"A good harvest?" came a chilly voice as soon as Kabuto and his teammates entered the tower.
"Yes, even better than expected." he answered with an icy smirk on his face. "I learned a lot about him during the second exam. And I recorded all the data…on this." He held up one of his Ninja Info Cards between two fingers. "You want it?"
The snake of a man took the card his subordinate. "Of course... So tell me, what did you think?"
Kabuto gave off a small icy laugh, placing a hand on his hip. "Your curiosity is truly insatiable, Lord Orochimaru."
The Snake Sannin smiled, examining the card in his pale hand as he leaned against the wall of the tower. "As a Sound Village spy, you see things others don't. Your opinion…is of interest to me."
"Oh, it doesn't really matter, does it?" the medic asked in his usual dry humor tone, placing two fingers over the scratch he received over the bridge of his nose in the Forest of Death, removing them a second later to show that the wound was now gone. His circular glasses held a sinister glimmer to them as he smirked at his lord and master. "Whatever I think, you're the one who decides. Isn't that always the way?"
"You're a cagey one, aren't you, Kabuto?" Orochimaru chuckled, straightening himself off the wall and disappeared in a whirlwind of smoke. Although his presence was gone, his eerie voice remained in the air. "I like that. Good work."
ஜ ~ ஜ
It was already the next day, but the pain Anko felt from last night was still excruciating as ever. She sat in the Monitor Room on the blue couch, Kotetsu and Izumo standing behind it, one at each side. Lord Hokage stood in front of Anko, his expression turning from grim to grave with concern for the snake kunoichi.
"Ugh…" She clutched the Curse Mark with her right hand; the left side of her coat sleeve was off her shoulder.
"How is it? Does the Curse Mark still cause you pain?" Lord Hokage inquired, his usual smoking pipe dangling in his mouth.
"No, not really. Thanks to you it's much better." Anko replied gratefully, her voice strained.
"That's good, but we better get back to business." Kotetsu pointed out while Anko adjusted her coat back on her. "This Orochimaru is one of the Sannin, the Legendary Three Ninja, isn't he? He's supposed to be so incredibly powerful that not even the ANBU Black Ops Unit could bring him down. I heard a rumor that he died, but I guess that wasn't true."
"Why did he come to this village now, anyway?" Izumo questioned, his voice was laced with slight anger.
Anko gasped when the memory of Orochimaru caressing her soft face as he bragged about the boy dawned at her. "That kid…"
"He's after Sasuke, right?" Hiruzen finished for her.
"Wha…?" Anko stared up at him in disbelief, amazed on how he could read her so easily. Or maybe it was because he already knew the answer to what his former student was after. A good teacher always knows his student, after all. Perhaps, it was a mixture of both. Like teacher, like student, Anko thought.
"Anko!" A voice interrupted from one of the televisions in the room, the screen flickering to show an image of Iwashi on it, and everyone pivoted their heads in the direction of the monitor. "We've confirmed that 21 ninja has finished the second exam. And as for the third exam, according to the rules, we'll have to hold a round of preliminaries first. The first time…in five years."
The screen went out and there was a small paused amongst the group in the room. Anko's wide eyes still gazed up at the Hokage as he swiveled around to look at her.
"Now, for the time being, we'll just continue with the exams as planned. But I also want to keep an eye on his movements as well." Hiruzen told her.
"Yes." Anko agreed in a quiet tone.
ஜ ~ ஜ
A few minutes later, Anko stood with the Jōnin, Chūnin, and Genin in the arena in the tower. She was in the front to the far left, her good friend, Ibiki, to the far right on the side of Lord Hokage. The Jōnin, the only ones with the squads that passed the second test, stood behind Lord Hokage, their figures tall and proud as they each looked at their students.
"First of all, congratulations on finishing the second exam!" Anko's voice carried among the Genin. She smirked, inwardly pleased and surprised on how many ninja were able to survive her test. Hah… There was 78 ninja who took that exam. Frankly, I'm surprised that even 21 passed. I knew that less than half would make it, but I really thought the number would be in the single digits.
"All right, now pay attention! Lord Hokage's going to explain the third exam to you! You better listen carefully, maggots." Anko commanded the Genin, whose minds were elsewhere. Bowing slightly, she turned to Hiruzen. "Lord Hokage, they're all yours."
After Lord Hokage went through explaining the real purpose of the Chūnin Exams, the sickly Hayate Gekkō came forward before Hiruzen could tell the exhausted Genin about the third exam. He explained to them that they were to hold a round preliminaries first before continuing over to the third exam, since there was so many of them left. And all the while, Anko couldn't take her eyes off the Uchiha boy on Kakashi Hatake's team.
