It has been two weeks since Anko last saw Orochimaru—the last time when she will ever see him again. Sadness weighed heavily in her chest since they said their good-byes; her exuberant personality she'd usually show around her friends has now diminished. Kurenai and the others noticed her transparent sorrow, something they knew of too well but never expected to see so lucidly. Normally, the violet-haired woman would obscured her grief by masking it with a cheerful and energetic face, but now Anko seemed so depressed in the last two weeks that she'd no longer bothered to hide it.
That worried everyone on how she was doing, blaming themselves for pressuring her about her relationship with Orochimaru. In the last couple of weeks, Anko barely spent any time with her friends, and she was never seen in the village for too long. She'd try her best to avoid them, and she would then blockade herself inside her apartment all day after she completed a mission. When she did run into one of her comrades, she would quickly lie and make an excuse to get away.
Anko knew of her friends' concern and what they thought was the cause of her distress was. She didn't mean for them to blame themselves for how she was acting, but she couldn't bring herself to explain why she was so distant. The only person responsible for her heartache was herself. What she did with Orochimaru, sleeping with him and sneaking off into the night to meet him two weeks ago, was unforgivable. She didn't regret seeing him once more, giving into her passion for the Snake Sannin, but she felt so guilty for betraying the Leaf Village by sleeping with the enemy. Twice. She yearned for his attention, his acknowledgement, and she wanted him to want her too.
That was the hope…and the sin.
She felt like a complete, wanton fool. She felt too ashamed to face anyone in the Leaf Village, especially the people who cared and treated her with kindness and warmth. What the heck was she supposed to do now? She can't pretend that everything was all right when it really wasn't. She loved the Leaf Village, but she also loved her former sensei as well, even though he might just be toying with her emotions again.
So here she was, sitting on her bed with her back to the wall, her knees curled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her shins tightly. Her face was deeply troubled and lamented, her mind churning with her conflicted feelings and thoughts. She craved to see Orochimaru once more, to be with him again, for even the slightest second. However, she wondered whether or not that was she truly desires. She will be stabbing the village in the back and would just be twisting the knife by going off to see him again.
Those heated moments flashed across her mind, and Anko's face reddened at the passionate memories of her tryst with the Snake Sannin. She remembered how good it felt to have his body pressed against her; the heat of his hot mouth on her skin, kissing and lighting a blazing flame that coursed through her veins; and how amazing his rich, luscious blood tasted on her tongue. That heated experience was absolutely incredible.
But it would never happen again, because she rejected to come with him to the Sound Village. She knew she had made the right choice; she couldn't live the life he led—one full of bloodlust, cruelty, and destruction. Although she missed him dearly, Anko knew she had no right to. She'd made her decision, and would therefore suffer with the agony of her choice. Sooner or later, she would just have to accept that her lover was gone and they will never meet again.
"The sooner the better…" the snake kunoichi mumbled under her breath, throwing her feet off the edge of the bed to stand on the wooden floor. Staying locked inside her room would only make her feel gloomier, so she decided to go and get some fresh air. Grabbing her khaki coat off the chair in her room, Anko pulled it on and exited her apartment.
As soon as she entered the streets of the Leaf Village, Anko found herself striding through the noisy and bustling crowds, the citizens running around in a frantic like she'd never seen before. Booths and food stands were being set up from all around; clothing stores and beauty shops were cluttered with girls buying dresses and kimonos to pretty themselves up with; and colorful festivities were being hang on the rooftops of the buildings. The snake kunoichi was bewildered by the all of the excitement that was going around her, puzzled on why the Leaf Village seemed busier than usual.
"Anko!" shouted a sweet, melodious voice.
Anko pivoted her head around to see her crimson-eyed, raven-haired friend dashing over to her side, a smile gracing her scarlet-red lips. Forcing out a happy grin, Anko greeted Kurenai in a cheerful tone. "Hey, Kurenai. What's going with the village today? Everyone seems to be in a hurry for something."
