llIVoice of Destiny/Inner Sakura
"Normal Talking"
Thoughts/Sound Effects
"Flashback dialogue/Japanese/Emphasis of words"
"Demon speak"
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Key Through the Heart
A fanfiction by Andrew J. Talon
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Kingdom Hearts, or any of the characters or properties mentioned in this story. The story's mine, the concept is mine, but everything else is not mine. And I'm certainly not writing this for profit.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Twilight Town was definitely one of Jiraiya's favorite haunts, ever since he'd begun world hopping some time ago. The people were simple but friendly, the place was warm and quiet, and (most importantly) had a good population of attractive, young women for his research.
What drew Jiraiya of Konoha here at the moment though, were the fruits of this town's labors. Or, more accurately, the grains.
He threw back another rich Twilight Ale, enjoying the buzz in the back of his brain and the burn of the potent liquor down his throat. He smiled, shaking out his impressive main of white hair with an appreciative hum.
"Quite the brew you have, my dear," the Sannin complimented his hostess in the small bar near a wide field in the center of the town called the Sand Lot. His finely tuned ninja senses could pick out the weak auras of some of the kids training for some fighting contest. The hostess blushed prettily in response.
"Why thank you, Mister Jiraiya! Would you like more?"
"Please!" Jiraiya grinned, holding out his mug. He then frowned.
"Well, I see you're wasting no time," a high-pitched, amused voice said behind him. Jiraiya turned and smiled at the short, red-clad mouse hidden behind an illusion of a non-descript man.
"Mickey! I wondered when you were going to get your tail here," Jiraiya commented. He motioned to the seat next to him, eyes turning to the hostess.
"Ruby, can you give us some privacy?" The silver-haired woman smiled and nodded, turning and heading to tend to her other customers. Mickey walked up and took his seat, the illusion doing the same. Jiraiya whistled.
"Huh… Not bad. Not quite as good as a henge, but then it doesn't really need to be."
Mickey sighed, scratching an oversized ear.
"Magic and chakra can be shaped in the same ways, but in the end they're still different forces," the mouse king surmised. He then frowned, looking about the bar carefully.
"Relax, I cast a privacy jutsu," Jiraiya said, taking another draw of his beer. "So, how did you get out of running your kingdom to come see me?"
"Simple. I left without telling anyone," Mickey raised an eyebrow at the white-haired ninja. "Since the last time I met you I woke up with a hangover the size of a Gummi ship on top of a volcano."
"In a cupid costume, don't forget that," Jiraiya added with a grin. Mickey snorted.
"Minnie won't let me forget, that's for sure. Besides, as I recall you didn't turn out much better."
Jiraiya cringed.
"I swear I had no idea what possessed me to enter that chocobo race… Though you have to admit, I did pretty well."
"You blew up the race track," Mickey pointed out flatly.
"So? I still won," the sannin insisted.
Mickey rolled his eyes again, thinking that if Jiraiya were not his friend he'd have knocked him into orbit with the Keyblade a long time ago.
He still might. But, business before pleasure and all that.
"The Heartless have been idle too long," Mickey said at last. "They slowed down after they conquered Hollow Bastion, but it's nothing like this. The world they destroyed just before they stopped was close to the worlds Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cloud all came from."
Jiraiya hummed thoughtfully.
"At the same time, that organization I've been tracking, the one with the interest in the Biju of my world, have been sighted on other worlds."
"Working with the Heartless, or against them?" Mickey asked. Jiraiya sighed, shaking his head.
"A little of both. A few worlds they've been defending from the Heartless in exchange for tribute, while a number of their members have helped the buggers conquer and destroy a few more. What the connection is, I haven't been able to figure out," the sannin reported, taking out his pipe and chewing thoughtfully on the end. The mouse king also adopted a thoughtful expression.
"I've locked the keyholes of as many worlds as I can, but there are only so many I can seal," Mickey sighed. "And if the Heartless get their hands on another Keybearer… It won't matter."
"Another one, hm?" Jiraiya asked. Mickey nodded.
"The legends do say that there were more than one. Possibly hundreds at one time, though for what purpose no one knows."
"Legends? They've descended into myth by now," Jiraiya snorted. He'd filled and lit his pipe, and let the soothing tobacco fill his senses. He blew a smoke ring, still looking thoughtful.
