A/N: Now that I'm done with the arcs in Naruto, I can move on to my original ideas. The whole point of this story is making the meaning of Morning Glory flower, which is Anko's flower, go along with Anko feelings towards Orochimaru. This chapter is not part of the meanings. Rather, this chapter helps me shoot off the next chapter for the story.
This chapter was inspired and based off by the popular TV show, Nikita, and by Marjorie M. Liu's book, Heaven's Eye. I'll be using lots of ideas from other shows and books I read, including quotes since I find them funny. However, to make sure I'm not plagiarizing, I'm posting the first and only disclaimer here. Personally, I think disclaimers are a waste of time, but I'm doing it anyway.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything else from other shows/books, such as Nikita, Vampire Diaries, My-HiME, Black Butler, Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series, or anything else people will notice in this story. The most I'll be using are funny or cool quotes. And reading the Lara Adrian and other vampire books my mother got really in to help me with writing lemon scenes. So, I don't own anything except for the concept of this story's plot.
ஜ ~ ஜ
Anko staggered through the forests of the Hidden Leaf Village, perspiration breaking out all over her body as she jogged under the morning sun. Two weeks has passed since her adventure in the Land of the Sea, and everything was back to normal in the village—everything. She went on with her life since she acquired the knowledge that she was the one that left her sensei, but the serene peace had evaporated after a few days when she returned home. The nightmares kept haunting her and she still felt her intense loathing and lust for revenge towards the Snake Sannin.
Regaining the truth of what happened between them in the Land of the Sea was only a brief tranquility she savored while it lasted, but she knew that all her bitter emotions would rise up again soon as she reminded herself why she lived: For the chance to kill her ex-mentor with her bare hands.
She halted when she felt her legs giving out, bracing her back against a tree to catch her breath. The bodysuit she wore was not made of her usual mesh, but rather a black and green tightly fit material that hugged her nicely curves hips and buoyant breasts. She kept her perfectly shaped form taut with the daily workouts she gives herself, making sure her sleek muscles stayed lean and strong with her lithe figure.
"Anko!" a voice called out to her. The snake kunoichi lifted her head up to see a crimson-eyed, black-haired Jōnin approaching her hastily.
"Hey, Kurenai." she greeted her friend with a warm smile.
"I knew you'd be out here." the genjutsu specialist remarked, returning Anko's smile with one of her own lovely smiles. "Lady Hokage wants to see us."
The violet-haired woman raised a curious eyebrow. "How come?"
"It's for a mission."
"All right, then." Anko straightened herself off the tree, nodding sternly. "Let's go."
ஜ ~ ஜ
"Seiteki Zattō," Tsunade plopped down a file onto her desk, a picture of a middle-aged man with short, slicked back jet-black hair and onyx eyes slipping out from under it. Anko stood, still sweaty from her exercise, with Kurenai, and surprisingly, Asuma Sarutobi, in the Hokage's office. Shizune was by her mistress's side, as usual, her dark eyes fixated on the shinobi in front of her as the Fifth Hokage continued to speak. "He's your mission's target."
"The crime lord?" Anko picked the photo of man with two fingers, holding it carefully as she studied the man's handsome features that did not appeal to her at all. "I've heard of him. He's some kind of business contractor in league with all powerful crime syndicates here in the Land of Fire on the border. He runs a human traffic slavery cooperation, according the rumors I heard."
Tsunade smiled inwardly at Anko's informative mind. "Right. To be more exact, he runs a trading sex traffic business. Your mission is to take him alive, or wipe him out."
"Excuse me, Lady Hokage?" Asuma rose up a hand in question.
"Yes?"
"Seiteki is a powerful patron in the black markets. He committed series of crimes before the one you speak of right now, such as kidnapping." the male Jōnin said a gruff tone. "Why hasn't the village taken earlier actions against him before now?"
"It's a little more complicated than you might think." Tsunade replied with a sigh.
"You see, this crime lord has connections with bandits and rouge ninja that had defected from their villages." Shizune informed. "In exchange for money and…other pleasantries, they keep him safe from any of his enemies. Not only that, no one could gotten close to him to deliver the final blow. He's security is tight."
"If that's true, then you're saying this mission is a espionage one." Kurenai clarified, a hand of her hip. "You want us to infiltrate this headquarters and take him out. That's a risky mission if we don't know the exact number of his forces."
Anko snorted in disgust. "Why would anybody team up with such a scum, anyway?"
"The Akatsuki and Orochimaru," Tsunade began, Anko tensing as she heard her former sensei's name. "are not the only evil in the shinobi world. People like them have their sympathizers and collaborators, and it's our job as shinobi to put a stop this. Remember, before chopping off the head, make certain the body is dead, lest the head grows back."
"In any case, your mission is to have one of you pose as a sex slave inside Seiteki's headquarters and get close to him, then take him out or capture him. It'll be your choice who should go inside." Shizune's eyes became worried as she told them. "This is an S-rank mission, and it's a very dangerous one."
"Shouldn't a mission like this require more people in a platoon?" Anko questioned, folding her arms under her breasts.
"Normally it would, but since the village is shorthanded, I have no choice but to send only a cell of three. It's bad enough I have to send three of my Jōnin out there when I need all the security here in the village." Tsunade responded, her authoritative voice returning back to her. "Forgive me, but I don't have a choice."
"We understand, Lady Hokage," the shinobi declared together.
The Sannin nodded, her chin resting on her hands. "Good. So you mission is as followed: Infiltrate Seiteki Zattō's base and take him out. Free the prisoners and shut down his operation. Anko, you're in charge of this mission."
The snake kunoichi was startled by the news, pointing to herself in disbelief. "What, me?"
"Yep. You did so well in your last mission, I figured you could handle this one," the Slug Princess answered, her gaze drifting onto Kurenai and Asuma. "And besides, you were originally suppose to go on this mission alone, but Kurenai and Asuma insisted they tag along for the ride."
"They did…?" Anko cast a surprised look to her friends, who were smiling at her cheerfully. She grinned back, and then looked at the Hokage, determination shining on her face. "Well, all right. I won't let you down."
Tsunade smiled at the ninja in front of her. "Good answer. Now, you three do your best on this mission to get the job done."
They all nodded. "Right!"
"You are dismissed. You leave in one hour."
ஜ ~ ஜ
"Hey, stop squirming. You're going to look like a panda." Kurenai chided her friend teasingly, applying mascara on Anko's generous eyelashes. They sat in their own private room at the inn they checked into when they arrived in the town where Seiteki's headquarters were located. Asuma was in another room, prepping his Chakra Blades for their mission.
