#[ act i ⋅ your cursed touch ] – tsunade.

[hokkoshi]

✧. tag dump: senju tsunade

[lightweaving]

#3 Jiraiya/Tsunade

"Lingering hugs..."

I wanted so badly to include smut in this bc Jiraiya deserves it damn it but it insisted on being an angst piece so apologies anon!

Embrace

Length: 700 words

Prompt: Those lingering hugs before you part ways that make you just… Wonder. 

Summary: Every time they hugged, it was a moment to remember.

The first time Tsunade allowed him to hug her, Jiraiya thought the world was on the verge of ending. Before, she had always punched him away or wiggled so that his hands might reach for her, but would never actually land on her. It was part of the curse of being known a lecher, but it was a small price to pay. Better that than her knowing just how hopelessly in love with her he was. 

Her head buried into his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m sorry I have to go. I just… I can’t. Not anymore. Not after Nawaki… and Dan…” her voice trailed off. Jiraiya understood, of course. Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato had each stolen pieces of his heart as he had trained them, and the knowledge of their deaths had left him unable to even contemplate teaching anyone ever again, prophecy of the one who would save the world be damned. 

When those who held her entire heart had passed on, leaving her behind, it was only natural that Tsunade would seek out a place where memories of them did not linger around every corner. 

He patted her back. “Go in peace, and be safe,” he said. A wry smile made its way to his face. “And make sure you don’t stake the right to touch your breasts when you run out of gambling money, understand? Those are Konoha’s treasures.” 

She flung him away from her with a single push. “You damn pervert! Just when I thought you were growing up a bit!” 

His smile felt a little less strained after that. If she could yell at him, then maybe she wasn’t entirely broken. 

The second time Tsunade allowed him to hug her, it was immediately after her inauguration as Hokage. 

“Thanks for taking on the burden,” he said. “They wanted to make me the Hokage, can you believe it? I’m so glad that you were willing to take on that buttload of work instead.” 

She scowled. “And here I was thinking you actually thought I’d make a good Hokage,” she grumbled. But she didn’t let go of him, and for the first time, Jiraiya allowed himself to wonder if there was an after. He did not need to be her one true love – he knew that was Dan’s place. But being second choice was still better than being no choice at all. 

The third time they hugged, Tsunade initiated it. His heart leaped for joy as she buried her head into the crook of his neck, her hands caressing his chest. 

“I’ve missed you so much,” she mumbled. “Not th’same without you. Dunno how to be sober.” 

Of course. It wasn’t truly him that she was seeing, was it? She thought he was Dan. 

Every inch of his skin felt hypersensitive, and every instinct he possessed begged him to reach out. Just a little caress. She wouldn’t even know. 

But he would. And he would never allow the act to become reality. If his love went unreciprocated his entire life, so be it. Let it burn a pure, untarnished, flame. 

When Jiraiya bid Tsunade farewell, he contemplated trying to hug her again. 

But she was betting on him losing, wasn’t she? And she always lost her bets. He would be fine. 

He would come back, and he would take more than just a hug. He would take her on dates, he would scheme for the sake of the village with her, and he would follow her anywhere. He would follow her to the cenotaph, and hold her as she remembered Dan. 

“I’ll be back,” he said with a grin, even as a sense of foreboding urged him to just give her a damn hug. It was probably the same sense that had urged him to touch her when she was intoxicated. He hadn’t given in to it previously, and he would not now. 

As Jiraiya felt the life seep out of him, a warmth surrounded him, even as his extremities grew cold. He could see her then, eyes bright as they were in childhood, embracing him not as a teammate, not as a friend, but as a lover. 

“Tsunade,” he mumbled. “Love you.” 

[marvelmymarvel]

Heat Waves

Iruka Umino x Reader

Synopsis: The death of Jiraiya was a punch to the stomach, but you had to stay strong for Naruto... But who was there to help you when you were similarly falling apart by the seams?

Song: Heat Waves (Slowed) by Glass Animals (Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srRYAMwuPFk)

Your hand lightly carded through his blonde hair, fingernails scratching at his skull as you sat solemnly beside him. "You need to get up my love... You have a mission..." your voice was soft, part of you not wanting him to go so soon after the news struck that one of the famous sannin was killed. "How can you just act like everything's fine" he mumbled out, curling deeper into his pillow to hide the tears streaming down his cheeks.

Your throat felt tight at his words, despite appearances, you weren't taking it well either. It was no secret that you and the white-haired man had a, albeit rocky, relationship. Naruto knew this fact as well, more than he'd like to, what with all of Jiraiya's dirty pick up lines and handsy grabs. He knew how much Jiraiya loved you, he knew how much you loved Jiraiya, so why were you acting like nothing happened.

You realized your hand was gripping his hair when he let out a little whimper, causing you to immediately let go. Before he had the chance to see the tears welling up, you stood and began walking towards the door, "I'll let Kakashi know you aren't ready yet." The sound of the door closing made Naruto sigh in relief. He wasn't ready to go on with life.

Not yet.

"He has to move on Y/n... It's been weeks"

Kakashi's words were like knives in your chest, if he expected a child to be over it already, he would surely be disappointed with how long it was taking you to get over it. Your eyebrows furrowed in pain, lips pursing in anger as you process what you were going to reply with. Should you curse him out? Yell and scream? Cry?

"This hit him harder than you can imagine Kashi... I frankly don't want him out there when his head isn't in the present. If I need to talk to Lady Tsunade about his absence I will, but I'm not going to push him-"

Kakashi's hand shot up, stopping your word vomit in its place. He eyed you suspiciously. He wouldn't voice it, but he heard a slight crack in your voice, something he knew as a warning that you were about to break down. "I'll explain it to her, no need to get involved...." He trailed off, eyes still filled with suspicion as he stepped forward. "How are you doing... Y/n?" you were trying your best to hold it together at his words, but the second his hand touched your cheek did the tears fall. It didn't last long though as you ripped your face from his grasp, embarrassed at letting your emotions get the best of you.

"I'm fine," you stated firmly as you turned to leave. You began to walk away as Kakashi clicked his tongue, this was all too familiar to him when it came to you and your emotions. You hid your feelings until it all blew up, something he could never get you to stop doing. But there was one person who could help...

"Why don't you go talk to Iruka?"

You came to a halt, eyebrows furrowing at the name. You hadn't spoken with Iruka in a while... Not since you had begun dating Jiraiya two years ago. "He doesn't want to talk to me Kashi... I broke his heart" you mumbled out, hands coming up to wipe away the tears that were falling numbly down your cheeks. "Thats not what I've heard... I've heard he's been worried sick about you"

You turned swiftly at this, heart thumping at the thought of talking to your old friend again. When you thought more about it, the only person to pull you out of a funk was him until Jiraiya came along. "Where is he?"

Iruka stacked the papers together, turning to place them on the desk behind him before grabbing the eraser to get rid of the chalk markings on the blackboard. The sound of the door opening had his ears perking up and he sighed quietly to himself. Parents had been coming in non-stop about the grades their children were getting in his class, it wasn't his fault they were failing at something so simple.

"I'm sorry, but I won't be accepting any parent-teacher conferences tonight, I have somewhere I need to be" Iruka called out, hoping that the parent would get the hint that he needed time alone or he was going to go crazy. "Parent-teacher conference? I haven't been to one of those in years" your voice floated across the room as you sat at one of the desks.

Iruka whipped around at your voice, eyes wide as he took in your disheveled appearance. It looked like you had been crying, the thickness in your voice confirmed his suspicions as he stood there in shock. How many years has it been? 2? No, it had to be more than that... Ever since Jiraiya...

Jiraiya.

That's why you were crying... He had almost forgotten for a brief second why he was feeling so anxious. He's been worried sick about you and how you were handling the death. You slouched in the seat at his quiet demeanor and hard-set stare. It felt as if he was dissecting you without even touching you, and you didn't like it. "I know you probably hate me but-"

"I could never hate you" he breathed out faster than he would like to admit. Your eyes lifted to his shyly, your feet moving under the desk nervously as you tried to calm your nerves. The summer heat wasn't helping the situation, if anything, it was making things 10x worse. "They really need to get air conditioners in here" you joked sheepishly, hand fanning yourself as you tried to calm down under his gaze. This is why you avoided him when you were with Jiraiya...

The love you felt for Iruka all those years ago resurfaced under his gaze. Silence filled the stuffy air as you cleared your throat and averted your eyes from his, "I want to apologize for, uh... Ignoring and avoiding you" your hand came up to your neck, scratching nervously as you waited for Iruka to say something, anything. "Nevermind that. How are you?"

For a minute, a beautifully peaceful minute, you had forgotten what you were sad about. Sucking in your bottom lip, you fought back the tears that threatened to fall once more. Your eyes were glued to the floor, knowing that if you met his gaze again you would surely break. Iruka knew this, he's been through this with you 2 other times, and he knows how you tick. "Y/n."

You finally lifted your gaze to his, breath hitching as you realized he had silently moved towards you. His hand reached out slowly, almost afraid that he would break you somehow. You were proud of yourself for holding it all in, that was until his fingers grazed your cheek lovingly. As if he commanded you to, the tears fell down your cheeks, but he was quick to wipe them away. He moved to the side where he could get closer to you, sitting on the desk, he moved his other hand to cup your other cheek. The loving touch had you bolting from the seat, chair scraping angrily across the floor as you fell into his embrace.

Slotted between his legs, he pulled you in deeper to his neck. Coos and reassuring words flowed from him as he tried to help you through the pain like he knew you needed. "I just miss him. He was my rock and now I feel like I'm floating away" you sobbed into his neck, the tears and heat causing his neck to grow sticky against your cheek. He nodded silently, hand combing through your tangled hair as he listened to you cry it out like a child.

He didn't know what this would mean for the two of you... Didn't know if this would be the last time he would see you again... Didn't know if you would move on to another and ignore him and the love that he has for you. But none of that mattered, he decided, as he looked out the window at the setting summer sun. All that mattered right now was that you were in his arms again.

He just hoped it wouldn't be the last time.

[kishillaa]

SSM21 Day 20: Summons

"So, Naruto really summon a toad, huh?" Sakura asked after Sasuke revealed that Naruto was the one that saved her from Gaara, not himself.

As humble as ever, Sasuke-kun. She had thought, at the same time thanking Naruto, internally.

Sasuke looks at her from the corner of his eyes, and she blushes. She always does when Sasuke looks at her that way.

"He did."

"That's amazing, isn't it?"

Sasuke didn't answer as he turns his gaze away from her and look over at a desperate looking Naruto, trying to call up chidori.

"If one day you able to summon animal, Sasuke-kun, what animal would you like to sign contract with?"

Sakura asks, genuinely interested while she smiles at him, her hands clasped behind her.

That once again attracted Sasuke's attention to look at her. Blushing and knows that Sasuke isn't going to speak, she said, "I think I'd like to summon animals that aren't just strong and powerful. But also, useful of something else."

She tap her chin as she thinks, "Maybe doing the healing?" She offers, "Do you think there's animal of such, Sasuke-kun?"

"I don't know." Sasuke replies nonchalantly.

And then Sakura hit her fist on his palm, suddenly remember something, "Oh right." She started and look at Sasuke again.

"While you were away training with Kakashi-sensei, I've done some research about Orochimaru."

That name sent chills down Sasuke's spine, he looks at her, his focus solely on Sakura.

"He was one of the Three Legandary Sanin, along with Jiraiya and Tsunade Senju." She acquired, "And they were especially famous with their summoning."

Sasuke nodded, as if urging her to continue.

"Their combination attack of summons were known as Three-Way Deadlock. Orochimaru summons as we knew is snake, Jiraiya is toad and Tsunade is slug."

She beams slightly at him, "Turn out, Tsunade-sama's summon didn't only just fight you know. It heals too."

Sakura looks up at the sky, with her hands hold together onto her chest, "I really like that. But slug is disgusting, aren't they? I was thinking something cute, like bunny maybe?"

Suddenly, Sasuke sounded, "A hawk."

Feeling content that Sasuke responded to her, Sakura beams delightfully, "That suits you so much, Sasuke-kun."

"My father and brother could summon one. I want that too."

Smiling apologetically at the longing look Sasuke is having, Sakura put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "I'm sure you could too."

Moving away from her touch, Sasuke narrows his eyes at her, "Bunny isn't practical. Just because they're cute doesn't means they're useful."

Sakura stiffle a giggle at Sasuke's agitation look, "I can always ask Kakashi-sensei if I can sign up contract with Pakkun."

Sasuke shrugs, "That's not bad. Dogs are the best at tracking. It's useful for mission."

"Yes, they are. Maybe we can have 2 summons each, eh?" Sakura suggested.

"I always think you could summon Orochimaru's snake with the cursed seal with you. And then the hawk. I'll be getting that slug and Pakkun." Sakura chuckles to herself, not really taking it seriously.

"Snake will be a worthy summon."

It really surprised her that Sasuke still join her chatter. Usually, he will dismiss her quickly.

"I'm sure it is." She said. "And when Naruto see we have two summoning contracts, he will be jealous of us like he currently of you now." She chuckles lightly.

She then noticed the upturn of Sasuke's mouth as he smirks.

Grinning at him, Sakura close their gap and nudge his shoulder with hers, "You really like him suffer do you?"

Sasuke scoff and turn his head to the other side.

Sakura just smiles at his familiar way of acting, before she sighs, "The two of you are becoming really strong now. I am way behind." She voice out, her tone is so regretful and sad.

She was surprised when she feels a nudge on her shoulder. She blinks a few time before she looks in Sasuke's direction.

He is looking at Kakashi and Naruto but speaking to her. It was like the first day of their Chunin Exam again, when he's complimenting her about her analytical skill.

"You're smart, Sakura." He had said, "If you focus on your training and not carried away, you can go further. It takes an idiot to figure out way of fight. Imagine if someone smart do the thinking."

Sasuke return his gaze to Sakura, who is currently blushing at his compliment and looking straight at him in the eye. For a second, he was mesmerised by the greenest of the emerald orbs.

And then she smiles, "Just like Sasuke-kun, ne? Smart and strong, definitely a worthy warrior."

And he couldn't say anything else because she's looking at him with such fondness and pride, that he feels hot with unknown emotions.

They break apart when someone clears their throat. Both Sasuke and Sakura swiftly moves further from each other when they saw Naruto and Kakashi are looking weirdly at them both.

"Why are you two so red? Did the teme did something to you, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, his eyes zeroed on Sasuke.

The later scoff as he rolls his eyes, though the redness of his cheeks remain.

