Chapter 24

"Why are you here?" Minami stood, smoothing her Kimono and tightening the wrapping that tied in a bow around her waist. The tie looked as straight as ever from the front.

"Refuge," Anomie cut straight to the point, deciding against being coy as Minami always had a tendency to beat the coyness out of her.

"You seek refuge from me?" Minami's lips curled into an ugly smile that reminded Anomie of the dream she once had of burning this place to the ground.

"We are the same," At this point, it was only pride that kept her standing. "Oiran look after each other. I was told that once."

Minami's lips curled into a smirk, "by what? A greeting card?"

"By a much prettier Tayū than you. Younger too." Anomie retorted simply as she watched through hooded lids as Minami took a step closer.

"I see. You're trying to taunt me?" Minami let out a hollow laugh, her voice rumbling against her chest. "You stupid child, I don't see any benefit this could leave me."

Anomie's lips twitched in a display of amusement. In mere moments, she was in front of the Tayū with her fingers pressed tightly against the woman's throat. "I am weakened and exhausted, but I could still snap you in half like a twig."

Minami's lips curled up as she dragged her fingers over the palm that squeezed her neck. "You're trying to frighten a whore? Who do you think you're talking to? Is it Tuesday already, because these consistent threats all just run together."

Anomie shook her head with a smile as she leaned in closer to the woman's lips. "They can only kill you, Mimi. Don't forget," Anomie dragged her lips near the woman's ear. "I can destroy you."

Minami's heart didn't skip or slow, and the woman merely laughed, causing Anomie to let her throat free.

"I don't like you, Kiyomi," Minami commented with a bitter and wry smile. "But I'll be damned if I said I didn't respect you. A whore going from the bed in the slums to a bed of a criminal."

Anomie scoffed at the notion of her every allowing Orochimaru bed her. The man would sooner fuck a snake.

"It did sound like a greeting card when you said it out loud," Minami shoved past her, knocking her shoulder against Anomie's in a merciless shove that would have once likely caused Anomie to fall backwards. Pride was all that kept her going at this moment. "But you're right. My loyalty is here, in this house. You could burn this village to the ground and we'll be paid to fuck its ashes."

"I don't hate you at all, Mimi-chan," Anomie commented offhandedly. "To be honest, I would even say that I liked you. You're stronger than most ninja I meet and you've got more balls than most men."

"That's because at the end of the night, I steal men's balls and feed them to the dogs," Minami commented simply, and for a moment Anomie was reminded of a bitchier version Ohashi. It was a nostalgic pity, and Anomie found that she was attracted to Minami just as much as she had been attracted to Ohashi.

And she hated Minami just as much as she had hated Ohashi, but hatred didn't matter when she immersed herself in the musings of whores.

"All this time," Anomie stated, feeling her strength begin to drift. "And I'm back where I started…crossing over the threshold of a whore house…" Anomie's legs finally gave out, and for the first time, she saw surprise drift over Minami's face as the Tayū moved toward Anomie's falling body. "Because there's nothing else I can do and nowhere else I can go."

Anomie let out a shallow laugh as the blurry image of Minami began to drift in and out of sight. For a moment, the beautiful woman almost looked like Ohashi.

"There is always another place to go," Minami whispered. "We're just too afraid to go there."

"I'd rather fuck the ashes," Anomie whispered as Minami cradled her head in her lap.

She heard the Tayū let out a sweet chuckle. "Always so charming."

Anomie closed her eyes and let go of her pride to rest.

»»⎯⎯⎯¤⎯⎯⎯««

Sakura started the morning confused. For some odd reason, Ino was giving her the stink eye when she walked near the Yamanaka flower shop. Usually, the two would walk to school every morning, but this morning, Ino just shoved by her and nearly knocked her off balance.

Sakura brows furrowed and she rushed to catch up, "YAH! What's you're problem?"

Ino didn't look happy to be called out and almost immediately turned towards Sakura with a scowl. "Bite me, forehead!"

Sakura stopped speed walking and just stood in the middle of the road, watching as Ino continued walking without her.

Could she be mad because I didn't hang out with her yesterday? Sakura frowned, she had meant to ask her mother if she could meet up with Ino, but because of the migraine that erupted in her temples, it had slipped her mind.

Sakura's eyes filled with tears as she pressed her fingers against her forehead. Her bottom lip trembled and she quickly attempted to hide her tears with her hair as she walked to class.

