Orochimaru did not appear for days. Again, Kabuto was the only one who entered her room and that was only to deliver food. Orochimaru did, however, have specific instructions for Anko to follow. He expected her to keep in shape with daily exercises in an effort to maintain "perfect" health. Anko tried to disobey, but horrible pain followed as punishment. The irony was not lost on her.
She walked down the hallway one morning, at least she assumed it was morning, toward the exercise room. There were no windows and her sleeping regiment had been altered, so it could be the middle of the night for all she knew. When she arrived at the room, Anko settled into a half hour of stretching. This was the time her mind normally wandered. Today, as in the past, Anko wondered if this was becoming too much a routine. Was she admitting defeat by her compliance with Orochimaru's wishes? Again she tried to tell herself there was no choice. He would have no qualms with torture and she'd had a good taste of it already. Though part of her thought maybe she should accept torture simply on principle.
Her train of thought was quickly interrupted by the tingling sensation that was about to transform into raging fire. Anko was never prepared for this pain. She screamed.
When her eyes opened again she was on the floor in a dark room with computer screens as the only light. Orochimaru was standing in front of them, typing away on the keyboard. She wished she could just pass out again, but the smooth snake-like voice wound its way into her conscience.
"How are you feeling Anko?"
"Like my insides are on fire, but you know how accustomed I am to that." She gasped, holding her middle.
"I see the training has been going well. You aren't nearly as fragile as you were the first time I transported you." He activated a jutsu and glided his hand above her body. His eyebrows furrowed and frown appeared on his face. "But it seems the cell damage is just as bad. Hmm, that complicates things."
"The great Orochimaru can't repair a couple of cells? I guess you really do destroy everything you touch."
"You flatter me Anko." The pat on her cheek could have been affectionate if it hadn't been so hard.
She felt the unmistakable sting of pain. "More evidence to support my claim."
"I thought you'd be more ardent in your desire to live. Have you really given up?" He asked lazily. "I see nothing has changed."
"It really doesn't matter anymore. I know I'm not getting out of this alive or at least as myself so do your worst." She said and laid her head back down on the floor.
Orochimaru went over to a table and began making notes on a pad of paper.
"How did you turn out this way?" Anko said, her head still lying on the floor. "Are you aware of how abnormal you are?"
"Of course I'm aware of it." He said not looking up from the paper. "But doesn't that give me the upper hand. I'm able to think "outside the box", as people always say to do. Then when I do, they don't like the results," he said incredulous. "What's more curious is that you don't realize how hypocritical you sound dear Anko." This time he did look down at her. "I think being in love with a monster is a little more than abnormal."
She felt like she had been slapped again.
Kasahi looked up from his book as a dark form blocked the sun.
"Hey Kakashi."
"Ibiki. This about Anko?"
"I'm trying to locate her. Do you know anything that might help?" Ibiki asked getting to the point.
"I'm afraid not."
"I've accomplished a lot of things in my career, but this seems next to impossible. It's not like she left a trail. I mean she just vanished. How the hell am I supposed to track that?"
"It's a tough break. I'll talk to Tsunade and see if I can help. I was supposed to get a say in my next mission."
"I appreciate it. The first time she was taken Orochimaru had her sent back fairly soon. She was found at the entrance of the encampment and she was alone, unconscious. She wasn't gone more than 5 or 6 hours which means his location would have to have been fairly close. But then we have to take into account his ability to transport people." Ibiki added reluctantly.
"Maybe he's using Anko as an experiment. We both know how much he enjoys those. So let's say that this serum is allowing him to transport her. Assuming she's the first test subject he would've had to send someone to get her and then return her. So, the hideout would have to be close, as you said before."
"To think if he really prefects the serum, he could transport anyone injected with it." He muttered. "I'm going to get a team together, would you be up for the job?"
"Let me talk to Tsunade" Kakashi said with determination, but he already knew the answer was yes.
"You'll be undergoing some medical tests." Kabuto said lazily hooking Anko up to an IV.
Anko was lying on a bed the heart monitor beeping steadily next to her. It'd been a 2 weeks since she'd been taken. Four days had passed since Orochimaru's last test and she hadn't seen him since. Those four days had been a reprieve. Anko spent them thinking of a way to get out of the facility which she deduced to be quite small and with few occupants. Since she knew Orochimaru couldn't be defeated by force she'd simply have to escape undetected. Of course the how-to was yet to be determined.