"You haven't heard? I know you've been preoccupied lately, but you could at least make yourself a little more available," the female Jōnin told her jokingly, gesturing a hand towards the fussy citizens of the Leaf. "The village is holding a grand event to raise money to pay for the repairs going on in the village right now. Ever since Orochimaru's attack, you know it isn't easy raising money by sending off our weaken forces on missions when we need all the security in the village to defend from our enemies. So, Lady Hokage is putting on a event to fix that problem."
"Oh, I get it. So this event is mainly a fund raiser, huh?" Anko nodded in understanding, snuffing her hands into her coat pockets as her optics scanned the active surroundings. "So, what kind of 'grand event' is it, anyway?"
"It's called the 'Rose Exchange.'" Kurenai answered joyfully, giggling in delight. "It's a event that's led by the Yamanaka clan, and it starts tomorrow."
"Rose Exchange? How's it done?"
"I'd explain it to you, but I'm busy right now. If you want to know, go the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Ino should be there, so she could tell you. I'll see you later, okay?" Kurenai swiveled her heel to go in the other direction, glancing over her shoulder at her friend.
"Uh, okay. Later, then." Anko waved after the raven-haired beauty as she run off to help finishing the preparations for the event. Having nothing better to do, Anko turned her foot in the direction of the Yamanaka Flower Shop to find some answers.
ஜ ~ ஜ
"Everyone, please line up in a orderly fashion! Quit pushing!" Ino bellowed among the din of surging customers that were clamoring in her flower shop. The blond girl sighed in frustration at the work she had to do, pivoting her head behind her to see Sakura, Hinata, and Tenten carrying out more pots of roses to the front of the shop. "Hey, you three, move faster! Things are going to get messy if we don't give these customers their flowers, pronto!"
"Shut it, Ino-pig!" Sakura yelled back, angry at being bossed around by her archrival/best friend. "Don't forget we're helping you for free for this event, so put a cork in it and show a little more gratitude that we're taking time off on our training to help you!"
"What'd you say, Billboard Brow?" Ino shouted crossly, a vein popping out her forehead at the insult. "What makes you think I want to do this? It's not like I had a choice! My parents are out organizing the rest of this event!"
"Cut it out, you two." Tenten sighed exasperatedly, moving in between them before a catfight could erupt from the younger females. "This event was placed on short-notice, remember? And it starts tomorrow, so if we don't get these flowers out to the public, then we might as well hand our butts over to Lady Tsunade ourselves if this it turns out to be a failure because of us."
"S-She's right, we should just focus on getting the job done." Hinata agreed in a low tone.
"Yeah, fine, whatever." Sakura grumbled grumpily, placing the pots down to the side.
"You girls seemed to be having a rough time, huh?" inquired a tomboyish voice, the vision of a purple-haired Special Jōnin approaching their sights.
Ino beamed, coming around the counter to greet the familiar face. "Anko-sensei! Welcome, are you here to buy a rose for the event, too?"
The snake kunoichi chuckled lightly at the blond girl's enthusiasm, patting her blond crown playfully. "Nice to see you again, kiddo. And no, I'm not here to buy a flower for this event or whatever. I'm just curious to see what this 'Rose Exchange' is all about. Everyone's making a big deal out of it."
The Yamanaka girl's smile faltered a little, but she retained a polite expression on her face. "Oh, well… The 'Rose Exchange' is basically a couple's event. A person will give a red rose to the one they love. Then, if the person who received the red rose feels the same way, then they reply with a white rose. If not, a yellow rose to say, 'No, thank you.'"
"Huh, I see…" Anko bobbled her head, processing the information. It was an interesting event, but she didn't really care for a lovey-dovey thing such as this. She got the concept of it, and it was a good idea to raise money to pay for the repairs in the Leaf Village.
"All of the girls are really excited for it!" Ino added in excitement, throwing her hands in the air. "At the end of the second day, there'll be music so all the couples could dance the night away! It's so romantic!"
"Hey, Ino! Come help us out here! You're the one in charge at the cash register!" Sakura called to her, having a difficult time working at the front with the customers.
"Okay, I'm coming!" Ino flashed a gleeful smile at the snake kunoichi before returning back to work. "Bye, Anko-sensei! Try and enjoy the event!"
