Disclaimer: I still haven't added any important author-created characters in this fic, so all characters in this chapter are still the creations and property of Kishimoto Masashi. I claim no legal right to use them, and I am making no money off of this piece of fanfiction.
Spoiler Warning: This chapter occurs right before the third stage of the Chuunin Exam; you have been warned...
Non-Yaoi Warning: I'm not sure if i need to keep reiterating this or not, but there is no yaoi content in this fic ^_^;. However...
STRONG CONTENT WARNING - PLEASE READ THIS: This chapter, though not graphic, has the definite potential to bump the rating for this fic up to R. There is implied sex in this chapter, and while it happens off-screen, I expect some of the content to shock and disturb some people, as the sensitive issue of consent in sexual situations is raised. Faint of heart, weak of stomach, or easily offended, please be wary; you may want to think twice before reading this chapter...
Continuity Warning: ...well, you'll see...
Prereader Warning: Okay, my prereader, whom i must thank again for all her help, did read this chapter... and was shocked and disturbed ^_^;...
Alright, now that i've gotten all of that off my chest, i need to stress again, please read the content warning above! This is, as shown below, an interlude chapter, and thus not necessarily vital to understanding the rest of the story, but it helps. And now i shall pray that i'm not commiting literary suicide here, and bid you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! C&C is always welcome (and if i don't get a flame or two for this part, i will be very surprised), so please review or reply privately if you like the fic, hate the fic, or have anything else to say to me after reading this, though please try to be civil ^_^;...
~Eimii
INTERLUDE: ECHOES...
Hehehe... maybe I owe Yuuhi-chan an apology...
Anko could still hear her friend's shrill voice screaming her name at the top of her lungs as she'd watched from a nearby rooftop, savoring her revenge. She knew it was stupid and amateurish to return to the scene of the crime, but she just had to see Yuuhi's reaction when she finished her morning shower and went looking for some clean underwear, only to find all of her panties and bras frozen in a solid block of ice in her freezer.
Still, it was all because the other woman had blown Anko's entire food budget for the week on that absurdly expensive seafood smorgasbord that she now found herself in the a position she had barely even dreamed possible before: having a nice, friendly dinner with Umino Iruka, possibly the nicest guy on earth. True, it wasn't anything romantic, just ramen at a roadside shop, but as far as she was concerned, it was perfect. The atmosphere, the food, and especially the company were all definitely to her liking.
And it never would have happened, had she been able to buy breakfast or lunch that day. The sound of her stomach growling could probably have been heard for blocks around, when she'd stopped to drool in front of a dango stand late that afternoon, after finishing her shift on forest recon. She'd been so distracted that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard his voice, ordering a tray of dango from over her shoulder, but that was nothing next to the shock she felt when he handed it to her with that boyish smile- the one that always made her simultaneously want to laugh in his face, squeeze the stuffing out of him, and crawl into a dark, dingy hole in the ground.
Anko felt like kicking herself when she finally managed to mumble a garbled 'thank you' between wolfing down two sticks of grilled rice-dough, but Iruka didn't seem to mind at all that she acted like a savage. He'd even asked her if she was still hungry when she was done, and when her stomach had answered for her again, much to her chagrin, he'd suggested that they go to a nearby ramen shop, his treat, without any other prompting at all. She must have given him some sort of affirmative answer, but she couldn't remember what it was. It was almost unreal, how fast it had all happened.
But as they sat there at the bar, slurping up steaming noodles, Anko's sense of time was starting to catch up to her, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. She was growing more anxious by the second that Iruka might get tired of leading the conversation, which would spell doom for an otherwise pleasant evening. Anko wouldn't mind at all if she spent the entire night listening to him talk about his students. He seemed to share her opinion that the more reckless ones needed a good scare once in a while, though perhaps not for the same reasons. That tiny and undoubtedly isolated little facet of commonality was her only hope, as there was absolutely nothing else about herself that she felt comfortable talking about with him.
Anko could think of few people less judgmental than Iruka, who talked proudly and unashamedly of the boy who held the Kyuubi bound within him. Only the Hokage, with his fatherly love for every one of his village's children, could compare. But that only made her even more conscious of the sickening, oily rot on her own soul whenever she was near them. For every second that she spent basking in the warmth of their presence, it felt like she spent two seconds agonizing over every thought in her head and feeling in her heart, finding them all unworthy. And yet, the easy acceptance they radiated drew her like a moth to a flame- it was maddening.
