The darkness of the interrogation room was bone-chilling, the weight of the shadows pushing down on all sides, constricting the lungs of the victims and strangling them with worry and guilt. A single metal table was set up in the middle of the room, two chairs tucked in beneath it. However today people were sitting in these chairs; a tape recorder was set up on the table, recording the conversation between the two people there. One was a broad, toughened man with two long scars running down his face. He had eyes that were hardened with the gruesome events he'd experienced in his life, and had a rough frown on his face.
He was the god in this room. He commanded all.
The other man was a skimpy little creature with a pallid, worried expression on his face. He was fear-stricken and trembling, eyes wide and wavering. His pupils shot everywhere, at one time keeping an eye on the one who was obviously the interrogator, then the tape recorder, and then the exit. However, he knew there was no escaping this man. He was one of the most renowned interrogators in the world, and he always got his answers.
"Please! No! I swear I've never had any contact with Orochimaru!" he screamed, his panic overtaking all of his other emotions. His hands twitched, and it was obvious he'd recently lost a few fingers. The bloody stumps looked painful, and now the man looked close to hyperventilating. Ibiki Morino stood up from his cold chair and walked around the table towards the victim who was cowering away from the fearsome man's glare. He held up a sharp knife, speaking out in his gruff voice.
"We need this information. We've had multiple tip-offs about your involvement with Orochimaru, and if you don't tell us then I will cut off every single one of your fingers and then move to... other areas," he threatened, watching his victim's eyes widen with fear as he understood where Ibiki was threatening; his manhood was the most important thing to him other than his life. He nearly fell back off his chair trying to get away, but suddenly Ibiki's strong, firm hands were holding him into his chair, the knife dangerously close to the man's neck. One slip up and he would die.
"Now, tell me what you did with him," Ibiki commanded. The man paled considerably more as the knife ran along his neck, although it didn't cut into him, and then ran down towards his shaking hand. The man was stuck in a lose-lose situation. He could have his manhood stripped from him as well as his fingers, refusing to give up information, or he could tell, but then pay the price by receiving death from Orochimaru. Even then, the pale-skinned man would probably have an assassin come and kill him, not wanting to bother killing him himself.
Beads of sweat rolled down the man's face as he contemplated his choices. He then let out a pitiful whimper, tears welling in his eyes. Ibiki would have rolled his eyes, but this was a serious interrogation. The man may think that they'd stall this meeting until later if he started crying, but he was wrong. Ibiki's hand moved in a flash and suddenly another lump of flesh hit the metal table, another finger gone. This one was the middle finger on the man's right hand. The sound of flesh hitting metal was followed by a scream of pain by the victim.
Before he could even tend to his bleeding stump Ibiki's knife had trailed to the second-to-last finger on the man's right hand. He pushed the knife slowly into the finger, causing a trail of bloody tears to roll along the steel edge, but the man finally gave in.
"STOP! Stop! Please... no more..." he whimpered, tears rolling down his cheeks. Ibiki didn't pull back the knife, waiting for the man to spill his answers before doing so. "I'll tell you everything..." the man continued, still hoping Ibiki would pull back his weapon. Receiving no such niceties he concluded he'd have to actually tell the interrogator information before he was let loose from his world of pain.
"Orochimaru said he required bodies... humans... slaves," he said, trailing off at the end. "I sell slaves, but... Orochimaru! He threatened me so I gave him slaves for free!" he cried. Ibiki pulled out his knife a little, urging the man on silently.
"He didn't say how many he wanted, so I just gave him what he wanted when he asked for it. I don't know what he did with the slaves. I don't even know where he took them too! He just told me to leave them in a certain place every time where he would collect them. That's all I know..." he said. Ibiki wasn't impressed. He knew next to nothing... however.
"First of all, you do know the buying and selling of slaves is illegal?" Ibiki stated gruffly, causing the man to flinch. He nodded slowly, and Ibiki continued. "We'll deal with that later, but secondly, and most importantly, we need to know where it was you put the slaves so Orochimaru could pick them up. And don't lie, or I'll see to it personally that you're put to a slow and painful death," Ibiki threatened. The man wailed out loud, scared beyond his wits.
"It... It w- was usually in the f- forestry outside K- Konoha..." he stuttered.
"Where about? Can you lead us there?" Ibiki demanded.