What Orochimaru said to her about the Uchiha still troubled her. She pitied the boy for being branded with the Curse Mark just like her, but there was small part of her that envied him for the power he wielded to be able to survived it. It was just as her ex-mentor said to her in the Forest of Death. Could this boy really be better than her?
"It's just as I feared." Hiruzen stated, referring to Sasuke's reaction the waves of pain he was receiving from the Curse Mark. The Uchiha boy was grasping onto his neck firmly while talking to his two teammates, Naruto and Sakura.
"What do we do with him?" Ibiki inquired.
"We take him out of the exam, hand him over to Black Ops, and let them keep him locked up." Anko suggested, knowing exactly how to deal with someone that was branded with the Curse Mark since went through it herself a long time ago. She wanted to take out the Uchiha and keep him far away from Orochimaru's clutches as possible. It was the only way to keep the child safe, and prevent Orochimaru from getting to him. "We have to keep that seal under control or—"
"Oh, and he's just going to quietly go along with this, huh?" a voice inserted casually, and Anko pivoted her head around to see Kakashi lazily smiling under that mask of his, his hands in his pants pockets. "You really think so? You're forgetting he's of the Uchiha clan."
"I don't care what the heck he is! If he stays, he's a danger to everyone! Don't you see? As he gets stronger, so does the Curse Mark! That thing is feeding off his chakra! It's a Forbidden Jutsu that devours the one who bears it!" she yelled angrily, twisting around to fully look at him with a heated expression etched on her face, gripping tightly on her own Curse Mark as she spoke her next words in a soft voice. She glanced the boy over her shoulder, almost seeing a mirror image of herself in his place, remembering when she was first branded with the Curse Mark. How could someone like Kakashi possibly understand the power that the Curse Mark holds? All she wanted was to save Sasuke from going through that painful experience like she did. "It's incredible the kid's still standing. By now, he...should be dead."
Turning around, the snake kunoichi directed her voice to Hiruzen, whose stern eyes were rooted on the Uchiha boy. "Lord Hokage!"
"Okay, you got me. I'm out." came a voice from the group of Genin. A silver-haired boy clad in purple garbs raised his hand up with a sheepish smile on his face. He was quitting the exams, and Hayate allowed him to leave after confirming his name: Kabuto Yakushi. The silver-haired child was then engrossed in a conversation with Nine-Tailed kid when he pivoted around to leave, halting his tracks.
"Seems to me I've seen that one before. If memory serves, this isn't the first time he's dropped out before a battle. What kind of game is he playing?" Lord Hokage wondered out loud.
"Anko." the sadist prompted her out from the daze she was in.
"Oh… Right." She snapped her attention to the clipboard in her hand; flipping through the pages until she found the one she was looking for and read it. "Kabuto Yakushi. Says here he's…failed six times in a row."
"What do you have on his background?" Hiruzen asked curiously.
"His time at the Academy was not what you'd called impressive. Average grades, took him a full three tries before he passed the graduation exam. As far the missions he's carried out since then, there's been 2 C-ranks and 14 D-ranks. It's not exactly a battle record to write home about. However…" she paused, her eyes lifting up to meet Third Hokage's eyes.
"Go on." he urged her.
"There's something before his time in the Academy."
"Huh?" Hiruzen's old eyes widened slightly at the news.
"Do you remember the child, the one who was found after the Battle of Kikyō Pass? The only survivor?"
"I remembered the story. It was said a small boy was found among the enemy's dead battlefield. He was found barely alive and brought back by a Jōnin from the Medical Unit." His gaze lingered on the silver-haired orphan in the group of Genin. "You're saying this is that boy?"
All eyes watched Kabuto leave the arena. Anko couldn't shrug off the odd feeling she was getting from that kid. There was something weird about him, something cryptic. He was just as vague as Orochimaru, like he was hiding something behind those circular glasses of his, but she decided to ignore it for now.
Moving on, Lord Hokage breathed out smoke from his pipe in his mouth, eyeing Sasuke who was still in deep conversation with his teammates again. "I'm still concerned about what Orochimaru said. Allow the boy to continue with the exams for now and we'll see what happens."
"What? But, Lord Hokage…!" Anko tried to protest, but was cut off when Hiruzen continued.
"However, at the first sign of the Curse Mark growing or his power getting out of control, you will step in and stop it."
"Right." Ibiki nodded calmly.
"But I…!" Anko wanted to argue further, but chose against it. She knew Lord Hokage's word was law, and had no choice but to accept it. She could only hope he made the right decision, as well as the decision for not taking any other actions to stop Sasuke on her own. "As you wish."
With no other participants backing down to quit, Hayate explained the rules for the prelims and then gestured his head at Anko, who nodded and pivoted her head to face the wall behind her, holding the microphone close to her mouth.