"Stupid Ino," Sakura muttered, wiping away her tears.

By the time she got to class, another weird thing happened. Naruto, the annoying class troublemaker, smiled at her. Sakura furrowed her brows, sitting as far from Ino as possible, one seat away from Naruto as all the others were full. She leaned her face into her arms as she stared with envy at the seat Ino occupied next to Sasuke.

"Stupid Ino," Sakura's mumble came out muffled and quiet as her lips pressed against her arms.

"Whose stupid?" Naruto asked, scooting down a seat so he sat by her. Sakura's brows furrowed again and she jumped in surprise with the proximity of his face to hers.

"What are you doing?" Sakura hissed, backing away with a frown.

"Asking a question." Naruto stated simply, and Sakura noticed Ino giving her a scowl from the corner of her eye.

"I got that, stupid," Sakura spat out with a bit of venom.

"What's wrong with you, dattebayo?" He asked with a frown.

What the hell is going on?

»»⎯⎯⎯¤⎯⎯⎯««

Anomie awoke to the sun rising in the east through the opening of the window. She felt the strength slowly filter in her veins as her eyes blinked away the prior darkness. She saw her body was clothed with a kimono of the Yūkaku house and she felt a moment of violation that someone had dressed her.

Her hair was tied in clips and braids like that of a painted whore and slowly her brows furrowed before her eyes widened. Sakura.

The sun was still relatively low in the sky. Anomie noticed this upon standing up and glancing out the window. She placed her hand on the glass and her body turned into smoke and slipped through the tiny crevices in between the slightly open window. The moment she was outside, she was greeted with the noise of the red light district's hotel complex.

She placed her hands in quick hand signals with a sigh. She swiftly brought the Chakra into her hands, feeling the low burn of the body flicker Jutsu erupt through her hands. Ironically enough, her feet landed on the roof of the Ichiraku stand. She glanced down at it with a slight eye roll, glancing toward the horizon and overview of buildings, seeing the ninja academy in the distance.

"Damn it," she muttered, body flickering once more and landing on the ground next to the back exit.

She could feel Naruto's Chakra; which meant Kakashi wouldn't be far.

She had stupidly allowed that girl to enter the building, and now the idiot was going to ruin any chance she had to getting close to the demon with her big mouth and equally big forehead.

Anomie lightly tapped her head against the building, finding her annoyance skyrocket. She knew she couldn't use any Jutsu too close to Kakashi's observant eye, and a Jutsu as giant as a body possession would surely be noticeable.

"Damn it," she muttered once more. I should have kidnapped the girl…

Anomie realized it slowly that she had been careless. She had been kind.

"One choice then…" Anomie rolled her eyes making the symbol of Tora, and in moments a fire clone emerged next to her. It was an exact and perfect replica, and Anomie reached over and tucked a strand of her doppelgänger's hair behind her ear.

Anomie closed her eyes, searching for Kakashi's Chakra.

After a long minute, her eyes opened and her doppelgänger slightly smile in a murmur of, "Be quick about it."

Hearing her own clone sass her made Anomie's lips spread into a frown. "Bite me." Her clone rolled her eyes and disappeared, causing Anomie to scowl. "I am a bitch."

Anomie disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

»»⎯⎯⎯¤⎯⎯⎯««

Kakashi glanced towards the east towards the exit of the ninja academy, standing up on a thick branch as he felt the surge of Chakra erupt from behind the building. It was strong, much stronger than that of any children in training and stronger than a mere Chūnin instructor.

He slightly sighed, tucking his book into his pocket as he gave once last glance towards Naruto through the giant window of the ninja academy.

Before he could so much as remove the covering over his eye, a snap of fire rushed out in front of him. It was more of a surprise rather than an attack, but it was effective in causing him to lose his footing for a mere instant. His feet landed smoothly on the grass, and he glanced around with his single eye, but the area was clear aside from the birds that erupted out of the tree at the sight of a small fire.

"Wasn't that just hot?" The voice filled his heart with a cold rush of dread and he glanced up at the tree branch where he had been forcibly removed.

On top of it rested a girl, her long legs dangling over the branch in a tight and restricting kimono. Her white hair rested in many intricate clips that shined with a glamor of gold in the sun. Her eyes were narrowed in a bright flicker of amber, with only hints of specks of that once pink hue.

And in her hands rested his book that he had placed in his pocket.