"It was always a different place... but I can show y- you... the most... recent..." he said, a breath of relief leaving him as Ibiki's knife finally left his flesh. The pain was still there though, and he was still frightened to death. Ibiki was satisfied with that for now. If there was anything else he was keeping from them then he would find it out later. This wasn't going to be the man's final time in the interrogation room.
If they were led to this place in the forest then they might be able to find a trace of Orochimaru and trail it back to wherever he was staying, or still is staying. And with that they might find Anko.
Anko. You stupid girl. To join with the number one enemy of Konoha is the highest act of betrayal in my books. I'll take my time interrogating you when you're finally caught. His body tensed slightly as he thought this, a snarl catching his lips. He'd liked the girl. She had passion, and was fiery and relentless. He'd seen so much potential in her, but now she was a traitor.
Ibiki returned his thoughts to the man in front of him. He realized the man had passed out from stress and fright. He let out a sigh, and then looked at a hidden camera in the shadows.
"Call in the medics to heal him up so he'll be fine leading us through the forest. Then lock him away," he commanded, waiting impatiently as two medics appeared through the doorway of his interrogation cell. They cleared away the blood on his table and the chopped off fingers, and then set to work moving the unconscious body of Ibiki's latest victim. Soon he was gone, and Ibiki was alone.
"I really hate resorting to cutting people up for answers," Ibiki said wearily, putting away his knife and turning off the tape recorder. He loved interrogation, of course, but he wanted to experiment with other ways as well. Mental pain could be interesting. He decided to try and work on that in the near future.
"Send in the next person for interrogation," Ibiki called out, and heard annoyed voices approaching the room as his next victim arrived. Through the door came a dark-haired woman with crimson eyes. She was a beauty, and Ibiki could understand if Asuma would take a liking to her in future years. He didn't greet Kurenai like a friend, merely waving at her to sit down at the table. He took up a chair opposite her and started the tape recorder again before staring hard at her for a minute or two. Kurenai instantly got on edge after the minute of sitting in silence, and finally broke the mute to stop herself panicking.
"What's this about, Ibiki? I've never done anything wrong," she demanded, a frown creasing her features. Ibiki sighed. He'd seen her reactions to his glare. It had amused him, because he understood how effective mental torture could possibly be. Yes, he definitely had to start working on that.
"Kurenai, I'm not accusing you of anything. I also don't intend on torturing you, however I am going to take this meeting seriously and ask you questions I need answering. It concerns... Anko," he stated, causing Kurenai to stiffen in her chair. Yes, Anko. She was so angry at Anko, and so disappointed. She'd thought that Anko was starting to get on track with her life, seeing as she'd acquired a good bunch of friends. Her, Kakashi, Ibiki, Asuma, and poor Iruka. It would break his heart when he found out about Anko. Kurenai just couldn't believe that Anko had defected, and to go with Orochimaru no less! Kurenai had always thought that Anko had hated him, but now she just didn't know what Anko had been doing this whole time.
"What about her?" Kurenai replied through gritted teeth. Anko had been such a good friend to her, and Kurenai had even considered her to be her best, and she felt betrayed now. She felt like Anko had just used her to gain a standing in Konoha and then left her as if their friendship meant nothing.
Sort of like how Orochimaru used her and then tossed her aside, Kurenai realized. Kurenai understood the feeling inside her that longed for Anko to return to Konoha, so they could be friends again, and she wondered whether Anko had ever felt that same feeling. Had she always longed for Orochimaru deep down?
"Firstly, I want to know if you'd noticed any suspicious behaviour in Anko leading up to her defect," Ibiki asked. Kurenai thought back, and then shook her head.
"No. I thought the snake might have gotten her down at the party, but she picked herself up and went on a date with Iruka. I thought she'd be fine, but apparently she'd been in turmoil over all this. It's Orochimaru. He came back and messed with her. The only thing was, when Kakashi disappeared from the hospital, I saw Anko run into the room to see for herself that he'd gone. She then disappeared, but the despairing look on her face made me realize she cared deeper for her friends here then we first thought... And this just makes me frustrated because I don't understand why she would leave!" Kurenai burst out, trying to put two and two together, but when it came to Anko she was always far too complex to simply work out.
CRASH!
