Disclaimer: I haven't yet added any important author-created characters 
in this fic, so all characters in this chapter are the creations and 
property of Kishimoto Masashi. I claim no legal right to use them, and I 
am making no money off of this piece of fanfiction.

Spoiler Warning: This chapter occurs right before the third stage of the 
Chuunin Exam...

Non-Yaoi Warning: I'm not sure if i need to keep reiterating this or 
not, but there is no yaoi content in this fic... However...

CONTENT WARNING - PLEASE READ THIS: Though not graphic, there _is_ 
implied sex in this chapter, and while it happens off-screen, questions 
about the issue of consent may be raised. You have been warned...

Continuity Warning: ...well, you'll see...

Alright, now that i've gotten all of that off my chest, a few things: 
This is an interlude chapter, so it's shorter than the both the chapter 
before it and the chapter afterward. I'd considered combining it with 
the next chapter, but i'd rather get this out there now, since the next 
chapter _is_ much longer, and is going to take a while to revise (even 
if my revisions for the FFML have thus far been largely superficial).

Regarding how Anko addresses Yuuhi Kurenai: there _is_ a reason, so stop 
bugging me about it ^_^;...

By the original numbering scheme, this would be chapter 7, but now i 
guess it's... chapter 5? Maybe 4, or even 3, if i decide to make 
"Heaven" and "Earth" one chapter and/or a 'prologue.' Anyhow, for now 
it's tentatively chapter 5; i would have gotten this out sooner, but 
i've been working on chapter 21 (which _won't_ be chapter 21 anymore 
when i'm done with the new numbering scheme >_<;). I'd say the new 
chapter is about 80% done; here's to hoping i can finish before 
August...

And now i shall bid you sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! C&C is 
always welcome, so please tell me if you like the fic, hate the fic, or 
have any suggestions on how i can improve it. Be warned; i love to 
argue, and i try hard to make sure that i have setting details and 
character motivations reasoned out very thoroughly beforehand, so if you 
want me to make _major_ changes, be prepared for a spirited discussion 
regarding your suggestions ^_^;...

~Eimii



ECHOES...



*Hehehe... maybe I owe Yuuhi-chan an apology...*

By now, Yuuhi Kurenai had probably finished her evening shower. In a few 
moments she would open her dresser drawer and discover that all of her 
bras and panties had mysteriously disappeared. Wary of another 
'perverted ninja master' stalking Konoha, she would check her apartment 
for signs of intrusion and call the village security office to ask if 
any other incidents had been reported.

After that, Yuuhi would throw on some sweats and wait for the ANBU 
investigator to arrive. Being too much of prude to go out in public not 
wearing any underwear, she would call her good friend Mitarashi Anko to 
bring some over. Unfortunately, Anko wasn't at home at the moment, so 
Yuuhi would leave a message on the answering machine. Then, having 
nothing better to do, she would look in the freezer for something to 
cook for dinner...

"...aaaannnkooo...!"

"...Did someone just call your name?"

"Hmm? Ah... pro'lly not," Anko replied innocently. "I don't know anyone 
who lives around here." Yuuhi's apartment was halfway across town. 
*That's what'cha get for playin' word games with _me_, smartass!*

Still, it was all because the other woman had blown Anko's entire food 
budget for the week on that absurdly expensive seafood smorgasbord that 
she now found having a nice, friendly dinner with Iruka, possibly the 
sweetest guy on earth. True, it wasn't anything _romantic_, just ramen 
at a roadside stand, but as far as she was concerned, it was perfect. 
The atmosphere, the food, and especially the company were all definitely 
to her liking.

And it never would have happened if she'd been able to eat breakfast 
that morning. The sound of her stomach growling could probably be heard 
for miles around when she'd stopped to drool in front of a dango stand 
late that afternoon, after finishing her shift on forest recon. She'd 
been so distracted that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard 
his voice, ordering a tray of dango from over her shoulder, but that was 
nothing next to the shock she'd felt when he handed it to her with that 
boyish smile- the one that always made her simultaneously want to laugh 
in his face, squeeze the stuffing out of him, and crawl into a dark, 
dingy hole in the ground.