"Did you miss me?" She turned a page in his book with a cold smirk as she finally stopped his heart flat in his chest as her eyes connected with his from over the book. "Don't worry, darling. I didn't miss you either."

Before the doppelgänger could so much as flip another page, Kakashi's tanto was already drawn. His speed was usually unrivaled, but Anomie always did have quick reflexes or perhaps he'd been growing lazy. Her body fell from the branch and his blade cut into the bark, causing specks to slice off as it cut through the tree completely.

"That was rather rude," Anomie commented, and he tore off his Anbu mask and uncovered his other eye. In moments, he was able to see the insignificant amount of Chakra that rested in her veins. It was flowing out like that of a weak clone. "I thought we could chat."

"Where is the host?" Kakashi ignored her comment without much effort.

"I'm afraid the real Anomie is just too busy to give you the time of day," the clone admitted, shutting the book with one hand. "I could write you up for this, you know. Reading smut while keeping an eye on children."

The clone frowned when she noticed his lips not so much as smirk. She took noticed to the way his fingers tightened around the hilt of the blade and slowly she felt her heart clench.

"Where are you?" Kakashi repeated, raising his tanto so its point was pointing straight towards her neck.

"Currently?" Anomie's lips curled in a coy smirk. "How about you play a game of hide and seek. We'll hide, and you search. You can have whatever prize you like if you win."

"I won't play your game."

The clone of Anomie tossed the book towards him so it landed at his feet, "You will for one simple reason." She held up her pointer finger as her lips curled into a smile. "I can make this village rain blood. Don't forget where we are, Kakashi. I have no problem killing a child."

"Anomie," Kakashi voice came out in a venomous hiss that made her heart clench once more. He quickly controlled and repressed the emotion in his voice. "This isn't you."

She only smiled, "I warned you before, remember? You don't really know me."

In a cascade of fire, Anomie's body disappeared.

»»⎯⎯⎯¤⎯⎯⎯««

Stupid girl. The real form of Anomie hovered over Sakura's head from the ceiling in a haze of smoke.

She glanced out the window, waiting for the signal and in a brief flicker of fire that flashed in between the trees, Anomie sighed.

"What's wrong with you, dattebayo?" Naruto asked Sakura. Anomie hated that she could see the betrayal and fear pull into Naruto's baby blue eyes.

You'll have to get used to rejection eventually kid.

Anomie filtered her body into Sakura's, and the body involuntarily leaned over to cough. But you don't have to worry about it yet.

It was a tiny cough, but slowly, she felt Sakura's mind go into slumber as Anomie took over.

"Sorry Naruto," Anomie whispered out hoarsely. "I've been getting sick and it's put me in a mood."

Naruto grinned, "That's okay, dattebayo."

Anomie smiled, and in moments, she felt her fire clone disappear and with that, all of its memories filtered into her mind. It took everything she had to keep her smile from slipping off her face as her eyes glanced out the window.

At this point, all she wanted was to place the seal on the demon's stupid body and get as far from this nightmare village as possible. Hopefully, she would be able to escape the land of Fire without being forced to walk through a crowd of bodies.

After an hour of being forced in school, Anomie became thankful she never attended as learning about the history of the Shinobi world was beyond boring. She could still feel the blonde child Ino's glare on the side of her face, making her day all the more annoying.

She didn't bother taking notes, finding no point in learning about the first leaders of the village.

Why should I care about a bunch of dead men?

"We'll be practicing Taijutsu today, so everyone follow me outside and we'll get started."

At Iruka's voice, Anomie decided that this was hell.

Naruto was practically bouncing on his heels when they all walked outside. Anomie nearly collided with Sasuke Uchiha's back when the boy cut in front of her with his hands in his pockets and girls following at his sides.

"Imma kick Sasuke's ass today, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, and Anomie watched as Sasuke's lips curled in arrogant amusement.

"Keep dreaming, loser." Sasuke muttered, causing Anomie to raise a brow.

Only the ignorant think they can be stronger than everyone else forever.

"Okay, starting up, Naruto v.s Kiba," Iruka ordered, and Naruto and Kiba simultaneously groaned.

"Aw, come on sensei, why lump the future Hokage against dog-breath, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, catching Anomie's attention and giving her a nostalgic reminder of Obito who shared the very same dream.

"Future Hokage? Pfft! Akamaru would have a better shot at being the Hokage than you, loser," Kiba retorted as he lifted the puppy up onto his head.

Naruto growled, cursed a few times, and then lost the fight after a couple minutes.

