Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! It is property of Masashi Kishimoto!
Orochimaru looked to his servant, the medical ninja, Kabuto Yakushi, with disinterest as the boy readied himself. He was becoming quite bored, a state that was quite troublesome for him to be in. It was not healthy for him or anyone else in the world. And yet, here he was, bored and at the same time irritated at his boredom.
"Is something wrong, Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked with a bit of concern, whether it was genuine or not was hard to say.
Orochimaru shrugged, and Kabuto resumed his preparation, cleaning his weapons, making sure everything was just right. "You will not fail me," he ordered in a cool voice.
Kabuto did not look up as he answered, "Yes, my lord." He chose then to look at the snake sannin, his black eyes meeting the snakelike ones of his lord. "Are you sure you would like me to only recover Sasuke? No one else?" By this he meant of course Anko Mitarashi. Kabuto could tell that the thought of his first pupil was clouding his master's brain and wanted nothing more than to make his master happy.
"Your orders are to retrieve Sasuke after I have bestowed the curse mark on him," Orochimaru said with malice, irritated to have to repeat himself. "That is your only order. You will leave Anko out of this." He paused with a sigh, his hand reaching into the folds of his sleeve. As it retracted, his hand pulled from the opening of the fabric a white snake, its skin almost iridescent as it moved about. "And besides, I want to be the one to visit Anko. You just make sure that nothing upsets the chunin exams."
OOO
"How did I end up here?" Anko thought as she sat at a large, wooden meeting table, her head resting in her hand as she stared at the people in front of her. Because of the upcoming exam, the proctors were to meet to discuss their tests and whatnot. Anko would rather be sleeping.
Ibiki Morino sat to her left explaining the procedure of his exam comprised of the same written test she had taken. Again she thought of why she should be here. They had all taken this exam before; it hadn't changed besides the proctors. And what did it matter to her what Ibiki did during his exam? It all seemed like nonsense to her anyways.
Ibiki Morino would be administering the first exam, the written exam, as he had done for many years it seemed. Anko thought this to be because of the jonin's ability to torment a person from the inside, torturing them into submission. It was quite cruel.
She would be giving the second exam, the Forest of Death. Anko could hardly wait to make the genin squirm. She could almost see the looks of fear on their faces as she explains the rules of the exam, hear their nervous chatter. Anko even thought she could smell their delectable scent of blood as it spilled onto the forest floor.
Hayate Gekkō was the third exam's proctor, the tournament style exam. Upon looking at him, Anko could not help but feel that they might need a new examiner. The man looked as if he was dying as he coughed erratically, causing her to squirm uncomfortably in her seat.
She had never felt as incredibly bored as she stared at the two men as they talked about the upcoming exam and some of the genin who were testing this year. She had heard much of the same information from Kurenai already. Anko decided to tune them out, choosing to instead stare at the window ahead of her, watching the clouds drift by peacefully. So peaceful and free. How she envied those clouds.
And so the mundane chatter continued as Anko nodded her head occasionally to at least look as though she was paying attention. Twice Ibiki kicked her under the table, indicating that someone had actually spoken to her and was waiting for an answer. She would grimace as she contributed, rubbing her sore shin under the table and shooting Ibiki a scowl. He would smirk at her as they stared at each other until Anko surrendered and diverted her glare to the window ahead, ignoring the scarred man who smiled with victory.
Suddenly, Anko felt something slithering around her feet, finding its way up her leg, continuing its journey to her thigh. She jumped back instinctively, causing her chair to topple over with her still in it. She fell to the floor hard, the other men staring in shock and confusion, causing a loud clatter as the chair made contact with the wooden floor.
Slithering in a circle around her was a snake, a white snake to be exact. It seemed harmless at first until it stopped, looking at Anko directly for a mere moment, baring its teeth in what her tormented thoughts convinced her was a smile. In that time, the other men broke from their stupor, and one used a kunai to quickly kill the snake, decapitating it. Its crimson blood stained the floor, pooling underneath it as its snow white body quivered slightly before lying still.