"Still no sign of Ansem?" The sannin asked. Mickey shook his head.
"Nothing. Considering how he remained behind to make sure the last civilians got off-world, I'd say my old friend is… But something in my gut just tells me he's still around." The mouse shrugged. "How, I haven't the foggiest. It just does."
Jiraiya smiled around his pipe.
"Gut feelings have their place too," he noted sagely. Mickey smiled back.
"Yeah…"
"Hey you!"
Both sannin and mouse king turned at the source of the noise. A blonde kid with piercing blue eyes, white sleeveless coat, and black knit cap on his head was scowling at them.
"Yeah, you two! What do you think you're doing here?"
Jiraiya raised his eyebrows at Mickey, who closed his eyes and laughed silently, gloved hand over his mouth.
"Sitting and talking… And drinking," Jiraiya explained slowly, as though speaking to a complete moron. Which the blond seemed to wish to prove himself as.
"You're outsiders! You're supposed to announce yourselves to the Disciplinary Committee before entering!" He said self-importantly. A taller, tanned youth with black hair and red shirt, accompanied by a blue-haired, red-eyed girl in blue strode up behind him.
"Yeah! Get up and show us some ID, before we knock you flat, ya'know?" The red-clad boy stated proudly, puffing himself up.
"Squashed," the blue-haired girl stated in a monotone.
Jiraiya smirked unpleasantly. Mickey rolled his eyes.
"Jiraiya…" The mouse said warningly. Jiraiya just grinned.
"Identification, hm? I'll have you know Miss Ruby is quite familiar with me. Isn't that right, Daisy dear? You'll vouch for me, won't you?"
The silver haired woman clicked her tongue disapprovingly, shaking her head, as she walked up to the trio.
"Now what have I told you three about coming in here? You're not legal aged yet, so out. Stop bothering Mr. Jiraiya and his friend!"
"Hey! This is Disciplinary Committee business! Back off, ya know?" Red said with nervous bravado. Blondie nodded and crossed his arms.
"We know what's best for this town, you don't! We're taking in this geezer and his buddy!"
Jiraiya's smirk became positively lethal. The Disciplinary Committee took no notice. Mickey, again, rolled his eyes.
"Jiraiya…" The mouse warned once more. The sannin shrugged and grinned.
"Meh… Waste of my time to teach these punks a lesson," Jiraiya stated dismissively. "I need to be going anyway. See you same time again?"
"Maybe earlier," Mickey answered carefully. The blond growled.
"Hey! Who you calling punks, you old-!"
Jiraiya vanished with a final wink at Ruby, a few leaves kicked by a breeze and a generous sum of coin on the table all to mark his absence. The Disciplinary Committee found that the 'old geezer's' friend had also vanished.
Ruby summarily kicked them out, leaving Seifer Almasy to angrily swear he'd make that old coot pay the price for humiliating him!
- - - - - - - - - -
Twilight Town's clocktower, on top of its train station, was a huge landmark and fantastic draw for tourists. A marble spear jutting into the sky, its cheerful bells could be heard miles away.
On a ledge near a few winged statues surrounding the top of the tower, a small girl with long brown hair, bright green eyes, and an orange dress sat, kicking her feet.
"Now what did I say about sitting up here?" Asked a calm, masculine voice. The girl turned her head and grinned happily.
"Mister Jiraiya! You're back!" She said happily, getting to her feet and rushing over to the old man. She gave him a hug, and Jiraiya returned it gingerly. Exactly what the small girl saw in him he'd never know.
Well, I did save her life, he thought to himself with a mental chuckle.
"Yes, but not for long," he told her. She immediately began to pout.
"But you'renever around! And I just moved here! And I don't have any friends, and Mommy's always busy, and-!"
"Woah, woah, take it easy Olette-chan!" Jiraiya laughed, patting her on the head. "Look, if you want some friends, you just have to take charge. Be confident."
A mischievous glint entered the old ninja's eye.
"Or beat up that annoying blond kid. That'll earn you plenty of friends, I'm sure."
Olette looked unsure about it.
"Beat him up? But, but he's… He's head of Discipline and-!"
