.
.
"Ne, Kimimaro?"
"Hmm?"
"If Orochimaru wanted you back...would you go to him?"
He couldn't see Anko's face. There were shadows over her eyes.
"Why are you asking me this?"
Anko looked away.
"You know I would not," Kimimaro said. "I am grateful for all that he has done for me, grateful for teaching me and taking me under his wing. But Orochimaru-sama wanted only my body. Even if I could be his vessel I would not return to him."
"Then why won't you get rid of it?" Anko said. She gestured toward Kimimaro's seal. "Tsunade-sama said that mark is what's killing you and you won't let them take it out. And the only thing I can think of is that you're waiting for Orochimaru again, and fuck you if that's the case, because I'm not going to sit here and wait for you to die!"
"It is to protect you," Kimimaro said. "There may be a time where I am incapacitated and you are in danger. That seal, dangerous as it is, would be the only thing that would let me continue to fight. So long as I do not use it, my disease will not progress. But I would not discard it lightly. It has nothing to do with Orochimaru-sama. It is only a matter of practicality."
Anko didn't move. Kimimaro sat gingerly beside her, looking at his hands.
"You wish for me to remove it?" Kimimaro said. Anko nodded. He glanced up at her.
"All right," Kimimaro said. He felt Anko squeeze his hand.
It took nearly seven hours of intense treatment before Tsunade and Shizune were able to seal off the mark. "It is a voluntary seal, just as you requested," Tsunade said. "But understand if you use this, it could kill you. So only use it as a last resort."
"I understand," Kimimaro said. He touched his chest. The mark, which used to stand prominently on his skin, was nothing but a faded scar.