Anko was perplexed when she heard that they were going back to the Sound Village the next morning. She leaped through the trees nearby Sasuke, watching Orochimaru and Kabuto talking privately in front of them. The snake kunoichi found it strange they would suddenly going back to Sound after just arriving in the Land of Hot Water. The Sound Village may have many hideouts scattered across its land, but they won't be able to hide from the Leaf for long by jumping back and forth in the Land of Rice Paddies. The land best known to be Orochimaru's main base of operations, therefore the Leaf would hunt through it like a pack of wolves would do to their chosen prey of food.
The Snake Sannin knew this, so why was he and Kabuto urgent to get back? Although she didn't ask, the idea of returning to the Sound was certainly suspicious. As a child while under her sensei's tutelage, Anko learned never to ask questions behind Orochimaru's motives. She was only ordered to obey, and she'd complied. However, she was not the some naïve and innocent little girl she was back then who would simply nod and follow her sensei blindly. In spite of that, Anko kept her inklings to herself, knowing she would find out sooner or later.
They stopped to rest by a riverbank after a few hours of traveling. Anko soaked her fatigued feet in the cold water with Sasuke next to her, staring at the glistening stream with bored eyes. Orochimaru and Kabuto were leaning their backs against a large stone, discussing what they've been talking about since morning.
"You know, it's too bad we can't go the Village Hidden in the Waterfall," Anko stated out of nowhere, more to herself than to the stoic boy beside her. "I've always wanted to see the huge waterfall that hides the village at dusk."
The Uchiha turned to look at her nonchalantly. "What's so important about that?"
"At sunset, when the light strikes the water, it glistens red. The place is supposed to be the most romantic spot at the Waterfall Village," the violet-haired woman replied with nostalgia. "They say the color red is a reflection of all of the lovers' hearts that kissed there. Kurenai told me about once. She even said some people conceive a child under those cascading falls."
Sasuke hummed at the information, gazing at her for a moment before he stood up. There was a heated gleam in her brown orbs, and she didn't have to say it out loud for the Uchiha to understand whom she wanted to go with to the waterfall with. Under all the roughness, she really was a normal woman, after all.
"We're going." Orochimaru commanded to his two students. Surging to her feet, Anko and the others continued on their way to the Hidden Sound Village.
ஜ ~ ஜ
"I'm requesting to go search for Anko Mitarashi and to investigate the Sound Village with Kakashi Hatake." Kurenai stood in the center of the Hokage's office with the famous Copy Ninja by her side, and her crimson eyes fixed on the blond woman in the chair. After she spent weeks crying out her grief, she decided it was time she took action in order to bring her best friend back home.
Tsunade studied the pair with stern optics, contemplating whether or not she would allow to go look for the violet-haired woman. She understood Kurenai's reason for wanting to go, and she guessed that Kakashi was tagged along with her to help knock some sense into Anko. The Fifth Hokage was having a sense of déjà vu as she stared at the two shinobi in front of her.
Not too long ago, after Sasuke's defection from the Leaf Village, Jiraiya requested to investigate the Village Hidden in the Sound with Naruto and Sakura Haruno. The Toad Sage made it clear that those two would go and search for Sasuke with or without her permission. With little to no choice, Tsunade allowed him and the two Genin to go on an official reconnaissance mission. Remembering that, the Slug Princess knew that no matter how dutifully Kurenai or Kakashi was, they would probably go out and to the same thing Naruto and Sakura did,
And with little to no choice once more, Tsunade bobbled her head in acceptance with a reluctant sigh. "I will allow you to go and search for Anko, but on one condition: Don't let your friendship with her prevent you from doing your job as shinobi. I know you want to bring her back, but if the situation calls for it, you are to use force to drag her back here."
Kurenai and Kakashi understood the order perfectly. Anko was never the type to come along quietly on anything if she already made up her mind on it. If she was with her deranged mentor willingly, she wasn't going to go down with a fight. "Yes, milady."
"Good. There's a good chance that Anko is with Orochimaru. Be on your guard."