Kabuto went over to a table littered with syringes all filled with a translucent liquid. How he could tell the difference between them Anko didn't know, but he picked up the first one with assuredness. After tapping the needle he injected it into her IV.
Anko was nervous. When she was on missions she felt nothing but eagerness and excitement but now she felt only fear. Sweat dripped off her face and she could feel it pooling at the base of her neck. After about 10 minutes she could feel the effects of the liquid. The beeping began to speed up and she became short of breath.
"Did you decide to speed up the process Kabuto?" She gasped.
"No. Something is wrong. This is supposed to increase cell function and multiplicity rates. Instead it's slowing them down." He said nonchalantly. He continued to monitor the many machines around her bed while the beeping continued to speed up.
"So…Are you planning on doing something or…?"
Kabuto chose to ignore the remark. Though Anko couldn't see it Kabuto was beginning to perspire. If he screwed this up Orochimaru would be very unhappy. And Kabuto knew from experience that that was a detrimental mistake.
Kabuto went back to the table full of syringes. He quickly grabbed another one, flicked the needle and injected it into the IV. Finally the beeping began to slow and Anko's breathing slowed. Kabuto breathed an inaudible sigh of relief.
Anko started to feel normal again and then a huge cough racked her from the inside out. Several more ripped themselves from her chest and produced puddles of blood on the floor.
This is it. Anko thought helplessly. And honestly she even welcomed it a little. Feeling helpless was not something she was accustomed to and she was finding it very hard to adjust.
"Shit." Kabuto muttered. He ran his hand over her using a jutsu to gage her stats, which weren't looking very good. A chill ran up his spine.
"Kabuto. Are you letting my dear Anko die?"
"No Orochimaru-sama. I believe the serum we injected her with is having a negative effect on the enhancer."
"The serum we injected her with?"
"The serum I injected her with." Kabuto said, correcting himself.
Anko coughed up another bout of blood. Orochimaru rushed to her side. With furrowed brows he activated a jutsu and placed a hand on her forehead.
"This is…interesting. You're killing me and trying to save me at the same time." She said tiredly.
Eventually her vitals returned to normal.
"Kabuto. You will wait here until I come for you." He said this without looking at him. Orochimaru picked Anko up and took her to the bathroom yet again.
"Are you going to undress me again?"
"Yes."
She didn't know why that surprised her. He sat her down on a chair in the bathroom and his hand went to pull her pants off. She placed her hand on his, stopping the motion. He looked up at her, the heat of his gaze was strong and she could feel herself weaken under it. He continued to pull her pants down and she did nothing to stop it. The feeling of the fabric against her skin did little to extinguish the sudden desire she felt for him. After her pants were finally worked off, he smirked.
"Even covered in blood your appeal is inescapable." He grabbed a towel and began wiping her face, staining the fabric. When he had finally cleared the blood off, he took her face in between his hands and placed a light kiss on her lips.
"What are you doing?" Anko asked, venom in her voice.
"What you want me to do." He said simply. "Actually I do have a question for you." He pulled her shirt over her head. Anko knew there was nothing she could do if he was determined to undress her. "Have you been with anyone?" He asked tilting his head. Her eyes shot to his in confusion and surprise. "Ah, I see that you haven't. I had assumed before but now I'm certain."
"You don't know that!" She said embarrassed. All he did was give her a condescending look that said "you know better than that".
"So what if I haven't. There's nothing wrong with it."
"I never said that, did I? In fact that makes you all the more desirable." His eyes were on fire this time.
"Stop." She whispered.
He looked up at her face. "We both know that's not what you really want. But as I said before I won't take you against your will, no matter how flimsy it is."
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because I find pleasure in it, of course."
"You think by saying that I'll - ?"
"And what if I said it was because I love you? What would your response be?" He smirked. Her breath caught. Even his utterance of the phrase, though hypothetical, had her spiraling. She was disgusted.
"Would you give in to me if you believed that?" He continued.
Anko was stuck. Of course she wanted him to say that and mean it. But she knew he wasn't capable of such feelings. Why was she letting herself hope that it might be true?
"Do you?" She asked seriously. He glanced away.
"I thought that was obvious."
"Stop lying to me! No one in their right mind would treat someone they love like this!"
"Didn't we establish I'm not in my "right mind". Perhaps this is my abnormal way of loving you." He grabbed her chin forcing her to look him in the eye. "I guess the real question is, what kind of love are you willing to accept?"
"You're playing mind games again. You can never be straight forward."