By the time they arrived, Anko went over the mission with them at nightfall. She decided that she would be the one to pose as the sex slave in the illegal cooperation building, on her own, despite Kurenai and Asuma's protests. However, as the mission's leader, they have to follow her orders, and that was the end of the story.
The next morning, Anko shifted uncomfortably in her chair as her friend attempted to enhanced the snake kunoichi's breathtaking beauty with makeup, which she strongly disagreed to.
"This is stupid," the violet-haired woman mumbled under her breath. "Why do I even need this junk on my face? It's not going to help me, we all know that I'm not a perfect, pretty doll."
Kurenai sighed at her friend's low self-esteemed. "Anko, I'm helping you embrace your inner beauty. You are beautiful, you just don't believe that you are."
Anko scoffed curtly. "Yeah, right…"
"You're a kunoichi, and kunoichi like us are taught to embrace our inner beauty and use it to our advantage on missions like this one." the genjutsu specialist lectured her as if they were still in the Ninja Academy. "Why won't you believe that you're beautiful, Anko? I think you are, and I know that everyone else think you are, too. It's not like you to be…self-conscious about yourself."
Anko ignored that last part. "I'm supposed to be a slave, not some overly dressed girl."
"You need to look your best while doing it." Kurenai argued. "I heard Seiteki just randomly kidnaps any pretty girls he sees off the streets, whether they're poor or rich. Men, too. That's how most sex trafficking works. He was a lot of control in this area, Anko. You need to get close to him if you're doing to take him out."
"I don't need to smear this stuff on my face, though."
"It's not that bad. Don't you want to look beautiful?"
Anko paused for a moment, staring down at her feet on the ground. Exhaling sharply, she pushed away Kurenai's hand that was holding the mascara and grabbed a cloth out of her backpack to wipe away the crap on her face. "I'm not like you, Kurenai. I'm not some elegant, natural beauty. Men don't look at me the same way they look at you. And you know what? I'm fine with that; I don't care if I'm pretty or not. It's a waste of time worrying about trivial things like that."
Her friend looked at her sympathetically. "Anko…"
"Hey, you guys? Can I come in?" Asuma rapped on the door to their bedroom.
"Uh, yeah. Come in." Anko called back, finishing smearing the makeup off her round cheekbones and eyelashes. Asuma entered, peeking his head in first before going in and sitting down on of the two beds in the room. "Whaddaya want?"
"I want to go over the mission again before we begin."
Anko sighed in irritation, placing a hand on her temple. She knew where this was headed. The night before when she announced her strategy to the two Jōnin, they made a fuss about whether or not Kurenai would join Anko inside the perverted crime lord's base. Anko refused, not wanting to put the person she saw as her sister in danger. It lasted for hours until Anko concluded it by listing her reasons for going in alone.
"We've been through this five times. I'm the most suitable for infiltrating the base. I'm the better taijutsu fighter and Seiteki doesn't even know how to fight. Besides, with Kurenai's genjutsu skills, she can use her genjutsu to stall the other guards while we free the captives. You guys have to admit, this is the only efficient plan we've got."
"Are you sure? Going in there by yourself, in that disgusting place…?" the raven-haired woman trailed off, dreading the thought of her friend being hurt in a depraved environment. "I'm just worried—"
"I'm sure." Anko inserted firmly. "While I'm on the inside, you guys have to scout the area and try to find any openings into the building besides the front entrance."
"Yeah, but you never told us how you are going to get on the inside." Asuma pointed it, removing his cigarette from his mouth.
"I've got that covered." the snake kunoichi assured him with a lazy wave of her hand. "I overheard some things last night when we got here. Some of the townspeople were gossiping about the next batch of women that are going to be arriving this afternoon from a different patron. I'll just sneak in when they bring the girls in and then mingle in the crowd when they get off their transport. The people guarding their 'precious cargo' will never notice a thing."
"That sounds like a good idea." The male Jōnin nodded in agreement, pivoting his head to look at his doubtful lover. "Kurenai, are you okay with this plan?"
There was long silence until the black-haired beauty sighed deeply and then nodded. "I don't approve, but I'll trust Anko is making the right decision on this."
Anko smiled, appreciated by her friend's faith in her. "Good. Now then, we wasted enough time. Let's get this mission going."
"Roger."
ஜ ~ ஜ
"Hey, Anko. You got a minute?" Asuma sauntered towards the Special Jōnin as they stood a small cliff near Seiteki's headquarters. The woods gave them the protection they needed from not being spotted by anyone nearby, as well as a clear view from the treetops to peer down the dirt path that lead in the direction of the front entrance of the five stories Japanese-style castle in the middle of nowhere.
Anko gazed down at the road, waiting for the carriage carrying the captured women to pass by. She was determined to stop this sick operation once and for all. She pitied the women that had to go through the hardship of slavery and being rape by the captors. She shivered when a mental of herself appeared in her head at thought of being captured and raped like the other women, but she brushed it aside.
Her choice of attire of this mission were filthy rags—a strapless brown cloth as her shirt and a torn brown skirt with silts at the sides, exposing her gorgeous thighs. She purposely dressed like this as way to look more like a—though she didn't want to say it—sex slave.
"Sure, what's up?" she questioned, hands on her hips.
Asuma blushed slightly, turning his head away out of embarrassment at the skimpy clothes Anko chose to wear. She was beautifully formed with the gentle, graceful flare of her longs legs and hips, along with the slender curve of her waist, breasts, and delicate shoulders. She was lean with muscles and her fading blue lines of her veins were lovely under her alabaster skin.
"Uh, well… I heard your conversation with Kurenai before I came in your room earlier." he muttered under his breath, his eyes in another direction to avoid looking at Anko's body. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."
"Okay…" she replied slowly. "But I'm sure you didn't come out here from scouting the area with Kurenai just to apologize to me. You want to tell me something else, right? Spit it out, already."
"Well, it's just that…" he stammered nervously, raking his hand through his spiky hair. "I'm just concerned, like Kurenai is. I'm not so sure you wanted to go in alone and want Kurenai to stay behind with me just because you think she'll make a good distraction when we free the prisoners. You do remember that most of the guards are rouge shinobi, right? Some of them will able to break out of genjutsu…and also…"
"Yeah?"
"It's very risky for you to be in that place all alone. You could get hurt, and—"
"Asuma, I get it, okay?" Anko cut him off sharply with a sigh. "I know you and Kurenai are worried about me, but I'll be fine. And you're right, I'm not just going in there alone just because I thought Kurenai would be better out here. I don't want her to get hurt, either. She's like my sister; I would die for her. I was just protecting her. I will always protect Kurenai."
