Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

A/N: Sorry this story is a bit late. I think it'll take me a while longer for the next chapter, since it is very pivotal for the storyline, and I have a report due on Monday – damn university work getting in the way of my writing! ;) Hope you enjoy reading and have a wonderful day!

Thanks to BloodRedShadows, Chryseis Wyvernsen, LostsoulofRegret, Kimi492 and Bibliofile66– you guys make my day :)

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Chapter 19

Blinded

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"And there can be no mistake?" Anko and Orochimaru ... I can't believe it.

"No, Hokage-sama." The interrogation expert paused, feeling concerned himself at what the knowledge might mean.

"As if her leaving with him the first time wasn't enough." Tsunade sighed. "Keep this information private for the time being. Above all, Kakashi is not to know." Everything is becoming more of a nightmare. she thought wearily. It can't get much worse-

"Hokage-sama!" Shizune burst through the door, with a panicked chunin following on her heels. The Godaime didn't have time to speak a word before her aide continued. "Mitarashi Anko has escaped!"

Tsunade was on her feet in an instant. "What?!"

"We think she had help, Hokage-sama," the chunin added anxiously, "And it might have been ...!"

"Orochimaru? Here?!" The Sannin was apoplectic. A group of four ANBU materialised at that moment, and stood to attention with their reports.

"Hokage-sama! Orochimaru has been seen in Konoha!"

"Send out the squads!" she shouted her orders, "Double the usual number! Alert the town! They must not escape!"

"Hai!" Two ANBU left, but two stayed behind with the ones who normally guarded her office. They were on emergency alert, and they couldn't afford to lose another Hokage if the criminal Sannin decided to take her on.

Tsunade stood still, clenching her fists furiously. How could you, Anko? How could you leave with him again? "How dare he come here again," she growled softly, mostly to herself. It was still hard for her to believe that the young boy who had been her brilliant teammate, with whom she had been through so much, had become this psychopath bent on destruction and the furthering of his wretched twisted jutsus to extend his life.

"I think he got what he came for." Ibiki commented quietly.

"Anko ... but why?" Shizune asked.

"There is something we are missing about all this," the Godaime agreed. "Something to do with her ..."

It was a few minutes before the report came back that Orochimaru and Anko had left Konoha, and had escaped the patrols in the forests around the hidden village. Tsunade watched the messenger leave, before turning around to slam her fist on to her desk so hard that it cracked for a final time and broke completely. Shizune stared at the desk, a bit dismayed that she had to find another one so soon, but the aide leapt up to answer a knock at the door. She whispered quietly to the visitor, and took a handful of papers.

"Hokage-sama," she interrupted the Sannin quietly. The Godaime was staring at the village from her window, wondering how she was going to explain to the council that she had been right not to sentence Anko to immediate death, how she was going to explain that it wasn't really the girl's fault. How she was going to explain how Orochimaru got through all their guards and into one of their highly-guarded prison facilities in the basement of the Hokage's Tower. How the hell did he manage it? Yet, am I really surprised? It is Orochimaru ...

"What, Shizune?" she said shortly. "If it's another report, I don't feel like looking at it right now." She pulled a bottle of sake and a cup from about her person and, ignoring Shizune's disapproving stare, downed a quick succession of glasses.

"I think you might want this one, Hokage-sama," she replied, "It's Anko's preliminary medical report."

The Sannin snatched the report up, and paged through it quickly. There hadn't been enough time to examine Anko thoroughly, but while she'd been asleep when she'd first arrived they had done as much as they could. The report held the results of all the tests they'd performed ...

"Oh god." Tsunade fell back in her chair, staring at the report in horror. "Oh god."

"Hokage-sama?" Shizune prompted anxiously.

The Godaime rubbed her eyes, and stared at both Shizune and Ibiki with serious concern.

"We have a huge problem."

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"We have a huge problem."

Genma, Gai and Asuma stared at Kurenai with concern. Even Gai dropped his eternally happy smile when he heard the news. "Truly?" Genma asked, "There is no doubt that she went by her own will?"

Kurenai shrugged unhappily. "That's what the patrols said. She was following him freely. And there was no sign of a struggle in her cell."

