With my wide eyes
I've seen worlds that don't belong
My mouth is dry with words I cannot verbalize
Tell me why we live like this

Broken – IV

Minato looked up as the door opened. "About time. You three are―"

He stopped when he saw what was in Kakashi's arms. Correction ― who was in Kakashi's arms.

"What the hell happened?"

The three shook their heads. They were all dripping wet from being out in the relentless rain. Kakashi, Minato noticed, wasn't wearing his sweatshirt. He had wrapped Anko up in it.

"Please, Minato-Sensei ― help her."

Minato didn't know what was going on. But he did know that there was a hurt kid in front of him. And he couldn't very well turn his back on her.

"Come on. We'll go down to Tsunade's office. If we hurry we might catch her before she turns in for the night."

Tsunade ran the medical wing at Konohagakure. She was a former ward of the home, and after she'd been old enough to leave, she'd come back to be the nurse. She was a very temperamental woman, but she was also a damn good nurse.

"Tsunade-sama!"

She was just locking up the medical wing. She looked around when Minato shouted her name.

"This better be good, Minato. I'm tired, I…"

Her voice drifted off when she Anko. "What ― never-mind, I don't want to know." She quickly unlocked the doors. "Get inside, lay her down on the first bed. Then I want everybody out."

Kakashi quickly did as he was told, then rushed back into the hall to join Obito, Rin, and Minato. Tsunade walked briskly back inside, closing the door behind her. Minato turned to the three teens.

"Tell me what happened."

They explained that they had been walking home, and Kakashi had seen something on the street, and upon closer inspection they'd seen it was Anko. "We don't know what happened to her." Kakashi said, answering Minato's unasked question. "We found her like that."

Minato looked over his shoulder at the closed door. "Orochimaru's her guardian, isn't he?" He looked at Obito, who nodded. "Someone had better get in touch with him, let him know that she's all right."

He had no intention of doing that, however, until Tsunade was done. He wanted to know what the extent of her injuries were. This was a very suspicious case…

Kakashi made a face. It went unnoticed by Minato. "I'll worry about that when Tsunade finishes. In the meantime, you three better head up to your rooms and change. You're going to end up sick if you stay in those clothes, especially you Kakashi. Get moving, go."

They started upstairs. Rin left them on the first floor, going into her room (which she had recently gotten to herself, as her roommate had been taken in by a foster family). Kakashi and Obito continued climbing to the third floor, until they reached the room they shared. They were silent as they changed, until finally Kakashi said, "I don't like it."

Obito, who had been in the process of yanking his goggles off, looked over at Kakashi in surprise. "Like what?"

"The idea of sending her home. What you said earlier is sticking with me."

"What? About Orochimaru being from an abuse home?"

"Yeah, that. I don't know. I just don't want to send her back to him." Kakashi pulled on a dry t-shirt, staring hard at the floor. "What if he's the one that did this to her?"

Obito hung his goggles on his bed post, then proceeded to change into his pajamas. "What can we do?" He asked, pulling on his pajama bottoms. "Unless she actually admits it ―and according to Minato-Sensei, nine out of ten kids won't admit when they're being abused, they're too scared ― there's nothing that'll stop them from sending her right back to that creep."

Kakashi scowled. Well that wasn't going to roll with him.

Rin was already down in the hall waiting when her two male companions made their way downstairs again. She was talking with Minato-Sensei. Just as Obito and Kakashi approached them, the door to the medical wing opened once more.

"Anyone mind telling me what happened to that girl?" Tsunade asked, eyeing the three that had brought her in. "She looks she fell off a building."

"That's one way to put it." Obito muttered.

"She has a bruised leg bone, multiple black and blues ― more than I cared to count ― a slight concussion, though it's nowhere near life threatening, a broken wrist―"

Kakashi's eyes widened at the mention of her wrist.

"Oi, Mitarashi. What happened to you?"

Anko jumped as if Obito had taken a swing at her, and looked down at her wrist. "What? This? Oh…it was nothing. I…tripped. Fell down the stairs. Landed on my wrist. Hurt like hell."

"We don't know what happened." Kakashi said as he shook himself of the memory. "We found her like that."

Tsunade nodded. "Do you know her?"

"Her name's Mitarashi Anko." Obito said. "She's a girl from my class."

"What do you know about her home life?"

"Just that her parents died when she was young, and Orochimaru is her guardian―"

Tsunade's eyes widened. So this is the girl I heard about. Interesting…

"You three should head to bed." Minato said. "It's late, and you have school tomorrow. Go ― move it."

"Okay Minato-Sensei." The three started to leave. Just before he turned down the hall, Kakashi looked back at Minato and Tsunade.

"Let me know if anything happens with her."

And he was gone. Minato stared after the boy, surprise. "I'm going to get Sarutobi-sama." Tsunade said, turning in the other direction. "This has abuse written all over it. I'm not letting this girl go home if I can help it."

"I have a feeling there are a few who agree with your opinion." Minato said, turning to follow her. "But if we have no proof, Tsunade-sama, we have no choice but to send her home."

"Look, you didn't know Orochimaru when he was a kid." Tsunade said as they walked down the hall together. "I did. He was twisted, even then. I would never trust him to raise a child. I don't understand why anyone would. Then again, I knew Anko's parents too. They were naïve, foolish people. And they liked him for some reason…"

Tsunade retreated to her thoughts. They walked the rest of the way to Sarutobi's office in silence.

"Tsunade, Minato. To what do I owe this late visit?"

