A solid smack rang out through the compact training ground deep inside the ANBU headquarters. The sound was of one snake-masked ANBU's face firmly meeting the solid concrete of the floor. His opponent gave him a few seconds to regain his feet but when the man just lay there motionless for a while he grumbled and stalked off. The particular ANBU he had been beating down on quite thoroughly was still fairly green, only getting his mask less than a month ago. That was why he didn't know it was a particularly bad idea to challenge Tora to a spar on this particular day.
Most knew today as the anniversary of the Uchiha clan massacre by Itachi Uchiha, leaving only two of his entire family alive. In the ANBU however it was known as one of the two days in the year when you did not approach Tora unless it was of vital importance. Hebi was now among the few that new this sullen and exclusive fact; at least he would when he woke up two days later in the ANBU infirmary.
Naruto breathed a deep sigh of relief as he walked out of the stifling air in the headquarters, lifting his mask up enough to pull in a lungful of the clean air. He disliked the building immensely, despite all the duties he had there due to his status as an ANBU captain. It had a much too utilitarian feel to it, all slate grey walls and simple desks for the various administration staff to work off of. Naruto had his own desk in the building but it had remained untouched from the first day he had been made a captain, much preferring his private study in his home for that kind of work.
Some of the tension he had been feeling today had been burnt off in his brief spar with the new ANBU who had been cocky enough to challenge the captain. However he still felt slightly worked up, it couldn't be helped on a day that brought up so many bad memories. Pushing that to the side he allowed a small grin to alight his face momentarily; hopefully he could change today into a good day full of memories he wanted to remember.
Behind him a young frog-masked ANBU rushed up to him only to watch as his captain suddenly vanished in a flash of red light. Blinking in surprise at the sudden departure he shook his head and stored away his question for later, turning back to tell his comrades what he had seen. There were a lot of rumours flying around about the captain, most of them revolving around the fact he never seemed to sleep. Patrols would leave for the night, passing him by as he trained only to return when the sun rose to find him still working through various exercises or practising jutsu.
The young red-headed captain reappeared a few hundred feet away from the headquarters, his eyes glancing around at his surroundings before dropping down to street level. He laughed as the young girl he had landed besides jumped up in surprise only to turn with a scolding look in her eye. Her irritation bled away as she looked at the blank tiger-themed ANBU mask staring at her dispassionately.
"Hey Hana, you ready?" The young Inuzuka nodded uncertainly for a moment before her more natural nature kicked in, reaffirming her nod with more confidence.
"Sure, everything's ready, but are you really sure I'm the right person for this?" Naruto chuckled, the sound getting slightly distorted through the mask as he placed a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder.
"We've already gone over this, if I didn't think you could do it I wouldn't have asked." Hana nodded with her eyes slightly narrowed but eventually relented as she allowed the taller redhead to lead her away.
A fifteen year old Naruto walked up to the high walls of the Inuzuka compound, his face set into a look of determination. Today he was dressed in his father's old tracksuit; he wasn't sure why he had gone with the change all of a sudden but lately he just felt he needed the extra comfort they provided. Anko was out on a mission and that was perfect, he wanted to surprise her with this so nothing could be revealed yet.
It was strange to knock on a door for a change; usually as an ANBU he had unrestricted access to everywhere in the village and as a captain that included the clan compounds. However today he was a civilian and had to wait a moment before the large doors opened up for him, a gruff but kindly-looking Inuzuka woman staring at him oddly. After a short but informative conversation she gave him directions and he walked through the grounds of the dog-loving clan.
He marvelled as he saw dogs as large as wolves bounding through the open space, happily following their partners. He had worked with a fair few Inuzukas and always appreciated their natural instincts for companionship and loyalty. Their incredible heightened senses made them second only to the Hyuuga for tracking missions. There was also the fact he respected them immensely for being in such good control of their more bestial nature; it was something he could empathise with.
Arriving at the small, non-descript building towards the centre of the compound he quietly let himself in, giving a small nod to the receptionist as he walked on by. He knocked on another door, waiting a few moments before a soft voice called him in. He frowned a moment, hand on the door knob, the voice sounded awfully familiar yet he couldn't quite place it. The reason became evident as he walked in to catch a fleeting glimpse of long brown hair pulled up into a professional pony tail. Both teens stood there a moment, staring into the other's face with furrowed brows.
"Naruto?" Realisation dawned on the redhead's face as memories of the girl in his academy class rushed back.
"Hana? You're the Inuzuka head vet?" The girl gained a slightly smug look as she put down the book she had been skimming through.
