My Golden Heart

Chapter 1- Sleepless Night

The time ticked slowly as Anko tossed and turned in her bed. The memories of her former sensei crept into her dreams of her childhood days when she was an academy student and genin. The times of laughing, training, and playing turned into terrible moments of pain, sorrow, and betrayal. The scene of Orochimaru laying the curse mark upon her played over in her dreams, the pain always the same as it was back then. However, the thing she remembered the most was his form walking away from her trembling body while his laugh remained ringing in her ears.

Anko woke up in her home in Konoha. She was sweating and shaking with fresh tear trails streaked down her face. Once again she woke up in the middle of the night, due to the terrifying memories she tried so hard to forget. Involuntarily, Anko turned toward the clock at the side of her bed to see what the time was this night.

"3:21…Great." Anko said to herself sarcastically. She had to meet with the fifth Hogake, Tsunade, in four hours about some new, important assignment. That being the case, she couldn't be falling asleep during the necessary details. She needed to prove to the council of elders that she was a trustworthy ninja and this was the perfect opportunity. If she could complete this demanding task, maybe the council would look past the fact that she was Orochimaru's student. Anko smiled at the thought. Yes, that was what she wanted, for Konoha to accept her by the person she had become, not for who she was taught by. However, in order for any of this to happen, she first had to at least be awake to do well on this mission. But how the hell was she going to get back to sleep when she knew that her sensei, the snake sanin, would be lurking in the corners of her dreams. Anko sighed realizing that in order to get some sleep, she needed to forget about Orochimaru and calm down.

Anko lifted herself from her bed and put her bare feet on the cold, wooden floor to make her way through the darkness towards the bathroom on the other side of her bedroom. She remembered doing something similar to this when she was with Orochimaru and couldn't sleep. Her little hands would stretch out in the darkness to feel around as she made her way across the room in order to find her sensei's room at the other end of the hall. In her attempts to be quiet, she usually tripped or stubbed her foot on something causing Orochimaru to jump out of his bed, unaware of what was happening, and run to wherever she was. Anko remembered how worried he looked whenever it happened, but when she started giggling, a small smile crept across his face. He would then pick her tiny form up in his arms to make sure she was really ok. There was even that one time, after he made sure she wasn't hurt, he smacked the back of her head for being so careless. But in the end, she would find her way into his room to rest for the night, despite him trying to put her back in her room. For some reason, her younger self thought that it was easier to sleep whenever he held her close.

Anko's heart sank when she remembered just how far away those days really were. She ruffled her hair and shook her head to try and shake the sad feeling she just felt for her sensei. Anko continued heading towards the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. She figured that maybe the cool feeling would help to rid her thoughts of Orochimaru as well as the memories. Upon entering the bathroom, the moon's light shown through the small window at the top of the wall. Just like how it shown through the trees in the Forest of Death when she encountered Orochi…Wait, no, the whole reason she came in here was to forget about him. Anko turned the knob on the faucet for cold water. As she stared into the mirror, she noticed just how red her eyes really were, not to mention the dark bags that lied below them. Anko sighed and grabbed a towel to rinse under the water. She then dabbed the wet towel on her face and neck, which made her feel a little better. After Anko had finished, she wrung the remaining water out of the towel and placed it on the counter. Anko then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes to look into the mirror, she found a pair of golden snake-like eyes staring at her from behind. Anko spun around, ready to fight. However, after scanning the room for any intrusion, no one was there.

'Okay, Anko, just calm down. There is no way that he could possibly be in Konoha.' Anko could feel her heart beating through her chest as she breathed heavily. She wiped the newly formed sweat from her forehead and braced herself against the sink. Yep, there was no way she could sleep peacefully now.

To Be Continued

Thank you so much for reading. This is my first story on fanfiction, but I've been writing for awhile. I personally love romantic comedy types of stories so I decided to make one with Orochimaru and Anko. Anko and Orochimaru are my favorite characters in Naruto. So I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I know that this first chapter may seem pointless, but I assure you things will get better and more tense! I tried my best to avoid spelling errors, so if you see any mistakes please tell me!

I would love to know what you all think so far, so please review because I want to know how I can improve!