Chapter 21: Orochimaru Part 1, Taken!
Everyone sees different truths. Collectively, those truths become a shared reality. Thus, the truth is not absolute.
It was a beautiful night. Activities slowed down by the time it was 9 pm as though there was some sort of curfew. The few civilians that were out and about-such as a young couple walking side by side while embracing each other for the most part felt that tonight was just like any other night.
Peaceful.
They've known this peace for a big part of their lives. Most were slowly forgetting the experience of living in times of wars. Thankfully there were festivals which were hosted to remind them of it. Civilians did notice things changed in the last few days. There were foreigners out and about. And the Chunin exams was in progress. The dire situation which genins faced was removed from their reality. The civilians understood it was hard but could never grasp what that meant.
They were isolated in their own truths or distorted reality. The sounds of battle were far away thus nothing seemed out of place. They could not feel the ground shaking or hear the forest roaring. The Forest of Death was picked for just that reason. It was virtually soundproof.
Orochimaru had studied the Forest of Death. He memorized the paths, making the movement of both genins and monsters obvious and predictable. He found himself up against the wall of a tree which hosted enough space to offer a bit of hospitality from the night. His body was still drained and lacked a lot of chakra. Unbeknownst to him, it had been a silly accident of a mere 13-year-old genin of the Aburame clan which drained him almost dried.
Orochimaru was in no way hiding. He needed a place to rest. He went over his strategy to find that it no longer was going to work. A misunderstanding on his part for he thought his scheme had been found out since he found himself in this current predicament of chakra depletion. He paid attention to the sounds around him knowing that someone had set out to find him.
His connection to her confirmed it. Anko was here. Ever the confident one, probably believed that she had tracked him down.
His late student Anko was not going to be a challenge, he thought. Had she never left his side, they would've grown together. But the moment she returned to the Leaf Village, Orochimaru knew that her potential and growth would diminish tremendously. If one were to stay at The Leaf Village long enough, it would simply make one's heart weaken. But never his. He never belonged.
Thus, as Orochimaru grew in strength, she might have lagged behind by a lot. He figured Anko might have newer tricks up her sleeves. But he, himself, was also a trickster, so it was hard to surprise him for he had seen many different things across several countries. Which is why he didn't underestimate himself even in his weakened state.
He heard a loud cry of anger. He smirked in the darkness. Orochimaru felt it. He would triumph due to her tendency to go berserk, making her movement sloppy and inefficient.
"I know you're there!" She cried out.
Orochimaru winced in the darkness over some unrelated reasons. He had lured her to him thinking of a way to win her back on his side. He reckoned things weren't going to go his way. But he found that it was still better to face her now than later.
Anko dropped from a tree, her khaki coat floated upward momentarily. She surveyed her surroundings and noticed there were a few night creatures out and about feeding somewhere. Her eyes shifted back to the tree. She lifted her hand forward and under her sleeve she summoned snakes which shot forward like a projectile, shattering said tree. Anko had finally found him but had reason to believe that he allowed himself to be found.
"You…" She said. That one word coated with disdain was also able to portray all her hatred. It was significantly hard to see in the dark. Orochimaru was nothing but a shadow. But she could make out his silhouette. Orochimaru was normally filled with opinions waiting to be let out. Which is how she figured something was very wrong.
He had to revise his strategy again due to the hatred he felt aimed towards him. The Leaf Village had a strong hold on her and it wasn't about to let go. He quickly accessed the situation and reevaluate her value to him. An idea popped into his head. Inside her body lies the truth. Orochimaru figured he could use her to find out why his curse kills most of those subjects he marks.
Only her body would work, he wanted to make an example out of her for becoming a traitor. But he wasn't about to confuse what he felt. Orochimaru was simply upset that he put so much time, dedication and effort into her unique training and growth, only to be betrayed. Other than that, he was emotionally unattached for sure.
He decided not to even waste his breath on someone who would soon perish. He dashed forward, a wicked smile on his face, and withdrew a dagger. But it was all too dark, and for the most part, his actions remained unseen. However, his two-handed dagger struck air as she managed to leap backward and outside of the range.
But his action gave her insight of his state. He was probably weak or injured. She knew most ninja had a misconception about him. Orochimaru led others to believe he was very aggressive in fights. But the truth was his talent lies in being very smooth in maneuvering away from danger. And his main trait was retreating for protection.
But the fact that he was quick to retaliate hinted an urgency to get this over with. And that translated into something she dared not admit to herself.
Thus she felt scared. The kind of fright one feels when thinking this was it, this is the end. Anko believed that tonight she might die here.
Anko placed as much distance between them. She resorted to a defensive form of fighting. Her anger diminished greatly and the fog cleared when it was evident that she had walked into a dangerous battle. She reminded herself that she had not trained with him in a long time. It did not help knowing this was a real fight.
Orochimaru scoffed, he continued to overwhelm her by closing in the distance with his daggers.
But why daggers when was known to use the sword of Kusanagi?
The sword of Kusanagi was a legendary sword he proudly obtained through his adventures and travels. He stored it inside his body and required chakra to materialize it. He would conjure it into battle by expelling it from his mouth in a careful manner, just like a magic trick. Which, again, required chakra.
It became evident to her that he was preserving his chakra for something he deemed more important.
And so, it was beginning to play out like a rehearsed routine. Orochimaru closed in, and she would react in time to dodge, but just barely. Even though Anko focused all her attention on the one-sided fight. There was an alteration of this routine for she was no longer able to dodge. Her stamina wore out.
Orochimaru struck her once more, this time his daggers ripped half a sleeve off her coat. Anko stumbled back as her hand went up to her arm. She felt a huge sting but the cut wasn't deep. It was subtle. Her body moved as though she was in a drunken state. Anko's heart froze as she fell to one knee now understanding what those daggers were for. Orochimaru used daggers with a poisonous attribute as a substitute. And it paralyzed her.
Nevertheless, her suspicions were confirmed. Orochimaru was reserving his chakra since he was unwilling to use his summons nor his poisonous techniques.
Her cursed mark pulsed as it tried to aid her using its dark powers. All it wanted was for its host to remain alive. Anko didn't give into it. The will of fire instilled in her burnt strong.
She fell forward in defeat as Orochimaru approached her. He still hadn't said a word to her.
Anko laid motionless on her stomach, wishing to rewind and redo this whole thing. She would've made different decisions, like going to Lord Hokage instead of rushing here. She could smell the forest up until the moment where she could almost no longer breathe.
Orochimaru finally spoke, but it was words of commands to someone hidden and unknown. She couldn't see. Anko felt herself being lifted by a stranger and taken somewhere in the opposite direction and away from home. Her curse mark stopped pulsing, and soon her eyelids closed. She never remembered slipping unconscious.