Kurenai jumped in her seat as her head shot up, looking at the doorway of the interrogation room. Had something happened? Was someone coming to alert them that they'd found Anko? Ibiki hadn't even flinched, merely raising his head to stare at the person who had intruded on their meeting. However, on recognising who had come bursting in both their eyes widened with shock.
"Where is she?" Iruka asked himself, walking through a street in Konoha. He was worried about Anko and wanted to find her soon so he could apologize for shouting at her on their date the other day, and tell her... something... He also wanted to ask her if she was okay. After all, Orochimaru had appeared lately, destroying a part of Konoha at the same time. If Anko had found out then he didn't doubt she would be emotionally affected by it, and he also thought she might have gone to try and stop him herself. He hadn't seen Anko in a while now, and he was getting very worried.
"Excuse me, but have you seen Anko Mitarashi lately?" Iruka asked of a man who'd passed him in the street. The small male looked up at Iruka, and then snorted.
"The traitor? Ha! No," he said, and then tried to keep walking, but Iruka caught him by the arm. He'd gotten angry at the man's choice of words. Anko may have been Orochimaru's student, but that didn't mean she was a traitor to Konoha.
"Hey! Don't talk about Anko like that. She's a citizen of Konoha just like you and me!" Iruka growled back, annoyed. The man eyed him strangely.
"What have you been doing, living under a rock? Orochimaru appeared! And when he left, Anko went with him. That traitor should have been killed as soon as she stepped foot back in Konoha," he puffed, face starting to get red with anger. He'd always hated Anko, and had always known that she was bad like her sensei. Now he was merely proven right, meaning a guy down at the pub owed him quite a bit of money for losing their bet.
Iruka's eyes widened, disbelief welling up inside of him. He shook the man ever so slightly, his tone becoming desperate.
"What! No! Anko wouldn't betray Konoha! Sure she's been treated badly, but she has friends here who care for her! I care for her... But... she wouldn't! Orochimaru must have kidnapped her!" Iruka exclaimed, putting all of his hopes into his last sentence. Yes, Anko had been kidnapped by Orochimaru against her will and had been taken away. The man merely snorted again.
"If that's what you want to believe. Anko's a filthy traitor to me, the scum on my shoes. I couldn't care less about her being gone from Konoha. Good riddance, I say! Although I saw her standing on that big-arse snake with Orochimaru, not bound or anything; she left of her own free will, and I don't doubt she would have," the man finished. Then he freed his arm from Iruka's grasp and turned on his heel.
"Now, if you'd excuse me, I have somewhere to be," he said, and then walked off. Iruka was left standing alone in the street, trembling with rage and despair. Anko was gone! But why! Orochimaru had to have kidnapped her. For all the times she'd shown pure hatred for that man, she would never willingly go back to him. It was impossible.
Iruka mindlessly walked down the streets, not knowing where his feet were taking him. He was so shocked by the man's words, and he longed to see Anko again. He refused to believe that she would have left him, or even her other friends for that matter. He wondered what horrible things Orochimaru could be doing to Anko right now, and it made him shake. He would kill that Sannin, not just for taking Anko away from Konoha but for messing with her and taking away any chance of her having a normal life. It just wasn't fair for her.
Iruka stopped, looking up and noticing where he'd walked to. He was staring at Anko's apartment, and the place made his heart break a little. He wondered if the ANBU had searched it already. It didn't look any different from how Anko had last left it, so he decided to check it out himself and see. He walked up to the side of the apartment and pulled out a loose brick, taking out the spare key hidden within the gap. Then he replaced the brick and walked back to the front of the house, slotting the key into the keyhole and turning the metallic item. The door clicked and allowed Iruka passage into the apartment.
He stepped in and felt a wave of sadness hit him as he saw the familiar rooms. He remembered the many times he'd come over to Anko's house and endured her bad cooking; she only knew how to make dango, and anything else usually came out burnt or undercooked. They'd had many good times here, and a lot of laughs. But at the same time she'd always seemed a bit distant to him in her apartment, as if she was trying to hide some unknown feeling. It began to click into place how much more complex Anko was than what you first saw. She put on a brave face and endured the world with a grin, but in her apartment she seemed to let that façade drop and let her real emotions show. Iruka realized he'd been so ignorant to her true self before. He was... astounded.