Sakura isn't any better when she looks away, pink blush still adorned her face.

That was when a jounin came up to them, "Kakashi, your team are summon to the hokage office."

Nodding, Kakashi calls the three of them to follow him.

While hopping from roof to roof beside Sasuke, Sakura laughs quietly, "For the time being, this is the only summoning we'll get, Sasuke-kun. Though, instead of us summoning anything, we're the one act as the summons." She let out a playful laugh again.

Sasuke lower his head to hide his tiny smile at Sakura's joke.

[lostchildofthenewworld]

the girls want to hear your naruto opinions miss chaos

I am Jasmine Masters and I have something to say.

The 3rd Hokage was effectively the weakest hokage and his allowance and grace towards Danzo allowed for a lot of corruption to run rampant. The fact that he did nothing for Uzushio when the village was literally slaughtered and then was like “oh yeah, that’s our sister village” bitch shut the fuck up, cause where was Konoha and effective leadership when Uzu was literally put to the blade? The other villages feared Uzu because of their sealing abilities and the Leaf village used their close relations with Uzu for their own benefit but when Uzu needed their closest ally, the Leaf nor the 3rd hokage was no where to be found.

The 3rd hokage letting Danzo effectively push the Uchiha all the way to the edge of the village when the 2nd Hokage, the one who distrusted the Uchiha the most even agreed that the Uchiha were effective if they overcame the curse of Hatred. So what does Hiruzen allow? He allows Danzo to smear the Uchiha and then he his moley ass acts surprise that now the Uchiha wants to put pull off a coup d’etat. Then when they met and Danzo, him and Itachi were talking about it, hiruzen got mad and was like “don’t say such things in front of a child.” BITCH! You have literal fucking child soldiers! Fuck do you mean? How you gone have the audacity to say not to speak about murder in front of a child (itachi) but in the same breath you’re gonna have itachi slaughter his clan?

Ooooooh BITCH I HATE HIRUZEN. Weak ass hoe!!!

Theeeeeen, to top it off, after Itachi slaughters his clan, goes deep undercover, what does Hiruzen allow for Sasuke?! TO BE ALONE AFTER HIS WHOLE FAMILY WAS ANNIHILATED BY HIS BELOVED BIG BROTHER.

NO THERAPY WITH THAT YAMANAKA, no placement with a family, no nothing. Sasuke is just another orphan.

That man is SICK! Ooooooh I hate him!!!

Not to mention, Hiruzen allowed for Danzo to kidnap and brainwash children of the families in the leaf, even having the suspicion of what Danzo was doing. But instead of calling that motherfucka out and putting his one eyed ass in the ground, what does Hiruzen do?! LET THAT MAN WALK AWAY! Repeatedly throughout the series, Danzo kept trying and pulling Hiruzen’s card and Hiruzen ain’t do shit just like the bitch he is.

I wish I would be a dictator of a village and a motherfucker pulls my card, bitch I’m killing you and ya wife! This is not a democracy, it’s a dictatorship and the fact that Hiruzen kept letting Danzo and his punk ass council stay his hand and be ineffective is sick. Fuck Hiruzen!

THEEEEEEN, OROCHIMARU! Now I’ll admit Orochimaru was a good villain with his 24’26’28 malaysian straight, BUT WHY DID HIRUZEN KEEP ALLOWING OROCHIMARU TO PULL THIS SHIT?! Like you’re telling me, my own student was unethically medically experimenting on babies and children? Bitch I’m putting a bullet in him and that’s that on that! PERIOD POOH!

Like Hiruzen literally allowed so much shit to slide that came back to haunt the Hidden Leaf Village.

Tsunade got to shirk her duties to the village though she was a Princess as daughter to the 1st hokage and niece to the 2nd hokage, she had a duty and obligation to be in the village when the 4th hokage and Kushina were murdered. Instead she spent her years drinking and gambling away the Senju fortune. The Senju are cousins to the Uzumaki and where was Miss. Drunk-Ass when Naruto was being ostracized by the village and abused in the orphanage?

Hmmm? Oh that’s it! she was gambling and drinking.

Hiruzen let his students fuck off and do what they wanted and it came back to to ruin.

That’s not even touching ON THE AUDACITY THAT HIRUZEN ALLOWED NARUTO TO STAY IN THAT ORPHANGE WHERE HE WAS ABUSED AND SUFFERED FROM MALNUTRITION.

That village is SICK! Hiruzen is SICK!!! The fact that Minato and Kushina died thinking that their son would be taken care of because they’re literally sacrificing him, only for that not to be true is SICCCCK!

The 3rd Hokage, who is literally a fucking dictator in a military state is like “uwu I told the villagers not to talk about the 9 tails so Naruto will be okay 🥴” is utter horse shit! HE’S A BITCH!

He should’ve dragged Tsunade drunk ass home, put her ass in a detox program and told her to get her shit together cause her lil cousin needs her. Her lil cousin who is the jinchūriki I just like her grandma! I know Mito was rolling over in her grave!! I know she was!

I know Tobirama was rolling in his grave too with how his last 2 students turned out!! I’m sick!!

Hiruzen was a hoe! He was a bitch! How you gone be a dictator and not exercise your power?

HOW YOU GET YA ASS BEAT BY YA OWN STUDENT?! IM SICCCCCCK!!! Omg!!! Orochimaru stomped his ass! How you get your ass handed to you by ya own student, embarrassing!

At least Tobirama went out fighting like a dozen ninjas and Minato went out fighting Obito with the Reaper Death Seal. But Hiruzen? Allowed Orochimaru to trick his ass into using the reaper death seal and didn’t even kill Orochimaru, omg FLOP ERA!!!

That’s not to even get started on the inconsistency in the writing of Naruto and world building.

Naruto and Neji fighting during the Chunin exam and Naruto saying that destiny doesn’t matter and you get to choose your own fate? GUESS WHO HAD 2 PROPHECIES AND IS A GOD REINCARNATE?!

MISS NEJI WAS RIGHT AND HE DIED THINKING HE CHOSE HIS OWN FATE! WHEN HE DIDNT!!! He died in service to the main branch just like his father did!! IM SICCCCCK! Omg!!!

Yeah, me and Naruto…mhm…I have a lot to say about Naruto and it’s still on sight if I ever see Kishimoto 🗣

[nejibaby]

Love Language

Pairings: Neji x Y/N

A/N: First time writing a fic for Neji. In fact, this is my first time writing a fanfic involving anime characters. But I’m so whipped for Neji I couldn’t stop myself from writing this. Please let me know your thoughts about this. 💜

When you opened your eyes from your sleep, you immediately knew you were having one of those days. “Those days” meaning the days where you feel a need for skinship. It was one of those days where you were feeling extremely clingy.

Oh but the skinship you crave doesn’t necessarily have to lead to sex or anything, you just wanted physical touch. It was something you find comforting. It was, after all, your love language.

So when you peeked to the other side of the bed — your boyfriend Neji’s side — you couldn’t help but want to press yourself closer to him. But knowing that he was a light sleeper was enough reason to stop yourself from doing what you want. He just came home from a mission last night and he deserved to rest as much as he can.

You watched his profile as he took deep, even breaths — a telltale sign that he was fast asleep. You slowly and gently touched the side of his face, pausing still as you checked if he woke up at your movement. When you deemed that he was still asleep, you lightly rubbed your thumb over his cheeks, just a featherlight touch but an act where you poured your love for him.

You slowly rose up from the bed and placed a soft kiss on his forehead, exactly where his curse mark lied. Afterwards, you whispered, “I love you, Neji.”

It was the first time you’ve said those three words out loud. You felt a little but guilty for not being able to say it when he’s awake, but it’s not just something you can say out of the blue. Besides, you have to build up courage to actually be able to say it. Right now though, right now you were still a coward.

He stirred a little in his sleep. You were alarmed, afraid that you had woken him up or worse, that he had heard your confession. But his movement stopped when you ran your fingers through his hair. When you are sure he has fallen back into slumber, you slip out of the bed.

The Hokage, Tsunade, assigned a mission to you today so you had to get up early if you wanted to cook breakfast for Neji.

_____________________________

At a young age your parents taught you the importance of learning other people's love languages in order to build a good relationship with them. That’s how you found yourself observing what makes your friends happy. You wouldn’t tell them this though. You were quite sure they’d end up teasing you for worrying over trivial things.

You were sure your love language was physical touch because you often find yourself happily linking arms with Sakura or passionately fist bumping with Naruto. Not to mention you would hug them goodbye instead of waving your hands. It probably meant nothing much to them, but to you, it made you feel loved and accepted. It warmed your heart.

From observation, you learned that Naruto was happiest when people acknowledge him and his hard work so you made it a point to cheer him on and to give him words of affirmation from time to time. With Sakura, she likes to spend as much time as possible with you when you both don’t have missions to do. You were guessing she was lonely because of Sasuke leaving but it could also be because she was an only child and wasn’t really fond of her parent’s shenanigans. Either way, she was always up for quality time.

You were the closest with these two so you made it a point to act according to their love language. And just like what your parent’s said, it worked on strengthening your bond with them.

It was with them that you confided with your little crush on Neji. At first they found it weird. Because how can someone so sweet like you take a liking to someone who was a little… cold? Detached?

You chastised them immediately after hearing what they’ve said, claiming that Neji was honorable, strong, smart, good looking, and just overall dreamy.

Sakura giggled at how you zoned out with hearts on your eyes as you uttered those words and that’s when she knew you were serious.

Naruto, on the other hand, was cringing. He knew how mean and condescending Neji could be. It was painted on his face how he didn’t like Neji for you. But at least your crush wasn’t Sasuke.

When you got your bearings together, you immediately turned to Naruto and told him to keep his mouth shut. You recalled saying, “Naruto, If you ever talk about my teeny tiny crush, I’m going to leave Konoha all together, just like Sasuke did!”

You were exaggerating, of course. You wouldn’t leave Konoha just because of that, but your speech worked on Naruto. You recalled that his eyes widened in surprise and then promised that he won’t tell a soul. You doubted if he could keep a secret but eventually, you just didn’t care anymore. It was just a crush anyway, it wasn’t a big deal and it wouldn’t matter if he knew. If anything, you both weren’t really that close to begin with, so there’s no friendship that could’ve been ruined. And besides, Neji has always been the all-business type of guy, you were sure a little crush was something insignificant to him.

________________________________

When Naruto left the village to train with Master Jiraiya, you eventually became closer with the other shinobis that were more or less closer to your age. This includes Tenten, Lee, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, and surprisingly, Neji too.

It all started when Sakura had begun training with Lady Tsunade. You’ve been assigned to a lot of missions where you were teamed up with different shinobis, but what was weird was that Neji was almost always on your team.

You just wished Lady Tsunade was assigning both of you often in one team because you were always both free at the same time or that you worked well together or that you were both very skilled and had high success rates on missions. Any rational reasoning really, as long as it’s not because Sakura had pulled some strings.

At first you were really nervous about teaming up with Neji on missions, afraid that you were going to mess up in his presence. But when the initial nerves died down, you’ve masked whatever little feelings you’ve had for him quite well. Not that it was hard. In fact, it was easy for you because you prioritize the safety of the village before anything else.

But the missions truly did make both of you closer. What started as only speaking about the missions became casual talks about your friends. Nothing much, mostly small talk, but it was enough to ignite the small flame in your heart.

_______________________

When you arrived back from your missions, despite being tired, you would always gather your friends around to hang out before another mission was handed to you.

Being a jonin meant you were assigned to more higher rank missions, but sometimes, it just meant having much, much more missions than normal. It was tiring, only having a day or two to rest unless you were injured before another mission was handed over. So somehow it became a tradition of some sorts to gather around after you’ve finished a mission. After all, only you and Neji were jonins in the group.

Unbeknownst to you, your friends viewed you as someone who glued them together. You were the reason why they were much closer than before, now that Naruto wasn’t around. So when possible, they would make it a point to meet with you, knowing how lonely it could be now that you were alone after your parents died when Orochimaru attacked Konoha.

Sakura would often give you a look when Neji was around as all of you spend time with each other catching up. He rarely joined the gathering, preferring to rest instead of socializing. But every now and then he would come too. And when he did, somehow Sakura found a way to make him walk you home. Not that he wouldn’t do it without Sakura urging him to.

Ever since that one mission where you, Neji, and Shino were ambushed, Neji became much closer to you. Maybe it was because when one of the attackers somehow managed to stab him, you came to the rescue.

You were an exceptional kunoichi, your skills were one of the most regarded in the village so you were able to bring down most of the attackers, but not before they left a huge gash on your leg. When the fight was over, you rushed to Neji to heal him using medical ninjutsu that Sakura taught you. Luckily, Shino was only left with a few scratches.

“You know medical ninjutsu?” Neji asked, surprised.

“Yeah. A little. Sakura taught me every now and then when I’m not on a mission.”

“You should heal yourself first.”

“No, I’m fine. Your wound needs more attention than mine.”

It was true, his wound looks a lot worse than yours, but in the end you managed to heal it. However, it took too much chakra from you so with whatever minimal chakra you could use, you tried healing your wound as well. But that left you tired and weak which didn’t go unnoticed by Neji’s byakugan.

You were able to walk for a mile before your body couldn’t anymore. Neji has been looking out for you after you’ve healed him just in case this happened.

“We should probably rest a while,” Neji says.

“No, no. It’s just a few more miles to Konoha. We should keep going,” you say.

Neji looks at Shino, silently asking if they should continue or not.

Shino nods ahead, “It’s much safer if we reach the village as soon as possible. Why? Because you are both not in good shape from the ambush. If we stayed here longer, we might get attacked again. If we push through going back to the village, we’ll reach it before sunset.”

Neji looks at you and then nods his head. “I will carry you.”

Before you could resist, you were already on his back and he was already jumping through branches.

You wrapped your arms around him so as not to fall. He felt warm and you felt safe. A weak smile found its way to your face, grateful that you had comrades looking out for you.

You even allowed yourself to be giddy because of the fact that Neji was there, carrying you to safety.

“I’m sorry,” you say. Your body was shutting down from exhaustion but before you lost consciousness you said, “And th-thank you, Neji.”

Sakura had been waiting by the village gates knowing you were supposed to arrive that day. She perked up upon seeing Shino but then tensed when she saw you being carried by Neji. “What happened?”

“There was an ambush when we were on the way back after the mission. I was careless. I got stabbed. Y/N and Shino fought them off. She healed me but she lost a lot of chakra in the process.” He explains in one breath.

