The Fifth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves relaxed into his chair, taking a pause from his arduous work day of near-mindless paperwork to stop and smell the roses. And there were many roses in bloom for Orochimaru. It had been a long time coming, an arduous wait for his research to bear fruit, but the time was finally approaching. The many players and pieces were falling into place exactly where he wanted them. Despite the horrendous early setbacks that forced him to wait so long, his dream would finally be within reach. All he needed to do was wait. In the end, despite his questionable methods, the village would end up thanking him, praising him, perhaps might even give him a title beyond the one he received for failing to die.
Maybe they would dub him the next God of Shinobi? Wouldn't that be fun? Wouldn't be entirely wrong either. More accurate than it was for his sensei, even.
Sadly for the Snake Sannin, his hopeful daydreams were interrupted by Danzo entering his office. "You really should knock," Orochimaru half-heartedly scolded his advisor. "Who knows what I might have been doing in here."
"Everything of that nature isn't done in this office," the disfigured old ninja responded drily, "And I have long ceased being squeamish about such things."
"Kukukuku! Oh Danzo, will you ever cease living down to your ghoulish reputation?"
"I have no clue what you could mean, Lord Hokage," the bandaged man spoke, tightly controlling his responses just as he did with everything in his orbit. "We have received a new message from Hidden Cloud, and a new missive from Jiraiya."
"Ah, so Yuhi's team returned safely. Good." A young Genin team was perfect for a simple messenger mission relayed by foreign ninja. Though of course they knew nothing of Yuhi picking up the dead drop Jiraiya left for them.
"It seems the Raikage has requested to postpone the Chunin Exams slightly. As for Jiraiya's intelligence–"
"Kukukuku...!" Orochimaru laughed to himself as a joke popped into his head at his old teammate's expense. He wouldn't bother speaking it aloud though. Danzo wouldn't get it.
"His sources say Rock ninja have been getting into skirmishes with Sand along the border between them, as well as with Cloud in Waterfall," Danzo continued without missing a beat.
"I assume the second report came from Waterfall directly?" Orochimaru asked, receiving a slow nod.
The Hokage frowned at that. A frown that he forced himself to hold as long as he could until his amusement broke. His pale face creased upwards, his snake-like eyes squinting as he lost himself in cackling. "Kukukuku! They think they're being clever, Danzo!" he exclaimed. "How sad for them that we're so far ahead. We'll grant A's request, let them do what they feel they must. I look forward to what they have prepared for when they arrive!"
For once, it seemed his dour and dispassionate advisor shared in his leader's amusement at least a little, his lip curling just slightly at one corner.
"Hmmm..." the Snake Sannin hummed, leaning back in his chair again, "I think we'll move things up a little. Turn up the heat on our fresh Genin. They'll need to learn how to survive, better to learn now than fail to learn later. We still have that problem near the border of Grass, don't we?"
"Of course. Being saved for–" The bandaged old ninja frowned, stopping mid-sentence. "For their first mission outside of the village?"
"The experience will be good for them. I trust Anko with this. She is my apprentice after all. I look forward to having a spare in case I need a backup plan."
-(-)-
"You have everything you need?"
Yes Mom."
"Your emergency storage scroll?"
"Yes Mom."
"Your backup emergency storage scroll?"
Naruto sighed as silently as he could. He knew she was just being... Well, herself. Overprotective was a word that might have been a little weak given the circumstances. He remembered when he first started going to the academy. She did her best taking him the first few times but she kind of exploded on some civilians who walked too close to them. From then on he'd been escorted by an ANBU until he was old enough to go on his own. Not the best first impression on his classmates of the time but he recovered. And every time he came home safe and sound, Kushina relaxed just a little bit more. Got more comfortable with him being out of the house. Until the Sasuke incident but that was a whole other thing.
And here was the moment his mother had probably been quietly dreading even as she outwardly supported him. The time for him to go out on missions outside the village as a ninja of the Leaf.
His extended silence only made Kushina more nervous as she began hurriedly searching for his backup sealing scroll. "It's okay! It's okay! I'll find it! It has to be around here somewhere, ya know!"
The blond quickly ducked out of the way as a sandal flew at his head, a casualty of Kushina's increasingly frenzied rummaging. Bravely dodging flying knick-knacks, he rushed toward her and wrapped her in a hug from behind. "Mom, it's okay," he said as soothingly as he could, "I have my storage scroll, my backup scroll, all my tools, I have everything I need." Gently pulling her away from his dresser he turned her around, squeezing her all the tighter. "I'll be fine. I promise, next week I'll be home safe and sound and you'll feel silly for worrying."