"That's right, so you're the guy that pulled up a sudden meeting out of the blue, what do you need Naruto?" The redhead shook his head for a moment before getting back on track, a more composed expression replacing the one of surprise.
"Yeah, I actually came here for a rather unusual request." He pulled out a small scroll, unfurling it before handing it over. "Do you think you could manage this?" Hana quickly looked over the contents of the scroll, her eyebrows rising further into her hairline with each line she read.
"I suppose something like this would be possible." A frown marred her otherwise flawless skin as she looked up from the scroll, breaking away from attempting to figure out some of the more complicated diagrams. "Why me though? Surely this is something more suited to a medical ninja?" Naruto shook his head quickly, he had expected the question.
"No, the chakra control needs to be perfect, there can be no mistakes." He sighed lightly, gaze drifting up to stare blankly at the cream wall behind her head. "Honestly if Tsunade of the Sannin were in the village I would have gone to her but as it is you are probably the most qualified person in the village." The words sounded surprising even to him, especially as he remembered how she was in the academy; luckily she seemed to have calmed down quite a bit since then.
"You're used to working with many different species of animals, that means you're chakra is attuned to be ready for a sudden change dependant on circumstances. Medical ninja are too rigid in their practises, unable to properly adapt to the unexpected..." He had already begun making his way out the room as he spoke. "...and trust me, if you choose to do this you'll be facing a lot of that. I'll understand if you don't but I'll owe you a massive favour, bye Hana."
The young Inuzuka vet watched the redhead leave with a small sigh; she wasn't ashamed to admit that in the academy she had a small crush on the boy; most of the girls did anyway. Now with time only adding height and muscle as well as shaping his face into something that would have most women drooling she found herself reverting to that time. She looked down at the scroll in her hands again, her lips turning up into a smirk as she pondered what she could do with a 'favour' from Naruto.
"Come on Naruto, you know I hate things like this." Anko's rather loud pleas fell on deaf ears as Naruto continued to lead the purple-haired girl through the streets, blindfold securely around her eyes.
"Oh I don't think you'll hate this." The girl huffed in annoyance but inside she was actually rather anxious. It had been a long time since Naruto had seemed so... the only real word she could put to the feeling was excited, in that child wanting to keep a good surprise but bursting to tell kind of way.
"At least tell me where we're going." She heard a soft chuckling behind her, cursing this blindfold that had her so disoriented right now. At first she had tried to keep track of where they were going by the direction they took and the sounds that she could here however that didn't last long. She was much too impatient and she was pretty certain Naruto had led her in a few circles to stop her doing just that.
"No need, we're here." Anko let out a relieved breath; the general sounds of the streets had died down when they had entered a building and now she was practically dying to know what was going on.
"Finally!" She quickly tugged the blue cloth from around her eyes, knowing that she must have looked like a fool being led through the village with it. However as she looked around confusion was the only expression on her face. They were in a medium sized room comprised solely of slate grey walls, there were no windows and when Naruto closed the door behind him it seemed to melt away, seamlessly disappearing.
"Is this your idea of a surprise? Looks more like a prison cell to me." Naruto grinned, walking straight past the girl to stand at the centre of the room.
"It is a prison cell." Anko's eye twitched as Naruto ignored her completely, instead focusing his attention on a ring of markings at the centre of the room. Being around Naruto long enough she knew they were seals but she couldn't tell what they did in the slightest.
"Okay, let me rephrase that... Why the hell did you bring me to a prison cell?!" Naruto looked up, still grinning fondly; nothing could have dampened his mood today.
"Because today I'm getting rid of your curse mark." Time seemed to grind to a halt for Anko as Naruto's words sunk in, her throat suddenly going dry as sandpaper.
"M-My mark?" Naruto simply nodded happily, looking at the door like he was expecting somebody. Sure enough a few moments later Hana walked through the door, carrying some equipment Anko didn't recognise.
"Sorry I'm late, I had to go and get some stuff, wasn't sure exactly what I would need." Anko just blinked at the new arrival, her mind still trying to wrap around the fact that tomorrow she might be walking around, free of the damn mark's influence.
"It's alright; we only got here a few minutes ago." Anko blinked again, gulping to wet her throat slightly.
"What the hell is going on here?" Hana turned, not having noticed Anko in the corner as she walked in.
"Oh, um hey Anko; long time no see." She smiled weakly, suddenly understanding a lot more of those diagrams all of a sudden seeing Anko's hand rest on top of her mark. She was about to continue nervously when Naruto placed a reassuring hand on Anko's shoulder.
