Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

A/N: Wow, I got more reviews for the last chapter than for any other! Thanks so much guys! I'm happy to know that I can write a decent lemon in your eyes, even if AnkOro isn't to everyone's taste. Because I couldn't resist, there is (WARNING) another shorter lemon at the end of this chapter ('M' rating is for a reason). This chapter also lays the base for moving the story on a little by giving more viewpoints from other key characters. I'm getting the feeling that it's lagging a bit ...

Thanks to the following for their reviews – they make me super-happy, not just because this is my first fanfic but because positive reinforcement is key to a creative (and speedily-updating) author ;):

BloodRedShadows, LostsoulofRegret, Chryseis Wyvernsen, Alucards-Vampire-BITCH, Sarah Pixen, blaa, blaze da dragon (sorry you aren't keen on the lemons; I can only say that I warned about them but I'm glad you like my take on Anko anyway)

Note about the beginning flashbacks: I wanted to fill in a bit of missing memory from when Sasuke used his Sharingan on Anko, and also give you a view about what conflict was going on in her head when she (gasp!) slept with Orochimaru so that you don't think it was a quick decision.

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Chapter 15

Fallen

...o..o.o..o...

Anko was standing on a crimson field that stretched to eternity. Everything was red – the clouds above, the ground below. Sasuke stood before her with his usual smile. No, it was slightly different ...

"You will be here until you are whole, Anko."

"Whole?" she asked, confused. "But I am whole."

"No you aren't."

Anko turned around, and saw ... her mind shied away, but here it couldn't escape.

The creature took a step forward, and grinned a feral smile that showed off its gleaming fangs. "You pushed me away, but you can't escape me here."

The creature had arms and lips stained with deep red blood, and the seal of the snake spirit visible through the mesh clothing. It walked right up to her, and she saw the madness and darkness in its eyes.

In her eyes.

She was looking at herself.

"God no," she whispered. "I'm not you! You are not me!"

"Are you sure?" it asked, a mad smile lingering on its lips. "Does anyone ever really known what they hide inside? What darkness grows beyond their sight? Why do you think he chose us, Anko? Because we are like him! Because we were not meant to be ordered around by those governed by weak, unworthy emotions!" It spat the words venomously, and Anko saw flashes of memories of the council, and the stares people had given her as the student of the traitorous Sannin. "And you had to push me away when we could have left with him!"

"He betrayed my trust!" she shouted, driven to rage by the accusations and lies. "He betrayed me when he was all I had!"

It growled angrily. "He gave us power because we were strong enough to take it, but you used it to push me aside and then you pushed it aside as well. Now I've used the snake spirit's power so that you can't ignore me any more. I'm as much you as you are, and I won't let you become weak. I won't let us become weak."

"What are you going to do?"

"I am you, and you are me. There will only be us, and you won't be able to ignore what I want any more, because it will be what you want."

The dream blurred, and moved on.

"What do you want me to do, Anko?" he asked, dark voice full of seductive temptation.

Want? Do I want this, want him? Do I even know? Yes, I do know. I want him. He is all I have, and I want him to be my everything. I don't have anything else left. But ... Kakashi ... Konoha ... I can't ... They are gone. There is nothing else. Nothing? Nothing. I want ... Orochimaru. Yes. I want Orochimaru. He's all I have.

But ... I'm not a thing driven only by wants and needs. I know he's manipulating me.

But right now, I don't have the strength or the will to deny what I want.

...o..o.o..o...

Anko stirred sleepily. She felt smooth skin against her cheek, and more under the palm of her right hand, which was stretched over a warm body. Her right leg, as well, was sprawled over more bare skin. Hmm, lots of close contact going on here, is what Anko would have thought had she been properly awake yet (along with What the hell is going on here?), but all she could think at the moment was: Mmm, warm. Soft.

Slowly, very very slowly, Anko's brain started to fire synapses and make connections. It presented a picture of events that was at first fuzzy, and then clear. Way, way too clear.

Anko sat up abruptly, pulling the sheet to cover her bare chest, and jerked away from the warmth at the same time. She stared down at the body ... the man she'd been clinging to, and could only speak two words.

