A/N:

Thanks for so much love and support;
Really, you made my days fun.
Sorry for late upload, but you know this is our festive season, so I was really busy.

Chapter 2: Serpents of a Shared Fate

The silence between the three of them stretched, thick with tension and unspoken words. Naruto's heart still raced from the unexpected encounter with Medusa, the strange woman who seemed to understand his pain in ways no one else ever had. Anko, standing protectively by his side, was less convinced, her sharp eyes never leaving Medusa's serpentine hair as the wind stirred the air around them.

The hissing of the snakes in Medusa's hair grew softer, almost contemplative, as she took in the fierce kunoichi before her. Her golden eyes lingered on Anko for a moment longer than usual. There was something… familiar about her. Not in appearance, but in the aura she carried—an unmistakable scent of something dark, something ancient, something reptilian.

"You," Medusa said softly, her voice curious but firm, "you smell like snakes."

Anko stiffened, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "And what's it to you, snake lady? Don't tell me you're jealous of my natural scent." Her tone was sarcastic, but there was an edge to it, a layer of defensiveness that Naruto couldn't quite place.

Medusa didn't react to the jab, her gaze still fixed on Anko with quiet intensity. "It's not just the scent," she said, her voice low but sharp. "There's a weight around your heart. A darkness, like his…" She nodded toward Naruto, who blinked in surprise. "But it's different. It's… familiar to me."

Anko's body went rigid, her eyes flashing with something that looked almost like anger, but was mixed with something else. Something closer to pain. She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she tried to shake off the sudden discomfort.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Anko muttered, but the tension in her voice betrayed her. "Maybe you're sniffing too hard with that snake hair of yours."

But Medusa wasn't fooled. She stepped closer, her serpents hissing softly, but her expression remained calm, almost sympathetic. "It's not just a smell. There's something inside you, something that calls to me. A curse, perhaps? A bond with something dark and serpentine, a power that's tied to your very being."

Naruto's gaze flicked between the two women, his confusion growing. "Anko-sensei?" he asked hesitantly, sensing something deeper in the conversation. "What's she talking about?"

Anko's eyes snapped to Naruto, and for a brief moment, her expression softened, but it quickly hardened again. She wasn't used to being questioned about her past, and especially not by someone who shared a pain so similar to hers. Her hand instinctively brushed against the mark on her neck—the cursed seal that had haunted her for years, a mark left by the man who had once been her sensei, Orochimaru.

"It's nothing," she said sharply, but her fingers lingered over the cursed seal as if she could feel its weight more than usual. "Just some old scars, that's all."

Medusa's eyes followed Anko's hand, her serpents hissing softly in understanding. "Old scars leave the deepest wounds," she said quietly. "And your pain… it's like his." Her gaze shifted to Naruto once more, her golden eyes filled with a sorrow that seemed far older than either of them could comprehend. "A pain born of betrayal, of being used for something beyond your control. You both carry it, but in different ways."

Anko flinched, her jaw tightening as Medusa's words hit too close to home. "You don't know anything about me," she snapped, but the bite in her voice was weaker now, tinged with something more vulnerable.

Medusa's gaze softened, her serpents stilling. "Perhaps not," she admitted. "But I know what it's like to be cursed, to be made into something you never wanted to be. I was once loved, cherished even, but that was taken from me… just as it was taken from you."

Anko's eyes widened, the mask of bravado slipping just for a second. Naruto noticed the slight tremble in her hands, the way she swallowed hard before forcing her usual smirk back into place.

"Yeah, well, we all have our sob stories, don't we?" Anko said, her voice lighter, but still strained. "Doesn't mean I need a therapy session with a mythical snake lady."

But even as she said it, there was something in Anko's voice that betrayed her, a small crack in the tough exterior she'd built around herself for years. Naruto, watching quietly, felt a strange kinship with her at that moment. He'd always admired Anko's wild, carefree attitude, but seeing this side of her—this vulnerable, guarded part of her—made him realize that she, too, was carrying a burden that few others could understand.

"Anko-sensei," Naruto said quietly, his voice hesitant but filled with concern, "you don't have to hide it from me. I… I get it. The pain, I mean. I know what it's like to feel like you're always fighting something inside you."

Anko froze, her eyes meeting Naruto's. For a moment, she looked like she wanted to snap at him, to brush him off like she usually did, but something in his eyes stopped her. He wasn't just some clueless kid anymore. He understood.

She let out a long sigh, her shoulders slumping slightly as the weight of her past seemed to press down on her. "It's complicated, kid," she said softly. "You don't need to get involved in my mess."

Medusa watched them both with quiet understanding. "You carry the marks of someone else's cruelty," she said, her voice soft but firm. "Both of you. You were used, just as I was."

Anko's lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn't argue. Instead, she looked out at the horizon, her hand still resting on the cursed seal. "Yeah, well," she muttered, "we don't always get to choose what happens to us, do we?"

Naruto's heart ached for her. He knew what it was like to carry something that wasn't your fault, to be hated for something you couldn't control. But hearing it from Anko, someone who had always seemed so strong, so untouchable—it made him feel less alone.

Medusa's gaze shifted back to Naruto, her voice softening. "You both carry the weight of others' sins. But you don't have to carry it alone."

Naruto blinked, surprised by the warmth in her words. For so long, he had felt like he was alone in his struggle, like no one could truly understand what it was like to bear the Kyuubi's curse. But here, standing before him, were two people who knew what it meant to be burdened by something dark and unwanted.

Anko looked at Medusa, her eyes narrowing slightly. "And what about you? You seem pretty cozy with all your snake powers."

Medusa's lips curled into a sad smile. "I was cursed long ago," she said quietly. "Turned into a monster by the very gods I once served. My beauty, my life, everything I held dear—taken from me in an instant. I became a symbol of fear, of death, and in my rage, I turned many to stone. But in the end, I was just as much a victim as those I cursed."

Anko raised an eyebrow, a small scoff escaping her lips. "So, you're saying we're all part of the same club, huh? The 'cursed by life' club?"

Medusa chuckled softly, though the sound was laced with bitterness. "Perhaps. But even in the darkest of curses, there is a chance for redemption. If you are willing to seek it."

Anko didn't respond right away. She simply stared at Medusa, her expression unreadable. But Naruto saw something shift in her eyes—something that mirrored the change he felt within himself. A small glimmer of hope, buried beneath layers of pain and sarcasm, but still there.

"Redemption, huh?" Anko muttered, her voice low. "Not sure that's in the cards for people like us."

Naruto, however, felt a spark of determination flare to life inside him. He clenched his fists, his voice firm as he spoke. "It doesn't matter how cursed we are. We can still fight. We can still find our own path."

Medusa smiled softly, her gaze lingering on the boy who had drawn her to this world. "Yes," she said quietly. "You can. And together, perhaps, you can find the strength to overcome even the darkest of fates."

As the three stood there, the weight of their shared pain hanging in the air, an unspoken bond began to form—a bond forged not just in suffering, but in the shared hope of redemption.

To be continued…