Hey guys I'm back for another chapter. Thanks to everyone who Favorited/Followed, reviewed and PM'd me ideas and suggestions. You're all awesome and I love your support and feedback. So with that out of the way let's get to the fic.
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
Jutsus
"Kurama/Inner Sakura"
Anko led Naruto through the dango shop towards a table near the back. They both sat down across from each other. Naruto took this time to gaze around the little shop. It wasn't anything fancy, but it had its charms. When Naruto looked down at the table, he was surprised to see Anko's initials carved into it. He couldn't help the slight chuckle that escaped his lips, when he saw this.
"You really do spend a lot of time here don't you?" Naruto asked as his eyes landed on Anko.
"Well hell yeah, this place has the best dango in the entire village!" She said excitedly just as their waitress walked up.
The woman spotted Anko and smiled, then asked what they wanted.
"We'll have the usual." Anko replied causing the waitress to nod and walk off.
Anko turned and saw Naruto looking at her with a confused look.
"Just trust me you'll love it," she said causing him to smile.
When the waitress came back with their order, Naruto watched as Anko quickly started to eat her dango with a smile on her face. Naruto took a few test bites and he was surprised at how good it was. Eventually he was eating almost as fast as Anko was.
After they finished eating, Anko ordered them some tea. Then they spent the next hour talking and telling stories. Naruto was at first embarrassed by Anko's brash and flirtatious behavior, but he quickly got used to it. He even started teasing her back. But as the date went on, Naruto had one question he needed to Anko. After a round of hearty laughter Naruto decided to finally ask her.
"Anko this has been great, I haven't laughed this hard in a long time," Naruto said causing Anko to smile at him.
"That's good to hear gaki, I'm really trying here." Anko said as her smile turned to a grin. She was about to continue, but then she noticed his expression change.
"But one things has been kinda bothering me. I just want to know, what made you choose me?" Naruto asked making Anko go wide eyed for a moment.
She was genuinely surprised by the question, but it was one she was expecting. With a sigh she stood up and offered him her hand.
"Take my hand, and follow me."
Naruto took her hand and she started leading him through the village. Along the way Naruto noticed that several people shot them strange looks. Looks he hadn't seen, since he was younger and still shunned by the village.
Eventually Anko led him to the outskirts of the Forest of Death. Naruto shuddered slightly when unpleasant memories of the place flashed in his mind. Anko led him to an abandoned guard post. They both jumped onto the post's roof and sat down. The area was very secluded and offered them some privacy, a very rare thing in a shinobi village.
With deep intake of breath Anko started speaking.
"Naruto, you and me aren't so different." She said as she gazed into the sky.
Naruto was surprised she hadn't called him gaki, so he knew that this was serious. Deciding that silence was the best option, he kept his mouth shut.
"I...I was shunned and looked down upon by this village too. All because of this," Anko said as she pulled down the collar of her trench coat, revealing her curse mark.
Naruto knew that Anko had received a curse mark, but he didn't know that the villagers shunned her.
"It wasn't nearly as bad they treated you. But people would call me a snake whore, and give me these looks, the same looks they would give you," Anko said pulling her collar back up and returning her gaze to the sky. "The shinobi were still kind to me, even though a couple gave me trouble. But I could barely go out in public without immediately being hassled by the villagers. That dango shop we were just at was one of the few shops that wouldn't kick me out. It was for me, like Ichiraku is for you. It was a place where I could go and not be judged, a place to go and be accepted."
Naruto could hardly believe his ears. He was seething with anger, at the village he swore to protect. It was horrible to hear that another person was treated like her was.
"After a while, I developed a mask that I could where out in public. Kinda like the one I know you put on sometimes. I would act flirty and extravagant to help get my mind off the villagers. Eventually I started sleeping with various men, even women, just to feel something other than pain and loneliness. Any pleasure no matter how short lived it was, was very welcome." Anko continued as a few tears escaped her eyes.
Naruto just sat there and soaked it all in. His heart slowly breaking as he heard Anko speak.
"Then one day I saw you. I saw the way the villagers treated you, and suddenly I didn't feel as alone anymore. I saw you getting the same looks I would get, for something out of your control. I saw the loud and confident mask you would put on in public, but as soon as you'd be alone that mask would shatter. I-I wanted to help you, so you wouldn't have to bear the pain alone," Anko was now fully crying, she didn't try to fight the tears as she shook lightly.