Asuma sighed, and lifted a cigarette to his lips. "I find it hard to believe."

"She hated him so much." the kunoichi agreed.

"She must have lost sight of her dreams," Gai added, and he spoke with real meaning. "He must have blinded her, manipulated her. Anko-san would never have abandoned her eternal love for Konoha otherwise!! Her spirit was unbroken!"

"I think you might be wrong there," Genma commented. "I think she was hurt more than we ever realised, because she hid it so well."

"But do you think they would have sentenced her to death?" Kurenai asked. She wanted to hear their opinion, to see if it coincided with her own.

Asuma blew a ring of smoke, pausing thoughtfully. "Maybe. I don't think Hokage-sama would have agreed, but there is no doubt that the council wants her dead."

"Now more than ever." Genma agreed wryly.

"I wonder how Kakashi ..." Kurenai began, but found she couldn't finish the sentence. She'd seen up close how much the whole incident was affecting him.

They all paused, looking down. Kurenai reached out and took Asuma's hand, and he held hers comfortingly. They were standing in a loose ring, in silence, each unable to put into words their worry for their friends.

The one who had left, and the one left behind.

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Kakashi was on the Hokage monument once again, above the carved face of his sensei, the Yondaime. Night had fallen, but he couldn't go back to his apartment. When he walked in there, he imagined that he could still smell her scent, that he would turn the corner to his bedroom and she would be lying there, waiting for him. Even after all this time, even after he had spoken to her when he'd found her again and then in the interrogation room ... even after everything she'd said.

"You can't save me, Kakashi."

"I have no life to give you."

And then:

His fingers reached her throat, and brushed the smooth skin. He stopped suddenly, running his fingertips over two twin scars on the curve of her neck. Kakashi stared at the scars just below her curse seal. "What ... what did he do to you?" he asked at last, standing up and forcing the words out. Putting distance between them almost automatically. "Did he hurt you?" Did you like it?

She'd shut him out after that. Like she'd been afraid that he would see the truth.

The thought made him feel like his rage had coalesced into a burning furnace inside his chest. His vision blurred with the wave of fury it brought, instant and out of control. The shinobi's fists clenched so hard that his hands ached, but he welcomed the pain. Any distractions from his imagined thoughts were welcome.

He was angry at Anko, but his anger was directed mostly towards the man he blamed for hurting her, for leading her away from him, for making her betray everything she held dear. The man who had stolen her childhood, and her future.

Orochimaru ...

He had never wanted to kill anyone as badly as he did that man. Not even Obito's killer had been the focus of so much rage and hatred. Back then, he had felt a child's fury, but now ... Now he had many years of bitter memories to fuel his emotions. He was a man who had seen and dispensed death, and he was good at it. He had seen so much horror in his life, and all it did was add to the intensity of his desire for revenge-

Revenge. That was the emotion that had started the mess that Anko and Sasuke were now in. That is what took her away from me ...

Kakashi dropped his head, and held it in his hands. The fury was washed away by despair. It will never end. Itachi betrayed Sasuke, making him seek revenge at the cost of himself. Orochimaru betrayed Anko, making her seek revenge at the cost of her soul, and those she cares for. What will be next? Will I betray everything to get revenge on Orochimaru? A cold breeze washed across him, blowing ice through his soul.

It will never end. We will all be blinded by revenge, unless the cycle is stopped. We will never have peace. Even Orochimaru, in his own twisted way, is seeking revenge for the Sandaime passing him over for Hokage.

Yet Kakashi thought of Sasuke, lead astray by the snake Sannin. Perhaps the boy would have lost himself anyway, but Orochimaru had started it. And Anko, as well, had been put through so much pain because of him. He had killed the Sandaime, he still intended to attack Konoha ... The shinobi felt overcome with new determination. It grounded him, it gave him a purpose. It told him that what he wanted was not revenge – it was justice.

It started with Orochimaru. Now it must end with him.