"See ya, kiddo." Anko smiled after the Yamanaka girl as she made her way through the crowd and back to her workstation.
Sighing inwardly, Anko swiveled around and headed back to her apartment, wanting to escape from the din of the loud crowds in the village. She could care less about this event, concluding she wasn't going to receive roses from anyone and she will neither be giving out a rose to anyone in return. The only man she'd ever loved was somewhere else, and she would never see him again.
ஜ ~ ஜ
Anko was utterly taken aback the next morning when she found a bundle of at least fifteen to twenty red roses at her doorstep. She was stunned on how many roses she got that morning, astonished that anyone in the village would take a strong liking to her. All of the red roses were attached with a love note on the steams, revealing who her admirers are. Though she felt…flattered that someone found her attractive, she felt nothing in return as she read the letters. Her heart belonged to one man, and her admirers were none of them.
The violet-haired kunoichi picked up the bundle of red roses in her apartment, writing jilting letters back to her senders and then head out to the Yamanaka Flower Shop to buy yellow roses to send back to them. It took her most of the day hopping around the village to her admirers' residences to give them their reply roses back, not wanting to see them in person and just left them on their doorsteps for them to see when they return home. Though she didn't care for this event, it seemed like the right thing to do rather than have the men think she was rude enough not to give them an answer. Well, not every man, at least.
When Anko was sorting out the red roses earlier that day, she was surprised to find a different colored rose among the pile of red roses. It was a violet rose, something that was not part of the Rose Exchange event. To make it even more odd, the sender of the violet rose did not leave a note on the steam, so his identity was anonymous.
Anko took the purple rose she kept in a vase when out on her errand and treaded back to the Yamanaka Flower Shop that afternoon to ask Ino. When she entered, she saw that the shop was crowded and loud as the previous day, females and males shoving against one another to get a flower to reply to their sweethearts or reject a person who have feelings for them.
The Special Jōnin waited an entire hour until it was in the late afternoon when Ino took a break from her noisy customers to come over to the snake kunoichi. Wiping off a sheen of sweat on her forehead, the blond girl strode over to her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Anko-sensei," Ino apologized, folding her arms across her chest. "So, this is the second time I've seen you today. Is there something I can help you with?"
Anko held up the violet rose. "Do you know the meaning of this color rose and who might've purchased it?"
Ino's blue optics stared at it skeptically for a moment before looking back at the older woman. "Well, it's not one of our flowers. I don't have any violet roses in stock because of the event—only red, white, and yellow roses. I don't know who got it for you, but I can tell you the meaning of that rose. Violet roses means 'love at first sight.'"
"Love at first sight…?" Anko repeated, baffled. Her curiosity spiked to a new level at the newfound knowledge, and her cheeks flushed bright pink from the flattery of her a secret admirer.
Ino giggled bubbly at the purple-haired kunoichi's crimson face, plucking a red rose out of a nearby pot by her feet and brought it up to Anko. "Here you are, Sensei. Take this rose and give it to your secret admirer, if you find out who he is. "
"Uh, thanks, kid." Anko accepted it from the blond girl reluctantly, not entirely sure she will have much luck finding who it is. She didn't care who it was, to be honest. The Rose Exchange meant nothing to her because there wasn't anyone in the Leaf that she loved. However, she didn't want to disappoint the young Genin, so she paid for it. "I'll be going now."
"Okay, go and nab that guy of yours!" Ino cheered jovially for the violet-haired woman.
Anko grinned nervously at her. "I'll try. Bye, Ino."
"Good-bye, Anko-sensei!" The Yamanaka girl waved farewell as the snake kunoichi left her family shop again. Huffing out her chest in pride, she pivoted around and went back to work. There were still a lot of customers to deal with, and it was almost the end of the first day for the Rose Exchange.
ஜ ~ ஜ
The door creaked open with a squeak, Anko shutting it behind her as she came inside her apartment with her free hand, the other one gripping the purple rose and the red rose. The snake kunoichi lifted the violet rose to her face, moving it close to her nose to inhaled its nice, fresh scent. She pondered who would give it to her for the Rose Exchange, and why did he did it. It was probably someone who wanted to impress her by saying that they loved her since he first saw her.
