her like they were breathing the exact same air, his caresses that made her shiver in excitement…
She didn't regret what happened. She knew full well it was with her consent. She was already eighteen when it occurred, old enough to recognize right from wrong. What she couldn't accept was how he discarded her so easily after what happened as if she was nothing. As if what they had was nothing. But then again, it most certainly was to him.
How could he do this? He knew that to me, it was everything. It was all I had.
Anko had repeated this question over a billion times in her head, imagined a scenario where they came face to face and what would she say then, but nothing helped her to forgive him. Over time, the pain and the anger did subside into nothing more than a dull ache—no longer painful, only unsettling, but the memory stayed afresh.
On the far side of her room, one of her snakes rustled in his glass box.
Anko finally fell into an uneasy but deep sleep. She didn't even hear the usual quiet arrival of a certain male figure and the female's muffled giggles as midnight came and went.
*tbc
Goukon: A group blind date, typically used to form at least some friendships between two group that are each of a single sex.
Arriving!: Not a Japanese phrase per se, but it is Anko's favorite phrase. Couldn't resist putting it in. :3
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