Kushina wore a watery smile as she heard his words. Her forehead rested against his as she shook from nerves. "You shouldn't say things like that, Naruto. You never know when–"
"I know," he reaffirmed. "I'll come back safe, that's a promise."
"Heh, my brave boy," the redhead wiped at her eyes before pressing her lips to her son's forehead. "You come home safe no matter what. It's not fair to break a promise to a lady."
"Hey Naruto are you–?" Ino started to ask as she appeared suddenly in the doorway, only to look sheepish as her eyes fell on the scene inside. "Uh, sorry for interrupting. Sakura's here."
"That's alright Ino," Kushina assured her. "Naruto, you're sure you have everything?"
"I'm sure, Mom!"
"Okay, let's go then," she put an arm to his back and guided him out of the room then toward the front door. If this was really happening she wanted to get it over with before she lost her nerve.
"Hey Naruto! Good morning Lady Kushina!" Sakura greeted cheerfully, ready to go on her first real mission. "Is everyone ready?"
"Yeah," Naruto answered with a smile while his mother next to him dearly wanted to say no. And then her son was at the door with his team.
"Wait!" Kushina finally exclaimed, unable to hold herself back anymore. The three teens turned back to her. "Ino, Sakura, come here."
The two girls looked at each other confused, but did as their boyfriend's mother asked, taking the few steps toward her before both were surprised to be wrapped in a hug. "Be safe, alright?" she whispered, "You come home safe and you bring him back to me, alright?" Both girls nodded, somewhat taken aback from the emotional reaction. Kushina knew the tears had come back but she couldn't help it. "Naruto," she called as she let the girls go.
The blond boy joined the small group, uncomfortable at seeing his mother so distraught. She wasn't forceful as she wrapped her arms around him though he could tell it was only through great effort to hold herself back from crushing him. She pulled back just a little and laid her lips on his. The salt of her tears mixed in with the heartfelt kiss somehow turned it bittersweet. "I love you, Naruto."
"I love you too, Mom," he answered warmly. "We'll be back soon. I promised, didn't I?"
The elder Uzumaki sighed in defeat. If he kept saying it, she had no choice but to believe him, didn't she? "One last time. What do you do if you see Cloud ninja?" she asked seriously.
"Murder them or run away, whichever is easiest!"
Kushina nodded proudly at the answer.
"But we're not even going near Lightning," Ino cut in, confused. "We're going near the border of Grass."
A short pause.
"What do you do if you see Rock ninja?" Kushina asked seriously.
"Run away unless I can get away with murdering them," Naruto answered equally seriously.
"That's my boy!"
-(-)-
"Hey! You kids ready to hit the road?" Anko asked cheerfully as she waited at the Konoha gates.
"Yes Sensei!" Sakura answered, eager to finally get out of the village to see the wider world.
"Good attitude, Pinky!" Anko cheered her on while also taking the wind out of the pinkette's sails with the nickname. "Alright," she turned back to the gate guard. "Team Ten heading out on mission. Sign us out, Kotatsu!"
"Kotetsu."
"Don't care." She turned back to her team, reinforcing just how little she cared about the gate guard. "Alright, we've got a lot of ground to cover so we're gonna be moving pretty fast. Pinky, Flower Girl, you two gonna be okay?"
"We'll be fine, Anko-sensei!" Sakura tried to assure but the words came out more petulant than anything. After all of that training Anko put her through she was going to doubt her that much?
"Easy, Pinky. I don't mean anything by it. It's not like I won't be slowing down for Blondie too. It'll just be good for you to get used to a higher pace. We'll be out of the village but still in friendly territory so do your best. If you can't hack it we'll slow it further." She gave her second most stubborn Genin a stern look. "I mean it. No more pushing yourself for the sake of it crap. Not on a mission. Got it?"
"Yes, Sensei," Sakura answered, still clearly frustrated.
Anko sighed. She was better with people than her own teacher but there were still some gaps, it seemed. "Look, you have different skill sets, that's all. When Blondie gets stabbed we'll need you in good shape to fix him, won't we?"
Sakura gasped, even as Naruto let out an indignant shout at assuming he'd get stabbed. "You're right, Sensei! I'll pace myself!"
The purple-haired ninja nodded to both Sakura and herself. There. Problem solved. "Good. Let's get moving."