Then Anko stopped breifly, and took another deep breath trying to stop her shaking. She then turned to Naruto and grasped his hand tightly.
"There...There was a time where I actually considered adopting you," Anko said making Naruto go wide eyed. "Kami, I was gonna do it. I was prepared to go to the Hokage, and demand that he let me adopt you. B-But then I realized that if I did adopt you it would only make our lives more difficult. If the villagers saw that the snake whore had adopted the demon child, they would have a fucking field day. And I decided to watch over you from the shadows. It killed me to see you suffer those looks and taunts. I wanted nothing more than to walk up to you and hug you, to let you know that I understood your pain."
Now Naruto was crying too. Anko's words had hit him right in his heart.
"I...I could have had a mother, someone to look after me. Someone to come home to everyday. Kami if my mother knew the way the villagers treated Anko and me, she would rise from the grave and beat every one of them." Naruto thought as he let tears flow from his eyes.
Suddenly Naruto felt Anko wrap her arms around him, as she cried into his shoulder.
"Please forgive me Naruto, I can't be alone again." She cried as she tightly gripped the back of his orange jacket.
Anko stopped crying when she felt Naruto cup her chin. She looked as saw that his face was just as tear stained as hers.
"Anko-chan you have nothing to apologize for, and I will never and I mean never leave you alone again." Naruto said with extreme passion as he crashed his lips against Anko's
Now Anko had been kissed many times before, during her many sexual escapades. But the way Naruto kissed her blew her away. He kissed her with such raw passion and emotion that is took her breath away. Then Naruto surprised her by licking her bottom lip. She happily parted her lips, and instantly there tongues met and danced. They continued their liplock for a for a few more moments before the need for air made them separate. With a groan of annoyance she parted their lips, but she rested her forehead against his.
"Anko-chan I promise you that if you stay with me that I'll never abandon you, and that you'll accepted with open arms. I love you Anko-chan." Naruto said as he leaned in and gave Anko a gentle and loving kiss.
As soon as the kiss ended Anko wrapped her arms around Naruto again, as tears of joy fell from her eyes.
"I love you too Naruto, thank you!" She cried into his neck.
They stayed like this for at least another hour, just holding each other and whispering sweet nothings to each other. Anko reluctantly got out of Naruto's arms and said that she had to a few errands to run. Naruto gave her one last, lingering goodbye kiss before she left. As Naruto watched, with a smile, as Anko ran off he was struck with a sudden realization. He had absolutely nothing to do now.
Across the village Sakura had just finished her shift at the hospital, and Kami did she need to blow of some steam. Karin had been annoying and badgering her all day long. If she stayed in the red-head's presence any longer she was gonna snap her neck. As Sakura walked through the village, she spotted Hinata walking towards her. Instantly a smile spread across her face, as she spotted her friend.
"Hey Hinata!" Sakura yelled as she waved to the Hyuuga.
Hinata's head snapped towards the voice that was calling out to her. A small smile formed on her face when she saw Sakura.
"Hello Sakura." Hinata said happily as Sakura caught up to her.
"So I'm guessing your date with Naruto went well." Sakura said suddenly.
Hinata's face instantly flushed bright red.
"Y-Yes it was amazing." Hinata had managed to stutter out.
"Well that's good to hear," Sakura said as a great way to blow off some steam came to mind. "Hey Hinata you wanna spar? I kinda have to blow off some steam. Plus it has been awhile since I've had some decent practice."
Hinata blinked at sudden question. She had no where else to go, and it too had been a while since she had been in a spar.
"Sure thing Sakura!" Hinata said as Sakura started leading them towards the training fields.
Eventually they found themselves on a random training field, just outside the village. The two stood on opposite sides of the clearing, and just stared at each other. Without a word they were both charging each other.
Sakura went for powerful kicks and punches utilizing her chakra enhanced strenght. While Hinata went for precise and fast jabs using her Byakugan to see all of Sakura's movements. However Tsunade's evasion training had paid off, and Sakura effortlessly dipped and dodged around Hinata's jyuuken strikes. Hinata was dodging Sakura's attacks, but they were slowly but surely getting closer to striking her. As they continued to trade blows, Hinata made the mistake of trying to block one of Sakura's blows. She was sent flying across the field, and with a grunt she did a quick flip and landed on her feet.