"Open the panel." she ordered, and a section of the wall slide up to revealed a screen, which was going to display the names of the two-on-two match up for the Genin. The board flickered rapidly until two names appeared for the first match: Sasuke Uchiha VS Yoroi Akadō. What a sick stroke of bad luck. They picked him right off the bat, Anko thought grimly. She could feel Kakashi's intense, uneasy stare when Sasuke's name was chosen as well. They were both unsure how things were going to end up.
Everyone else the arena to move to the upper levels, observing the match carefully as the chakra-sucking Genin absorbed Sasuke's chakra into him, draining him of his strength. The way he is now, everyone knew there was no possibly way he could win the intense match with the Curse Mark causing him pain. Sasuke was able to turn the tables in the middle of the match, using the Dancing Leaf Shadow on his opponent to kick him in the air, astounding everybody at the will he demonstrated.
However, as the Uchiha leaped into the air to float behind Yoroi, the Curse Mark started to spread its tar marks across his body, agonizing pain flowing through him and just waiting for the chance to take over. But with his strong will and stubborn ambition and power, he shocked Anko, Orochimaru, who was disguised as a Sound Jōnin, and Kakashi when he was able to force his Curse Mark to draw back.
The Curse Mark receded! Anko gazed up at him in astonishment. There's no possible way he could've gained control over the Curse Mark so quickly after just receiving it. Even when he landed the finishing blow to his adversary in his match with his Lions Barrage, Anko was still in disbelief that he was able to actually do it. The battle took a lot out of him, of course, but it was amazing he was still conscious after he went through all of that. She was in trance as she glued her eyes onto the Uchiha boy that was panting out of exertion, leaning against his teacher's leg that prevented him from falling backwards after he was declared the winner of the first match. I still can't believe it… The way the Curse Mark receded…as if he's gained control over it…!
At the other side of the arena, Orochimaru was shaking in excitement at the raw and vigorous power that Sasuke had shown; his long serpent tongue came out to lick his lips, the possessive desire he held to gain the Sharingan had increased only more after witnessing that battle. Magnificent…!
His golden eyes glanced in the direction of his old student for a moment, her eyes still staring deeply in awe and shock at the boy's power, but then brushed her off as unimportant for now. Kakashi escorted Sasuke out after he insisted to Medical Unit that he would be taking care of his student. That was Orochimaru's sign to go, since there was nothing left to keep him here at the tower. It was time to pay his future vessel and his sensei a visit. He made a hand sign and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Anko was awash with relief when she saw the Copy Ninja walked away with Sasuke, knowing he will be in good hands. Kakashi would protect the boy; she knew he would do anything at any cost keep him away from her evil ex-mentor. She kept thinking about Sasuke throughout the rest of the matches. The rest of the fights were like a blur to her, a haze blocking out her whole environment. She wanted to leave and go help Kakashi keep Sasuke under wraps, safe and far away from Orochimaru's wicked motives, but all she could do now was to continue with the exams.
ஜ ~ ஜ
Her feet dragged her down the brightly lit streets of the Leaf Village, her mind with no idea where she wanted to go. Her body was tired and her head was numb from her stress. Anko kept her head hung down low, her eyes on the ground as she perused about how Sasuke was faring. She was glad the preliminaries were finally over, after taking two full days to complete. She had to stay behind passing out slips of paper with numbers on it with to the Genin that made it through the prelims, and for the explanation for the third exam. It wasn't until it was already nighttime that she was able to leave.
It won't be for another month until the third exam will start. It takes time for the nobles and lords across the land to be notified of the upcoming grand event to be taken place in the stadium in the Leaf Village. And while the Chūnin Exams were still taking place, her old sensei was lurking somewhere in the village, plotting within the shadows. Anko dreaded the thought of the waste of time she was spending with the Chūnin Exams while Orochimaru was out there. The snake kunoichi gritted her teeth together in frustration, her pulse started to race rapidly, her palms sweaty at the thought of her ex-mentor's sinister plan he had in store for the Leaf Village.
She groaned tiredly, her head aching and her body sore from the lack of sleep in the last two days. The prelims took too much time, not to mention the searing pain she felt from the Curse Mark that would throb every now and then. Her pulse pounded in her ears like a small drum as she continued to wander aimlessly in the streets with no destination set in her mind.
There was no way she go home. Not yet, at least. What was the point, anyway, when her thoughts and dreams were only be filled of visions and images of him? No matter where she goes, whether she was awake or asleep, she could never hope to evade her former sensei.
Never.
Sleep was no sanctuary for her. It brought up only more painful, unwanted memories. The images of his golden, amber orbs piercing at her, his cruel laugh ringing inside her mind, the sight his pale, smirking lips. In truth, she was afraid to be asleep. The only thing that would do to her would bring up her nightmares, each worse than the last one every night. He would just haunt her in her sleep, and she didn't want that.
