AN: As you read the first part of this chapter it will be a bit confusing, all will be explained though. I also feel the need to warn you that this chapter may be disturbing as it depicts some pretty rough stuff. If you dislike scenes involving torture you might want to skip this chapter, I'll provide a brief summary in the author's note below.

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his awesome beta work!

Chapter 11: Torture and Regret

Naruto woke with a start. He quickly took in his surroundings and realized that he was deep within the Konoha Torture & Interrogation headquarters. Worse yet he was currently tied to one of their 'work' tables. Given that he was a shinobi his bonds were reinforced with fuinjutsu so that he wouldn't be able to mold the slightest bit of chakra.

His chest was bare though they had left him the dignity of pants. Why was he here? He looked around frantically not fully believing he was trapped, helpless and about to be interrogated.

The door opened and to his great relief Anko came in.

"Anko-sensei thank goodness you're here! Get me out of this."

She shook her head slowly and her expression was filled with grief.

"How could you Naruto? How could you betray the village? Betray me?"

Naruto's eyes widened.

"What? Anko-sensei I would never betray the village. This is a mistake. If someone told you something you know how much the villagers hate me. They probably made it up!"

Anko shook her head.

"The Hokage wanted to leave this to Ibiki but this was my responsibility. There is no mistake Naruto, the evidence is overwhelming. You let the infiltrators in. You passed along village secrets. No one doubts what you did."

"NO! I would never do that! Anko-sensei please believe me!"

She ignored his frantic pleading.

"But what we don't know is who you were working with. That is what I need to find out. Naruto-kun… I understand why you betrayed the village. I know how difficult it was to deal with all of the villagers hate. You just weren't strong enough to let it go. It's my fault. I didn't teach you to be strong. I'm so sorry for having to do this to you but I am a loyal shinobi and you will tell me what we need to know. One way or the other."

Anko watched Naruto's crystal blue eyes grow impossibly wide as he realized what was in store for him. He had dealt with Anko's training and persevered but training was different. He knew, he absolutely knew that he was going to face real pain. More pain than he had ever suffered before and it would be at the hands of the kunoichi he trusted above all others. He cringed as Anko began pulling out the tools of her trade.

Knives, needles, hooks, matches, pliers and all sorts of other horrific devices were being set on a smaller secondary table within Naruto's line of vision. It was part of the process of course.

Naruto began babbling.

"No, no! Anko-sensei, ANKO! Don't do this to me. I'm innocent. I wouldn't betray you. Forget about the village. I wouldn't betray YOU."

Anko ignored his distress and finished taking out her instruments as well as several small vials. Naruto recognized two of them but the other three scared him out of his wits. He had no idea what they were.

Mitarashi took a syringe and filled it with the contents of one of the unknown vials. Naruto thrashed and squirmed in his restraints desperate to get free. He bucked and used every bit of his might to try to shred the taut shackles that held him in place. His struggles were futile and he could do nothing but give a panicked scream as the needle bit into his arm and pumped something into his veins.

"That won't hurt you Naruto. All it does is enhance your senses."

Naruto swallowed thickly. He wasn't a fool, after all Anko had trained him. If his senses were enhanced it meant that his pain receptors would be far more sensitive.

"I don't want to do this to you Naruto. Just tell me who you were working with and I'll make sure you're granted a quick death."

"I can't give you information I don't have! I'm not a traitor!"

Anko sighed, "We'll find out eventually, don't make this harder on yourself. Don't make this harder on me."

Naruto despaired. While he was terribly fearful of the horrific torment that he would not doubt soon be suffering he was also emotionally devastated by the fact his own sensei would have to carry out his torture.

Anko picked up the pliers and moved over to Naruto's right hand.

"Tell me."

"I don't have anything to tell!"

The thin pair of pliers latched onto the nail of Naruto's fingers and began to pull. Naruto bit back a scream but the pain simply grew worse as Anko pulled and twisted and slowly began ripping the fingernail out of the nail bed.

"I don't know anything," he screamed.

More pulling and tearing.

"PLEASE ANKO!"

He roared his innocence over and over and soon his angry denials devolved into begging for her to stop, but Anko was relentless. A grim look covered her face as she completed her work. She could have ripped the nail off in one go but to maximize the pain she took her time. Eventually the nail finally came free and the delicate flesh revealed itself.

Next she took one of the small vials and removed the cap.

"Naruto just tell me who your accomplices were. Please don't make me keep doing this. This acid will eat your flesh but it won't do it fast. Don't make me do this to you," she begged.

Naruto's throat was raw and he whimpered.

"I didn't betray the village. No… don't… NOOO."

She dripped the acidic compound over the hyper sensitive nerves underneath the torn fingernail. He trashed and despite how tight the shackles were it threatened to spill the acid off his flesh. Anko had to hold his finger still as the rest of his body thrashed.

"Who turned you away from the village Naruto? WHO?" Anko shouted at the screaming boy.

But Naruto had no answer. Nor did he have an answer when the process was repeated on the next three fingers and one thumb he had on his right hand. In no way was he getting used to the pain, in fact it was growing steadily worse thanks to the first concoction that Anko had injected him with.

"Fifteen digits left Naruto. Whatever loyalty you have to them isn't worth this. Tell me who is supplying you with information."

He was loyal to the village. Despite their mistreatment of him he didn't betray them. And he wouldn't give up a name and condemn another innocent person to this agony. Anko had tears in her eyes as she moved onto his left hand.

But everyone had their breaking point. And ripped fingernails and dripping acid were just the beginning. It went on for hours and Naruto's screams reverberated around the cold torture chamber. And he broke. He began giving names. Names of people who had mistreated him. He babbled any name he could possibly think of in order to keep the pincers, flames and pain away.

