Marks of the snake
Prologue
Nine year old Anko Mitarashi found herself counting the tiles on the ceiling once again, it was something to keep her mind off everything and anything else, it helped dull the pain that shot through her entire body and tore through her arms and neck and made breathing painful let alone moving, even thinking hurt. It wasn't like she even wanted to think about anything it was a whole lot more simple to not think and just count the tiles. Counting the tiles was something that helped, it was a simple thing that kept her from thinking about anything since she had woken from her month long coma two hours ago.
Anko felt another stab of pain in her neck as she swallowed followed by two more shards of pain through her forearms, she knew the cause, she had seen it when she had lifted her arms earlier. Her companion in the hospital room had the same thing. Naruto was also nine years old, the blond haired boy lay in the room's other bed. Anko turned her head from counting the ceiling tiles despite the action causing another jab of pain.
His face had a look of pained peace, the whisker marks marks that adorned his cheeks games him an exotic look along with his natural tan. His chest was rising and falling slowly with his breathing, Anko had barely been awake from her own coma and Naruto had yet to wake. An IV was stuck in his arm, both of which were on resting on the cover of the bed rather than beneath it. His forearms had the same thing Anko's forearms had, a metal rectangle that was sunk into his forearm and went from just above his wrist to just below his elbow, the skin around the metal looked like it had been melted and fused to it.
Naruto shifted slightly and his eyes tightened in pain, Anko waited or his eyes to open, his eyes were a brilliant clear sky blue that held a tone of mischief in them, as his eyes opened and his head turned towards her Anko could see his eyes, they resembled a stormy sky and that spark had gone out.
"What now Anko-Chan?" His voice was raspy from lack of use and breaking from uncertainty, "I Can't go back there, not back to that orphanage." Anko knew at least some of his past before they had been taken in by him. It had been four years ago when he had taken in twenty children and now only Anko and Naruto remained.
Naruto had come from an abusive orphanage where he was more often than not left to fend for himself. Anko herself had come from off the streets where at least she wasn't regularly beaten half to death.
"I don't know Naruto-Kun, I really don't know" Anko knew her own voice was just as raspy and broken as his. Naruto's hand stretched out towards her, ignoring the pain Anko reached out with her own hand and held onto his.
A weary old man watched with sad eyes through the one way mirror into the secure Hospital room, the regret of being so blind to his own students actions and the pain caused to the two children only a few feet from him that they could have been spared from bore down heavily upon his shoulders.