"I feel the same…" Asuma whispered softly under his breath, and Anko smiled slightly, knowing his passionate feelings towards her best friend.
"And besides, let's face it. I'm also the best one to go in there and survive longer. No man would want to come over to a plain thing like me," the snake kunoichi added in with a humored tone.
Asuma stared at her carefully—not bothered by her near nakedness anymore—stunned by her words. "You really don't think you're beautiful, huh?"
"Nope." Anko answered, uncaring. She put her hands on the back of head as she gazed up at the blue sky, watching the clouds drifting slowly across it. "It's not a secret or anything. Ever since I was a kid, my body's structure seemed more like a boy's rather than a girl's. And I never really cared about my appearance, I was too much of a tomboy, ya know?"
"You don't mind?"
The purple-haired kunoichi shook her head, bringing her arms down to her sides. "I like being one of the boys, actually. I don't wanna be some delicate flower that gets worked up over as something trivial as their looks. So I never cared, I like the way I look. I know that I'm not a beauty like Kurenai, but that's just who I am."
Asuma smiled at her, a kind expression that was almost a perfect projection of his deceased father, the Third Hokage. "I see…"
"Yep, so that's basically it." Anko stretched her arms in the air, inhaling the fresh air around her. "I'm ugly. End of story."
"Anko!" Kurenai leaped from the trees and joined her comrades down on the ground. "I saw the carriage up ahead. They're coming in five minutes. They are at least twenty women in that carriage with two guards. At the castle's entrance, there's two other shinobi there."
The Special Jōnin nodded, her brown eyes turning serious. "All right. I'll get into position, and you guys wait here. I'll head down on the path and hide myself in the bushes near the entrance door. When they get the women get off, I'll use the Chameleon Jutsu to turn invisible and then mingle into the group. Then once that taken care off, I'll try to pass along any information from the wireless radio I'll be hiding on my person, and then try to find the exact layout of the castle's interior. After that, I'll get close to the boss and capture him, and we'll—Is there a problem?"
Kurenai and Asuma stared at with lost, blank expressions as she explained the plan in a hurried tone, so they were unable to keep up. The male shinobi cleared his throat awkwardly. "You lost us at 'wait here'."
Anko sighed in exasperation. "Geez…"
"You're used to working on your own, huh?" Asuma inquired as he made a slicing motion with his hand for emphasis. "Kinda just get right in there, direct offense. Solo, right?"
"Do you now what I'm not used to? Standing outside a building that I'm about infiltrate, and talking about how I'm gonna infiltrate it. When I do something, I just get in there and…" the snake kunoichi retorted, trailing off as she exhaled a deep breath. "Just wait here and maintain radio silence until I contact you."
Now that they understood. "Right."
"Okay, it's time for me to go." Anko swiveled to jump down onto the dirt road, but Kurenai grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"Wait, Anko." Her voice was low with anxiety. "Be careful."
"I will."
"I know that you're used on being alone and everything, but you need to know that somebody cares for you." Kurenai pulled her friend into a warm embrace, startling the violet-haired kunoichi slightly. "I care about you, Anko."
Over her shoulder, Anko's eyes softened and she returned her friend's hug, squeezing her tightly before she pulled back. "I know, thanks."
Asuma smiled when he witnessed the emotional exchange. Now it was his turn. He walked closer to Anko and clapped an encouraging hand on her shoulder. "Be careful in there."
"I will." the snake kunoichi grinned, curling her fingers into a fist so she could give him a friendly punch on the arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" Asuma rubbed his the spot she hit him.
"That's how I show affection." Anko stuck out a playful tongue at him.
Asuma let out a kind-hearted chuckle at her rough display of kindness. "And, Anko?"
"Yeah?"
"About what we talked about earlier, 'ugly' isn't exactly the word I would describe you. It's just the opposite, in fact. See ya." Asuma sent a good-natured, flirty wink at his friend and then depart into the trees with his lover. Anko blushed at the compliment, her cheeks flushed with a pink tint.
She never felt particularly beautiful; such a pretty word was foreign to her. Capable and tough, physically fit and strong, and occasionally, stubborn, were words she understood and accept. However, hearing that from a man—from Asuma—made Anko feel happy inside. She allowed herself to smile for a brief moment before she shifted back into her serious mode and headed down the dirt path to proceed with the plan.
ஜ ~ ஜ
"What was that about?" Kurenai asked curiously, watching the carriage unload the women at the castle's entrance from down below. They were women of all ages being escorted out, all their eyes puffy red from the tears they must have shed and their clothes strained. They were no chains shackling their wrists or arms since they didn't have a ghost of chance to escape from their armed guards.
Kurenai stood on top of a tree branch she was sharing with Asuma, who had his back against the trunk, arms folded across his chest. Her question was not that of jealously, but of pure curiosity. They both knew that, so her lover answered honestly.
"I was just giving her a pep talk, that's all." he replied, observing the last female captive exited from the carriage and the entrance doors shut closed, Anko successfully entering in with the Chameleon Jutsu. "I heard you were trying to boast her self-esteem about her looks, so I thought a guy's opinion might worked better than a woman's."
"That was sweet." Kurenai smiled gently at his kind-hearted gesture. "I wish Anko would hurry up and find someone she can spend the rest of her life. She's so stubborn, though, but I want her to be happy with someone she loves."
"Maybe she doesn't believe in love." Asuma remarked grimly. He understood where his lover was coming from. He also viewed Anko as a little sister figure, and she was valued friend of Kurenai's and a respected kunoichi in the Leaf Village. "It's possible, you know. Anko had a hard life, it wouldn't be too much of shock if she's afraid to open up to anyone."
The genjutsu specialist shook her head sadly. "That is too sad for me to accept. Life is too cruel. If people were to stop believing in love, why would we want to live at all?"
"Hmm…" Asuma crouched down to sit by her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Good question. But give it time, okay? Maybe Anko will find the one for her soon."
A smile graced Kurenai's lips as she lean forward to press a chaste kiss on her lover's lips. "Okay."
ஜ ~ ஜ
The infiltration proceeded without a hitch. Anko was able to mingled in the group of horrified women, though she was caught by surprise when the guards ordered her and the other girls to put on blindfolds, a way so the girls wouldn't remember how to escape from the enormous castle if they did manage to break free. They were then forced into chains and were then led to their quarters in a straight line by the man in front, holding the iron shackles in one hand.