"Yes, ma'am. We won't fail you." Kurenai promised with fierce determination. She would not give up until Anko is back home, and despite knowing what will await the snake kunoichi when is back in the Leaf, Kurenai vowed to do everything and anything in her power to protect her.
"Before you go," the Hokage announced, gesturing her head at Shizune. The black-haired medical ninja came forward, presenting a syringe filled with a yellow substance to the pair. "I want you two to take this with you. Use when it when you have the chance."
ஜ ~ ஜ
Anko huffed in frustration that night in bed, her naked form under the covers. She was on her side, her irises gazing at the door to the bedroom. She couldn't sleep without Orochimaru by her side, a fact she'd grown slightly irritated with since she'd joined him. She didn't want to depend on him for every little thing. She desired to have him here with her instead down in the basements working with his right-hand man.
It was around eleven o'clock at night, and her body was exhausted from the day's tedious trek to the Sound. She had half a mind to go look for him, but she was too tired and the Snake Sannin didn't want her wandering the base without supervision. Anko knew he wanted to keep her on a tight leash, and she was annoyed that he still didn't trust her enough to go off exploring around the hideout on her own. Not like she was one to talk, though. A part of her still didn't trust him, in spite of how much she did love him.
Sitting up in the bed, the snake kunoichi reached her hand down to her backpack on the floor to pull out her Leaf headband. She kept it after she left the village, but never wore it since. She smiled sadly as she ran her palm over the cold metal plate, tracing the Leaf insignia craved into it. She missed her friends and she pondered on how they were doing. It was wrong for Anko to think of them, because she'd lost the right worry about them any longer. She gave up her friends and home for someone who was cold and cruel.
However, he wasn't like that to her. No, never like that. He was different with her, gentle and patient. All of the bitterness and fury she held for him for years seemed to have evaporated little by little from the moment he first touched her. He was cruel, but he was also kind. So far, he hadn't shown any sort of cruelty to her and he didn't force her to do anything she didn't want to do. He may be ruthless to others, but as long as he treated her tenderly, then she could survive living with him.
"You're not asleep yet." His voice jolted Anko out her thoughts. Her hand instinctively jammed the Leaf headband quickly into her backpack when his back was turned to shut their bedroom door.
Pretending to act natural, she gave him a sarcastic smile as he sauntered towards the bed. "Masterful observation."
He gave her a light smirk in return, stripping off his clothes as she stared with lust-glazed irises. The minute he slipped in the bed with her, the Sannin claimed her mouth in a deep kiss. They broke apart for air and eased back on the bed together, their limbs tangled around each other. Anko exhaled a long breath, snuggling deeper into his embrace as she settled her face in his chest for comfort, the sadness she felt earlier was now gone and was replaced by his soothing warmth..
"You've been acting strange all day," she remarked, her eyelids closed as she savored the sensation of his hand stroking her back leisurely. "What's wrong?"
"Just business, you'll find out soon enough." Orochimaru responded, tightening his grip around his dear girl. There a pause between them before he inquired in a displeased tone, "What were you doing before I came in, my dear?"
Anko shook a little at his query when realization dawned on her. So he did see her when she was looking at her Leaf headband when he came in. The Snake Sannin loathed the fact that she was still attached to the Leaf, which prevents him having Anko all to himself. She buried her face in his chest, mumbling something that sounded like a reluctant apology.
"I'm greedy, Anko, you know that," he hissed softly in her ear. "You realize I want you for myself, don't you? I want you to desire me and only me."
"I still can't help but think about my friends. They're going to find me sooner or later and take me back to the Leaf," she murmured quietly.
He frowned profoundly at this. "No, they won't. You're mine. Forget about the Leaf."
"They took care of me when you weren't there. I can't forget them for the life they afforded me." Anko withdrew from his arms and pivoted her backside was to him. Looking at him right now was too painful, all of her awful memories from the Land of the Sea flashed back inside her mind. She couldn't hold back the sobs that made her body trembled, and the one tear she allowed to stream down her cheek. "I owe it to them."
A hand touched her shoulder. "Anko."