"Good fight, Naruto," Anomie whispered, glancing at Kiba's forming black eye and scowl in Naruto's direction.

"I was going easy," Naruto muttered with crossed arms.

"Sasuke v.s Sakura," Iruka ordered, and a round of annoying gasps erupted.

Am I supposed to be intimidated by some seven-year-old Uchiha bitch? Anomie was tempted to shove his face into the dirt before she remembered that Sakura was supposed to be 'in love' with the Uchiha prodigy.

Should I forfeit?

"Might as well quit now," some kid muttered from the crowd of students. "Girls suck at fighting."

Anomie wanted to scoff as she walked towards the fighting area where Sasuke already stood. He was pouting and staring into the ground as if he was too good to battle 'Sakura'.

Her lips slightly twitched up for a moment before she settled her expression into a sheepish stance that fit a child in love. Her fingers gripped onto the material of her dress as if she were nervous. "Let's do our best, Sasuke-kun."

"Whatever," Sasuke muttered, not even bothering to get into a fighting position.

"Kick his ass, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed.

Fuck it.

Sasuke rushed forward, his muscles tense. He obviously wasn't taking her seriously, and Anomie easily dodged. It was rather amusing to see him stumble forward in surprise.

He went to attack her again, and Anomie sidestepped, watching with vague amusement as Sasuke's brows furrowed and his fists clenched in annoyance.

He went to attack again, and judging by the way his muscles unlocked and his hands flexed; he was using his full strength. She knew, strength wise, this body didn't have much to offer, but she could see the way his muscles moved before he hit. It was too easy to calculate where he'd strike. His full strength didn't seem to count when he was too clumsy to use it correctly.

She almost immediately noticed that his strength and poise was nothing in comparison to Itachi Uchiha when he had been that age. Anomie blocked it again.

So much arrogance but nothing to back it up.

She saw his lips curl back in a snarl and he rushed forward again, obviously expecting her to dodge. Instead, Anomie flattened her hand and swiped it upward, knocking his arm to the side. She smacked her other palm lightly against his cheek and slightly winked before she slammed her knee into his stomach.

He curled forward and she noticed his hand reach forward to hit her stomach. She let it collide, and forced her body away so her back slid against the ground whilst Sasuke clutched his stomach, still standing.

"I forfeit!" Anomie hissed, holding her stomach as if his weak attack hurt.

Sasuke glanced at her with narrowed eyes.

Anomie smiled sweetly as she curled her body close to the ground. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?"

I believe the only thing hurt is his ego. I rather hate the lot of his clan.

»»⎯⎯⎯¤⎯⎯⎯««

"She's in the village," Sarutobi Hiruzen always counted himself as a composed man who took chaos in a calmly laid out way. Perhaps that was why he had taken a liking to the girl who reacted so similarly to issues as he himself always had.

It was clear to the Third Hokage now, that Anomie didn't put much thought into her actions. All she did was follow orders and did not process right from wrong. The Third had even begun to wonder if Anomie even knew the difference from right and wrong.

Kakashi bowed before him, his hands kneeling to the ground as his Anbu mask rested neatly on his face.

"She came to me through the makings of a clone made from fire," Kakashi's voice was emotionless, and the Hokage let out a small sigh.

"What could she want after all these months?" Sarutobi rubbed his temples, still remembering the way her face had looked so broken after he handed her those documents nearly a year ago.

She had promised to aid the village, and yet she took down nearly twenty-four of its soldiers to let an enemy escape.

"She was baiting me," Kakashi stated simply. "I have never known what she was thinking, and even less so now. However, she is still an enemy working under the Sannin, Orochimaru. She could be after anything."

"Contact the police force to station their men throughout the village," Sarutobi ordered after a long sigh.

"The Uchiha?" Kakashi questioned slowly in surprise.

"If they want to show their loyalty, there's no better time than now," Sarutobi said simply. "No one hates Anomie as much as the Uchiha anyway."

"They still blame her for the deaths?" Kakashi's voice was riddled with a concealed emotion.

"Perhaps giving them tasks will pacify them for a while," the Hokage replied as he filled out a quick note on a scroll with his signature. He rolled it up and handed it to Kakashi's awaiting grasp. "This should be enough information for them. I'll deploy Anbu."

"You're going so far for just one threat," Kakashi stated.

"I am not taking anymore chances on her," Sarutobi said simply, and in moments Kakashi bowed and body flickered away.

