Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, (sob sob) Kishimoto Masashi is the lucky one. Please No Flame
Italics=thoughts
Chapter 4: Escape!
"Anko! What the?! Why are you being carried by Hatake Kakashi?!!" Kurenei yelled again. Now where was Shizune?
"Kurenei, you're yelling again." Whispered Shizune, she pulled on Kurenei's shoulder. Anko struggled to get out of her awkward position in Kakashi's arms. To her surprise, Kakashi set her back onto her feet without protesting.
"Hmm. Don't try to escape again." intoned the Shinobi. Then he disappeared. The teen stared at the spot where he had been standing with her mouth wide open.
"Why that arrogant little-" She was cut off by Kurenei.
"You have some serious explaining to do young woman! I suggest you start now!"
"I still can't believe you called him gay!" moaned Kurenei half an hour later. Both she and Shizune had listened to her tale, Kurenei making occasional noises of exasperation. Shizune opened her mouth to say something, but shut it when the door opened.
Two Shinobi strode in and scanned the room. When they spotted Anko, they began to move purposely towards her.
"Number 13, you have orders to come with us!" stated the taller of the two.
Without further ado, they grabbed her arms and hoisted began pulling her to the door. Anko caught a glimpse of Kurenei and Shizune's worried faces before the door slammed shut behind her.
She half walked and was half pulled through the base's grounds and into a windowless, one-story room. It was rather odd, with a large fire burning in a hearth at the wall. The kunoichi guessed that this building was used for storage.
Near the fire, stood a single man, who turned when the two Shinobi pulled the girl in. A leer cracked his face in two as he stared at the teen.
"So this is the kunoichi who as' been causing so much trouble." He spoke with a strong foreign accent.
"Yes, yes. A little gift of mine will clear up misbehaviors in no time. Oi, you. Mirmou Daisuke, that's your name isn't it? Hold her still, very good."
Anko squirmed in the men's grip but couldn't fight herself free. She watched in apprehension as the man took something from the fire and moved towards her. He held out the object he was carrying; a white hot brand.
When he pressed it to Anko's wrist, the girl felt a wave of numbness wash over her arm. Then the pain began. It started slowly at first, until it built up and consumed the teen's whole body, burning like the fire the brand had come from. Anko struggled to not make a sound, but a moan wrenched its way through her mouth.
After what seemed like hours, the pain subsided into an aching throb, sending occasional twinges down her arm. It was then that she noticed the man and Shinobi had left her in the room. Bad move.
When she tried the door leading out side, she found it was locked. But after scanning the room, she found another door that led into a long hallway lined with doors.
When they find I'm gone, they'll search this building for me. It would be easy for them to find a branded kunoichi.
Anko searched through the rooms, looking for something, anything that could help her escape. She paused when she reached a room full of Shinobi gear.
I guess I'll just have to stop being a kunoichi. I think I'll be a Shinobi instead.
The girl grabbed a pair of pants and a coat with a high collar from one of the racks. She had just changed into these when she heard a yell echoing through the building.
"Where did that damn kunoichi go??!!"
Anko hurriedly slipped on a Shinobi vest and pulled the hood up on her coat. No sooner had she done this, then the three Shinobi charged through the hallway. One of them stopped when he saw her.
"Hey you, there! Have you seen a purple haired kunoichi anywhere?"
"No sir!" answered Anko in a deep, disguised voice. The other Shinobi nodded and then left.
I guess this is my cue to escape.
Thought the girl, as she slipped through the now open door that led outside. She could see the forest that marked the boundaries of the base, so she headed in that direction.
She had just neared the edge of the trees when a squad of Shinobi jumped out in front of her,
"You there! State your business, quickly."
Thinking quickly, Anko replied in a masculine voice, "My name is Mirmou Daisuke. I was just transferred to this area and I got lost."
The Shinobi who seemed to be leader took out a sheaf of papers. After shuffling through them and scanning them each, he looked satisfied.
"You are listed in this area. Follow us; we'll take you to an empty bunk in the barracks."
Anko couldn't believe her luck.
Thank god I could remember that one shinobi's name! I guess I'll just have to escape later, right now I'm safe.
The girl walked in silence until they reached one of the barracks. The other Shinobi motioned for her to go in.
Good. I'll be fine as long as I don't run into a certain silver-haired shin-
"Well what do we have here?" asked a bored voice.
Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no! I have the worst damn luck in the world!
"We found this Shinobi wandering around outside. He's new to this area so we sent him to you. His name's Mirmou Daisuke."
Kakashi stood up from his bunk bed and strode over to the Shinobi. Bending down slightly, he eyed Anko's disguised form.
It's a good thing that this collar and hood hide my face. And that this is a bulky coat, so he can't tell I'm a girl from my figure.
"Fine. Daisuke, you will take the bottom bunk to the far right. Training for you will begin tomorrow. Now go!"
"Yes sir!"
Anko walked over to her bunk, not making eye contact with anyone. The teen collapsed on the bunk in exhaustion and fell asleep quickly.
She didn't notice that Kakashi was watching her suspiciously out of the corner of his eye.
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In the morning, Anko woke up to the loud bell sound and rolled out of bed. She didn't have to do much to get ready, just put on her shoes and make sure her good and collar weren't revealing anything.
