Broken ― X

The weather, much to Anko's dislike, stayed cold after the first snow. She grumbled and pouted about it, knowing full-well that wouldn't do her any good, but also not caring. She hated the cold weather.

Oh sure, the first snow was always nice. A change from the regular gray of the city to a beautiful white was amazing. But after a day or so the cars were moving again, and the pretty snow turned to slush. That was when Anko stopped liking it so much.

"It's just not the same." The purple-haired girl sighed, kicking up some of the slush as she walked, Kakashi at her side. Rin and Obito were both staying after school, her for a music lesson, him for detention. "Why can't it just snow then all disappear? At least then it wouldn't have to turn into…this."

She kicked the slush again, somehow managing to get it all over Kakashi's feet. "Oops." She blushed then laughed. "Sorry Kakashi."

The silver-haired teen grumbled something under his breath about soggy feet, then said, "Do you really think it's possible for snow to just disappear?"

"Well…no." Anko admitted grudgingly, shoving her hands into her pockets. "But wouldn't it be nice? I hate slushy stuff."

Kakashi sighed. In the time he had come to know her, he had learned that she had very defined opinions on certain things. It was all black and white with her, no gray area. "I mean really," she went on, "it's disgusting. It's cold and wet and disgusting. Don't you ever wish it would just go away?"

"Not exactly…"

She tended to go on and on about nothing. The smallest, most insignificant thing could leave her talking for hours.

"What, you like this stuff?"

"No, I just―"

A sudden, uneasy feeling washed over Anko and she stopped walking, turning her head and looking over her shoulder. The sidewalk behind her was empty.

Kakashi, noticing Anko's absence from his side, looked back. "What are you looking at?" He called, startling her out of her reverie.

"Nothing." She said, shaking her head. "Nothing, absolutely nothing."

Kakashi could have figured that one out for himself. Other than the occasional car, they were completely alone. But the way her brown eyes narrowed at the empty area, the look of absolute concentration, had convinced him that she had seen something. Either that or she was hallucinating.

"Come on." He said, suddenly uneasy. "Let's go."

"Yeah…" Her voice was distant, and she didn't move. Kakashi scowled a little. She was starting to worry him.

"Anko." Kakashi's sharp voice brought the girl back to reality. Shaking her head again, she muttered a word of apology and rushed to catch up with him, all thoughts of hating slush driven from her mind. They walked the rest of the way back to Konoha in silence, each teen lost in his or her own thoughts.

"You all right?" Anko looked up from her homework, her pen hovering a few inches above the page. Rin, who was sitting on her own bed across the room, was watching her, obviously a little concerned.

"Yeah, 'course. Why do you ask?"

Rin shook her head. "You just look a little…distant, that's all. And you've been staring at the same question for about ten minutes."

Anko looked down at her paper, surprised to see that Rin was right. The purple-haired girl sighed wearily.

"Want to talk about it?" Rin asked, worry lacing her voice. Anko shook her head, then paused and shrugged.

"There isn't really anything to talk about. It's just…"

"Just?" Rin pushed. Anko sighed again and, at the risk of sounding like she had completely lost her sanity, said,

"Rin-san, have you ever felt like you were being…I dunno, watched, maybe?" Rin cocked her head.

"What do you mean?"

Anko proceeded to tell her friend what had happened during the walk home. Rin listened intently, and said when Anko was done, "But who do you think would be watching you?"

Anko was careful not to let a certain name slip her tongue. She knew if she said it, everyone would freak. And she didn't want to cause problems. "I dunno. I was probably just imagining it, you know?"

"Obviously you don't think that, otherwise you wouldn't be worrying about it." Anko scowled. She hated how perceptive Rin often tended to be. There was absolutely no way to keep a secret from the auburn-haired girl. And on a day like this, when Anko wanted to be left alone with her secrets, that wasn't exactly a good thing.

"I'm not worrying…much. It's okay Rin-san, don't bother yourself with it." Rin didn't look at all reassured.

"You know if you want to talk, Anko-san, I'm a good listener." Anko smiled despite herself. That was one of the good things about Rin. She never pushed.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry."