It was in mere moments, the Third Hokage tossed a kunai into the corner of the room. In an instant the cloud of smoke formed into a girl. Her long white hair was loose at her sides and she slowly took a step forward.

"A clone?" Sarutobi's eyes slightly narrowed, taking notice to the tiny amount of her Chakra that barely flooded her bones.

Anomie smiled and nodded, "You're sending an army after little old me?"

"Precautions."

"I get it. I barely trust me either, but I come bearing a little bit of information that I feel you are entitled," she slowly took out a scroll from her bag. It was probably the only thing on her that wasn't made from the Chakra of the actual Anomie.

She tossed it, and it landed smoothly on Sarutobi's desk.

"I still know loyalty, but there is another in this village who does not," she said simply. "There is someone who orchestrated Orochimaru's hand. You know of whom I speak, but you've never had the proof."

"Danzo…" The Third Hokage glanced down at the scroll.

"Orochimaru would never have trusted my loyalties if I stayed my hand," the nonchalance in her tone was strange considering she was talking about the murder of Konoha's ninja. Sarutobi opened his lips to speak, but she continued, "I am not asking your forgiveness. I am not asking for you to understand. Although, you of all people should know that the good of a village is never achieved without blood. That is why I am not asking…I just want to see Shimura Danzo burn."

She smiled and gave a mock bow.

"He likes to take actions without just cause from the shadows…no matter the cost. He doesn't even bloody his own hands…he makes others do it for him."

"Where are your loyalties, Kougin Anomie?" The Hokage had so many other things he wanted to ask, but he had a feeling he only had enough time for one.

"Right now? They're with you. Tomorrow? They're with me."

Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't get a chance to answer before her body disappeared.

»»⎯⎯⎯¤⎯⎯⎯««

I definitely made an enemy…

Sasuke's scowl felt potent on Anomie's, or rather Sakura's, back as she packed away her stuff while Naruto continued to practically bounce with joy from next to her. "You kicked Sasuke-teme's ass, dattebayo!" If Naruto was trying to make friends in this classroom, insulting the most popular boy in the class was not a good way to begin. Sasuke's glare alone turned poisonous.

"Naruto, I lost…badly," Anomie said simply, placing her hand on her stomach where Sakura's weak skin was starting to bruise.

Naruto began to chatter about how lame Sasuke was as the two of them walked out of the academy. Anomie barely paid any attention and filtered out his voice whilst smiling as if she was interested in what he had to say.

For the most part, she noticed the surges in Chakra all around. At the same time she felt the clone she sent to the Hokage disappear. In moments, the clone's memories filtered into her mind. It caused Anomie to slightly frown.

Anbu ninja? Oh Kakashi, you sent a search party after me…

She noticed it was a small wave of amusement as she glanced towards the setting sun. Naruto jumped in front of her, "I'll be the Hokage and you'll be the assassin. You have to catch me, dattebayo!"

Anomie was unamused, "Naruto, last time I played this game I had to spend an hour and a half trying to get paint out of my hair."

Naruto giggled as he scratched beneath his nose, "A Hokage of my class won't be pulling the same trick twice."

Anomie took special notice to his words. "That doesn't give me very much confidence that you won't prank me in another way."

Naruto pouted and Anomie found herself absorbed into one of the longest staring contests of her life as Naruto somehow managed to make his baby blue eyes even more blue.

After a minute she finally sighed with a forced grin, "Alright. I'll play your," stupid, "game."

I suppose this is the only chance I will have to actually be alone with him.

Naruto's expression brightened and she was slightly annoyed at how optimistic the kid was from just five words.

The moment she agreed, Naruto dashed off, "count to ten!"

I hate this kid…

»»⎯⎯⎯¤⎯⎯⎯««

Things went downhill from there, as the moment she found him; he was being ganged up on by eight kids. They were in their early teens from the looks of it, probably newly fledged Genin.

"We told you to stay out of our way Naruto," one kid stated in a hiss.

"Yeah, we don't like seeing your face," came another's venomous hiss.

Anomie's eyes rolled back as she stepped into the alley.

"I can go where ever I want, dattebayo!" Naruto hissed.

This was obviously not the right way to pacify the five kids, as one threw the first punch. It landed square with the seven year old's jaw.

Her brows furrowed in slight surprise at the violence in their eyes.

She glanced around, finding that no Anbu were in sight and the road was empty as one of the kids kicked Naruto square in the stomach.

