Walking through the doors of the hospital, Anko lightly gazed around the lobby before heading to the front desk. The lobby was quiet, as only a few people were seated. Most of the chairs in the room were empty, and Anko assumed that the people there were sitting down because they needed to get checked, or something along those lines. For the moment, it wasn't her business, so she simply continued walking to the desk.
A young woman was seated on the other side of the desk, going through a rather small book. The woman's onyx eyes moved quickly past each line of text, taking up as much information as she could at the rate she was reading. The woman didn't notice Anko standing at the desk, and only took note of the purple-haired woman after a random hand forcibly closed the book. An "Eep!" could be heard from the woman at the desk, her rolling chair moving back only slightly. Quickly, the woman set her book down and nodded at Anko. "Sorry about that. Can I help you?"
Anko nodded in understanding and clanked over at the clipboard with the sign-in sheet for the visitors. "I'm here to see a friend. I brought him in last night, and I want to see if he's gotten any better." She spoke in a calm and even tone, one that she didn't use all that often.
The woman across from her nodded quickly and swiveled her chair so that she could grab the clipboard before handing it to Anko. The woman was curious as to who she was seeing, as she knew of Anko, but didn't know that she was good friends with anyone other than Kurenai Yuhi and Yugao Uzuki. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you seeing?"
Anko looked up from the clipboard after signing in and paused for a moment. She wasn't sure how the woman would react to finding out that she was seeing Naruto, but mentall shook those thoughts. "Screw it. If she gets all prissy because I'm coming to visit him, then so be it." She thought to herself as she allowed the pen to fall in between her fingers and onto the desk which the clipboard was resting on. "Naruto Uzumaki." She said blandly, expecting for the woman's mood to suddenly change.
Instead, she smiled sadly at Anko and remembered what she had heard just as she punched in for the day. "I heard that he was getting better, but he's still in pretty bad shape. He isn't in critical anymore, so that's good."
Anko's eyes widened at the woman. She was one of the extremely few people who actually didn't see Naruto as the demon fox that was sealed inside of him. Immediately, she squinted her eyes and looked at the woman, wondering why she didn't seem to hate Naruto like the rest of the village. "Why are you treating him differently than most of the village…?" She asked, getting the woman to tilt her head in curiosity.
Normally, Anko would be thankful to find out that someone else saw Naruto as a person, but the woman seemed like a civilian woman, or a rookie chunin.
"What do you mean?" She asked, curious about what she was talking about.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. There's no way you haven't heard about his 'tenant' before! Everyone in the village knows about the fox, and you're acting like you've never heard of it." She had to keep herself quiet. She couldn't make a scene in the hospital lobby, and she knew that well.
"Oh." The woman simply said, taking back at clipboard and inspecting the most recent entry. "Well, you see… I just don't think that it's possible for the Kyūbi to take the form or Naruto. If it had, the demon chakra would be felt throughout Konoha. When I went past his room this morning, I felt a little bit of it, but if he were actually the fox, there wouldn't be two distinct kinds of chakra coming from him!" She said cheerily, getting a questioning look from Anko. The woman then rose from her chair and leaned across the counter and whispered to Anko. "Between you and me, I think that the Kyūbi is SEALED inside of him! He could have had some of the demon chakra implanted in him at a young age, but I don't think that's possible."
Anko had so many questions for the woman, but there were far too many to ask right now. "Are you not from around here or something?" Anko asked, trying to be as calm as possible with the woman.
The nurse nodded and sat back down in her chair, smiling at Anko. "How'd you know? I spent most of my life traveling with my family. Kaa-san taught me how to be a med-nin, and Tou-san protected us while we traveled around the border. I've only been in Konoha for a month, and I really like it here."
Anko sighed to herself and looked down at the ground. She picked her head up once more as the nurse spoke again. "Naruto is in room 304. Hokage-sama wanted him in a room high off the ground so that he couldn't escape through the window. Sorry for keeping you so long."