"And it's like me declaring myself ruler of Candyland," Jiraiya snorted. "Doesn't mean a damn thing. Knock him flat; I know you can do it."
The girl wavered a bit, but nodded, determination appearing in her eyes.
"I… I'll do it! Besides, he's always mean to me!"
"That's the spirit!" Jiraiya grinned. "Now then… Your mother gave you that envelope, right?"
Olette nodded, and fished a thick, tightly bound envelope out of her school bag, lying next to a gargoyle. She handed it to Jiraiya, whose grin turned slightly lecherous.
"Mister Jiraiya? Are you okay? What are you smiling about?"
"Oh, ahem, nothing," the sannin said, composing himself. He then gave her another big, caring smile, which she returned.
"Now, what did I teach you?" He prompted. The girl took a deep breath.
"'Hit the nose with the flat of your palm only. Heads are hard, stomachs and groins are soft and hurt lots.'"
"Good girl!" Jiraiya enthused. Olette moved forward and hugged him again, tightly.
"Please, promise you'll visit again soon, Jiraiya?" The girl asked, plaintively. Jiraiya's grin became a soft smile, as he patted her back with genuine affection.
"I promise," he said. "After all, Gallant Jiraiya keeps his promises!" With a heroic pose that made Olette giggle and clap, he took off, hopping from roof top to roof top. As he traveled, he opened the envelope and peeked inside, lecherous grin reappearing.
"Heh heh heh… Always knew she'd come through, ooh hoo hoo!" Jiraiya giggled.
Now, the sannin did have a soft spot for hard luck kids, and Olette certainly qualified as such. Her father, a farmer, had died and her mother had been forced to sell their meager homestead and move to Twilight Town, where it was somewhat difficult to find work at times. He would quite happily have helped support them (the money he made from Icha Ichaalone giving him a fortune that rivaled Scrooge McDuck's), but Olette's mother was not willing to accept charity.
Fortunately, she wasn't shy about tastefully photographing her beautiful self…
"Ah, wonderful inspiration," Jiraiya sighed, as he headed east again… But not before he paused by the Sandlot. Looking down, he spotted the blond kid and his gang. With a smirk, he summoned a toad and gave him a few quick instructions. The amphibian complied.
"So then I said, 'hey, if you can't take the heat, get the hell out of here,'" Seifer was relating to his cronies, before he felt something land on his head with a wet plop. An orange face peeked at him over the brim of his hat. His eyes widened.
"GAAAAAAAAAH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"
Satisfied, Jiraiya turned and headed back for his Gummi ship.
- - - - - - - - - -
Sakura was, for once, glad to have been the top kunoichi at the ninja academy. She'd memorized the emergency survival manual, which outlined how to survive with wounded teammates in hostile territory.
Drained of chakra as she was, Sakura still managed to drag Naruto and Sasuke to a hollow in between the roots of a gigantic tree. She gathered as much moss and as many branches as she could to conceal them, and make their hiding spot resemble just another part of the forest floor. That finished, she began to examine her teammates, both of whom were still out cold.
All this was done while she was very seriously considering panicking. Inner Sakura kept her calm and focused though, yelling encouragement and advice the inner personality had memorized.
Right… Pulse is faint but steady, blood pressure's stable, he's still got a high fever… Sakura looked over Sasuke's face and blushed slightly.
You know… Inner Sakura began, a perverted leer on her face.
Not now, Sakura chided. Inner Sakura sighed.
Oh fine. Hmph. We could die at any moment and you're not taking the chance to, you know…?
Now is not the time damnit!
You are such a prude! C'mon, check out the goods of our future husband, SHANNARO!
No! Now shut up! We still have to check Naruto!
The pink haired girl moved to Naruto, blushing slightly at his severely torn clothing. It exposed his tanned, and surprisingly muscled, body. She then frowned as her eyes fell on his flat stomach.
What the heck is that? I don't think that Orochimaru guy had enough time to draw this elaborate a seal on him! And why?
I don't know… It doesn't look anything like Sasuke-kun's seal, Sakura thought with a frown. Admittedly, she didn't know a whole lot about seals, but she had studied enough to know that the larger they were, the longer the preparation and the more resources needed to create it. Naruto's seal couldn't have been created in only a few minutes…
And he wasn't bitten, Inner Sakura pointed out as well.