Wiping away that single tear, Anko took in a deep breath to calm her sobs down before turning over to look at her lover. They stared in each other's eyes for a long moment, peering profoundly to read the emotions behind those pools of caramel and amber. The eyes, they say, are the windows to the soul and were the most expressive part of a human.
Seconds passed until the snake kunoichi broke the silence, sorrow imbued within her voice. "You say you don't play games, but I know you're a master at it. You played me as a child, who's to say you're not playing me again? I love you so much, but you've been playing for so long I can't tell whether this is real or not."
Reaching to caress her cheek gently, he assuaged the rest of her doubts with a searing kiss, clasping his arms around her body to slam her to him in a fierce embrace. There were no needs for words between them, only actions, because—as the old saying goes—actions always speak louder than words. She braced her hands on his back, kissing him harder than ever before.
His tongue penetrated past her lips, reveling the tender insides of her hot mouth. She tasted sweet and lush, her softness pressing against his hardness as their naked figures melding together into one whole. Orochimaru crushed her beneath him, rocking his hips against hers and then thrust into her cleft in a long, hard stroke. Anko arched her back to meet him, heaving up with her elbows planted on the mattress of the bed. She mewled and moaned in rapture, her tight core gripping his like wet, hot fist. She met his every thrust, and she screamed at every orgasm that roared up within her and exploded.
She felt his want; his hungry desire for her, and that overcame her doubts and worries of abandonment. He was intense and dark man, frustrated complicated and cruel, but he was also so much than she could ever imagine. She loved him, without a doubt, and she believed him when he said that he returned her feelings. And yet, there was always be this piece of her that would question that love, wondering if someone who was the incarnate of a demon was even capable of love.
The fragment of her doubt washed away when she cried out when she climaxed again, her nails scoring his back as she clung to him for dear life. She found shattering release again and again for what felt like hours, the Snake Sannin pumping in and out of her in a relentless rhythm.
When they were done, Anko snuggled to him closely as he wrapped his arms around her slender waist tightly, lulling her to blissful slumber. There was nothing more to be said or done for the rest of the night.
ஜ ~ ஜ
Anko moaned against his lips, kissing him deeply as she could, her legs coiled tightly around his waist as he hovered above her. Her hips pushed up against his erection, his hands caressing her soft form as he devouring mouth moved to ravish her pretty throat. It was early morning and they were already so absorbed in themselves to care for anything else at the moment. All senses were blocked out to the point they didn't hear the door open or see the silver-haired shinobi walking in, staring at the scene awkwardly.
"Lord Orochimaru?"
At the sound of his voice, they both tore apart, Anko covering up her nude body with the sheets bashfully while angry golden optics glared at the intruder in their bedroom when they were sharing an intimate moment.
"You should have knocked, Kabuto."
"I did, my lord, twice." The medic glanced to the violet-haired woman in the bed, flashing her an amused half-smile. "Good morning, Lady Anko."
The kunoichi scowled at him in response. "Get out."
Ignoring the furious woman that was now burying herself under the covers, Kabuto turned back to his master. "I have investigated the rumors going around the Land of Rice Paddies, the one about the so-called rebellion and the one who was leading it. His identity is still currently unknown, but according to the rumors that I heard, this man visits Fūma Alley every night."
"Where?" he inquired.
"I have the location. Lady Anko and I could go now and investigate."
Anko, who was listening to the conversation, popped her head up from the sheets. Though she understood now that was why they rushed back to the Sound Village on short notice, what was this matter about her going on a mission with Kabuto all of the sudden? "Since when do I have to help?"
"Well, it is Lord Orochimaru's land and since you've taken residence in his bed, ergo…" Kabuto let the sentence trailed off with a mocking grin. The snake kunoichi glowered at him, but remained quiet as he went on. "In any case, it's about time you do a mission for Lord Orochimaru, don't you think? You've been here with us for weeks now."
Anko perused about it for a few moments. It would be good to do something different from her regular schedule since she joined Orochimaru, but she wasn't exactly thrilled about the concept of going back to Fūma Alley since the 'incident' with that guy who'd tried to rape her. Although, Kabuto would be with, which means she'll be protected. Bobbling her head, she agreed reluctantly. "Fine, whatever."