"Hello Sarutobi-sama." The two bowed, and proceeded to repeat the story Kakashi, Obito, and Rin had told them. Sarutobi listened, raising an eyebrow slightly at the mention of Orochimaru's name.

"Yes, I'd heard he took in a child. Interesting. Continue."

When Minato finished the story, Tsunade said, "It's obviously a child abuse case, you know it is. What other explanation is there for a girl her age to be out so late? And so banged up at that."

Minato could have thought of a hundred other reasons. But he didn't say anything. Tsunade could get very mean if someone disagreed with her.

"Orochimaru has a history of slight violence within this home." He said instead. "I looked into it after Obito first mentioned him as being Anko's guardian. He enjoyed tormenting the other kids, didn't he?"

Tsunade ― who had bared witness to some of Orochimaru's cruel acts ― nodded. "I don't think we should send her back. Who knows what he might do."

Sarutobi nodded. "This puts us in a hard spot. We can't force her out of her home, not without proof of what you're saying. Orochimaru either has to give her up himself, or she has to want to leave. Obviously Orochimaru won't hand over custody, and she may not want to leave―"

"Why would anyone want to stay in a place where they were being hurt?"

"Fear." Sarutobi said simply. "The simple fear that if she tried to leave, he'd go after her, or anyone else around her. Fear is what's controlling her life right now."

Minato shook his head. He worked in Konohagakure for years, ever since the summer he turned sixteen, when he was an intern. He had seen a lot of abuse cases come through. They were sad children who didn't know how to trust anybody, because all their trust had been broken. But no matter how many times Minato saw it, it never got easier.

"She's resting in the medical ward right now?" Sarutobi asked. Tsunade nodded. "We'll wait until she wakes up to decide what to do. For now, though, I think it's best if we don't contact Orochimaru."

Anko's world went from calmingly blank to painfully aware. She could feel every part of her body that hurt. And what made it harder was that it seemed to hurt more than it had before she passed out.

She groaned under her breath as she began the struggle to open her eyes. "Mmm…where am I?" She asked, her voice thick.

"Back among the living, thank God." A familiar voice said. Anko opened her eyes just a little, and saw a shock of silver hair.

"Hatake?" She asked. She was confused. What the hell was going on?

"Yeah. How do you feel?"

"Ow." She squeezed her eyes shut again. She felt as if she were on fire.

"That's a general answer. Hang on, I'll ask Tsunade-sama if she has any pain killers―"

"Who?"

"Tsunade…she's the nurse…you're in Konoha." At the mention of the name of the group home, Anko's eyes shot open and she bolted up, ignoring the pain that tore through her body. Kakashi looked at her in shock. "Jeez, you could barely move a second ago, what―"

"Does Orochimaru-sama know I'm here?" Her question took Kakashi by surprise.

"What…I don't…think so, no―"

"Oh man oh man oh man." She groaned, throwing the covers of her bed back. "I have to go, I have to―"

"You lay back down right now!" A voice rang through the medical ward. Tsunade had just walked in. She was giving Anko a heavily disapproving look.

"But I…Orochimaru-sama―"

"Lay. Down."

Anko gulped and quickly did as she was told. Tsunade was a very intimidating person. "That's better." The blonde woman said, her voice much calmer. "Now, if you're that eager to go home, then we have no choice but to let you go, but not until I'm satisfied you're well enough. Understand?"

Anko nodded weakly. "Good. Now, I heard something about painkillers…"

While she went in search of them, another familiar voice called, "Come on Kakashi we're gonna be late!"

Kakashi looked over his shoulder at Obito. "You're not one to preach people on lateness, Obito."

Obito stuck his tongue out at Kakashi. "Oi, Mitarashi. See you're awake. Welcome back."

"Hey Uchiha."

"Well, come on Kakashi, move it. Rin-san's downstairs waiting already."

Kakashi rolled his eyes and looked back at Anko. "See you later. Just listen to Tsunade-sama, all right?"

"Fair enough." Anko gave him a small smile, and he left, letting Obito lead the way for once.

"Here." Tsunade handed Anko a couple small pills and a glass of water. She took the pills, hoping they would work soon. Now that she was actually laying down again, she was feeling the pain from her sudden movement. "Just take it easy for now."

"All right." Anko knew she didn't have a choice but to listen. "Um…how did I get here, anyway?"

Her memory of the night before was kind of hazy. She remembered laying down on the sidewalk…then nothing.

"Kakashi, Obito, and Rin brought you." Tsunade said. She was sitting at her desk reading paperwork. "They found you on the sidewalk on their way home. And they weren't about to just leave you there."

"They did that?" Anko was surprised. She knew it had been raining last night, and she couldn't imagine Uchiha stopping to help her. Kakashi and Rin barely knew her, so she couldn't see them stopping either.

"Those three, no matter how they act, have hearts of pure gold." Tsunade said, looking over her shoulder at Anko. "Yes, even Uchiha Obito. Both he and Kakashi are typical teenage boys of course, they make stupid mistakes, but that's why Rin's good for them. She keeps them in line."

Anko's lips twitched into a smile. From what she knew of Rin, the girl was quiet, and didn't try to keep anyone in line.

Still, Anko was pleasantly surprised that two almost total strangers and one boy who hated her had actually stopped to help her, when all they probably wanted to do was get out of the storm.

The world was full of surprises.

Author's Note: I'm still in my decision stage. On the one hand...I like this story. I want to keep it up. But on the other hand...I don't really know if it's worth it /shrugs/ let me know, kay? Review! - Sam