She heard men whispering around her as the guards lead her and the other women down a chilly corridor, shivers riding up her spine as the coldness swept over her exposed skin.
"This here is a pretty one…" she heard one man lustily drawled about one of the women, and Anko prayed that they weren't talking about her.
She heard another man chortled hoarsely. "You wouldn't know pretty if it'd hit you in the face! This one's a goddess, a work of art!"
Anko trembled violently when she felt clammy fingers coiling around her arm, stroking suggestive, small circles over her smooth flesh. Bile rose up in her throat, and she felt the urge to vomit on the one who dare to touched her.
"Hands off the merchandise!" a gruff voice rebuked the other men harshly. "Lord Seiteki wouldn't like the whores losing their virginity to anyone else!"
Fury boiled inside the snake kunoichi's stomach when she heard those words. She didn't need the use of her eyes to tell what kind of men they were, it's obvious they were the kind that wanted one ultimate thing: Sex. She wanted to rip off these chains on her wrists and planted kunai knives of their crotches. Tempting as it was, the violet-haired woman decided against it to keep her cover intact.
Anko heard the sound of the door open and a scent of beeswax and cigarette hit her nose. She was told along with the other captives to walk inside and sit down when they were led in the room. Beneath her, she felt silk.
"Hey!" Anko shouted when she felt her blindfold being abruptly yanked off her face. She saw the shadows of the room being cut by light from the golden sconces impaled on the walls. Her brown hues scanned the room she was in, gasping aloud when she thirty other women in here.
All of them were nude, their bodies glittered with bright dust; their necks, ankles and wrists adorned with sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and many other jewels; their eyelids were loopy, half-opened as they lounged sluggishly on embroidered pillows and soft, velvet blankets. Anko narrowed her eyes through the darkness to see large bowls of fruit left between the vaguely conscious women, and syringes scattered all over the spacious room.
They're being drugged! Anko thought angrily, glaring at the men as they left the room. She couldn't see the door because silk curtains decorated everywhere around them, but she knew that the door was behind the thinnest sheet at the front.
An hour or two later, some of the men returned to the room—four of them, to be exact. They were shinobi, Anko guessed, judging them by the swords and scars they have on their bodies. They were whispering to each other quietly, and Anko tried to listen carefully through the soft sobs she heard slipping the other women's mouths.
"Only ten of them?"
"Yeah, Boss wants the prettiest ones brought to the meeting room."
"All right, but first…."
Anko jerked her head in another direction when she saw the men strolling over to the nearest girls by their feet, skimming their hands all over their nude bodies to pinch their nipples and pat the warm, wet spot between their legs. One of them was even starting to stroke himself in his arousal and then had to adjust his pants. The snake kunoichi bit back the enraged shout she wanted to release, but she gritted her teeth together so hard that her gums ached. She blocked out the painful moans and other sounds from the abused women when consciousness took them.
"What about that one?"
Anko shuddered when she looked back at the men, a red-haired man with a stubby chin and a X-shaped scar across the bridge of his nose, was pointing a finger at her, a lustful gleam in his brown eyes.
"She looks good."
He approached almost too eagerly, kneeling down beside as he extended a hand to rip off the top on her body. Anko panicked for a split second; she couldn't let the man touch her at her breasts since the radio was strapped there in the valley of her ample bosom. When the man's arm came closer to her face, Anko lunged and buried her teeth into his flesh, biting down hard until she tasted tangy, nasty blood on her tongue. The furious pervert kicked her back, her body colliding against the pillar behind her and she grunted in pain.
"You wench!" The man raised a hand to smack her across the face, but one of the other men stopped by him by catching his flying hand.
"Quit it. Boss'll have our heads if something were to happen to this…lovely lady." The newcomer was a middle-aged man with blue eyes and spiky ebony hair, his gaze raking up and down Anko's luscious, revealing figure. Anko swore that she saw saliva dripping from his mouth. "We'll take her with us."
Nine other girls were chosen before Anko was roughly chained up again and shoved through the door. She and the others were guided down a long hallway and then through a door, bright light hitting her eyes as she entered. Anko shut them to avoid being blinded as she continued to be tugged deeper inside. She heard two voices, one suave but arrogant, and the other one was soft and all too familiar.
"Today is a good day, I'd just received the newest sets of pleasurable entertainment. We can conduct our business while we sample these lovely ladies."
"I didn't come here to be stall by peddling flesh, Seiteki. I'm here to get retrieve more test subjects for my lord. I want no part of your revolting sense of 'entertainment'."
"How dare you! Might I remind you that I am the one who provided you and your master with captives from my company for free, you'd best watch your—"
"And might I remind you how easily I can dislocate your head from your body. I can rip you from limb to limb without blinking and you know it. So unless you want a unpleasant trip to the afterlife, I suggest you give me what I want."
"…Very well, Mister Yakushi, but I still suggest you should at least enjoy yourself while you're here."
"Kabuto Yakushi?" Anko mumbled under her breath in shocked, her eyelids fluttering open as she herself in a well flourished, spacious meeting room. The floors were wooden and at the back of the room sat Seiteki Zattō, sitting down a plush cushion, wearing a expensive looking white suit, his short black hair smoothed back and onyx eyes. In front of him, Kabuto stood with his Sound headband on his forehead, an impatient expression on his face.
Seiteki stood from his seat, finally acknowledging his men that brought the cluster of sex slaves into the room. Anko gulped silently when she saw Kabuto's optics darting to lock on her. She was so screwed now.
"I see you've obtain quite a collection." the Sound ninja smirked knowingly at Anko, walking to where she and the other girls stood. His eyes studied her body, outlining her with a deft gaze on every inch of her scanty form.
"Indeed I have." Seiteki's stare wandered from each leggy girl to the next until his eyes landed on the snake kunoichi. He narrowed at her when he saw that her lips were bloodied, but quickly turned her attention the creamy swell of her breasts.
Kabuto's eyes darkened dangerously when he saw the crime lord reached out a hand to touch the apex of her legs. Anko growled fiercely and kicked the pervert to the ground before he could violate her, and Kabuto smirked inwardly.
The other men in the room—Zattō's guards—were not happy. "Sir, are you all right?"
Seiteki let out a rasp laugh as he stood up from the spot on the floor, dusting himself off. "Ooh… I like this one. She has spirit, a fire in her eyes. I bet she even got a fighter's heart. I'm sure she will provide me…an excellent time in the bedroom."