"It's alright, she's here to help; we needed a medic for part of the sealing." Anko just blinked, her head still spinning madly from all the information she was suddenly getting.
"Y-You're really going to remove the curse mark?" Naruto nodded quickly, returning to observing the myriad of seals in concentric circles around the centre of the room; at least he was until he was suddenly tackled to the floor by a flying purple glomp. After taking five minutes to prise Anko out of her bear-like hug and another three minutes to wait for Hana to stop laughing Anko was finally lying down in the centre of the seals.
"Uhh, what is it?" Naruto was looking down at her with a small blush across the bridge of his nose, nervously playing with the ink brush he had in one hand. He looked away shyly, mumbling out something that Anko couldn't quite hear but had Hana, with her superior senses, blushing up a storm. "What was that?" Naruto's blush only increased as he turned around, still flipping the brush between his fingers.
"I, uhh, need you to take your shirt off." His voice was barely a whisper but Anko heard him loud and clear, her eyes going wide as her mouth twitched open. However before Naruto could apologise she was sitting up straight, struggling to pull her long navy T-shirt over her head. Naruto just watched in surprise, until he remembered what she was doing and looked away in embarrassment. After a few minutes Anko coughed loudly, forcing Naruto to look back around.
"Umm, are you going to do something? It's freaking cold in here." Naruto was worried when he looked around but thankfully Anko had her arms crossed over her chest, protecting her modesty; of course that didn't stop Naruto taking a small glance anyway, he was still a teenager.
"Uhh, right." And like a switch had been thrown all the embarrassment and nerves were gone from the redhead, replaced by a much more professional and concentrated expression. He carefully pricked her thumb, letting a few drops of her blood drip into an ink container he had brought. Next he delicately and slowly began to trace out numerous kanji and seals across her upper body, centred around the mark on her shoulder, but never touching it. Occasionally Naruto would have to stop, either to carefully push chakra into the array he was constructing or to wait for Anko to stop giggling as the ticklish brush moved over her sensitive skin.
"Alright." Anko looked up in shock, careful not to move too much like she had been instructed; she may have been naturally energetic but even she wasn't going to sabotage her only chance at freedom.
"That's it?" Naruto had to refrain from chuckling as he shook his head slowly.
"No, that's just the sealing done, next we have to actually activate it." Anko just stared at him for a moment with unblinking eyes, straining to stay lying down at that moment.
"Well get on with it then!" Naruto grimaced as he looked away, making it seem like he was double checking the seals even though he had already checked them t least five times before even bringing Anko in.
"It's going to hurt." Anko's eyes narrowed, she found his concern for her touching but right now she couldn't care less what he thought.
"I don't care; just get this damn mark off of me!" Naruto sighed wearily before looking back round, their eyes meeting for a moment as light caramel looked into deep purple. He gave a curt nod and motioned for Hana to come closer, they shared a wordless conversation as Hana's palm began to glow green.
"Alright, here goes nothing." With a deep breath Naruto began to channel chakra into his hand until it erupted in blue flame like his own torch. Then, still holding that breath he carefully moved his hand over the seal, trying not to pay too much attention whenever Anko flinched at the heat radiating from his palm. With one last bated breath his glowing hand hovered over the mitsudomoe before he slammed it down roughly, twisting to the left.
"Uzumaki sealing style: Juinjutsu release!" Anko immediately screamed out in pain as the mark began to pulse a dangerous orange, however when it tried to expand outwards the sealing array Naruto had drawn began to collapse on it, spiralling in the direction Naruto twisted his hand, condensing first around the mark before slowly melding with it. Anko's pained breaths grew shallower the more the mark was subsumed by the newer seal. Even so, Naruto's concentration never wavered, as did Hana's; a constant flow of chakra both directive and healing entered her system, fighting the curse mark while wiping its existence out of her body.
Suddenly Anko's screams started anew, her body arching up in uncontrollable pain as the mark burned a deep and sickly orange, pulsing dangerously. Naruto's hand began to lightly shake as he felt it fighting him, pushing back on his seal like a snake backed into a corner. He grunted in concentration, forcing more of his chakra in to suppress it but it fought back just as ferociously, parts of the seal entering it also beginning to turn a dark orange.
"Dammit." Naruto's hand was shaking much more uncontrollably now, his connection to Anko strenuous at best. Quickly as he could, he channelled a small amount of chakra into his right hand, his index finger lighting up in the same blue flame. In practised motions he began to draw directly into the air, a small wavering line of blue light following in the wake of his finger. When he was done he seemingly grabbed the floating mass of kanji and intricate lines out f the air, slamming it down onto a nearby scroll where it imprinted onto the paper line a burn. Just as swiftly he repeated the process, drawing a thin line between the new scroll and the curse mark.