Her movements stopped when she noticed herself in front of a Chinese pub/restaurant labeled the Shushuya. Her hand pushed open the door slowly and she entered, the bitter scent of alcohol and cigarette invading her nostrils; the lights in restaurant blinded her sight for a second until her eyes adjusted to its brightness. Her face wrinkled at the foul smell of the place, but she stalked in anyway. The place was dimly lit up, the atmosphere dusty and dead. There was a bar at the end of restaurant and wooden booths with little to no people in them. At this time of night, the village's residents were normally either at home and asleep in their warms bed or walking in the streets, except for men with nothing better to with their lives.
Strolling over to the bar at the far end of the pub, ignoring the lustful stares she attracted from the drunken men at the booths, the snake kunoichi planted her butt into one stool and buried her head within the circle of her arms on the counter. The bartender noticed her presence her immediately, making a mental note that he haven't seen her before. Anko was never the type to come to these kinds of places frequently, after all.
He was a man in his around the age of forty, with blond spiky hair and beard with a white headband strapped on his forehead. He flashed a friendly smile at her as he came up in front of her. "What got I get ya?"
Anko lifted her head up when she sensed him approaching her, scoffing icily at his offer. "Nothing."
"That so?"
"Yeah, I don't drink."
"You sure? Looks like you could use one, lady." The bartender gave her another smile. "How about some nice ice-cold ale?"
This bartender was sure persistence, Anko thought. She shrugged her shoulders carelessly, sighing and nodded at the old man. One beer wouldn't hurt, she supposed. "Fine, I'll take one."
Grinning, the bartender laid down a glass cup and popped the cord off a large brown bottle, pouring down a dark amber liquid in before he shoved it towards Anko. The violet-haired woman grasped the glass with willowy fingers, staring at the cold drink that projected a reflecting image of her on the surface of the icy substance. She hardly recognized herself when she saw her in it. Her face was blanched and washed out, dark circle formed under her eyelids, and they were also loopy and half-opened. She shut her eyes in disgust; she'd never considered herself beautiful woman like her good friend, Kurenai Yūhi.
She brought the glass to her lips, letting the cold drink slid down her throat slowly and sensually in one big gulp. There was a hissing sensation churning from inside her stomach, soothing the fire that boiled there to cool down, causing as all the thoughts of the events of the last two days to flow out of her mind. She wiped her mouth over the rivulet of ale trailing down the soft life of her jaw with her coat-covered arm, placing the glass cup back down on the counter.
"Thanks, that wasn't half bad."
"You weren't kidding when you said you never drink before," the old man grinned her with a cheeky smile. He produced another cup to her and poured down the next batch of beer for her. "Well, here. This is one is on the house."
Anko accepted the cup in her hands, her stomach feeling all fuzzy and warm from the last one. When she was about to bring the next cup to her mouth, the door to the pub swung opened and a friendly, familiar face entered.
"Anko?" The brown-haired, Special Jōnin called out to her, his tooth-picked hanging from his lips like always as he made his way towards her. "So, it really was you."
Anko swiveled her at head to see her friend. "Genma? What're you doing here?"
The male ninja took a seat beside her at the bar, studying her exhausted face closely. "I should be asking you that. I saw you in here and came in. I never thought you were the type to come to a place like this. You're not drowning in your sorrows, are you?"
The violet-haired Special Jōnin rubbed her temple wearily as she bitterly replied, "More like nursing my wounds and trying to repair whatever sanity I have left."
"Don't be so grumpy. It can't be that bad." Genma laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. Anko flinched slightly at the contact, not accustomed to being touch by just anybody, but she quickly settled at his kind gesture.
"You'd be surprised. My primary reason why I even became a ninja had betrayed, humiliated, wounded, and deserted me showed up after ten years and after the last two days' events, the shaky ground I walk on is about to go ka-boom…" She gulped down her glass of ale at the end of the sentence, Genma watching slack-jawed as she consumed the alcohol swiftly down her throat. She was really out of it, he thought anxiously.
"How many of those have you had?" Genma gestured to her cup of beer in her hand and the one down on the counter.
"Two, I think."
"Okay, that's enough. Come on, let's go. I'm taking you home." He slammed some ryō down on the counter to pay for his friend's drinks and caught a sober Anko in his arms when she attempted to stand on her own, but failed miserably. "Hey, careful."
"Sorry, I can walk. I'm fine, really." she insisted, but a haze clouded her mind and her muscles felt loose and weak from the beers she digested in two big gulps. She felt two strong arms swooping under her legs, hoisting her up to the male shinobi's chest as he picked her up. She cringed almost painfully at being touched so intimately by a man, but relaxed when she felt a gentle warmth beginning to surround her.
