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Pupil of the Serpent	By : Mario Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 2255 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters contained herein. I make no money from the writing of this story.

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A/N: There weren't many changes to this chapter. I made a few cosmetic edits to make it mesh better with the previous rewritten chapters. I probably should have taken the time to make it a bit better, but I'm eager to get to writing new stuff after all this rehashing of chapters I've already written. If this is your first time reading the chapter, enjoy.

"Orochimaru-sensei?" Anko spoke as they slowly climbed one of the mountainous peaks that overlooked Kumogakure. This vantage point would allow them to penetrate the cloud cover that perpetually masked the village.

"Yes?" The one-word response was typical of his recent answers to her questions. Her teacher had been taciturn, even somewhat cold, since they’d begun this mission.
The day before, they'd split up with Jiraiya and Tsunade, who would take a more circuitous route to Kumogakure, erasing any evidence of their passing and silencing any ninja who might happen to take note of their presence in Lightning Country. Orochimaru and Anko were to infiltrate the village, gather the required information, and rendezvous with the two Sannin outside. Oddly enough, despite the fact that they would be completely surrounded by potential enemies, this part of the mission was the least likely to involve combat, which was why it had been assigned to them.
Anko had been happy to be alone with her teacher at first, but he had been silent and withdrawn, absorbed in his own inscrutable thoughts. Her attempts to engage him in conversation were usually rebuffed with a glare, and she worried that her clumsy attempts at romance had made him angry with her. They hadn't spoken about the kiss he'd given her at the river, back in Fire Country, and she knew somehow that the topic was forbidden. For Anko, the experience had been magical. Clearly, the feeling wasn't mutual, and now she almost regretted that wonderful moment of sheer bliss. Almost.
She longed for one of his rare smiles. A pat on the head. Anything that would show that she hadn’t permanently ruined everything between them.

"Why do we have to do this?" The question was soft and hesitant. She fully expected another dark glare, but she could bear his silence no longer.

"I already told you. Though we aren’t officially at war with Kumogakure, the Hokage wants us to keep an eye on their activities. They’ve proven themselves to be treacherous in the past, and ninja have long memories. We’re to find out if they have any hostile intentions towards Konoha."

Finding a suitable ridge, Orochimaru knelt down to survey the layout of the distant village. During the trip, he had exchanged his white robe for standard shinobi attire, including the green flak jacket typically worn by Konoha ninja. It was odd to see him that way, and Anko privately thought that the simple robe suited him more. The white garment, bleached free of any intruding color, seemed to symbolize his independence, his strength, and his supreme confidence.

"No, I understand that," said Anko, tugging at a lock of her dark hair as she tried to better phrase her question. “I mean, why do ninja do things like this? If we get caught, it would spark a war between Konoha and Kumogakure, wouldn't it?”

"Undoubtedly. That’s why Konoha’s best were sent. The consequences of failure are very high."

"But that’s what I don’t get. If we know it’s something they wouldn’t like, why do it at all? I know we’re afraid they might attack us, but they haven’t even done anything yet. So in a way, we're the ones who're causing problems."

"The enemy is hardly likely to show the kunai to the guest who walks in the front door," Orochimaru pointed out. "If we want to know what they’re planning, we can’t just ask them to tell us."
This was the most vocal he'd been in days, and Anko seized upon the subject. When they had discussions like this, her sensei always encouraged her to speak her mind and ask questions, and now she found herself warming to the topic.
"But isn’t that what’s wrong with the ninja world? Ninja always assume everyone’s an enemy before even giving them a chance—"

"Friends are people you can use, Anko. Everyone else is an enemy."
Anko bit her lip, looking down. "I . . . guess that’s true, isn’t it? But . . . why? Why can’t people be friends without using each other?"
She expected him to give her the exasperated look he often wore when she asked stupid questions, but to her surprise, he simply smiled. A strange, sad smile that made him look heartbreakingly beautiful. "It has to do with evil," he explained. "Because there are evil people in the world, we can’t trust everyone. And because we don’t know who is evil and who is not, we can’t trust anyone, unless they’re under our complete control."

She considered that for a while. "Why don't we figure out who all the evil people are, then?"
"What is evil?"
The girl paused, taken aback by the question. She started to answer, then shook her head, obviously confused.

"Evil is not something that exists of itself. It is not an absolute concept." Anko gave him a puzzled look, and he smiled. "I’ll explain. If someone was trying to kill you, would that make them evil?"

"Well . . . yes. Killing is evil, isn’t it?"

Orochimaru shook his head. "Then are you evil, Anko? You killed that Mist-nin." His voice wasn’t accusing, but matter-of-fact.

Anko's felt a shiver go through her. I am the predator.
"But he was trying to kill you." Her eyes narrowed. "And he said something he shouldn't have. He was the evil one."
"So you’re not evil because your actions were justified," Orochimaru reasoned. "Is that what you’re saying?"
The girl nodded, though her face was still a bit pale.

"You're right, of course. But only from your own perspective. Humans can justify anything to themselves; we are never evil in our own eyes. The only ones we can see as evil are other people. Evil, you see, is anything that a person doesn't like or doesn't understand. It’s different for each person—what’s good and beautiful in the eyes of one person may be wretched and vile in the eyes of another. As long as there are even two humans in the world, evil will exist."