"Good, get dress and we'll be on our way. Pardon me for the intrusion." The medic left with his amused half-smile, shutting the door behind him to leave the lovers alone.
"The reason we rushed back here was because there's someone leading a rebellion against you?" Anko asked, incredulous.
"Once and a while, my dear, a fool is stupid enough to amass soldiers to kill me. They tried, but never succeeded," the Snake Sannin explained, gathering his clothes off the floor and slipping them on.
"You're used to it, huh? You aren't worried?"
"No need for that. Kabuto will reestablish my law upon the citizens of this land for me." The Sannin pivoted to her when he was done assembled his clothes on his body, lowering his down to kiss her quickly. "It's a simple mission, so don't disappoint me."
"Hmph." Anko scoffed mildly, getting off the bed to put on clothes. Sparing once last glance at her nudity, Orochimaru left the room to train his protégée.
ஜ ~ ஜ
"A moron leading a rebellion against Orochimaru makes detour to a brothel." Anko stated plainly as her brown irises scanned the prostitution building in disgust. Frankly, she was disturbed by the potent smell of sex and perfume that wafted through the musky air; the sight of women in skimpy little dresses with heavy makeup and tacky jewelry on their exposed bodies while they 'entertain' their clients—men who were dressed in white cotton robes or their own garbs slightly peeled off; the sound of skin slapping against skin and the loud pleasured moans that came every corner of this revolting brothel named the Palace of Yorokobi, translated as the Palace of Pleasure. "Should I pretend to be surprised?"
Kabuto stood at her side, unaffected, as his onyx eyes wandered through the crowd in search for someone who can give them information. "Let's be done with this. I don't want to be here, either."
"Did you dragged me along with you because you didn't want to be left alone in this place?" Anko gave the silver-haired youth an inquisitive look, a witty smirk on her face. Before Kabuto had the chance to throw a retort at her, a woman with brunette, wavy hair wearing a tight, yellow corset dress greeted them in a sultry tone.
"Welcome to the Palace of Yorokobi, what is your pleasure?"
"We're not here to entertain ourselves with peddling flesh." Anko said bluntly, wanting to get this business over with as soon as possible. "We're here to find a man rumored to lead rebellion against Orochimaru."
"Many of our clients would love that acerbic tongue of yours. You could do very well here," chimed in a new voice. A shapely, dark-haired woman strolled over to them in a loose-fitting black dress that showed too much of her ample chest.
"Who're you?" Anko inquired with a sneer.
"The headmistress of the palace, Hatsumomo." the woman declared, swiveling her head to look at Kabuto. "If you want to see the general, then come with me."
"Anko, you can head back," the Sound shinobi told her. "I can take it from here."
The snake kunoichi studied his face for a moment, noting a cold glimmer in his onyx optics as he slipped a kunai out of his pouch and hid it behind his back. Knowing he was going to kill this man right inside the brothel, Anko left swiftly with a faint nod. She didn't want to stay for the murder that was about to come.
It wasn't long until she heard shrieks of horror and fright emanating from the building as she journeyed back to the hideout. Oddly enough, she wasn't as disturbed as she thought by hearing Kabuto carried out a ruthless task from her lover. She had grown used to their cruel ways, even though they will never show it in front of her.
ஜ ~ ஜ
"…and that's all I have to report."
Anko stifled a yawn as she passed through the meeting room of the hideout, rubbing her watery eyes. Later that night, she woke up to find that Orochimaru wasn't in bed with her and decided to go search for him. Hearing Kabuto's voice emanating from the meeting room, Anko stopped in her tracks and peered through the creak in the door. From one corner of the room, she saw the silhouettes of Kabuto and the Snake Sannin dancing across the room by the flickering candle on the long table.
The faithful Sound subordinate was reporting about the mission today, but then she heard him slowly and carefully added, "I do have one other thing to report, my lord. When I was finished ridding of that man who was said to amassing soldiers against you, I heard something strange in the town."
