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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.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
A/N: I made a few minor edits to this chapter. I brushed up the ending, because I felt like I rushed it when I initially wrote the chapter, due to fatigue. A familiar bit of unwitting humor also makes its return (for the last time, I promise). After the time-skip that comes next chapter, the story takes a much more serious turn . . . though hopefully we can still have a lot of fun at the expense of one or both of our protagonists!
Since I deleted the old chapters to add a new one, and now I'm re-uploading this one, I know it will cause the story to be displayed at the top of the list like a newly-updated story. I'm really sorry about that; I refrained from deleting the old chapters for as long as possible for that exact reason—I didn't know when I was going to need to add a new chapter, and I wanted to have room to just edit chapters, rather than actually add additional ones, since I didn't want anyone to think that the story was being updated until I was through rewriting the prior chapters. To make up for any disappointment, I promise to try and work really hard to actually post "new" material soon. If you're an older reader who's waiting for the next chapter and skipped to this one wondering what was up, consider going back and rereading the story from the beginning. There's a lot of new stuff; most of the middle chapters are entirely rewritten!

To the awesome people who left me a review:
@Mizuru007: Woah!! Hello, hello; I can hardly believe I'm hearing from you again! It's unbelievably awesome to see your name on a recent review! I'm not doing too badly; how are you? While I do hope your focus on life brought you bucket-loads of success, fame, and fortune, I must admit that I, for one, am happy to see you "stumble" back to my humble story. The good news about this three-year hiatus is that I've had a lot of time to think about where the story's going and how to get there, so you'll definitely see more frequent updates. Thanks for the kind words of support; you're the best!
@Krissael: I'm glad you like the story! Congratulations on posting your first fic; I know from personal experience that the move from that .doc(x) file on your personal computer to the Internet can be a tough one. I almost obliterated this story half a dozen times out of embarrassment. I read your story, and I quite enjoyed it! Keep up the great work; I'm looking forward to seeing how the story takes shape!

The odd ninja was silent for a few moments, staring down at his diminutive challenger. He adjusted his sunglasses with one finger, pushing them up along his nose.
"Did Bee hear you right, little girl? You want to fight me?" His voice was a mixture of confusion and suppressed laughter.
"That's right," Anko confirmed, her amber eyes narrowing at his tone.
The man's lips split in an amused grin. "These swords of mine ain't just for show . . . a kid like you wouldn't stand a chance, yo!" He gave her a knowing look. "Besides, I thought you weren't a ninja."
Anko growled. "Okay, I lied about that," she admitted impatiently. "And don't look down on me because I'm small. My sensei is a hundred times stronger than you, and I'm almost as good as he is."
All right, so maybe that was a bit of a stretch. She still wasn't someone this moron could take lightly!
"Strong your sensei may be, but you're just a little baby!" Bee waved his hands in the air as he rhymed. "A kid challenging me to a fight . . . it just ain't right!"
"Why, you . . ." Anko put her hands on her hips, glaring up at him. "Fight me," she insisted again, stubbornly.
"No way." The rapping ninja crossed his arms over his chest.
"Come on!"
"Nuh-uh."
The dark-haired kunoichi ground her teeth. This wasn't going as planned . . . not that she'd had much of a plan to begin with. It was time to raise the stakes.
"You're just scared," Anko taunted, deliberately adopting her most irritating tone—the one she used to needle Orochimaru-sensei when it pleased her to play the brat. "Is that it? Are you scared of getting beaten by a kid?"
Bee seemed to ignore her, starting to saunter away. "I don't have time to play; I got better things to do today, yeah."
"Your sunglasses are ugly!" the girl yelled at his retreating back. She was drawing stares from passerby now, but she ignored them, determined to provoke her target.
The man paused for a moment as he retreated, his shoulders stiffening. After a moment, he continued walking. A devious smile appeared on Anko's face; months spent in the company of her teacher had made her intimately familiar with the tiny signs that appeared when someone was trying not to lose their temper . . . and she could already tell that this Bee did not even have a fraction of Orochimaru's restraint.
"You probably weren't worth fighting anyway; I've heard that most people think you're the weakest ninja in the village," she continued, now thoroughly in her element. With aplomb, she delivered the final blow. "Oh, and your rapping sucks."