"Aw, fuck!"

"I hoped you would suggest that," Orochimaru grinned lazily, and reached out to caress her bare thigh under the sheet.

Anko pulled her leg away, and then as more synapses started to fire, she held her head with the hand that wasn't holding the sheet to her chest. She gave a small moan and a grimace, "Oh god!"

"Yes?" his smirk was so smug she would have hit him if she'd been feeling up to it.

"No, you fu- ... you shithead bastard!" she growled, "I've got a bloody headache and-" more synapses firing, "God, what a shit hangover ..." she leaned over a bit, the nausea hitting hard.

Orochimaru sat up, the sheet sliding down his chest and Anko couldn't help her eyes being drawn to his skin, with memories rearing unwelcome. "Ugh, I can't do this ..." she mumbled, finally closing her eyes to try to stop remembering and staring. The full extent of everything hadn't hit her yet, for which she was grateful. She'd be happy to forget her name right at that moment.

The Sannin reached out to brush her hair back with his fingertips, and Anko tried not to show how good it felt. "I've got something to help you, if you wish."

The kunoichi just grumbled, and he smiled. He got up from the bed, not trying to hide or even shy of his nudity. He knew she was watching (I can't help it! Bastard is doing it on purpose!), and walked slowly to his desk. The Sannin picked up a jar, pulling two tablets out of it. He poured a glass of water from the jug sitting there, and sauntered back to bed with them both. Orochimaru was amused to see that she'd closed her eyes again, but was peeking through them as well.

He handed her the glass and tablets, and she wedged the sheet under her chin before taking them both. Anko stared at them, and at him, suspiciously but finally decided that if he'd wanted to kill her he would have done so long ago. She swallowed them quickly with a small grimace at the lingering taste, and sighed, slumping back on to the pillows a safe distance away from her companion.

"So ..." she said at last, hesitant as her headache eased.

"So?" he prompted, lying comfortably in uncomfortably close proximity.

"So that will not happen again." Anko's voice was firm as she looked over at him with steel in her eyes. I will not allow it. This will be the end. Curiosity satisfied, and enough's enough.

"Why?"

"Because-"

"Because you feel that you betrayed something, someone?" his tone was scornful, mocking, and at the same time relentless in exposing her thoughts. "Because you think that everything I represent is wrong?" He stared her down, seeing through every charade. "Or because you are afraid, Anko, because you enjoyed it so much?" He forestalled an angry reply with a wave of his hand. "You can't lie to me. You did nothing more or less than you wanted. You chose, Anko. Only you."

Anko studied his golden eyes, trying to see what lay beyond them other than deception and deceit. She tried to find compassion or caring, some form of tender feeling, but there was none to find. In a strange way it was a relief. Orochimaru never changed. His mask may have, but who he was underneath – as much of him as she'd ever seen – had not. He'd manoeuvred her into this position for a reason, but she'd face that reason later.

"Maybe I did," she admitted softly, "Maybe you think that this will get you what you want, whatever that is. But I'm still going to kill you."

His smirk as she moved slowly closer didn't change. It was that 'I know more than you do' smile, but that wasn't unusual.

And as he loomed over her, taking her to new heights and depths yet again, his reply was not unusual either.

"That's impossible."

.c.c.c..c.c.c.

Sasuke entered the lab slowly, as reluctant to have to endure his frequent exams as always. He hid it well behind a mask of arrogance, but Kabuto wasn't fooled. He would have disliked the job more if it didn't give him an opportunity to irritate the proud Uchiha. The spy had to have some form of entertainment, after all. He found it amusing that a boy with so little personality other than his arrogance and desire for revenge could have been so much the star of Konoha with a league of fan-girls (and some boys as well, he was sure). The Uchiha had evoked such feelings of friendship and loyalty in the Kyuubi boy that he sometimes believed that Sasuke was hiding his better qualities. But no, he thought, staring in the dark dead eyes, If he had feelings other than revenge and hate Orochimaru has certainly killed them. Poor Naruto-kun. There's nothing left of the friend he cares so much for.

