Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

A/N: Well, originally this chapter was called 'Crimson Tide' and it was the climax, but I'm going to take longer writing that, so there are still a few chapters to come. I'll elaborate a little at the end, so you can read it if you feel like it. Enjoy the tense chapter!

Thanks to BloodRedShadows, LostsoulofRegret, Wicked-Lady-West and nickel1984 for reviewing the last chapter and also thanks to all who've been reading this story :)

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Chapter 20

Made

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There are times in your life when you feel so removed from what is happening around you that you can pretend that it isn't happening. You can pretend that you are dreaming, or looking through someone else's eyes. Your body moves, you speak, you eat ... but it isn't really you. You are the small part hiding in the corner of your mind, imaginary hands over your eyes and ears. You are the one rocking and pretending that you don't know what you're doing. But you do know. And you don't do anything to stop it.

That was Anko. She was standing at Orochimaru's shoulder, pointing out on his map the patrol routes and placements, the latest improvements to Konoha's defences, the weak points, the areas least defended. Every so often, he would touch her. He would slide his fingers across her skin. Her arm. Her hips. Her face. Her lips. And she would like it – whatever he did. She would shift impatiently and want to leave the planning until later, but he would smile and hold the pleasure back. He would turn her to the map, and pull more information out of her. He was playing her like a puppet, and she moved to his demands.

But she also knew that Sound did not have enough shinobi to mount an attack on Konoha alone, so she wasn't too surprised to see an emissary from Rock arrive two days before Orochimaru had planned their assault.

The man looked like a weasel. Anko had to consciously stop herself from wrinkling her nose in disgust at the way he grovelled at Orochimaru's feet, going on about how Konoha was a menace to them all. He said that the village had a monopoly in the shinobi world, and it had to be stopped. He spoke about how the mission was going to benefit them all, and how much he was looking forward to working with such a 'great man' as Orochimaru.

Anko watched as the Sannin smiled, and took the abasement as his due. Yet behind the smile, she saw his own contempt for the Rock nin. He hated people who were weak, and if he hadn't been so short on followers he would never have lowered himself to such an alliance. Of course, the man was also wary of a repeat of the previous attack where Orochimaru had killed his ally, the Sand Kazekage, and where the attack had been eventually repelled.

"Do you think that they will be able to stop me again?" the Sannin hissed. "I killed their Hokage. I will do it again, and this time they will not recover."

"And of course Rock nin are more skilled than those of Sand," the emissary said disdainfully. The man looked at Anko, who was standing at Orochimaru's side and staring expressionlessly straight ahead. He smiled in amusement, "And besides, how powerful can a village be if its members keep deserting?"

Orochimaru agreed, slyly glancing sidelong at Anko. "Yes. It does make you wonder, doesn't it?"

And then it was the night before they were to move in on Konoha. Orochimaru had decided that they would leave early in the morning, and meet up with their allies before carefully surrounding the hidden village and moving in at dusk. Anko knew that she hadn't heard all his plans. To be honest, she didn't want to. She was avoiding thinking about what her betrayal meant. She hadn't really been conscious the last time, and was glad that she had no memories to help her imagine what could happen.

She was lying on her back on his bed, debating whether she had the energy to get under the covers. She'd been so tired lately, like all her energy was draining away. It was unusual for her, but she didn't dwell on it. Anko was getting used to avoiding worrying thoughts.

Orochimaru was working at his desk, going through scrolls and maps. He didn't seem to need much sleep – he always had some plan he was busy with. Some nights he wouldn't sleep at all. He hadn't been as interested in being with her since he'd started plotting Konoha's destruction. It was like the thought of demolishing the place he had grown up gave him more satisfaction than he got from her. Now that he had her, he wasn't worried about having to work to keep her. Orochimaru knew that Anko had nowhere else to go. She'd burned all her bridges, and that was it.