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Kabuto slid the needle smoothly through Sasuke's skin. The boy barely grimaced at the discomfort as his blood slipped away, down the tube to a small vial. He was so used to the procedure that it was practically a ritual. Every day he had a brief medical examination, and once a week he had a full, in depth testing. Orochimaru was determined not to have a repeat of the Kimimaro 'incident'.

Usually, the exams passed by with little or no talking. Kabuto would ask Sasuke to lift his arm, meet his eyes, lie down, sit up, and that was the extent of their conversation. But today was different.

"When will Orochimaru be back." It was barely a question, and Sasuke didn't raise his head to look at the medic. His voice was becoming more and more expressionless, to the point that he didn't bother to put an inflection in his words when asking a question. He only ever sounded angry.

"When he has finished with his business, I expect." Kabuto replied. Of course, he knew well and good what that business was. He had just got back from Konoha himself.

The spy thought about the kunoichi, Anko. He had enjoyed toying with her in the interrogation room, but he couldn't deny how surprised he was at her reaction when he took on the Sannin's form. Her instant submission was ... unexpected. As was Orochimaru's when he told the Sannin what she had said, and how she had reacted. He had been ... displeased at Kabuto's improvised actions when taking on his appearance, but Anko's reaction had made up for it. The medic hadn't seen that kind of smile for a long time, and hoped that it would be longer before he saw it again. It was the smile of a predator seeing that the prey was weak and defenceless.

Yet the other thing that had surprised him was that the Sannin had left, with obvious intent on going into Konoha and seeing Anko.

"Orochimaru-sama ... are you certain? She may have told them of my presence after all, and there were many ANBU guarding her."

The Sannin stared at his servant, arrogant and sure in the knowledge of his own power. "They will not be able to stop me." He looked away then, smiling slightly at his own thoughts. "There are some things that one must do for oneself."

Kabuto wondered how Anko had reacted to seeing him. He wondered whether she would realise immediately that it was really Orochimaru. She probably will.

He glanced up at Sasuke, to see the boy scowling at the wall opposite. The medic was about to speak, when he felt the unmistakable presence of his master. Sasuke, too, sat up straighter. There was a strange gleam in his eyes that Kabuto didn't like, but there was no time to look at him more closely. He had to attend to Orochimaru, and see what visitors the Sannin may have brought.

Kabuto got up and exited the room, with Sasuke following him silently. They reached the doors to Orochimaru's rooms without saying a word, each preoccupied by their own thoughts. Kabuto stood at the door, waiting for his master to acknowledge his presence, and entered only when he was called.

They entered the room where Orochimaru received his guests. The Sannin was seated in his throne-like chair, and his head was turned slightly to his right, where a slim figure stood concealed by the shadows. He gave the impression that he had been speaking to the woman, to Anko, but he stopped when they came close.

Orochimaru's expression, when he turned to look at them, was truly frightening. It was the expression of a person who was within sight of his greatest desire. Anko, however, had no expression at all. She was standing on the Sannin's right, at attention and staring into the distance. Kabuto frowned slightly as he looked at her. She's changed ... somehow.

"I hope your business was successful, Orochimaru-sama." the spy said softly. His instincts told him that his master was in an unusual mood, and that he should do his best not to provoke him. His instincts were generally right.

"Yes," Orochimaru smirked, his eyes flicking towards the woman at his side. His hand reached out to trail down her arm possessively, but she didn't even flinch. "It did go well, indeed. Anko has given me all the information about Konoha that I needed, and more. She has finally proven where her loyalties lie."

Kabuto bowed slightly, "It is good to have you back with us, Anko-san."

The kunoichi's eyes met his for a moment, and he had to repress a desire to step back. Her eyes said that she had not forgotten that he had touched her under the guise of Orochimaru. There was no forgiveness there, no mercy. But more than that, there was a lack of sanity. And Kabuto knew that she was losing it. She was losing who she had been to Orochimaru ... like so many others. The Sannin twisted those around him until they were to his liking, and he had been no different. Even though the medic had been a child of an enemy of Konoha, even though they had killed his parents, he would not be who he was at that moment were it not for Orochimaru. The person he could have been if the Sannin hadn't found him would never have voluntarily conducted experiments on living humans, he would never have casually committed murder. That person is lost. He never existed.