“Let’s get her to the hospital.”

Since that day, you became so much closer with Neji. Whenever he finds you walking alone, he’d offer to walk with you. When you were both assigned on missions, you noticed he started bringing food pills for you. When you were somehow at the training grounds at the same time, he’d hand you an extra bottle of water.

You figured it was his way of thanking you. Nevertheless, the gestures made your heart flutter.

You weren’t going to let him be the only one who’s being thoughtful, so when you trained together, you’d make sure you brought an extra towel for him to use to wipe off his sweat. Sometimes you’d even bring him food, claiming you miscalculated the amount of food you cooked. You weren’t sure if he caught on with your little crush, but you sure hoped he didn’t. The smile on his face as he thanked you for these little gestures was heartwarming to say the least. And it was enough to make your week better.

________________________________

You weren’t quite sure when Neji had started to take a liking to you but you remembered a time where your friends pointed it out to you.

It was a day after Neji completed a long mission. He seeked you out so he can train with you. You immediately agreed, knowing you didn’t have anything planned that day.

When you were both finished, drained from the intense training, you handed him a towel as he gave you a bottle of water. You were both trying to catch your breath when a voice came calling out your name. You both turned to the source of the sound.

Once you saw it was, you squealed and immediately came running towards him, engulfing him in a bear hug. “Lee!” You exclaimed.

He laughs and spins you around. “How has the prettiest flower in Konoha been?”

You snort. “I think you meant the strongest kunoichi next to the Hokage.”

“That works too.” He brings you down and notices Neji watching the interaction. You both walk towards Neji and Lee says, “I see you have been training with my rival.”

“Yes. Neji helps me train when he’s around. He just came back from a mission yesterday.”

“I see. What do you say, Neji, will you indulge me in a battle?” Lee says as he throws punches and kicks in the air.

Neji’s eye twitches, “Sorry, Lee. I’m tired.”

By the time Neji replied though, Lee was already counting push-ups. It was impossible to be able to talk to him when he’s in the zone so you and Neji just let him be and walk away.

When you were both away from Lee, Neji clears his throat and asks, “Have you always been that close to Lee?”

You were confused by the sudden question. “Hm. I guess so. We’re all friends, right? But we got a lot closer recently. When you were away on a mission, Lee kept bugging everyone to train with him since you and Guy sensei were away. But well, no one really wanted to train with him because they were busy with other stuff. And since my training buddy,” you nudged his elbow, “was away, I agreed. Honestly, his timing couldn’t have been better. Kakashi sensei just taught me a new water style jutsu and I was trying to see if I can weave the signs faster. Lee was the perfect partner for the job.”

“Oh.”

You frown, what does that mean? “Is there something wrong, Neji?”

“Nothing.”

You let it go, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. Just as you were about to round the corner going to your house, you halted, “Oh, I forgot I was supposed to meet Sakura today!”

“Okay. I will walk you there.”

“Thank you, Neji,” you said as you felt your cheeks blush.

When you found Sakura, you greeted her with a hug while whispering, “I need to talk to you about something.”

She gave you a look but nodded anyway. You turned back to Neji and thanked him for training and walking with you.

He nods and tells you that he’ll be heading out then.

“What happened?” Sakura asks.

Just as you were about to answer, Tenten came running towards the both of you, “Oh, there you are!”

“Tenten, what’s up?”

“What do you say we get together and do it up a little? At Yakiniku-Q.”

You and Sakura turn to each other. She just shrugs. “Sure.”

Tenten smiled brightly and dragged you two to find Ino and Hinata.

Tenten found Ino first. She was with Choji and Shikamaru. Tenten immediately went to Ino to talk about her plan. Meanwhile, Choji scoops you up in a hug. You laugh, “Well someone’s eager to see me.”

“I haven’t seen you in a while!” He exclaims as he puts you down.

You hang your arms around Choji and Shikamaru’s shoulders, “Yeah, I’ve been training nonstop. How are you guys?”

Shikamaru whispers under his breath, “How troublesome” but you ignore him.

“We’ve been on missions here and there.”

You were supposed to respond but Choji’s attention has shifted to Tenten and Ino when he heard “Yakiniku.”

“Yakiniku?! I’m in! I’m in!”

“You guys aren’t invited.” Tenten declared.

“Huh? Why?” Choji frowns.

“Because it’s time for just us girls to hang out. Right? Let’s have a girls-only get-together!”

“Sorry, Choji. I’ll treat you next time!” You console him.

“Alright! We just have to find Hinata then.” Tenten says.

When she was able to convince Hinata to join, you all went to Yakiniku-Q together. As you entered the store, you silently asked Sakura, “Why do you think Tenten invited us here?”

“I’m not sure. But I think everyone’s a little bit down from missing Naruto.”

“I miss him…” You say wistfully. And a little bit loudly. You only noticed it when you looked up and found that Ino, Hinata, and Tenten were all looking at you. And then you turned your head, you saw that your male friends were there too, by the other table, looking at you as well.

You flushed at the sudden attention and stepped behind Sakura in an attempt to hide yourself.

Kiba was the first to break the silence, “Oi! Who do you miss, huh?” He says teasingly, moving his eyebrows up and down.

You felt yourself becoming redder and redder as you found Neji looking at you and Kiba curiously, but with a slight downturn of his mouth.

“Is it—”

You lounged at him to cover his mouth before he was able to finish his sentence. “Don’t you dare, Kiba.”

He raises his hands in surrender. You reluctantly remove your hand from his mouth. Lucky for you, he remains quiet, but he has a smirk on.

Sakura pulls you away to lead you to the girls’ table. You kept eye contact with Kiba as you mouth, I’m watching you while glaring at the man.

“Why did you even react like that when you were just talking about Naruto?” She whispered.

“Have you seen Kiba? He kept subtly looking between Neji and me. I’m pretty sure he’d tell on me right then and there so I had to stop him.”

“Why didn’t you just say it was Naruto?”

“I could have but the undertone in his voice sounded like he was implying I have feelings with the person I miss.” You explained exasperated.

Sakura just sighed.

You dropped the conversation as the girls started talking about what to order and how great the deals were. You immediately relaxed and smiled, happy to be in the presence of your friends.

You took a peek at the other table to check if Kiba had said anything, only to be met with Neji’s eyes focused on you. You stilled, not expecting him to be looking at you. You gave him a small smile and a wave, he just nodded, face devoid of any emotion and then he turned away.

You frowned.

Tenten was cooking the meat while the rest of the girls had engaged in small talk. You joined in the conversation every now and then but your mind was occupied by how weird Neji was acting.

Your friends were quick to notice it. Tenten handed you a serving of the cooked meat, “What’s bothering you?” She asked softly.

“You don’t seem yourself, Y/N…” Hinata said.

You quickly shook your head, “I’m fine.”

“Didn’t you have something you want to talk about?” Sakura pipes up.

You groan, knowing full well you weren’t going to escape this conversation. “So there’s this guy,” you pause as you took a bite off of the cooked meat Tenten gave you.

“You mean Neji?” Ino asks.

You suddenly choked on your food at the sound of his name.

The girls laughed at your reaction. “Well that’s embarrassing,” you muttered as your cheeks flushed pink. You look at Hinata, you were suddenly shy that your dilemma involved her cousin.

She nodded and offered you a smile so warm you feel your shyness dissipate. “Wa-was I that o-obvious?” You stuttered.

“Not really.” Ino chimed in. “Sakura here was the one who’s obvious. She’d always look between the two of you when he’s hanging out with the group. Not to mention the amount of times she asked Neji to walk you home. I’m pretty sure everyone in our group of friends caught on it already.”

You narrowed your eyes on Sakura and she cringed. “I’m sorry!”

You deflated and then shrugged your shoulders, “Doesn’t matter. As long as he’s not aware. Wait! He’s not aware, right?” You look at Tenten and Hinata.

“I’m not sure, I don’t think he’s ever mentioned it.” Tenten said.

You turned to Hinata in question, “He’s not really the type to share about those things.”

“Right.” You said before taking another bite on your food.

“So are you gonna tell us what happened?”

“It’s probably nothing.” You casually replied.

“Out with it.” Sakura said, her patience wearing thin as you tried to skirt around the topic.

You sighed but told them anyway. You told them what happened earlier after you finished training with Neji and then the conversation you had after you saw Lee. You even told them about the small interaction that happened at the shop while you all ate.

“I never thought he was that type.” Ino broke the silence after you told them the story.

You looked at her with curiosity. “What type?”

“The jealous type.”

Ino might as well have grown two heads with how you looked at her then. “Huh?” was all you could ever think to say.

“It’s obvious he likes you.” Tenten teased.

“If it was obvious then I would have known. I’m pretty sure we’re just good friends.” You said matter-of-factly.

Everyone groaned at what you’ve said, even Hinata. “You’re so dense,” Ino muttered.

“If he only sees you as a friend then why does he keep on stealing glances at you every now and then?” Tenten asked.

“What are you talking about?”

She discreetly pointed her finger towards Neji’s direction. You whipped your head to see and, lo and behold, there was Neji staring at you, but he was quick to turn away. You blushed and your friends giggled at the interaction.

“I’m too sober for this conversation.” You declared as your friends continued to tease you. “Alright, let’s drink!” was the last thing you said before you pushed the thoughts of Neji aside.

________________________________

You smiled at the memory. If Neji’s jealousy hadn’t been pointed out by your friends, you would have never started acting on your feelings. And you wouldn’t even be here waking up early cooking breakfast for him. You wouldn’t be the receiver of his kisses or hugs although you only got them in the confines of your house.

You were naturally affectionate, Neji knew this and he would indulge you with affection privately. In all honesty, if it was up to you, you would be holding his hand in public for the world to see, maybe even peck him on the lips from time to time, and hug him as much as possible.

However, Neji was a private person so you assumed he didn’t like public displays of affection. You respected that. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t get a little bit jealous when he sees Lee lift you up and spin you around or when he sees you and Kiba playfully pretend to fight which somehow always ends up with you on Kiba’s back or when Choji wraps you in a hug. Shikamaru and Shino aren’t as affectionate as the others but sometimes he’d find you slinging your arms over their shoulders. It bothered him sometimes. But all his worries quickly vanish at the end of the day, knowing it was he who gets to hold you at night and he who gets to see you first in the morning.

Coincidentally, you had your own worries when it comes to not being able to be affectionate with Neji in public. Sometimes your insecurities got the best of you. You would hear unreasonable voices in your head. Maybe he’s not proud of me. Maybe he only sees me as a temporary lover. Maybe I’m not good enough.

But you know this isn’t true when you find him looking at you with his loving eyes. He’d always give you the softest look that warms you more than hugs do. It was a look reserved for you only and it satiates all your thirst for affection, more than physical intimacy can.

You know he feels your love just as much from the way you’d cook him food, heal his injuries and brush his hair. Neji was an independent man, but somehow you made yourself so important that he found himself depending on you more. This wasn’t a problem for you because if it’s for Neji, you’d gladly accept such responsibilities. Always. Just for him.

[gaaruto-kage]

Bad Ideas - Kakashi x Reader

I hope that you don't think I'm rude

But I want to make out with you

And I'm a little awkward, sure

But I could touch my face to yours, oh

  For the fourth time in the same amount of days, you found yourself ducking behind the nearest object as quick as you could in order to hide from someone. Not just anyone, though, you were hiding from the one and only Kakashi Hatake. You squeezed further into the doorway as Kakashi walked past your not-so-great hiding place hoping the long evening shadows would keep him from noticing you. Luckily he didn’t seem to, so you let out a long sigh of relief as you watched him round a corner further up the street. This couldn’t go on forever, you thought to yourself. Kakashi and you would end up working together again at some point, as was the nature of your jobs, and beyond that he was your friend, so this awkwardness you felt around him had to stop as soon as possible.

  And no one ever called me smooth

But I just wanna see the grooves

Between your hands, your teeth, oh

Tell me, do you think about me?

  You could not get the words Kakashi whispered to you the other day out of your head. It had been a long day of training with your respective teams so the two of you, along with Kurenai, Asuma, and Guy, decided to unwind a bit with some ramen and sake. It started off normal enough, with the five of you talking about your day, laughing when Guy challenged Kakashi to three different competitions, each one more ridiculous than the last, with nothing out of the ordinary happening. One by one your friends all left until it was just you and Kakashi left. He had drunk a bit more than usual, so you took it upon yourself to make sure he got home okay, not to say you didn’t think he could handle anything that could possibly happen ever if he was drunk. Regardless, the two of you walked towards his home together continuing the conversation from the ramen shop, words only dying out once you made it to his front door.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow Kakashi. Hopefully you don’t have too bad of a hangover in the morning,” you said. You moved to turn away, but immediately his hand shot out to grab your arm and stop you from leaving.

“Wait, Y/N, don’t go yet,” Kakashi said, his words slurring together just the slightest bit. You turned back to face him and were about to ask why he wanted you to stay, but before you could, you were suddenly wrapped up in his arms in a very un-Kakashi bear hug.

“Kakashi, what- what are you doing?” you stuttered out, confused. He mumbled something into your neck, the movement tickling you. “I can’t understand what you’re saying,” you said through a giggle. He pulled away so you could see his face, but still held you in his arms. The intensity of his eyes looking into yours made you shudder.

“You’re so beautiful, can I kiss you?” he repeated in a whisper. You tried to respond but it took you a few tries before any actual words came out.

“Kakashi, I- you’re drunk, you don’t mean that.” 

“I may be drunk, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re beautiful right now. I’ve always thought you were beautiful, and you’ve only grown more so each day that I’ve known you.” He paused for a moment just looking at you, then opened his mouth as if he were going to say something else, but no words came out. You turned away from him to try and hide the blush that had creeped its way across your face. His grip tightened around your wrist in an attempt to keep you from leaving, but you panicked and ran down the road, not knowing what else you could or should do in this unexpected situation.

  I just wanna kiss you

And even if I miss you

At least I'll know what it's like to have held your hand, oh

  After your near-run in with Kakashi, you walked home, shoulders slumped and feeling dejected. Why did he have to go and say those things? Sure you thought Kakashi was handsome, but your mind never wandered further than that before. Now it took all you had to stop thinking about what would feel like for him to kiss you, your hands tangled up in his wild hair while his held onto your waist. You knew it could never happen because there was a chance it could ruin your friendship and your working relationship, and you could not put your personal feelings above your duty to the village. Despite this, you let yourself indulge in these daydreams more often than you probably should. More than once you found yourself thinking about his mouth on yours when you had more important things going on.