"Over your dead body!" Anko spat vehemently, snarling. This was very bad, she had to get out of her before Kabuto does God who-knows-what to her. What was he even doing here? Seiteki's fingers trailed the soft line of the violet-haired woman's jaw, savoring the touch of her velvet skin. Anko jerked her head away from him, disgusted by his touch. "Don't touch me with your filthy hands!"
"Careful, Boss, she's a feisty one," one of the guards warned him.
"But she is also a beauty." the crime lord replied, gesturing to the other women. "Take the others and give them to Mister Yakushi here to give to his master."
"We have no use for females." Kabuto informed him, his eyes glancing at Anko in a cryptic way. "This one, however, I wouldn't mind having. Lord Orochimaru will be very pleased if you were to give me this one."
"A woman finally caught your eye, eh?"
Kabuto shrugged carelessly. "I suppose you could put it like that. But she is beautiful, isn't she? Everything a woman should be, and yet so rarely is."
Oh, God… Anko wanted vomit right then and there when she caught the sound of Kabuto's suggestive tone. She has to get out of here…just as soon as she killed these perverts!
The Sound shinobi turned to Seiteki, but his eyes were locked on the violet-haired woman. "How about it? If you give me her, then maybe I'll convince Lord Orochimaru that you still have a good reason for living."
"Hmph… Very well, but after I take her." The crime lord glared angrily at the silver-haired medic.
"I think not." Kabuto protested with a shake of his head, a hand on his hip, his eyes hardened at the man in front of him. "Give her to me. You'd best do what I say, least you forgotten how our agreement works: We will keep you alive, while you give us slaves in return. Your life belongs to us. If you cross the Sound, you'll die."
Seiteki was taken aback by this threat, fear slicing through him. "Tomorrow, then?"
"No, today." the Sound ninja corrected, a smug smirk on his face. "You did say I should enjoy myself while I was here, didn't you?"
Seiteki turned to his guards, reluctantly to obey. "Take the girl into one of finer suites."
"What?" Anko bellowed in a fit of rage. She was manhandled out the door and back down the corridor by two men gripping her arm, the two other guards escorting the other women back to their holding chambers. She struggled to get free, but the men's grip was too tight. After a few minutes, she then pushed harshly into room, decorated with white and red flowers on the walls, no windows, an elegant bed in the center of the room coated with a soft, fur blankets. She was forced on the bed by one of the men before they left the room and shut the doors. "Oof!"
Anko collected herself quickly and rushed to the wooden door, twisting the doorknob to only find it was locked from the outside. She pressed her ear to it so she can hear the two guards speak.
"Lucky bastard." one mumbled hungrily. "It's been a while since I felt the wetness of a woman's legs."
"Ew!" Anko backed away, official sickened by this place. She's only been here in here for a couple of hours and she already wanted to blow the place into a million pieces. She climbed back onto the bed and reached into her skimpy shirt and pulled out the wireless radio.
"Kurenai! Asuma! Can you hear me?" she whispered fanatically into it, hearing static until a feminine voice got through.
"Anko? Are you okay?" Kurenai inquired, relieved on the other side. "How are you? What's going on?"
"We've got a problem, guys. And when I say problem, I mean global crisis! Orochimaru's lackey here is here!"
"Kabuto Yakushi?" Asuma's voice was heard this time.
"Yeah, he's here with Seiteki doing business or something."
"Why? What does Kabuto want with a scum like Seiteki?" Kurenai asked in a puzzled tone.
"I don't know!" Anko exclaimed, the conversation from earlier a haze in her mind, staring back at the door to make sure no one was coming in. "But I do know one thing: The kid works for Orochimaru and is practiced in the art of pain in the ass! Whatever he's up to, it's not good. He already saw me."
"What?" both the shinobi on the other line yelled, ignoring Anko's vulgarity choice of words. "You've got to get out of there! We have to regroup and think—"
Without any warning, a hand grabbed the radio from Anko's hand and threw on the floor, smashing it with a hard stomp. The snake kunoichi growled in anger, glaring up as a relaxed Kabuto adjusted his glasses up his nose.
"Sorry, but can't let you inform your friends what I'm doing here," he said calmly.
"You brat…!" Anko shuffled away from him to the far end of the bed. "If you think I'll let you lay a finger on me, then you have another—"
"Calm yourself, Miss Mitarashi. I won't touch you in that way, I promise." Kabuto gave her a half-smile, holding out his hands as a sign of peacefulness. "I just had to play with Seiteki so we can have a little chat. Besides, if I were to seduce you, Lord Orochimaru will surely kill me."
The violet-haired kunoichi looked at him, incredulous. "You expect me to believe that, Yakushi?"
The medic shrugged, a cheeky grin plastered on his face. "No, you don't have to believe anything I have to say if you don't want to."
"So what are you going to do to me?" Anko inquired cautiously, bringing the fur blanket to her semi-exposed chest. "Why are you even here to begin with?"
Kabuto sat at the edge bed and Anko inched away as he did. "I could ask you the same thing. I never thought I'd see you here dressed as a slave."
"Shut up!"
The Sound ninja chuckled. "My apologies. Well, it seemed we both have questions we want answered. So how about we exchange information?"
"That depends on the questions." she retorted keenly.
"Smart girl. I see why Lord Orochimaru had such an interest you." The silver-haired youth pulled out a piece of clothing from his pouch on his backside and tossed it at her. "First, put some clothes on."
Anko glanced down at the plain brown kimono in her hands and then at Kabuto. Her optics narrowed at him, her way of telling him to turn away. He complied as she stood up on the bed and pivoted his back to her, his optics on the wall.
"You said you wanted to know why I'm here, correct?" he spoke while she slid out of skirt and skirt. "I'm here on an assignment for Lord Orochimaru."
"Oh? What for?"
"First tell me why you're here. This is how our little agreement going to work out, Miss Mitarashi."
"I'm on a mission to take down Seiteki and his sex traffic operation." Anko answered as she slipped on the kimono and tied the obi belt around her waist. "You can turn around now, Yakushi."
Kabuto swiveled around and sat back on the bed, a few inches away from Anko. "Well, you seemed to be answering honestly, so I'll be frank. I'm here collecting test subjects. Seiteki and Lord Orochimaru came to an agreement that he were to sell slaves to us, we wouldn't kill him. His headquarters lies on the border of the Land of Rice Paddies and the Land of Fire, so technically that fool is our land and must pay rent."
Anko snorted, disgustedly. "Of course, I should've known. But you don't seem to like Seiteki very much."
"He's merely a tool to us, quite troublesome." Kabuto replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "When his worth is all used up, he'll get rid of him."