Anko felt like kicking herself when she finally managed to mumble a 
garbled 'thank you' between wolfing down two sticks of grilled 
rice-dough at a time, but Iruka didn't seem to mind. He'd even asked her 
if she was still hungry after she was done, and when her stomach had 
answered for her, much to her chagrin, he'd suggested that they go to a 
nearby ramen shop, his treat. She must have given him some sort of 
affirmative answer, but she couldn't remember what it was. It was almost 
unreal, how fast it had all happened.

But as they sat there at the bar, slurping up steaming noodles, Anko's 
sense of time was starting to catch up to her, and it wasn't a pleasant 
feeling. She was growing more anxious by the second that Iruka might get 
tired of leading the conversation, which would spell doom for an 
otherwise pleasant evening.

Anko wouldn't mind at all if she spent the entire night listening to him 
babble on about his students. Professionally speaking, their jobs were 
closely related, and he seemed to share her opinion that reckless kids 
needed a good scare once in a while. That tiny, isolated shred of common 
ground was her only hope, for there was absolutely nothing else that she 
felt comfortable talking to him about.

Anko could think of few people less judgmental than Iruka; only the 
Hokage, with his fatherly love for every one of his village's children, 
could compare. Paradoxically, that only made her even more selfconscious 
of the sickening, oily rot on her own soul whenever she was near them.

For every second that she spent basking in the warmth of Iruka's 
presence, it felt like she spent two seconds agonizing over every 
thought in her head and every feeling in her heart, finding them all 
unworthy. And yet, the easy acceptance he radiated drew her like a moth 
to a flame- it was maddening.

She'd first taken notice of scar-faced young ninja when ANBU's torture 
and interrogation squad formally became the administrators for all 
Chuunin Exams held in Konoha. From then on, it became her prerogative to 
learn what the students were being taught, how they were being taught, 
and who was teaching them.

That was two years ago; it'd been a year since she'd realized that she 
was attracted to him on more than a purely physical level, and she 
_still_ hadn't gotten up the nerve to approach him about it. She was, 
without a doubt, an idiot.

She should have just followed her first instinct and stalked him home 
for a night of mind-blowing carnal passion, before all of these 
confusing feelings started tying her in knots. She may not have made a 
_good_ first impression, and she probably would have felt awful about it 
later, but at least then she'd know if he was into that sort of thing.

That didn't mean she couldn't do that _now_ though. Peering at him out 
of the corner of her eye as she lifted her bowl to drink the last of the 
broth, Anko couldn't find any signs that he was bored of her company.

He didn't seem to have caught onto how uncomfortable she was, either; 
score one for iron self control, which she _did_ possess when she needed 
it. Unfortunately, he wasn't really _looking_ at her much; either he was 
one of the last true gentlemen in the world, or he wasn't particularly 
interested.

Well, there were ways around both of those. Setting down her bowl with a 
clink, Anko released a breathy sigh of satisfaction. Iruka had finished 
a minute or so before her, much to her surprise, and was settling the 
tab with the owner. When he turned back to her, the Anko gave her 
favorite subordinate a roguish grin. "Thanks Iruka, you're a life 
saver."

"Heh, don't mention it," Iruka replied with a sheepish smile, "Actually, 
I really didn't feel like eating alone; I've sort of gotten used to 
treating Naruto, but he hasn't been around much since the exam started. 
I hope I didn't bore you."

Anko made a dismissing wave. "Nah, sounds like bein' a teacher keeps you 
on your toes. I think I'd go nuts if I had to deal with those little 
monsters every day." She grinned a bit wider to show that she knew how 
ironic that sounded, coming from her, and was rewarded with a chuckle 
from her companion.

"That kinda explains why you didn't order any beer with that ramen, 
tho," she noted wryly. "I've never heard of eating ramen at a street 
stand without a tall, cold one, but I guess you couldn't do that with 
your students..."