Finally, Bee came to a complete stop. Slowly, he turned around, then marched back over to Anko. Very deliberately, he knelt down so that he was face to face with his tiny tormentor. A vein pulsed in his temple, and his teeth were clenched.
"That's it," he barked. "Bee tried to play nice, but your heart's made of ice! I don't care how little you are; I'm gonna crush you, kill you, and stomp you dead, fool! Wheeee!"
There were murmurs from those nearby who had stopped to watch the confrontation. "Bee-sama's lost it again," muttered one shinobi. "Someone get Ay-sama; he's the only one who can calm him down when he's like this."
Hearing this, Bee looked around, taking note of his surroundings and the growing crowd around them. "I don't want to get Brother's Iron Claw," he muttered. "We'll go somewhere else and then I'll break your jaw." Before Anko could react, he grabbed her by the back of her shirt, leaping into the air.

"Your barrier is disgusting, as usual," Orochimaru noted, slipping out of his disguise as a weathered, plain-featured man with drab brown hair. His now-golden eyes surveyed his surroundings—the inside of a toad's stomach—with distaste.
"Not so loud; you'll wake her," replied a grinning Jiraiya, gesturing over his shoulder at Tsunade, who was fast asleep, curled up with her back against a soft cushion of toad stomach lining. She seemed perfectly comfortable with the decor—not surprising, given the number of times they'd been forced to take shelter in the belly of one of Jiraiya's friends from Mount Myouboku. "Best to let her rest; she used a lot of chakra healing the both of us, and we've been travelling hard since then. She acts tough, but I know this mission's been hard on her . . . physically and emotionally."
The snake Sannin nodded, but Jiraiya could tell he was distracted with other thoughts. It didn't take him long to guess what they were, given the absence of a certain energetic kunoichi at Orochimaru's side.
"Everything's all right, I hope?" he asked, frowning. "Where's Anko-chan? Did you find out anything?"
"She was supposed to meet with me, but she wasn't at the rendezvous point when I checked," answered Orochimaru, the tiniest hint of . . . something creeping into his normally-calm voice. Was it concern? "I told her to gather information by disguising herself as a civilian. That should have kept her out of trouble; there's no way she'd hear anything important outside the Raikage's inner circle. She's probably just goofing off somewhere."
Once again, Jiraiya, who knew his friend and former teammate well, could only wonder at the drastic changes he'd seen in Orochimaru since the serpent shinobi had taken on Anko as his student. True, he had still come to report instead of looking for her; he was still putting the mission before anything else . . . but he wanted to go and find her. The toad Sannin could see the vague worry in his companion's golden eyes as Orochimaru briefed him on the information he'd discovered, could hear the growing agitation in his voice.
" . . . they've got some vague plans to try and get their hands on the Byakugan, it seems," Orochimaru concluded, now actually pacing back and forth within the toad's stomach, though he didn't seem conscious of his action. "Nothing definite, but they've certainly tightened security quite a bit. I don't think we'll get much more by staying here. Sarutobi-sensei should probably send an envoy; something to remind the Raikage that Konoha has its eye on him."
Jiraiya nodded, but remained silent, sensing that there was something else that his teammate wanted to say.
"I'm going back," Orochimaru said at last, his voice controlled and casual. "It's possible that Anko's simply running late; I'll check the meeting place again."
"Be careful," replied Jiraiya, barely managing to hide his smile, though he was also a bit worried about the kunoichi's disappearance.
With a curt nod, the pale shinobi turned and left the barrier, melding into the growing dusk.

Anko was still dizzy from her whirlwind trip through the streets of Kumogakure as she surveyed her new surroundings, which were apparently Bee's choice of battlefield. The enraged shinobi had brought (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say dragged) her to a desolate, rocky area, apparently some distance from the village proper. She could still dimly make out the buildings of the village itself in the fading sunset, but she couldn't recognize any landmarks that might provide some clue to what direction they might have gone. Still, it was perfect that he'd managed to take them to such an isolated place. She'd be able to leave without anyone noticing.
He sure moves fast, for such a big guy.
