NHRK Chapter 54

Seeking out Anko Mitarashi was easy.

Getting her to not run away for reasons he couldn’t explain was a chore.

She was running from dango shop to dango shop.

If he wanted to he could catch her but he played along to this game of cat and mouse to see what she was up to.

It was surprising, however, to realise that she wasn’t going into dango shops anymore but instead towards…T&I?

Then he felt something try to attack him from behind and he turned just in time to dodge a kick meant for his backside…or his ass for that matter.

It was Anko. Somehow she’d swapped herself out with a shadow clone and hid her chakra adequately enough to make him a bit confused in this crowd. It seemed that he would need more practice honing his Uzumaki senses.

“Excuse me,” Naruto said, “You’re Anko Mitarashi, aren’t you?”

“Wha?! How did you see that coming–ah, ahem,” She coughed into her hand, “I mean, you caught me. It’s expected really, I wasn’t trying very hard.”

Naruto paused, blinking.

“...Right…Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about–”

“Ah–ah–ah,” Anko said, finger shaking at him, “If you have something you need from me, it’s fun first, business later.”

“Eh? But it’s just–”

“Fun first!” Anko demanded, then she turned away from him, “Follow me.”

With that, she was gone.

“...I don’t remember her being like this in my world,” Naruto said.

He followed her.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Naruto found himself on a…training ground?

‘Does she want a spar?!’

“I want a spar!” Anko said, as if reading his thoughts.

“...Why?!” Naruto exclaimed.

“It’s because I want to test how strong the person I have to work with is,” Anko explained.

“Wait so you already know–Hey!” Naruto was cut off as Anko attacked him.

“We start now!” She laughed as she struck again.

She was wearing the same attire as she wore back in his old world, with the trench coat and the mesh shirt underneath which hinted at…inexplicable things.

Naruto wondered, then, how she was able to fight whilst simultaneously covering up her bits everytime she moved.

Anko was fast.

She was strong too.

For any other shinobi, they’d have trouble dealing with her. She was afterall, one of the more promising kunoichi’s in his old world and that fact seemed to remain here too.

But her style was…different.

He’d expected her to use more subterfuge. More trickery. More…snakes and poison.

She used none.

It was like he was fighting a different person altogether than the rare sparring matches he had with Anko back then.

Then his senses honed in on her, trying to figure out what was different.

To his surprise, he felt no…taint. The corruption one would get from Orochimaru’s cursed seal marks one’s soul as corrupted. He’d known that even without his Uzumaki senses, he could feel something was off with Sasuke even back when he was thirteen years old.

Yet it was not gone in its entirety. He felt that it was there, present within her but it was contained so expertly that it may have been a separate entity trapped from escaping for eternity.

Ah, that was it.

He would realise his mother’s work anywhere and this was, without a doubt, the work of Kushina Uzumaki.

It seemed that Anko had received the help she needed in this lifetime.

And it showed.

She seemed more cheerful, though still eccentric in her own way. It was like she was carrying a much smaller burden than she had.

“Don’t space out now!” Anko said as she formed a few hand signs and sprouted a jet of water at him.

In a daze, Naruto wasn’t paying too much attention as he reacted instinctively. He made an upwards cutting motion with his index and middle fingers and the water jet split into two, blasting to the sides and leaving him unharmed in between.

The water jet died down to reveal the shocked expression of Anko Mitarashi.

She just stared at him as he realised that he showed a bit too much of his cards already. He was supposed to be conservative with his strength, the hidden dagger of the village so to speak. Now he showed that he could handle himself much more than this Kunoichi thought he could.

“Uhh…alright, what the fuck?” Anko said. “You just split a water jet into two like it was a pesky vegetable being thrown at you!”

Naruto frowned at the simile. “Vegetable?”

“Vegetables suck!” Anko said, sticking her tongue out like a rueful child.

Naruto almost chuckled at her but held himself together. “Ah, I reacted on instinct. That was my bad. Don’t tell anyone, please.”

Anko’s eyes narrowed at him as she approached him. “Who is it, exactly, that Hiruzen’s got me working with?”

“Just another ninja,” Naruto said, casually.