He walked through the apartment, sliding a finger over pieces of furniture. She hadn't been here in at least a few days, he discovered from the amount of dust collecting on surfaces. He then entered her bedroom. The first thing he saw was her bed, and a particular item caught his attention on it. A smile spread across his face as he recognised the talisman he'd gotten her for her birthday. So she'd obviously valued it, and him, enough to put it up.
He walked over to the bedside and took the talisman off of her bed frame, slipping it into his pocket. He took a final look around the room before he left, although he knew he shouldn't go looking through her personal possessions. That was when his breath hitched, and he frowned in disbelief. What was this? Why did she have that? Anko!
Iruka's trembling hands wrapped around the plain photo frame that held the memory of a young Anko and her sensei. He stared at the picture, eyes wavering with despair as he looked at the young Anko, her face almost glowing with happiness as she stood beside her pale-skinned mentor. Orochimaru looked cold, and not as happy as his pupil. Iruka had an urge to throw the picture away and burn it, but... if Anko had kept it all this time then it was special to her, right?
But why was it special to her? Why did she care for this memory? Why did she care about him at all! Iruka wanted to cry, but he held in his emotions instead. He had completely opposed that man, believing that Anko would never have gone with Orochimaru willingly. He'd believed in her, but if she still had a picture of her and Orochimaru, then didn't that mean she still held some affection for him? Could she really have gone with him willingly?
"NO!" Iruka yelled out, trying to assure himself that Anko was still very much a Leaf Ninja at heart. His grip on the photo frame was so intense that his knuckles had turned stark white. He rammed it out of sight and took it with him out of Anko's apartment, along with the talisman in his pocket. They were two things he wanted to take with him on his journey.
He wasn't going to sit around in Konoha, waiting for something to happen. He was going to get up and go. Find Anko, help her escape Orochimaru, and take her back to Konoha again. He was going to do it because... he loved her.
Kurenai had jumped out of her seat and embraced the figure in the doorway, her warm arms surrounding them in a tight hug. She was ecstatic and filled with joy at their arrival, all the bad news so far today washed away by their presence.
"Kakashi!" Kurenai cried out happily, pulling back on the hug for a second to help support him across the room. He was shaky, and drenched in sweat. He looked tired, but what was so urgent that he'd rushed here instead of staying and recuperating in hospital? Kurenai eased him into the chair she'd been sitting on opposite Ibiki, the interrogator having forgotten his main duty at the moment to rejoice his recovered friend with a smile. He still had the tape player on.
Kakashi was taking deep breaths, easing himself to try and get out what he wanted. He needed to speak urgently with the two before anyone else because they understood Anko better than most other people; it would have been good if Iruka had been here too, but he wasn't. Kakashi looked pain-stricken at Kurenai and Ibiki before speaking.
"O- Orochimaru!" he started, stuttering only because he had ended up taking a breath at the same time as speaking. "He took me away from the hospital to the Konoha library, killing the librarian there and scattering everything so he could make space for us. We fought, but... I was a fool," Kakashi said, ashamed. He had taken on a Sannin, and the battle had been over in minutes. He was no match for Orochimaru, and it would serve him well to remember it in the future. Kurenai was watching Kakashi intensely, and at the mention of Orochimaru Ibiki listened attentively as well. Kakashi looked... different though. Maybe it was because he wasn't wearing his mask. Kurenai thought he looked pretty damn attractive without the mask on, although he'd managed to find something to cover his Sharingan eye with so it didn't drain him of power.
"I lost... easily. He quickly overpowered me and I was left lying on the ground, clinging to my life. That was when... he spoke to me..." Kakashi recalled, the memory forming in his mind as clear as day. Kurenai and Ibiki leaned in closer, eager to hear, but at the same time terrified of what they might find out.
Kakashi gasped with laboured breathing, trying not to pass out from the pain and stress of his battle with Orochimaru. What had he been thinking, taking on a Sannin like that? He may be strong, but he wasn't that strong. Orochimaru stood above him, not a scratch on his body. He inspected the bad wounds on Kakashi's body and then laughed cruelly, like the demon he was. Kakashi moaned, blocking out his torment. Then Orochimaru was talking.