"It matches my hair," Anko stated quietly, tugging on one of her purple tresses that were loose from her spiky ponytail. She exhaled a tired sigh, deciding to forget who gave her the flower if they didn't even have the courage to tell her who he was.
She strolled to her bedroom slowly, kicking off her ninja sandals on the floor and not caring where they ended up. She was exhausted from today and wanted some sleep, though she doubted she would get any. The citizens of the village were still wandering in the streets to confess their romantic feelings to the person they love through roses, which meant that they would making noise outside her apartment.
Anko went past her kitchen; ignoring the trashcan that was filled with the red roses she received for her other admirers. She didn't care for the red roses she got from those men, so she just threw them away. Those men were a bunch of cowards in her opinion, since they gave them to her by leaving it outside her home, rather than giving it too her in person. They were too scared of her to give to her directly. Who wouldn't be? She was, after all, his student.
Flickering on the light switch, Anko jumped when she spotted a shocking visitor sitting there on her bed, his haughty stare gazing up from the picture of him and a young Anko to look at her with a small smirk. Anko was too stunned to move as the snake stood up from the edge of the bed. He put the framed, cherished photo back on the shelf behind her bed, and started to slither closer to his lover.
"Hello, my dear." His pale hand reached out to touch caress her cheek, and Anko snapped out of her daze when her mind registered that the person she saw in front of her was not just a hallucination. He was the real thing, but why was he here? He told her that they weren't going to meet again when she denied his offer to leave the Leaf Village to live with him. She thought she'd never get to see him again afterwards, but he was here.
A lump formed in the back of her throat, overwhelmed with emotions for her former sensei. When she found her voice, it came out more like a quiet croak. "W-What are you doing here?"
The corners of Orochimaru's lips curled into a smile, his hand still stroking her red-colored cheek. "I came here to see you, of course, my dearest Anko, and for my rose reply."
The snake kunoichi gasped at his insinuation, her eyes widening as she glanced back down a violet rose in her left palm and back at the Snake Sannin. Everything clicked in her head just then, and she knew that he was that her gave the violet rose.
"My answer, then?" he pressed her with a brief chuckle.
Shyly, she twirled the steam of the red rose for a moment before she brought it up to him, a happy smile spreading across her blushing face. It was a token of her love for him, one that he gladly returned when his lips locked on hers in a long, sweet kiss. Anko moaned against his mouth, coiling her arms his neck to pull him closer to her body. Heat bloomed in her core swiftly when his tongue darted inside her mouth, exploring the sweetness of her hot recesses.
In the middle of their ardent kiss, Anko's eyelids lifted slightly open to see the naked passion crackling in his amber irises, and he could see that same need in her too. She couldn't deny it from him, she didn't want to. She wasn't nearly strong enough to hide it from him. She wanted his nude body on hers until they melded together, and she trembled with carnal need for that desire.
"Please," she whispered breathlessly, parting their lips an inch away from each other. "Take me."
In a fluid, graceful movement, he swept her off her feet and held her in his muscled arms. He carried her to the soft bed and then plopped her down, taking the violet and red roses out of her hand and threw them on the shelf. Orochimaru stripped her off her coat and skirt quickly, yanking the top of her mesh bodysuit halfway down her figure and then stopped to snap off the lacey crimson bra she wore and cast it aside on the floor. He suckled her voluptuous breasts one at a time, teasing the tight pink nipples with the sharp point of his fangs.
He reveled when he heard Anko whimpered and writhed fervently under him, her fingers entwining and gripping in his lustrous, beautiful ebony hair. His hot mouth traveled to the smooth plane of her abdomen, planting fiery kisses on every inch of her heated skin. Pale hands came to her sides, tugging the rest of her bodysuit and red panties off and onto the wooden floor in a hasty motion, adding the rest of Anko's garments to the pile of clothes on the ground.