Anko had closed her eyes when she heard him get up. She opened them enough to see him walk over to the full-length mirror. He had on one of his casual robes that he wore before he slept (he didn't wear anything to sleep in ... so he wasn't wearing anything underneath). He seemed to be contemplating his reflection, and it wasn't in Anko's nature not to comment.

"Admiring yourself, are you?" she asked softly with a slight mocking tone. She could only see his back, but when he turned a little she could see his face in the mirror.

The Sannin smiled a little. "Why don't you come join me?"

"Tired." she replied shortly. She didn't want to get pulled into another game, even though she was a constant feature in a larger one.

Orochimaru was silent for a moment. Eventually he spoke quietly, and his tone of voice different from what Anko had ever heard before. "Have you ever thought about why you are here, Anko?"

The kunoichi shrugged. "Not really."

She could feel his intense, slightly disapproving, stare. "I don't believe that you have never wondered why you ended up here, with me."

Anko sat up a little, and she watched her hands run over the silk sheets. "Fine. I have wondered why."

"Do you understand it? Do you know the reason?"

"No." She frowned, uncomfortable under his scrutiny. It made her feel like one of his experiments.

He stared into the mirror, and past it. "I know why." Orochimaru paused for a long moment. "Because your past determines who you are."

"What are you talking about?" Anko said, confused but angry at the same time. "My past doesn't define me."

The Sannin whirled around to face her, his face full of some unnameable emotion. "Really? So it was not your past that made you choose to become what you are, decide to betray the place you were born, and the people who love you?" But Anko didn't have time to answer before Orochimaru was walking towards her. He pulled her from the bed, and over to the mirror. He stood behind her, holding her to face the glass. "You are playing a part, Anko," he said in her ear, almost fanatically, "You are following a script that is dictated by what you have experienced. You are playing a role that was laid out for you."

Anko stared at her slightly frightened reflection. Orochimaru stood behind her, like some fallen guardian angel. "I don't understand," she said at last. He was looking at her expectantly, like she should have caught on to something.

He ran his hand over her shoulder, over the bare skin at her neck. "Like your parents, mine were killed on duty. It was so long ago, but I remember what it felt like. That was one of the reasons why I took you as my genin, Anko. That, and the reason that it meant you would be only mine. But that isn't the most important ... it was later, that I realised that things are determined by your past. You see, when that fool old man passed me over as Hokage, he determined my future. He determined what I would become." His expression turned cold with fury as he remembered. "He filled me with an anger that would never die, and the desire to learn everything, to show him how wrong he was to cross me."

Orochimaru held her in a grip that was almost painfully tight. He looked in her eyes as he spoke his next words. "I took you so that I could help you, because I understood. But later, after he passed me by, I wanted to see to what extent I could determine your role in this life. I wanted your future."

Anko met his eyes, and her face went pale as the full extent of his manipulation over her life became apparent. "So everything you did to me ... every lesson, every experience and experiment was to ... to turn me into this?!" His face showed no remorse at her anger, her horror. "You manipulated me so that I would make these decisions?"

He smiled at her shock. "Think about it, Anko. What have you ever chosen that wasn't already decided by what you have experienced with me?"

Nothing. Everything has been because of him ... everything ... It implied that Orochimaru had thought far further ahead than she believed possible ... that he could have predicted how she would act in future situations based on what he'd caused her to experience in her past. But it was just another experiment, and if it had failed he wouldn't have cared. Yet he was far better at manipulation than most, and it hadn't failed so far.

"You must be pleased that your experiment worked, then," Anko spat. He made her feel so empty – like the agonising and hardship she had gone through meant nothing in the end. Everything she had done had been according to his plans, and there was nothing she could do to circumvent it.

Something inside cried that it wasn't true, that you didn't have to be a product of your past ... but the voice was too faint.

"You mustn't be bitter, my dear," he said, with a little mocking affection in his voice. But his eyes ... Orochimaru couldn't hide the darkness there. His hands started to wander, pulling at her clothing. "It means that I know you better than anyone, but it also means that you are not really responsible for your actions. In a way, you are blameless."