Exiting the pub, Genma carried Anko down the nearly empty streets of the Leaf Village, the cool wind wafting against their skin, the male ninja's sandals clicking against the hard ground beneath his feet. Anko tightened her grip of her arms around her friend's neck and buried her face in the crook. He smelled good, like pumpkin broth and rich spices…and he felt safe.
The two Special Jōnin didn't speak a word to each other while Genma held the purple-haired kunoichi as he made his way to her apartment. Upon arriving at their destination, Genma kicked the door leading into Anko's bedroom open, using her dangling feet to flip the light switch on in the room, and he set her down softly on the edge of the bed.
"You shouldn't drink, it's not good for your health." Genma chided her lightly with a small smile, helping her remove her coat, sandals, pouches, headband, and shin guards off her body. He pushed her back gently down on the bed, pulling the blue with white stripes blanket over her sweet, languid form. "You seem to be okay now, so I'll be—"
A hand grabbed out from under the blanket and held on his wrist firmly, stopping him from leaving when he pivoted around to the door. Anko opened her eyelids halfway, her brown eyes imbued with a tender pleading, yearning expression. "Please, don't leave me alone…"
Genma's brown, warm eyes enlarged slightly at her quiet request from her small, meek voice. The Anko he was seeing now was so different from the Anko he was normally used to seeing. Her words were layered with a kind of desperation he thought he would never hear, which was probably due to her maudlin state. She looked almost…afraid. Her eyes closed completely, but her hold on his wrist never loosened, and the male shinobi stared down at her tenderly.
It was so odd seeing her act like this, but it was also sort of…nice. Besides, with the grip on his wrist, it looked like he wasn't going to leave anything time soon. Sighing, the brown-haired ninja gave in.
"All right, you win." He gave her a boyish, sweet smile. Stripping off his headband, flack jacket, sandals, pouches, and the toothpick in his mouth, he slipped in next to Anko as she moved to make room for him in the bed. She snuggled into his soothing warm, and he wrapped an arm around her to hold her close, her face hidden against his hard, masculine chest. It didn't take long until a blissful slumber enveloped the two into a peaceful sleep, unknown to them that a pair of amber eyes was gazing at them through the window.
A few hours passed until Genma was able to tiptoed silently out of Anko's apartment, careful to not wake her up. He wondered if Anko would remember what happened between them tonight or not. He guessed not since she was drunk when they saw each other, and that was okay with him. Anko was safe and sound in her bed, that's all that mattered to him. Having her remember what transpired between them wasn't important to him just as along as she was okay.
When the male Special Jōnin finally left, the window to Anko's room lifted open quietly, and slithered in a snake. He sauntered with light footsteps to where Anko laid, curled up like a cute innocent kitten in the bed. A pale hand extended to her face, tucking away all of her strands to one side to get a better look at her angelic beauty. She really did look gorgeous in her sleep, vulnerable and lovely. A rare sight to most people, a sight that only belonged to him and wasn't willing to share.
The moonlight's pale glow played softly over her sprawled form, enhancing her beauty that was unknown to the snake kunoichi, but not him or anyone else. He let his index finger caressed down her smooth cheek, his touch feathery light. Her skin was soft, like satin velvet and warm like her pure heart. He studied the contours of her heart-shaped face, memorizing every elegant curve. The proud, graceful column of her neck was angled to one side, and he could see the most beautiful blue veins all over her creamy flesh, her pulse palpitating in a calm rhythm, much like the gentle fall and rise of her chest as she breathed in her sleep.
Her tantalizing scent enveloped the air around him, and he dipped his head to her neck in order to drink in her pleasant smell. She smelled like sweet rain and erotic flowers, an aroma that would draw any man to her with just the slightest sniff of it. How nice it was to see his dear student again the Forest of Death. The Snake Sannin had enjoyed their little…spar, relishing in the vision of the scorching fury and fire in her caramel-colored eyes. She still possessed that defiance and bloodthirsty side of her, a trait she gained while under his tutelage. She came up to him with no fear, only the hatred she'd harbored towards him for all these years. And even when she crippled down due to the Curse Mark, she fiercely held onto the fervent look in her unflinching gaze and her raw tongue that challenged him. His sweet and strong girl.
He didn't know why he was here, caressing and touching her face, watching her sleep. He supposed it was out on a whim, or boredom. He sat patiently outside her bedroom window; a frown plastered his face when he saw that Leaf male ninja coddling with his Anko. He was extremely…displeased at the scene.
"Orochimaru…" she muttered sleepily, and the Snake Sannin smiled amusedly. He cradled one side of her face in the palm of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. He stretched his free hand to the one of the two photos kept on the desk behind her bed, gripping the frame as he stared at it. The photo was of him and a younger Anko, as student and teacher. He smirked at the fact that his pupil still treasured this memory, despite the so-called hatred she directed towards him during their fight in the Forest of Death. She still prized their relationship, loved it and cherished it—cherished him. Some things never change, and that's how he wanted things to stay.