Sakura frowned, running a hand over Naruto's belly. Cautiously, she extended her chakra senses towards the seal.
Scarlet, flames-!
She quickly withdrew her senses, shaking and taking deep breaths. The killing intent put out by Orochimaru paled in comparison to the sheer menace she'd felt. Sakura scooted back, staring down at her trembling hands. She looked back at the unconscious Naruto… Before turning back to Sasuke.
Shouldn't we check him more thoroughly?
After that? Look, I'm all alone, I have no idea what's wrong with them, we're stranded in the middle of the Chuunin exams-! I have enough stress as it is!
She bandaged up Sasuke's cuts and bruises as best she could, before reluctantly turning back to Naruto's still form. She blinked at the fact that the cuts she'd seen on him before were all gone. She bit her lower lip and shook her head, before turning to her pack and rummaging for some food. After all the adrenaline, her hunger had finally caught up.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
All throughout Training Field 44, night was falling. More than half the teams had been eliminated in the first few hours alone, falling to other ninjas or the natural hazards in the forest.
The tall, lonely tower in the center was silhouetted against the half-moon, a light that cast dark shadows wherever it touched.
Into the foreboding forest Temari stared, arms crossed over the windowsill. She rested her chin on her forearms.
"Shouldn't you be asleep?"
Temari rolled her eyes and turned her head to regard her brother.
"Speak for yourself."
Kankuro shook his head and walked next to her, peering out the window with her in silence for a few moments.
"What are you looking at?" He asked. Temari pointed to a outcropping on the tower, and Kanakuro's eyes widened.
"He's been sitting there ever since that chakra explosion," Temari spoke, her eyes shifting back to Gaara from the forest. He sat on the ledge, one arm on his folded knee, his unblinking eyes staring into the darkness beyond.
"That's pretty weird… Even for him," Kankuro allowed. Temari bit her lip.
"Do you… Do you think that it had something to do with that blond kid?"
Kankuro raised an eyebrow at his sister and scoffed.
"Him? What makes you think he had anything to do with it?"
Temari frowned, lowering her chin into her arms even more.
"You saw how Gaara reacted around him… And that weapon of his…"
Kankuro rolled his eyes.
"Temari, the Keyblade's a myth. It's not like some giant key-shaped piece of crap could actually do anything."
Temari snorted. "Made you back down."
"No, Gaara made me back down," Kankuro retorted. "I'm telling you, that punk's dead and his stupid weapon's been taken for a souvenir."
Temari frowned thoughtfully and turned her gaze back to her youngest brother. He was still there, still staring, a strange look on his face. Rather than being devoid of emotion or filled with insane glee, his face had an expectant look. Probing, almost curious.
"Maybe you're right," she mumbled, standing up. She walked over to her bunk and unceremoniously slumped down in it.
He's probably right… But still…
It was an old story her mother had told her when she was little. When her father was not so mad, so cold. Before Gaara, when Kankuro was still a baby. It was one of the few pleasant memories she had from her childhood, filled with strict training and shadowy political games well before her father decided he wanted a demon container weapon.
It had a brave young man, who was given a weapon of incredible power and chaotic good. He was chosen to wield it, as his world died around him and his friends were lost to darkness. Across world after world he fought to save those he cared for, to save everything from plunging into eternal darkness. He met so many different peoples and saw so many wondrous things. Wish granting spirits in lamps, fish people who lived under the ocean, dragons and witches and demons…
The story always ended with the young man saving the day. Often at great personal risk and loss, but always did he pull through. Always did good triumph over evil.
When she died, when Gaara was born… When her father saw his children as merely means to an end, as tools… She hated her mother a little. Hated her for telling such wonderful stories, filling her with hope and happiness, and having all that good feeling shattered into oblivion by her father's ambitions and her uncle's hatred. She'd tried so hard to forget, but that blond boy…
He's probably dead anyway, she told herself firmly. Those were just stories. There are no happy endings. And there is no Keyblade.
With this she went to sleep, all the while Gaara sat outside the window, staring into the abyss. (New)
- - - - - - - - -
Anko had seen a lot in her years of service to Konoha. Particularly as an apprentice to one of the most infamous, psychotic missing nin the village had ever had. The genin team before her was nothing she hadn't seen before. Or rather, what was left of them in the forest clearing, near the walls of the village.