The purple haired woman nodded slowly and walked away from the desk, leaving the kind woman to her own devices. She was a little odd, but Anko didn't mind that at all. Even though she only met the med-nin, she had a feeling that she could be trusted. She was certainly smarter than just about all of the civilians in Konoha, and that was welcomed and appreciated.
Anko walked through the white halls of the hospital and made her way to the third floor, where she assumed Naruto was put after he left the ER. She could only hope that the fox was cooperating now, and from what the woman at the counter said earlier, she was being led to believe that Naruto was being healed by the previously mentioned fox.
She quietly read off the numbers on the doors as she passed them, stopping as she found the room that Naruto was apparently in at the moment. It didn't seem like that woman would lead her on and tell her to go to the wrong room, but one could never know.
With a light sigh escaping her lips, Anko reached her hand out and grabbed the handle of the door, twisting it and pulling it in her direction to open it. Walking in, the first thing she saw was the blindingly bright blonde hair of the young Uzumaki, who was resting peacefully in his bed. A soft smile graced her lips at the sight, and she walked over to the side of the bed, pulling out a chair to sit on.
"Wake up soon, gaki. Because when you do, you life's getting a whole lot better…" Anko thought to herself as he sat next to Naruto, simply watching him inhale and exhale. He looked so much better than he did when she had found him, and she knew that only the Kyūbi could have done something like that.
She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, just watching over the boy, but suddenly, she spoke up and broke the silence. "You don't have to sit in the shadows like that. It's probably pretty uncomfortable from where you two are."
Neither of the ANBU were really surprised to hear that Anko knew that they were there, but they were both curious about how long she had known on their presence.
The Inu and Neko masked ANBU left their stations in the shadows, knowing well that Anko would pull them out if need be.
Suddenly, Anko smiled sweetly at the two of them and talked in a voice far too sweet for comfort. While Neko wasn't as affected as Inu was, she was still quite scared of the Chunin woman in front of her. "Now, tell me EXACTLY why you two didn't jump in and save the Gaki as soon as it started getting dicey…"
Neither of them had anything to say to Anko. They were both ashamed for not helping him sooner, and had no reason to not protect him other than 'just because'. Anko understood this, and after a while she broke the silence once more. Under no means was she completely forgiving them for what they did. She was pissed at them to no extent, and she wanted their masked heads on spikes. She kept that to herself, however, and tried to stay calm. "Alright then. Just do your damn jobs the next time this happens, otherwise I'll have to step in again… I may even chew the two of you out to Dolphin."
Her sweet smile quickly shifted to a shit-eating grin as soon as the Dolphin ANBU was mentioned, making both Inu and Neko pale under their masks. Dolphin had only been in the ANBU for a little more than a year, but that wasn't to say that he wasn't skilled. With his speed and tracking skills, he's probably one of the few that could ever catch Naruto, if the case were to ever rise.
He wasn't an ANBU captain like Inu was, but Dolphin sure acted like one. He had sparred with Inu a few times, and the dog masked ninja would win by smaller margins each time. At the rate he was at, He'd be equal to Kakashi in a few years.
"You don't have to do that, Anko. We've learned our lesson. He'd have our heads for not doing our jobs correctly." Neko spoke up, her mask directed at Anko. Neither of the purple haired women understood how they could talk perfectly fine under those fairly thick ANBU masks, but Neko had assumed that it was some kind of seal or something.
"She's right. We'll be watching him better from now on." Inu spoke as well and paused for a moment, thinking about why Anko was there. "Why are you here Anko? Something important must have happened for you to go this far for him."
While some would have taken that as some form of an insult, Anko simply nodded. She understood what Kakashi was getting at. She was always as tough as nails, and hardly ever cared about anyone other than herself. She didn't favor kids in the slightest, and she was well known for being bloodthirsty. That was only her mask, and if those were her true emotions, then she probably would have gotten mad at the silver haired ANBU for saying that. "A lot of things happened, Kakashi. That's all you need to know for now." Her smile disappeared, and was replaced with a calm and serious look. Her voice also lost most of its usual cockyness and power.
Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "It might be just the four of us in here, but you know the rules. You can't use my name when I have the mask on."
Anko then smirked at her masked wearing friends and stood still. "You're right. Sorry about that dog-face. I'll make sure to remember that." Her cocky tone was back, and both Inu and Neko sighed at the smirking young woman. It was obvious that she didn't want to into the details of what made her go to the hospital, so they kept quiet about it.
All three conscious heads turned to the door as someone knocked on it from the other side. Anko stood up and walked over to the door and opened it, revealing another ANBU. The mask turned to face the woman at the door, and the ANBU bowed lightly. "Anko-san. Hokage-Sama is wondering if you've gathered your thoughts about taking in the… Uzumaki boy. I understand that it's been less than a day, but the Hokage believes that you already have your reasoning."
The voice from the third ANBU sounded blank and monotone, but Anko still knew that whoever was behind the mask didn't favor Naruto all that much by the pause the he made when announcing his name.
Anko nodded to him and glanced back at Inu and Neko, who were both looking at her curiously. "Tell him that I'll be on my way as soon as I'm done here. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes at the most."
The ANBU quietly said "Hai", and bowed once more before leaving. Anko turned back around to her two masked friends and sighed audibly.
"You heard him. I asked the Hokage if I could watch over the boy. I'm going to leave it at that for now." She told them, walking back over to her seat and sitting down next to Naruto. The purple haired woman smiled at him kindly before getting up and walking out the door without another word. In this time, Inu and Neko both got back into their spots in the shadows.
"wake up soon, gaki."
It didn't take long for Anko to arrive at the Hokage tower, as the tower was connected to the hospital and it was only a short walk. Because of what the ANBU had told her, she already knew why the Hokage was summoning her, and she knew his reasoning for calling her to him only a few hours after they had last spoken.
She was sure that she knew his reasons for sending the ANBU, but there was always a chance of her being wrong. There had been several times in her life where she believed one thing, and another thing happened, being wrong was always a possibility.
Entering the Hokage tower, Anko said nothing to the secretary, as Anko was supposed to be there, and wasn't asking to see the village leader. She didn't like the secretary, even though she didn't really show any hate towards Anko. The snake mistress just had an odd feeling about her, and decided not to talk to her unless she was needed, which was highly unlikely.
The two simply shared a glance and that was that.
Anko walked up to the Hokage's office at her own pace and was faced with the ANBU from earlier, the one that had told her about her summons to the office. Apparently he was supposed to escort her to the office, but he and Sarutobi knew that she didn't really need an escort of any kind.
The woman eyed the ANBU suspiciously and walked over to the door, her eyes never leaving his mask. Finally speaking up, curiosity was obvious in her voice. "Why are you here? Don't have anything against you, but shouldn't you be back at your post or something, not just standing around here?"
The ANBU didn't move, but still replied to the curious woman. "Hokage-sama told me to stay here and not let anybody other than you inside. Since you're discussing matters about Uzumaki, He wants his office guarded just in case anybody overhears or tries to listen in. Privacy seals will be put in place when you walk in, allowing you to speak at any volume you with without attracting attention."
"I see. Well, thanks." Was all that Anko said before knocking on the door to the office. After a brief moment, a faint "Enter" could be heard from the other side. The doors opened to reveal the Hokage sitting like usual, looking at Anko with a calm smile.
Something seemed different to her. The atmosphere of the room wasn't like it was before. She couldn't explain it, but something had indeed changed within the last thirteen hours.
"Before we get to Naruto-kun, Anko, I think that there is another matter that we should discuss while you're here." The Hokage said to her calmly, looking at her and examining her face. Curiosity was written all over it as she stepped closer, the door shutting behind her.