"How are you feeling today, Sasuke-san?" Kabuto asked the dark-haired young man.

"Fine." came the short reply as he sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for Kabuto to draw a sample of blood and check his blood-pressure and breathing.

It was a short moment before he spoke again. "Where is Orochimaru?"

The medic looked up in slight surprise at the question. "He has not been training you this morning?"

The Uchiha looked away angrily. "No. I haven't seen him since yesterday evening when you made your report. He's wasting my time here if he isn't going to train me!" Sasuke's tone reminded Kabuto uncharitably of a sulking child.

"Perhaps he's been studying new jutsus for you to learn," Kabuto answered, placating the young man without much thought. Interesting ... I wonder what he's been doing? Kabuto thought for a moment longer, remembering reports about Anko overindulging at the bar the previous night. He made it his business to keep an eye on the kunoichi – not only because Orochimaru had told him to, but because he found her interesting.

He suddenly recalled that he'd had a report that Anko hadn't been in her room that morning. He'd thought she had just been training early to work off her hangover.

"Have you seen Anko-san this morning?" the spy asked at last.

Sasuke looked at him incredulously, like he thought him mad to even think of her. "No."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses as his mind worked to make the possible connection. It was unlikely, but ...

'What' he's been doing? The medic thought, interest rising at the possibility, More like 'who'.

"So where is he, Kabuto?" Sasuke asked at last, suspicious of the expression on the spy's face.

"I think he's otherwise occupied, Sasuke-san. And I don't think it would be wise to interrupt." Kabuto replied slowly. He was examining his own reaction to what he believed was going on, and found it unusual. The thought of his master sleeping with anyone was ... well, it just defied imagination, and was frankly disturbing. He couldn't picture the cold Sannin feeling enough of anything for anyone to bed them, even just for self-satisfaction. It meant that the spy had miscalculated in his perception of Orochimaru, and he didn't like that at all. No. Not at all. Orochimaru was the one person he couldn't afford to underestimate.

Yet Orochimaru's motives were always selfish. He could understand that the step, though unusual, was probably another form of manipulation of his old student. Manipulation to what purpose, he didn't know. If it was some plan, the Sannin would likely tell him soon enough. It was that 'probably' that he didn't like.

But it was more than that. The kunoichi was attractive, both because of her looks and her strength, and he'd enjoyed their occasional flirtation. Kabuto had discovered that he'd found it entertaining having her along on their mission even if he hadn't needed her there. She'd appeared disturbed by the brutality, but it hadn't stopped her either. She was fierce, and edgy, and in a way he found he understood her flavour of insanity. Orochimaru had that effect on his subordinates.

He realised that, if his suspicions were true, he was a little ... jealous.

.c.c.c..c.c.c.

"Hokage-sama ...?" the voice was tentative. The Hokage was easy to anger these days.

"Yes, Shizune?"

"A message for you, from Jiraiya-sama."

Tsunade's face lit up at the mention of her old teammate. It was a welcome distraction from the constant bad news. "What does that old toad want?" she asked, taking the scroll. The Sannin unrolled it, but her expression turned quickly from happy to grim.

"Is something wrong, Hokage-sama?" her aide asked anxiously. She was worried about the woman who was her teacher, but also her friend.

"They're fine, but they had a run-in with a certain missing kunoichi. Call Yuuhi Kurenai and Hatake Kakashi for me, please."

Tsunade spent the time waiting for the jonin in phrasing how she would tell them the news. She knew they would be upset, anxious, eager to run after the latest traces of Mitarashi Anko. The ANBU had had no luck, Kurenai was between missions and Kakashi had healed enough and he'd had plenty of ANBU experience. If I don't give them permission to go, Kakashi will go anyway. He's a stubborn bastard, and he's worried. I would be worried too. She's been with Orochimaru for too long. If she's even still alive, which I think she is. Hopefully Kurenai can keep him in line.

It didn't take long for the jonin to arrive. Kakashi took one look at the Godaime's expression, and stepped forward. "Is it-"

"Jiraiya and Naruto-kun have seen Mitarashi Anko in a village on the edge of the Water Country."

