True Potential By DryBonesKing

Part 33-34

Disclaimer: So... I don't own the rights to Naruto. I do have a receipt from Chipotle, showing proving that for a small period, I owned a steak burrito, a coke, and a bag of chips. However, I had lunch, so I don't own them anymore. :( Eh, whatever. I was hungry. XD

Nighttime had fallen over Konoha. The Suna and Oto invaders had either retreated after the failed invasion or were placed in captivity in Konoha. Many of the shinobi and civilian villagers were celebrating the strength of their shinobi and the death of Orochimaru. There was even joint celebration with the Iwa shinobi in the village. Their assistance proved valuable in holding off the Suna/Oto invaders and helped bridge the gap between the two former-enemy villages.

While most of the villagers were celebrating their victory, Mitarashi Anko was not one of them. After the death of Orochimaru, the Sandaime had forced her to go to the hospital. Once she was treated by a squad of medical shinobi and released home, she started to walk towards a small cemetery deep within the heart of Konoha. The tokubetsu jōnin walked through the cemetery underneath the full moon's moonlight before she stopped at two tombstones. She was at the resting place for Jikan Mamoru and Motō Himura, her former teammates.

"Hey Mamoru. Hey Himura. It's been a while since I last paid you guys a visit, huh? Hopefully you both aren't too pissed at me." Anko spoke with a small chuckle. "I've been really busy since the beginning of this year. The Hokage actually assigned me to a genin team. Can you guys believe it?"

Although she received no response, she could just hear the laughter from beyond the grave. Both her former teammates, although they treated Anko like a sister to them, considered her extremely irresponsible and immature at times. They often joked how awful of a jōnin-sensei she would be. She actually joked with them about the same.

"Yeah, that happened. But their good kids and I'm glad I got a hold of them. They're really going to be something one of these days." The tokubetsu jōnin commented with a smile. "The Chūnin Exams were today and I just know that they're all going to get promoted."

"... Speaking of the Chūnin Exams, though..." Anko's voice started to trail off for a moment as she contemplated her words. Finally, she took a deep breath and started to speak. "Konoha was invaded. Suna and this new village, Oto, attacked. Turns out the leader of this village was our former sensei, Orochimaru."

"I ended up fighting him face-to-face for a moment. I couldn't beat him. He was way too strong. But Hokage-sama arrived just in-time. I distracted Orochimaru for long enough and he was able to kill him." She stated. The kunoichi sighed in relief as she, once again, thought about finally witnessing the death of Orochimaru. "Yeah... Orochimaru is dead. He's finally gone."

Tears started to develop in her eyes. The tears fell onto the tombstones of her former teammates.

"It's so surreal just thinking about. He's finally dead. The man who ended up killing you both is finally dead. I... I don't know what to say. Or do. Or think." Anko commented between her sobs. "I just feel so relieved... yet so empty. He's finally gone, but my curse mark is still here. The damage he has done will never go away... and you two will never be coming back."

Anko stopped talking for a moment, as if she was waiting for the tombstones to reply. She tried to imagine Mamoru and Himura looking at her and telling her something.

For a moment, she felt nothing while standing in the cemetery. Then, in the corner of her eyes, she thought she saw the spirits of her two friends and teammates smiling at her. The two of them were nodding their heads at her, trying to tell her something non-verbally: 'He's gone. That's all that matters. Everything is going to be okay.'

The tokubetsu jōnin rubbed the sleeve of her coat against her eyes, brushing away the tears. When she cleared her eyes, the image of her teammates was gone. She blinked in confusion and scanned the whole cemetery, looking for them again. They were, however, not present in the cemetery any longer.