"You're a disease. You're a waste of space. Everyone hates you."

"Our parents are dead."

"It's your fault."

"You are pathetic, always shouting about being Hokage, as if that would ever happen."

After a moment, she realized that they were one of the many orphans of the village. They probably lived alongside Naruto in the orphanage.

Despite the taunts, Naruto stood back up. "I will become Hokage, dattebayo. And then I am gonna kick your ass!"

Anomie's body left Sakura's and noticed the girl topple over when she left. Sakura erupted in small, tiny coughs as she looked around in confusion before her eyes settled on Anomie's face.

"I know. This all must be so confusing to you," Anomie leaned over and reached her hand over to Sakura's neck. "It will probably never make sense." She squeezed a nerve on the child's neck, causing the girl's eyes to open wide in fear before they closed into a light sleep. She slowly took her old Anbu mask from her bag and placed it on her face, strapping it around her head.

She glanced towards where Naruto was getting beaten down, and in moments, she tore one boy away from the circle of bullies and tossed him to the side.

"You know, I'm thinking to myself, how could my day get even more horribly eventful," she stated, catching their attention, but her eyes were drawn to Naruto's bruised face and bloody lip.

"Who the hell are you?" One asked, glancing towards the friend that the woman tossed away as if he were a rubber ball.

Anomie slightly smiled, grabbing him by the shirt and raising him into the air. It was rather fun, watching him struggle to breathe as she rose him above her head. The others backed away as Naruto struggled to his feet.

"Let go," the kid gasped out.

"Squirm more. It's funny," she stated simply. "I'm sure anything I could do to you would feel like a fraction of what blue eyes is feeling right now, but I'll my best."

She glanced towards Naruto, who was staring at her as if she were an alien.

"But this little punk probably doesn't have an evil bone in his body. I know, it's funny considering that we both know what's sealed in those pretty eyes of his," Anomie tossed the boy to the ground, watching his back slid across the cement. The kids all stared at her in horror. "I'm not gonna say it twice. Leave or don't…you'll find that blood doesn't scare me as much as it would scare you."

They didn't need to be told twice as they scampered off the ground and practically sprinted away.

"I didn't need your help lady," Naruto muttered out as Anomie scanned the area for Chakra with a trickle of apprehension.

She wouldn't be able to escape if she was attacked now.

She glanced towards Naruto who was weak on the ground.

"I'll believe that when I see it," she said simply, walking in front of him and squatting down until she was level with his eyes. "You get beat up often, kid?"

He frowned, wincing as he moved. "When I become Hokage, I'll show them!"

"Weaklings don't become Hokage," she said simply, thinking back to the last person she heard say those words. "They die."

He looked ready to cry.

She felt a stab of pity, and she quickly made a couple hand signs before she reached over, focusing her Chakra into her hands and allowing the green glow to flow over her hands. He was frozen as her hands hovered over her face.

Slowly, with much difficulty, tiny bruises began to heal. She removed her hands, seeing that the swelling had gone down and the black eye had began to disappear.

"Why do you want to be Hokage?" She asked, and Naruto glanced up in surprise. It was a question she had never asked Obito, and Naruto's determined gaze and hotheaded temper was like a mirror of it.

"The Hokage is the strongest in the village. He protects everyone and he's important. People acknowledge him, dattebayo!"

Anomie rolled her eyes, "People don't acknowledge the Hokage because he's Hokage. He's the Hokage because people acknowledge him."

"I have no idea what you just said, dattebayo."

Anomie felt a smile drift over her lips as a strong feeling of amusement passed over her heart, "no…you wouldn't."

"That green thing you did with your hands…what was that?"

"A Jutsu you don't have the capability of learning."

He growled, standing up with a quick hop. "You just watch! I'll kick your ass someday too!"

"You're an ungrateful little punk," Anomie said, glancing up at him through her bangs as she stood.

"I'll make everyone acknowledge me, dattebayo," Naruto said, slightly wincing as he gripped his stomach. Anomie briefly wondered if his ribs were broken.

"And I guess I'll be waiting without expecting much," Anomie said simply, and it took Naruto a moment to realize he was being insulted, but by the time he glanced up, the white haired girl was gone.

Naruto winced as he stared around, trying to find where the woman had disappeared off to, but he paused when he saw 'Sakura' turn a corner of a building towards him.

"Hey Naruto, what happened to your face?"

"N-Nothing, dattebayo!"

"You're hurt!"