  Bad ideas

I know where they lead

But I got too many to sleep

And I can't get enough, no

I wanna kiss you standing up

And if tomorrow makes me low

Well it'd be worth it just to know

'Cause I can't get enough, no

I wanna kiss you standing up

  After staring at the wall for what seemed like ages, you groaned and sat up in bed to take a look at the clock. It read 2:14am. For hours you just tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, and you still had so much more of the night to go. You cursed the man whose silver hair and mismatched eyes you saw every time you closed your eyes. If he was going to occupy your mind at night, the least he could do is be in your dreams, rather than keeping you awake. You rolled over and pulled your pillow over your head as if that could block out the incessant thoughts, subconsciously leaving enough room for another person to fit in bed with you. You didn’t know how long it took, but eventually you fell asleep, though not quickly enough to get enough rest for the next day.

  I don't know what compels me

To do the very thing that fells me

I wake up, still high on you

But by the night, I'm crashing through, so

  You woke up to a summons from the Hokage to meet with her in her office, so you quickly got dressed and headed over to the Hokage Residence, running into Asuma and Kurenai on the way. They had recieved summons as well. When you all arrived Tsunade was sitting at her desk and to your surprise, Kakashi and Guy were standing in front of the desk. Guy seemed to be saying something to Kakashi, but the second you walked through the door it became apparent that Kakashi had stopped listening to him. He seemed as if he was going to take a step towards you but hesitated and instead turned to face Tsunade. The rest of you lined up to face her as well.

“Thank you all for getting here so quickly; I know my message came on very short notice,” Tsunade began. “I have a mission for some of you, and whoever does not go on this mission I would like to take over training of the others’ teams for the duration. Several shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Rocks have been seen camping just outside of our borders and while they haven’t done anything in the way of attacking our village yet, they also have not come to talk to me and that just doesn’t sit right. I would like some reconnaissance done to figure out what is going on. Kakashi and Guy have already volunteered to help me out with this, so Asuma, Kurenai, Y/N, which of you would like to join them and which would like to take on a few extra students for a little while?”

Asuma and Kurenai looked at each other without speaking, and before you could think about it you broke the silence yourself.

“I’ll help Kakashi and Guy with the reconnaissance.” As soon as the words slipped out you mentally berated yourself. You had been trying to keep away from Kakashi, why would you volunteer to go on a mission with him where the only other person you could interact with for who knows how long would be Guy? And the mission, you shouldn’t have jeopardized that when you know you’d be distracted the whole time. But it was too late, you already volunteered your services and now you had to deal with the consequences. Tsunade nodded at you.

“Thank you Y/N. Kurenai and Asuma, you can decide between the two of you which students you’ll each be teaching for the time being. As for the three of you, I trust you to come up with and execute your own plan for gaining information on our guests and that you will tell me anything you think I need to know.” With that you were all dismissed from the Hokage’s office.

Kurenai and Asuma walked down the hall, presumably to discuss their new temporary students, leaving the three of you on your own. You definitely did not want to be around Kakashi for any extended period of time, but at least Guy was there to act as a sort of buffer. If something was off between you and Kakashi, which it definitely was considering you refused to even look in his general direction or address him directly, Guy certainly was not picking up on it. Even so, the three of you managed to come up with a decent plan for your mission, which involved having a sort of home base at your home because it was right on the border of the village near where the mysterious Rock Village shinobi had set up their camp. You all agreed that Guy and Kakashi would gather anything they might need and meet you at your home later in the day.

  Why I'd wanna kiss you

Even though I miss you

Guess I just want to know what it would feel like, oh

  The second you got back to your apartment, you began pacing. Why, why, why would you put yourself in literally the most uncomfortable situation you could think of, given your current circumstances? This lasted for several minutes, before you realized you had your own things to get together and deal with before your partners on this mission arrived. You managed to lose yourself in thoughts of the mission ahead, so much so that you didn’t realize how quickly time was passing until there was a sharp knock on your door. Please be Guy, please be Guy, please be Guy, you thought to yourself as you walked over to open the door and - it was Kakashi. Of course. You mumbled something not even coherent to yourself and moved aside to let him in. You couldn’t bring yourself to face him, so instead you just faced the closed door as you heard him put his stuff down somewhere behind you.

“You’re avoiding me,” he said, not a hint of questioning in his voice. 

“No, I-” you began. You realized lying to him now would be pointless, so you sighed and turned around, but still didn’t look at him. Instead you stared at the floor. “Yes,” you admitted.

You looked up at Kakashi. He was standing in the doorway to your kitchen, leaning against the door frame. There was an unreadable expression in his eyes. You both paused waiting for the other one to say something. He broke the silence first.

“What have I done wrong? What did I do to make you hate me so much that you’ve been avoiding me for nearly a week?” The hint of pain in his voice made you immediately feel like shit. You knew Kakashi wasn’t one to let onto his emotions that often, so you knew you really must have hurt him with the way you’ve been acting. You quickly shook your head, taking a step closer to him but not wanting to get too near.

“No, you’ve got this all wrong. I don’t hate you, Kakashi,” you assured. “I just- do you remember the other day when we all went out drinking and I walked you home?” He nodded. “Do you remember what you said to me when we got to your house?” This time he shook his head.

“I mean, I remember us talking, and then you ran away pretty fast, but I don’t really remember the specifics of the conversation. That’s why I thought you hated me, because I said something that upset you. I’ve been beating myself up these past few days, thinking I’ve ruined our friendship somehow,” he admitted. “So, what did I say to you to make you run away and avoid me?” You didn’t know how to respond, but luckily you were saved by one Might Guy suddenly bursting through the door.

“You two didn’t start the spying party without me, did you?” he joked, making you giggle. You silently thanked him for relieving some of the tension, even though you knew that you and Kakashi would have to deal with this unfinished business sooner or later.

The three of you went over your plan again and then set out to get into the positions you had planned on for watching the Rock Village shinobi. There were three vantage points on different sides of their camp that were far enough away that unless one of them was specifically looking for you or had a special jutsu that allowed them to detect where you were you wouldn’t be seen, but they were also close enough that if something went wrong you could make it to the camp or to one of your partners quickly. Thus began a long day of watching literally nothing happen, as the shinobi just seemed to be chilling out in their camp.

  Bad ideas

I know where they lead

But I got too many to sleep

And I can't get enough, no

I wanna kiss you standing up

And if tomorrow makes me low

Well it'd be worth it just to know

'Cause I can't get enough, no

I wanna kiss you standing up

  That night, well after the sun had set, you and Kakashi returned to your home, with Guy staying behind to hold down the fort overnight. He had napped during the day while you two kept watch, so he insisted he was fine to keep going. You didn’t bother to argue because you were tired and a little worried about the fact that the shinobi had done nothing worth noting all day. Were they still planning some sort of attack on the village? Did they already have a plan and were now just waiting for the perfect time to strike? Either way, you knew you wouldn’t be in shape for any fighting if you didn’t get a good night’s sleep, and though you offered to sleep in the field in case anything happened, Guy assured both you and Kakashi that you would be close enough to help should he need you for anything. So that was how you ended up alone with Kakashi once again. Without a word, he took a spare blanket out of your closet and started rolling it out on the floor.

“Hey, what are you doing?” you asked.

“I’m setting up a place for me to sleep. I figured it would be fine using this blanket, but I’m sorry I should have asked,” he responded. He sat down on the blanket as if to get comfortable, but didn’t yet lie back.

“You can sleep in my bed, if you’d like to. I don’t want you to sleep on the hard floor if you don’t have to.” You felt bad for him after mistreating him all week, the last thing you wanted to do was make him physically uncomfortable on top of the emotional stuff.

“If I sleep in your bed, then where would you go?” he questioned. He cocked his one visible eyebrow in a gesture that showed he already knew the answer before you gave it.

“Well, I’d sleep on the floor, I guess.” He shook his head.

“I’m not gonna let you sacrifice your comfort for my own, Y/N.” You hesitated before responding.

“Well, we could always both sleep in my bed,” you said meekly. He gave an incredulous look, so you hurried to explain your reasoning. “The bed is big enough for the both of us to be in it without feeling crammed, you know. And that way neither of us will be in pain in the morning from sleeping on the floor.” You were certain he wouldn’t accept your offer, so you were shocked when he stood up and moved the blanket that was on the floor over to on your bed.

“That makes sense to me. Thank you, Y/N.”

The two of you finished getting ready for bed in silence before climbing into opposite sides of the bed. You were practically hanging off the side of it for fear that you would accidentally bump your body into Kakashi’s.

“So, is there any chance you’re willing to talk about why you’ve been avoiding me now that we’re alone?” he asked. You took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, Kakashi. I can’t. I will soon, I promise. Just, not right now.” He let out a sigh and you could tell he was disappointed, but he didn’t push the matter any further. Soon you could hear a gentle snoring sound that meant he had fallen asleep, but the thoughts swirling around your head kept you awake and staring at the ceiling for a few more hours before you finally drifted off to sleep.

  Smitten's a bad look on me

And if I'm talking honestly

It takes everything I got not to text, and

I just want a kiss to get me through

'Cause now all my bed-sheets smell like you, so

  You woke up to your back pressed up against something and a pair of arms wrapped around your waist. Naturally, you screamed. This made Kakashi, the owner of the arms wrapped around you and the thing your back was pressed against (his chest), instantly wake up and fall off the bed in shock. Your hands instantly went to your mouth as you gasped.

“Well, good morning to you too,” he grumbled as he picked himself up off of the floor.

“Kakashi, I’m so sorry, I woke up and you being there scared me!” you explained.

“Y/N, you’re the one who invited me to sleep in your bed, why would me being there scare you?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head where he hit it against your bed on the way down.

“Well yeah I know, I just didn’t expect you to be spooning me!” At that, his face turned red as a beet.

“Spooning? What do you mean I was spooning you?”

“I mean I woke up with you cuddled up behind me with your arms around me, what else would I mean?” you answered, exasperated. This was not how you planned on starting the morning.

“I… was not aware I was doing that, I’m sorry. Um, I’m gonna go grab something for breakfast,” Kakashi said before all but running out of the room. Not thirty seconds later he called for you to come out there.

That was how you came to find Might Guy sleeping on the floor of your kitchen with six tied up and possibly unconscious or else just unmoving Rock Village shinobi. Kakashi nudged Guy with his foot, making him immediately jump to his feet into a fighting stance.

“Ha! Oh, you two. Have a good night’s sleep?” he asked nonchalantly.

“Guy, what happened? Why are these shinobi on my kitchen floor?” you questioned.

“Right! Well, shortly after you left last night they all started moving around their camp, which I thought was weird because we had seen them all go to bed hours earlier and it was also very late. Once I saw them gathering quite a lot of weapons and strapping them to their persons, I knew something shady was going on. There were only six of them, so I figured I would be fine fighting them on my own, so I didn’t bother going to get you guys. Once I took care of them, I brought them back here. Don’t worry though, I left a note at the Hokage Residence to let everyone know what was going on and to tell them where they can find these six. I expect someone should be around shortly to pick them up,” he explained with the utmost confidence, as if what had transpired was the most normal thing in the world to happen.

“Okay,” Kakashi said. “Okay, well Guy, why don’t you stay here and wait for them. Y/N, do you want to go for a walk? Clearly we’re not needed here.”

“Yes, let’s go,” you agreed. You got dressed and ready for the day as quick as you could, and as you and Kakashi left out your front door, Guy called out a farewell.

“See you later you two! Have fun!” he said with his signature grin and a wink. Maybe he did realize something was up.

  If you think you miss me

Come on back and kiss me

I just gotta know what you and I would feel like, oh no, hey

  You and Kakashi walked around town, occasionally exchanging words but for the most part you were just walking in silence. You stopped at a stand to get some fresh fruit for breakfast and then continued your directionless wandering. Eventually you ended up in a part of the woods that many team leaders, you and Kakashi included, took your teams to for training. There were three logs sticking vertically out of the ground, and Kakashi jumped up to sit on top of one. He gestured for you to come closer, so you joined him by sitting on another of the logs.

“So, are we going to talk now?” he asked. You looked away into the distance, steeling yourself to face the truth before facing him.

“Yeah, I guess we are,” you answered. “The other day when I walked you home, it isn’t just what you said to me, it’s how you said it and what you did while you were saying it. It was just a really weird experience and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head.”

“Y/N, really, if I did anything to offend you, then I apologize a thousand times. Can you please just tell me what I said and did since I don’t remember?” he pleaded.

“Okay, well, it started off when I tried to leave and you kind of just grabbed my arm to keep me from going. You basically pulled me around in order to hug me which caught me so off guard. Then, you called me beautiful and said you wanted to kiss me. I was so shocked that I ran, but ever since then I haven’t been able to get the thought of us actually kissing out of my mind. I mean, it’s gotten to the point where I’m losing sleep over it and it’s starting to drive me crazy.” You started speaking so quickly to just get the words out that by the time you got to the end of it you didn’t know what you were saying. It took you a second to realize what you just admitted.

  Yikes

  Kakashi laughed. He laughed! Here you were, spilling your most mortifying secret to the one person that secret actually affects, and he was laughing at you!

“Is that all?” he asked.

“What do you mean is that all?” you practically yelled. “This has been tormenting me for a week!” He just chuckled again.

“You should have just talked to me about it and I would have cleared it up. I really do think you’re beautiful. It wasn’t just me saying things while drunk, although I do wish the first time I told you was when I was sober. I’d been thinking about it - thinking about you - a lot lately, so I guess drunk me just got impatient and let the cat out of the bag.”

You didn’t know how to react, so you looked down at your feet and said the one thing you could think of. “Oh.”

“Do you mean that though? You’ve been thinking about kissing me?” he asked, sounding a lot more timid than he was before.

“I mean… yeah. A handsome man tells me that he thinks I’m beautiful and he wants to kiss me, why wouldn’t I think about that?” you scoffed as if it were obvious. He reached over and grabbed your hand, causing you to look up at him. He was leaning closer to you than he had been before.

“In that case, Y/N, I am completely sober and I think you are insanely beautiful. Can I please kiss you?” he whispered, as if speaking any louder would ruin the moment.

“Yes,” you whispered back. You reached up to pull down his mask before your lips met in a tender, sweet kiss, the first of many.

  Bad ideas

I know where they lead

But I got too many to sleep

And I can't get enough, no

I wanna kiss you standing up

And if tomorrow makes me low

Well it'd be worth it just to know

'Cause I can't get enough, no

I wanna kiss you standing up

________________________________________________________________

This is the first fanfic I’ve written in about a year and a half. After listening to Tessa Violet’s album non-stop I just felt really inspired, and so this happened. It feels really good to write something for myself instead of for school.