"Oh, Kakashi; you fight valiantly, but like a fool. It was clear right from the beginning that you lack the ability to beat me, or even touch me for that matter. And for that reason there was no hope for you... just like there will be no hope for Anko," he said, a sly smirk on his face. Kakashi stiffened, blocking out all forms of pain for that moment to hear Orochimaru speak. No, Anko. He couldn't let him get to her. Not again. It wasn't fair!
"Leave... Anko... alone..." Kakashi managed to growl out. Orochimaru chuckled darkly.
"Or what? Don't threaten me, Kakashi, when you have no standings to do so," he said with a sneer. "I'm going to pay Anko a little visit soon, and when I do she will fall back into my grasp. I fully plan on manipulating her to my whim. It will be fun, I think, to watch her break upon seeing me again," he laughed again. Kakashi was disgusted. How could a man be so evil and twisted like that?
"Konoha... will find you, Orochimaru... They'll kill you, and Anko won't have to be haunted by your sickening face ever again..." Kakashi said, biting back a cry of pain as his ribs seared. He knew some of his ribs were broken. He prayed none of the bones would dig into his heart and kill him. He had to be careful not to move.
"No, because you see, Kakashi, Konoha are too weak to catch me. They depend on 'love' and 'friendship' to find strength, whereas I focus on gaining power at any cost. That is why I am undefeatable and strong, compared to you weaklings here in the Leaf. Anko adored me too much as a child. She is attached, whether she thinks she is now or not. She will break, I can assure you, and then she will come with me when I leave here," he stated, watching Kakashi grow more stressed with each word he said.
"I have plans for Anko, you see. She will make an interesting test subject, seeing as she was tough enough to survive my Curse Seal. I believe she has more potential as an experiment than as a student. She lacked the violent drive I was looking for," he stated casually. Kakashi hated the way Orochimaru addressed Anko as merely an experiment. He may not have been Anko's closest friend, but he cared about her enough to get very angry over this.
"But do you know what her fate is, with me?" Orochimaru asked Kakashi, raising an eyebrow with a malicious smile to go with it. He wanted to torture Kakashi a little bit more before leaving him in a comatose state.
"Death." Kakashi stated it as a fact, not as a question. However, was he wrong? Orochimaru was laughing again.
"No, in fact, I have other plans than that. After I've finished a few experiments, I intend... on taking over her body." Orochimaru grinned wickedly as Kakashi jerked, consumed by pure anger at Orochimaru. He wouldn't let Orochimaru take Anko! He wouldn't let him take her over! "But before that," Orochimaru continued, "I plan on... persuading her, a little more," he said. Kakashi moved. He couldn't take this, lying there and listening to how Orochimaru was going to use intimacy to get Anko and then take her body. He tried to punch the Sannin, but in a flash of blood he was back on the ground, eyes wide open, his breathing slowing.
Orochimaru wiped his hand of blood, sighing. Kakashi should have just stayed down. Now look where'd he gotten himself; if he didn't die, then he would surely be in a comatose state for a long time. He sensed Anko's approach to the library as she scaled the Hokage Monument. With a grin, he vanished.
Kakashi finished telling his story, a disgusted look on his face. Kurenai shared the same look, although the fear for her friend was evident. Ibiki had managed to keep his face straight, not showing any emotion behind his scarred mask of skin. They sat in silence for a minute, the only sound Kakashi's deep breathing, before Kurenai broke the silence.
"We need to get her back," she stated. It wasn't a debatable question.
"But how?" Ibiki asked simply, motioning towards Kakashi slightly. "Kakashi's in no fit state to go off on a mission, especially when it involves Orochimaru. Me and you, Kurenai, won't be able to take him on head on, and Tsunade has already set a squad out to find them." Ibiki closed his eyes in thought, allowing his words to sink in to the people around him. "We'll have to wait a few days and prepare, then go."
"What!" Kurenai exclaimed, slamming a fist on the table. "Who knows what Orochimaru might have done to Anko by then! We need to leave now!" she shouted, however was cut off when she heard Kakashi coughing. He had a hand on the metal table for support, coughing violently for a few seconds before falling silent. A bead of sweat dropped off his chin. Kurenai looked sadly at her comrade.
"Fine, we'll prepare first. Help me get Kakashi back to the hospital, Ibiki," she said quietly. They needed to speak to the Hokage about this, but Kakashi seemed to be thinking the opposite thing.
