Disclaimer: I own nothing- nothing! ;_;... All reproduction rights to the
characters presented herein belong to Kishimoto Masashi, and i don't wanna
bother him, so i haven't asked for permission to use them. Please don't
tell!

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

Continuity Warning: ...this chapter occurs right after the last one. 
Yaaay!

Non-Yaoi Warning: Only one male in this chapter again, so i'm pretty sure
there's no Yaoi here...

Naked Sakura Warning: ...^_^;. Well, when last we checked, she was taking 
a
shower, so...

Your warnings never cease to amuse me, no matter how many times I ready 
them. =P

It took a lot less time to revise this chapter than i was anticipating; i
actually thought it was a lot longer than this ^_^;. I'm considering
combining it with the previous chapter now, since they happen one right
after the other without any significant time gap.

Sounds reasonable; and it'll make 'Breath' seem not so shockingly massive...

<sniPSNipSniPSNIPSnipsNIpsnip!>

"...Did you know that 18% of all assassination attempts happen in or 
around
the target's own bathroom?"

Did you know that 72% of all percentages are made up on the spot?

Stopping cold at the sound of that bright and cheery, but horribly 
familiar
voice, Sakura slowly lowered the towel that she was using to dry her hair.
Unfortunately, her eyes only confirmed what her ears had already told her.
Sitting casually on the edge of her bed, grinning like the cat that
swallowed the canary, was none other than Mitarashi Anko.

"...I was aware of that fact, yes," Sakura replied wearily, favoring the
special jounin with a flat look as she went back to gently wicking the
moisture from her forelocks. She'd been anticipating something like this 
for
a while, and she'd known there'd be no escape when Anko came for her 
again;
she just wondered what had taken the woman so long. "It's the best place 
to
catch someone with their pants down," she finished dryly, her sarcastic 
tone
drawing attention to her own nudity. The corner of her mouth turned up as
Anko's face drooped into a frown.

"You already heard that one, huh?" the brunette mused in disappointment.

"That joke's older than Hokage Mountain," Sakura deadpanned.

I really like this exchange. Sakura/Anko bantering in always a joy to 
partake in...

Discouraged for barely a heartbeat, the grin returned with reinforcements.
"So do you always wander around your house naked?" Anko needled
suggestively.

... especially when said banter inches lowly towards the gutter. ^_^

Sakura grimaced, but she couldn't really deny it. Her mother grew up on a
farm and didn't brook a lot of 'silly' body modesty- like Sakura's 
frivolous
desire for a bathrobe, for instance -but the way the examiner was leering 
at
her made Sakura want to argue. "It's _my_ house," she pointed out curtly,
tying the short bath towel around her waist and crossing her arms. "So 
were
you here for something, or did you just sneak into my bedroom to ambush me
with stale toilet humor?"

The little clues you keep dropping throughout the chapters about Sakura's 
mum and dad (and later on grandparents) are a really nice touch. They really 
enrich the fic. You do it in such small snippets though, that sometimes it's 
really easy to forget these fun nuggets of information. I realize it's 
really the reader's job to remember fun facts, but sometimes, it does get 
difficult...

Anko quirked an eyebrow. "My, aren't _we_ in a hurry to be arrested for
treason?"

"Treason?" Sakura blinked. "That's stupid! If I were a spy, why would I 
hang
around and _wait_ for you to come and get me?! I would've of skipped town
the first chance I got!" the green-eyed girl snapped testily. After 
spending
the entire night _being_ Anko, and having Orochimaru capture and ravish 
her
in her dreams, the examiner didn't scare her one bit.

Anko, however, was unfazed by her logic. "It does seem kinda stupid," she
admitted, "but maybe you figured that whatever you did to me would cover
your tracks for a bit longer. That was pretty impressive, by the way; if
Yuuhi hadn't gotten fed up and asked me about-"

Stopping, the older woman peered at her oddly before continuing in a 
notably
more venomous tone. "Well, anyhow, you were a bit sloppy- and if you 
aren't
a spy, then explain to me why you were panting like a bitch in heat and
moaning for 'Orochimaru-sama,' just now."

Hmm... it's kinda surprising that Anko has the self restraint to show up, 
crack some jokes, tease Sakura a bit, before coming around to this point. 
Gotta give that jounin more credit, I guess...

<sniPSNipSniPSNIPSnipsNIpsnip!>

Anko still looked deeply skeptical. "Prove it," she demanded, scrutinizing
the young genin critically. "Describe one of these 'dreams.'" Crossing her
knees, Anko folded her arms over her chest and glared at the shorter girl
expectantly.

"Weeeell..." Now was the time for delicacy,

And here I figured it was time for revenge. =P

Sakura decided. As a torture and
interrogation specialist, the examiner probably had a 'different' take on
this sort of invasion of privacy, and Sakura had no idea how she might
react.
Moving deliberately, Sakura leaned against the near wall and tucked her
hands behind her. "...Um, well, in this recent dream, I- you ended up
meeting Iruka-sensei, and having dinner with him." She watched Anko's face
for any sort of reaction, but was denied.