He dipped his head down into the juncture of her lovely, slender thighs and plundered into her warm, wet core, his tongue cleaving the slick folds. Her first orgasm took her totally by surprise, and Anko threw her head back into the pillow and cried out in pleasure. "Orochimaru! Ahh!"
"You taste delicious," the Snake Sannin murmured seductively against her wetness, his palms skating up and down her burning flesh. Anko moved her hands to his shoulders to push him up and flipped them around, allowing her to be on top. She breathed in broken gasps as she began to undress him while her bare thighs straddled him. She undid his purple obi and drew up his tunic and the black polo neck he wore underneath it.
The snake kunoichi ran her fingertips up and down his chiseled torso, worshipping his masculine beauty with her hands and mouth, tracing patterns and nipping on the patches of his snow-white flesh. His muscles were taut and perfect, and she kissed up his chest to his throat until her lips came to his ear to speak to him, her voice husky from the passion and fresh, kindling need that inflamed her.
"I've missed you… Do you have any idea how many times I wanted to seek you out after you left the village? I wanted to see you again so badly, to be with you again, despite the fact you hurt me. Even then, I still wanted you. It's you, Orochimaru, it's always been you."
He growled against the nape of her neck—a sound that echoed power and possessiveness at her throaty confession. He snaked his hand in her head, harshly pulling at the tie that held up her hair. Violet tresses cascaded down her shoulders beautifully, and he gripped her skull roughly to push her away from his ear and kissed her with animalistic ferocity. Anko knew he was a ferocious lover, and she relished and welcomed his fierce love for her.
His lips created a trail of fevered kisses down from her neck and to the center of her chest; stopping to lavished the undersides of her creamy breasts. Meanwhile, Anko's digits stripped him off his pants, taking them off hastily to add the last of his clothes to the heap on the floor. Both of their bodies radiated with lust for one another, the couple marveling at each other's glorious nudity before their mouths joined in a demanding, ravaging kiss.
Maneuvering their hips together, Orochimaru thrust into the plush, wet folds of her cleft, hissing slightly when Anko's nails grasped onto his shoulders, scoring his skin until they drew blood. He felt her hands were fumbling and raking his back to find something to hold on to as he rammed into her, his rhythm increasing harder and faster as he moved in and out of her luscious body. Anko screamed out his name as she climaxed, another orgasm roaring up within her like a storm. She cried out again when it struck, burrowing her face into his shoulder as he rocked his pelvis against her in a wild tempo.
"Don't stop! Ah, Orochimaru!" she moaned and shouted with need; panting heavily with the bliss he was granting her. She sighed against his mouth when he captured hers in a long, passionate caress. She met his furious strokes again and again, returning the same pleasure/pain she was experiencing to him. Her release triggered his, both breaking apart from their kiss and the Snake Sannin slid out of her when he felt that she had reached her limit.
He came to her side and cuddled her form close to his, nuzzling her neck while the tips of his teeth teased the tender flesh where he branded his Curse Mark on her. Anko stroked her hand up and down his chest, her skin sheening with sweat. Her eyelids were half-closed; a smile graced her sated face as she admired her lover's seductive, sweaty form. He was so beautiful, so perfect. He was everything she ever wanted in her life and more.
"Mmm…" The snake kunoichi snuggled further into his possessive embrace, shifting her body until she found a comfortable position she wanted to lay in. A few moments of silence stretched between the lovers as they fondled each other sweetly, both relaxing from the aftershocks of sex, tremors of their release rippling through them. A thought hit her when memories of her first night with Orochimaru flashed in her mind, three single words she wanted to hear from his lips before the night was over.
Her gentle hands cupped his face, rising up to look at him with her intense, heated gaze, the pad of her thumbs caressing his cheekbones lovingly. Those glimmering, molten gold orbs locked to her brown dusky ones, peering studiously to read her with but a glance.
"What?" he inquired in a honey-toned voice, taking one hand off his face to give the center of her palm a brief kiss.