Those words stung her heart just then, being all too familiar on having her 'worth' being used up. Anko sighed sadly as the memories from the Land of the Sea rushed back in her mind. Kabuto noticed her sudden change in mood and eyed her carefully.
"Tell me, how did the son of the chief of Medical Corps came to be a traitor to the Leaf Village and is now working for someone as depraved as Orochimaru?" she pressed him, wanting to know.
Kabuto scoffed at the accusing word. "Traitor? I was never one of you to begin with. My loyalty has always been to Lord Orochimaru, and no one else."
Anko snorted back at him, crossing her arms over chest. "What, did he brainwashed you?"
The Sound shinobi shook his head, smirking slightly. "Oh, no. The fact of the matter is that I empathize with Lord Orochimaru's ideals, unlike you, Miss Mitarashi. It's for his sake that I'm even here to begin with, collecting slaves for his experiments."
The snake kunoichi unfolded her arms, and glared angrily at the medic. Hearing that he actually agreed working with Orochimaru with no hint of remorse ticked her off. How can he be so nonchalant about everything? Was he that heartless, just like his master? "How can you be so arrogant and glib after everything that you've done?"
Kabuto gave off a cold chuckle. "And how can you be so brave and stupid to call an armed enemy arrogant and glib?"
"If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead." Anko challenged him.
"Yes, you would."
"But I'm not."
"Yet." he corrected cockily, realizing how close their faces are from each other since they shuffled closer to glare at each other in the eye. They were only a breath away from each other, their noses brushing slightly over together.
Kabuto took this chance to peered deeply into her pupil-less, light brown optics, noting the masculine in their directness, which was perfectly leveled and head-on. They both smirked at their banter, their faces close enough to kiss. Without warning, the door to the room was banged open and walked in several guards, Seiteki entering with a smug smile.
Kabuto backed away from Anko, standing up from the bed to look at the crime lord. He glanced at the violet-haired woman at the corner of his eye, noticing that she tensed at Seiteki's arrival.
"I thought I get an hour alone with her." He put on a placid mask, his eyes narrowing at the men in the room. Anko blushed at the suggestive tone in his voice again; in spite that she knew it was just an act. "Get out."
"I'm through taking orders from you, brat." Seiteki sneered in detest, jerking his head to his guards. "Take him."
The medic sighed calmly, pushing up his glasses with one hand while his other one into his pouch and took out a Smoke Bomb. "Well then… That's our cue to leave."
"What're you—" Anko was interrupted when Kabuto dropped the bomb onto the floor, a cloud of gas enveloping into the room. She felt a hand grabbed her wrist and then she and Kabuto jolted out of the room.
When the smoke cleared, Seiteki seethed in rage, finding them gone as he turned to his hired men. "Go after 'em!"
ஜ ~ ஜ
Kabuto and Anko ran down the ran down the dark corridors as quickly they could, increasing their pace as they heard the guards catching up to them. The snake kunoichi looked at the medic's back, pondering whether of not she should trust him. He was still the enemy of the Hidden Leaf, and in league with Orochimaru.
"Hey, Yakushi."
"Call me Kabuto." he replied casually, pivoting his head over his shoulder to look at her.
"Fine, Kabuto. Do you even know where we're even going?" she inquired, taking a right into another hallway with him.
"You don't know where the exit is, do you?"
"I was blindfolded when I came inside."
"I see…" he paused for a moment before he spoke again. "Well, to answer your question, yes. I've been here plenty of times before to know my way around."
"You don't seem to like the man that was dealing with you very much, huh?" Anko commented with a slight grin.
"The feeling is mutual, I assure you." he responded cheekily, making a turn down another corridor. The footsteps of the guards became more audible to their ears. "Seiteki is the type of person who doesn't like to take orders from anyone, I knew he would betray us eventually. Besides, obtaining test subjects from him was the only thing preventing me from throttling him to the ground. Now that's over, there's no reason for me to hold myself back from blowing this place sky-high."
Anko froze at the moment, halting her tracks. Kabuto stopped as well, swiveling to see her fierce glare. "You can't blow this place up. There are innocent people here."
"So what?" There was an icy gleam in his onyx eyes. "Why should that matter to me?"
"I'm not leaving here without them," the snake kunoichi stated firmly, feeling abhorrence at Sound ninja's lack of compassion, not that it was surprising. "In case you've forgotten, I'm on a mission."
"We don't have time for this, Miss Mitarashi." Kabuto sauntered over to her, gripping tightly on her wrist. "You're coming from me, whether you want to or not."
"You little…!" She was about to curse him off, but was interrupted when they pivoted their heads to see incoming kunai knives aiming straight of their heads. The ducked down immediately and looked back to see the guards—the rouge shinobi—at the other end of the hallway.
"There they are! Get 'em!"
"Come on, let's go!" Kabuto dragged the violet-haired woman down the hallway, the hired shinobi right behind them. One of the guards threw a kunai at them, but the aim was low and poor, and it scraped Anko's right thigh through her kimono skirt. Anko let out a small yelp in pain at the small abrasion, but continued to run with Kabuto pulling her along.
Without looking behind them, Kabuto let go of Anko's arm and made a hand sign. "Release!"
The wall exploded as the guards passed it, snaring them into the rumbles and smoke. Kabuto smirked in victory, taking his female companion's arm once again and lead her down the next hallway. Kabuto stopped midway and knelt down in the middle of the corridor, surprising Anko when he removed a section of the tile to reveal a secret door.
"How did you…?"
"Like I said, I've been here plenty of times to know my way around, including all the secret passages way to escape from this place." Kabuto explained, breaking the lock with a hard jab with a kunai through the keyhole, shattering it. "Also, I did say we knew that Seiteki would betray us eventually, so I made a careful note to make sure I took precautions in case something happens. The explosion you saw earlier was from a Paper Bomb I'd implanted here before."
"So you were playing to double-cross Seiteki, too." Anko remarked.
"Yes. Now, let's go." He offered a hand to her, but kunoichi brushed by it and jumped down into the secret escape hole. Kabuto grinned at her refusal and followed her down below into absolute darkness, making sure he replace the tile of the floor so the guards wouldn't follow.
"I can't see anything."
"You like stating the obvious, don't you, Miss Mitarashi?"
"Shut up."
Kabuto reached into his pouch and pulled out a light stick, bending it in the middle until a green glow radiated around them. He saw Anko crouching down on knee, her hands grasping her wounded right thigh. The medic leaned down by her, inspecting the wound carefully in the dim glow. The cut was deep, but it wasn't fatal, and rivulets of crimson dripping down her leg.