Anko decided to take her opponent more seriously. He might be a failure at rapping and fashion sense, but it didn't necessarily follow that he was weak. After all, Jiraiya seemed harmless most of the time, yet he'd managed to hold off an entire platoon of enemy ninja.
"Ready for a beatdown? I'll knock you out of town!" Bee was standing several feet away, jabbing the air with mock punches.
"Wait a second," called Anko. "I need to ask you something first."
"Huh? What is it?"
"I've heard you have a really powerful sword. It's not fair if you use that when we fight; I don't even have a weapon."
The muscular shinobi reached up, scratching his blond hair. "You mean this?" he asked, drawing the sword at his waist. She squinted at it, trying to determine if it really was some kind of legendary artifact. It had a strange, double-edged blade, devoid of any distinguishing ornamentation, and a wrapped hilt.
To her surprise, Bee tossed the sword aside with a negligent shrug. Her eyes went wide as the blade fell, point first, and drove deeply into the rocky surface of the ground, cutting through stone and hard-packed earth as easily as if it were water. The sword was special!
"I don't use it anyway," remarked her opponent. "Doesn't fit with my style, yo." He drew his other two swords, and tossed them to the ground as well. "Besides, I don't need swords for this fight; you're nothing but a little mite!"
Another time, Anko might have bristled at the insult, but at the moment, she could scarcely hold back her grin. A swordsman without swords? It would be no problem to defeat him using all the jutsu Orochimaru-sensei had taught her!
"If I win, I want the sword."
"What would you do with it? Bee's swords can cut a candle wick. You can't even swing a stick!"
"I want it," Anko repeated stubbornly.
"All right, you troublesome mite."
Now Anko did grin. The sword was as good as hers!
"Here I come!" she shouted, running forward. When she reached the blond shinobi, she threw a quick jab, expecting him to dodge or block. To her surprise, she hit him squarely in the chest—he hadn't moved. Alarmed, Anko danced backward, already knowing it was too late. She was wide open for a counter.
Instead of pursuing her, however, Bee pulled out his little book once more, an expression of intense concentration upon his face.
"Punches from weaklings I don't even feel . . . it's like my body is made of steel. Yeah . . ."
He began scribbling furiously, apparently intent on recording his newest rhyme.
The little kunoichi glared at him, miffed. "Hey! Pay attention!"
Bee ignored her, still writing. "This little girl won't quit her yappin' . . . but it won't distract me from my rappin'."
With a snarl, Anko ran forward once more, this time forming a series of hand seals. As she neared her opponent, she sucked in a deep breath.
Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!
Fueled by her anger, the flames that issued from her mouth were white-hot, and they surged towards the distracted shinobi . . . except he somehow wasn't there anymore. She turned, ducking into a defensive posture, but it was too late. Bee's rhyme book smacked her atop the head with enough force to send her flying face-first into the dirt. Without rising from the ground, she rolled over onto her back, breathing another stream of fire at the infuriating ninja, but he dodged by taking a step back, yawning theatrically as the flames missed him by inches.
The battle continued for several minutes, with Anko growing more frustrated with each moment. She seemed incapable of landing a single hit, and he wasn't even trying!
"Mini-Lariat!"
Bee lunged forward, jabbing Anko's forehead with his finger. She yelped as she was knocked off her feet, tumbling head over heels until she came to rest on her back several feet away. Though she wasn't hurt beyond a few bruises, she didn't get up.
Why? Why am I never strong enough? I trained hard . . .
"You okay?" Bee's sunglasses stared down at her, his worried face filling her field of vision. "Bee needs more practice on that one; it's still too strong, yo."
Anko groaned. "I get it already; you're stronger than me. So leave me alone or finish me off."
To her surprise, he did neither of these things. Instead, he offered his hand. Hesitantly, she took it, letting him help her into a sitting position. He took a seat next to her on the ground, though he remained silent. Though night had fallen, there were none of the sounds of forest animals that Anko had grown accustomed to in Fire Country.
"Hey," she said, breaking the silence after a moment. "Can you tell me how to get stronger?"
The Cloud shinobi glanced over at her, though it was hard to make out his expression in the darkness. "Bee thinks you're plenty strong already, uh-huh."