"I just need to hear it once," she whispered longingly, pressing her forehead on his, their lips brushing over each other in a feather-light motion. Knowing exactly what Anko wanted to hear, he breathed those wonderful words in her ear. Anko smiled, her heart melting when she heard it. She rested her cheek on his chest as she murmured softly, "I love you, too…"
ஜ ~ ஜ
Anko woke up the next morning in Orochimaru's firm embrace, her back to his chest and his arms wrapped around her waist tightly. Light kisses were being planted down the graceful column of the nape of her neck, his snakelike tongue dancing across her flesh.
"How long have you've been awake?" the purple-haired woman asked drowsily, hiding the surprise she felt that he was still here. She'd expected him to sneak off into the night before anyone could sense or see he was here in her bedroom, but the snake was still here, tangled under the blanket with her. Drifting her optics to the window, she saw the curtains were drawn over it, obscuring anyone from taking a peek inside her room.
"Not long." The Sannin halted his licking on her neck to move to where the Curse Mark was. He gave her tender flesh a sharp nip of is fangs and then peppered her with fiery kisses along the slope of her neck and shoulder. "I enjoy watching you sleep."
Anko smiled joyously, trying her best to refrain from giggling out loud from his sweet, uncharacteristic display of affection. "Hmph… That doesn't sound very exciting."
Turning her body to face him, she brought her arms around his neck and kissed him with renew passion and want. Desire pooled at her core and she smirked against his mouth when she felt his arousal from his hard erection. She was loomed over by him after a few seconds of innocent kissing, hunger ratcheting in him to make love to her all over again and again. However, he wanted to try and get the one thing he wanted her to say to him.
"Come to Sound with me, Anko."
She parted her lips away from his, and frowned sadly. "No."
He kissed her once more, but more demandingly this time. "Come with me."
Though her heart screamed at her to accept his offer this time, her choice remained the same. "I can't."
What an obstinate woman she was, the Snake Sannin thought. Orochimaru sighed at her stubbornness, taking a few strands of violet hair in his hand and eased his head down to brush his lips on those lovely tendrils. He smiled devilishly at her, claiming her mouth in a rough kiss, sucking away her breath as she gasped in pleasure. "Why can't you be obedient?"
Anko shook her head, smoothing his black fringes from his simmering golden irises. "I'm not the same ignorant girl I was back then, who didn't know a thing about you. I see you much more clearly now. I won't betray you or the Leaf."
"Your loyalties are so unwavering, my dear." Orochimaru captured her lips in a fervor caress, and then there were no more words between them. The room was then only filled with the sounds of the sighs and moans of a passionate woman well pleasured and fully sated.
ஜ ~ ஜ
Anko twisted the shower faucet and stepped in under the hot spraying water, sighing in content as it sluiced over her exhausted figure, soothing rather than beating into her bones and sore muscles for once in her life. She braced her hands on the tiles, arching her back in a feline grace and shut her eyes. Her body was still humming in delight after she spent hours of lovemaking with the Snake Sannin, her spirit and mind at ease—all of her stress and anger flooded out.
Lost in the bliss, the snake kunoichi didn't notice that he had entered the spacious shower; his palms skating over her tensed shoulders and slipped around her waist, moving her away from the wall and to him. Anko gasped slightly, but she relaxed when she felt a different kind of warmth, his pallid fingers skimming over the smooth plane of her stomach.
"I'm happy…that you came back, even though you said you wouldn't." Anko confessed softly, closing her eyes when he flipped her around to get a good look at her sleepy, tired face. She didn't want to get lost in the trance of those hypnotic hues, knowing it will force her to halt the next solemn words to him. "But I still won't go with you and leave the village. My place is here."
"Your place is with me." Orochimaru hissed in her ear, clutching her body closer to his until their hips flushed and Anko breathed out a relished moan on how perfectly they fit together. Her eyelids lifted open, her dusky brown optics connecting his molten gold slits, the gnawing doubts of where she wanted to go and where she should be conflicted against one another in her mind.
"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't…" she whispered, keeping her irises locked on his as her brows furrowing sternly. "But at least I know no one here is going to break my heart like you did."