Once outside the gates, the four quickly shifted to their primary method of travel for the journey. From the clearing outside the gate they leapt up into the trees facing the general direction of their destination. Swift and graceful, they hopped from branch to branch taking the direct route north-west through the forests of the Land of Fire. True to Anko's words, their pace was slowed by the Genin, the trip taking them a full three days. Each night they would make camp in the forest, Anko giving them more hands-on experience of the survival skills they were taught in the academy. They would sleep in shifts to get used to the practice. Something Naruto had no issues with, bundle of boundless energy and enthusiasm that he was. Sakura likewise had little issue, having had plenty of sleepless nights working at the hospital. Extra rest might have been nice. The pace it turned out was pretty rough on her after all. But she had more than learned to suck it up and push through the fatigue.
Ino on the other hand was less than pleased at losing out on beauty sleep. Turned out she was absolutely a morning person, so long as she got her full night's rest before.
So it was with relief for half of the team and excitement for three quarters of it that the foursome finally broke through the heavy foliage to reach the outskirts of a town. "Well kids, Welcome to Rokugai. Take in the splendour. The majesty. Isn't this the kind of sight you dreamed of stuck in the Leaf village?"
Much as their teacher talked it up, the three teenagers had no idea what she was talking about. "It's... Just an ordinary town. It's basically the Leaf but without the giant face mountain or the rooftop ninja," Ino observed. Sure it was pleasant to look at from a distance but not impressive at all.
"Heh! Yeah," Anko agreed with a laugh, "Sorry to spoil the grand adventure of leaving the village but... Well, life did that for me just fine." She shrugged, her lips turning inward as a sign of helplessness. "Town's a town. You go out of Fire and you'll see some interesting changes to how they do things. Couple of places in Fire that really stand out. You ever go to the capital, that's impressive. Otherwise? Yeah, different place, same old shit."
"And a mission to another country would be...?" Naruto trailed off.
"B-rank."
"Figures."
"Chin up, Blondie! This is that super important mission you wanted, remember? Going out on daring adventures?"
Naruto's lips pursed as he considered that. "You know... You're right, Anko-sensei! Okay! Let's get in there and kick this mission's butt! Let's go!"
"Is it a good thing or a bad thing that he's so easy to convince?" Sakura asked her co-girlfriend.
"Eh, it's probably good?"
Venturing into the town didn't impress the Genin any more than seeing it from a distance. Though it was strange to be in a place that visibly (to ninja at least) had less security than what they were used to. In the Leaf, wherever they looked they would see someone with a headband and know that person could put an end to any ordinary trouble in a span of instants. Here, there were a handful of men walking around with swords or short blades, presumably soldiers, guards or very low level samurai. But that was it. It was unnerving to know that even as Genin they were probably some of the most dangerous people in Rokugai.
Anko simply watched her students with amusement as they realised the reality of their status. Saw how civilians seemed to give them a wide berth just in case.
She made sure to keep her eyes on them as her senses informed her of something just at the corner of her eye. She casually turned a hand slightly inward to tap the head of a snake in her sleeve. "Alright, there should be an inn over that way," she pointed with one hand for her student's benefit, her other arm lowered, the snake summon slithered out and around the corner of a building.
"An inn?" Ino asked with naked want, "We get real sleep? Ohhh best sensei."
A minute or so of walking appearing to not have much of a care in the world, the foursome found a decently sized inn. Rokugai was the last stop before heading out of the Land of Fire after all. Plenty of travellers going through. The inn was fairly comfortable in appearance, a bar on the ground floor held a few patrons already despite it only being late afternoon. "Alright. I'll go book a couple of rooms," Anko informed her students. "You kids have a job to do."
"We do?" Sakura asked.
"Hey, this is still part of training, remember?" the Jonin reminded them, poking Sakura in the forehead. "You know what the mission is so your job right now is gathering information. If we're going to find out what's causing trouble at the border, best place to start is asking around, huh?"
"I guess?" Naruto asked more than agreed, scratching at his hair.
Anko didn't bother explaining more, just shooed her students out of the building to go do their thing. With them occupied she marched up to the bar. "Two rooms? Also, hey can I get a drink?" Might as well while she waited.
"Sure," the innkeeper pointed to the sign for prices. The ninja didn't even glance at it, having seen it coming in. "So... Ninja?" he asked. "Sorry, overheard what you were saying. You're here to fix the problems we've been having?"
"The one about people disappearing, yeah. Don't suppose you know anything?"
"Sorry," the inkeeper shrugged, scratching at his thin moustache, "Wish I knew. Bad for business, you know? This town's between here and Grass. If people are steering clear of going between Grass and Fire, I'm out of luck. You're not the first group looking to resolve it though."