Hinata was panting heavily as she clutched her throbbing arm. She looked to see that Sakura was slightly winded, but she still looked like she could go for a while. This surprised Hinata, because she knew Sakura didn't exactly have the best stamina and would usually tire quickly.
"How is she moving so fast? It's as if she's speeding up. Also how is she not tired yet? She looks she could still fight for a lot longer." Hinata thought as she activated her Byakugan. What she saw made her gasp.
Sakura was feeling great. All her senses felt heightened. When she was fighting Hinata, it looked as if Hinata was moving in slow motion. Also Sakura was surprised at how spry she still felt. Normally by now she'd be bent over in exhaustion. She was shaken from her thoughts when she saw Hinata activate her Byakugan and gasp.
"Hinata what's wrong?" Sakura asked concerned she might have hurt Hinata.
"Sakura your arm." Hinata said as she saw the red glow Sakura's arm was giving off. The glow seemed to be spreading throughout Sakura's chakra system.
Sakura blinked and lifted her sleeve to see that the rings on her arm were slightly glowing.
"What are those?" Hinata asked as she appeared next to Sakura.
"These are because of Naruto," Sakura said as Hinata poked the red and orange rings. "I got them after we...had sex. Naruto bit into my neck, he said Kurama told him to."
Hinata again gasped, but this time for a different reason.
"WHAT! She had sex with Naruto-kun. But...but I wanted to be his first. Well if I can't be his first, I will definately be his second." Hinata thought as she shot Sakura a jealous look.
Hinata decided to get back to the topic on hand.
"Well it seems that those rings have given you some of the kyuubi's chakra." Hinata said as she again activated her Byakugan. She saw that the red chakra in Sakura's system was slowly starting to retreat back into the rings.
Sakura went wide eyed when she heard this. So that's why she wasn't tired, and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. It was because she had some of Kurama's chakra in her. Sakura had to let Tsunade know right away.
"Hinata we have to let Tsunade-sama know about this." Sakura said as she took of back towards the village with Hinata in tow.
Naruto trudged aimlessly through the village streets with nowhere to go. He was officially bored out his mind. But luck shined upon Naruto, because he spotted Tenten walking out of a weapon shop just in front of him.
"Hmm might as well ask her." Naruto thought as he ran to catch up to the weapon mistress.
"Hey Tenten!" Naruto called out as he ran towards her.
Tenten quickly spun around and grinned when she saw Naruto.
"Hey you knucklehead." She said genuinely happy to see Naruto.
"How have you been, Tenten?"
"Ah, I've been alright. I've been training with Lee and Neji a lot lately. Also I've been visiting Gai-sensei at the hospital." Tenten said with a sad smile.
"How is he doing?" Naruto said sadly as he thought of Gai.
"Oh he's doing well, still spouting nonsense about his 'flames of youth' never being extinguished," Tenten said with a sigh, but she was smiling. "I can tell he's disappointed that he can't be a shinobi anymore, but he's making the best of it. Plus Lee is with him all the time trying to cheer him up."
"Well that's Bushy Brows for you." Naruto said with a smile.
"Yeah, yeah it is," Tenten said as she looked into Naruto's piercing blue eyes, her brown eyes met his blue ones. She blushed slightly and looked away. "I...I uh never thanked you for bringing Neji back and for saving Gai-sensei."
"You don't have to thank me Tenten-chan." Naruto said with his usual grin.
Tenten blushed even more when she heard him add the -chan to her name.
"Yes I do Naruto. If I had lost Neji and Gai-sensei, I don't know what I would have done." Tenten said as she fought back tears. She wouldn't cry especially in front of a Naruto. She was a tough woman, and she wouldn't look weak in front of him.
Naruto saw this and he scowled a little.
"Tenten just because you want to cry doesn't make you weak. Even the strongest woman needs to let out her emotions sometimes." Naruto said as he placed a hand on Tenten's shoulder.
Tenten listened to Naruto's words, and they made sense to her. She let a few stray tears streak down her face, but she quickly wiped them away. Naruto may be right, but she didn't like to cry in front of others.
"Thanks Naruto, I needed that." Tenten said as she looked up at him and smiled.