And that was the problem.
"We found them this morning," a cat-masked ANBU reported flatly. "Judging by the decay the med ninjas found, they can't have been dead more than a day or two."
"Just in time for the chuunin exams," Anko noted flatly. "The jutsu that did this… I've seen it before."
"Then… It is him?" Asked an owl-faced ANBU, a hint of nervousness in his young voice. Anko rolled her eyes.
"His name isOrochimaru," she hissed in disgust. The ANBU stiffened, as Anko rolled her eyes.
Newbies… She bent down and examined the corpses more closely. Her brown eyes narrowed, as she took a deep whiff with her nose.
"Grass nin."
"How can you tell?" The owl ANBU asked. Anko rolled her eyes.
"Because they smell like the grass nin at the exams." She stood up and glowered. "Combined with that explosion a few hours ago and looks like the old snake bastard's back in town." She turned to the cat ANBU.
"You, report this to the Hokage," she ordered, and the ninja vanished. Anko turned to the owl masked ninja with a slightly sadistic smirk.
"And you… Come with me. We're checking out some things."
"Um, wouldn't you prefer a full team?" He asked nervously. Anko's smirk didn't waver.
"Sorry, I'm pretty sure my rank is tokubetsu jounin. What's yours?"
"J-Just chuunin, ma'am," he replied nervously, Anko's killing intent (and no doubt reputation) affecting his verbal skills. The trench coat-clad kunoichi grinned.
"THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU STILL STANDING THERE FOR? GET GOING!"
The owl ANBU was off like a shot, Anko right behind him.
Newbies, she thought, only this time in twisted amusement as she savored the fear in the younger ninja. (New)
- - - - - - - - - - - -
"You told me you wouldn't interfere."
Maleficent smirked, not bothering to look at the speaker in the tree behind her.
"And I didn't…"
Orochimaru smirked. He'd played this game many times with the witch, and truth be told he enjoyed it on a perverse level. She was almost as cunning, ruthless, and powerful as he was. She'd make a good host body… If not for the fact that he wanted to wield chakra as well as magic, and that her body was completely wrong for taijutsu.
He was a ninja before anything else, and preferred the life he'd chosen.
His musings were cut off by Maleficent's next statement.
"I am merely here to observe."
"You really expect me to believe that?" The snake sannin hissed. "You think I don't know about your influence on Kabuto?"
Maleficent raised her eyebrows.
"He has considerable talent. If you are to finally wield the Heartless, I'd like to know just what kind of army you've built. The strength of their hearts, among other things."
She finally turned around, gaze icy cold on the snake sannin, who returned the gesture with a murderous glare full of his killing intent.
"You know that won't work on me. Don't forget who it is who controls the Heartless."
"Don't forget that you are on my world," Orochimaru sneered. "Even the Heartless are not invincible." Maleficent smirked.
"I see… You are not completely absent of sense…" She turned back again, and the sannin seethed.
"I will make an offering, a show of good will," Maleficent spoke then. Orochimaru frowned.
"What kind of… Offering?"
"I will grant the genin team from your village the power to summon and control the Heartless. If they prove themselves… Competent, then I will grant you the same power. If not… You will have to fine some other means of convincing me that my time has not been wasted on you."
Orochimaru smirked, even as insane rage blazed in his yellow eyes.
"Very well…"
The witch vanished, and Orochimaru left, in his mind repeating his vow that when he gained power over the Heartless, he'd enjoy watching Maleficent die. Slowly.
But for now… He had an old student to reunite with…
- - - - - - - - - - - -
"Iruka-sensei!"
The scarred-man looked up from his paperwork, and smiled happily at his favorite student.
Ex-student, he reminded himself, but he'd prefer not to dwell on that. He smiled at him happily.
"Naruto! What brings you here?"
The orange and black-clad ninja swung in through the open window and landed easily on the floor. He grinned broadly back at him.
"Just visiting!"
Iruka frowned at his student. They'd talked little about his mission to Wave Country, and Iruka was nearly to the breaking point when it came to demanding answers from Naruto. The official report alone had nearly driven him to confronting Kakashi directly, though there was little he could do. Kakashi had prepared the genin as best he could, Iruka knew this, but...