She knew full well. "Don't worry about it," Anko waved him off. "I think I'm on to something. Anyway, that drink?"
"Oh, right, sorry. Coming up."
Anko relaxed comfortably in her seat, casually drinking as she waited for her Genin to get back. Alcohol didn't really affect her so much after the ridiculous amount of anti-poison training she undertook as a snake summoner, but the burn of it was still fun. About an hour later the two girls of her team returned, claiming to not have had too much luck. The current rumour was that it was especially ruthless bandits on the road. Not especially useful on the face of it, but Anko wasn't expecting them to miraculously strike gold. Sending her Genin out had been more of a fishing expedition. And as the snake she sent out earlier came a-slithering back into her sleeve, she knew her third student had the catch of the day.
Or, as Anko saw Naruto enter the inn with a woman on his arm, maybe he was the catch. "Anko-sensei!" her most exuberant student waved before dragging the woman with him toward her. "This is Akayuki! She's been telling me all about what's been going on!"
"That so?" Anko asked, portraying amusement.
"It's so amazing to meet real ninja like this!" the girl cheered with such vibrant energy Anko could see why the blond had taken a shine to her. It certainly didn't hurt that she was something of a looker. Long, dark red hair framing her face, a little beauty mark under her lip, a body with curves that could draw in any straight man. "I can't wait until I write my mom and tell her all about this! She'll be so jealous!"
The fuming of Anko's other two students drew her attention. "Well, I'll let you two get further acquainted." She patted her student on the shoulder as she walked past the two, quickly approached her other students and pushed Sakura back in her seat by the shoulder. "Nuh-uh, stay here," she ordered.
"But Sensei!" Sakura complained, Ino's expression clearly saying they were of like mind on this.
"Yes, Sakura?" Anko prompted, leaning back into the booth seat, raising her sake bottle to her lips. "You were gonna say something about Naruto not fucking other girls?"
"Yes!" the green-eyed girl answered instantly. Only to hesitate as she realised how silly that was, knowing she was technically 'another' girl to Ino, and to Kushina. Which was weird but clans could be weird. Besides, they were sweet together. And also that wasn't the issue right now. "I mean, she's just a random girl he met! And we know she's trying to get him into bed! Isn't that bad for the clan or something?"
"Hm. Not really," Anko shrugged. "I helped write that law, you know. Sensei doesn't 'get' people. And he definitely doesn't care for clan politics. I mean, neither do I but I bothered to learn how that sort of thing works. The way that law works? Yeah. If he likes this girl, puts a baby in her, she's his. Doesn't have to be a girl from the Leaf. Sure, if she's not then other parties can get involved on her behalf but no one will care about some civilian girl getting brought into a ninja clan."
She took a heavy swig from her bottle before continuing. "And there's another thing you girls need to realise. The relationship you have with him? The feelings might go both ways. For your sakes, I hope they do. But the power? All one way. Naruto has all of it. The second you get pregnant, that's it. You're his. But he's not yours. The mothers' feelings aren't really important compared to reviving the Uzumaki." The bottle dropped on the table with a soft thud. "He's a sweet kid. I don't see him treating you like crap. But you've got to remember certain things he's probably not going to listen to you on. And he doesn't really have to."
"Why are you saying this?" Sakura asked, hurt that her sensei was being so dismissive of her feelings.
"Because it's important to know where you stand. One woman will stand beside him. The rest kneel below him. That's just how it'll work."
"I understand that."
"Ino!" Sakura gasped.
"I already made my peace with all of that, Sensei." The Yamanaka said no more, instead she tapped a slip of paper she had written on before her teacher returned. 'She's working him.'
Anko's lip twitched upward. "Smart girl." Her hand left the bottle. In the handful of instants in which that hand moved to rest on the table it flashed a sign. 'Confirmed.' She knew that already, but good on Flower Girl for catching it. 'Akayuki' was a pretty good actress. "Don't worry. If worst comes to worst I intend to take care of all of my students." In other words, she told Ino not to worry, she would handle it.
Sure enough, only a few minutes later the 'civilian' girl was paying for another room and gently dragging the blond toward the stairs. "You two should probably get some rest. We'll be setting out again in the morning." With that, she left the table, and then the inn. A moment later she returned, while another her scaled the outside of the building, watching her student through the windows as he ascended to the second floor. Akayuki didn't drag him into her room, instead she bid him wait outside. Hmph. It was like she wanted to give Anko an opportunity.
