Anko folded her arms and leaned back against the edge of the stone bench.
The evening breeze stirred the loose strands of hair across her forehead. She took the bamboo skewer from her mouth, her tone turning a little impatient.
"I'm a Special Jonin. Don't think I'm just some dango-gobbling glutton." She pointed the skewer at Sasuke.
"I'm good at taijutsu, tracking, and Orochimaru-style snake techniques. Once you've finished your treatment, I'll arrange whatever help you need, as best I can."
Her tone deliberately stayed businesslike, but something in her eyes was beginning to soften.
Sasuke didn't answer right away.
He glanced down at Round Deer. All four of the deer's eyes bounced from Anko to him, then back to Sasuke.
"Fine," Sasuke said. "Round Deer, try treating her."
Round Deer shifted its four legs uneasily in place, then lowered its head toward Sasuke's ear and spoke in a voice only he could hear.
"She looks really scary. What if she bites me?"
"She won't bite a deer."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because she's human."
"Humans bite deer too." Round Deer sounded utterly serious.
Leaning against the stone bench, Anko watched the giant deer whispering to Sasuke. The question marks in her mind kept piling up.
"What's that deer mumbling about?"
"It's assessing the risk of you biting it," White Dog cut in.
"Huh?"
At last, Round Deer edged out from behind Sasuke.
It moved very slowly, every step tentative, its hooves scraping long tracks in the gravel.
When it reached Anko, it lowered its head until all four eyes were level with hers.
"Hello," Round Deer said, its voice taut with nervousness. "My name is Round Deer."
"...I'm Mitaraishi Anko." Anko stared at the four eyes inches from her face, her shoulders tensing despite herself.
"I can treat you. But I might not be able to finish. I can only treat a little at a time. It'll take many sessions."
"Quit rambling. Just treat me. Even if you can't finish, it still counts."
Anko cut off Round Deer's incomprehensible explanation.
She took a deep breath and looked at Sasuke. "Will I get better?"
Sasuke wanted to say, "You'll get better," but the words seemed to have some kind of power, and he really didn't want to say them. He simply nodded.
Anko's expression eased. She closed her eyes and tilted her neck slightly, exposing the Cursed Seal.
"Go ahead."
Round Deer took a deep breath. Its antlers began to glow.
Pale blue light spread across Anko's neck.
Anko clenched her teeth, her shoulders visibly tensing.
Warmth seeped into her skin.
Her breathing fell out of rhythm, and her fingers instinctively gripped the hem of her coat.
Five minutes later, Round Deer withdrew its antlers and stepped back.
"That's all I can do today. Your mark seems different from the Black one. It feels deeper and more primitive. If you want it cured, you'll need to come back several more times."
Anko opened her eyes and reached for the Cursed Seal on her neck.
It still hurt a little, but the faint burning sensation had definitely eased.
She lowered her hand, but her fingers wouldn't stop trembling.
Anko clasped her shaking wrist with her other hand and forced it down against her thigh.
Silence.
Then she looked up, her teasing smile returning.
"You really are a little monster, Sasuke Uchiha."
Anko stood up and put the bamboo skewer back in her mouth. Pointing at Sasuke, she spoke with a distinctly warning tone.
"But listen. Even if you can suppress this thing, Orochimaru definitely won't let it go."
"That guy has a pathological obsession with anything that interests him. Now you've got this bunch of weird Ninja Beasts with you, and you can even counter the Cursed Seal..."
"Let him come back," Sasuke said. "We haven't settled things from last time."
Anko's teeth paused on the skewer.
She looked down at Sasuke, searching his seven-year-old face for even the slightest sign of bravado.
But there was none. His expression held only a quiet calm.
Anko bent down and pinched both of Sasuke's cheeks, pulling them outward.
"YOUNG—KIDS—SHOULD—ACT—LIKE—YOUNG—KIDS!"
Sasuke's face was stretched into an odd shape.
"Quit acting so cool!" Anko squeezed harder.
"If you see Orochimaru again, the first thing you do is run. Not worry about settling scores! Got it?"
"Smack."
Sasuke slapped Anko's hand away.
He rubbed his reddened cheeks and twisted his mouth into a scowl.
"If you're done, hurry up and leave." Sasuke patted White Dog to signal that it was time to go. "Keep pinching me and I'll get mad."
Anko folded her arms and watched Sasuke's back.
Her smile slowly faded, leaving behind an expression too complicated to read.
She said nothing more and quietly left.
Round Deer cautiously edged up beside Sasuke.
"That was terrifying. Why have we met so many strangers these past two days? I don't want to come out anymore!"
"Her fingers were shaking when she left," Black Dog said, shaking the fur around his neck.
"That's not our business."
Sasuke glanced toward the entrance. Anko's back was disappearing around a corner of the Uchiha Compound.
"She's a Konoha ninja, not my ninja. Since she doesn't want to talk to me, why should I go out of my way to help her with her emotional problems?"
White Dog grinned. "Heh. Your emotional problems are way worse than hers, aren't they?"
"White! You jerk!"
Most of the lanterns along the shopping street had lit up, and the noren outside the Dango Shop still swayed in the evening breeze.
Anko stopped in front of the Dango Shop.
She looked up at the sign.
Usually, she would lift the curtain, go inside, order a few skewers of Three-Color Dango, then sit alone at a corner table against the wall and finish them.
Now she stood at the entrance, looking down as she raised her right hand.
Round Deer's glowing antlers, the warmth lingering on her skin, the sensation of the Cursed Seal being peeled away layer by layer—
Those details were so vivid that she couldn't even bring herself to reach for her wallet.
She took the skewer from her mouth and tightened her fingers around it. The skewer snapped in two.
"Damn it."
Anko tossed the broken skewer into a roadside trash can, turned around, and strode toward the Hokage Building.
Her footsteps struck heavily against the stone road.
The crowd along the shopping street gradually thinned.
Sasuke stopped outside the Dango Shop.
"This is the place." Black Dog followed at his heels and sniffed the gap beneath the noren.
"You going in?"
"Her hand was shaking when she left." Sasuke lifted the curtain and entered the shop.
"What happened to your excuse?" White Dog's ears perked up.
"She's still not our responsibility." Sasuke picked up the paper bag of takeout. "But we already know something's wrong with her... What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing. I just remembered someone saying I let my emotions push me into things too easily."
"You remembered wrong. I never said that."
Sasuke pushed open the apartment door.
Naruto was squatting in the hallway, holding a piece of chalk and staring at the crooked target circles he'd drawn on the floor.
Every one of his shuriken had missed. The farthest one was stuck in a crack at the base of the wall, two steps from the target.
At the sound of footsteps, Naruto sprang to his feet.
"Sasuke! You're finally back! This great me—"
Naruto's voice caught in his throat.
He saw Sasuke set down the paper bag, revealing more than a dozen skewers of Three-Color Dango.
"Dango?" Naruto's gaze glued itself to the sweets.
"Spend all night being trained by Black, or have dango. Pick one."
Naruto struggled for a moment before managing to blurt out, "...Do we have to train at night too? No, wait. Obviously, dango!"
Naruto quickly grabbed a skewer of Three-Color Dango and stuffed it into his mouth.
Black Dog lay beside Naruto's leg, wagging his tail.
Sasuke went into the dorm room, then tossed the paper bag to Escaping Rabbit. "Take the dango to Teacher Mitarashi."
Escaping Rabbit blinked. "Okay! I won't sneak a bite..."
"...Who said you would?"
Before you continue