"On the contrary I think I was very clear. You can either accept that I love you even though my actions are atypical, or you can continue to think I'm torturing you merely for pleasure. They can't both be true."
He looked at her very seriously and left the room without another word.
Orochimaru was very pleased with himself. He could already see the idea taking root in her mind. She would struggle with that for some time and now that he had voiced his "love" for her, she'd be all the more susceptible to his will.
Anko finished undressing and set herself in the tub as it began to fill with water. Her frustration was immeasurable because of this unfamiliar territory. She stayed inside her thoughts until she heard the water spilling out onto the floor. She soaked there for an hour but eventually the water cooled and the minuscule amount of comfort she felt in the warm water vanished.
Anko was able to get a better layout of the building they occupied during her few weeks of captivity. There were ten rooms in the place, so far as she could tell and all evenly spaced out. Five of the rooms were known to her: the bathroom, kitchen, training room, her room, and Orochimaru's room. The other five remained a mystery to her though one of them had to be Kabuto's quarters.
And one, I'm sure, is Orochimaru's throne room…
She dressed and got into bed with the hope her dreams would be uneventful and if they weren't, she prayed she wouldn't remember them.
Anko didn't rest peacefully like she wanted and late in the night she woke, the hairs on her neck standing on end. Someone was in her room. She could tell he was at the door, the candle light from the hallway outlined his frame. Rather than let the assailant creep up on her, she slid off the bed and took a combative stance.
The glare on his glasses gave him away. She took a moment to survey her surroundings and became aware of a faint dripping noise. It was coming from Kabuto. Blood slid down his face from an open wound on his head and dripped off his chin.
"What's going on Kabuto?" His appearance invited a chill to seep into Anko's body.
"You got me into some serious trouble Anko." He said stepping closer. She could see gashes on his arms now, adding to the very ominous look Kabuto was giving her.
"I think what you need is a band aid."
"Shut up Anko." She'd never heard his voice like this. During the Chunin exams he was always calm and collected. His voice never wavered. This was different, uncontrolled and a little manic. He performed a jutsu and his hand began to glow. "This is your fault. He wouldn't have done this otherwise."
"You've definitely got some missed placed anger issues." Anko's voice felt thick. She was always the one with a quick retort. She'd been in worse situations than this and she could still fire back without resistance. She didn't know what made this time different. Maybe it was because she really did fear for her life.
"Enough!" He leapt at her and she quickly dodged, ending up at the entrance of the door.
"You need to think this through Kabuto. I almost died today and look what happen to you. Imagine what would happen if I actually died. Do you want to take a second and ponder that?"
"He would probably do more of the same but he needs me. He'd never get rid of me. I'll take the punishment and then it'll be over."
"Okay crazy." She ran out the door and headed down the hallway. If she was going to fight him it would have to be in more favorable conditions. She was a long distance fighter and Kabuto was skilled at close combat.
Kabuto was fast on her heels and there wasn't much time before she was dodging attacks in the training room. She jumped away and sent out her Multiple Hidden Shadow Snake Hands. Kabuto made easy work of those but she continued to attack. Anko realized that Kabuto was using a chakra blade except there was no external damage. He could do damage on the inside without harming the outside. He sliced his way through her snakes and in an impossibly fast move appeared in front of her. She jumped back again but not before she was grazed his blade on her Achilles tendon. She let out a horrible scream and fell to the floor. Kabuto didn't give her a moments rest and proceeded with a death blow.
He wasn't able to finish through because a pair of black snakes shot out and restrained him. Anko had summoned the snakes earlier for such an occasion. She pulled out a kunai and slashed his abdominals. He didn't cringe, even as blood welled and ran down his legs. He continued to struggle with his restraints. A small jutsu sent him flying into the opposite wall. Finally the snake jutsu expired and he was up again, somehow. Anko was struggling, she couldn't stand and the pain was excruciating. Before she could act again he sprinted at her hands ready to deliver her death.
Before Anko could make peace, a familiar form blocked Kaubto's oncoming attack. Anko was staring at Orochimaru's bare back. His hair, which was normally brushed to perfection, was tangled and hanging messily down his back. A pair of black sweatpants hung low on his hips. Anko drew the conclusion that he had just woken up. She never once pictured her Sensei sleeping, in fact, she assumed he never slept.
Snakes shot from his hands, curling themselves around Kabuto's body.
"Now this is surprising." Orochimaru mused as he straightened up from his protective crouch.
"Orochimaru-sama!"