Anko just stared at him, unimpressed. “...Really? Well then Mr. ‘Just another ninja’, I know that something is off here. Hiruzen’s never needed me to work with anyone before so what’s different this time?”

If Naruto could go back in time to kick himself into paying more attention in the spar rather than be distracted by Anko’s differences to the one he knew as well as her…assets, he would.

Now though…

He sighed. “Well…I don’t know if I should tell you.”

Then before he knew it, Anko was right up into his face, staring at him from barely an inch away. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought she was going to kiss him.

“Whatever reasons the old bones has, I want to know about it. I can keep secrets,” she said, her breath tickling his lips from the proximity.

Naruto could only nod.

Then he felt something sharp slightly prick his belly.

He glanced down to see a kunai being held there.

Anko smirked as she separated. “I win. Spar’s not over until I say it’s over.”

Naruto blinked. Then he laughed.

It seemed that Anko did have subterfuge and trickery…and probably poison and snakes too but was more reluctant to show such techniques in casual spars as her counterpart would.

“You didn’t say it had started either, so that’s a moot point, you strange woman,” Naruto chuckled.

Anko gave a soft laugh, too. “That’s fair. Was that all you needed from me? Thanks for going along with my antics, by the way, not many would want to deal with me.”

Naruto’s laughter died down. There was a slight sense of…vulnerability from her voice that surprised him. His empath abilities took in her surface feelings and he was surprised to feel a sense of…worry?

For what, he did not know, but it was unlike her to care about what other people think of her. Yet another difference from the Anko he knew.

“Hm, actually, chasing you around town has actually made me hungry,” Naruto said, “Want to grab some ramen?”

Anko blinked, and that sense of worry turned into slight anticipation and relief. “...ramen? That’s a terrible date spot.”

“Who said anything about a date?” Naruto retorted as he waved for her to follow him. Of which she did, smiling a small smile as if she’d just won something today.

“Please,” she said, “A guy and a girl hanging out together alone is always a date, no matter how mild it is in affection.”

“Quite the expert aren’t you?” Naruto chuckled.

“I am, seduction is one of my specialties,” Anko declared proudly.

Naruto smiled. “Just so you know, I have multiple girlfriends, so it’s not like I’m struggling for choice.”

“As if!” Anko laughed, not believing him in the slightest. “You’re just trying to downplay the significance of having a date with someone as hot as I am…even though you’re taking me to a ramen stall.”

Naruto looked offended as she’d said that last part like it was a sin. “Alright, first of all, my girlfriends are crazy pretty, much more so than you–”

“--hah! That’s more unbelievable than having multiple girls. I’m hot and I know it. Very very few in this village, no, this world can match me, and even less a handful could be considered prettier.”

Naruto shrugged. “Guess my girlfriends are in the handful then.”

Anko laughed and surprisingly punched him on the arm playfully. “Hah! You’re funny, and a bit weird, like me! I guess it isn’t so bad to work with you after all.”

Naruto smiled. “Also, the second point I want to make is…ramen is the food of the gods.”

He said that statement with such reverence that it made Anko pause in her step for a moment.

“...That’s the biggest lie if I’ve ever heard one,” Anko said, “Dango is clearly way better in every way possible.”

Naruto held a hand to his heart whilst the other covered his mouth. “Blasphemy!”

They both blinked at each other.

Then they burst out into laughter.

By the time they got to the ramen stall, Anko was holding on to Naruto’s arm as a date would and exchanging quips and jokes which had them both occasionally breaking down into laughter.

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Naruto was surprised to be greeted by, not Ayame nor Teuchi, but…Miyu?

“Naruto-sama!” Miyu gasped as she saw him, then she bowed in a way one only could to those they deeply respected.

Anko looked at him quizzically from his side, questioning their relationship.

Naruto smiled at her. “I’m glad that you’re settling into Konoha already, Miyu, and I see that introducing you to Teuchi and Ayame worked out pretty well.”

“Naruto-san!” Ayame greeted from the kitchen before she made her way to the front of the counter as well. “Look at this!”

She handed over to him a menu. A new, modified menu that included…soba?

“Huh…Looks like my favourite ramen stall is turning to a full-on noodle shop,” Naruto commented.