[shikakunaras]

Hello! 25 and nejilee?(sorry, i don't have many ships XD)(take all the time you need!)

25 - “Now it’s over…I don’t really know what to do.”

My first Neji/Lee fic just for you (there’s a little kkg there too but it’s for plot.) 

Ao3 link

The first thing Neji noticed was the smell. Behind the sterile scent of the hospital room there was lavender and sage. Lee’s homemade shampoo had permeated his dreams and brought him back to reality.

He opened his eyes and looked over at Lee, who was sleeping in the seat next to his bed. He looked ethereal. The sun shining through the hospital window created a golden aura around him and Neji couldn’t hold back his smile.

Lee’s eyes cracked open and then grew wide upon seeing Neji conscious.

“Neji!” Lee - despite his excitement - had managed to keep his voice low, for the sake of whoever was in the bed next to Neji’s.

Neji let out a sigh and allowed Lee to give him a soft hug. Lee was careful not to touch his chest, the bandages still a tight reminder of what he had gone through.

“How am I alive?” Neji looked into Lee’s eyes and was surprised to see them red, he was either crying or not sleeping.

“Sakura and Ino. They were nearby and they healed you as best as they could. Naruto got the battle to leave the field and Hinata watched you. We couldn’t just let you die. I’m sorry.” Lee whispered the last part, gently touching Neji’s forehead.

Neji wasn’t free. He remained on the earth and chained once again to his curse mark. Neji shook his head, he wanted to stop thinking that he was bound to the main house. He also didn’t want Lee to apologize for trying to save him.

“Where is Tenten and Gai-sensei?” They were noticeably absent.

Lee stood up straight and tears began to fall. “Gai-sensei is in a coma. He entered the 8th gate. Kakashi-sensei hasn’t left his side. Tenten and I rotate seeing you both. We didn’t want you to wake up alone.”

Neji frowned. “He survived?”

“Naruto sealed his last chakra point. Tsunade has been working on healing him but now it’s up to him to wake up. I thought I lost both of you. I didn’t know what to do.” For the first time in a while Lee’s positive attitude eluded him. Neji shook his head again.

“It’ll take more than the Gates or spikes to take us out.” Neji tried to laugh but he ended up coughing. Lee grabbed a tissue and wiped the little bit of blood that managed to escape.

Lee let his tears dry on his cheeks as he returned the smile. “Kakashi-sensei is the next Hokage. Naruto is working his way up to Jonin. Tenten and I will be Jonin-sensei soon.” He listed off the things Neji has missed since being wounded.

Neji offered a hum in response. It was hard to think about what he was going to do next. Tsunade may make him retire. He thought about joining ANBU for a while. Maybe he’ll just offer himself as a Jonin and lead missions.

Lee had stopped talking, instead he just sat on the edge of Neji’s hospital bed and took his hand. Neji tightened the hold and looked up.

“When there were murmurs about the war I was resolved that I wouldn’t survive it. During the war I was so set on protecting Hinata. I had no plan for the future. Now it’s over…I don’t really know what to do.” Neji spoke to Lee with honesty and to Neji’s surprise Lee just nodded. No excited words of encouragement, no shouting about how he underestimated himself, just a knowing nod.

“I felt that once you reached Jonin you were set on dying in the field. Gai-sensei told me about Kakashi-sensei doing the same thing and it was too familiar. It’s why we all worked so hard to keep you from achieving that.” Lee turned his face away from Neji. “You’re important to me. To all of us.”

Neji felt a lump form in his throat. He couldn’t speak or tears would form and he couldn’t show them to Lee. Not yet.

Lee turned back, fresh tears already spilling down his face. “We won’t let you fall behind.”

Before Neji could whisper anything out the room door opened and a tired Kakashi ambled towards Neji’s bed.

“I thought I heard talking. Good to see you awake Neji. How’s your chest?” Kakashi spoke softly, Neji could see the pain in the man’s eyes.

“Not bad. How’s Gai-sensei?”

“Awake. Finally. It’s taking Tenten, Sakura, and Tsunade all their strength to keep him from barreling through that door.”

“Gai-sensei!” Lee’s face lit up. He ran out to the room next door to see his teacher leaving Kakashi and Neji alone.

“Tsunade said you’ll make a full recovery.” Kakashi pulled the chair Lee occupied closer to Neji and sat down. “I’m sure Lee filled you in on everything?”

“He did. I can’t tell if you’re excited about the new job or disappointed.”

“We’ll figure that out along the way." A chuckle left Kakashi before he spoke again. "With that being said I was hoping you’d accept a new job position.”

Neji frowned. “New position?”

“I was thinking Jonin Commander.”

“Not Shikamaru?” Surely the man would want to follow his father’s footsteps.

“No he’s my assistant. He wants to learn everything so when Naruto steps in he can help him. It’s sweet and a little annoying because he makes me do my work. No days off for this old man.” Kakashi chuckled.

“I accept.” Neji was ready for something different. “What about my curse mark? I’ll be the highest ranking Hyuuga. They won’t like that.”

“Hinata has settled that. Don’t worry.” Kakashi looked at the door, Lee was standing in the doorway watching them.

“Gai-sensei wants you Lord Hokage.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes and stood up with a grunt. “It’s Kakashi. Please. I don’t need my kids acting formal.” The man winked at Neji and then patted Lee on his head, leaving them alone once again. Lee stepped to the edge of Neji’s bed, a smirk on his face.

“Hyuuga Neji, Jonin Commander. It has a nice ring to it.”

“Shut up.” Neji laughed, this time his lungs went along with the activity. He was happy to be alive for once. He took Lee’s hand. “As long as you’re here I’ll be okay I think.”

“I’ll never leave your side then.”

“Good. I’ll hold you to that.” Neji felt his eyes grow heavy. He didn’t want to let go of Lee and he knew that once the man made a promise, he'd never break it. Before he fell asleep he felt Lee’s lips ghost on the back of his hand.

Neji dreamed about a life fulfilled with Lee by his side.

[myaekingheart]

76. The Blind Date

               Perhaps the worst part about Sekkachi’s plan was that it forced her to be social. She didn’t particularly like people except for the obvious handful so finding the right man for the job felt like a huge hassle. Fortunately, she had Naru’s old address book complete with very opinionated commentary. She flipped through the pages, skimming the endless list of men in Konoha, before stumbling upon one whose involvement had to be foolproof. His name alone was enough to convince her. Now the only thing left was to convince Rei.

               When she proposed the idea, it took all of Sekkachi’s strength to repress her shit-eating grin. This was going to be perfectly horrible. Rei was expectantly resistant. “You really need to start pulling yourself together” Sekkachi argued. “You’ve been spiraling for, like, three months. You need to get outside, get some fresh air, and get back into the dating game.”

               “What could possibly make you think this is a good idea?” Rei argued. A blind date was not at all in her comfort zone nor her interests. “I’m not going through with this, absolutely not.”

               Rolling her eyes, Sekkachi spat back, “And why not? It’s not like you’re currently unavailable.”

               Her comment stung, but Sekkachi was right. Rei was technically single now. No, not technically—she was single now. There was no real reason for her to sit around romantically unoccupied. She forced herself to remember that she and Kakashi were incompatible, on totally different planes, and that they were forging separate paths now that forked away from one another. She was free of his companionship and therefore had absolutely no excuse. Sighing, she begrudgingly accepted the offer and, once alone, prayed she was not making a massive mistake. As Sekkachi strolled down the hall, she let herself finally grin with the delicious mischief of her underhanded work. This was truly going to be perfectly horrible.

               The last thing Kakashi wanted was to arouse suspicion. The allure of that new book was far too strong, however, and so he would have no other choice but to resort to much sneakier methods. He carefully removed the dust jacket off a hardcover copy of Makeout Paradise and wrapped it around his new book, the fit a little wonky but good enough. No one was allowed to know what he was actually reading.

               Konoha was quiet that afternoon, but the air was fresh and clear. Naruto would be preparing for his long journey off training with Jiraiya and Sakura was likely working hard under Lady Tsunade’s jurisdiction. He didn’t want to think about Sasuke’s studies. Rubbing the back of his neck, Kakashi walked along comfortably as he scanned anecdote after anecdote of lost love, sexual dissatisfaction, and advice on how to fix it all. He was just in the middle of a rather intriguing story of a man and woman trying to find comfortable sex positions during a trying pregnancy when he overheard an all-too-familiar voice from behind.

               “Kakashi-sensei!”

               Kakashi involuntarily shoved his book behind his back and whipped around to find Naruto and Sakura rapidly approaching. “Uh, hey, guys! What seems to be the trouble?” he asked, feigning innocence.

               Naruto cocked a brow in suspicion, skirting around his sensei to try and see what he was hiding. Kakashi turned slowly in the same direction in hopes of deterring his student. Not that the cover of Makeout Paradise was all too unusual, but god forbid Naruto stole the book itself and saw what was really inside.

               “We’ve been looking for you all morning!” Sakura explained. “We need your help with something.”

               “Oh, right!” Naruto exclaimed, as if he had completely forgotten their entire mission. He giggled mischievously before rushing back to Sakura’s side and wrapping an overenthusiastic arm around her. “Sakura and I are going on a date!”

               “Oh?” Kakashi asked. “Is that so?”

               Naruto nodded excitedly, but the tension in Sakura’s jaw only heightened Kakashi’s suspicion. “Yep” Sakura replied through gritted teeth. “We’re going on a date alright.”

               Smiling, Kakashi rested a hand on each of their heads and replied, “Good for you two! Nice to see you’re finally getting over Sasuke, Sakura.” The pink-haired kunoichi could only grit her teeth and grumble under her breath. She tried to remind herself how much she was getting paid to do this. As Kakashi started walking away, however, Sakura whipped around and snatched his wrist. His book nearly flew out of his hands, his heart pounding in his chest. The pages fluttered, revealing only a hint of the content inside.

               “Kakashi-sensei, wait!” Sakura called. “We have a favor to ask of you.”

               “What is it?” Kakashi asked, borderline exhausted already with the prospect. He almost didn’t want to know. He didn’t particularly want to involve himself in whatever antics they were getting into.

               “Well, you see, the thing is…” Sakura started, skirting around the problem. “In order for us to go on this date, my parents insisted we have a chaperone but they’re both busy so they said we should ask you!”

               “Yeah!” Naruto exclaimed. “We figured since you’re our sensei and all, you’d be the perfect choice!” Then, scooting in a little closer, Naruto whispered scandalously, “Besides, you’re far less strict than Sakura’s parents so I’m sure you’d let me get away with stealing a kiss or two, am I right, Kakashi-sensei?”

               Kakashi narrowed his eyes and leaned away from his student, muttering something along the lines of “Don’t get so close!”

               Meanwhile, the minute she overheard, Sakura charged forward grimacing, shouting “Naruto, you idiot!” while punching him hard on the arm.

               It was really far too early to put up with their bullshit. Sighing, Kakashi shook his head and replied, “I don’t know if I really feel like playing the third wheel on your kindergarten date.” Amidst the chaos, however, his grip on his book had fallen slack and Sakura caught sight of the title of one of the chapters: Finding Time for Sex During Parenting.

               Fortunately for her, working in the medical field now meant she was typically unfazed by matters of the human body but in the hands of her sensei, this was too rich. His pervy makeout books were one thing, but this was a whole different matter entirely. Was there something he wasn’t telling them? Of course she knew he and Rei had broken up, but was this more complicated than her thirteen year old brain should be privy to? She had no idea but either way, this gave her ammunition. A sly smile touched her lips as she rocked back and forth on her heels, asking in sing-song, “Hey, Kakashi-sensei? Is it a boy or a girl?”

               Kakashi’s face went deadly pale and there was a glimmer in Sakura’s eyes that sent chills down his spine. “W-w-what do you mean?” he stammered.

               “Yeah, Sakura, what do you mean?” Naruto asked, cocking a brow and wrinkling his nose in confusion.

               Grinning, Sakura poked at the cover of Kakashi’s book, the slightly oversized dust jacket wrinkling beneath her fingertip, and replied sweetly “Just wondering.”

               Fuck. She was onto him. Sweat beaded on Kakashi’s brow as he shoved the book into his back pouch then and pasted a fake grin on his masked face. “Alright, what time should I pick you kids up for your date? Just let me know when and where!”

               Rei couldn’t believe she was actually doing this. She ran her fingers through her hair as she paced her apartment, trying to wrap her brain around what was happening. She never should’ve agreed to this. She wasn’t the type of person who went on dates with people she didn’t know. Not that she had ever really been on a date with anyone other than Kakashi. Her current circumstance was just a grave reminder that she was truly wading into unknown territory. She had no idea what to expect, how to act, what to wear. With Kakashi, everything came easily, naturally, but this? This was a whole separate beast.

               She glanced to the clock, finding she only had ten minutes left until her date was set to pick her up. She gripped the edge of her desk tightly and sucked in a deep breath, anxiety welling up inside of her. She didn’t want to do this. Her eyes then skated to the blue cornflower on the windowsill and her heart leapt into her throat. Kakashi.

               She had no idea how much time had passed in her panicked state when a sudden knock at the door brought her back to earth. Rei checked the time again—he was seven minutes early. Cursing under her breath, she pulled her hair back into the signature ponytail and slipped that floral haori on over her outfit as she rushed to the door. She tried to keep herself composed as she greeted her date for the night, met with perhaps the largest and burliest man she had ever seen. He looked her up and down and despite wearing three layers of clothing, in his gaze she felt totally and completely naked.

               The restaurant, an intimate hibachi place geared more toward the wealthy and posh, was completely packed. Kakashi grimaced as he followed Naruto and Sakura inside, knowing full well there was no way Naruto could afford dinner at a place like this. Hell, he could barely afford Ichiraku. “Uh, Naruto…I don’t know if this is the best idea” he said with uncertainty. “You might need to reschedule your date…and find someplace cheaper.”

               Naruto, however, was defiant. “No, it has to be tonight!” he insisted. “And it has to be here!”

               “Did you remember to make a reservation?” Sakura asked, eyeing him critically.

               Desperate to save face, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. “Of course I did! I just have to walk up to the podium and let them know I’m here, and we should be seated soon!” With that, he confidently weaved through a gathering of rather stuck up adults straight to the hostess. He may have been a total idiot but Sakura had to admit, he had gumption.