"You've disappointed me twice today, Kabuto."
Kabuto remained silent. Orochimaru turned his attention to Anko who was still struggling with pain.
"You certainly don't look alright." His eyes narrowed and turned back to Kabuto. "I'm not sure what you hoped to accomplish by this Kabuto." There was menace in his voice. "Wait here Anko." Orochimaru appeared at Kabuto's side and vanished with a hand around Kabuto's neck.
"Oh yeah sure I'll just wait here. I was thinking maybe I'd RUN A FEW LAPS!" She was really tired of being incapacitated. She never got sick and was hardly ever injured in battle. She'd been around Orochimaru for two weeks and her cells were dying faster each day, she'd just coughed up a fountain of blood, and now her Achilles tendon was severed; not to mention her mental state which was hanging on the brink of insanity.
"You are proving to be a lot of trouble." Orochimaru said appearing at her side a few moments later.
"Are you kidding me? You should keep your pets on a tighter leash." He bent down to take a look at the damage which wasn't visible because of the scalpel jutsu Kabuto used.
"That's going to take some time to heal, but I can cut that time in half." He activated a jutsu and touched her ankle, causing her to let out a strained scream.
"Please don't tell me that pun was intentional." She said as the pain began to recede.
Orochimaru actually smiled. Paired with his disheveled look he looked genuine. He looked like the kind of man you would want to wake up next to. He looked almost… innocent. Her breath caught in her throat. He looked up and caught her staring. Just as quick as the smile appeared it vanished.
She lifted a hand to his face tracing his surprisingly soft lips, gliding it along sharp cheek bones, and a straight nose. Monster he may be, but Anko was starting to realize how attractive he really was. Had he been a normal human being in Konoha she could see many women jumping at a chance to date him.
What it would be like to have this man's affection, she wondered. What kind of lover would he be?
"If I asked you to make love to me right now, what would you say?" She murmured. He pulled her close, his lips at her ear.
"I'd say "making love" is for teenagers and you and I are adults. We'd be doing something more akin to combat. And it would pay to lose." He said nipping her ear.
His words sent chills through her body. Delicious chills that promised something more.
"Shall I demonstrate?" He asked.
He silenced any protestation by sealing his mouth to hers. His mouth moved slowly over hers, lavishing. Her thoughts were going a mile a minute. His kiss was intoxicating, but seeing him in this new light was making her nervous.
"You were so confident before," he said smugly, breaking their connection. He pulled her face back.
"Adrenaline." She said hoarsely.
"You've kissed men before me, haven't you?"
She bit her lip in anger and shifted her gaze. Anko had been approached a couple times before but she put end to such advances quickly. She didn't have time for meaningless romance. She wasn't that kind of girl, at least until now. When she looked back at him his eyes had a kind of fire about them that simply said "mine".
"I suppose it's fitting I teach you this as well, being your Sensei." He mused.
"Former."
"Yes former." He slammed his mouth against hers, sucking her lips sweetly but with purpose.
"Follow my lead Anko." He said between kisses. Her head was filled with heat and her breathing erratic, but she followed his instructions much like when she was a child. When his tongue invaded her mouth a moan escaped her and Orochimaru deepened the kiss. Anko's hands were fisted in his messy hair, pulling him closer. His arms were wrapped around her, supporting her frame. She was only vaguely aware of the throbbing pain in her foot. His lips were cold at first touch, but now they were warm, like her own. Somewhere in the back of her mind that wasn't caught in their kiss, she wished he could just be this person. This warm, disheveled, human person. As if reading her mind he gently pulled away.
"Why'd you stop?" She said breathlessly, before she could close her mouth on the question.
"If you remember, you are injured." He said matter-of-factly. He scooped her up and carried her out of the room. Why didn't he just finish it while she was willing? Why did he have to bring her out of the haze to feel the guilt of it? Why give her time to think?
"You are angry with me." He stated, setting her on her bed.
"Because you are torturing me! You bring me to the edge only to- to…" She couldn't find the right words.
"So eager for me to be the bad guy so you can get what you want." He chuckled. Whether Anko was shaking from anger or from the aftereffects of her desire she couldn't be sure. Regardless it was so uncomfortable she felt the prickle of tears.
He leaned in, his face inches from hers. "If you want the bad guy Anko, this is what the bad guy does." He murmured, sliding his hand between the apex of her thighs. Her eyes closed and a strangled sigh tore itself from her mouth.
"He leaves you wanting."