Slipping in through the window, Anko held a finger to her lips as Naruto was about to speak. She signalled him to be quiet before speaking herself. "So, what happened to them not being interested in Naruto?"
The blond dope shuffled his feet in embarrassment. "She is interested in Naruto! Just... Because he's a ninja! That's a good starting point!"
"And what I said about being professional on a mission?" she asked with raised eyebrows. He didn't have an answer for that one. She sighed. "Tell you what, let's call this training. You want to fuck this girl? Interrogate her. Get all the info you can out of her. You'd be doing that anyway if you're that interested, right?"
The blond's brow furrowed as he thought it through. It sounded like it made sense. "I guess... Yeah! Yeah, okay, I can do that!"
"Alright then," Anko gently slapped him on the shoulder, "Go get her, Blondie," then exited through the window again, moved around to the next window and settled in to watch her student have sex to make sure he didn't die.
"Naruto..." a melodic voice called out from inside the room.
The young man looked away from the window his sensei left through, his eyes following, drawn to the sound. The hypnotic, seductive voice coming from the other side of the door. Okay. He had experience with women, with sex. He could do this! Just be the one in control! Then when it was over he could ask her about herself during the afterglow! Yeah! Good plan! He pushed the door open and..
All thoughts fled him as he saw Akayuki lain on her side in nothing but string panties, one hand propping up her head as she returned his stare with lidded eyes. "Well?" she asked, shifting slightly in a way that set her full breasts swaying, a movement that stole all of Naruto's attention and higher brain functions, "Are you gonna join me?"
He was supposed to be doing something... Eh, it probably wasn't important. Not as important as diving on this wanton girl begging with her eyes for him to make her scream in ecstasy. His clothes may as well have vanished for how fast he removed them, the young man eagerly joined his newest conquest on the bed as she changed her position to receive him on top of her. She giggled cutely, leaned up to kiss him, but for some reason at that moment he didn't want to kiss her back. Instead his lips attacked her slender neck, sucking at the soft flesh there in a way that made her writhe. A hand moved to grasp at her pale thigh, running his hand along the underside of it. The other grasping one of her breasts, feeling the weight of it in his palm as he fondled her eagerly. Much as his mother had warned him against being so hasty, he could tell Akayuki was an impatient girl. She wanted it, she wanted him. And she wasn't willing to wait to get to the fun part.
Her head rolled, overwhelmed by his sudden onslaught against her weak point. She gasped as she felt his nimble fingers pull lightly at the string of her panties, pulling the knot loose in one slow, smooth movement before peeling the suddenly sodden garment away and discarding it on the floor. The hand gripping her thigh pulled it wide, giving more room for the other hand to slide over her folds. He was good. Not the best she had had but far better than she expected him to be. "Naruto," she spoke breathily, holding his head right where it was, a silent plea for him to not stop, "Please, give me the real thing!"
Well if she was going to beg in such a sweet voice he had no choice. Taking his cock in hand he guided himself into her, slipping in first an inch, then two, then as he realised she wasn't a virgin drove himself home in one swift thrust. "Ahhn!" she squealed, biting a finger as his cock opened her up then filled her to bursting. Every inch of that warm shaft dominating her inner walls until they welcomed it, clung to it, writhed around it as it began hammering inside her over and over again. "Naruto! You're so big! I feel so full!"
"You're so soft, Akayuki!" he complimented in turn, "So wet! It feels so amazing inside you!"
"Yes! Fuck me Naruto! Give it to me! Show me what a ninja can do!"
He happily obliged, continuing to tease her body as he fucked her. Though he had to hold himself back some, she was a civilian after all, that didn't prevent him from pounding her pussy until she was a mewling puddle of goo.
"Naruto! Going to cum!" she squealed, her back arched, her body pressed ever harder against his.
"Me too!"
"Naruto, kiss me," she begged, wanting to make this a moment he would remember for the rest of his life.
"Akayuki!" he groaned, leaning up to take her lips with his... Only to grimace at the last instant and pull back. Not just from the kiss but from inside her. His hand moved down to finish her with his fingers as he stroked himself to completion. Jet after jet of his cum splattered against her flushed skin, painting a white line from her neck to navel, then more spatters below her breasts and drops over her thighs and mound.
Akayuki's head tilted back, surprised enough by the sudden switch from pounding cock to frenetic fingers that her climax hit her all the harder. She shuddered lewdly, her hips jerked upward to impale herself on a cock that was no longer there. "N-Naruto?" she asked, confused.