"What is it?"
"Talk about a few…visitors in the Land of Rice Paddies. Leaf ninja, to be exact."
Behind the door, Anko gasped as feeling of panic rising up within her at the news. So they've come to get her back. They were here for her, to take her back to the Leaf—and away from Orochimaru. While her heart pounded inside her, the snake kunoichi continued to listen.
"How many?" Orochimaru demanded, his golden optics narrowing in dissatisfaction.
"Two. Kakashi Hatake and a kunoichi with black hair."
At once, Anko knew whom he was talking about. Kurenai…
"Anko," the Sannin's knowing tone jolted her out of her confirming thoughts, without looking at the door. "Come in if you want to know."
The door swung open with a loud creaking noise and the anxious violet-haired woman entered, her irises to the ground as she smoothed the little black dress she was wearing on her body.
Orochimaru looked at his right-hand man, dismissing him with a jerk of his head. The silver-haired medic bowed, exiting the room to give the lovers some privacy. There was a tense silence between the two, the Sannin waiting for Anko to say something he knew she wanted to ask him, but couldn't find the words to.
He held out a pale hand to her. "Come here."
She took his hand, allowing herself to be pulled into his lap as he cradled her in his arms. Finally, she spoke then, her voice muffled and distressed. "What's going to happen now?"
"We're moving on to the next base," he answered. "Kabuto and Sasuke knows the protocol, there's no reason for us to be stay here anymore."
Swallowing the lump down her throat, her lips quivering in hesitation as she forced out the next words. "You're not going to kill them, are you, if they try to bring me back to the Leaf?"
"That would be up to you." Orochimaru's golden hues glimmered with dark anticipation. "This will be my final test of loyalty to you. You can stay here with me, or go with them. If you want to stay, then we leave right now, but go with them and you'll know what will happen."
Dread slicing through her like a blade as the decision she will have to make. A whirlwind of emotions constricted her breathing for a moment, agony gripping at her as she contemplated of the choice she now has to make.
As the silence stretched, she forgot how kind and caring Orochimaru could be. She didn't want to leave him because she loved him so much, but her intelligence reminded her how cold and ruthless could become in an instant. However, if she goes back to the Leaf, there was no telling what will happen to her. The answer was obvious to her, even though she didn't want her friends to be hurt because of it.
"I'll stay with you." Anko stated firmly, surely. The Snake Sannin smirked broadly at her decision, his lips crashing down on hers in a hard and fast heated kiss.
"Then let's go." He eased her off his lap and on the ground as he stood up, striding over the door as Anko followed after him. "We need to move quickly."
ஜ ~ ஜ
"This looks like Kabuto's doing." Kakashi's visible eye drifted to every inch of the brothel, studying the bloodstains and the grotesque, mutilated body on the bed in the room.
He and Kurenai arrived in the village near sundown and after they 'persuaded' someone to inform them of any strange recent activity in the town, they came upon the high-strung, terrifying rumors that a Sound ninja brutally slaughtered a man in the brothel. There was no sign of a human in the deserted prostitution building, but the mess scattered across it was an indication that a fight defiantly took place here.
"The blood looks fresh." Kurenai noted, a hand on her hips as she joined his side after examining another side of the room. "We're close. If Anko is with Orochimaru and Kabuto was here, they can't be too far from us."
The Copy Ninja inclined his head agreement, pivoting around to the exit with Kurenai to proceed with their search for their target. "Right, let's go before one of Orochimaru's puppets alerts that we're here in his land. Let's find Anko and bring her home."
ஜ ~ ஜ
"Anko, stop!" a voice called at her. Anko glanced over her shoulder while she continued to leap through the trees with the three males, her eyes widening as she saw two figures approaching them. She stopped on a branch, landing next to her lover as Kabuto and Sasuke landed behind them on another tree.
Kakashi and Kurenai halted their tracks as well, standing directly across from the snake kunoichi a few trees away from her. The expressions on their faces were a mixed with relief and desperation on seeing their friend again. The Copy Ninja's eye was also glued on the Uchiha boy standing behind her.
