Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1.

AN: Chapter title: Dog and Snake

Anko Mitarashi was not having what one would call a good time since the failed invasion.

Scratch that, she was having a terrible time stemming from the fact that she had to hide herself away near 24/7.

A visit to Kurenai, and later dragging Kakashi into it, spurred on by Ibiki and his 'gentle urgings' (like she wouldn't recognize his leading questions), had proven that she couldn't even use a Genjutsu to conceal her new form from sight. The red eyed Genjutsu expert had told her that whatever had happened to her, the deeper changes it had caused, shattered any Genjutsu she tried to place on her, overwhelmed them in the blink of an eye. There was nothing she could do to disguise the changes, to try and get back to even a semblance of her normal life.

Kakashi's Sharingan had confirmed such a thing when he had shown up.

She was half tempted to head to the only full blooded Uchiha in the village to get a second opinion but that plan had quickly proven too much of a hassle.

He and the Uzumaki had vanished to the Uchiha District that continued to be remodeled by the blonde's army of clones. Both of them were nearly impossible to reach with the hundreds of clones that kept the area under watch at all hours of the day.

With no other option she remained stuck looking like a monster from someone's nightmares, stuck with this endless migraine that refused to go away, stuck with this aggravating hole in her memory, and stuck with a hunger she couldn't sate.

"Hey Anko." Kakashi had picked her locked door. Again. The masked Jonin had been one of her few consistent visitors only because his injuries had him off active duty for a while longer. Kurenai was running around with Asuma and both were probably getting ready for another mission, Ibiki was still dealing with not only the Leaf's overflowing prisons but also probably dealing with the Uzumaki. The other Chunin and Jonin she knew were hard pressed to find any free time with the sheer number of missions the Hokage had begun pushing out to his Shinobi.

She didn't verbally respond. She turned her yellow eyes to him before her focus returned to glaring at her wall.

"I brought dango." The masked Jonin lifted the bag in his hand.

She merely shook her head. Not even her favorite snack could make this day any better.

Kakashi closed and locked the door behind him, set the bag in front of her like he had done every time he had shown up.

"I guess there's nothing new for you either, huh?" He examined the mask she had chosen to use when she headed out. It wasn't the snake theme that he thought she would use. He guessed that, despite how much time passed since then, the reptile still reminded her of her once teacher more often than not.

It was a dog mask actually.

"The Genin are getting promoted soon." He was not good at small talk. It was something he knew very well about himself. "I managed to drag those two out of their tower long enough to tell them when to show up." Anko didn't offer a response. She didn't care for the Genin getting promoted. "After the ceremony's over with I can drag the Uchiha over here to see if he can do something…"

She shook her head. Her much longer and blue hair was a nuisance she couldn't muster up the care to tie back. It went swinging back and forth around her head, back and forth over her shoulders, and it got in her eyes.

Kakashi noticed how she flicked a few stubborn blue locks back, careful not to move her new razor-sharp claws too suddenly. Her apartment was currently covered in an inordinate amount of scratches from when she was still getting used to the changes to her hands.

Her light switches had suffered an abundance of casualties in her ongoing battle not to scratch everything.

Kakashi gathered her hair in his hands.

She nearly jumped out of her seat, was halfway to turning around and gutting whoever had snuck up on her.

"It's just me." He laid one of his hands on her shoulder. She calmed down quickly but still turned her head so he could catch sight of her raised eyebrow.

What are you doing?

He didn't answer. He put both of his hands to work instead.

Anko stopped herself from reacting any more than she already had, her clawed fingers curling into her palm. Her skin was about the only thing that her nails couldn't seem to pierce no matter how much pressure she used. It was both a blessing and a curse. At the very least, clenching her hands into fists served as a way to prevent herself from damaging anymore of her home with the claws she wished she didn't have.

She swallowed when his finger brushed the back of her neck.

She focused her amber eyes on the wall in front of her and refused to fully acknowledge the situation.

She figured, if she still even could with all the crazy things happening to her body, her face would be bright red at the moment. It wasn't everyday a man as famous Kakashi Hatake did her hair. It had been a long time since anyone had been brave, or stupid, enough to get this close to her.

"You know, I don't think I ever got the chance to say thank you."

"W-What?"

"I never thanked you for saving my life. Whatever you did after I blacked out, you saved my life. Pakura definitely would have killed me but you stopped her, you beat her when I couldn't no matter what I threw at her. You saved my life twice in that fight."

"You don't have to th-" Her body suddenly went rigid, sealed her mouth shut, and sent her nearly flying from her seat. Kakashi turned his eye to the door when a knock sounded through the apartment.

"I-I need to go." Anko was out of sight faster than he had ever seen her move. He made to reach out to her but she was already at the window, her mask hanging off her face as her hands scrambled to unlock the window. The only reason he managed to catch her shoulder was because of her unwieldly claws. She hadn't gotten use to them yet, couldn't get them around the lock in her haste.

"Wait." He was thankful she listened, didn't bolt from the room. "You don't have to go." He offered what he hoped was a comforting squeeze to her shoulder. "I called in a favor to someone who can help."

"How?" Her yellow eyes met his, a fearful hope in them that didn't fit the Anko Mitarashi he knew. She was never afraid, always driven, always focused. "You heard Kurenai and you said so yourself, I can't hide…" Her clawed hands balled into fists at her side as she looked down to the floor. "Any of this."

"Just trust me. I'm sure they can help." He wished he was as sure of himself as his words were. He had banked everything on this actually, truly hoped this would work out for the best, not end in another disappointment for the woman who had saved his life twice over.

"O-Ok." She settled down, let him guide her back to her seat.

Kakashi left her for only a moment to answer the door.

The white-haired man at the other end was entirely serious as he entered. It was almost strange to see him in such a state after seeing his loud and boisterous nature on full display after the invasion had ended, when he had regaled any who would listen of the epic battles he had been part of, told everyone of the fury of the Hidden Leaf Shinobi that had battled so tirelessly to repel the enemy from both within and outside the village. It was almost as if he was a different person away from the public eye, without the need to rally a village recovering from a near disaster.

He laid a hand on Kakashi's shoulder.

"You don't need to worry about her any longer. She's in good hands. I'll fix this."

"Yeah…" He didn't believe it. It wasn't without reason. They had exhausted every other option they could think of. It was why he had called him.

Jiraiya continued on.

He would fix this. He had undone the mistakes of his once comrade time and time again in the past.

This would be no different.

It couldn't be.

He brought his hands together.

"Let's get started!"