"Sorry," he apologised, looking away guiltily. "There's... I just remembered I probably shouldn't finish inside. There's some things going on in my life that would end up changing yours. That's not fair to you."
"Are you going to tell me what they are?" she asked, her breathing still uneven.
He stayed silent.
Why? Why did he stay silent? He liked this girl. Sure he had only met her today but she was fun, bright, full of enthusiasm, great to talk to. But... Something bothered him. He didn't know what it was.
She took his silence as an answer. "Well, that doesn't mean we can't have more fun, right?" she asked with an impish smile.
The blond grinned, happy to rejoin her and continue where they left off.
Meanwhile Anko, who had been stuck outside and grew mildly frustrated as she watched her teenage student fuck that other woman to pieces, only grew more so as she had to keep watching. As he ate her pussy, as she sucked him off, as he fucked her from behind. He had tried to grab her red hair to use as reins but that was the first thing that got the woman to show genuine displeasure, even break character a little.
Interesting.
But all the while, every time Akayuki tried to kiss him, Naruto would find a reason not to. And the constant attempts only made the action more suspicious to Anko. It seemed even if the kid didn't really get nuanced deception and was kind of gullible, he had good instincts.
Unfortunately he also had a never-ending amount of energy to the point he kept fucking that woman until dawn. Meaning neither he, nor Anko, got any sleep.
The leader of the team made sure to knock on the door and call for her male student to get ready, then the door to the girls' room. Both of them looked less than pleased with the events of the night before, stomping their way back downstairs in a very un-ninja fashion. Naruto followed soon after. Alone.
"Hey Naruto, where's what's-her-name?" Sakura asked, not quite looking at him.
"She said she'd be down in a little bit."
"Hmph."
A little bit turned out to be another half minute as the woman appeared from the stairway. Much more demure than she had been the night before. "I had a lovely night, Naruto," she spoke softly, "But I should probably go home. I have work soon. Umm, will I see you again?" she asked hopefully.
"Sure!" he answered. "I mean, we'll have to come back this way when we're done with the mission, right Sensei?" Naruto asked his teacher.
"Sure, why not," Anko answered easily.
The redhead leaned in, just one more time, and finally he allowed her to kiss him. "Bye, Akayuki."
"R-Right," she said, giving her best appearance of the dejected and rejected girl. "Bye..."
Sakura only waited long enough for the woman to leave the building. "Wow. And I thought we'd end up taking her home."
"Get ready to move. Now."
The three teens were surprised at the sudden shift from their usually easygoing sensei to a woman taking charge of the moment with a single sentence. "What is it, Anko-sensei?" Naruto asked.
"We've got about five minutes to catch up before we lose the trail."
"The trail?" Ino asked, before sudden realisation struck. "Wait, she–?" The blonde's eyes snapped to her boyfriend, realising just how deeply he had just been deceived. Akayuki hadn't just been working him, she was working him. "Oh no."
"What?" Naruto demanded, suddenly anxious.
"I saw something suspicious when we got to town," Anko explained, "You noticed, didn't you? How this town doesn't have eyes everywhere like the Leaf? So I noticed when I felt someone was watching us. I had one of my summons track and follow whoever it was." A snake appeared from her sleeve in demonstration. "It came back to me right before you and that girl did, Naruto."
"So?!"
"I also watched her room last night. She told you to come down ahead of her, right?" Anko asked. "Follow me." Without a further word she exited the building, then rounded the corner then the next. Naruto was right behind her to see a snake slither back into his teacher's clothing right next to a fresh puddle of water. "Huh. What do you know? Wonder where this came from considering it hasn't rained since we got here." She looked at her only male student, giving him a stern look but with just a hint of sympathy. "You got played. She never came back downstairs, Naruto. The real her left from the window and she sent a water clone in her place. My guess is the second the clone was out of our sight, the real her bolted, giving the clone just enough time to get somewhere inconspicuous to dissolve."
"You're... You're wrong!" Naruto insisted.
"Why did you avoid letting her kiss you?" Anko asked. "And yet the second it wasn't the real her you were fine with it. I don't know where you got those instincts but you sensed something was wrong, didn't you?"
"I..." It hurt him that she was giving voice to feelings that had lain just beneath the surface of his thoughts last night. But she had to be wrong! He needed her to be wrong!
"Come on," she grabbed him by the shoulder. "We need to start moving or we'll lose her. If I'm wrong you can laugh at me all you want. And if I'm right you can get some answers."
Though Anko knew well enough that they wouldn't be answers he would like.