"Don't... tell the Hokage," he mumbled. "He doesn't understand... Anko... like us." Kurenai observed him briefly before nodding her consent. She'd briefly considered letting Iruka come with them, but decided it was too dangerous for him when he was so easily manipulated by his feelings for Anko. He would get himself killed. For that reason, she decided to keep him in the dark.
"Alright, Shiromaru, let's do this!" one of the Inuzuka on Tsunade's squad said, a grin on their face. He petted the big dog's head affectionately, its white fur ruffled by the man's hand. The other Inuzuka on the squad had paled at the mention of Orochimaru and had said they were too sick for the mission. One of the Hyuuga had also weaselled their way out of the mission by stating they had other affairs to deal with. Itachi had dismissed them with a shake of his head.
"They don't deserve to go on this mission," he'd said. Now the team was compromised of the Inuzuka, the Hyuuga, Itachi and Tsunade. Tsunade hadn't been too comfortable with the squad size anyway, so was happier with this. All four of them were standing just outside the gates of Konoha now. Work had been started on repairing Konoha's wall, and people were busy milling around it, helping in any way possible to get the wall looking as good as new as quickly as possible.
"Alright, Midori," she said, looking at the Inuzuka, "Murasaki," looking at the Hyuuga, "Itachi," Tsunade finished, looking at all three, "let's head out." She then turned and began to sprint off in the direction Anko and Orochimaru had fled in. All three of the ninja with her followed quickly, Midori's canine partner loping along beside its master. They entered the forestry surrounding Konoha, ignoring the training grounds where a few academy students were picking on a young yellow-haired boy, and kept up a good pace that allowed them to keep track of their surroundings whilst making good progress.
They were always aware of any hints that might suggest where Orochimaru had gone, and they stopped in places to let Murasaki check the area with his Byakugan and let Midori and Shiromaru use their noses and other senses to try and pick up any trails. It was strange, because although a giant snake had slithered through here, nothing was left behind to show for it. No crushed trees, no smells, no flaked off scales, nothing. It was infuriating, but at the same time made the hunt more fun, or so Midori kept saying.
"Found something," Itachi said finally, his eyes crimson with the pattern of his Sharingan on them. They'd been traversing through the treetops, and now stopped upon a thick branch. Everyone looked at Itachi, Tsunade stepping closer.
"What is it?" she asked, desperate to know. They hadn't found anything, and she was the most short-tempered of them all; she was literally itching to find something or else she'd punch down a tree in annoyance. Itachi closed his eyes and then pointed to his left.
"Down there is a kunai," he said, re-opening his eyes. Immediately Tsunade dropped from the tree, landing agilely on the ground before moving towards where Itachi had pointed out. They hadn't stopped in a little while, giving the Hyuuga and Inzuka no chance to pick up the presence of the projectile. Everyone quickly followed Tsunade, leaving the branch to go to ground level.
Tsunade frowned as she walked up to a small stack of leaves, barely concealing a steel object lying on the ground. The metal reflected Tsunade's image as she stood over it. She leant down and gently picked up the kunai, observing it before turning it over. She tensed.
"We're onto them," she said, holding up the kunai for the rest of her squad to see, showing them the kanji engraved onto the metal. They spelt out Anko. Tsunade looked at Itachi for more insight.
"Hmm... The way the kunai was lying on the ground suggests that it wasn't thrown, but more like dropped. Either Anko wants us to find her, or she's dropped it by accident. Maybe a ripped pocket and it fell out? I can understand why her clothing would be in tatters," Itachi said, staring at the kunai. He then let the Sharingan fade away, his eyes returning to normal. "Midori, try and pick up a scent," Itachi then commanded, earning a glare from Tsunade for being the one to give out an order. Despite him being out of place, Shiromaru and Midori came forwards, taking the kunai from Tsunade and turning it left right, up and down, sniffing it for a scent of Anko.
"Yeah! We got something!" Midori exclaimed, Shiromaru barking to confirm his words. The white-pelted canine's nose was quickly on the ground, trying to pick up a trail for them to follow. He then barked again and began to sprint off into the trees. An air of excitement became apparent and everyone quickly rushed off to follow Shiromaru, hoping that they'd find Orochimaru's lair.