The men diverted their gaze to Anko who sat shaking on the floor, her brown eyes trained on the carcass of the snake that had previously been slithering up her leg. A white snake. He had once told her that they were his favorite, pure as snow. A pang of fear mixed with anger shot through her, causing her to shiver slightly, enough for the others to notice.
Ibiki knelt down next to her, offering a hand. She did not acknowledge him, and upon further investigation, Ibiki noticed her own hands, clenched into tight fists with her knuckles as white as the deceased snake.
"Anko," he said worriedly, touching her arm gently. The physical contact seemed to break her of her paralyzed state, and she quickly stood, disregarding Ibiki. In a panicked frenzy, she fled the room, leaving behind a group of very confused and worried shinobi.
"What was that about?" one who would be acting as a sentinel asked, looking from the snake to the door in confusion.
Ibiki sighed in irritation. "You're all idiots," he muttered, heading for the door. He stopped, pointing at the snake and scowling at the men. "Who else could provoke that level of fear in her?"
He left the room to chase after Anko to make sure she was alright. The others looked at each other, everyone afraid to say the name coursing through each man's thoughts.
"Orochimaru."
OOO
Anko ran blindly toward what she hoped was the Hokage mansion. Her sense of direction was shot, and she was running purely on adrenaline and fear. She tripped suddenly, falling on the ground but stood quickly and ran again, ignoring the pain from her knee and the wet substance dripping from it. Tears stung her eyes, and she wiped them away vigorously as she approached the mansion, now finally coming into view. Distantly she could hear a familiar voice calling her name worriedly, but she ignored it, running up the stairs in a flash and barging into the Hokage's office unannounced without so much as a knock.
The Hokage sat at his desk rifling through the paperwork that never seemed to cease, peering up at Anko who stood in the doorway breathing heavily, unable to say a word. He stood, looking at the violet haired girl with concern. He crossed the room slowly as if any sudden movement would cause her to completely lose what little composure and sanity she had left.
Adrenaline finally subsiding, Anko fell to her knees in exhaustion, the tears finally escaping her eyes. Footsteps sounded behind her as a person entered the office but stopped in the doorway. There was a strong hand on her shoulder that she was subconsciously aware of, and then she was standing, her arm supported by the same hand. She was led to a chair, and she gratefully collapsed into it, her head in her hands as sobs began to rack her body. An awkward silence ensued.
"What happened?"
Ibiki told the Hokage all that happened: the white snake, Anko's reaction, even his suspicion of Orochimaru.
"Maybe we should postpone the chunin exam," Ibiki suggested. Anko shook her head, rubbing her eyes and looking at the men, trying to gather her thoughts. Everyone probably thought she was insane, and, in truth, she was not quite sure of her sanity either.
"I'll be damned if we cancel the chunin exam because of me," she growled.
"It's not just you, and you know it!" Ibiki countered.
"Both of you stop this!" the Hokage ordered, and the two grew silent. He sighed. "The chunin exam will proceed as planned. We will have full security active and ready for anything. For now, we will treat this as a coincidence. No one needs to know about this. We will forget it happened."
"But Lord Hokage," Anko interrupted, "We have to send someone out there! He's waiting somewhere close; I just know it! Send me!" She pointed to herself in anguish. Anko needed to do this. She needed this to end.
"No, Anko," he said. "It was just a white snake, and that is all. That is all we will treat it as."
"But you know it's him! He was your student! Someone has to go after him!" she shouted. Ibiki shot her a look of disapproval, obviously warning her to watch her tone. She ignored him, as she had been doing a lot of and continued to challenge the Hokage.
"All available hands are readying for the chunin exam. Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, and Guy are all busy with their own genin. I very well can't send you or any of the other proctors on missions, and you know why," he said, and Anko scowled, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest. "I know he was my student and because of this I take full responsibility for whatever happens. But you need not worry about it." He turned away, signaling that this meeting was over. Anko rose from her chair, leaving the room quickly before Ibiki had a chance to stop her. In her haste, she accidently collided with a gray haired shinobi, knocking the glasses from his face. Muttering an apology, Anko fled the mansion.
The shinobi stood, placing his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. He stared after the girl with interest, smirking.