"It doesn't seem too bad. Here, let me take a better look at it."
They both sat against the stone wall behind them, Anko holding the light stick as Kabuto applied the Mystic Palm Jutsu on her injured thigh. The snake kunoichi eyed him warily, preparing to defend herself if he were to try anything funny. He stopped when the bleeding was gone, the wound closed.
"That should do for now." Kabuto said, the green-colored chakra disappearing from his hand. He took out a vial filled of white substance and dabbed some of it on his index finger, spreading it smoothly over the visible abrasion. Anko flinched slightly, biting down on her bottom lip a little. Kabuto drew back his hand at her reaction. "Sorry, but I don't have any anesthetic. This medicine is only use to prevent infection."
"It's okay, I've had worse," she mumbled under her breath, averting her eyes away from him.
"From doctors or other men?" he asked knowingly, securing bandages around the injury.
Anko shook at the question, turning her shocked face back to see the small smirk on his lips. Her expression changed from surprised to slight anger and troubled, her optics wavering nervously.
"Don't get so agitated, now." The Sound ninja stood back up, reclaiming his light stick from her. "I am Lord Orochimaru's right-hand man, it's my job to know anything that concerns him, after all."
"Hmph." Anko rose to her feet, holding out a palm to the silver-haired man. "Give me a kunai."
"Why would I do something like that?" he questioned her wittingly, his free hand on his hip.
"Because I need one to defend myself. I'm going to regroup with my comrades and get the other captives outta here." she replied urgently. "Hand it over."
"I think not. You're not going back out there, you don't even know the way out." Kabuto refused, narrowing his eyes at her. "We're leaving this castle right now, and then I'm going to blow it up. I've placed multiple Paper Bombs around this castle, it should obliterate everything once we're in the clear."
"You can't do that, there's people here!"
"I told you that I don't care. Lord Orochimaru gave me full permission to annihilate Seiteki and everyone in it if he were to betray us. We have enough slaves already back in our hideout, there's no reason why we can't take out the other slaves in this building, too." Kabuto responded icily, extending a hand to grab Anko's wrist, but she retreated and she glared at him virulently.
"You're so cruel. How do you do it? How can you leave behind everything in your life back in the village and work for Orochimaru to do these things? Are you that cold-hearted?"
This is getting ridiculous… Kabuto thought in exasperation, sighing outwardly. "I told you before: I was never part of the Leaf Village to begin with. It was just my cover."
"So what?" she argued hotly. "Was everything a lie to you, then?'
"Yes, it was. I lived the lie until the lie became my life." Kabuto answered without hesitation. "That's what spies do, Miss Mitarashi. Relationships with outsiders are dangerous, so I make a mental note to not get emotional attached. I was an orphan, so I never had emotional attachments to my roots to begin with."
"True, but you can't just live the lie! You have to live your life too!" Anko declared in rage. "I also try not to get emotional attach to anyone, but you're—"
"Oh, you mean the same way you did with Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto inserted indignantly.
Anko was taken aback, staggering a feet away in astonishment. Her anger flared when she registered her mind back from her stunned daze, and like a cornered animal, she drew back an open palm and landed a stinging blow of the Sound ninja's cheek. He didn't react at all, merely raised a hand over his swollen cheek as he stared at her emotionlessly.
"Are you done now?"
"Forget it," Anko shook her hand, taking one side of her skirt and ripped it all around until the cloth fell into a heap on the ground. She needed to shorten it so she can move more freely. "I don't need your help to get out of here, and I don't want it."
"That would be incredibly stupid of you." Kabuto retorted, clearly snarky. "We're wasting time. We need to leave, now."
"I don't care. I'm not abandoning my comrades and everyone else in here to escape!" Anko spat back furiously, jabbing his chest with a pointed finger. "Unlike you and Orochimaru, I'm not a self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities."
"Ouch," came his flat voice.
"I'm serious, I'm not leaving with you. End of story." she repeated, trotting down in the opposite way of the exit in the dark corridor. Kabuto watched her go with narrowed eyes, adjusting his glasses up his nose as she disappeared in darkness. The ground shook suddenly and the medic stumbled forward. Yelling could be heard coming from above his head, which was followed by what sounded like clashing blades.
"What's going on out there?"
ஜ ~ ஜ
When she came at the end of the dark hallway, Anko felt her hand on a doorknob and she twisted it, leading her into a brightly lit hallway. She sighed in relief, but then she heard sounds of a battle up ahead. At the end of the hallway, she saw more of Seiteki's men rushing down another corridor, one of them pausing when they saw Anko standing in the middle of hall.
"Damn!" she cursed as she found herself outnumbered when they came towards her. One man came at her with a sword, slashing through the air, but Anko ducked her hand and swooped back up to land a blow to his nose with her elbow, breaking the bone. The rouge ninja shouted in pain and was kicked back by the snake kunoichi as she pulled the sword out of his hand. Although she had a weapon to defend herself with now, it was too late when she felt someone behind her wrapped a sack over her head and blackness covered her sight.
She felt the guards took her arms and roughly pushed her down the hallway and to somewhere else. They bind her hands behind her back with a rope as they walked her outside to the back of the building. Anko inhaled oxygen into her lungs when the sack was yanked off her head, and she glanced around to see Seiteki standing in front of her with a conceited, playboy smile—imbued with all sex and ugly charm—with five guards. She looked up at the sky and saw stars, it was already nighttime. How long had she been in that castle?
"You're no ordinary girl, are you?" the crime lord inquired, reaching out a hand to stroke her soft cheek.
"Well, aren't you clever?" Anko sneered at him, jerking her head away from his dirty touch. "What gave me away?"
"I heard you took down of one of my men easily, and I suspect you must be connected to the others attacking my base." Seiteki pointed a finger towards his castle, and Anko swiveled her head to see explosives and the crime lord's men flying out the windows and being sent down into the hard ground. "Such a shame, you could've made such a good plaything."
"And you're nothing but a sick freak." Anko jeered, a bitter grin stretched across her face. "Kidnapping women, drugging them… That's the only way for you to get a girl into your bed."
Seiteki smirked evilly at her comment, his eyes blazing with a nasty lust. "You have a acerbic tongue. I can't believe I haven't had my way with you earlier."
Anko titled her head to the side, a daring expression on her face. "Can't handle me then, can't handle me now."
"You wanna bet, beauty?" His greedy lips crashed against her in a cold kiss, provoking Anko to puke. She kept her lips in a tight line, not wanting him to enter the cave of her mouth. His tongue prodded the seam, but she did not cow to him. She would never do that to anyone.