He placed the picture back down and pressed his lips down on hers for a ghost of a kiss. As their mouths joined, he felt Anko stirred a little. The violet-haired woman felt the contact of a man—of him kissing her lips. Her eyes snapped out to meet the lucid darkness shrouding her room, but he was not there. Orochimaru was already gone…or maybe he was never here to begin with. Was her mind playing tricks on her again?
Anko sighed tiredly, leaning back down on her and fell into sleep once more. The safety and bliss she felt before during her slumber offered her no more comfort that night. Outside her apartment, Orochimaru's smirk broadened, sparing one last gaze down at his dear girl, and then headed off into the shadows of the night. He has work to do, and couldn't afford to waste anymore time.
ஜ ~ ஜ
A week passed since the prelims were over, and everyone in the Leaf Village was bustling to finish the preparations of the third phase for the Chūnin Exams. And somewhere out there was Orochimaru, still planning against their village.
Anko sat on a green cushion in the Hokage Room, the meeting place where she and her fellow ninja sat down in front of the wooden U-shaped table Lord Hokage and the Leaf Council, that composed of the Hokage's advisors, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, sat in.
The snake kunoichi sat in between Kakashi and Kurenai, the Copy Ninja to her right and the crimson-eyed kunoichi to her left and by Kurenai's left was Asuma Sarutobi. At the back sat Might Guy and Ibiki, and in the front were Genma and Raidō Namiashi, Genma's best friend.
As Lord Hokage spoke, his hat down on the table, his expression was grave. "Some of you may have not yet heard the news. The body of Hayate Gekkō was found near Kikyō Castle.
Shocked spread among the ninja at the news, and Asuma was the first one to speak. "What, Hayate…?
Kurenai shared the same disbelief. "H-He's dead…?"
Even Ibiki broke his stoic mask at the devastating information. "Unbelievable…"
However, Anko remained calm, suspicion swirling inside her head. Hayate was a talented shinobi; it was hard to be believed that he killed so easily by anyone. Piping up, Anko leaned slight forward in her seat, somewhat tensed. "This has to be Orochimaru's doing."
"As likely as that may seem, let's not jump to conclusions yet." The violet-haired woman pivoted her head to look at Kakashi at her side, sitting with his left leg raised up and his arm resting on it. "We think that Hayate was on a trail of a Sound Village spy named Kabuto. No doubt that Orochimaru is up to something, but we don't know for sure—"
"Well, I say cancel the Chūnin Exams and go after Orochimaru." Raidō interrupted sharply.
Hiruzen disagreed. "No, I think not. He revealed himself to Anko and sent a warning not to cancel the exams. You see, these exams have brought together ninja from every allied nation."
Homura turned his head to his old teammate. "What do you think it means?"
"There are two things we know about him: That he bears an abiding grudge against our Hidden Leaf Village and that his power is great. Perhaps great enough to crush a village on his own." Third Hokage replied, facing his advisor before shifting back to his shinobi in front of him. "Certainly great enough that any village would preferred to have him on their side rather than against them."
"Impossible!" Raidō exclaimed with anger laced tone. "No village in the alliance would betray another, and join forces with that fiend!"
As those words left his mouth, Anko's entire body stiffened. She could feel the Third Hokage's doubtful eyes locking with Anko's nervous ones. She twitched under the pressure she felt, so she looked down and shut her eyes, unable to bring herself to say or give a sign to deny what the wise old man was thinking.
"Well, the alliance treaty is only as binding as any verbal agreement," Kakashi stated, eliciting a jittery reaction from Raidō. "As we found out during the last Great Ninja War."
"In any case, until we're able to find out more, this is all just idle speculation." Lord Hokage told them, catching the ninja's attention back to him.
"We've dispatched ANBU Black Ops to every village to collect information. We would be fools to act so hastily." Koharu spoke up this time. "That might be just what our enemy is aiming for."
"And besides, I have complete trust in every one of you." The Third Hokage let a confident smile surfaced upon his face, his eyes drifting to one shinobi in the room to the next, all of them tensing slightly as his expression turned serious. "When and if the time comes, we will gather the strength of the Hidden Leaf Village, and fight if we must."
ஜ ~ ஜ
Hiruzen looked up each of the pictures of the Hokage that came before and after him, his gaze lingering the longest on the photo of the Fourth Hokage, his face stern as the rest of the others. He sat on a black sofa in the dimly lit room, his hat on the table. His expression was unreadable as his eyes shifted to the beautiful but sad woman behind him.
"Lord Hokage…" Anko addressed him quietly.
"What is it, Anko?" The old man swiveled his head to see her severe guilt-stricken face and sorrow optics. She came here—to him, with one purpose in mind. She doubt it would do any good, but she felt like she owed it to the person who had saved her sanity and helped her out of her broken shell with his tender compassion ever since Orochimaru abandoned her. They both stared at each other for moment before Anko spoke.