"They didn't bring her back?" Kakashi said, furious.

"No, Kakashi, they didn't."

"Why?!"

Tsunade met his glare with a more than formidable stare of her own. "Because she didn't want to come back."

The silence was shocked, confused. Heartbroken. Kakashi stared at the floor with his visible eye. The mask he wore, as always, hid his real expression. But Tsunade could imagine what it was.

"Hokage-sama," Kurenai said finally, subdued as she broke the quiet. "What happened? What did she say?"

The Hokage sighed. "She told Jiraiya that she made a mistake, and she went to the only person who could help her. She said that she plans to kill Orochimaru once she's done, and then she plans to go after Akatsuki. Anko also revealed that she knows what the council think of her, and that she has no illusions about her freedom if she should come back. Unfortunately, as we've discussed, she's probably right about that."

"That isn't going to make it any easier to convince her to return," Kurenai commented wryly. "Can't you do something about that, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade shrugged. "Maybe after she's back here, and if she came by her own free will. I'm sorry to say that it may not make a difference, unless she does kill Orochimaru. But that, I think, is impossible."

"She's stronger than you think." Kakashi said quietly, with steel in his voice.

"She also told Naruto-kun that she saw Uchiha Sasuke." Kakashi looked up at her with a haunted eye. "She told him that the friend as he knew him is dead." Tsunade rubbed her temple, longing for a bottle of sake. Life hadn't always been so complicated. Friends used to stay friends, until Orochimaru changed that. "Orochimaru can not be underestimated. Anko knows a lot about Konoha's defences, and while you may not believe that she would help him we can't take that risk. Jiraiya said that her chakra levels were worryingly high, almost unhealthily so. He also said that she was ready to fight him, and Naruto, if he hadn't let her go.

"Hatake Kakashi, Yuuhi Kurenai, I want you to go to this village where Mitarashi Anko was last seen and find her. I believe that there may be clues to find there, because she would have had a purpose in that village. Find it, find the connection to Orochimaru, and find her. Do what you have to to bring her back."

"Hai!" both jonin replied sharply.

"And by damn don't you dare let yourselves get killed." she added softly as they turned face and left together.

Kakashi was visibly tense as they left the Tower. Kurenai watched him out of the corner of her red eyes. It was strange to see the normally laid-back shinobi acting so differently. When Sasuke had left, he had also been visibly affected.

Kurenai hadn't known him well when they were younger. She knew of him, of course, but they hadn't been close. They weren't close now – Kakashi let no one in except, it seemed, Anko – but they had spent more time together since they took on genin. She had never been attracted to him really – Asuma had stolen her heart long ago – but she could see why women were. The kunoichi knew some of his story. She knew that his father had killed himself when he failed a mission to save his teammates instead, and that Kakashi's eye had come from an Uchiha teammate who had died on a mission. They all knew he had been an ANBU for a while.

But he was mostly a mystery.

"I'm sure we'll find her, Kakashi," she said softly.

The Copy Nin didn't meet her eyes when he replied.

"I'll see you at the West gate in an hour."

.c.c.c..c.c.c.

Anko stepped into the shower, and turned on the water immediately. She welcomed the hard spray. The kunoichi wanted nothing more than to feel clean, but knew that it would take more than water for that.

There was a mirror on one wall of the shower, Orochimaru had mirrors everywhere although she'd never thought of him as being particularly vain, and she stared at her reflection again. She ran shaking fingers over the red marks on her skin, over twin puncture-wounds and developing bruises. She couldn't recognise herself, but was getting used to that.

Her abdomen clenched, and she felt an odd sensation of slithering inside her skull before she saw the reflection of a snake in the mirror as well. It coiled around her waist, resting its great head on her shoulder. She could feel its forked tongue brush against her cheek.

Anko stared at it expressionlessly. "I suppose you want out, don't you?"

"No. This experience has been ... interesting. As much as anything you humans do is interesting." The snake's voice was just like it had been all those weeks ago. A strange mixture of hissed speech, combined with a completely expressionless, emotionless tone and pauses while it tried to find words to express its thoughts. Anko wondered how much 'interest' it actually felt. "You said you wanted to kill the one who betrayed you. I find it ... interesting ... that you have not done so."