*Dammit, time for something a little riskier then.* "You... er, you were
really happy to be eating with him, since you've liked him for years, but
didn't know if he would like you-" Ah! There, she was blushing! It was
faint, but definitely noticeable on Anko's light skin.

That's so cute. ^_^

<sniPSNipSniPSNIPSnipsNIpsnip!>

Lowering her head a bit, Sakura turned to the side, looking the part of 
the
embarrassed innocent. "Afterward, you invited him home for a drink but..."
Uh oh- She didn't want to poke at Anko's shame too much, but a little 
detail
was probably necessary for believability. "-but you had to clean your
apartment first, so you wouldn't scare him."

Anko's eyes flickered down for a moment, but that was all; time to go for
the jugular, then. "When you went to let him in, it wasn't Iruka, at the
door- it was Orochimaru." Sakura's breath caught at the memory, but she
didn't miss Anko's small, echoing gasp; almost there! "He forced his way 
in
and pinned you to the ground, and then he started-"

"I've heard enough."

"Really? But I hadn't even gotten to the part with the love letter yet!"

A faint, almost imperceptible waver in Anko's voice caught Sakura's
attention, and she turned again to face her inquisitor. *Oh crap!*

There was no doubt about it now: Anko was furious. Her cheeks were mottled
with a flush of rage, while an engorged vein on her forehead throbbed in
time to one madly twitching eyebrow. Despite that, however, the brunette 
was
also studiously avoiding Sakura's gaze, her eyes downcast as if she were
ashamed of herself.

*...#&%$(, I'm a moron! Of course she's ashamed! I'd be ashamed too, if
someone reached into _my_ head and dragged _that_ out for the world to 
see!*
Panicking, Sakura raised her arms, hands open in a classical 
non-threatening
posture. "Look, I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen, really! I just
wanted to-"

Caught completely by surprise, Sakura could do nothing but freeze in shock
as a terrific, bestial growling sound filled the room. Dropping her gaze 
in
slow increments, trying not to make any sudden moves, Sakura's wide 
emerald
eyes finally fell upon Anko's stomach, and the stunned girl had an 
epiphany.
"... Would you like something to eat?" she suggested, hopefully.

I thought this was perfect comedic timing. The scene was enjoyably light 
despite being rather important (Sakura finally devulging the truth to Anko), 
and it would have been a pity to see the kunoichi get ugly and at each 
other's throats. Cue stomach!

"Hey, what are you doing?! I'm going to eat that!" Making a desperate 
lunge,
the smaller kunoichi was nonetheless unable to rescue the delectable fried
morsel before it disappeared into Anko's mouth. Frowning, she jabbed an
accusatory chopstick at the happily chewing jounin. "That was _my_ fish!"

"Sakura, there's no need to shout," Sakura's mother chided gently from her
position in front of the stove, although the wry look she was shooting the
both of them belied her serene tone. "I'm cooking more, just be patient 
for
a few minutes. Would you like some more as well, Mitarashi-san?"

With a clearly audible swallow, almost as if to spite the fuming girl next
to her, Anko grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Please!"

Heh. I really wonder how Sakura's mum would have treated Anko if she heard 
the rumours... erm, or am I getting ahead of myself? Have the rumors begun 
yet?

<sniPSNipSniPSNIPSnipsNIpsnip!>

"What?!"

"If you hadn't tried to escape, Yuuhi would never have found me!" the
examiner explained, a bit of heat rising to her cheeks.

I dunno what sort of comments other folks have been leaving you, but I 
really enjoy Anko referring to Kurenai as Yuuhi. It's just so fun and... 
hinting of their past. ^_^

Springing like a coiled viper, Anko was on top of her before she could
finish the breath. Ankles locked around the feet of the chair, Anko
straddled her thighs and bent forward so their noses were almost touching.
The hungry, animalistic gleam in the woman's eyes instantly doused 
Sakura's
surly mood like a bucket of ice water. *Oh )(&$!* Flailing wildly, she 
tried
to push the jounin away. "No! Anko, waiAAAAAH?!"

You know, the first time I read this paragraph, I just found it funny 
because, well, it's Anko torturing Sakura. I didn't even realize it had such 
a fun duo purpose...

Glancing up, Anko watched as Sakura held her hands above her head and 
reeled
off a string of words in Konoha ninja sign language. "Let. go. or. will.
possess. again- Gah!" Releasing Sakura's face, the taller woman switched 
her
grip to Sakura's hands, lacing their fingers so that neither of them
couldn't perform any seals. "None of that!" she commanded, looking just a
tiny bit panicked.

And the whole concept of Konoha ninja sign language is greatly amusing 
too. ^_^
Moving around Anko to close the shutters, she glanced over her shoulder at
her waiting 'escort.' "Alright, just let me get some of the scrolls I was
studying- huh? Aaah! INO?!"

