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Found

Kakashi stared out at the trees in silence. Naruto should only be a couple of weeks away from being back with the next Hokage. Once that happened, Kakashi could go on missions again. He needed the distraction. He was starting to sink into his old habits of thinking about the people he had lost all day. He knew it wasn't healthy, and yet he did it anyway. He sighed, the images of his long dead friends and loved ones passing through his head again. Obito. Rin. His father. Minato. Itachi. Recently, however, the most prevalent one had been Anko. she had occupied his mind more than he would like. He missed her terribly. And even after all the time she had been missing, it still tore him up to not be able to go looking for her. Hell, after as long as it had been, there was practically no chance that she was still alive anyway. Especially with Orochimaru.

An even more disturbing thought occurred to him, then. He wasn't sure if he really wanted Anko to still be alive. If she was, that would mean that she had been being experimented on, tortured, and put through hell for over a month and he had done nothing to try and save her. If she was still alive, she would understandably be beyond traumatized. She probably wouldn't be the same person ever again.

Kakashi sighed miserably, rubbing the inside corner of his visible eye before looking around. He had been sitting on the wall around the village for a while now, but he hadn't really been seeing anything. Now that he was paying attention, he still saw nothing but trees. He scanned them more carefully, since his job for the next three hours was to watch for enemy shinobi. Suddenly, he caught a flash of movement and stopped, watching that spot, seeing something else move again. He signaled the nearby ANBU who were helping the jonin before dropping to the ground. Just as he did, someone stumbled out of the trees, barely conscious and barely on their feet. Kakashi's eye widened as he stared at Anko. Her hair was a mess, she was bruised, swollen, and bloodied, there were scars running up and down her arms and her exposed torso, and each time she lifted a foot, blood remained where it had been.

She collapsed not five steps out of the trees, but Kakashi caught her instantly, lowering her to the ground and shouting for a medic. He gave her wounds a cursory inspection. Burns, stabs, surgical cuts, jagged gashes, fang marks, scars that looked like small pieces of her flesh had been ripped out by claws or a barbed whip, gashes on her feet running from heel to toes to make walking agony, and obvious signs of repeated rape. All of this was exposed for anyone to see due to the fact that Anko was also completely naked. An ANBU landed beside Kakashi, draping a cloak over her instantly as Guy landed beside them a moment later.

"Kakashi, get her to the hospital," Guy said. "I'll take over early."

Kakashi nodded and vanished, reaching the hospital as fast as he could and running into the ER, several doctors and nurses immediately taking her to be treated. Kakashi was told to stay in the waiting room and did as instructed. Then, after nearly an hour and a half, the doctor walked out, motioning for him to follow. He did so without hesitation, following the doctor to a room where Anko was lying in bed with a heart monitor and IV hooked up, wearing a hospital gown now.

"She's stable now," the doctor assured him. "When you brought her in, she was dying of starvation, blood loss, and dehydration, as well as a number of viruses and infections. There were a number of toxins in her blood, most of them snake venom but not all. We gave her a blood transfusion and have her on an IV for water and nutrients, as well as antibiotics for the viruses and infections. The toxins we were able to neutralize, all except for one that seems to be designed to enhance nerve sensitivity. It's wearing off, however, and should be gone by the time she wakes up. We were able to seal up her physical wounds and treated her burns. She'll pull through physically, though we can't speak for her mental state."

Kakashi nodded, sitting beside her and taking her hand in his. He had failed her. More than a month of torture and rape. And he had done nothing to save her.

"We expect her to wake up sometime tomorrow," The doctor said.

"Doctor," Kakashi said. "She was raped. Were you able to tell by who? And also...is she...pregnant?"

"The DNA wasn't a match to anyone we have on record," the doctor said. "And as far as we could tell, no. She's not pregnant. However, it looked like she could have been raped as recently as yesterday, so it's still possible that she could be. It's just too early to tell."

Kakashi nodded and the doctor left. Kakashi began to cry almost immediately, holding her hand against his forehead. "I'm so sorry Anko. I should have found you. I should have gone after you immediately. I'm so sorry."

He continued to cry for almost an hour, and didn't leave the chair once.

Kakashi clutched Anko's hand between his as Anko's eyes slowly creaked open. She looked around for a moment before they settled on him. She stared at him in silence before tears began to flood down her face and she began to choke back sobs.

"Am I really back?" Anko asked.

"You're hear," Kakashi nodded, voice cracking as his own eye began to leak. "You're safe now."

Anko began to sob and Kakashi comforted her as best he could.

"I'm so sorry Anko," Kakashi said as she finally began to calm. "I'm so sorry I never saved you. I should have come looking for you the moment I found out you were taken, orders-be-damned."

"No," Anko said. "You couldn't have found me. Orochimaru moved me every week. You'd have never been able to track me down. Besides, you did the right thing by following orders."

"Those who-"

"I know," Anko smiled, reaching up and wiping a tear from his cheek. "I've heard you the last thousand times you've said it. But I'm here now. I'm safe."

"I thought I was supposed to be comforting you," Kakashi said, earning a small laugh from Anko.

"What happened while I was away?" Anko asked.

Kakashi shook his head. "Later. For now, you just rest. And if you need anything, I'll be here for you."

Anko smiled and nodded, her eyes fighting to shut again.

"Rest," Kakashi smiled. "I'll be here when you wake up."

Anko nodded and closed her eyes, passing out instantly.

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