Anko couldn't help how she latched on to the thought. The guilt ... she couldn't deal with it. It wasn't an emotion she was familiar with, and she couldn't handle it. Any excuse to put the blame elsewhere ... and where better than Orochimaru? He was the one she blamed for everything after all, and he was the one she couldn't get enough of.

His hands had slipped under her clothes, and her thoughts slipped away. She wasn't seeing their reflection, because she was too caught up in her physical feelings. If she had focussed on the mirror, the image of two intertwined snakes wrapped around them would have only disturbed her.

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Are we what we have made ourselves? Or are we made by those around us? Is who we are based on who we want to be, or is it determined by who we have been? How could we tell whether we act because it is who we are, or because it is who we've been made to be by our past? Some people experience things that mean they will never react to a certain situation in the same way again. Everything is coloured by what you have experienced, and everything you see that links to your past changes the way you see it.

But does that mean that it wasn't your choice? Or does it mean that you never had one, because you wouldn't have chosen differently?

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Anko was standing at Orochimaru's side, on top of the Hokage's monument. Konoha was laid at their feet, peaceful and unaware. Every building that the kunoichi saw made her remember her past. Everything she saw was coloured by her experience with Orochimaru.

The sun was setting, creating a kaleidoscope of shades of blues and purples, reds and golds. It was beautiful ... and it didn't touch her at all.

The Sannin stared down at the hidden village that was exposed to his hungry eyes. He watched it, and the people moving along its streets, with the expression of a predator. The light bathed the town in colours that made it seem surreal. She could easily have been dreaming. In fact, a small part of her was hiding in the corner of her mind and pretending to have a nightmare. A nightmare where she was standing at Orochimaru's side, about to destroy her home.

I don't have a home any more. No. You don't.

Sasuke was standing just behind Anko, but he wasn't looking down at the village. He was watching her. Kabuto was standing at Orochimaru's other side, following his master's eyes to the village. He seemed to be quietly eager to get going, and probably had a certain famous Copy Nin in mind. Behind them all were ranged a number of Sound nin, and a messenger from Rock.

Orochimaru licked his lips, savouring the moment. "Get in position," he told the shinobi behind them, "Wait until I give the signal."

"What signal?" Anko asked.

The Sannin just smiled. "You'll see."

Was this the end? Was it the end of everything? When Orochimaru pooled his chakra into one of the most powerful jutsus Anko had ever felt, and the ground started to shake, she thought it might be. The power flowed through his body, through his feet, and into the rock of the monument beneath them. The loud cracks reverberated through her bones, and she could see the small ant-sized people in the town below start to scurry around in fright and confusion.

Coinciding with the earthquake, Anko saw the giant two-headed snake raise its head from where it had been slithering through the forests at the far boundary of the village. There were distant shouts and screams as the citizens faced once again the terror of an attack that seemed all too familiar. Anko could only wonder why no ANBU had detected their approach and warned the village sooner. Perhaps that was why Kabuto was looking so smug – some excellent undercover work had been accomplished.

The Rock nin and some of those of Sound were moving in, engaging the Konoha shinobi who were moving to defend their home. But once again they were taken by surprise, and in the confusion it was difficult for them to get into proper positions. It wouldn't take long, however, for the older shinobi to bring the younger in line. Even now, Anko could see a cloud of kikai bugs rise up in the direction of the Aburame clan homes. The advantage of surprise wouldn't last forever.

"Is it going to fall?" Anko asked Kabuto, looking down at the cliff at their feet.

"Not yet." Orochimaru answered her, an anticipatory smile on his face. "Not just yet."

"What are you waiting for?"

"The right players to come and meet us." The look in his eyes made her feel cold. "You will enjoy this. Believe me."

He seemed to almost radiate power, and Anko understood what he meant. His presence was unmistakable, and would draw the people he wanted. In turn, her snake spirit rose up inside her, rasping against the inside of her skin. It twisted in her chest, gathering together chakra for the fight ahead ... because Anko had no doubt that there would be one. With her heightened senses, she could feel a handful of powerful people moving towards them, and she knew that one of them was Kakashi. Another was definitely the Hokage. There was no way that she would let the presence of her old teammate go by unnoticed. Or unchallenged.

