16I do not own these characters in any way, shape, or form.
Everything
Naruto was exhausted after finishing his latest mission. He was just supposed to run an errand for Grandma Tsunade in the Hidden Grass Village. But instead of just receiving some note and heading back; he had to walk through a storm, fight off a bunch of random ninjas, and find his way out of the forest after getting lost. Okay, so the last one was kind of his fault, but still, the mission wasn't as great as he had hoped. He had completed the mission successfully; however, Tsunade wasn't very pleased with how long it took him to finish.
Naruto's stomach growled in hunger as he made his way down the narrow streets of Konoha. He hadn't eaten since that morning and he was starving. It was getting really dark out and many shops were beginning to close for the day. Luckily, he spotted a food stall still open, so he made his way inside.
The place really wasn't that full. A few people sat together with some food or sake laughing loudly at small jokes their friends had made. However, what caught Naruto's attention was the familiar face sitting alone at a table with a plate of dango in front of her.
"Anko-sensei!" Naruto yelled across the room causing Anko to drop the dango she was about to eat.
She had a long day that day; looking over paperwork, meeting with Tsunade, and keeping the exams in check , so just when she thought she had a moment to relax, an annoying and familiar voice called out to disturb her. She forced herself to look up only to see the blond boy running in her direction.
"Naruto…" She murmured under her breath as the boy pulled out the chair across from her and sat down. He didn't seem to notice her malicious attitude and just called the waiter over to take his order.
Anko stared at the boy in front of her. Why the hell was he sitting with her? They hadn't spoken since they got back from Sea Country so why would was he here now? Anko was too caught up in her thoughts to notice that the boy had finished ordering his food and was silent as he sat across from her.
Naruto cleared his throat, after he realized that Anko made no move to acknowledge his presence. She blinked and stared up at the boy in order to narrow her eyes at him. 'This kid…'
"Is there any reason why you are over here, Naruto?" Anko said, after a long silence. She hadn't meant to sound so blunt about it, but she really didn't want company at that moment. She had a rough day and just wanted to relax.
"I have to have a reason to sit and talk with you, sensei?" Naruto smiled, as the waiter placed a bowl of ramen in front of him.
Anko didn't answer. She just stared at the boy as he devoured the food in front of him. He finished the bowl quickly leaving Anko to fiddle with the remaining dango on her plate. She could tell that he just wasn't sitting her for the hell of it. Naruto was squirming in his seat as she sat there quietly. He was anxious about something, she could see that much.
"So, Naruto," Anko said calmly, "Ever since you finished eating, you've been anxious about something. So, come on, out with it."
Naruto's head shot up upon hearing her voice.
"W-What are you talking about?" He asked nervously.
"It's so obvious that you want to ask me something. Why else would you sit here?" Anko grinned, knowing that she guessed right.
Naruto fiddled a bit with the napkin on the table. He opened his mouth to speak then closed it, clearly unsure of how to ask whatever it was he was trying to say.
"There are only so many hours in the night, Naruto." Anko said in an annoyed tone as she watched the boy debate with himself.
He hesitated once more before finally deciding on how to approach the question.
"Umm, Anko-sensei," Naruto cautiously began, "You said when we were in Sea country that Orochimaru was the Jounin that you trained under, correct?"
Anko felt her heart stop for a minute. She had a good idea of where this conversation was heading and she knew for a fact that those horrific memories were bound to resurface because of it.
She couldn't find her voice as Naruto anxiously waited for her reply, so instead she slightly nodded her head.
"Jeeze." Naruto said as he leaned back into the chair. "Training with him must have been hell."
Anko brought her head up to look him in the face. She didn't want to answer, but for some reason she found the words slowly make their way out.
"Training was hard… but I would never say it was hell." Anko said quietly. She clenched her hands on her skirt, trying to control her memories. Naruto's ears perked up. He was surprised that she was answering him at all.
"So, what was it like then?" Naruto asked.
Anko didn't respond; her eyes were distant as she stared into the table, trying to remember it herself.
"Anko," Orochimaru looked down at the girl in front of him. "Are you paying attention, Anko?"
The young girl looked up from the dirt she was kicking. Her bangs slightly blocked her eyes as she tried to make eye contact with him.
"Of course I am, sensei!" Anko lied. Truth be told, the last thing she remembered him saying to her was 'clean your room' and that happened hours ago.
Orochimaru had been twirling a fallen leaf between his fingers as he spoke with Anko. Suddenly tossing it over his shoulder he crouched down to Anko's level, his weight shifted to the balls of his feet.
"Really now?" He smirked at her. "Are you sure you've been paying close attention?"
Anko fidgeted under his gaze. Her hands twisted her shirt as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"I… might have missed the last couple of things you said." Anko admitted, her face turning slightly red.