It still hurt to be unable to do anything for his students.
"Shouldn't you be meeting Kakashi?"
Naruto snorted.
"He never shows up on time. Well, he does, just not when he says he will."
Iruka grimaced. Kakashi's 'punctuality' was infamous. He took a deep breath, and gave Naruto a serious look.
"Naruto... Kakashi mentioned something in his report to the Hokage..." Iruka noted how Naruto's expression became stiff.
"... Is there anything you want to talk about?" Iruka asked. Naruto bit his lip.
"Is this about... The Kyuubi?"
"Have you spoken about it, to anyone?"
"No," Naruto replied. He smiled before summoning the Keyblade in his hand.
"See? It's all... Its not like it was with the... The fox..."
"It's chakra?" Iruka asked. Naruto nodded and sucked a deep breath through his teeth.
"It... She... I think, it talked to to me in a dream."
Iruka also took a deep breath.
"I... I see."
"She... It... Offered me power. To let me... Let me use it's power." Naruto looked fearfully at Iruka, who merely stared at Naruto expectantly.
"And?"
"And... And, aren't you wondering what I said?"
"No. Because I know you said no," the chuunin replied, a soft smile on his face. Naruto nodded, smiling back.
"What I want to know, Naruto, is why you haven't talked to anyone else about this? Or why your sensei didn't talk about it!" Iruka shouted. Naruto cringed.
"I only had it this morning!"
Iruka sighed.
"Still... You should tell the Hokage about this."
"I know, it's just... I don't want the old man to worry..." Naruto sighed.
"And really... What can he do? I can't get rid of the Keyblade... And I might use the Kyuubi's power again. I don't want to but... But what can I do? Is there some kind of jutsu I can use for this?"
Iruka closed his eyes sadly.
"I don't know..." He reopened his eyes, and moved around his desk. He took Naruto into a hug, and Naruto tensed a little at the contact.
"But we'll find out, I promise," Iruka said finally. Naruto nodded, smiling back.
It wasn't the first nightmare he had since he returned, and even after telling the Hokage, even after checking the seal, they continued. There was nothing that could be done, except trust in the Fourth Hokage… And Naruto.
Iruka grimaced, the light from the waning moon shining through his apartment window. He couldn't see the Forest of Death from here, but his memories provided enough background to imagine what his students might be going through.
He'd caught a few snippets of gossip saying how tough the competition was this year, not to mention that practically every ninja had felt that glimmer of the Kyuubi's power.
Did you use the Kyuubi's power, Naruto?
Willingly, he wouldn't, Iruka knew this, but the chuunin could remember the terror of the Kyuubi's power. More than its ability to topple mountains or cause tsunami with its tails, the suffocating chakra aura that stretched for miles made it so legendary, so terrifying. It made you feel utterly insignificant, like the ant underneath the heel of a boot.
The surge of the Kyuubi's power was no where near as strong as when the beast first attacked the village, but it was painfully familiar.
And yet… He shook his head. What the panicking ANBU and ninja had seemed to miss was the fact that the Kyuubi's chakra hadn't been as hostile as before. It was muted, as thought mixed with something else, something less malevolent.
He had no idea what had happened, the ANBU were keeping everything silent, but all the same… Iruka was comforted by the fact that, if Naruto had truly been killed there would have been a much, much bigger explosion.
How could Naruto go out with anything less?
Despite the fear he had for his surrogate little brother, he couldn't help but smile at this. And hope, as tenuous as it seemed, grew inside him.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
"Why hello, Anko-chan."
Anko's eyes narrowed, the familiar hiss of her sensei's voice behind her sparking anger inside her heart. He stood before her, dressed like a jounin from Otogakure, a sinister smirk on his face. She smirked back.
"You son of a whore… I'm actually glad you're back."
"Oh really?" Orochimaru asked, amused. Anko nodded… Before blurring and slamming an elbow into the snake sannin's face.
"So I can kill you! You fucking bastard!" She roared, attacking with furious, agile and serpentine strikes, kicks, and punches. Orochimaru, amused, blocked every attack with ease, finally catching her right wrist and yanking her stomach into his knee in a quick, violent moment.