And so it begins... ^_^

<sniPSNipSniPSNIPSnipsNIpsnip!>

"Hey, I didn't see anything!" Kiba protested loudly, though Sakura didn't
miss the fact that he went red to the gills as he said this. Desperately, 
he
pointed at Ino. "Her- Her big ass was in the way!"

The fair-haired girl ignored him,

Very lucky, Kiba....

however, engaged as she was in a staring
match with the Sakura. "I didn't really believe it before, Sakura, but 
after
seeing- seeing- _that_, all I can say is... why didn't you tell me?!" Ino
pleaded, her face clouded with all of the anger and betrayal that Sakura
felt _she_ was entitled to, and then some.

"Tell you what?!" Sakura growled defensively, suddenly off balance as she
flinched away at the emotion in her rival's voice

"About _you_! And _her_!" Ino shifted her glare to Anko for a moment, then
returned to Sakura, her expression twisting in disbelief. "Sakura, I 
thought
we were _friends_!"

You know, back when Inner-Sakura and Sakura first snogged, I really figured 
Ino would be jealous instead of hurt. But at this point in time, as I read 
this, I really believe she's just genuinely hurt that Sakura didn't tell her 
about her sapphic leanings. Of course, several chapters later, and this 
changes again, but, I just thought I'd let you know. =P

"Wha- we are! I don't understand- Ino, what are you talking about?!"
Glancing back to see if the jounin had any idea of what was going on, 
Sakura
was treated to the shock of her life as Anko stepped forward and drew her
close, draping her arms loosely around Sakura's shoulders in a gentle but
intimate embrace.

With a dramatic sigh, the examiner cast a sad, tender look down at the
stunned girl in her arms. "Well... I suppose it had to happen eventually."

Anko is just so deliciously cruel here...

"What?! What are you doing?!" Mouth agape, Sakura nearly gave herself
whiplash as she looked back and forth between Ino and Anko, barely
registering the red-as-a-tomato Kiba watching in the background.

Shaking her head regretfully, the brunette's next words were still
affectionate, but now resonated bittersweet. "I told you that we'd been
sloppy; Yuuhi and some other folks saw us behind the restaurant, the other
day."

*Huh?* This brought Sakura up short. "They saw-? I mean- what did they-?"
Blinking furiously, her panicked emerald eyes dropped to Anko's hands on 
her
chest, then darted back up to the older woman's adoring gaze, then zipped
over to the trembling bundle of emotion that was Ino.

*What, the only thing we did the behind the restaurant was- aaaAAAAH! OH
()&$!* Struggling free of Anko's embrace, Sakura took a step forward, only
to stop and pale in horror as Ino took a corresponding step back. "Wait! 
You
can't seriously think I'm- that we're-"

A moment later she found herself captured again, this time much more
thoroughly, as Anko bent forward and grabbed her up in a desperate hug.
"There's no use denying it now, Sakura. Please, just let it go..."

"Y- you can't be serious!" Sputtering, Sakura twisted around to face Anko,
then nearly swallowed her tongue when the corner of the woman's mouth that
the others couldn't see twisted up in a mischievous smirk, and Anko's 
loving
gaze momentarily became the familiar, hungry leer of a playful predator.

"AAAAAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Turning back to Ino, Sakura gave her friend 
a
desperate look. "Don't believe her, please, she's making it up!"

I should feel guilty for enjoying Sakura's freak out, but it's just so fun!

<sniPSNipSniPSNIPSnipsNIpsnip!>

Anko nodded in satisfaction. "Good..." A moment later, however, her eyes
narrowed in disapproval. "And since when are we on a first name basis?"

"What?"

"You called me 'Anko' a few seconds ago. Not Mitarashi-san, or Anko-sama, 
or
anything- just 'Anko.'"

Anko with any suffix attached just seems so...

"...why on earth would I call you Anko-sama?"

"Because you love me dearly, and we have incredible lesbian sex every
night."

Aha! And the truth comes out! I knew it!

"..."

This has got to be the *only* reaction Sakura can have that won't dig her 
grave further.

"Well c'mon- if you _insist_ on denying the evidence of our love in front 
of
everyone, let's get it over with!"

"...why are you doing this to me?"

"Because it's fun!"

Indeed it is, Anko-chan. Indeed it is...

I think this was got to be one of my favourite chapters in Suiren. It's 
everything a set-up chapter should be - funny, light - and does what it sets 
out to do - setup the big Ino/Sakura fight scenes. It was gave us the 
plot-important dialogue between Sakura and Anko; explaining to the special 
class jounin what happened in prior chapters, and it did that really well 
too. The interaction between Sakura and Anko was a joy to behold, and you 
really didn't disappoint. When you have as much fun and amusing 
ribbing/dialogue as this chapter did, the exposition could get tedious, but 
I found that it never did. I think it would do well if you combined this 
chapter with the previous one - this one was tragically too short. =P

Cheers,

Jenny



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