An awkward silence hung above them when those words went past her lips, but neither one of them was able to let go of the other. The stillness spread between them for a few more moments, the only sound emanating from the hot spray of the running water above their heads, until Anko broke it and spoke again. It hurt to bring the subject up again after hours of sharing their passion to each other, but it needed to be said. Anko needed him to know exactly how she felt about him and why; in spite of the fact it was killing her to voice it out loud.
"I still hate you, you know, for what you did." The violet-haired woman burrowed her face into his torso, covering the shaky sobs she was unable to hold back. "You know I'd regained my memories, right, back in the Land of the Sea? I remembered… I remembered everything—I was the one that refused to go with you. Before then, I was…dying inside everyday, agonizing why you abandoned me when you knew that you were all I had. When I got them back, I was happy to know what really happened, but I was angry because you erased my memories to make me believed that you left me, not the other way around. Why did you do that?"
"I wanted you to come back to me. That's how it was supposed to be, my dear." The Snake Sannin tipped her chin up and leaned in for a kiss, but Anko recoiled. He frowned at her rejection, but maintained the tight distance between them. "Why don't you tell me why you refused to come to me when I'd offered you my hand?"
"Come with you, only to be used and then cast aside by you at a later time?" Her voice was brittle and bitter, contempt dripping in her words acidly. "I'm not stupid. That wasn't the kind of life for me. I wasn't going to let you corrupt me anymore than you already did. My reason for rejecting you back then is the same reason why I can't go with you and leave the Leaf Village. The Sound Village have no life to give me, it's not my life."
"It could be."
Anko shook her head, and then buried her face in the crook of his neck, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "No, it can't, and I haven't exactly forgiven you for what happened."
"What are you trying say?" he asked her, pushing her away to look at each other face to face. Her eyes carried a deep sadness and regret in them, but her resolve remained somewhat strong, due the doubts that was floating around in her head.
"I hate you…and I love you. I want to be with you, but I can't. And no matter how much I love you, I can't trust you. You lied to me and turned my whole life upside down. I won't be played for a fool in one of your games. Not again, ever."
Golden orbs glared at her in disapproval, his voice clearly dissatisfied. "It has never been a game, Anko. Never."
"Give me one good reason why should I believe you." The snake kunoichi shifted her body to break away from his embrace, but he only pulled her further in. "You're asking me to come with you, to trust and live with you, after everything we've been through? Sorry, but I don't know whether I can believe you or not. You've hurt so much, and I don't want to go through all of that crap again."
Another silence hung in the air for a few moments, and it was the Sannin's turn to break it. "Anko, how do you see me? I want to hear it from you instead of guessing it for myself."
"I… We only recently started to meet each other like this, being intimate and everything, and I loved it. But, I was happy with you being my sensei, happy that you were my guardian…" Anko's voice trailed off a brief moment before she continued in a low, melancholy tone. "You're like a beast in human form. You're an animal and liar, and there's will always be that evil in you that I can't trust. You still have so many secrets, and everything's different between us. Last night, you said you love me, but, to be honest, I'm not sure if you really like me that much. I love you, yes, but there's so many emotions mixing together, I can't…"
The desire to hide her tears, which was mixing together with the rush of the water, with her hands flared, but Orochimaru cupped her lamentable face and forced her to look at him with teary, wavering eyes. His expression was slightly disappointed, but it was also sort of…tender, too?
"It's fine if you're not ready. I have time to wait for you. Forever, in fact." He lowered his mouth onto hers, sending waves of smoldering fire racing through her veins as her wants overcame her again. His hands groped to her rear to heave her up to him, and Anko clasped her legs instinctively around his waist as he shoved her against the cold shower tiles.
She moaned, holding onto him as firmly as she could, not wanting him to ever let go. Although she knew what her illicit relationship meant to her loyalties with the Leaf Village, she didn't to deny her desires anymore. There are some feelings that one could never let go, even if those feelings were to hurt someone close to her. Anko realized it then as she kissed heatedly with her S-class criminal lover.
When he drew away from her, she was reluctant to let go. She snaked one hand behind his hand to drag his mouth back on hers, but he did not comply. He chuckled at her eagerness, dropped her to her feet and turned her so that her back was facing him. She glanced over her shoulder and through the steamy mist of hot water to see the lustful gleam in his golden irises, confused by his actions.