“We tried the soba that she made,” Ayame said, “Let’s just say that business is gonna be booming! We’ve even given her a portion of our business equity to make sure she’s stuck here forever with us!”

Naruto blinked. He turned to Miyu. “Are you alright with this?”

Miyu smiled and nodded. “Hai. They were very generous and…I’d like to not work alone for a change. Besides, the contract they gave me just states that I don’t share their recipe with others and don’t make a business selling the ramen I’ve learnt from them, not being stuck here forever as Ayame-san stated.”

Ayame hugged the girl, who let out a squawk of surprise.

“I finally have a friend and co-worker combo, so you are stuck here forever. I’d haunt you otherwise.”

Miyu blushed and laughed.

Anko seemed to get the gist of what was going on with their reaction. This Miyu girl seemed to be someone Naruto rescued from a mission perhaps and was now settling here as a refugee citizen.

She smiled and nudged at Naruto to introduce her.

“Hm? Ah!” Naruto jolted as if he’d forgotten that she was there after seeing Miyu doing well. “Guys, this is Anko Mitarashi, my colleague and proctor partner for the upcoming chuunin exams. We’re here to try out the food of the gods!”

Anko rolled her eyes.

-x-x-x-

It only took a few more minutes of idle chatting and occasional bartering before a bowl of ramen is placed in front of Anko and a bowl of ramen and soba was placed in front of Naruto.

He did have a large appetite, and now he could enjoy both!

“Ichiraku Raman and Soba,” Ayame muttered, “Got a ring to it.”

Miyu smiled. “I’m glad I can be of assistance.”

Ayame smiled. “I’m glad you were introduced to us by Kushina-sama and Naruto-san! To think this shy girl who’d never even tried ramen before could be such a diamond in the rough…”

Naruto smiled at their interaction.

“Ahem,” Anko hinted from beside him, “It’s not very nice to pay attention to other ladies in the middle of a date, Naruto-kun.”

Naruto chuckled. “I’m just glad for them, is all, and jumping to familiar suffixes already? You’re getting ahead of yourself, Anko-chan.”

Anko playfully hit him on the shoulder again. “It’s…weird you know. I didn’t know what to think at first about working with a partner for the first time. It’s normally just me and occasionally Ibiki when he needs my…particular brand of assistance.”

Naruto shivered a tiny bit.

Anko smirked at his reaction. “It seems that my reputation precedes me. Anyhow, I didn’t expect us to hit it off this well is all I’m saying. This is nice!”

She gestured between them and the surroundings they were in.

Naruto smiled. “I’m glad as well, Anko-chan. I thought you’d be more…eccentric.”

Anko’s eyebrow twitched.

“That’s not a bad thing!” Naruto backtracked immediately, shoving a foot into his mouth.

Then Anko giggled.

She giggled! Anko Mitarashi does not giggle, at least not the one he knew.

This Anko was so much more…relaxed and yet still retained that dangerous air of his world’d Anko that it was…incredible.

“You’ve met my guardian, haven’t you?” Naruto said, making her blink at the sudden change in topic.

“Your guardian?”

Naruto nodded. “Kushina Uzumaki.”

“Lady Uzumaki’s your guardian?!” Anko exclaimed.

It was Naruto’s turn to look at her quizzically. “I’m pretty sure that was announced like a year ago.”

Anko thought for a moment. “Ah, I remember something of that sort. I tend to forget about things that don’t involve me.”

Naruto chuckled at her unapologetic shrug. “Yeah, I sense…something within you, vile and foreign. It seems to be contained by something.”

Anko hesitated for a moment before turning slightly and showing him her cursed seal on her neck.

There it was, as expected. Unlike Sasuke’s own seal, however, this one was contained to the gills with a quadruple layer of evil sealing wards.

Kushina was much, much better than Kakashi or even Jiraiya was at seals. If Sasuke had this help back then…

“That’s a scary look,” Anko said, drawing him out of his memories.

“Ah, sorry,” Naruto apologised. “It’s just that I’ve seen something similar before.”