Anko wondered what he was talking about, as not much of anything had happened between her saving Naruto and now, but she was going to listen to her leader. "And what would that be?" She asked curiously, preferring to stand at the moment rather than sit. The atmosphere still felt odd to her, and she didn't want to get comfy at the moment.
"Hana Inuzuka came into my office a few minutes ago to give her report of her most recent mission. The rest of her team is relaxing from their mission, and she took it upon herself to give the report to me." The Sarutobi elder paused to allow the information sink in, his smile widening as the look on Anko's face told him that she had recently encountered the girl.
"I see. Did something go wrong? I don't see the reason for telling me all of this." She wasn't really sure why the Hokage was talking about the girl to her, but she was sure that he was getting to that.
"Nothing went wrong, but she told me that she was held back from doing so because of 'an odd, purple-haired woman that dressed weird and smelled of snakes' if I remember her words right. I just wanted to clarify with you that a meeting between the two of you took place before she came to the tower." A small smile could be seen on the face of the elder Sarutobi as he looked at Anko, who's eyes widened as a look of anger spread across her face.
Anko was more amused than mad at what Hana had said to the Hokage, and only put on the look of anger as a show for the silent ANBU hiding in the shadows. Not long after, though, she calmed down and smiled at the Hokage. She nodded to him before speaking. "Yeah, I ran into her earlier today, but I don't think that I held her back long enough for her to have the need to apologize to you."
Sarutobi nodded back to her with his usual smile and remembered what had happened once the Inuzuka girl apologized to him. "I agree with you. There wasn't really any reason for her to apologize, but she insisted on doing so." He paused once more before clearing his throat, bringing his thoughts to the main topic of their meeting.
"I do understand that it had been a day, Anko, but I know how fast you think, and I assume that you have come to your decision." He said to her, getting the snake mistress to dawn a calm and serious look as she looked at the leader of the village.
She hesitantly nodded to him, pausing because of doubt.
"Can I really do this? Killing people is one thing, but taking care of a kid is another. Not to mention one who is probably a mental wreck on the inside…." She thought to herself, refusing to speak at the moment. She didn't think that she was ready to take care of him, despite all of her earlier thoughts. She was a mess. Even under the mask that she hid under. She didn't think that she was ready, but she had to be. Nobody else would care for the boy in the way that he needed to be cared for, and Anko Mitarashi wasn't one to back down from things that even Kage feared!
A fire lit in her eyes as she gave the Hokage a look of determination. Her nervousness and fear was gone, now replaced by shining determination.
"I will take care of Naruto Uzumaki!"
The Hokage's smile widened as he heard those words, and the old man pulled out a scroll from his desk. It was the document that would legally sign Naruto over to her, and all he needed as her signature and a blood sample. The sample was a new addition, as it was just to make sure that it was actually her signing the paper instead of someone else.
Hiruzen placed the scroll on the desk and motioned for Anko to take it. While she moved forward and took the scroll, the old man moved a brush over to her so that she could sign the document.
Anko read through the paper carefully to make sure that everything was in order. Naruto would be moved out of his currently residence, and would be placed wherever Anko lived. She would become his guardian until he became of age or reached the Chunin rank. After that, he would be allowed to move out to continue his life, but she would still be his guardian, and would be referred to if anything were to happen to him. She nodded as she reached the end of the paper, but stopped and looked back at the last few lines.
"The guardian(s) of Naruto Uzumaki will be given full access to the clan and all of its belongings once Naruto Uzumaki reaches the Chunin rank. He/She/They will also hold the council seat if Naruto Uzumaki is unable to attend."
She looked up at the Hokage curiously, and the old man chuckled as he knew what she was curious about.
"That will be explained later, Anko. If you wish to know more about the segment, please meet me later, when the walls are less likely to have ears." He spoke carefully as he pulled out another scroll, watching Anko nod and take the brush to sign her name. He moved slightly when she bit her thumb to draw blood, instead of using a kunai or other bladed weapon. He watched as her blood dripped from her thumb to the paper, the paper glowing for a moment before returning to normal.