Iruka was quick to put a hand to the back of his head, now grinning in 
embarrassment. "Heh, sorry-"

"You're buyin' man, don't apologize!" Anko quipped in mock exasperation. 
"Sheesh, I'm the one that should be making it up to you- but maybe we 
can do both..." She trailed off playfully, waiting for Iruka's 
inquisitive look before continuing. "I think I've got a couple beers 
back at my apartment; it ain't far. Care to stop by for a drink or two, 
to wash down all that good food?"

Demonstrating for the first time that maybe he wasn't as naive as he 
looked, Iruka quirked an eyebrow at the suggestion. Regarding her 
silently for a moment, he answered in careful, but not wary tones. 
"...Well, I suppose one wouldn't hurt. I don't have any morning classes 
tomorrow, since it's Saturday."

*Woo! Score!* Taking a moment to rejoice inwardly, Anko released a 
snorting chuckle. "You a lightweight or something, Iruka? One beer to 
lay you out for the whole morning?" Filing away that potentially useful 
little bit of information, Anko stood and pushed her stool up to the 
counter. "Heh, more for me, then... c'mon, it's just a couple blocks 
away."

The ramen shop really was quite close to her apartment; she'd have to 
remember to go there more often, especially if that was where Iruka 
usually went. In short order, they found themselves standing before the 
front door of Anko's humble abode, and she suddenly felt a chill run 
down her spine. *Oh shit!*

Turning back to Iruka, she coughed up an embarrassed laugh. "Haha... uh, 
I think I may have forgotten my keys when I went to work this morning. 
Just a sec- I'll go in through the window and open it."

Barely catching Iruka's somewhat confused nod, Anko climbed around the 
side of the building to the balcony that opened off of her living room. 
Cracking the simple lock and slipping inside, she pulled her house keys 
out of her pocket and set them on her cluttered coffee table. Then, with 
her alibi in place, she frantically set about her true mission: hiding 
the evidence.

Her apartment was an absolute disaster area. There was no way she'd be 
able to clean it up much before he started to get suspicious- but then, 
he probably didn't expect her to be a neat person anyway. What she 
_could_ do, she hoped, was remove all of the objects that might... 
bother him.

The abstract paintings in human blood, for instance, definitely had to 
go, as did several of her favorite 'toys,' which she hadn't bothered to 
put away since the last time she's had a nighttime 'visitor.' Even a few 
of the things in her refrigerator were a bit suspect, but she'd just 
have to hope that he didn't look in there.

After a sanitizing whirlwind of activity, Anko decided that she'd 
probably stalled for a bit too long, and hastily bounded up to the front 
door. It was a good thing she didn't have any fancy deadbolts or 
anything on her doors; the single mechanism in the door knob could be 
locked without a key, she noted in relief.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Anko tried to expel some of the 
switchblade-wielding butterflies that were having a gang war in her 
stomach. *Okay, just relax. He seemed a little interested back there; 
maybe this won't be so hard after all. Just gotta get him inside and 
nature will take its course, right? Right!* Nodding resolutely, she 
reached for the knob and turned, flinging the door open with a flourish.

"...You needn't have gone to all that trouble for me, Anko-chan," a 
familiar, sensuous, sibilant voice hissed, and the blood in Anko's veins 
turned to ice.

Frozen in the open doorway, the ex-disciple of the Snake Seinin could 
only watch in horror and disbelief as the scarred man took a step 
forward, just enough to cast his profile in the moonlight. It was still 
Iruka's face, but the skin was paler now, stretched taught over sunken 
cheeks. His lips were parted slightly, turned up at the corners in a 
tight white line; no longer the kind smile of a teacher, but the hungry 
leer of a predator, right down to the huge, luminescent yellow eyes that 
now pinned her in place.

"...No." She choked pitifully, finally overcoming her horror enough to 
move. She'd barely taken a single, halting step back when the 
half-shadowed form upon her doorstep seemed to flow toward her like a 
tide, cocooning her in darkness even as the hollow mask of Iruka's face 
dissolved into the moonlight.

She didn't feel bound, but the lightless void that engulfed was 
stifling, like she was floating in heavy oil. It seemed to flow into her 
mouth as she opened it to shout, carrying with it the familiar, almost 
intoxicating scent of fresh-spilled blood. She nearly succumbed right 
then, but managed to clear her mind enough to snarl in defiance. "Y-you 
can't be here!"