Eventually they had wrung out all the (false) names he could think of and the Sandaime was brought in and pronounced judgment. Naruto at this point couldn't bear the thought of another minute under Anko's not so tender mercies. He confessed to what they said he did. The old Hokage looked like something had broken in his spirit as he turned to Anko.

"Anko-san, please dispose of this… traitor. He has suffered enough in this life."

Uzumaki welcomed death as the old Hokage left. Anko stared at the boy for some time. Naruto didn't know why she just didn't finish him. Even while not actively being 'worked on' his body ached for the sweet bliss of oblivion.

The snake mistress of Konoha gently stroked his whiskered face. Naruto knew the end was coming and he whispered softly.

"I'm sorry Anko-sensei. I wish… I wish you had believed me."

Anko brought her face down right next to Naruto's ear. Her lips tickled his ear.

"Oh, Naruto-kun; you don't understand, I do believe you."

Naruto's bloodshot eyes seemed to pop out of his skull.

"What? Then why?" He croaked out the last word. It was a plaintive plea, a boy desperate to understand what was going on around him.

Anko jumped lightly into the air and then straddled Naruto's scarred body. She grasped his face with her hands and leaned down close giving him a wet kiss. The boy was confused, thinking perhaps he had gone insane from the torment that had been inflicted on him.

"Of course I believe you Naruto! Who do you think planted all of the evidence that convinced the Hokage of your guilt?"

Naruto had thought he knew betrayal and emotional agony before but it was nothing compared to this. His sensei, the one who had molded him into the competent and capable genin that he was had utterly destroyed him! Fresh tears streamed down the boys face.

Anko bent down and licked the tears from his cheek in delight. She then threw her head back and laughed. Her psychotic laugher rang around the room growing louder and louder until it reached a terrible crescendo.

***BREAK***

Anko bolted up into a sitting position. Her entire body was slick with sweat. Her pupils were roving around the room in pure terror. The curse mark pulsed in time to her too rapid heartbeat. She threw away the blanket and rushed to the bathroom. She almost didn't make it before she heaved out the contents of her stomach.

She shook with fright and disgust. Her self-loathing had never been greater then at this very moment. Her nightmare had been so real. The idea of her brutalizing Naruto in such a way made her stomach do back flips. His pain and terror had been so real.

But the worst part, the absolute most repulsive part of all of it was the euphoric pleasure her dream self had felt at doing it all. As she had felt witnessing it. Even now she felt the sticky residue of her desire filled dream. She hurled again in wretched abhorrence at how pathetic and repellent she was.

Her hands trembled as she took a nearby kunai into them. Her home had the things everywhere. Would it be better if she didn't exist anymore? Would it be better to end it all so she wasn't in constant danger of letting the curse mark take control and fulfilling those sadistic and inhumane desires? She thought she had an outlet with her position in the Torture & Interrogation department. Why did this happen now?

Tears leaked down her face as she pressed the point of the kunai to her jugular. No more sleepless nights. No more horrific nightmares. No more twisted desires. No more pain. No more loneliness. No more distrustful looks. No more spiteful comments. No more temptations to fight. No more.

Just no more.

She might have done it if Naruto's face hadn't filled her mind at that very moment. Her student. What would he think if he learned she had killed herself? Would he blame himself? Would he turn to despair and self hatred the way she herself had? And what about Kurenai? She had been so caring and understanding, her one true friend. No, she couldn't be that selfish.

With a fresh sob she slammed the kunai into the wall and cursed Orochimaru for doing the things he had done to her. She was damaged. She was broken on every level. She knew it deep within her bones. The seal poisoned her mind and drove her to be more like her one time master.

And it was all Orochimaru's fault. He did this to her. He had destroyed any chance of having a life not filled with wretchedness. She hated him with ever fiber of her being. The kunoichi also knew that she wasn't anywhere near him in ability and strength despite all of her efforts. But she knew some of the tricks he had taught her. There were kinjutsu that could defeat even him. Even if the price was her life it would be worth it.

Sorrow turned to rage and then back again to sorrow. She didn't know where the snake was. And she had no way of finding where he was. And even if she did what if the Ten no Juin (Cursed Seal of Heaven) prevented her from harming him? Orochimaru was a genius and even Konoha's best seal master couldn't fully tell her what-all the damned thing could do.

Frustration and sorrow chased each other as she stayed up the rest of the night in turns shaking with rage and trembling in despair. When morning came she cleaned herself up and faced another day of the hell that was her life.

AN: Got a little heavy there… Not always a huge fan of angst but I feel it is appropriate here. I am stopping here so those who wanted to get a summary of what happened can read the author's note.

Summary: For those who skipped the chapter due to its graphic nature here is what happened. Naruto wakes up and is tied to a table about to be tortured in order for Anko to extract information. He pleads his innocence but Anko begins some pretty nasty stuff. After that I skip over other bad stuff she does to him but allude to it later in the chapter. Eventually he is condemned to die and then Anko goes a bit crazy and tells him that she knew he was innocent all along. Her deranged laughter ends the scene.

The next scene begins and you realize that it had all been a nightmare. Anko gets violently ill and you get a look at a lot of Anko angst. It is also explained her cursed seal is pushing her into having these sadistic thoughts. She almost decides to kill herself but due to her relationship with Naruto and Kurenai she doesn't. The scene ends with her blaming Orochimaru for everything and facing a new day of what she describes as 'another day of the hell that was her life.'

And there you have two thousand words in two paragraphs. If you did read it I'd like to know what you think. The next chapter puts the focus back on Kurama.