Anko was once again curious as she watched the paper glow. She assumed that it was a seal of some sort, and something else would have happened if it wasn't her blood that was dropped on the paper. She said nothing as she rolled the scroll back up and placed it back on the desk, taking the other scroll from Hiruzen.
"Read that one when you have the time, Anko. Not here." He said to her, getting her to nod slowly as she put the scroll away.
Anko and the Hokage waited in silence for several minutes, the former thinking about what she would need to do to take care of Naruto. The old Sarutobi simply watched Anko for a moment before giving her another smile.
"I'm glad that we were able to give Naruto a home. I'm sure that you have things to do before Naruto is released from the hospital, so I'd hate to be keeping you. Good day, Anko." He spoke to her, getting her to snap out of her thoughts and reenter reality.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. I'll see you later." She said, giving him a short bow before turning away from him and walking out the door.
Anko was curious to know what was in the other scroll that Hiruzen had given her. The way he spoke after she had reread the last lines of the first scroll and how he spoke after she had gotten the second one was odd, and she replayed the words over in her head.
"Where the walls don't have ears… Read it when I have time… It's obvious that he wanted to speak privately about what those last sentences meant, and this scroll has something to do with it, but what kind of secret would warrant that much caution from the Hokage…? Sure, he might be old, but he can still kick major ass if he needed to."
She wanted to look at the scroll right now, but even though she wanted to, she knew that it would better to wait until she was back home. She had planned to do a couple of things first, but they could wait.
Walking back to her house, Anko was left alone to be with her thoughts. She still had doubts about raising Naruto, but she didn't know who else was going to do it, and she couldn't just pass him on to be someone else's problem. She had been so occupied with her thoughts that she didn't realize that she was home until she almost ran into the front door.
The house that Anko lived in wasn't run down, it wasn't a mess, and it wasn't anywhere near what people expected from her. The snake woman had a fairly nice house that was near the edge of the village. It had a simply tan coloring to the outside walls, and it was for the most part bare with the exception of a few windows and the door. The young woman unlocked the door without any problems and closed it behind her.
Just about everyone assumed that she lived in a hellhole with torturing devices, rotting pieces of flesh, and many other inhumane things. Actually, it was a fairly nice and well furbished home. Tan was the primary color, with greys, blacks, and purples in various other places to keep it from being monotonous. Many of the pictures on the walls of her with her two main friends, Yugao Uzuki, and Kurenai Yuhi. She could be seen smiling, laughing, and even a few not long after the results of her pranks. While she didn't prank all that much, when she did, the town was often in ruins because of them.
Flopping down on her couch, Anko pulled out the scroll from her trench coat and opened it up, reading through it slowly to not miss anything important. She could have easily read through it quickly and still memorize all of it, but she just wanted to read it slowly at the moment.
"Anko.
I'm so glad that you were willing to become Naruto's guardian. I know that you weren't happy when finding out that I had turned down many capable clans who also wanted to watch over Naruto, but I do have my reasons. Without doubt, I'm sure that you noticed the last few lines of the document. I hand wrote this document myself, because it is far more important than people will realize. I want to talk more about it with you tonight at the Hokage Mansion, where I'm sure that nobody will be able to listen into the conversation except for us. I know that it seems a little excessive, but it is absolutely necessary. I'm going to have Naruto stay at the hospital for a few more days, as it should give you time to prepare living with him. He needs a parent in his life, Anko. Despite what you think, I'm sure that you can be there for Naruto when he needs you.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage"
Tada!
It took longer than I wanted, but I finally got the next chapter out! Honestly, I wanted to make it longer, but I felt like I had to give you guys somethings while I work on the second half of this. Hopefully it ties you down until I'm done with the next one, so until next time!