"Tsk, tsk... I though I had taught you better than this, Anko-chan," his 
voice whispered again, this time right next to her ear. "Has the 
soul-suffocating miasma of 'peace' dulled your senses so much?" Even as 
she turned to look, the voice came from her other side, and she felt the 
cold brush of two fingertips down the line of her chin. "Is this pitiful 
state really what you wished to reclaim when you left my side?"

Marshalling her fragmented wits, Anko grimaced in disgust at her own 
weakness, despite knowing that was exactly what he wanted. "You'd 
already turned me aside when I left! Maybe _you're_ the one who doesn't 
understand!" she growled, refusing to let the fear take hold again, even 
as the darkness pressed thicker around her. "The years I gave you are 
like an empty husk! Am I supposed to settle for that? Is that all I get 
for my loyalty, my- my..." Clenching her jaw, she simply glared at her 
unseen assailant instead of finishing.

A dry chuckle echoed in the void, this time coming from everywhere at 
once. "And yet, you haven't thrown away that 'husk.' Instead, you wear 
it like a badge- why, I wonder?"

Vision and sensation returned to Anko once again, only to pitch wildly 
as she was thrown to the floor of her apartment. She felt her hands 
pinned above her head as he straddled her chest, the twisted face of 
Iruka hovering before her own once more. "Does it not repulse you now, 
make you feel foul and wretched whenever they turn your way?" the 
impostor mocked. "Would not even this one spit in your face if he had 
even the faintest inkling of what you are?"

Unable to deny his words, no matter how much she wished to, Anko dropped 
her defiant gaze. A profound cold had begun to spread from where his 
hand clutched her wrists. In only a few moments she could barely feel at 
all, as if his very presence was enough to dispel the illusion that she 
had ever been anything more than a discarded shell, useless and hollow.

The tip of his tongue, however, seared like a brand as it traced lightly 
across her cheek, but she didn't flinch away; even pain was delicious, 
compared to the emptiness that filled her. "Return to me," he hissed. 
The words rang enticing and hypnotic in her ears, even as the serpentine 
red lash descending from his lips slithered around her throat to slip 
under the collar of her mesh bodysuit.

"-Nnn... Ah! An... ah... aaaaangh! Ah- O-Orochimaru-samaaaaaAAAAAAA-"



"-AAAUGH!" Springing upright as her back arched violently, Sakura 
pitched head over heels out of her chair, banging her knee against the 
edge of her desk as she crashed to the floor. A spike of pain lanced 
from the base of her skull up through her eyelids, causing her to stare 
dumbly at her the ceiling as amorphous gray blobs crawled across her 
vision.

Once clarity finally managed to rear its ugly head, Sakura rolled over 
onto all fours, barely noticing the stinging of her bruised knee as she 
made a mad scramble for the bathroom, smashing the door open with her 
shoulder in her rush to get to the toilet. When she got there, however, 
she didn't even manage a single dry heave before the nausea began to 
subside, evaporating as wakefulness invaded her drowsy mind.

Crumpling weakly before the porcelain throne, Sakura could only stare at 
her reflection in the undisturbed waters, feeling utterly dirty and 
disgusting. "Ugh... that's just too %(&$ing much," she protested half in 
disbelief, shuffling back to slump against the bathroom wall.

With a sniffle, she rubbed the unshed tears from her eyes. The 
nightmares she'd had about Orochimaru after the second exam had been bad 
enough, but leave it to Anko to take everything to horrifying new levels 
of wrongness. She did _not_ need to have twisted, nasty fantasies about 
some bloodthirsty psychopath who'd tried to kill her just a few weeks 
ago.

It had been three nights since Anko's terrors had started stalking her 
dreams, and this one had been by far the harshest. In both previous 
dreams, Orochimaru had at least made some effort to seduce her, after a 
fashion- she and Anko apparently had some very different ideas of what 
'seduction' entailed.