"Okay." Kakashi said, sighing. He'd had enough. He set down the can of soda he had been sipping and turned to face Anko, who was nibbling uncertainly on her sandwich. She'd been way too quiet. Ever since yesterday. Rin had told Kakashi she had been unable to get anything out of the purple-haired girl. So it was up to him. "Are you going to talk to me or not?"

Anko looked up at him. They were sitting on the roof together, eating lunch. Obito and Rin were down on the ground below. "I don't know what you mean." She said clearly, her eyes not quite meeting his.

"You do and I know you do." Kakashi said simply, reaching over carefully and tugging Anko's sandwich out of her hands, setting it down on the paper-bag. She looked surprised. "Come on Anko, talk to me."

"It's nothing Kakashi. You worry too much."

She was right. He did worry. More than he should. But, as much as he hated to admit it, Anko had become an important part of his life, more so than he would have liked to admit. Ever since he had come to Konoha, the only people he could be bothered to worry about were Rin and Obito. And even them he didn't worry about that much. They didn't need it. They could both take care of themselves. And so could Anko, but…he still felt like there was something out there he needed to protect her from.

He could have said all that. But she would have laughed. So instead he just said, "Yeah, when my friends keep secrets, I tend to worry. Now are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Anko said, pronouncing each syllable clearly. She still refused to meet his eyes though. He sighed wearily. He knew when she was ready to talk, she would. But he didn't want to wait that long.

"You sure?"

Anko sighed. Unlike Rin, Kakashi would push and push until Anko was ready to crack. In that sense, she definitely liked Rin better. "I've just been thinking about a lot, lately. It's been so quiet…it's too good to last, you know?"

Kakashi bit his lip, glad his mask hid the lower part of his face. He remained the only kid at Konoha who knew about Orochimaru's secret battle to get Anko back in his custody. He planned on keeping it that way.

"It's just…you know…" She sighed, leaning against his arm, her eyes closed. Kakashi waited.

"What?" He finally said.

"I don't ever want to go back to him." Kakashi smiled under his mask and reached over, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Good. Because I won't ever let you."

A small smile formed on Anko's lips and she sighed. It was a content sigh though. She seemed happy. Kakashi wanted that to last.

Anko sighed, aggravated, and put her head under her pillow, gripping it tightly to try and block out the music.

"Riii-iiiin." She whined, peaking one brown eye out from under the pillow. "What kind of warm-blooded teenager listens to classical music?"

Rin smiled as she looked over at her roommate. "Classical music is great Anko-san. How can you not like it?"

All the other instruments stopped playing, and for a moment Anko thought maybe it was over. Then a screeching noise rang out from the speakers of the radio. "The flute solo!" Rin cheered, sounding thrilled. "Oh I love this part!"

"I'm buying you a pair of headphones for your birthday." Anko grumbled, gripping the pillow a little tighter. Rin laughed.

"I'll turn it off after this song, I promise."

"Nah, don't bother." Anko swung her legs over the side of her bed, slipping her feet into her shoes. "I'm going for a walk."

Rin looked up in surprise. "Oh no, I'm driving you out, aren't I? Here, I'll turn it off right now…"

She reached over to do just that. Anko shook her head though and carefully slapped Rin's hand away from the radio. "It's all right." She said simply. "It doesn't matter. I'm going stir crazy anyway, I could use a walk. You stay here, keep listening to your music. I don't mind taking off for a little while."

"All right…" Rin sounded very unsure of this.

"He just dropped the case, just like that?" Kakashi said, shoving his hands into his pockets. That didn't sound right.

"Yeah, I'm not really following it either." Minato shook his head. "But his lawyer called today, said he was dropping the case. I don't buy it."

Neither did Kakashi. Orochimaru had been fighting tooth and nail for weeks now, trying to get Anko back in his custody. Why would he all of a sudden give it up now?

"He must have a reason." Kakashi said firmly, folding his arms. There was definitely a reason. He just had to figure out what it was.