"Anko, come on! We're here to bring you home." Kurenai said eagerly, her crimson irises wavering with concern. But then, to her astonishment, she saw Orochimaru grabbed her friend's shoulder and whispered something in her ear. Anko then turned her head back to her Kurenai and Kakashi, shaking her head in refusal.
"I'm not going with you."
"Anko, what're you talking about?" the raven-haired kunoichi inquired.
"I'm staying with Orochimaru." Anko asserted firmly. The Sannin smirked smugly at the two Leaf shinobi, wrapping a possessive arm around the violet-haired woman's shoulders to draw her close to him.
"What's going on, Anko?" Kakashi demanded, a little shaken at the sight of the enemy and his friend together. "Didn't you say you wanted to kill Orochimaru? Why are you with him?"
"It's quite simple, really." Orochimaru replied before his lover could. "Anko and I have taken a fondness to each other."
"You're lying!" Kurenai seethed in rage, rejecting the idea that Anko had any willing participation in what the snake claimed. "Anko, come on. Let's go."
"She said no." Sasuke sneered; tired at the delay that was preventing them from moving on to the next base. Although, he secretly didn't want Anko to leave and go back to the Leaf. He unsheathed his Snake Sword, and pointed at the older shinobi, ready to take them down if they needed to.
"Kabuto, take Sasuke and head to the next base." Orochimaru ordered his right-hand man.
"Right." The silver-haired medic complied, darting a warning to the Uchiha boy to follow his lord's command before they both dashed away from the sight.
"If you won't come back willingly, Anko," Kakashi began threateningly, uncovering his Sharingan eye from his headband. "I'm afraid that we have to take you by force."
"Try it." She accepted the challenged confidently. Orochimaru smirked at her before he disappeared in the shadows of the trees to observe the fight between his ex-pupil and her friends. This was not only a test of loyalty, but also a test of strength for the violet-haired woman. If she proves where her allegiance to him, then Anko would fully be his and severed all ties with the Leaf.
However, taking on the Copy Ninja and a genjutsu specialist was more difficult than Anko thought. The fight lasted longer than expected, and Orochimaru frowned when he saw Anko being knocked out from behind by Kurenai, who pulled out a syringe of yellow liquid and plunged it into the snake kunoichi's shoulder, knocking her out. Before he could save his girl, Kakashi lifted Anko in his arms and vanished in a cloud of smoke with Kurenai before his amber irises.
ஜ ~ ஜ
A/N: Don't. Say. It. I know it was a bad and a really crappy chapter. I apologize to all of you for making you guys read this. I had to scratched a lot of stuff from this chapter, and then added more material into it. I thought throwing in a lemon scene would make it better, but that didn't do much. The only important matter is the chapter was Anko being captured, but I needed something to fill in the gap. In order to do that, I had to use scrapes of my first plotting idea for Morning Glory.
For example, I was able to use the idea to make Anko and Kabuto visited a brothel. I got the idea from watching the episode Resurrection in one of my favorite shows, Legend of the Seeker. One of my favorite episodes called Torn was where I got the line of the waterfall glistening red and is said to be the most romantic spot in said land. The thing I incorporated in the chapter before I posted the chapter, I added the name of the headmistress of the brothel. I got the name Hatsumomo from watching the beautiful movie Memoirs of a Geisha. Can any of you guess what Hatsumomo means in Japanese? The character for "hatsu" (初) means "first" or "beginning", while the character for "momo" (桃) means "peach". Therefore, "Hatsumomo" means "first/beginning peach".
I want to apologize for taking so long to update. I've started school in August, so it took some time for me to adjust to my schedule. Along with that, this week my laptop was messed up and had to reboot the whole thing to its original state. Fortunately, I backed-up everything I have, so the rest of the chapters are safe.
Lastly, I know all of you have lots of questions about the nature of my fic, so rest assure that I will explain everything in the last chapter along with my thanks to all of you who have read my story. If you have any more questions, please tell and I'll answer them in the final chapter! Thank you, everyone, for supporting me!