It was even worse with Iruka, since he'd never openly 'accepted' her, like the Hokage had when she'd returned to the village after her years at Orochimaru's side. She was only a few years older than him, as Orochimaru had chosen to take her as a student when she was very young, but she had returned to the village a traitor. Even though she'd been forgiven and reinstated, her past put Anko in different circles from the scar-faced young Chuunin who already then had his heart set on becoming a teacher. She'd only taken notice of him when she started participating in the Chuunin Exam; it became her prerogative to learn what the students were being taught, how they were being taught, and who was teaching them.
That was two years ago, and a year since she'd realized that she was attracted to him on more than a purely physical level, and she still hadn't gotten up the nerve to approach him about it. She was, without a doubt, an idiot. She should have just followed her first instinct and stalked him home for a night of mind-blowing carnal passion, before all of these confusing feelings started tying her in knots. She may not have made a good first impression, per-se, and she might have felt awful about it later, but at least she'd know if he was amenable to that sort of thing.
That didn't mean she couldn't do that now though. Peering at him out of the corner of her eye as she lifted her bowl to drink the last of the broth at the bottom, Anko noted that Iruka didn't seem unhappy with sharing her company. He hadn't apparently caught on how uncomfortable she was, either; score one for iron self control, which she did possess when she needed it, despite what some people thought. Unfortunately, he wasn't really looking at her much either; either he was one of the last true gentlemen in the world, or he wasn't particularly interested.
Well, there were ways around both of those. Setting down her bowl with a clink, Anko released a breathy sigh of satisfaction. Iruka had finished a minute or so before her, much to her surprise, and was settling the tab with the owner. When he turned back to her, the special Jounin favored him with a roguish grin. "Thanks Iruka, you're a life saver."
"Heh, don't mention it," Iruka replied with a sheepish smile, "Actually, I really didn't feel like eating out alone; I've sort of gotten used to treating Naruto, but he hasn't been around much since the exam started. I hope I didn't bore you too much."
Anko made a dismissing wave, "Nah, sounds like bein' a teacher keeps you on your toes. I think I'd go nuts if I had to deal with those little monsters every day." She grinned a bit wider to show that she knew exactly how ironic that sounded, coming from her, and was rewarded with a chuckle from the scar-faced teacher. "That kinda explains why you didn't order any beer with that ramen, tho. I've never heard of eating ramen at a street stand without a nice, cold one, but I guess you wouldn't do that with your students..."
Iruka was quick to put a hand to the back of his head, now grinning in embarrassment. "Heh, sorry-"
"You're buyin' man, don't apologize!" Anko quipped in mock exasperation. "Sheesh, I'm the one that should be making it up to you... but maybe we can do both..." She trailed off playfully, waiting for Iruka to peer at her inquisitively before continuing. "I think I've got a couple beers left back at my apartment. It ain't far; care to stop by for a drink or two to wash down all that good food?"
Demonstrating for the first time that he maybe wasn't as naive as he looked, Iruka quirked an eyebrow at the suggestion, regarding her silently for a moment, before answering in careful, but not wary tones. "...Well, I suppose one wouldn't hurt. I don't have any morning classes tomorrow, since it's Saturday."
Woo! Score! Taking a moment to rejoice inwardly, Anko released a snorting chuckle. "You a lightweight or something, Iruka? One beer to lay you out for the whole morning?" Anko filed that little bit of potentially useful information away for later use, as she stood and pushed her stool up to the counter. "Heh, more for me, then, I guess... c'mon, it's just a couple blocks away."
The ramen shop really was quite close to her apartment; she'd have to remember to go there more often, especially if that was where Iruka usually went. In short order, however, they found themselves standing before the modest front door of Anko's humble abode, and she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. Oh Shit! Turning back to Iruka, she coughed an embarrassed laugh. "Haha... uh, I think I may have forgotten my keys when I went to work this morning. Just a sec- I'll go in through the balcony and open it."
