Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Pupil of the Serpent	By : Mario Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 2253 -:- 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
- 4
- 5
- 6
A/N: This chapter pretty much received a complete rewrite in the course of my editing. I haven't changed the overall plot at all, but I feel like I nailed down the characters just a bit better this time around.

To my reviewers:
@Lynn: Hehe. It's actually quite difficult to keep Orochimaru from becoming a complete villian - something in his nature just cries out for it. I love reviews, so keep 'em coming!
@Small Fox: Yes, those were my thoughts exactly. It fits with Orochimaru's turn to the dark side, anyway. I'm glad that the characters are believable, I always worry about that. Thanks for the feedback, and please continue to review.
@weaselchan: Yes, sir/ma'am, updating now! Sorry it took so long, I ended up rewriting half of the chapter after deciding I wasn't satisfied with it. As always, I look forward to your next review! :)

Anko froze, hugging the branch tightly with her body. She hadn't made any noise; hadn't done anything to give herself away. So how had she been caught so easily? Maybe they didn't know she was there. Maybe they were just guessing, and if she came out now, they would know she had been listening in.
Maybe I'm in big trouble, thought Anko ruefully. She didn't have time to come to a decision on whether to reveal herself before the branch she was lying upon tilted downward, bending under a sudden weight. Anko looked behind herself to see the white-haired ninja that had been standing below her just moments ago, balancing easily on the thin branch.
"Yo," he greeted her. "Why don't you come on down and join us?"
Anko stiffened before nodding reluctantly. Refusal wasn't really an option, considering the situation. She shimmied down the tree trunk to meet the unreadable gazes of the other two ninja in the clearing. Orochimaru shook his head but said nothing, while the blonde kunoichi looked angry, her expression hard and set. Jiraiya, at least, seemed sympathetic. The woman spoke first. "Not much of a spy, are you? What did you hear?"
"I . . ." Anko flushed, feeling foolish and very much a child in front of these three great ninja. She glanced over at her teacher, her expression pleading, but no support was forthcoming. She could almost hear his voice as she looked into his emotionless face. "I won't save you from your own stupidity. If you're weak, I'll leave you behind." She sucked in a deep breath and answered. "I didn't hear much. Something about a mission."
The woman's brown eyes flashed. "If you're unable to do something as simple as hide your chakra when you're eavesdropping, you have no place anywhere outside the Academy." She clenched a fist as she spoke, her tone carrying a deep and unmistakable pain. "Stupid little kids like you . . . are the first ones to die." She turned her head to fix Orochimaru with an icy stare, her voice falling to a whisper. "Isn't that right, Orochimaru?"
The pale shinobi crossed his arms over his chest, his expression remaining impassive. Jiraiya looked between his two former teammates with a worried expression. He opened his mouth as if he would say something, but finally looked down without speaking. For her part, Anko felt completely lost. There was obviously something going on here that she wasn't aware of; some information that she wasn't privy to. Still, she wished that Orochimaru-sensei would at least say something to defend her abilities. She wasn't a useless little child . . . was she? Was that how he saw her?
"I won't die. Orochimaru-sensei wouldn't let anything happen to me." Anko knew that she should probably keep her mouth shut, but she wanted so badly to hear him agree; wanted to hear the confirmation that he was important to him.
A dreadful silence fell over the clearing, and she immediately knew that she'd made a mistake in speaking. The woman's lips twisted upwards in a chilling smile, and she spoke so softly that Anko had to strain to hear the words.
"Wouldn't he?" She looked down at Anko, her eyes cold and mocking. Anko didn't like the way the woman was looking at her, and she especially didn't like the implications of the kunoichi's words. Orochimaru-sensei cared about her. He wouldn't leave her behind.
"No, he wouldn't!" Anko placed her hands on her hips, returning the woman's stare defiantly. "If you think that he would, then you don't know the first thing about him!"
Tsunade threw back her head and began to laugh. The laughter echoed through the otherwise-silent forest with a harsh loudness that seemed entirely out of place. Jiraiya shut his eyes tightly for a moment as if he could somehow block out the sound, and even Orochimaru finally glanced away, as if he had seen something he could no longer bear to look at.
"You stupid little girl," she whispered, her voice oddly gentle. "You're just like him, aren't you?" Tears were forming in her eyes now, but she blinked them back. "You'll do something silly, expecting Orochimaru to save you if something goes wrong . . . but he won't be there. He'll watch you die, and do nothing. Nothing."