"No problem Tenten, that's what friends are for." Naruto said with a smile.
"Yeah friends." Tenten said sadly.
Seeing this Naruto decided to go for it.
"Hey Tenten would you like to go out sometime?"
"What, like a date?" Tenten asked surprised by his sudden request.
"Yeah I'm free tomorrow. Maybe we could spar then hang out afterwards."
Tenten thought for a moment. True a part of her still liked Neji, but she knew that relationship likely wasn't going anywhere. Plus she had always had this silent admiration for Naruto, it had started after he defeated Neji in the chunnin exams. He was one of the few guys who truly caught her attention. She decided to throw caution to the wind, and just go with it.
"Sure thing Naruto, pick me up around 6 p.m. tomorrow." Tenten said with a big smile.
"Alright it's a date. I'll see you tomorrow Tenten-chan." Naruto said as he took of down the street.
Tenten watched Naruto run of, and a dreamy sigh escaped her lips. She knew tomorrow was gonna be amazing.
Naruto now sat in Ichiraku for dinner waiting for his order to be prepared. He was a little disappointed that Ayame wasn't there, but Teuchi told him that she hadn't been feeling well lately. Naruto just sighed, he missed talking with his neechan. He had briefly considered a relationship with her, but she was his sister in all but blood. It would have been weird dating her.
As Naruto sat there he thought of the exhausting day he had. The entire day had been a fucking emotional roller coaster. He had no idea what he was gonna do after he ate. He hadn't seen Sakura or Hinata all day, and Konan and Ryuuzetsu were both out on short missions. Naruto sighed as Teuchi placed his bowl in front of him. Teuchi wanted to talk to the boy, but he looked like he needed to be alone right now.
Naruto was just about to start eating when he heard the flaps to the stand be pushed aside. He was gonna ignore whoever entered, but he was surprised to hear the person speak to him.
"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you."
Naruto spun around on his stool and was surprised to see Ino Yamanaka standing there. He was even more surprised to hear that she was looking for him.
"You were looking for me?" Naruto asked as he pointed to himself.
"Well yeah, when I couldn't find you at your apartment or the training grounds. I knew you'd be here." Ino said as she took a seat next to him.
"Why were you looking for me?" Naruto asked honestly confused. Ino and him weren't exactly the closet of friends. But she was one of his precious people, and he cared deeply for her. It also helped that she was honestly one of the hottest kunoichi in the village.
"I...I have something I want to ask you." She asked as a blush spread across her face.
Naruto was confused. Ino was usually very loud and direct. But to see her stuttering and blushing was very surprising.
"Sure Ino, you can ask me anything." Naruto said as he looked into her pale blue eyes.
Ino took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
"Naruto...h-how would you like to go out on a date with me?" Ino asked as she blushed furiously.
That was the last thing Naruto was expecting to hear.
"Wh-What?" Naruto asked still a little shocked.
"I asked you, if you wanted to go on a date." Ino said a little more confidently this time.
Naruto just stared at her for a moment. He honestly couldn't think of any reasons to not a least give her a chance.
"Sure thing Ino-chan, but I'm busy tomorrow. So how about the day after that?" Naruto said with a smile.
Ino's face lit up when he agreed.
"Thank you Naruto, that sounds great!" Ino nearly yelled as she pulled him in for a hug.
Naruto hugged her back, and inhaled her scent. She smelled of freshly picked flowers. Realizing that they were hugging slightly too long, Ino released Naruto as a fierce blush spread across her face.
"I-I'll see you soon Naruto." Ino stuttered out just before she bolted out of the stand towards her home.
Naruto watched her leave with a smile on his face. He then turned back to his food and realized it was now cold. He quickly yelled for Teuchi to bring him a fresh bowl. Naruto just sighed as he waited for his ramen to be prepared.
"Kami now I understand why baachan drinks." Naruto muttered as he put is face in his hands.
His life was gonna get real complicated, really soon.
Man that was some heavy stuff with Anko right. I actually was tearing up when I was writing that scene. So what did you guys think. Love it, Hate it, don't care. Let me know I need feedback. Remember to follow/favorite, review, and PM me any ideas you guys have. I've gotten some rally good ideas from you guys. Another chapter should be out soon with Thanksgiving break rolling up. So until next time I'm outta here.