Barely catching Iruka's somewhat confused nod, the panicked woman climbed around the side of the building to the balcony that opened off of her living room. Hastily cracking the simple lock and slipping inside, she pulled her house keys out of her pocket and set them on her cluttered coffee table, then frantically began her true task: hiding the evidence. Her apartment was an absolute disaster area; there was no way she'd be able to clean it up much before he started to get suspicious, but then, he probably didn't expect her to be a neat person anyway. What she could do, she hoped, was remove all of the objects that might... bother him.
The abstract paintings in human blood, for instance, definitely had to go, as did several of her favorite 'toys,' which she kept hidden under couch cushions and other close at hand places, just in case she got a nighttime visitor. Even a few of the things in her refrigerator were a bit suspect, but she'd just have to hope that he didn't look in there. One sanitizing whirlwind of activity later, and Anko decided that she'd stalled for probably a little bit too long, so she hastily bounded up to the front door.
It was a good thing she didn't have any fancy deadbolts or anything on her doors, or else opening them silently would have been a problem. The single mechanism on the door knob could be locked without a key, she noted in relief, before taking a deep, calming breath, trying to expel some of the switchblade-wielding butterflies that were having a gang war in her stomach. Okay... just relax. He seemed a little interested back there; maybe this won't be so hard after all. Just gotta get him inside, and nature will take its course, right? Right! Okay... Nodding resolutely, she reached for the knob and turned, flinging the door open with a flourish.
"...You needn't have gone to all that trouble for me, Anko-chan," a familiar, sensuous, sibilant voice hissed, as the blood in her veins turned to ice.
Frozen in the open doorway, the sole living ex-disciple of the Snake Seinin could only watch in horror and disbelief as the scarred man took a step forward, just enough to cast his profile in the moonlight. It was still Iruka's face, but the skin was paler now, stretched taught over sunken cheeks. His lips were parted slightly, turned up at the corners in an in an tight white line; no longer the kind smile of a teacher, but the hungry leer of a predator, right down to the huge, luminescent yellow eyes that now pinned her in place.
"...No." She choked pitifully, finally overcoming her horror enough to move. Still, she had barely taken a single, halting step back when the half-shadowed form still lurking upon her doorstep seemed to flow toward her like a tide, coccooning her in darkness even as the hollow mask of Iruka's face dissolved into the moonlight once again. She din't feel bound, but the lightless void that engulfed was stifling, like she was floating in heavy oil. It seemed to flow into her mouth as she opened it to speak, carrying with it the familiar, almost intoxicating scent of fresh-spilled blood. She nearly succumbed right then, but managed to clear her mind enough to shout in defiance. "Y-you can't be here!"
"Tsk, tsk... I though I had taught you better than this, Anko," his voice whispered gain, this time right next to her ear. "Has the soul-suffocating miasma of 'peace' dulled your senses so much?" Even as she turned to look, the voice came from her other side, and she felt the cold brush of two fingertips down the line of her chin. "Is this pitiful state really what you wished to reclaim when you left my side?"
Marshalling her fragmented wits, Anko grimaced in disgust at her own weakness, despite knowing that was exactly what he wanted. "You had already turned me aside when I left! Maybe you are the one who still doesn't understand," she growled, refusing to let the fear take hold again, even as the darkness pressed thicker around her. "The years I gave you are like an empty husk! Am I supposed to settle for that!? Is that all I get for my loyalty, my- my..." Clenching her jaw, she simply glared at her unseen assailant instead of finishing.
A dry chuckle echoed in the void, this time coming from everywhere at once. "And yet... you have not thrown away that 'husk.' Instead, you wear it like a badge- why, I wonder?" Vision and sensation returned to Anko once again, only to pitch wildly as she was thrown to the floor of her apartment, hands pinned above her head as he straddled her chest, the twisted face of Iruka hovering before her own once more. "Does it not repulse you now, make you feel foul and wretched whenever they turn your way? Would not even this one spit in your face if he had just the faintest inkling of what you have done?"
Unable to deny this, no matter how much she wished to, Anko dropped her defiant gaze. A profound cold had begun to spread from where his hand clutched her wrists. In only a few moments she could barely feel at all anymore, as if his very presence was enough to dispel the illusion that she had ever been anything more than simply another discarded shell, useless and hollow.
The tip of his tongue, however, seared like a brand as it traced lightly across her cheek, but she didn't flinch away; even pain was delicious, compared to the emptiness that filled her. "Return to me," he hissed. The words rang enticing and hypnotic in her ears, even as the serpentine red lash descending from his parted lips slithered around her throat, tightening until her breaths came in hungry rasps before slipping under the collar of her shirt.