Even before their opponents materialised, the snake was whispering in her mind. It was telling her that nothing mattered except for Orochimaru, and destroying the place that had shunned her. It didn't matter whether it spoke truth or lies – it was all the same. So when Kakashi finally appeared, Anko could meet his eyes with no feeling in her own.

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She looked dead. She looked like she was already dead. That was all Kakashi could think, and it filled him with a burning hatred that was directed towards the man who was standing far too close to her side. It wasn't enough that Orochimaru had betrayed the village, and was so intent on its destruction that he killed their Sandaime. No, it wasn't enough – he had to pull down innocents with him, twisting them so much that those who loved them couldn't even recognise them. He could feel Sakura's shock. She was standing at his side, with her eyes locked on Sasuke and her body rigid as steel. The Uchiha had adopted an arrogant, aloof expression, and wasn't even looking her way.

That damn smug spy was standing there as well, and Kakashi had no doubt that he was the one responsible for their ability to take Konoha by surprise. But it was Orochimaru who was the focus of his rage, and he spared no thought for the medic. He heard the destruction and fighting going on down below, but his mind was here, above the face of his sensei the Yondaime. It will end here.

That was exactly what Tsunade was thinking as well. It will end here. She was determined that Orochimaru would never again cause her people harm, that he would never again hurt those she cared about. He had been her teammate, and she had loved him, but he'd thrown it back in her face. He'd spat in the face of their teacher when he first took a human life for his experiments, and he'd scorned God when he killed to prolong his own miserable existence for the sake of knowledge. More like power, she thought bitterly, watching as the man merely smiled at her, confident in his own plans and skills. But he's underestimated me for the last time. He has underestimated us all.

She glanced at Sakura, and prayed that the girl would have the strength to deal with her ex-teammate. The Hokage had known that she wouldn't be able to stop her following, and looking at the numbers of opponents was glad that she hadn't stopped her even if she may not be ready. Goddammit girl, don't break down on me. I need you to stay strong, and deal with the boy you love so that I can deal with his master. Shizune would divert Kabuto, because Tsunade had no doubt that Anko would target Kakashi, even though the Copy Nin would try to go after Orochimaru. That snake is mine – I claim that right. But ... She remembered the last time they had fought, and how she and Jiraiya together had only just been able to hold him off. She'd had to use that dangerous seal to heal herself, and she was worried about Shizune fighting the medic as well. He was powerful too ... they all were.

She shook her doubts off. It doesn't matter. This is it. This is the end.

Orochimaru chuckled, drawing all their eyes. "It looks like you've both been missed, Anko, Sasuke-kun ... But this is hardly a hospitable welcome." He smiled, taunting his old teammate and enjoying every moment of it.

"You dare to come here again, Orochimaru?" Tsunade demanded, eyes flashing with her hot temper. "After everything you have done, there is no redemption for you ... in this life, or the next."

He sighed with slight irritation. "Is that all, Tsunade? If it is, then we may as well get started." He reached out and ran his hand slowly and suggestively down Anko's arm and side. She stared at the Konoha nin without reacting at all. "There are things more ... interesting to occupy my time these days rather than mere talk ..."

There was a flash of movement, and clang of steel, and Kakashi was standing in front of Orochimaru with a kunai in hand, which was stopped by another held by Anko. She met Kakashi's eyes, standing between the two men who were her lovers. In her other hand were two kunai that he had thrown as well. She'd stopped his attack dead, and Orochimaru hadn't had to move at all.

Orochimaru smirked. "I think you've found your opponent," he told Kakashi over Anko's shoulder. His amusement faded into an anger and mockery, "As if you could ever face me!" he said scornfully.

"He might not be able to, but I can." Tsunade challenged him.

"We'll see, Tsunade-chan," the snake Sannin smiled again.