               Rei sipped her sake as she tried to get to know her date, but the trouble with hibachi restaurants was that there wasn’t much room for privacy. Especially when that hibachi restaurant was packed to the brim. Apparently there was some misunderstanding with the reservations of those scheduled to sit with them, therefore delaying service to their table, but it was no matter. Rei tried not to overthink it, forcing herself to instead be grateful for the brief moments alone with this man.

               “I can’t even imagine how you do your job every day” the man said. His name was Attoteki Orokona and no, he would not let her forget it.

               Rei laughed nervously and shook her head. “But I thought you were a ninja too?” she asked.

               “Well yeah” Attoteki replied, “But you’re a woman! Being a shinobi just isn’t the type of job for the likes of you. I mean, what if every woman in the world decided to be a ninja? Women are scientifically the weaker sex, so you’d be at a disadvantage and then what would happen to the population? If you ask me, women ought to stay home and just pop out kids.”

               “Uh-huh…” Rei replied quizzically. She wasn’t sure how to take any of this. Defeated, she took a rather large swig of her drink. Just then, a waitress approached to seat the rest of their table. Joining them were a young couple on what appeared to be a first date and their chaperone. So essentially a very young couple. It took Rei all of two seconds to comprehend that this was not just any couple, however. In fact, it was Naruto and Sakura. And with them as chaperone was Kakashi Hatake.

               Attoteki glanced over to them and bid them a brief hello, hardly polite. If anything, he was rather bothered there were kids sitting next to him. He knew he’d have to censor himself for their sake, which was not at all his forte.

               “Well, what do you know!” Naruto exclaimed, leaning across the table to grin at Rei. Taken aback, she nearly choked on her drink. Attoteki had to slam her hard on the back, sake spewing across the table. Kakashi cocked a brow in intrigue. Meanwhile, Rei’s face turned bright red. There was no way this was really happening.

               “Do you know this kid?” Attoteki asked, pointing his thumb toward Naruto.

               “Unfortunately, yes” Rei groaned, sinking into her seat. “Attoteki, this is Naruto Uzumaki and his teammate Sakura Haruno” she introduced, motioning toward each of them respectively. And then came Kakashi. Speaking for him was almost excruciating. “And this, for some reason, is their sensei who I’m sure you already know seeing as everyone else does.”

               “I’m Kakashi Hatake” he greeted with a smile and wave. “But don’t mind me. I’m only here to make sure these two don’t get into trouble!” He tugged Naruto back into his seat by his shirt collar then and forced a grin on his face, muttering quietly, “Which he seems to already be pushing the limits of.”

               Sakura rested her chin in her hands and peered past Attoteki to Rei, asking, “What brings you here? Are you on a date?”

               Rei nodded slowly, “Yeah…something like that.” But it feels more like a death march, she thought to herself. This was merely confirmation that she had to be the unluckiest person on the planet. Really, what were the odds? This was almost too convenient.

               Attoteki then stepped in, extending a brawny hand for a shake. “The name’s Attoteki Orokana” he greeted gruffly. “You’re a cute little thing, aren’t you? I bet you’d make someone a great wife someday.” Not even skipping a beat, Sakura shook his hand back with a sweet smile. Though he tried, it was hard to wipe the shock off his face at her grip. For someone so small, she was certainly much stronger than she seemed. Once she released his hand, he forced a confident smile to compensate and then eyed Kakashi, muttering, “Real cute kid.”

               “She’s training to be a medic ninja under Lady Tsunade” Kakashi explained proudly.  

               Attoteki smirked and muttered under his breath, “Remind me not to piss her off before a surgery then.” As if he even expected to be operated on by a thirteen year old in the first place.

               “So how long have you two been together?” Naruto then asked.

               Attoteki wrapped a strong arm around Rei and replied confidently, “It’s just our first date, but something tells me we’re gonna have plenty more.” Kakashi’s sharingan eye twitched at the thought.

               “Wow, so there are tons of things you don’t know about Rei yet then!” Naruto exclaimed.

               Rei blinked, eyeing him suspiciously. As if he knew a ton of things about her. “Like what…?” she asked through gritted teeth. Deep down, she knew he would never get the cue to not actually answer.

               “Well…” Naruto started. “She’s got a really short temper! And she’s real self conscious about her height. When I first met her, she nearly killed me for talking about how short she was and we got kicked out of a restaurant! She probably would’ve done me in, too, if Kakashi-sensei hadn’t restrained her.”

               “So I take it you all know each other pretty well then, huh?” Attoteki asked. Naruto nodded enthusiasatically.

               “Yeah, yeah! Believe it!” he insisted. “Kakashi-sensei especially!” Then, turning to his sensei, asked, “Say, how long were you two together, anyways?”

               “Together?” Attoteki asked, arching a brow. He turned to Rei for an explanation.

               Burying her face in her hands, Rei nodded slowly and replied, “Yeah…Kakashi is, uh…my ex-boyfriend, actually.”

               She wasn’t sure exactly what kind of reaction she expected, but it certainly wasn’t this. A grin spead across Attoteki’s face then as he suddenly broke out in uproarious laughter, then reached across the table and clapped Kakashi hard on the back. “That’s too bad!” he exclaimed. “I guess you just couldn’t keep her satisfied, could you? Lucky for you, she’s in good hands now! Going out with a real man!”

               Kakashi pursed his lips and leaned back to create some distance between himself and Attoteki. What did he mean a real man? Did this guy even have any idea of Kakashi’s death toll? Of his renown across the Five Great Nations? Meanwhile Attoteki hardly had a notable accolade to his name. He wanted to say something, but then thought better of it. It wasn’t worth his time.

               Throughout the entire course of dinner, however, Kakashi’s patience was tested time and time again. Attoteki was perhaps the most abrasive person he had ever met. Loud, outspoken, overbearing, egotistical. Not to mention misogynistic. He overrided Rei’s order, insisting she get the vegetable platter rather than her preference of steak for the sake of her figure. “No girlfriend of mine is going to be walking around with a waistline that thick!” he laughed. Kakashi cringed. As far as he could tell, Rei was perhaps thinner than ever before. It was clear her eating habits the past few months were suffering, and he feared that if she didn’t do something soon, she would wither away to nothing. He ordered the steak for himself, resolving to likely slip her half of his plate as a courtesy.

               Attoteki was a messy eater, scarfing down his food ravenously and chewing with his mouth wide open. Naruto grimaced as specks of chicken flew across the table in his wake. Disgusting.

               Clearing his throat, Kakashi then interjected himself into the conversation, “So, Attoteki…” he asked. The man turned to him mid-chew and for a moment appeared totally primitive. Kakashi smiled nervously at him before continuing. “How did you and Rei meet?” he asked.

               “It’s actually a blind date!” Attoteki answered. Oh thank god, Kakashi thought to himself. The past few months had him questioning how well he really knew Rei but he was at least positive she never would’ve gone for a man such as this on her own accord. Attoteki then wrapped an arm around his date and tugged her close, planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek and adding, “And boy am I glad I agreed! I mean, look at the set on her! The only rack bigger in Konoha is on Tsunade herself!”

               Rei’s face burned bright red as she tried to ignore the man’s remarks. It was clear to Kakashi, however, that she was losing it. Narrowing his eyes, he then asked, “Is her body really all you care about?”

               Looking back at him dumbly, Attoteki asked, “What else is there?”

               Sakura knew this was not her battle to fight but she couldn’t stand to just sit there and let all of this fly over her head. “What about her brain?” she asked. “Or her skill?”

               Attoteki grunted and shook his head. “That’s real funny” he replied, but after a few moments of silence it occurred to him that they were dead serious. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and explained, “Listen, the worst thing a woman can do is educate herself. She reads books and then she starts getting these ideas and learning big words and then she gets argumentative and you’ve gotta put her back in her place. The world would be better off if women just stuck to what they knew and let the men handle the big stuff.”

               “Stick to what they know?” Sakura asked. She could hardly keep the offended expression off her face. “Like what?”

               Swatting at the air, Attoteki replied as he took another bite, “You know. Feminine stuff. Cooking, cleaning, raising the kids.” Then, nudging Rei in the shoulder, he added, “I’m sure you’d be great at that. You’ve got great birthing hips—I’m sure you could pop out at least five with no problem!”  

               Kakashi’s face went deathly pale. His eyes skated to the empty glasses on the table—apparently not only was Rei’s date absolutely unbearable but he was a total drunk, too. He had already been through four glasses of sake and was nearly finished with a fifth. If he continued, Kakashi didn’t even want to think about what this scum might do to Rei. Clearing his throat, he replied sharply, “I can’t help but feel like you need to get your priorities in order. Rei is far more than just a vessel for your personal satisfaction.”

               Grimacing, Attoteki took a long swig of his drink and fired back, “Well, I don’t really think your opinion on the subject matters much. You had your chance with her and you failed, so now it’s my turn.”

               Peering past the brute man, Kakashi looked at Rei then and asked, “Does he make you happy?”

               Before she could say anything, however, Attoteki interrupted. “Happy?” he laughed. “She should be more concerned with whether or not I’m happy! That’s the important thing here.”

               “So you have absolutely no regard for her feelings whatsoever?” Kakashi asked him.

               Attoteki laughed. “No wonder you failed in pinning her down. You don’t understand a damn thing about how these sorts of things work.”

               “I understand far more than you think” Kakashi replied. Naruto noticed how much tighter the copy ninja was gripping his chopsticks, the invisible temperature gauge in his head escalating exponentially. Things were about to get really bad.

               Attoteki, however, seemed to recognize none of the impending doom. Turning to Rei, he pulled her close and said, “Can you believe this guy? He’s fucking delusional! It’s a good thing I came in and saved you when I did or else you’d be done for. Can’t let a sweet little thing like you go to waste.” The scent of alcohol was strong on his breath and his hand began to wander to places it shouldn’t go. She could feel him grip her waist tightly, as if fully prepared to snap her pelvic bone should she resist. And that was when Kakashi snapped.

               “Let her go” he growled, narrowing his eyes.

               “This is none of your concern” Attoteki spat over his shoulder. “I already told you, this little babe is mine now.” Then, turning to Rei, he whispered drunkenly, “Isn’t that right?” Her heart leapt into her throat and for a moment she was convinced she was going to be sick. His voice sent shivers down her spine.

               Kakashi turned to Naruto and Sakura then, insisting they step outside. “I don’t want you to see what’s about to happen” he added. Naruto protested, but Sakura knew better than to test Kakashi right now. She gripped the jinchuriki’s wrist and tugged him at least into the restaurant lobby. Deep down, she, too, yearned to see what was about to happen.

               The minute they were out of sight, Kakashi stood and approached Attoteki at the other end of the table. “I’m only going to say this one more time: let her go.”

               “Or else what?” Attoteki scoffed. “You’ll slap my wrists? Back of the line, kid. Come back and fight me when you’re a real man.”

               Sighing, Kakashi knew then that he had no choice. Lifting his ninja headband, he revealed his glaring sharingan and yet even then, Attoteki did not understand the full weight of the situation. “I really don’t want to have to do this” Kakashi said.

               Rei shook her head frantically, whispering hoarsely, “Kakashi, please don’t. It’s fine. Really.” But it wasn’t fine. She hated how frozen she was in Attoteki’s unyielding embrace, how she couldn’t bring herself to fight back even if she wanted to. She was fully aware that if she didn’t, however, she would have no choice but to be on the receiving end of Kakashi’s heroism and that almost scared her more than anything Attoteki would do. So much for independence.

               Attoteki rolled his eyes and refused to budge. “What good is that going to do?” he asked. “I doubt you can use that thing properly, you’re not even an Uchiha.”

               “Want to bet?” Kakashi asked, voice low and serious. Attoteki stared back at him, confidence unwavering. This was the start of the end. What began as a basic blind date had turned into an all-out war in the middle of the restaurant. With one swift motion, Kakashi lunged forward with kunai drawn, stopped only by Attoteki’s strong grip.

               “What are you going to do?” the brute man asked. He hugged Rei closer to his body, adding, “If you take me out, she goes down with me.”

               “You underestimate her ability” Kakashi growled. He glanced to Rei knowingly and her entire body nearly collapsed. He hadn’t looked her in the eyes like that in so long. She didn’t think she could do as he asked of her, but his gaze insisted that she at least try. That no matter what, he believed in her. Pursing her lips, she gave one definitive nod.

               While Kakashi had him distracted, Rei kneed Attoteki in the crotch, releasing his grip on her. She slid across the table, the hibachi grill still hot, and slipped next to Kakashi. Involuntarily, she pressed her back against his and their fingers intertwined, their chakra mingling. It had been so long since they used this jutsu, and the sensation of their chakra sent her heart racing. She reminded herself to keep her anxiety at bay, however. For this to work, she’d need precise control. In a matter of minutes, their chakra surrounded them in a blue glow, reaching optimum power. A ball of lightning formed in Kakashi’s palm as he raced forward and trapped Attoteki inside of an electic cage, Rei leaping over her ex-boyfriend from behind to smother the dome in a barrage of water. The entire room went blinding white for a split second and then there was nothingness.

               Attoteki coughed into his elbow, blood spurting from his lips, as he tried to refocus his vision. Standing over him was Rei with a sharp glare on her face. He could hardly comprehend what had just happened. “Y-you’re…insane!” he croaked.

               A satisfied smile touched Rei’s lips as she knelt down to punch Attoteki square in the face. “Do us all a favor” she started, “and next time, don’t underestimate the power of a woman. I can do way more than just pop out kids.”

               Attoteki growled and tried to stand up to apprehend her but it was no use. He was completely immobilized. “Y-you’re going to regret this..!” he insisted.

               Rei pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment, then shook her head. “You know what? I really don’t think I will” she laughed. “But really, this is all for the best. It never would’ve worked out between us. You may be a man, but you’ll never be respectable.” And with that, she stood up and approached the restaurant lobby.

               Kakashi fed the unfortunate soul one last glare before following Rei, but when he turned around he was merely met with a glare from the hostess. “We’ll, uh…we’ll pay for the damages” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling sheepishly. The hostess merely rolled her eyes and pushed past him to try and clean up the debris. And the restaurant truly was in absolute shambles. Chairs were knocked over, some even launched through windows, ceiling lights were hanging on by a single perilous wire. If he didn’t know any better, Kakashi would assume the place was struck by a massive earthquake. Fortunately, the lobby was relatively unscathed. As he stepped out into the open space, Rei pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. The harikenkeji took a lot out of her, and her chakra was likely extremely depleted. He swooped in and caught her just as her knees buckled, his cheeks tinting red. “Are you okay?” he asked.