"You are so cruel, Lord Orochimaru," he thought and continued on his way.
OOO
And so the chunin exam commenced…
Anko pushed the thoughts of her sensei away, leaving them to fight for attention in the back of her mind as she made last minute preparations for her exam. She had an hour until the genin were finished with the test, and then, they would be all hers. They wouldn't even know what hit them.
Anko had been keeping herself busy, anything to distract herself. She knew what would come if she did not. The only time of the day she had a problem was at night, when distractions were unavailable, and she was left to her own devices. That was when her mind betrayed her, and the thoughts of him seeped in. Her dreams had become so lifelike she almost mistook them for reality.
But they were only dreams, and she knew this. Could her mind not rest for one night? Could it not keep drifting to thoughts of Orochimaru? Anko knew the answer. It would not stop until one of the two was dead. She could only hope it would be Orochimaru to die so that his reign of terror could finally cease to be. Anko could only be so lucky.
Everything was prepared, and Anko was feeling a bit accomplished as she stood back and admired the stack of scrolls neatly lined up under the table. Neat and orderly: the complete opposite of her life. She grabbed a bag of supplies, making her way toward the academy.
OOO
Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma were sitting comfortably when she arrived, chatting about the exam, their students, and Ibiki. Kakashi seemed almost disinterested as Asuma explained Ibiki's tactics to Kurenai who seemed to look worried for her students. It was so like Kakashi to seem detached from his students whilst Kurenai actually had feelings for them, almost like a mother or a big sister. Asuma also showed a bit of concern, less than Kurenai but more than Kakashi. As Anko thought about it, she determined a log showed more compassion than Kakashi sometimes, but that was beside the point.
Not saying a word, Anko sat down at the far end of the couch, pulling the contents from her bag. She laid a long, black sheet around her, beginning to tie the corners to kunai. The jonin's chatter began to quiet as the three looked at her in confusion.
"What is that for?" Kurenai asked.
"Oh just a little introduction for the little genin," Anko smirked, tying a knot around the kunai handle and pulling it tight. The three still looked unconvinced but dropped the matter, knowing better than to question Anko's methods.
Finally, as Anko was tying the last knot, Kurenai spoke up, her voice a bit timid. "Anko, are you sure you're alright?" Anko's hands paused for a split second before she pulled the fabric tightly, sealing the knot.
She looked to the group and smiled as convincingly as she could. "I'm fine. Nothing to worry about!" Then, checking the clock, she rose, grabbing her creation in her hands and wrapping it around herself, each hand holding two kunai. "Looks like they're done. I better get going." Before the three could protest, Anko shot from the room. In the distance, the jonin could hear the sound of glass breaking as though a bullet had been shot through a window.
"She jumped through the window?" Asuma asked in disbelief, looking toward the academy.
"Honestly, what did that accomplish?" Kurenai added as she stood next to Asuma. "Besides a mess for someone to clean up and a group of genin who probably won't take her seriously or will think she is completely insane and a bit scary."
"I would say she scared the genin alright," Kakashi concluded. "And would you expect any less from her. This is probably also to show that she still has the spontaneous and irrational side that we all know she had, or used to have. " The three nodded in agreement.
"Truthfully, it's comforting to see that she still has that side to her. I mean, given all that's happened. I don't think I would be able to put up such a brave front if I was in her position," Kurenai said quietly.
At that moment, Guy walked into the room to deliver the news of their teams' advancement to the next round. He had a strange look on his face, one of disbelief mixed with a bit of awe. "Did anyone just see Anko jump through a window? What a display of the power of youth!"
Kakashi shook his head. "Leave it to Guy to brighten a previously solemn mood."
~AN~
I'm sorry... I just had to add Guy in there! I felt like I was leaving him out for some reason! I just don't see Guy and Anko getting along!
Anyways, it feels like forever (I blame school...). So I hope this is ok... not the best chapter in my opinion but I can't wait until next chapter. Anko and Orochimaru reunion time! yay! So thanks to anyone who is still reading!
and on a side note: I apologize Ninjasheik... I really want to read another chapter of your story but man school has been just nonstop right now! Maybe this weekend!