"No I'm not."

Naruto pouted as 'Sakura' rushed to his side, inspecting his face for the wound.

She stared at him incredulously, before she slowly nodded her head. "Alright, but even the Hokage sees a medic sometimes…or at least rests for a while."

Anomie's eyes slightly widened as she noticed the cut on his lip begin to heal. Ah, there's those demon powers I've heard so much about.


Author's Note

ガーベラデイジー (Gāberadeijī) and in English that would be Gerbera Daisy, which means Friendship, Sadness, Needing, Protection.

well, My OC is a real bitch. I just wanna hit her sometimes and say stop it. Naruto is precious. If I could, I would hug him and never let him go.

I rewrote this chapter in particular nearly eight times and I'm still ashamed of it. Maybe I just need some distance from it and will will appear better in my eyes. Did anyone like it? Is it just me?

I don't know. Please don't tell me in the comments if you hate it unless you give me criticism on what you didn't like about it. I don't think my heart can take a comment that just said "I hate this chapter" and that's it.

Again, maybe I just need some distance and I'll reread it in a couple days and be all like 'this isn't half bad'. If not, I'll probably do a serious reedit.

It doesn't help that I got a bad review that wasn't constructive at all~ I'll grow thick skin eventually, but I think no one likes bad reviews~ (the review basically called Anomie a reformatted Anko and a Mary Sue cause she is associated with Orochimaru) I personally wouldn't change a single thing about her personality, and to me, I don't see any comparison between her and Anko. I mean, Anko is known for being stubborn and loud (like Naruto) and that is so not Anomie. She rebelled and refused to kill under Orochimaru, Anomie doesn't have a problem with it. I just don't see any comparison.

Does anyone else think Anomie is a Mary Sue? Cause I think I made her have a lot of weaknesses and I've made her human. She can't do healing jutsu very well, her Genjutsu is awful (that's why she's never used it), her Chakra runs out like any other ninja, she can't use her main Jutsu in the rain or against water, wind type Jutsu are still something she struggles fighting against, she doesn't actually know that many ninjutsu.

Personality-wise, her pride gets in the way of everything she does, all the guys don't line up to date her (e.g. Asuma and Obito; Genmai goes after everyone; I don't take Gai seriously). I'm not sure, is it a Mary Sue crime to make a character attractive? Was it surprising that she was connected with Orochimaru (the man known to be connected with the Iburi clan)?

I don't know, asking myself these questions made me feel a little better. People like to dance around the aspect of creating a Mary Sue out of fear of people calling them out on them, but in doing that, they create a weak female character who I personally can't respect because Kishimoto was known for creating these pathetic (in comparison to the guys) female characters who made no real huge impact on the story. All of Kishimoto's prodigies who made it through the ranks on pure talent were men. That's so depressing to me, who was once a little girl looking for a role model in TV shows.

I am saying this right now for those people still struggling to find a line between Mary Sue and good characterization. My advice is: fuck the line. Do your character however you like.

Bad reviews are to be expected for every story, and it's sad, but that's what criticism is for (even if the criticism isn't constructive and it hurts your feelings)

Personally, I don't mind a borderline Sue in a fic as long as the fic is well written!

:D

As for the end of this chapter, to be honest, one of the versions had Anomie getting discovered by Kakashi right after this last scene, but the pacing felt so horrible so I scraped the entire scene in shame. I was impatient to make them see each other again, so I made a decision to ignore the realistic nature of the story. Also, me doing that would make Anomie look stupid and just without talent.

Someone asked if she's already put the seal on Naruto, and the answer is: no.

I was planning on explaining the details as to why she was taking so long in the next chapter, but for the most part it's because a seal of that nature would take her actual Chakra, and it would take a lot of it. That's why she needed Kakashi off her ass and Naruto's ass. The reason she didn't put the seal on Naruto in this chapter was because Naruto was injured. That's right. The heartless Anomie is worried about his health. She's not beyond redemption just yet.

I was slightly laughing cause I got the sweetest message about wanting Anomie to fall in love (sisterly) with Naruto. I want that too, believe me, but dude, it's hard cause I want to keep her in character. Anomie's personality isn't making it easy. They also wanted to see Naruto work his 'therapy no jutsu' (I love that term by the way) on her. I agree with you, if anyone could do this it would be Naruto. I am not so certain I will be giving him the chance to work his magic or not. I guess we will all find out together.

Thank you for reading everyone! ^_^