               She lingered in his grasp for a moment longer before regaining her footing and composing herself. “Yeah…yeah, I’m, uh…I’m fine” she said. She could hardly meet his gaze. The feel of their chakra intertwining still had her reeling and dizzy. She didn’t want to think about it.

               Naruto and Sakura rushed toward them then, overflowing with excitement. “Well, what happened?” Naruto asked. “Did you beat his ass? Did you guys work things out? Are you back together?”

               That last question was what truly gave them away. Kakashi cocked a brow and stared down at them, beginning to unravel their plan. “Alright, you two. What are you hiding?” he asked.

               “Hiding?” Sakura asked. “We’re not hiding anything! Honest!”

               Rei scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay. You really need to work on your lying, kid.” Sakura frowned and recoiled, completely called out.

               Kakashi sighed and rubbed his forehead. “What have I told you two about meddling in other people’s love lives?”

               “…Not to do it” Naruto murmured. “But this is different!” he then shouted. “You guys should be together! We don’t even know why you broke up in the first place!”

               “Yeah!” Sakura added. “We just want you guys to be happy, and we know you were so happy when you were together! This whole thing doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”

               “Relationships are…complicated” Rei explained slowly. She really didn’t think they owed these kids an explanation, but she knew neither of them would hear the end of it if they just let things go. “Sometimes things just don’t work out the way you think they’re going to, and you just have to make peace with it and…and move on.”

               Kakashi nodded. “Rei is right” he agreed. “You can’t force what’s not meant to be, and in our case it just wasn’t in the cards.” God, he hoped he sounded convincing. He glanced to Rei, terrified she would see right through his lies.

               Naruto shook his head and kicked at the ground. “Well if you ask me, if you love someone you should never leave them no matter what! Whatever the problem is, there has to be a way to work through it! Believe it!”

               Sighing, Rei shook her head and placed a hand on top of Naruto’s head. “I’m sure you’ll understand when you’re older” she replied. “For now, just…accept that some things are out of your control.”

               Defeated, Naruto and Sakura disappeared down the street that night feeling as if all their hard work had gone to waste. The young jinchuriki placed his hands behind his head as he walked, pouting up at the sky wondering what they had done wrong and if it was their fault or if Rei and their sensei were just stubborn, dumb, and blind. They were meant to be together, they had to be. Staying apart was only going to cause more trouble. A hiss from down an alleyway captured their attention, and the two kids ducked into the darkness to relay the results of their mission.

               Rei shook her head, laughing in disbelief, as she wrapped her haori shut tight. “So much for a pleasant night out” she commented.

               “Sorry” Kakashi apologized. “I never intended to hijack your date.”

               “No” Rei countered. “It’s fine. That’s not the part I’m sad about. I just wish things hadn’t gone so haywire, you know?”

               “Yeah…” Kakashi replied. After a few beats of silence, however, he added, “I was glad I was there, though.” Rei cocked a brow and looked at him curiously, terrified of what he was bound to say next. “I know we’re not together anymore but…I still care very deeply about you, Rei. I want you to be happy and safe. I’m glad I was there to protect you when things started to go downhill.”

               Frowning, Rei turned away and murmured, “I don’t need you to protect me, Kakashi.” The copy ninja averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. He should’ve known she would say something like that. Before he could respond, however, she then added, “But thank you. I appreciated your help tonight. And that combo attack…”

               “It’s been a while” he said with a bittersweet smile.

               “Yeah…” she murmured. “That was…that was really something else.”

               Another beat of silence passed before he then turned to her, locking eyes with her, and the whole world felt like it was about to explode. “Do you want me to walk you home?” he asked.

               She paused and deliberated for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah…yeah, that would be fine.” A small smile touched his masked face as he ushered for her to walk alongside him.

               In the alleyway, Naruto groaned and complained about everything that went wrong that night. Sekkachi, however, seemed totally unfazed. “You did a good job” she assured the kids. “This went exactly as planned.”

               “That was your plan?” Sakura asked. She shook her head in disbelief. “But they’re still not back together! What are we supposed to do now?”

               “I wouldn’t be so quick to judge” Sekkachi protested, then pointed out to the street. “We can’t expect them to fall into each other’s arms overnight. Sometimes you have to mix the cough syrup into the applesauce in order for the baby to take it.”

               “…What?” Naruto asked, cocking a brow.

               “Nevermind” Sekkachi shook her head. “Just look.”

               Naruto and Sakura turned their gaze in the direction of Sekkachi’s finger, watching as Rei and Kakashi passed by slowly. They walked beside one another, an air of tension surrounding them as they chatted casually. Perhaps there was hope after all. If they looked close enough, they could catch their fingers twitching to interlock. A satisfied smirk touched Sekkachi’s lips as they disappeared into the night. Slowly but surely, things were finally coming together.

[the-formerone]

shikasakuhanami 2019: day 3

me, strollin in late w the shikasaku content

a pretty (empty) smile on ao3!

"I want him dead," she sobs, face buried in his chest, her palms fisted tightly in the thin fabric of his kimono. "Dead!"

She almost shrieks it, and Shikamaru has to hush her sobbing. He rubs his palms gently up and down her arms. She hiccups, which turns into a wet, pitiful cough, and then she slumps against him, exhausted.

Shikamaru lets their combined weight take them to the ground, and he makes space for the emperor's newest wife between his legs. Shikamaru is a lord himself. He knows better than to have a woman this important touching him the way Sakura is touching him, confiding in him the way Sakura has.

But he's also been nameless from birth, his clan's final act to preserve the Nara by wiping away their name, then sending the nameless into the new Uchiha court. The Senju had brought the Nara to great esteem during their reign; the Uchiha regarded them as too insightful, and had purged them. Shikaku had been lost; Yoshino, squirreled out of the palace herself, had left behind with a distant cousin, a young Shikamaru, and very detailed instructions.

Sakura was a country doctor's daughter, whose brilliance had won her scholarship to learn medicine. She had been a brilliant student of Senju Tsunade's before the purge, and after it, a disciple of Orochimaru. Her brilliance had blossomed blackly after that, tainted with Orochimaru's own wickedness and the darker still plans of the Uchiha.

She had been thrown in the emperor's way almost by accident. She was a dear friend of one of the emperor's great nephews; his only lover had chosen banishment with the remaining living Senju, and Uchiha Sasuke had demanded amnesty for his last remaining childhood friend.

She had gotten a better place than that. And much higher esteem. But she had been torn away from her only companion, and thrust into the kind of court life she had never been trained for.

Shikamaru pitied her. At least he had Ino, who had raised him, and through her, his mother. Sakura didn't have anyone now. The only reason Shikamaru had befriended her in the first place was because of a wound he had sustained on the property before the coup.

Their bond had been tenuous before it. After, Shikamaru was right to guess that he was Sakura's only lifeline.

"Hush," he says, soothing her as best as he can.

The last of her sobs leave her body, and Shikamaru is sure a face's worth of expensive make-up has ruined his simple attire. He focuses instead on plucking at some of her more pointy ornaments, and carefully letting down her hair.

The emperor would have him whipped for being in his wife's chamber, but Shikamaru would take the beating. She had looked so distraught when he first entered. Nevermind that she had summoned him after sundown.

They could always say he had brought her a book. There were enough recent additions to her suites to make the lie seem more true.

"No treason before bedtime, okay?" he asks, holding her face in his hands, rubbing his thumb over her cheek.

Her green eyes are puffy with tears, but she looks less bleak than she did when he arrived. He wonders how long she paced her room like the wildcat she is, tearing at her bedposts and throwing things around until a suitable amount of time had passed between the emperor's leaving and Shikamaru's summoning.

Sakura was not as fragile as she looked, and she looked like a young dove; all dark skin from her childhood in the country turned soft with her late days at court. Her callouses would have been gone by now if the emperor did not prefer his surgeon wife be able to work, that she could be more of a zoo attraction than an actual partner.

She hated the idea, had spat it out as soon as Shikamaru came into the room. 'I'm a doctor and he keeps me caged up like a doll,' she hissed. 'He is sustaining a war and I should be helping people, but he holds me here because he knows I hate it, but that I have no other options. He is wicked. He is wicked.'

"Treason," Sakura says, nodding her head, insisting. The pale purple diamond tattooed on her forehead at the end of her training with Tsunade is usually covered these days, painted black or navy or red out of respect for the Uchiha. It is usually the first bit of make up Sakura scrapes off when she is in private. Today, the skin under the diamond has gone red with Sakura rubbing at it. "Let's do treason," she whispers.

Shikamaru laughs, and busses her nose against hers.

"We will," he says.

"When?"

He shrugs.

"Soon."

"How soon?"

He breathes out slowly through his nose.

"I want to help you do it."

Shikamaru leans away from her. Sakura frowns.

"You know I can't let you - ,"

"Don't treat me like a child, you know what I'm capable of - ,"

"Sakura, this isn't about your education - ,"

"It's about the country - ,"

"You can't be a part of it, Konoha - ,"

She slams her hand over his mouth, so quickly and with so much force, he bites his cheek so hard it bleeds. He curses, jumping with the pain, but Sakura's face is deadly serious through the assault.

"Do not," she says, voice low, "call me that."

Shikamaru raises his hands slowly. He lays his hands on top of Sakura's, and slowly pries her hand off his mouth.

He says her married name, "Konohasakuya-hime," deliberately, and watches her fume as he does it. "You know why you can't."

Because she can't be found guilty of murder if Uchiha Madara is deposed by his great nephews, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke. The only ones by rights allowed to take his blood are the Senju, and his own family. Sakura would upset the balance of their culture if she meddled in such a way, even if only an intimate few knew about it.

No. History would not treat her kindly if she did what she was so desperate to do. But if Sakura wanted to survive a second transition of power, she needed to be innocent of violent crime, and therefore, still eligible to marry Itachi or Sasuke when they ruled, and returned the Senju to power.

It was out of her hands for her own protection. The plan had been crafted as soon as the Senju were fully aware of every potential casualty of returning fire. The still named Nara that were working with the Senju were meticulous; they even had plans for the innocent Uchiha in the palace. Sakura was one of the few who was aware of the plan the Senju and Nara had made for her, and that was only because she had wrestled it out of Shikamaru.

"You know why," Shikamaru repeats. And even though Sakura's grip crumples, the fire in her eyes doesn't. Shikamaru is well aware that this argument isn't even close to over. If Sakura can be counted on for anything, it's her fighting spirit.

She sniffs hard, and that's it. She doesn't nod, doesn't blink to let him know she's heard his verdict. She's stubborn that way. Shikamaru runs his thumb over her cheek again, then presses his lips to the purple diamond on her forehead.

Her hand slides down low, slips between the skirt of his kimono, and finds the warm skin of his inner thigh.

"Will you give me his head?" she asks, voice dipping low.

He turns his head down, presses his cheek against the side of her forehead, breathes in the soft jasmine smell of her hair. Her fingers brush the soft skin on the underside of his cock, and it twitches in interest.

"I want his blood," she murmurs, turning her face so that the hot air of her mouth billows against the curve of Shikamaru's throat. She scratches the skin of his inner thigh, presses her teeth to a tendon in his throat, closes in on him all at once. "I want him dead."

"You'll have it," he replies, hips arching up, seeking her touch, and he sucks in a breath when her soft wet mouth finds his.

(This strange part of her, this sudden change that overcame her from time to time, was part of why she could not be involved in the coup. It was also part of why she would win her way into it, and history together.)

[mydarlingl0ve]

Ya’ll I’m dedicating this chapter to the hateful anon who hates my writing. Thanks for pushing me to update everything! 

____________________________________________________

“Is that really your excuse?” Tsunade pinched her brow in irritation as Gai trembled in front of her desk. Gai had just informed her that he was away from his post because the youth of the village wanted a demonstration on how many pushups he could do with Lee lifting weights on his back. “My top medic, who happens to be extremely pregnant, and the man next in line to become  Hokage are missing and you weren’t there to prevent this because a group of kids asked you to do something ridiculous?!” Tsunade was almost screaming at the now cowering man. She couldn’t afford to go easy on him right now. Fear and anxiety gripped her heart ever since Sakura disappeared. Gai letting something like this keep him from his duties is almost inexcusable.

“T-Tsunade sama, I will go find them myself. Yes! I will find my rival and his love. You can count on me!” he spoke so fast Tsunade barely had time to register the green spandex blur as he sprinted out of her office.

“He doesn’t even know where they are.” She grumbled as she sunk in her chair, heaving a heavy sigh.

____________________________________________________________________________

“Kashi,” Sakura groaned softly. She’d been tied to that chair for hours and could feel Ume kicking up a fuss, making her awfully uncomfortable. Kakashi watched sweat bead up on her forehead as she fought against the pain. He could do nothing to help her and it was agonizing to see her in so much pain.

“I’m so sorry, baby.” He attempted to speak in a soothing voice, but even he could hear the strained emotions he was trying to hide. The table he was strapped to had been put in an upright position so he could see Sakura’s pained face clearly. All he could do was clench and unclench his fists and tears starting running down her flush cheeks. Every teardrop felt like knives in his heart.

“Please don’t cry,” He begged softly, unable to look away from her. Sakura hung her head and quietly sobbed, gasping when Ume would kick. Anger soon began to consume kakashi has Sakura cried.

“GET BACK IN HERE, DAMN IT!” He shouted, startling Sakura. “YOU WANTED ME TO TALK, RIGHT?!”

Not even two seconds later, Hiro opened the door and stalked into the room, Yumi skipping in behind him. Hiro looked between Kakashi and sakura with a smug smirk on his face. “Oh? What’s this? The great Hatake Sakura, sobbing?”

Kakashi growled, but said nothing. He didn’t want the rag shoved back in his mouth. Yumi giggled and skipped over to Sakura’s side, tapping her on the crown of her head. “Are you okay, pinky?”

Sakura said nothing, but shook her head, fresh tears falling down her face and onto the sundress she was wearing, not caring that Yumi or Hiro saw.

Hiro merely shrugged and focused his attention on Kakashi. He pulled his hood off his head and looked Kakashi over, his shirt was ripped, revealing his chest and his mask was gone. The ‘x’ scar on his chest from the war was more pronounced in the dim light, causing Hiro to smirk again.

“You know pain, don’t you, Hatake? Do you not remember me?” He questioned as he stepped closer to Kakashi, his right hand disappearing under his cloak. Kakashi has never cursed losing his sharingan more than he does at this moment.