Anko's brow furrowed. "So there are other people who think Orochimaru-sensei is a monster?" Her voice held a strange, unidentifiable note.

"Of course. I'm surprised you haven't heard them before now, even in Konoha. Don't you notice the people who whisper when I walk by? I doubt they're toasting my health."
Anko’s light brown eyes turned dark, her expression hardening. "Then those people are evil, Sensei," she whispered. "Maybe I should kill them, too."

"Don’t act so scary, or they'll be whispering about you too, before long," said Orochimaru, though his expression was strangely proud, and there was a faint smile on his pale lips. "Besides . . . I’ve already thought of a way to get rid of evil, so you don't have to worry about such things."
Anko blinked in surprise. "But I thought you said we couldn’t—"

"Yes. For normal people, it is quite impossible to get rid of evil. For example, what are your goals, Anko?"

The small kunoichi tapped her cheek with a finger, looking thoughtful. "Um, let’s see . . . To get stronger than everyone, except Orochimaru-sensei, of course. To make Orochimaru-sensei proud of me. Oh, and to make Orochimaru-sensei accept me as his woman."

Orochimaru sighed. "Those goals are really creepy. Are you some sort of stalker?"

"Yup!" Anko answered proudly. The snake Sannin shook his head despairingly.

"Well, they’ll do as an example. Disregarding that frightening last goal, don’t you realize that becoming stronger than everyone and doing things that make me proud of you will create a lot of enemies for you? Therefore, your goals will not get rid of evil."

"Does Orochimaru-sensei have a different kind of goal, then?" she asked wonderingly.

He answered with a question of his own. "Do you believe in God, Anko?"

The little girl frowned. "Um . . . I’ve never thought about it. Should I?"

He scoffed. "Of course not. If something like God existed, and He really hated evil as people say, He would be powerful enough to get rid of evil and make people get along peacefully. The existence of God is only a convenient fairytale created by people too weak to protect themselves from the things they see as evil."

Anko nodded her agreement, but it was clear that she didn’t understand the point he was trying to make.

"But if someone were to become God, he would be able to change things. He could get rid of whatever he saw as evil, and protect the things that are good. In order to become a god, however, one needs to acquire power and knowledge. An enormous amount of power . . . such as mastery over every jutsu that has ever been or will ever be created. An entity like that could be fittingly called the ‘Ultimate Being’."

Anko stared at her teacher in open-mouthed wonder, her eyes filling with admiration and awe. If it had been anyone else, she would have laughed in their face. But Orochimaru-sensei could do anything. "Are you going to become God, then, Orochimaru-sensei?"

He smiled. "That sounds a bit arrogant, don't you think? Let's just say that I also want to become stronger."

It took about an hour for them to approach the village. Security was much tighter than it was in Konoha—there were regular patrols around the perimeter, and they had to be careful so as not to be discovered. Eventually, however, they managed to sneak up to the village walls.
"There’s a fairly large crack in the wall to the south," the Sannin noted. "We should be able to get in."

Anko merely nodded, saving her breath. The air was thin at this high elevation, making it difficult to get enough oxygen, especially considering that they’d had to exert themselves several times to avoid detection by the ninja on guard duty.

Moving silently along the wall, Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction as he got a closer look at the crack. It was small enough that it probably hadn’t been discovered yet, meaning that their entry would be less likely to be noticed. Orochimaru quickly formed the necessary hand seals.

"Henge no Jutsu."

There was a brief cloud of smoke, and when it cleared, a small snake, of the same dun color of the rocks, sat coiled in Orochimaru’s place. The snake flicked its tongue at Anko once, then slithered through the crack in the wall.

"Hey! Wait up, Orochimaru-sensei!" Anko formed her own seals. "Henge no Jutsu!" A moment later, a second snake followed the first.

The two serpents managed to get behind a building without anyone noticing, where they resumed their original forms.

"Disguising ourselves as ninja would be the best way to get into any place where we’re likely to hear anything important, but it’s too risky. We don’t know any of the ninja here well enough to impersonate them," Orochimaru explained in a whisper. "We’ll split up and try to pass for ordinary villagers. Transform once I’ve left. That way, if anyone catches one of us, we won’t be able to give away the other’s appearance."

Anko nodded, completely serious now that the mission had truly begun.

"We’ll gather as much information as we can, then meet back here at dusk. If I don’t come, then don’t try to look for me; get out immediately. Jiraiya and Tsunade should be nearby by now, so look for them once you escape."
"I won’t let you down, Orochimaru-sensei."

He nodded, then turned and walked away, quickly becoming lost in the perpetual misty clouds that moved through the village. Taking a deep breath, Anko walked in the opposite direction, ready to face her first real mission.

This time, I’ll definitely make Orochimaru-sensei look at me!

A/N: I know that your time is valuable, and that it can be difficult to find the right words to review a story. Therefore, I do understand when people choose not to review. However, I love hearing from my readers, so if you have a few moments, let me know what you think of the story. I'll respond to each and every review, and I don't take offense at criticism or even flames (there's usually a grain of truth involved in them, and when I've made someone angry enough to flame me, it can be a good idea to listen). All comments are welcome! I hope to see you next chapter!
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Pupil of the Serpent