Anko trembled at the conviction in the older kunoichi's voice. She wanted to scream, to lash out and hit the woman, to deny the words with every fiber of her being . . . but she could not. They struck deep at the focal point of all her doubts—the terrible, gnawing fear that Orochimaru really didn't care. That he could abandon her without a shred of emotion. "If you're weak, I'll leave you behind." Once more, she turned pleading eyes on her teacher, silently begging him to say something; a single word of reassurance. Please, Orochimaru-sensei . . .
Orochimaru said nothing.
"Tsunade!" Jiraiya, perhaps prompted by the stricken expression on Anko's face, finally spoke. "Anko-chan is Orochimaru's student. Whatever your feelings about him may be, you have no right—"
"No right?" Tsunade's voice was deadly quiet. "My brother was murdered, and you dare to tell me I have no right to confront the one responsible?"
"The ones responsible were enemy shinobi! You told Sarutobi-sensei that you had gotten over this. You said you wanted to make up with Orochimaru and personally asked that he assign you to the mission!"
"Yes," she agreed. "I knew that Sensei would believe that, well-meaning fool that he is. He could never believe anything ill of his favorite student, could he? Well, let me tell you this now: I will never be 'over it'. Not until I see Nawaki avenged! That's why I came here!" She clenched a fist so tightly that her knuckles turned completely white.
Jiraiya's face hardened. "I won't let you." His voice was resolute, but held an undercurrent of pleading. "Don't do this to yourself, Tsunade. There's nothing at the end of this road."
"Don't get in my way, Jiraiya. You have nothing to do with this."
Something within Anko snapped. The inner conflict that had held her paralyzed, a helpless spectator, was resolved all at once. Leaping in front of her sensei, she drew a kunai from the pouch she carried at her waist, holding it before her, ready to defend herself and her teacher. "I believe in Orochimaru-sensei," she whispered. "I won't let you hurt him."
Behind her, Orochimaru started in surprise, though she didn't notice.
Tsunade's fist tightened still further, vibrating minutely from the muscle strain. "It wasn't my intention to do this in front of you, but it can't be helped. Move, girl."
Anko inhaled deeply, letting her body fall into the taijutsu stance that Orochimaru had taught her; muscles relaxed, yet ready to explode into action at a moment's notice. Her eyes met Tsunade's, showing her determination. "I won't."
"Then I'll move you!"
Faster than Anko had known was possible, the kunoichi sprang forward, nearly covering the distance between them before she had a chance to react. Knowing that it was too late to guard, she closed her eyes, bracing herself for whatever impact would come, but found herself shifted to the side by a firm hand. When she opened her eyes, Orochimaru stood in front of her, one hand still on her shoulder, the other grasping Tsunade's hand by the wrist. Though his hold appeared gentle, even delicate, the powerful woman struggled to break the grip.
"Let go of me!" She twisted her hand, jabbing two fingers into Orochimaru's wrist in a way which caused him to give a quiet hiss. She jerked her arm free, taking a couple of steps backwards.
Anko looked up at the snake Sannin, her eyes filled with a mixture of emotions. "Sensei . . . "
"Stay back, Anko." His voice was surprisingly calm. "This is none of your concern."
Tsunade sneered, fury twisting her pretty features until they were almost unrecognizable. "None of her concern, huh? I think she should know what happens to kids who apprentice with you."
This took Anko completely by surprise. Orochimaru-sensei had other students . . . ? She hadn't known. It was strange to think of him teaching anyone else. Like imagining him as a kid in an Academy class—the image just didn't fit. Though they had been together for less than half a year, it was difficult to think of a time when he hadn't been her sensei. The memories were almost surreal, as if they had come from another lifetime.
"Tsunade . . ." Jiraiya started again, but she cut him off with a furious snarl.
"Don't you think she has the right to hear about it, Jiraiya? It's her life in his hands, after all." She glared at the white-haired shinobi. "You and Sensei . . . you love him so much you can forgive him anything, it seems. But you weren't there. When he told me what had happened, he didn't look sad. He didn't have any emotion at all. It was like he was telling me that he'd lost his spare change. He didn't even care!"
"Maybe she does have the right to hear the story," Jiraiya said, strain evident in his voice. "But not from you."