"You wouldn't understand."

"No. It is a human thing, to act like you do."

"What do you want?" she asked at last. The reminder that her soul wasn't alone in her body was frankly unwelcome.

"The ... human male. He is too strong to kill, and it would be foolish to try. You must choose a wiser path if you wish to live."

"I am going to kill him." Anko replied, soft voice not hiding the fury beneath.

"Strange. Is that what you really want? Perhaps what you have started is a better way."

"Leave me the fuck alone, snake," the kunoichi snarled. It was one thing to doubt herself (What have I become?) but another entirely to hear a serpent offer its reptilian opinion on her sex life, no matter how screwed up it may be.

She blinked, and the snake was gone. She could almost feel it still around her body.

Anko heard the door to the bathroom swing open, and then shut. Then the shower door slid open, and another snake slid its arms around her waist and rested its head on her shoulder. Orochimaru.

"I'm not in the mood, Orochimaru." she said firmly. Anko was tired, and disturbed by her inner resident's visit, but last night and that morning she had had some of the best sex of her life and her body took no time in reminding her of that fact.

"I'm sure I can change that," he smirked slyly. The Sannin was certainly confident of his own skill, and she had to give him that. He was good. There were some things that only a very flexible body and super-long tongue could achieve.

He pressed against her back, obviously very keen to show her how much he would enjoy changing her mind. It reminded her of the last time she'd made love to Kakashi in the shower, but the Copy Nin faded all too quickly from her mind. She couldn't find it in her to protest when his hands wandered from her waist to slide across the skin of her stomach, her breasts. He turned her head to the side and caught her lips in a slow, burning kiss while a free hand smoothed over the expanse of her exposed throat. The other slid down her waist, along the outside of her thigh and then inwards.

The kunoichi's breath caught, and she stopped his hand with one of her own, but he twisted his grip and moved her hand across her own skin. Through the corner of her eyes Anko could see their reflection even though the water vapour had blurred the image. She twisted in his arms because she didn't want to see it any more.

Orochimaru moved her until her back was against the cold mirror on the tiled wall, and pulled her one leg up and around his waist. They fitted together so easily. It was like they were the perfect match, but that did not make Anko happy at all. She had an addiction to him, to his body, but she told herself that that was all it was. Orochimaru was a drug. To her, he always had been.

Their skin moved smoothly together, and she threw her head back. Her body was his possession. It was an instrument he knew how to play so well.

"We should have started this long ago, Anko, don't you think? Would you have left me then?" he asked, wickedly amused.

The thought of herself, as a young child, with him in this way ... it was horrifying, disturbing, wrong, and yet it aroused her in a sick way. She knew that she wouldn't have denied him anything back then. He was all she'd had, and she'd adored him, worshipped him. She'd loved him.

"You're sick," she answered at last.

Orochimaru's laugh was a rumble that vibrated against her skin. "Perhaps, but then you are no different. Tell me. Would you have left?"

Anko gasped. The Sannin maintained his rhythm, and her back pressed uncomfortably against the wall but she didn't really notice. He'd adjusted the angle of her hips, and she was seeing stars every time he moved.

"No!" she breathed at last.

"No?" he asked, pretending to misunderstand and slowing his pace.

"Ah! You fucking bastard!" she forced through clenched teeth. "I wouldn't have left you!"

He smiled at her approvingly. "I thought not." This is an interesting method of conditioning, he thought, And it is certainly more satisfying. Anko's nails dug into his skin as she cried out, and he found her reaction very satisfying indeed. No method of torture or persuasion could have reduced her to such a vulnerable state. It wouldn't take long for her to crave his touch. Men were supposed to be slaves to this kind of action, but he had never been a slave to anything – not even the urgings of his own body.

As Anko gave in again, she thought she'd fallen as far into Orochimaru's nightmare as there was too fall. But there was far more to come.

.c.c.c..c.c.c.

A/N: Sorry for any discrepancies along the way :)