The effect was immediate; the seal stopped fighting back as all the sickly orange light began to seep out, travelling up the faint blue line in the air before amassing in the scroll. Once again Anko's screams died down into a muted whimper; her eyes however were wide open, staring straight up at the ceiling. Soon enough though her eyelids began to droop as a soft, soothing sensation overtook her entire body like a balm to her aching form.
A few minutes later, although it seemed significantly longer, all of the orange light hand been transferred to the scroll and Naruto was finally able to pull his hand away. He winced as he felt the chakra burns on his palm, knowing it was a small sacrifice in the long run; his hand would be working again by tomorrow as it always was. Hana took that as her queue to pull her own hand away, but not before quickly running a small diagnostic sweep across the unconscious girl's body. Naruto didn't get to ask her what she found as she gave him a small smile before passing out from chakra exhaustion.
Anko groggily blinked her eyes open, groaning in annoyance as light streaming through the partially opened curtains hit her in the eyes like a mallet. In response she flipped over, unfortunately there was something resting on the side of her bed that she managed to send crashing to the floor. A loud grunt of pain was swiftly ignored as Anko tried to stretch out the morning, basking in the strange, almost unsettling peace that she had this morning. Suddenly and without warning she shot up into a sitting position, her eyes opened wide as she realised she couldn't remember what happened last night.
That alone was strange, normally her ever present nightmares were incredibly vivid and she would remember them long into the morning before suppressing them with the rest of her pained experiences. Suddenly a flashback to unbearable pain crossed her mind, quickly replaced by two orbs of purple filled with caring and concern. She blinked as she realised they weren't in her head and there were really two eyes looking into her own.
"Ahh!" She flew backwards in shock, crashing her head painfully into the headboard before letting it droop forward with a pained moan.
"Anko are you okay?" She looked up blearily, looking at Naruto properly and realised he was probably the thing she displaced earlier.
"Urgghh, Naruto what's going on? What did I drink last night?" A warm expression overcame Naruto's features as he settled back down on the corner of her bed.
"You don't remember?" Anko shook her head with a small frown before suddenly image assaulted her mind, of seals and pain and a desperate voice crying out in agony that sounded familiar, and loathed. She gripped her head in concentration before suddenly looking up with widened eyes, her hand grasping the spot over her neck. She couldn't believe it, there was no constant dull ache, no throb of pain when she thought about him and the slight whispering that was so quiet she almost couldn't hear it was gone.
Anticipating this Naruto quickly handed her a small hand mirror which she gladly accepted to look at her shoulder. With no small amount of awe in her eyes she lightly traced the slightly lightened skin where the mitsudomoe that had haunted her waking life since that day had been. All there was now was a patch of slightly lighter skin in the same vague shape, but even that would fade in time. For the first time in three years, she was completely free of him.
Naruto didn't know what hit him as Anko suddenly launched herself off the bed, wrapping her arms around his neck and tackling him to the ground. She was laughing, tears streaming from her eyes out of happiness as she refused to let Naruto go. In turn the Redhead accepted it, a warm smile on his face as he also wrapped his arms around the sniffling girl. Finally, after a warm and comforting moment for the both of them Anko sat up, wiping away the last of her tears with the back of her hand.
"Thank you Naruto." The Namikaze went to reply as he turned his head only to spot the compromising position they were both in. Anko was straddling his waist, supporting her body with hands either side of his head as she looked down on him, a lilting smile on her still slightly tired face. At that moment Anko seemed to realise her position as well, blinking once in surprise as she looked down, their eyes connecting.
It was like some strange attractive force that neither really tried to fight against as Anko's face slowly moved down as Naruto leaned up. Neither blinked, too lost in the other's eyes to want to tear their gaze away for even a moment. Naruto felt a heat rush through his chest, warming his body as he saw Anko nervously wet her lips, their faces only inches apart. He could feel her slightly minty breath tickle his neck and the bangs on either side of her face lightly brush his skin.
"Hey Naruto, did you want me to..." Both teens suddenly shot around so fast they swore they got whiplash. Hana was standing in the doorway holding a small glass of water, her eyes wide as she stared at the scene before a grin broke out over her face. "Oh, um, I didn't realise I was interrupting." She giggled lightly as she backed out the door, enjoying the bright red complexions the two Shinobi had gained. "As you were." Anko scowled in her direction before a light cough caught her attention.
"Umm..." Naruto was nervously looking to his left, a light smatter of red across the bridge of his nose as Anko realised she was still on top of him. In her own flash of purple she was standing up, gently rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, also unable to meet his gaze.