She waited as the other inhabitants of the room shuffled around getting read. She could barely conceal her excitement.
Today's the day I finally get out of this hellhole! No more stupid Shinobi or silver haired jerks.
The silver haired jerk in question spoke,
"Okay men! Today, we are going to complete a drill in the forest! We will split into two teams. My team will be Akaku, Kazuko, and Obito. Asuma's team will have all the rest of you on it. Asuma's team will start out in the middle of the forest, at diffuse points. Their goal is to make it back to the edge of the forest without getting tagged by one of my team."
Kakashi pulled several pieces of green fabric from his weapon's bag.
"All members of team Asuma will receive one of these. If a member of my team finds you, they will take your flag, and you will have lost the game. Now, members of team Asuma, come get your flags."
Anko waited in line with her team members.
Could this get any better! I actually have an excuse to be out in the forest near the boundaries. As long as I don't get caught, I can just run for it. Once I reach a police station, I'm safe.
It was the teen's turn, and she took a green flag from Kakashi. She tucked the cloth into her vest and walked towards the door, where the other Shinobi were waiting. Again, the girl didn't notice Kakashi's eyes drilling into her.
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"Okay men! Start!" yelled Asuma. Anko waited for the other men to disappear before heading in the opposite direction. She was so close to freedom she could almost feel it.
The sun was shining brightly that day, sending scattered rays through the leaves and dappling the ground. Anko moved so rapidly her shadow disturbed the pale spots of light for a moment before she had moved on already.
Hmm. I wonder how close I am to the boundaries. I know I'm heading in the right direction, so I should just keep on moving.
A crackle of breaking twigs startled the girl. She spun around, looking for whoever had made the noise. Nothing moved, not a single thing stirred.
Must have just been a squirrel. God, I'm getting so paranoid.
Anko turned around to start running again; and came face to face with none other than Hatake Kakashi!
Crap! I am in deep shit now. Let's hope I can bluff my way out of this.
"You are a long way from your destination." spoke the Shinobi smoothly.
"I thought I'd try taking a detour to throw off any followers. Obviously it didn't work as well as I wanted it to."
"Hmm. This is a rather wide detour." Anko didn't reply to this; she merely nodded her head and looked at the ground. What happened next surprised her. She barely had time to dodge the shinobi's fist. It flashed past her ear, making a whistling sound.
Anko sprang away from the man and went into a defensive stance. Kakashi wasted no time in attacking the girl with several kicks; it was all Anko could do to dodge them.
Right when she was about to start attacking herself, Kakashi's foot brushed by her head.
The kick missed her body, but it pushed aside Anko's hood. The girl's hair and eyes showed for a moment before she hurriedly covered them again. But it was too late; Kakashi had seen a flash of purple hair. Without warning, the Shinobi disappeared.
Where did he go?! Did he recognize me?!
Before Anko could comprehend what was happening, a force had driven her forwards and had pinned her to a tree. The girl struggled to free herself from the man's grip, but it was of no use. Anko felt her hood being pulled back completely,
"I admit that I'm impressed Anko. This plan almost worked." Kakashi's lips brushed her ear, making her shiver. Unfortunately, the man felt this shiver.
"I'm sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable?" She could practically here the smirk in his voice as she suppressed another shiver.
"Go away Kakashi!" growled the girl angrily. The more she struggled to get free, the harder she was pressed to the man.
"That's not something I can do right now. Anyway, I'm having too much fun making you nervous. It's very satisfying to see a normally confident person so meek." Anko growled at this statement,
"In your dreams bastard!" She felt a bare hand brush against the nape of her neck. It skimmed along the girls shoulder and picked up the necklace that was hidden under the collar of her coat.
Anko watched as Kakashi's hand outlined the number 13.
"Hmm. That may be." He whispered to her.
"But you're still coming with me." Spoke the man as he scooped the kunoichi up. Soon, he was sprinting through the woods towards the base. They had just neared the outskirts of the forest when a loud crashing noise resounded through the woods. It was followed closely by a harsh yell of pain.
Kakashi stopped, and after some thought, headed in the direction of the yell. When he reached the scene of the disaster he stiffened.
The Shinobi with the orange goggles lay half in, half out, under a large tree. Several other Shinobi were crowded around him, trying to lift the tree.
"He'll live." said a medic Shinobi.
"But only if we get him out within a minute." Kakashi stayed silent, then set Anko down and ran towards his fallen teammate.
It took Anko a moment to realize she was free. She hurtled quickly through the woods, back the way she had come. When she looked back once, she saw Kakashi and the others starting to shift the tree.
I hope the Shinobi lives. No one deserves to die that way. Well maybe some people, but not him.
Anko didn't stop running until she burst through the trees. Then she slowed to a jog.
Adrenaline kept the girl going as the sky grew dark around her. The sun was close to setting when the exhausted girl stumbled on civilization.
It came in the form of a strange town. With the last of her energy, the teen pulled herself onto the side walk and staggered through to a police station.
As she walked in, a police officer looked up from a desk in the corner of the room. His eyes widened when he saw the tired teen entering the room.
"Miss! Are you alright?" He rushed towards the girl,
"You better take me to whoever's in charge. I have something very important to tell them."
TBC
Whew! That was a long chapter! Hope you peeps enjoyed. REVIEW!!!