But while the sudden, forceful turn this dream had taken was horrible, 
it was nothing compared to the utter shame she'd woken to on the 
previous two nights, when she'd submitted willingly. Most disturbingly, 
she _understood_ how Anko felt, and couldn't help but agree on some 
pure, instinctive level. She'd gladly endure a thousand nightmares of 
Orochimaru violating her if she never had to suffer through another one 
where she succumbed to his will.

"But I do _not_ plan on getting used to _that_," the pink-haired girl 
growled angrily, drawing her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms 
around them.

Unfortunately, a few things about the dream were already starting to nag 
at her. There had definitely been some details this time that said that 
this dream couldn't have been stolen whole from Anko's head- like the 
bits about getting revenge on Kurenai for making her pay for that meal.

She retained all of 'her' memories of that encounter; she could still 
practically taste the outrage she'd felt when Yuuhi had chosen that 
restaurant. There was no way that Anko could have dreamed about that 
before. She was manufacturing these monstrosities herself, then, which 
meant that the doubts and fears they were based on were insinuating 
themselves into her own subconscious. *That's just beautiful. I got out, 
but I'm _still_ turning into Anko...*

Perhaps it wasn't as hopeless as all that, however. She still felt like 
herself most of the time, and with the way her bifurcated experiences of 
that day had shuffled back together, the parts where Anko had started 
leaking into her mind could be pushed to the side.

So far, only her dreams betrayed the depth of memory and emotion that 
she'd stolen from her host- but they did so utterly. She really _was_ 
Anko in her dreams, as far as she could tell, though more likely she was 
a combination of Anko and herself. Sakura was sure she couldn't really 
have the examiner locked away somewhere in her head, but she had enough 
of her to be very worried.

Wearily getting to her feet, Sakura planted her palms on the counter and 
leaned over the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror. The fresh 
bruises that decorated her forearms tonight were only the tip of the 
iceberg. She ached all over from the extra training that Gai was putting 
her through for missing a day, though he strangely hadn't pressed her 
for a specific explanation for her absence; maybe he already knew.

The dark rings under her eyes still lingered as well, despite the fact 
that she had put her Shintenshin research on hold. She'd spent the last 
two evenings trying to figure out what exactly she'd done to herself, 
and if there was any way to fix it, but had thus far only come to the 
same conclusions that she had right after she'd used the technique: she 
was extremely lucky to be alive.

All of the books seemed to assume that she'd be dead or worse after 
trying to manipulate her chakra the way she had, so they didn't explain 
further. Perhaps it was time to seek professional help. She probably 
wouldn't be able to do anything about it today, though.

Normally she'd talk to Kakashi about it, but he was still missing, and 
with the third exam starting tomorrow morning, even Gai had additional 
security duties that he had to attend to, though she was still expected 
to go and train on her own- and she would, too. He'd be able to tell if 
she didn't.

Iruka was also out of the question, she mused with a shudder. Sakura 
knew it was probably stupid to avoid her former teacher just because the 
'Anko' in her head liked him, but she didn't need to find out from 
experience if any of those conflicting emotions could surface while she 
was awake.

She supposed she'd have to go directly to the medical nins, then. The 
lone member of team seven not participating in the third exam was loathe 
to see just how much worse the dreams could get, so she resolved to go 
in for an examination right after she finished her morning routine. 
Speaking of which, the gray half-light that cast her ghastly profile in 
the mirror was starting to brighten with hints of fiery orange, 
signaling that it was about time she got started.

*Not before I take a %#)($in' shower,* she grumbled inwardly, reaching 
for the light switch as she shrugged out of the long T-shirt she'd slept 
in. She'd be sweaty and smelly again soon enough, but she wasn't about 
to face the day without washing away every trace of that horrible dream.

Thinking it out rationally had helped a bit, but it was definitely 
cathartic to step into the steaming spray and let the water splash 
across her face and cascade down her shoulders, burning from her skin 
the of memory of his touch. Absently, Sakura wondered how often Anko had 
these dreams, and if she always felt so... guilty, afterward...

*...Dammit, don't make me feel sorry for you, monster woman...*



S  U  I  R  E  N



To be continued... 


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