"Oof!" Anko huffed, as Orochimaru held her. Her skin crawled at his touch, and she glared hatefully up into the face of her former sensei.
"You've grown soft, weak," the snake sannin chuckled. "Still the mere girl I knew so long ago. Well, I can't say I'm surprised." He bent down and whispered in her ear, sadistic amusement in his eyes as she squirmed, trying to get away.
"You were afailed experiment… Little more than a broken test tube, a discarded blueprint…"
"Shut the fuck up!" Anko roared, snakes lashing out of her sleeves and driving into Orochimaru. Or at least they would, if he had not leapt away and swatted the hissing beasts away with ease. His smirk never faded.
"Oh, touched a sore nerve did I? Yes, I imagine it took some time to recover trust from this pitiful village… But they'll never fully trust you, Anko-chan. They're ignorant, weak, pathetic…"
"I'd take every one of them, hooker and jerks included, over you," she hissed back, throwing a kunai. Orochimaru caught it between his fingers easily, tossing it aside.
"I'm sure… A pack of vermin is stronger together… But still no match for a predator," the sannin chuckled. Anko smirked.
"Oh really? I hear a certain fox gave you some trouble today? Losing your touch in your old age, asshole?" The tokubetsu jounin taunted. A flash of real rage entered Orochimaru's eyes, a sign of his she'd been able to read, and her grin widened.
"A minor setback only, and I achieved my goal," Orochimaru went on, the anger dying in his eyes. But he'd lost control, which he never did before.
"Oh?"
"The Sharingan will someday be mine," the sannin replied with a sickly smile. "And the Kyuubi brat, well… His toy makes him no champion. One day… He too will fall, like all of you pitiful mortals."
"Too bad you'll never see that day, huh bastard?" Anko grinned. "Sōjasōsai no Jutsu!"
Two black snakes leaped out of her sleeves, locking onto Orochimaru's wrists with their fangs. Another pair of reptiles emerged and bit into Anko's wrists, and her smile became more peaceful.
"It's over… You lose… You should have never taught me this technique…"
"I suppose not… You could have saved your pitiful life if I hadn't," Orochimaru grinned. He yanked the snake's fangs out of his wrists and tugged Anko to him, catching her in an embrace. Her eyes widened as he grinned, and bent down to whisper in her ear.
"Cancel the Chuunin exams for this… and I will destroy the village…"
He raised his head to smile down at his failed student, enjoy her hopeless expression… And instead met her smirk as a dozen explosive notes lit up in her jacket.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!
The explosion wiped out the equivalent of a city-block of the forest, and everything within in… Leaving the real Mitarashi Anko and the owl-masked ANBU to stare at the devastation.
"Did-Did you get him?" The ANBU asked. Anko sighed, eyes genuinely melancholy.
"No… Check the chakra signatures through the flames. He used a clone too. The whole thing was just to send a message."
"A…A message?" The ANBU asked. Anko nodded grimly.
"Yes… We'd better alert the Hokage. C'mon."
- - - - - - - - - -
Updated 12/13/07: Did some additional editing and added a scene with Temari and Kankuro discussing the fall out from Naruto's attack (marked with a (New) at the end of the scene). As well as removing all mention of "dattebayo". As it's intended to be added onto the end of a sentence to emphasize it and make it sound tougher, for story purposes it has been replaced with a simple emphasis on certain words and, where appropriate, swearing.
Updated 6/18/07: Added a revised ending, with Anko's confrontation with Orochimaru. Also fixed a few spelling and grammar errors.
I know, it's something of a filler chapter, but it's setting background for the future story. Plus, while updates are going to be a bit slower for the time being (Summer cold, among other things), I don't want to leave you, my loyal readers, with nothing.
Hope I kept everyone in character for the most part.
Due to very credible criticism by my beta reader, magic and chakra will be different forces. Shaped and manipulated in the same ways, but of fundamentally different forces.
Hope you liked Jiraiya and Mickey's friendship, and a little peek into my interpretation of Twilight Town. You'll see it again, just not any time soon.
Not writing a preview for the next chapter this time. Just know that'll show the end of the Forest of Death and get us into the third part of the Chuunin exams. As always, I welcome criticism and suggestions on various aspects of the story.