"-Nnn... Ah! An... ah... aaaaangh! Ah- O-Orochimaru-samaaaaaAAAAAAA-"
"-AAAUGH!" Springing upright as her back arched violently, Sakura pitched head over heels out of her chair, banging her knee against the edge of her desk as she crashed painfully to the floor. A spike of pain lanced from the base of her skull up through her eyelids, causing her to stare dumbly at the ceiling and watch amorphous gray blobs crawl across her field of vision for several seconds before realization finally managed to rear its ugly head.
Rolling over onto all fours, Sakura barely noticed the stinging of her bruised knee as she made a mad scramble for the bathroom, smashing the door open with her shoulder in her rush to get to the toilet. When she got there, however, she didn't even manage a single dry heave before the nausea began to subside, evaporating as wakefulness invaded her drowsy mind. Crumpling weakly before the porcelain throne, Sakura could only stare at her reflection in the undisturbed waters, feeling utterly dirty and disgusting.
"Ugh... that's just too )(*&@$^ing much," she protested half-disbelievingly, shuffling back to slump against the bathroom wall. With a sniffle, she rubbed the unshed tears out of her eyes. The nightmares she'd had about Orochimaru after the second exam had been bad enough, but leave it to Anko to take everything to horrifying new levels of wrongness. She did not need to have twisted, nasty fantasies about the bastard who'd tried to kill them all and then put that thing on Sasuke.
It had been only three nights since Anko's terrors had started stalking her dreams, and this one had been by far the harshest. In both previous dreams, Orochimaru had at least made some effort to seduce her, after a fashion- she and Anko apparently had some very different ideas of what 'seduction' entailed. But while the sudden, forceful turn this dream had taken was horrible, it was nothing next to the utter, debased shame she'd woken to on the previous two nights, when she'd submitted willingly. The most disturbing part was that she understood how Anko felt, and couldn't help but agree on some pure, instinctive level. She could endure a thousand nightmares of Orochimaru violating her if she never had to suffer through another one where she succumbed to his will.
"But I do not plan on getting used to that," the pink-haired girl growled angrily, drawing her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Unfortunately, a few things about the dream were already starting to nag at her. There had definitely been some details this time that said this dream couldn't have been stolen whole from Anko's head, like the bits about getting revenge on Kurenai for making her pay for that meal. She retained all of 'her' memories of that encounter- she could still practically taste the outrage she'd felt when Yuuhi had chosen that restaurant -but there was no way that Anko could have dreamed about it before. She was manufacturing these monstrosities herself, then, at least in part, which meant that the doubts and fears they were based on were insinuating themselves into her own subconscious.
That's just beautiful. I got out, but I'm still turning into Anko... Perhaps it wasn't as hopeless as all that, however. She still felt like herself most of the time, and with the way her bifurcated experiences of that day had shuffled back together, the parts where Anko had started leaking into her mind could be pushed to the side. So far, only her dreams betrayed the depth of memory and emotion that she'd stolen from her host- but they did so utterly. She really was Anko in her dreams, as far as she could tell, though more likely she was a combination of Anko and herself. Sakura was sure she couldn't really have the examiner locked away somewhere in her head, but she had enough of her to be very worried.
Wearily getting to her feet, Sakura planted her palms on the counter and leaned over the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror. The fresh bruises that decorated her forearms tonight were only the tip of the iceberg. She ached all over from the extra training that Gai was putting her through for missing a day, though he strangely hadn't pressed her for a specific explanation for her absence; maybe he already knew. The dark rings under her eyes still lingered as well, despite the fact that she had put her Shintenshin research on hold. She'd spent the last two evenings trying to figure out what exactly she'd done to herself, and if there was any way to fix it, but had thus far only come to the same conclusions that she had right after she'd used the technique: she was extremely lucky to be alive. All of the books seemed to assume that she'd be dead or worse after trying to manipulate her chakra the way she had, so they didn't explain further. Perhaps it was time to seek professional help.