Kimimaro was another example. The man had been a lost boy, who had been changed into a toy soldier, a potential vessel. And he had loved Orochimaru for it, until his untimely death. Only his sickness prevented the Sannin from possessing a powerful vessel, and Kimimaro had hated his own weakness that prevented it.

Anko would now betray her home for the Sannin, and do it willingly. She already had, even if she didn't realise it yet. The jutsu, he knew, played a large part as well. She still doesn't know its full extent. She will only find out too late.

"The plans will proceed in three days." Orochimaru informed them. He smiled slyly, eagerly, "We can't allow Konoha to wait too long, can we?" The Sannin allowed himself a moment to savour the thought of returning to the village with an army at his back. And not just any army – one made up of traitors. This will be the last time. This will be their end. He met Kabuto's eyes, noting how the spy was continuously checking Anko's movements. His subordinate was not stupid by any means. He knows that she has changed, that she is mine. He watched her as well, from the corner of his eyes. His lips widened a little, sensing in the way that only he could that she wanted him again. The desire to pull her on to his lap and enforce his ownership crossed his mind, but he discarded it.

"Kabuto and I have business to deal with," he said. "Leave us."

Anko stepped away from his side without a glance, but Sasuke's displeasure was apparent to them all. Yet he said nothing, picking up like Kabuto that the Sannin was not to be antagonised at that point. He and Anko left the room in silence, and they were walking down the corridor for a number of moments before he finally spoke.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Anko said nothing. She stared straight ahead, and gave no sign that she'd heard him speak.

He turned and grabbed her arm, pushing her against the wall so that she was facing him. The Uchiha glared at her furiously, face pale with anger. "What have you done?" he hissed.

The kunoichi clenched her fists, but she didn't react to his shove.

"What did you tell him?" he insisted, getting angrier.

"Everything." she replied, voice empty. "I told him everything, and now he is going to attack Konoha."

"You idiot!" he growled, "You absolute fool! What do you think that will accomplish?! Do you think that will get you the power that you want?" He gritted his teeth, visibly holding back his rage. "Now he will devote his time to destroying that stupid village, rather than giving me the training that I need ... and you are the one to blame."

"And here I thought that you were angry because I gave him the knowledge to destroy your home," she said mockingly.

There was a flash of ... something, in Sasuke's eyes, but it was there for only a moment. "No, why would I care about that? There is only one thing that is important to me." His arrogance and dispassionate attitude were back full force, as well as the fire that entered his eyes when he thought of his brother. He looked at Anko, like he was considering his words in his mind before voicing them.

"I thought you wanted to kill Orochimaru, not help him."

Anko looked away, feeling again the emptiness that came along with her choice. She had chosen this path, she had chosen to come with Orochimaru and betray her home. Yet she hadn't thought about what it really meant. She hadn't let herself think about what it really meant.

Kurenai ... Hokage-sama ... Kakashi ... If she gave him what he wanted, they might all ...

She still wasn't letting herself think about it. Somewhere inside, the snake was supporting her decision. Every time she was around Orochimaru, it writhed beneath her skin and demanded satisfaction. Every time her emotions were heightened, by lust or anger or sadness, its will came to the fore of her mind, and it was all she could do to keep control. Even now, it was telling her to go back to the Sannin's rooms, and demand his attention. It was telling her to tell Sasuke to fuck off, and find his childish revenge elsewhere. All he is to Orochimaru is his vessel ... that is where his importance ends. Tell him! Tell him his insignificance!

It was a constant whispering in her ears that was slowly bringing her down. Even now, she couldn't remember if it had really been her choice to take Orochimaru's hand ...

Sasuke watched her with bitter amusement, and something else hidden in the depths of his dark eyes. Something close to understanding. "You really are lost, aren't you?" he said quietly. Anko's head jerked up, and she stared at him in astonishment as he quoted the words she'd once said to him back at her. He turned away, taking another turn in the corridor. "I hope the others won't have to see you like this."

"You really are lost, aren't you?" she asked softly. "I hope none of them have to see you again like this. It would break Kakashi's heart."