She laughed, not believing him. He'd beaten her with one finger, for crying out loud. "Come on. I want to be really strong, like you."
He went quiet for a few seconds, then spoke. "A sword won't make you strong. You can't just hurry, the path is long."
"I know that, but . . ." The girl hesitated for a moment, but there was something about this man that made her want to trust him. "I need to get stronger. There's someone I have to catch up to. He's the one I wanted to give the sword to."
"Anko . . . Anko . . ." Bee muttered her name to himself.
"What?" She glanced over at him curiously.
"I was trying to think of a rhyme for a strong, determined ninja," he replied, getting to his feet. "But I can't come up with anything. Maybe it'll come to me later, yeah."
Anko blushed faintly, not having expected that. "Um . . ."
He moved over to where he had discarded his swords, returning the two that he wore on his back to their proper place. With that, he began to walk away. The young kunoichi got to her feet, running after him.
"Bee-san," she called, "you forgot your other sword!"
He glanced back over his shoulder. "I lost the Kusanagi, yeah . . . where could it be? Oh, well, it didn't fit my super cool style, anyway . . . wheee!"
With a backwards wave, he departed into the night, leaving a stunned Anko staring after him. When she finally regained her senses, she looked down at the sword embedded in the ground, then grasped the hilt with both hands and pulled it out. Clutching the sword to herself tightly, she ran back towards the village.

The man who was waiting for her at the rendezvous point did not look like her sensei, but Anko wasn't confused by that. What did surprise her was that he was there, still waiting, nearly two hours past the appointed meeting time. She'd expected to have to search for him.
"You're late." There was a strange note in his voice that Anko hadn't heard before.
"I know," she agreed. "But I brought a present for you, Sensei." She held the sword out to him, watching him expectantly.
Brown eyes narrowed, then widened, changing to gold as her teacher released his transformation jutsu.
"This is . . . !"
He took the sword, holding it up to catch the light of the moon. His features shone palely in the reflected light of the sword, giving them a luminous, ethereal cast. He stared at the blade several for several moments in disbelief. It matched all the descriptions of the Kusanagi Sword, a legendary weapon he'd heard had found its way into the possession of the Hidden Cloud. He'd even given some thought to acquiring it while he was there, but had given up the idea as hopeless. After all, it should have been guarded too carefully to steal. How could Anko possibly have managed to get it? Elation surged within him, and he forced himself to take several deep, calming breaths.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked, carefully keeping his voice neutral.
"Um . . . I heard that it was the Sword of Kusanagi." She stared at the ground uncertainly. "I thought you would like it. Do you?"
"Anko, this is the best gift anyone's ever given me," he breathed. Anko looked up, surprised, then beamed. "How did you get it?"
She giggled. "I asked for it! A nice ninja gave it to me."
He shook his head slowly, a smile forming on his lips. He reached out, placing a hand on her head. "You are an interesting child, Anko."
Anko grinned, but her smile soon faded, to be replaced once more with the uncertain expression.
"What is it?"
"Um . . . I was wondering . . ." There was a blush on her cheeks. "Could we . . . put it in a sheath . . . together?"
Orochimaru stared at her for several moments. Then he began to laugh silently, his shoulders shaking with the effort of containing his mirth.
"What's so funny?" she demanded, a bit hurt. He didn't have to laugh . . .
"Nothing," he replied, still laughing. "Yes, Anko. We can put the sword in a sheath."
Her eyes shone. "Really?"
"Yes."
She threw her arms around him happily, squeezing tightly. To her shock, he returned the hug, wrapping one arm lightly around her shoulders.
"That's my Anko," he whispered, his voice filled with an intoxicating mixture of pride and exultation. "Let's go home."
Anko smiled contentedly. Yes . . . she was home.

A/N: I like Bee (B, if you prefer?) just as much as the next person, but I cannot handle trying to write him. Stopping after each sentence to ask myself, "Did that rhyme . . . ?" was not my idea of a good time. Thankfully, terrible rhymes are perfectly in-character, because I couldn't imagine trying to come up with good ones. I trade cookies (and pieces of my soul) for reviews . . .
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Pupil of the Serpent