She was expecting him to lecture her on why it was so important to listen to your sensei, but instead he just chuckled and continued walking.
Anko ran up to him and grabbed onto the bottom of his vest. He looked down at her, knowing that she was bound to get curious and ask him to repeat himself soon.
"So are you going to continue or what?" Anko said, slightly annoyed that he was using her curiosity against her.
"That depends." Orochimaru began with a smirk, "Are you going to pay attention?"
Anko nodded enthusiastically causing Orochimaru's smirk to widen.
"Alright, I'm going to teach you a new jutsu, but first, you're going to run 3 extra laps around the field for not listening."
Anko groaned, but that was only for show. She knew that, once she was done, she would have the rest of the day to spend with Orochimaru.
"Anko-sensei!" Naruto yelled again. Man this lady was weird, that or she was completely wasted. One minute she's talking, the next she's staring off into space.
"What?" Anko asked surprised as she looked up at the boy, remembering that he had asked her something.
"So what was it like training with Orochimaru, then?" Naruto repeated, annoyed that she had completely forgotten.
"Oh, right." Anko mumbled. "Uh. It really wasn't any different from regular training, actually. We would sit and talk, he would teach me a jutsu or two; depending on how long it took me to understand each one, and sometimes we would read scrolls together."
"Really?" Naruto asked surprised. "So he wasn't cruel like he is now?"
Anko chuckled lightly at this.
"No. Not to me, anyway. In fact, I thought my sensei was the greatest person ever. I found so much comfort in him that sometimes during the night I would get up and sneak into his room to sleep."
"What?" Naruto shrieked. "You lived with him?"
"Keep your voice down, I don't want people to stare." Anko hushed at him. "And yes, I did. I didn't have any parents and I wanted to stay with him."
"Why would you even want to stay in the same room as him?" Naruto asked disgusted.
"Hey, don't get the wrong idea. When I was younger, I practically worshiped him. "Anko replied. Her eyes soon drifted to the floor. "He was everything to me."
Naruto was silent as he noticed the pained look on Anko's face. A few moments passed before he spoke again.
"Do you still think that way?" Naruto asked, "I mean, do you still think of him as everything?"
Anko hesitated before answering, "I'd be lying if I said I thought of him as nothing."
Naruto looked at her in shock. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but words failed him.
"I loved my sensei … so, so much." Anko continued quietly. "He made me feel important, like I had a purpose. "
She paused again, trying to swallow the lump forming in her throat.
"He was, and still is, my sensei; my everything." Anko lowered her head as she spoke these words.
Naruto clenched his teeth together. He felt something in him about to snap just by hearing her speak this way about Orochimaru.
"How can you still think him as your sensei? After everything he did; to you, the village, even Sasuke?" Naruto clenched his hands on the fabric of his pants, trying to keep his anger under control.
Anko looked at the enraged boy in front of her. She knew that Sasuke left to join Orochimaru, but she never thought that it would affect Naruto like this.
"Do you still think of Sasuke as your friend, even after everything he did?" Anko asked. Her eyes narrowed at him.
"Of course!" Naruto scowled, "But he didn't do anything like Orochimaru-"
"Don't think I'm comparing Sasuke to Orochimaru." Anko interrupted. She paused and looked at the boy, who appeared to be calming down a bit.
"Sasuke and Orochimaru are two completely different people. There's no way I could ever compare them." Anko added quietly.
"But now I think you understand." She continued, "No matter what a person might do, whether it's what Sasuke did or what Orochimaru did, it's impossible to just forget them like they were nothing."
Naruto unclenched his fists and looked at Anko with wide eyes.
"Orochimaru may have done some terrible things, but I do not ever regret having him as my sensei." Anko looked down at the ground again. She didn't want to look Naruto in the eye.
"I think I understand a little more now." Naruto said quietly, getting up out of his chair. "Thank you Anko-sensei for your time. Here, you food is on me."
With that Naruto gave her his famous smile, paid the bill, and was on his way.
Anko sat for a few more moments before gathering her stuff and heading back home.
Upon reaching her apartment, Anko closed the door and walked over to her bed. What she had told Naruto in that conversation, she had never told anyone. However, she felt that he really did understand what it was like to lose someone who was a person's everything. Only she hoped that Naruto would have a happier ending than she did. The last thing she wanted was for the boy to sacrifice all that he had and not even be giving a second glance.
Anko lay down on her mattress and closed her eyes. 'If only I could have been Orochimaru's everything too.'
Well, there's my oneshot! I know that I should be working on chapter 7, but I needed a break and this story wouldn't get out of my head. I checked over for any mistakes but I'm editing this at, like, 3 in the morning so if there are any errors, please tell me!
I hope that you enjoyed it!
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