"From him, then," she countered, indicating Orochimaru with a nod of her head. She turned her glare on him. "Well? Want to confess your sins?"
Orochimaru let go of Anko's shoulder, directing his words to Tsunade alone. "I made a mistake in allowing him to come on such a dangerous mission," he admitted, the words coming slowly. "But there was nothing I could do once he ran ahead. I am sorry for your loss . . ."
"Liar!" Tsunade screamed bitterly. "You hated him!"
For the first time, a trace of emotion flickered across Orochimaru's face. Anger? Regret? It was impossible to tell. He closed his eyes briefly before continuing. "He was . . . a difficult student, but I didn't hate him, Tsunade. I would have saved him if I could have."
She was clearly beyond hearing his words. "Murderer . . ." Her face contorted, the female Sannin moved menacingly toward her former teammate. Anko tried to step forward once more, but her teacher's arm held her back. "I trusted you, Orochimaru . . . and you returned this to me in place of a brother!"
Her voice rose in a towering crescendo as she punched at the pale ninja, her hand stopping just before making contact. A crystal necklace hung from her fist, thrust into Orochimaru's face. The pale shinobi stepped backward involuntarily, his golden eyes narrowing. "I don't murder children," he snapped, but Anko heard a strange desperation underlying the anger, as if he were begging the kunoichi to believe him.
Tsunade's eyes took on a victorious glint. "What about those orphans from Amegakure?" she demanded. "You wanted to kill them. You were so very quick to offer to do it yourself, as I remember. Is that what you enjoy, Orochimaru? Killing them with your own hands?"
All of the desperation and anger left Orochimaru, to be replaced by something far more chilling to Anko's ears; something she had never heard in her sensei's voice before. Defeat. "You will never understand me," he said, shaking his head.
"No," Tsunade agreed. "I never will. That's because you're not human. You're just a monster without a conscience. Someone like you has no right to have an apprentice. If you don't kill her, you'll just create another beast." She glanced at Jiraiya. "I can't defeat the two of you at once, but don't think I'm giving up. Dan's wrong, Sarutobi-sensei is wrong, and damn you, Jiraiya, you've always turned a blind eye to how twisted he is."
"Listen to me, Tsunade—"
"I'm leaving. I can't stand the sight of him." She whirled away before leaping into the trees, soon becoming lost to sight.
Jiraiya stared after her for a few moments, then turned to Orochimaru, looking tired. "Orochimaru," he began, his voice tentative.
The snake Sannin didn't respond. His eyes stared dully into the empty darkness in front of him.
"I'm sorry," Jiraiya offered. "Tsunade doesn't really believe all of those things she said. She hasn't been thinking clearly since her brother died. We thought she was getting over it after she met Dan, so when she told Sarutobi-sensei she didn't blame you anymore, we didn't question it. I guess it's still too early . . ."
Orochimaru let out a bark of laughter. The sound was sudden and harsh, and so cold it set a chill into Anko's blood. "Spare me, Jiraiya. You secretly agree with every accusation that left her mouth, don't you?"
The white-haired shinobi stared at him, his expression both shocked and hurt. "No, I don't! How could you think that I do?"
"How could I think that?" Orochimaru repeated sarcastically. "Let's see . . . could it be the fact that you spy on me for Sarutobi-sensei?"
Jiraiya's expression reflected both surprise and a little guilt. "How did you know about that?"
"Don't underestimate me, fool. Did you think you could spy on me without my knowledge?"
"I'm not spying, you idiot!" Jiraiya exploded, exasperated. "I'm watching you to make sure you're taking care of yourself! And I would have done it whether Sarutobi-sensei asked me to or not." His voice softened, losing most of its irritation. "We worry about you, Orochimaru. You're gone for weeks and months at a time; you look like shit when you come back, and you won't tell anyone about where you're going or what you're doing . . . any friend would be concerned!"
For just the briefest instant, the words seemed as if they would break through the shell Orochimaru had placed around his emotions. Then the moment was gone, and the coldness was back, the icy composure unruffled. "Oh. Friends . . ." He raised an ironic eyebrow. "I don't recall having any."
Jiraiya gave a weary sigh. "Luckily, it's not up to you."

A/N: If you've read the story up to this point, please consider leaving a review, even if you don't like it. I'll have a better shot at improving the story with your criticism.
- 4
- 5
- 6
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Pupil of the Serpent