"And anyways―" Minato stopped talking and looked over Kakashi's head. Kakashi looked over his shoulder. Anko was jogging down the stairs, pulling a jacket on over her t-shirt. "Going somewhere?"

"Just for a walk." She said, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket. And heading out the door. Kakashi started to go after her, intent on stopping her, but Minato held him back.

"What? You think it's safe to let her go out?"

"It's still daylight out." Minato pointed out. "Even if he is planning to do something, I doubt he'll try anything with people around."

Kakashi scowled, but let it go. Just please be okay, Anko…

As much as Anko hated to admit it, she was in a fairly good mood. She hated to admit it, because she knew it would never last. It was all too good to be true, and Anko had learned not to expect anything less than a total let down in her life.

Okay, so that was completely pessimistic way to look at things. It was true wasn't it?

Anko was about to learn how true it was.

She was walking through a surprisingly empty part of the park when a low, hissing voice said behind her, "Hello Anko."

She stiffened, her eyes widening at the sound of the voice. It couldn't be…

She whirled around, eyes still wide. "O-Orochimaru-s-sama " She stuttered out, stumbling backwards. Her entire body had gone numb with far. Orochimaru laughed cruelly as he watched her slight panic attack.

"I get the feeling you're not happy to see me, Anko."

Anko took a couple of deep breaths. Calm, she told herself, be calm. Don't let him see you sweat. Stay calm.

"Go away." She said as clearly as she could manage. She was shaking now. Orochimaru laughed again and took a step towards her. She stepped back. "Stay away from me." She said, hoping she sounded threatening. "I'll scream."

"No you won't." He grabbed her arm, dragging her forward. "You never screamed before, why start now?"

Anko bit down on her lip until bled. He was right. It wasn't that she wouldn't scream. It was that she couldn't. Years of practicing not screaming had caught up to her at last.

"What do you want?" She asked, her breathing quickening slightly.

"I want what's mine." Orochimaru hissed. "I want you back. But that meddlesome old man won't give up without a fight. Lawyers and court systems and a lot of trouble. It wasn't worth it when all I had to do was get to you and have you convince them to return willingly. So much easier, you see?"

"Yeah." Anko hoped she sounded brave. "Just one problem. I'd never agree to something that stupid." Orochimaru looked down at her. "I'm happy at Konoha. Happier than I ever was with you. You'd have to kill me to get me out of there."

"Don't think the thought hasn't crossed my mind you ungrateful brat." Orochimaru hissed. "What do you think you're doing anyway? You can't stay there forever."

"Why can't I?" Anko challenged, ignoring the fact that his grip on her arm was painfully tight. "Name one reason."

"You're just a burden to them." Anko narrowed her eyes, angry now. "A useless piece of junk that no one wants around. And really, why would they?"

Anko bit her lip, trying to push back the thoughts telling her he was right. Kakashi, she thought desperately, amazed that it was his name that came to mind. Kakashi wants me, I know he does. He wouldn't have made that promise if he didn't.

"I'll protect you. I promise."

"And you're a magnet for trouble, after all." Orochimaru was still talking. "Eventually something's going to happen. If not to you, then one of those little friends of yours. And I'd hate for them to get hurt because of you."

Anko's eyes widened. Kakashi. Rin. Obito. Would Orochimaru really hurt them? Could he?

Anko shook her head of the thought. "Forget it. No way. Now let me go or I will scream."

He ― surprisingly ― complied. She stumbled backwards. "Have it your way Anko." Orochimaru said silkily. "I tried to be nice. I just hope no one else is hurt because of your stubbornness." He turned and started to walk away. "Oh, and be warned. If you mention this little…meeting to anyone, I will know. Be careful of what you let slip past your tongue."

And he was gone. Anko stared at the spot where he had been standing, her eyes wide. What was she supposed to do now?

Author's Note: Heeheehee...I know some of you already know this, but for those of you who don't: I'm a chaos junkie. I love watching hell break loose, and I love writing about it even more. So be warned. All hell shall he breaking loose. Soon. Review please! -- Sam