Author's Note: Just a little one-shot I decided to do for Master of Anime. It's a Naruto/Anko story, which isn't necessarily one of my favorites, but I figured it would be an interesting challenge. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Why would you think I did?
Dark Days, New Mornings
Peaceful. That was the best word to describe the current state of the village hidden in the leaves. It had been three years since the fall of the sound village and the subsequent defeat of Orochimaru, and two years since anyone had last heard of the Akasuki. The village's shinobi populations had finally been restored to a semblance of what it once was and people were finally getting back to how their lives used to be before the sand/sound invasion seven years ago.
However, despite how peaceful the village had become as a whole, there were still those for whom life just never seemed to get easier. Take a certain patron in the local dango stand for example…
CRASH
One man went flying out of the nearest window and collapsed in the street outside.
"Give me some more sake!" a purple haired woman raved as he began hurling kunai at the other patrons, some of which landed dangerously close to some very sensitive places.
"Don't you think you've had enough, Anko?" a voice said gently from somewhere behind her.
Anko whirled around to face the person who had snuck up on her so easily, her face morphing into a scowl when she recognized whom it was. The man was taller than her, at least six feet, and had long, unruly blonde hair, tan skin and three distinctive whisker-like marks on each of his cheeks. It was a face anyone in Konoha would recognize.
"Don't start with me tonight, Uzumaki," she grumbled as she turned her attention to the sake that had just been placed in front of her by a frightened bartender. "I'm in a bad mood."
"Really?" Naruto asked sarcastically. "I never would have guessed. And here I just thought you were looking for some target practice." When Anko didn't answer and instead just started downing the booze in front of her, he let out a sigh and settled down in the seat next to her. "You have to stop this, Anko. It isn't healthy," he said seriously.
Anko stepped out the cup and gave him a sideways glance. "This from the guy that goes on ramen binges every other week."
Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly. "You know what I'm talking about. It's been over three years already. You have to move on."
"Don't go there, Uzumaki," she growled.
Naruto chose not to heed her warning and pushed on. "A lot of people died in that war, Anko, and almost every one of them was precious to someone else. But as ninja it's our job to accept their deaths and keep going."
"I said SHUT UP!" she screamed. The sake bottle in Anko's hand shattered under the force of her unleashed rage as she whipped around and attempted to punch the blonde in the face, only to be blocked.
"You think you're doing any service to his memory by drowning yourself in booze?" Naruto continued as he held her fist tightly in his hand. "Do you think it would make him happy seeing you try and destroy yourself?"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" she ranted as she began attacking him with renewed fury, hurling punches, kicks, and any weapon she could think of at the man in front of her, only to have each and every one of them dodged or blocked with a calmness that was almost uncharacteristic of the demon vessel. Everyone else in the small stand had already left, fearing what might happen to them if they stayed.
Naruto waited silently as little by little, her anger started to ebb and her blows started to get weaker. He knew this was the only way to get through to her, just as it was the only way for Kakashi to get through to him. He and Anko were similar in that way.
Finally sensing the time had come, Naruto grabbed Anko firmly by the arms and with one quick movement, slammed her back up against a nearby wall, bracing her with his body in such a way as to prevent any movement on her part. As expected she put up a decent struggle, but when it became apparent she wasn't going anywhere, she eventually stopped. She kept her head turned to the side though, so their eyes didn't have to meet. But when he spoke, she found that he had her undivided attention.
"I know you loved him, Anko," Naruto said softly, "but sooner or later you're going to have realize that you aren't the only one that misses him." Anko jerked her head towards the blonde in surprise and saw the sincerity in his eyes.
"Iruka and I were close. He was like a brother to me," he continued. "Don't disgrace his memory by destroying yourself like this."
And with that, he just let her go and walked out of the stand without another word. Anko did the only thing she could think of doing and allowed herself to slump onto the floor, a small trail of tears coming from her eyes.
Three days later found Naruto looking over the village from the Hokage Monument. The view was so entrancing that he almost didn't sense the person teleporting to a spot a few feet away from him.
The blonde demon carrier slowly got up from his resting spot and turned towards the new arrival. He was a little surprised when he saw the familiar form of a purple haired woman wearing a tan trench coat.
"Come to enjoy the view, Anko?" Naruto asked casually.
To his confusion though, Anko didn't make any move to respond to his query and just calmly walked towards him with slow, even steps. Confusion slowly gave way to concern and he began to wonder if she had a darker reason for coming up here. He immediately used his senses to try and discern any ill intent from her aura, but found nothing. No anger, so hostility, and no despair. There was a small sense of sadness to her but it was overwhelmed by a greater sense of calm and one other emotion Naruto had a hard time identifying. Either way it seemed clear that neither of them were in any danger, so he made no movement towards his weapons when she finally stopped in front of him. Then, in a movement so fast Naruto barely even had time to realize what was happening, Anko roughly grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down so that their lips met in a savage embrace. Naruto's eyes widened in shock for a few moments before his eyes gradually closed as he began to slowly move his lips against hers, relishing the experience.
A few moments later (although it felt like an eternity for the two on the mountain) Anko gently released the blonde from her grasp, each of them panting slightly. A small silence ensued after ward, neither one moving from where they were, before Naruto finally asked the question that Anko had been waiting for.
"Why?"
Anko smiled to herself, knowing he meant, "Why did you kiss me?"
"Just a thank you," she said simply.
"For what?" he asked softly.
"For caring. I didn't think there was anyone left that did."
Naruto nodded silently as he gently wrapped his arms around the woman's waist, pulling her a little closer. Anko flushed a little and eventually did the same.
"Can I ask you a question?" she said after another short silence.
"Sure," he said as he moved away a little so he could look into her eyes.
"Does this 'moving on' thing ever get easier?"
Naruto expression turned a little sad as he looked into Anko's light purple orbs. "It gets a little easier as time goes on, so long as you have good people to turn to."
To his surprise Anko gave him a small but sincere smile as she moved forward and gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Then I guess you're stuck with me, Uzumaki, because you're the only person I have left."
Naruto blushed slightly before he smiled as well. "No choice, eh?"
"Nope," she said childishly as she pulled him close again.
Silently, Naruto couldn't help but wonder where this would go or if it would last, but in the end he found he didn't care. Whether she realized what it really meant or not, Anko had become one of his precious people, and that meant that no matter what happened he would do everything in his power to protect her. Not even death would stop him.
That was his new promise of a lifetime.
The End.
Author's Note: Sorry if the ending is a little cheesy. I'll tell you right now, angst and fluff have never been my strong suites, but I think this turned out pretty well…especially considering I've never written a one-shot before.
I hope you all enjoyed this:)
R&R!