"Oh right, ahh, sorry." Naruto quickly turned, his hands out in front of him waving almost frantically.
"Ahh, no! I mean, it was me and, I uhh..." He let his hands fall limply to his sides as his head drooped pathetically, almost comically if the two weren't so incredibly nervous and confused right now. Suddenly he felt a hand lightly tug on his chin, pulling his face up so that their eyes met again. There was still nervousness in her caramel orbs but there was something else, anticipation.
"It was... I mean, if you're okay with it?" Despite her best efforts at making her voice strong it came out quiet and meek, this was all very new, for the both of them. Except in the same way it made so much sense; acting on that instinct Naruto did the only thing that came to mind; he leant forward swiftly and stole a kiss. It was hurried and uncoordinated; their lips only finding a comfortable rhythm after a few seconds but both of them were suddenly lost to a whole new sensation of joy as they took that brief time exploring the other's mouth.
They parted with panting breaths, smiles adorning both their faces and a thin trail of saliva running between their lips. They didn't waste much time breathing though before they launched back into each other's arms. Naruto moved with a bit too much force and ended up pushing Anko back a little causing her to stumble. They found purchase again as she fell back onto the bed, Naruto on top of her as they continued their impromptu make-out session.
Naruto pulled back again, gasping for air with a stupid grin on his face that Anko quickly got rid of as she flipped him over so she was on top again, capturing his lips with her own. She almost gave a small yelp of surprise when she felt a tentative, probing tongue lightly push against her top lip. After barely a moment of hesitation she allowed it entry and a whole new dynamic to kissing was found for both the teens. A veritable tongue war took place, each fighting for dominance as the moist muscles moved over and under one another, never staying in the same place for very long.
Like their other kisses it couldn't last forever and they had to part; although Anko took the opportunity to lean back up, pulling her shirt over her head in one smooth motion. That day Naruto found out that Anko did not wear a bra under her shirt, or anything else for that matter. After a few awkward seconds of Naruto staring up at her exposed upper body which made the girl want to cover up out of sudden embarrassment he seemed to catch on, shedding his own shirt as fast as he could. As quickly as it had stopped Anko fell back on top of him, enjoying the feeling of their now exposed skin rubbing against each other.
Naruto wasn't sure where his sudden spurt of confidence came from, then again he was never really one to sit still and do nothing; wither way he found his hand, that had previously been moving up and down Anko's exposed back, move around to her front, softly grasping her breast. A small moan of pleasure and encouragement was all the invitation he needed to start moving the hand in circular motions. Spurred on by Anko purring into his mouth he brought the other hand around as well.
Anko's hands weren't idle either; she had them running up and down Naruto's hardened abdomen, occasionally squeezing them shut as another jolt of pleasure would rush through her lithe form. Taking another burst of initiative Naruto broke away from their heated kiss, much to Anko's evident disappointment. However that expression was wiped away as Naruto began to tentatively kiss his way firt down her chin, then to her neck.
Doing his best to remember where she had been most ticklish when he had been drawing the seals he began to lightly kiss her collarbone in places. Without him suppressing her, her moans of delight were much more vocal, making Naruto glad he had privacy seals in every room in the house. Eventually though his adventurous kissing went further south, finally finding his mouth over Anko's exposed and hardened nipple.
When he first kissed it lightly he could have sworn Anko hissed in pleasure, her back arching back as if trying to further the contact. However when he lightly sucked on it she nearly lost control then and there, her inexperienced body proving too sensitive to the amazing ministrations of Naruto's tongue. By the time he pulled away she was breathing heavily, looking just about ready to drop onto Naruto's shoulder to rest.
"Anko, if you want we can just stop there." His only reply was the sound of a zipper being pulled down so quickly it nearly snapped off.
Two very sweaty and tired teens lay on an equally sweaty bed, the sheets rumpled and disorganised but at least covering the majority of their modesty. Anko sleepily lay her head on her new lover's chest, her hand gently running circles across his abdomen, a dreamy expression on her face even as she looked about ready to fall asleep. Naruto had his arm wrapped snugly around Anko's more petite form, a far-off look in his eye as he stared in no particular direction.
"That was incredible." He laughed slightly as Anko merely nodded her head, her hair tickling him as it brushed against his skin. However after a moment of thought she lazily raised her head, slipping over Naruto's form with the sheets still on top of her until she was straddling him again.
"Was incredible?" A sly grin passed over her features as she leant closer, her lips only a few inches from Naruto's. "Who said we were done?"