She probably wouldn't be able to do anything about it today, though. Normally she'd talk to Kakashi about it, but he was still missing, and with the third exam starting tomorrow morning, even Gai had additional security duties that he had to attend to, though she was still expected to go and train on her own- and she would, too; he'd be able to tell if she didn't. Iruka was also out of the question, she mused with a shudder. Sakura knew it was probably stupid to avoid her former teacher just because the 'Anko' in her head liked him, but she didn't need to find out from experience if any of those conflicting emotions could surface while she was awake.
She supposed she'd have to go directly to the medical nins, then. The lone member of team seven not participating in the third exam was loathe to see just how much worse the dreams could get, so she resolved to go in for an examination right after she finished her training that afternoon. Speaking of which, the gray half-light that cast her ghastly profile in the mirror was starting to brighten with hints of fiery orange, signaling that it was about time she got started.
Not before I take a )@(^$in' shower, she grumbled inwardly, reaching for the light switch as she shrugged out of the long T-shirt she'd slept in. She'd be sweaty and smelly again soon enough, but she wasn't about to face the day without washing away every trace of that horrible dream. Thinking it out reasonably had helped a bit, but it was definitely cathartic to step into the steaming spray and let the water splash across her face and cascade down her shoulders, burning from her skin the of memory of his touch. Absently, she wondered if Anko ever felt this need to let herself be carried away, piece by piece, and just vanish from the world for a while.
...Dammit, don't make me feel sorry for you, monster woman...
Author's notes: Um... yeah. A little different from the rest of the fic, thus far, but you didn't expect me to make this easy for Sakura, did you? This part isn't meant to completely change the flavor of the fic, but to hopefully show that there can be serious reprecussions for serious risks. I hope i didn't offend anyone too much -_-;. On another note, i know i said i'd write a chapter of something else first, but this is what i ended up writing; i'll get to my other fics soon too, but i think i may have to write another chapter of this fic more immediately, to make up for some of the new questions i raised with this one. We shall see... And now, for some review responses!
Calophi: ...Perhaps a bit scarier that it had initially appeared ^_^;. She may yet learn how to use it right, but she may not want to...
af-zero: Glad you enjoyed it; rest assured, Ino and Sakura will have some... interesting conversations in the future.
Syncorax: Well, here you go, though i can't say that i've tied up any of those dangling plot threads just yet. The next chapter should at least offer some closure on some issues, but i'm afraid a lot of them will remain mysterious for some time to come...
.: He wouldn't be as fun if he wasn't ^_^...
Shy-Lil-Dreamer: Heh, we shall see...
lackey H: I'm definitely having a hard time fleshing out Anko's personality, given how little we're shown in the manga. Hopefully the next chapter will be lighter, though. I'm also trying really hard to get at least one chapter out a week, but work has been pressing me hard lately -_-;. Feh... at least i'm getting writing done, again, i guess...
oOoshortayoOo: I shall endeavor to keep it intersting ^_^...
AnimeKrazyIdiot: No, though there may be some same-sex kissing and such, at the moment i can't say that this fic is a shojo ai story... at least for the moment; even i can't predict where it might go in the future...
hautteline: Glad i'm keeping it visceral enough for you... though i hope this chapter wasn't too visceral -_-;. I tried to keep from breaking this chapter up into separate parts., but it still ended up as little more than an intermission, since it doesn't advance the plot much. Things actually will happen in the next chapter, though, i promise!
Silver Dragonfly: We shall see; things have become a little more complicated, it appears...
Nagumo: Lots of misunderstandings and confusion will almost certainly ensue, when word of the kiss starts getting around. Sakura still has a long way to go before she gets to rest; she's the star, after all ^_^...
tjal: Gad you're enjoying it ^_^. The third exam may go a little bit differently, once things start getting really hairy, but sadly, it's a little too late for her to participate in the main event. Sakura will also certainly be incredibly cautious about this technique, given what it does, but she may yet get a chance to use it again. And Anko definitely won't remain in the dark forever. So much to do, so little time -_-;...
...Gah. And now on to write about something more fun, like training, i hope! Things can't be serious all the time, right? RIGHT?! But anyhow, for all of you who weren't scared off by the disclaimer, thanks for reading. I hope i still managed to keep it entertaining despite the darker tone of this part. If i didn't, gomen ;_;! I'll do better! But please let me know, either way. Post a review; i gaurantee it makes at least this author write faster ^_~! Until next time, ja...
~Eimii