"Brace your hands on the wall and arch your back," he told her, and with a pleasured, playful grin, she obeyed. She planted her palms flat on the shower tiles and arched her backside to him, her body tingling with ecstasy when his hands started skating over her flawless skin.
He coiled his arms around her delicate waist once more before he rammed inside her core from behind. Anko shrieked at the sudden rapturous assault in her dark, swollen folds, which soon dissolved in delighted gasps and moans. He moved in a slow rhythm at first, but when he started to pound, Anko saw stars and then everything else blurred together.
ஜ ~ ஜAnko let out another fevered groan as her release blasted at her, breaking her apart from within like million white-hot, shimmering pieces. She collapsed in Orochimaru's strong arms, her figure trembling with the aftershock of her climax, her body sprawled over his impressive form on the bed. As much as she enjoyed the incredible, mind-blowing ravishment between them, she knew it didn't change the fact she was still mad at him for what happened all those years ago. She was always one to hold grudges, after all. However, it felt so good to lie in the Snake Sannin's embrace, awash in pure bliss and comfort.
He hugged her closely to him; his arms were like an iron grip that refused to let her go. It was nighttime when they were finished making love, the sounds of fireworks and the noisy din of the citizens of the Leaf Village celebrating the last day of the Rose Exchange could be heard in the distance. Anko was glad for the Rose Exchange now; it gave her chance to see her lover again.
His hands stroked her thighs and back leisurely and nuzzled her neck as she laid on him, while she idly tracing patterns over the fine contours of his bare chest.
"You're very beautiful…" he murmured in her neck, flickering his tongue out to licked over the love bites on her throat.
She smiled at his praise for her, her cheeks heating up as if they caught aflame. "I want to be beautiful to you, that's how you make me feel."
They kissed again, their tongues wresting for dominance while leading a fiery dance in the erotic joining of their mouths. Anko withdrew first, resting her cheek on his chest and sighed happily.
"You're insatiable," she teased in a light-hearted tone, and he chuckled lightly at her remark.
It really did feel good to have his dear ex-student on him naked, her violet hair tousled from their lovemaking. Even though she kept turning down his offer to come with him to Sound, he wasn't about give up so easily. He'll seduce her as many times he needs to until she finally gives in to him and become permanently his, far away from this pathetic Leaf Village that she called a home. She belonged to him, so it was only fitting that she would be by his side as one of his soldier and as his lover.
"Go to sleep, Anko." He bent his head down to give her an affectionate kiss on her head, pleased she responded by snuggling into him more. His yellow, slitted optics watched her sleep for a long time, relishing how peaceful and vulnerable she looked. As slumber enveloped him too, he shut his eyes and settled comfortably next to his Anko.
ஜ ~ ஜ
The couple woke up early morning when the first rays of dawn rose up in the sky. It was time for the Snake Sannin to go before anyone catches him in here with Anko. The snake kunoichi watched him as he slipped on his discarded clothes from off the floor, sitting up in the bed with the blanket clutched to her exposed bosom.
When he was done, Orochimaru pivoted around to see the regret in her brown hues. "You're certain you don't want to come?"
She nodded slowly, although she didn't want to be apart from him again. "Yeah…"
Her answer didn't surprise him in the least, but he still wasn't pleased with it. "Very well, then."
"Will I see you again…?" she inquired hopefully, her gaze averting down to the floor. She wouldn't blame him if he didn't want to see her anymore, but her fear was reassured. Smiling gently, he sauntered over to the edge of the bed, gripped her chin, and crashed his lips on hers in an ardent kiss.
When he moved back, Orochimaru smirked at her slyly. "I'm sure you will."
Anko's heart soared in joy and relief inside her breastbone. "Promise?"
He kissed her one more time, but harder and longer. He kissed a path up her collarbone, relishing how responsive she still was to his touch. The pale-skinned man came at a stop by her ear, mumbling a sweet vow to her before he departed.
"I promise."