I said that. I said that to him. What have I ... what have I done? She stood staring at the space where Sasuke had been, and wondered how she had got to this point. But her thoughts were drowned out by a constant whispering, murmuring, muttering ... The fragments of sound surrounded her on all sides. There was no way that she could concentrate on her mistakes, on Konoha, on Ka-

"Anko ..." he purred, and his arms slid around her waist, pulling her back into his body. His lips pressed against her neck, and she went limp. An instant buzz ran through her limbs, along her nerves and chakra paths. He made her feel charged, alive, wanted ... And everything else fell away. Anko was an addict, and Orochimaru was the drug.

He was what she craved, and he was killing her.

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Sasuke stood in the training grounds in Sound, and methodically did the series of exercises that honed his aim, his dexterity, his strength. It had become as smooth as a dance, and just as fluid. He had become so much stronger in his time at Sound, training under Orochimaru. He told himself that it had been worth it, but he would only really know that when he faced Itachi.

His thoughts skirted around his brother. He couldn't afford to think about him, because when it came to that man he was more irrational than any delusional and he knew it.

Instead he thought, as he rarely allowed himself to, about Naruto. His friend was a weakness, one that he couldn't afford, but some things went beyond his control. He cared about Naruto. Maybe he always would and maybe a few more years in Orochimaru's presence would kill that feeling, but for now it was still very much alive.

Sasuke knew that Naruto was not in Konoha. He had overheard Kabuto mentioning that he was training with the toad Sannin. Yet ...

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"I'm going to be the next Hokage!" his grin was blinding, and his enthusiasm astounding. The blond posed with his thumb held up on his outstretched arm, and the image burned itself into his mind. Sasuke would never forget that unique brand of determination.

The two boys stared at each other, sweating and exhausted. Night had already fallen, and their marks on the tree trunk bark were level and halfway up its height. They had to walk up the trunk, perpendicular to the ground, and reach the top using their chakra. They had to reach the top. It was their goal, and neither were accustomed to giving up a goal ... or a dream.

Anko looked away from him, seeing through the stone walls of the room. "You know, I was on a mission with Naruto-kun not too long ago. He's an amazing boy. His power keeps growing exponentially, but more than that his heart grows faster. He believes in the goodness of people, and never seems to give up on anyone he gives his trust to. He really might become Hokage some day." She turned to lock eyes with the Uchiha. "But his trust may get him killed before then, won't it?"

Sasuke kept looking at her, but said nothing. He did not give away any hint of concern over his former companion and best friend, or at her insinuations that he might kill him. Finally he said quietly, "I told him to forget about trying to help me."

She smiled bitterly at him. "When has Naruto ever given up on anything?"

Sasuke waited, in the exam room, for Naruto to give up. There was no way that he had the knowledge to answer the questions and pass, and he would never think to use his jutsu skills to cheat. He would have to give up before answering the tenth question, or he would fail and never be allowed to do the exam again. He would have to give up.

But Naruto stood, and he shouted the challenge, his own fear, down. He said that he would never give up. He said that, one day, he would be the Hokage. He said that nothing was going to stop him.

He was lying on the ground at Sasuke's feet, with a bloody chidori-sized hole in his midsection.

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No ... If Konoha is destroyed, then Naruto will lose his dream. The Uchiha flung the kunai he held, and buried it completely in a tree trunk.

He stood, staring at the damaged tree, and thought about the substance, purpose, and importance of dreams.

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A/N: Apologies if there are unclear points at any time – feel free to ask me about anything, but some stuff I've made deliberately obscure. About Sasuke: I have read some of the latest manga and know that he seems to have changed a lot, but this story is set a few months after he left Konoha so I am assuming that he doesn't change immediately. Like I mentioned, the next chapter may take a while because I have to pull together all the loose threads and make sense of them! At this point, I still honestly have not decided how to end the fic. I have a lot of ideas, but am hoping that the story will continue to write itself, and the right ending will make itself known. It you have any ideas, let me know relatively soon so that I can incorporate them if they fit though I can't promise to use any.

Enjoy your week, and good luck to those who have work! I'm ready for holidays again ... ;)