"I'm sorry, but I'm…"
Lord Hokage pivoted his head away from her, closing his eyes. He didn't need to hear the rest of her sentence to know why she was here before him. "You're what? Are you feeling guilty that you've returned alive from the Forest of Death?"
"…" Anko hang her head down, not bothering to answer since it was clearly projected off her rueful face.
"There's no need for that," he continued, assuring her regretful emotions. "After all, you no longer have a connection to Orochimaru, right?"
"…" If only that was true, Anko wished, the remorseful look on her face deepened. The Curse Mark was the only thing binding her and her former master together. But it wasn't just that, her feelings—the part that had adored and idolized Orochimaru—still remained intact in her soul, bottled in the very depths of her heart.
"There's no ninja alive today in the Village Hidden Leaves who could ever even hope to defeat him." Hiruzen went on, his eyes staring down at his lap. "I myself probably would not be his equal."
Lifting her head ever so slightly up, Anko forced out the next words in a tight tone. "I wish…the Fourth Hokage was still alive."
"You shouldn't say such things. It's only because he sacrificed himself and died that our land was saved. Besides, that's all in the past. It's a story from thirteen years ago. He's gone, and we can't change that." Third Hokage reprimanded her softly, glancing back up to the picture of the hero of the Leaf Village. He stood up slowly from his seat as Anko watched him. "We must do what we can with what he have."
"…Yes, sir." she managed to utter out. Picking up his hat from the table, Hiruzen placed it on top of his head and put his smoking pipe into his mouth.
"Very well, I'm going out to get some fresh air." He didn't look at the snake kunoichi's face as he passed her up, but he stopped when he came by the door, his back still to her as she stared at him. "And, Anko, don't blame yourself."
The shōji door slid opened and Lord Hokage walked out as Anko bowed down her head, silently thanking him for the kindness he had shown her, even though she knew she didn't deserve it. She didn't deserve his compassion, his forgiveness, or anything else. She was unworthy of such things. But deep down, Anko did earn it—she was worthy of it, she just couldn't see it like everyone else can. One day, she will see that. Until then…she will have to live her life like she is now, seeing herself as a woman worthy of only disgrace.
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"Hey, Anko, wait up!" a male's voice called out to her eagerly. Pivoting around in the streets of the village, Anko allowed a small smile to appear on her face, in spite of the fatigue she felt. She was tired with so many things going today, about the news of Hayate and her meeting with the Third Hokage, and all she wanted to do now is sleep. Still, she didn't want her friends to worry about her, so she put on a brave front for them.
"Hey, Genma, what's up?" she asked her fellow Chūnin Exams proctor, his typical toothpick in his mouth. They started to walk down the streets together, both of their hands snuffed down in their pockets of their attire.
"Are you okay now?" he inquired her casually, a boyish smile on his face.
"Uh, yeah… Why wouldn't I be?" she questioned back, puzzled by his query.
The male Special Jōnin chuckled lightly. "You really don't remember, do you?"
"Remember what?"
"Never mind, it's not important. I'll see you later." He waved goodbye to her and dashed in another direction before she could press him further for an answer.
"What was that about?" entered a new voice. Anko didn't have to look behind her to know the owner of that sound was. Instead, she frowned and started to stalk away from him.
"Leave me alone, Kakashi," she told him angrily, but he followed after her in his own steady pace.
"Hey now, don't be like that." She could hear the lazy smile in his voice. "What, are you still mad me for what happened back there during the preliminaries?"
"YES!" she yelled, turning her body to face him properly in her fit of anger, ignoring the strange looks she getting from the passing citizens on the streets. "You are a complete moron who doesn't know a thing about when handling a kid with a Curse Mark!"
"Now, now, no need to shout." he replied, trying his best to calm her.
"If anything happens to that kid, it's on you." She swiveled her heel and marched off back to her apartment, the Copy Ninja still trailing her. "Quit following me."
"Look, I just want to talk to you. Give me five minutes."
Her feet halted and she turned back to the silver-haired Jōnin, her arms crossed over her chest. "Fine, five minutes."
"I understand that you're concern about Sasuke, but you really need to calm down about this whole Orochimaru thing that's going on right now." he started, his hands in his pants pockets. "I know you're under a lot of stress right now, but being angry at me won't solve anything about Sasuke or Orochimaru."
"And do you suggest we do? Sit back idly and let Orochimaru have his way with the Uchiha?" she retorted crossly. "You don't know the power the Curse Mark holds, Kakashi. You can't possibly hope to."
"Anko, listen, I—"
"Three minutes."