"Sasuke ..." Her voice was so faint that the wind almost carried it all away. The Uchiha turned to meet her eyes with his own, which were as dead as Anko's and even more forbidding to Sakura. The kunoichi took a deep breath, and pulled herself together. "Sasuke," she said, voice firmer, "You are coming back."

The shinobi sighed, like she was a child whose questions he was weary of hearing. "No. I am not." He glanced at her, and then away like she meant nothing.

Sakura clenched her fists, her own hot temper rising at his quick dismissal. Who the HELL does that shit-faced BASTARD think he is?!?! We'll show the little snot not to take US so lightly!!! her inner self screamed. But as usual, Sakura held that self inside. "Maybe Naruto isn't here to talk to you ... maybe you don't care about what I think, but I know you still care about us." Her voice was full of the confidence she had built over the months she'd been working under the less-than-gentle Hokage, and Sasuke turned his head to look at her with a faint hint of surprise.

"This is your home, Sasuke, whether or not you have blood-family left. This is the place that your family loved and protected, where they kept the peace. Are you going to sacrifice all they worked for, all they cared about, all you care about, just for revenge?! Are you going to give Orochimaru your body just so that your brother dies a few years sooner?!" She pulled herself up, and pulled together her chakra. She stared him in the eyes, seeing that he was listening to her. Sakura tried to convey with her own eyes the full force of her belief in her words ... and in him.

"If you're not going to stop ... then I'm going to make you."

His lips curled up scornfully, hiding the impact her words had on him. "I'd like to see you try."

In a heartbeat they had both thrown kunai, and were sparring fiercely. Sasuke didn't seem fazed or impressed by Sakura's speed, but she was keeping up with him. They had both improved, yet Sasuke hadn't revealed his Sharingan. Until he did, Sakura knew that he wasn't taking her seriously. They moved away from the rest of the group, further from the edge of the cliff and into the forests. For the moment, it was merely an intense spar ... but it wouldn't stay that way.

The fighters were pairing off with their opponents – Sakura and Sasuke, Anko and Kakashi, Shizune with a slightly annoyed Kabuto, and Tsunade with Orochimaru. It almost seemed planned, but it would probably be one of the hardest fights any of them would ever see.

And below, the rest of the Konoha shinobi were fighting a desperate battle against the invading nin. There were screams and crashes as portions of the newly-repaired town were ripped apart by the massive serpent. The snake's eyes flashed red as it hissed after a hit by a fire jutsu, but it retaliated with the speed only a serpent has. Yet although the battle seemed a mass of chaos from above, it was composed of a number of small fights, small struggles against death. Here, a Konoha nin leapt out from his hiding place, and managed to take down two Rock nin with a clever earth jutsu. There, the ANBU were battling a group of Sound elite. And then there was the young Konoha shinobi who fell back with a kunai through his throat, while his friend screamed his name but could do nothing but watch him die.

A shinobi's life is one of loss and struggle, and the Konoha nin were struggling for their lives, their home, their loved ones. They were dealers of death, and sometimes that was forgotten. They fought to maintain their place in this life, so that they could see the colours of another day ... but not all of them would. It was the end ... but the end of what? Who would win? Who would triumph?

While most shinobi fought, some helped the civilians and children towards the monument where their secret tunnels and hideouts were. They helped the children along to safety, carrying them if they had to, unaware of the cracks in the mountain-face caused by Orochimaru's jutsu.

Who would triumph? Maybe it depended on what plans lay in place. Maybe it depended on a young man remembering that he had a heart and that some things mattered more than revenge.

And maybe it depended on a young woman realising what her dreams were.

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A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger, but I felt like I had to give you guys another chapter to read while I think up an ending although I was thinking of making this a really long chapter with it all included. Holidays are starting now, so I may or may not have time to write a bit. The reason I took a while getting this up is I've had a busy last two weeks – I was working as well as going to lectures and haven't had a life ;) It's 1am right now, and I really need my sleep ...

Thanks for all the support, hope you all have a great weekend!