Iruka was back in his apartment. He was sorting through his stuff, finding the bare necessities for his journey. He didn't doubt that it would take a long time to find Orochimaru and Anko, but he wanted to do it all as quickly as possible because he was afraid. He was afraid of what Orochimaru was doing to Anko, how he would be torturing her, how he would be breaking her like he'd done even when he wasn't there. Anko was too fragile, even he knew that when he didn't like to.
Walking out of the door of his apartment, he had a backpack slung over his shoulders, carrying food, drink and other basic survival supplies. He didn't want to rest, but it was illogical not to, so a small tent was packed as well. He'd taken the bare minimum, knowing that the lighter the load, the faster he could go. Although alongside the bare minimum he had the photo frame carrying the picture of Anko and Orochimaru and the talisman he'd gotten Anko for her birthday.
It was still daylight, and anyone that asked where he was going was told that he was going on a long mission. He couldn't tell the truth. He was sixteen for crying out loud! They'd stop him and then put him under house arrest for being so thoughtless. He was glad he didn't bump into Kurenai, Ibiki or Asuma. He didn't worry about Kakashi because he assumed the Copy-Nin was still in a coma, but the others would have guessed where he was going and stopped him too.
Thankfully he managed to get out of Konoha without anyone being suspicious, and soon was heading through the forestry, dashing from branch to branch to try and find a trail to bring him to Orochimaru's lair. He moved quickly, knowing the forest well enough to make his way through problem free for the time being. However, although he thought no one knew where he was going, someone did.
A wide smirk grew across Orochimaru's face at the news. This boy just didn't give up, did he? He effortlessly killed the spy who'd told him the news, not bothering to pay him like he was demanding, and walked over to his desk where scrolls cluttered it. He'd looked into the boy a little. He wasn't anything too special, but Iruka Umino was definitely someone that could influence Anko, judging by the slight feelings they shared.
He didn't like those feelings. In fact, he hated them. He hated that anyone but he could have his Anko. She belonged to him, like a toy; he could play with her, or he could break her, but either way she was his. Iruka threatened that hold he had over her, and so he planned to destroy those bonds, and he wanted Anko to do it herself. First, he would lure her further into his grip, and then he'd have her destroy Iruka mentally and physically.
Orochimaru had it all planned out. He also knew of Tsunade's squad, although they were following a false trail like he'd planned for them to. They wouldn't be able to find his base anyway, although it had disturbed him that Itachi Uchiha was on Tsunade's squad. If they did manage to find his base in the end, he wanted to have finished his Jutsu in time for Itachi. He licked his lips hungrily.
Itachi would be his in the end, the Sharingan would belong to him and he would learn every Jutsu in the world, but first thing first. No one could find his base on their own, so Orochimaru would help Iruka out. He'd lead him to the base; lead him to his death.
"I must be crazy," Iruka and Anko said at the same time.
"I've gone through Anko's apartment, taken an old picture she shouldn't even have kept, left Konoha without permission, left my friends, and am now trying to track down an S-Class Criminal I have no hope of defeating, all for the sake of Anko. Of course I'm crazy," Iruka said, although instead of that getting him down it spurred him into action, driving him on to complete his goal.
"I've left Konoha, killed a load of shinobi, betrayed my friends and village, gone with Orochimaru, fought him, and kissed him, all for what? Why? Of course I'm crazy," Anko said, lying on her bed in Orochimaru's base, staring at the ceiling as she mulled over her thoughts, wants, and needs. She hated to admit it, she really did, but at the moment she needed Orochimaru. To speak with him, perhaps, but that wasn't what her heart was telling her.
Thank you, NinjaSheik, Ryunn Kazan, ankofan, fishyfella, Jigoku-Dayu93, Szzzzzx, Yin-Yan-Yum-Yum, inky77, and LovexDoll for the reviews. I can't believe I actually got nine reviews! :D I mean, that's more than any other chapter! I'm astounded. Thanks for putting in the effort to review though; it makes me feel really happy. ^^ You guys rock. I think I'll have to raise the rating of this fanfiction to M though. I think I might be writing my first lemon in the next chapter. o.o Wish me luck? :L
Also, I'd like your opinions. (: Do you want me to put scene breaks in so you can read the story better? Or are you all fine with the way it is now? C: Again, thanks for reading and reviewing guys. :]