Anko nodded. “It’s a terrible thing, really. The containment seals alone take up like half my chakra capacity to maintain. I’m still strong as fuck, don’t get me wrong, but it would be better if it could be removed entirely. Too bad that old snake left no blood samples when he ran off.”

“I…see,” Naruto said, “Actually, speaking of Orochimaru…”

Anko tensed at the name and narrowed her eyes. “What is it?”

Naruto placed a privacy seal around them so that no one could listen in. “We suspect that Orochimaru will make a move during the chuunin exams.”

Anko almost leapt out of her chair. “You’re kidding! Then we have to–”

“We’re already prepared for it,” Naruto said, calming her down, “It’s why I’m here actually.”

Anko stared at him for a moment. “...you?”

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. “Me.”

Anko sat back down and narrowed her eyes at him once more. “Don’t get me wrong, I know that you can handle yourself from our spars but…You? Not Kakashi or Guy or better yet, Kushina or Jiraiya?”

Naruto nodded in confirmation. “Me.”

Anko shook her head. “You can’t be that strong. This is Orochimaru. Even if you beat him in a duel, he’s the most slippery bastard on this planet.”

“Trust me I know,” Naruto stated, “It wouldn’t change anything.”

If Anko could smack the arrogance out of someone, she’d do it now.

This was Orochimaru! The bane of her life and someone so incredibly strong that she’d have no hope of defeating no matter how hard she trained. He was considered a genius for a reason.

To see this young shinobi just past his genin age talk so casually out of his ass…

It irritated her.

So much for getting along well.

“This is bullshit,” Anko said as she was about to storm off to Hiruzen to give him a piece of her mind.

To her shock, however, she found that she could not move, no matter how hard she tried. It was like she was being held in place by the world itself.

Then her eyes slowly turned towards Naruto upon realisation.

“Have some trust, Anko-san,” Naruto said, reverting back to the suffix he used for her. It stung a tiny bit but it did not match the intensity she felt towards anything to do with Orochimaru.

Then Naruto flexed his chakra as much as he could without breaking the privacy seal capacity around him.

He released Anko from his gravity hold yet she still remained rooted to the spot, staring at him, wide eyed.

Then, upon realising that she could move, she blinked. Then she gulped.

Whoever this kid was…he was no ordinary upstart.

She knew now.

But she still didn’t feel that this was right.

“However strong you are, I just want to make sure that if given the opportunity to kill Orochimaru, that he’d be dead for sure, no matter the cost. He’s cunning and devious. He’d escape if we’re not careful.”

Naruto nodded in understanding as he drew his chakra presence back in.

Anko shivered at the sensation. It was like watching a terrifying monster turn into an unassuming person.

Yet she was also glad that this particular monster was on their side, and not crazy like her old mentor was.

She gripped the edges of the table, biting her lip to rein in her emotions.

“If you…” she got out between her clenched teeth, “If you…kill Orochimaru, you can have anything you want from me.”

When faced with the chance to have that snake die, to have that man who ruined her life and the lives of so many others…it was so much to process that it was overwhelming.

Naruto placed his hand over her own and like being comforted by the world itself, he spoke. “I will handle all evils, Anko-san, especially one as vile as Orochimaru.”

For some reason beyond her belief, those words comforted her. It was like hearing a statement of face rather than the fantasy of a boy.

She, somehow and someway, believed him.

She nodded as tears threatened to trickle from her eyes.

“Good,” she said, voice shaking, “That’s…good. Thanks…”

Naruto smiled at her and it was as if it relieved of her burdens. “Great, now your ramen is getting cold. Eat up!”

She did, and they spent a moment enjoying the savoury meal.

Although she still thought that Dango was the greatest gift to mankind, she could admit that this…wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t too bad at all.

Once they were done, Anko sighed.

“Look…I’m sorry for having an outburst. It’s just anything to do with Orochimaru…” Anko said.

Naruto shook his head. “It’s okay. I understand completely and don’t hold it against you. It’s within what I expected out of this conversation, really.”

Anko huffed. “Tell you what, to make taking care of Orochimaru more of an incentive for you, if you succeed in doing so, you can have everything I have to offer, including me.”

Naruto looked like a gaping fish.

“...Eh?”

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