"Sasuke's going to be fine, and there's no way we're going to let Orochimaru have his way," the Sharingan warrior pressed on with his speech. "But there isn't thing we do right now, we don't even know where—"
Anko pointed an accusing finger at him, cutting him off. "You should've listen to me and have Black Ops keep him under surveillance. He would've been protected. Don't you want to keep the boy safe?"
"Of course I do, but—"
"Time's up. I'm leaving." The violet-haired woman made a move to go, but Kakashi grasped onto her right wrist to stop her. She narrowed her eyes dangerously at him. "Let go of me."
The Copy Ninja sighed wearily at her fiery temper. "Anko, you really need to stop getting so personally invested in whatever that concerns Orochimaru." And with a little humor, he added, "Plus, it's also getting kind of creepy. Sasuke is not Orochimaru."
"Thanks for the tip." she scoffed sarcastically, snatching her arm away him and stomping a few steps the streets angrily until she halted. Taking in a deep breath, she exhaled deep sigh as Kakashi eyed her patiently. "I know, all right? I'm just worried."
And with that, she proceeded down the streets in her irritated stride. The Copy Ninja breathed out wearily, covering his masked face with his right hand. "Good grief…"
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When the assault from the Sound and Sand Villages came, Anko didn't take front lines to defend the Leaf Village. Rather, she helped the women and children evacuated inside the Hokage Monument. She wanted to be out there fighting against Orochimaru's troops and the traitorous Sand shinobi they were supposedly allied with, but she knew it was more important to get the citizens to safety. Not to mention she would be meet with agonizing pain if she were anywhere near where Orochimaru and the Third Hokage were facing off.
She could hear blades clashing and smelled the scent of tangy blood coming from the air where the carnage was taking place. When the noise quieted down, her heart was torn apart when she found her fellow shinobi gazing down sadly in loss at Hiruzen Sarutobi's corpse. He had sacrificed himself, just as the Fourth Hokage did in order to save the village with the Sealing Jutsu: Reaper Death Seal, by sealing the revived spirits of the First and Second Hokage, along with Orochimaru's arms within his old body.
They had won the fight against the Sound and the Sand, but they lost many lives at the hands of their enemies. The next day, the Third Hokage's funeral took place under the gloomy gray sky that hovered above the sad, damaged Leaf Village. Anko attended as well, dressed in a short black dress like the rest of the kunoichi at the funeral, paying her respects to the now deceased, but never forgotten, kind Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Overwhelming sorrow and loss weighed heavily in each and every shinobi's heart at the damage that was done upon their home. Even so, the ninja continued on with their missions, unable to refuse them. If the rest of the nations learned just how weak the Leaf Village had grown, more enemies would be on their way to destroy it.
When the news that the medical genius and only female Sannin, the brilliant Lady Tsunade, came home after some reluctance—with Shizune, her aide that carried the Sannin's pet pig, Tonton; Jiraiya, the Toad Sage and last of the Legendary Sannin; and of course, the number one hyperactive, knucklehead ninja, Naruto Uzumaki—everyone in the village rejoiced in happiness when the information spread that Tsunade was to be the Fifth Hokage, along with rumors that said that Tsunade and Jiraiya encountered a weakened Orochimaru on their way back and defeated him. It was only then when things started to look up for the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Anko was there with Kurenai during Lady Tsunade's inauguration as the Fifth Hokage, joy welling up in everyone's hearts as the Sannin pledged to protect the Leaf Village from now on. Most of the shinobi didn't show it under their placid expressions, including Anko herself, but they were glad that their village would return back to its former glory.
However, things took a turn for the worst when Sasuke Uchiha left the village to join Orochimaru to gain power to defeat the man who brutally slaughtered his clansmen, his older brother and only other Uchiha survivor, Itachi Uchiha, that was now part of a criminal organization that Orochimaru was belonged to, the Akatsuki.
Anko dreaded that news when she heard it, cursing Orochimaru for enticing Sasuke to him by using the Uchiha's passionate ambition to lure him into his poisonous trap. Anko felt somewhat responsible for the Uchiha's defection from the Hidden Leaf Village. She could've talked to boy or tried to stop him from going to her former sensei. It wouldn't have done any good, she decided, since the boy nearly killed the people he once called his friends, even the Nine-Tailed child, who had the most influence on him than anybody else.
It wasn't much of a shock to Anko, but she still had hoped that the Uchiha boy wouldn't go down the path of evil to obtain power just to avenge his clan. She loathed that Orochimaru had his way again, and she was powerless to stop him. One night after Sasuke left, the snake kunoichi prayed that there was still time for Orochimaru's goal to have the Sharingan in his possession would be stopped by someone soon, and she wished that she would be the person to do it.
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Next Chapter: Anko must face the darkness in her past when she's called to lead a mission to a place she once visited with her former sensei, Orochimaru! Will facing the truth save the mission—or break her forever?