He pulled back when he heard of his guards yelled out, "Boss, watch out!"
A lethal dart flew through the air and right into the Seiteki's neck. Anko moved back when she his body falling facedown into the dirt. Kunai knives traveled to the five guards around her, the blue fire of life slipping away from them as the kunai embedded themselves into vital spots of their bodies. They were all dead in a matter of seconds, and Anko glanced around to find her rescuer.
"You're a very troublesome woman," a smooth voice noted. Anko's optics enlarged when Kabuto emerged in front of her, his fingers to his glasses and his cheek still bruised from where she slapped him. "Sometimes, I wonder what Lord Orochimaru sees in you."
"Kabuto…" she whispered, dumbfounded as he pulled out a kunai. "Why are you here?"
He ignored her as he cut the ropes binding her, continuing to talk about the topic he brought up. "Maybe because it was your stubbornness that the Curse Mark didn't kill you, and Lord Orochimaru wants you to live."
"What?" Anko raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "What're you saying?"
"I have to go before your comrades gets here." Kabuto pivoted to leave, but Anko grabbed his arm.
"I want to be clear about one thing: I don't regret coming back to save the slaves. Before you go, I want to know why you saved me and didn't blow up the castle," she said firmly, wanting to know. Kabuto snatched his arm away from her so he was the one grasping at her wrist tightly in his hand, gazing in her optics for a long moment.
"Anko!" Two new voices joined in. The two shinobi turned their heads to see Kurenai and Asuma running up to them, taking a fighting stance when they saw Kabuto holding onto Anko.
"You guys…" Anko smiled, happy to see the two okay, though a little beaten up.
"Are you okay? We came when lost radio contact with you." Kurenai asked worriedly.
"Let her go, Kabuto." Asuma held his chakra-infused brace knuckles, his voice low and dangerous. "Do it, now!"
Kabuto disregarded with a shake of his head, returning his attention to Anko. "You don't get it, do you? Everything I did, helping you and all, I was ordered to do. Lord Orochimaru told me to watch over and protect you. He couldn't allow you to die just yet."
Anko was shocked, stunned. What did he mean? Orochimaru wanted her to live? Why would he care? "But when did you—"
Kabuto interjected, glaring his onyx eyes at her. "Let me be clear about something: If comes down between you and someone else again, then I will gladly let that person die. I was following Lord Orochimaru's orders, and so I am speaking on his behalf. Do understand this when I say it for him: I will always choose you."
He let go of her then, shoving her carelessly towards the Leaf shinobi. Anko fumbled back into Kurenai's arms, embracing her into a happy hug. Asuma smiled as the two friends reuniting, but then he turned back to the Sound shinobi.
"Hmph, your master can be obsessed with Anko all he wants if it means that he'll protect her," the male Jōnin started with a serrated voice of hate, his eyes narrowing threateningly at the silver-haired medic. "But tell him this: We will have the one thing he never will have from Anko: her respect."
Kabuto chortled humorlessly, shrugging faintly as he smirked darkly. "I'll make sure to pass that along. But, I will tell you this in my lord's stead: I don't mind being the bad guy in this scenario. I'll make all the life and death decisions while you people are busy worrying about collateral damage. I'll even let her hate me for it. But at the end of the day, I'll be the one to keep her alive."
"What do you mean?" Kurenai questioned, seething angrily.
"I could've blown that whole building up when I got Miss Mitarashi out of there, I still could, you know, but my job is done. Seiteki is dead." the Sound ninja paused to gesture to the dead corpses on the dirt ground, his eyes darting back to snake kunoichi as he went on in a wicked tone. "Lord Orochimaru's orders were to protect her at any cost. He didn't care who had to pay the price. Do you understand now? You Leaf shinobi don't have what it takes to save her without worrying about the consequences. You hesitated, not knowing what was more important to you: saving your friend's life, or saving the lives of people you don't even know."
"Unlike you and Orochimaru, we don't waste life! We save it!" Asuma shouted back.
The Sound ninja shrugged uncaringly. "Maybe, but that doesn't matter to me. I'll be going now. Oh, and, Miss Mitarashi? Next we meet, we will be enemies."
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Anko narrowed her hard eyes at him.
"Until we meet again." Kabuto gave her a dry half-smile, and then rushed off into the trees. He was secretly pleased about what happened today, and couldn't wait to relay his report to his master.
Back at the outside castle, there was a long, very awkward silence in the air between the Leaf ninja. Anko's optics were staring at the spot Kabuto was, her mind in a shuffle as she tried to process everything he had told her, not knowing if she should believe him or not. She had so many questions, so many unsaid things and doubts that she couldn't think correctly at the moment.
Asuma broke the strained atmosphere with a command. "Let's go free the prisoners."
ஜ ~ ஜ
"I see…" Tsunade sighed when she heard Anko's report the next two days when they arrived back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. With the captives free and safely returned home to their families, and Seiteki dead, their mission was a success, even though it didn't played out in the way that everyone expected it to. Anko was glad that they didn't come back home until two days after the events; she needed time to think on what she wanted to say to the Hokage when she had to be debriefed.
What did Kabuto mean when he said all those things to her about Orochimaru, about him wanting her alive? Why did the Snake Sannin ordered Kabuto protect her? Did that mean she still cared for her, or was it because he had some kind of evil plot in mind to toy with her again? And was she so happy to find out that Orochimaru was still thinking about her?
"Well, good job, everyone." the Fifth Hokage concluded, leaning back in her chair. "You are dismissed."
"Right." Kurenai and Asuma left the room swiftly, and Anko motioned to follow.
"Anko, you stay."
The Special Jōnin halted and pivoted around to face the blond woman. "Yes?"
"Are you…okay?" the Sannin asked, concerned. "From what you told me, it sounded like you had a rough time, dealing with Seiteki and Kabuto."
"Yes, I'm fine." Anko lied. She was far from fine, but she couldn't let anyone know that a nostalgic part of her heart ached to know whether or not to believe Kabuto's words about Orochimaru. If anyone else did found out, they will think that she was mentally unstable or positively deranged.
Tsunade observed her warily. "Okay, then. You may go. Get some rest."
"I will, thanks." She bowed in gratitude and exited the Hokage Tower, her head in the clouds. She damned herself for letting the old, romantic feelings she kept snared in her heart for so long take control of her thoughts. She thought after the mission was over, she would enjoy herself when she got home, her worries and anger all gone for even a temporary moment, wanting to smile and find herself in the warm comfort of her friends. But instead…she felt only more lost than before.