Kakashi shook his head, trying to think back to what he could’ve possibly done to piss someone off this much. But came up empty.

Narrowing his eyes, Hiro pulled out a kunai and held it against Kakashi’s cheek.

“Well, let me help you.” He growled as he pressed the cold blade harder against his skin, drawing blood.

“It was twenty years ago. I had just left my village with my father and was taking shelter in a shed from the downpour of rain. Before we entered the shed, my father began to act strange. He lead me in the shed and walked back out into the rain. He forgot his coat.” Hiro growled and pressed the blade harder into Kakashi’s skin and dragged it down the length of his face. Kakashi held his tongue at the searing pain. “I looked out the window and heard what sounded like thousands of birds, then a blinding light shone out from the back of my father’s body. He then fell to the ground, unmoving.”

Kakashi cocked his head to the side as realization dawned on him. “You’re the little boy I almost killed.” He whispered with wide eyes.

Hiro nodded and continued. “Yes, Hatake. But your teammate stopped you before your kunai could stab me. It’s because of him I even knew who you were.” He added with a scoff.

Silently cursing Gai, Kakashi swallowed hard. “Your father was poisoning your village. Didn’t you wonder why you had to leave?”

Hiro’s face grew red with anger as he threw the kunai behind him, almost hitting Sakura. She gasped, but remained silent.  

“YOU LIE!” Hiro shouted and his fist connected with Kakashi’s bloodied cheek. “HE WAS DOING NO SUCH THING!”

Kakashi’s neck and cheek were burning from the force of the punch. He spat the blood from his mouth before retorting. “Yes, he was. I was assigned to eliminate him by the third Hokage himself. Your father had poisoned the water and produce. From Amegakure to Takigakure. Hundreds were killed because of your father.”

Yumi, who had been quiet this whole time, gasped and looked from Sakura. To see Hiro’s hands shaking.

“Master? Is-” She spoke in a small voice, shrinking into her cloak.

“SILENCE!” He interrupted as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Kashi,” Sakura whispered.

“You killed my father,” Hiro paused to take a deep breath. “because he was killing innocent people?”

Kakashi sighed and hung his head, the blood from his mouth and cheek dripped down to the floor and began to pool. Nodding his head the best he could with the collar on, Kakashi looked back up and his eyes were drawn to Sakura, whose tears had thankfully dried, but her eyes were wide as she met his gaze. Worry and anger flashed in her eyes before she looked at Hiro, who seemed to be having a mental breakdown.

“Let me go,” Sakura spoke in a clear voice, looking straight at Yumi. “Let me tend to my husband’s injuries. I’m not going to run or fight. I just want to heal him.”

Yumi looked conflicted as she looked between Sakura, Kakashi, and Hiro. She looked between them for several minutes, and slowly nodded her head before turning and untying Sakura’s restraints. Sakura sighed with relief as she rubbed her wrist and quickly stood and ran over to Kakashi, stumbling at first as she regained feeling in her legs. She slammed into his side and began to sob.

“Oh, Kashi,” She choked out as she brought her hand to his cheek and gently pressed her fingers to his skin, the room glowed a soft green and filled with warmth as she healed him. Kakashi’s eyes never left Sakura’s face as she held his face in her hand. He leaned into her touch the best he could, sighing softly.

“I’m so glad you two are okay.” He whispered into her palm.

Yumi stood back and watched the exchange with a heavy heart. She never wanted to see anyone bleed like that. Hiro was now sitting in the chair Sakura had been tied to with his head in his hands.

“Almost done, baby.” Sakura mumbled as she placed her still glowing hand over his mouth. Kakashi left soft kisses on her palm as he felt his skin come back together, making her smile for the first time since arriving.

“That’s my girl,” He mumbled behind her hand, her soft giggle made his heart swell.

“Okay,” She sighed as she pulled her hand away and took a slight step back to make sure the gash was closed. Kakashi immediately missed her warmth and pouted slightly.

“Thank you, baby.” He smiled her special smile and she blushed before punching his shoulder playfully.

“You two are so in love.” Yumi commented as Sakura turned to walk back to the chair.

“Oh, yeah.” she blushed more and stood in front of Hiro, who hadn’t moved since sitting down.

“Master?” Yumi pressed as she reached out and touched his back, only for him to fall limply forward and hit the floor, hard.

Sakura gasped as she fell to her knees and pressed her fingers to his throat, feeling for a pulse.

“Yumi was it? Help me get him turned over.” Sakura spoke quick as she tied her hair back with the hairband on her wrist.

Yumi, snapped out of her daze, kelt down next to Hiro and pulled on his shoulder as Sakura pushed. Once he was on his back, Yumi tore the cloak off him and screamed. Hiro had stabbed himself in the chest with the kunai he had thrown earlier. Sakura’s gaze grew serious as she felt for his pulse one more.

Hiro let out a strangled gurgle and softly grabbed Sakura’s wrist.

“I’m.. s-sorry, H-Hatake’s. Truly. If I’d known..” He paused and took a deep breath. “Yumi,” he beckoned her. “Let him go.” He whispered before he released Sakura and went completely limp.

“Master,” Yumi sobbed as she laid her head on his shoulder. Sakura shook her head and turned to look at Kakashi.

“He’s dead.”    

[thefreckledone]

Pompeii 33

@vesperlionheart

we interrupt your regularly scheduled supernatural shenanigans for a little neighborly fun. enjoy!

Sakura cursed softly as she fumbled with the dish, catching it with mitted hands. It had been a while since she last cooked a casserole and she could almost feel her grandmother cackling from behind her, laughing at her lack of grace. That’d never been a problem for Sayuri Haruno, who’d traveled in a circus act as a trapeze artist before settling down, but she’d never faulted Sakura for her shortcomings.

Sakura shook free of her thoughts, balancing the casserole between one hand and her hip as she knocked on the door next to her own.

She heard a loud thump and a few colorful words before the door was cracked open and a suspicious brown eye peeked out. Upon seeing her, Yamato’s countenance changed entirely, lighting up from within as he flung the door open.

“Sakura.”

Sakura shivered slightly, unused to the affection instilled within the single word. “Hey Yamato,” she greeted before thrusting the casserole out in front of her. “I made chicken divan.”

For a moment, he looked confused. Then he brightened, smile heartbreakingly happy. “For me?”

“A little housewarming gift,” Sakura said, returning his infectious smile. “Just a little way for me to welcome you to the neighborhood.”

“I’ve never had a neighbor before,” Yamato said, taking the too hot dish in his bare hands. Sakura bit back an exclamation, seeing the way he moved on unaffected. “I think I’m going to enjoy it though.”

“So, will you do your neighbor the honor of a house tour?” Sakura asked, peering over his shoulders. “I want to see what you’ve done with the place.”

“It isn’t much,” he warned, stepping away from the door and into the apartment itself. It was laid out almost as a mirror image to Sakura’s own apartment though it was far more sparse and Spartan in style. There weren’t really any personal, familial touches other than the exquisite tree that took up a good portion of the living room. Sakura approached it a bit warily, the familiar throb of her wrist an echoing warning.

The tree seemed to grow from the very floorboards, a smooth transition that Sakura could barely even see. However, as it grew taller, Sakura saw vertical stripes of reds, greens, purples, and dappled blues. She pressed a tentative hand to the tree, starting at its warmth. It seemed to thrum beneath her hand, a living, vibrant thing. It was Yamato, his strength, his kindness, his-

“Oh!” Yamato exclaimed and Sakura drew her hand from the tree hastily. He came out of the kitchen, cheeks flushed with heat. His expression was miserable. “I am sorry about that,” he said, shoulders slumped. He looked like he was preparing for her to hit him or something. “That’s...that’s an extension of me. It’s sort of a necessity.” Yamato looked up at her, eyes desperate. “I’m sorry for damaging the floor and this lovely apartment. I’ll pay all the damages just don’t make me leave-”

“Leave?” Sakura said, cutting through his growing panic. “I’m not going to make you leave. This space is yours to do with as you please. I happen to like the tree. It’s quite nice.” Sakura wondered for a moment if she said something wrong as his blush deepened as he stared down at his toes. She pushed forward, grabbing his hand in hers because he needed to understand this. “I’m not here as your landlord or minder. I’m your friend. If something bothers me, sure, I’ll let you know but we can work through it. I’m not going to kick you out without warning or punish you for doing something you need to survive. Do you understand?”

Yamato blinked a few times before nodding. “Yeah,” he said, voice rough. “Yeah, I get it. Thanks.”

Sakura watched him for a few moments more, waiting to see if the panic set in again. When it didn’t, she squeezed his hand and released it. “It smells like...is that eucalyptus?”

He nodded. “Eucalyptus degupta, the rainbow eucalyptus,” he said meekly.

Sakura grinned and said, “Now, want to have some dinner and come over to my apartment to watch a movie?”

She turned and flounced away toward the kitchen before he responded, oblivious to the wondrous look on Yamato’s face.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, just watching her, but when he came back to himself, he looked around. Dark birds lined the rail of the balcony, peering in with beady, cold eyes. Yamato frowned and pulled the blinds closed.

Let the Uchiha think whatever they wanted, this moment was his.

“Sakura!” Naruto whined, pouting up at her with bright, bright eyes.

Sakura sighed, pressing the thermometer into his open mouth. “What’s got you so worked up, Naruto?” she asked.

Naruto was perhaps her most faithful client as he had the tendency to be a hypochondriac. Any scrape, big or small saw him to her clinic. From what she gathered from Kushina and Minato, Naruto wasn’t this way until she rolled into town. Sakura was inclined to take that information with a grain of salt as it came up in a conversation that involved herself, one of the twins, and grandchildren.

“I’m tired,” Naruto said after the thermometer beeped.

Sakura pulled it away, glancing down at the temperature and shaking her head wryly. As always, Naruto ran at 113.6° Fahrenheit. “You’re tired?” she repeated. “Could you expound upon that a bit?”

“I get really sleepy every time I go outside. Not right away but I realize a few hours later that I’m exhausted. Mito-sama’s got me out in the field now and it’s exhausting. It wasn’t this bad last year or the years before!”

Sakura frowned slightly. “You know, it could have something to do with the changing seasons. Are you noticing any other symptoms?”

“My eyes are getting pretty itchy and watery,” Naruto said.

“It might be an allergy thing. Maybe a response to the coming of Spring?”

“But it’s never happened before,” Menma said, speaking up for the first time.

“And he’s experiencing it too,” Naruto put in.

“Well, maybe new flora was introduced into the environment,” Sakura said. “Maybe when they burned the tree for the ceremony.”

The brothers exchanged glances and shrugged.

“That was around the time we started getting tired,” Naruto said.

Sakura nodded, writing a few things down. “I’m going to suggest you pick up an antihistamine from the pharmacy.” When she was met with blank stares, she smiled and shook her head. “Sorry. Any generics of Benadryl should be fine. Try taking them twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. They will make you sleepier for the first few weeks, but they should combat the allergy symptoms. Stop back by if they don’t work.”

“Thanks Sakura,” Naruto said, hopping to his feet. “You going to the InoShikaCho Bash on Friday?”

Sakura wrinkled her nose in thought. “Is that the party that Ino’s parents are hosting?”

“Them, the Nara, and the Akimichi,” Menma said, straightening from his slouched position to lean in close to Sakura with a roguish grin. “Their parties are legendary.”

Naruto laughed, digging his elbow into his brother’s ribs. “Give her some space, asshole. Menma is right though, their parties are the best. With the Akimichi’s amazing food, the Nara’s wit, and the Yamanaka’s impeccable taste, it’s basically the perfect party.”

“You guys have a lot of parties here in Pompeii,” Sakura said. “It’s basically every other weekend at least!”

“We’ve had centuries to cultivate these traditions,” Menma said with a shrug. “With such long-lived lives, why wouldn’t we celebrate?”

Sakura nodded. “Be that as it may, I unfortunately won’t be able to make the party on Friday. I have some paperwork to catch up on.”

“Take a break!” Naruto exclaimed, slinging an arm around her shoulder as they made their way to the front office.

“Cute,” Sakura said, shrugging out from beneath his weight. “Truly though, I can’t go this weekend. You can’t convince me otherwise; Ino’s already tried.”

Naruto pouted at her and Sakura averted her eyes, knowing better than to allow herself to be suckered in. She needed some time this weekend for herself. She felt like she’d been pouring herself out for others and Sakura needed a chance to recuperate. It was hard to remember the finiteness of her body at times; the burn in her lungs, the ache of her bones, the stretch of her muscles. She only had so much to give.

And at times, she found she gave far too much.

Sakura sometimes worried she’d keep giving and giving until she was just a bundle of scattered parts, offered off to those who needed it more.

So yes, she was firm in her rejection.

There had to be boundaries.

Sakura feared what she’d become otherwise.

(What she’d been before.)

Menma watched her as she set the date for their follow-up, eyes keen and too wise for Sakura’s comfort. “Well,” he said, grabbing the scruff of Naruto’s neck as they prepared to leave. “We will miss you. Try not to overtax yourself this weekend.”

Sakura’s smile softened from the angry, weeping slash to something calmer, more genuine. “Thanks Menma. I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

“I’m sure we’ll see you before then,” Menma replied, slouching into his brother in a way that was just shy of intentional as he nudged him toward the door. “Catch you later, Sakura.”

“Bye Sakura!” Naruto said, smile all sunshine now.

Sakura waved them off before sinking into her seat with a deep sigh. Shizune was out, restocking their supplies. She didn’t say it outright, but Sakura knew she was working with Tsunade on a variety of potions “just in case.” They weren’t “just in case” potions though, not really. Sakura wasn’t sure why Shizune wouldn’t say it outright, if it was in deference to the animosity Tsunade felt toward Sakura or a fear that Sakura would order her to stop.

Sakura would never interfere with something so vital to the community.

The office was therefore quiet and Sakura turned her eyes to the flowers Izuna arranged for her, smiling. They were beginning to wilt, but they were still as magnificent as they were when Itachi delivered them. Sakura’s mouth firmed.

Itachi.

He’d stepped way out of bounds when he questioned her a few days ago. Still, Sakura couldn’t help but wonder how many others wanted to ask those exact same questions and more but found themselves bound by propriety.

How many people doubted her?

She knew she was the outsider. When push came to shove, Sakura would be the first one on the chopping block. It wasn’t intentional or malicious by any means, but her bonds here were shallow and superficial in comparison to the centuries that wove these people together. Sakura wished she could say she wasn’t used to the feeling but she was.

Sakura was never first for anyone.

Sakura shook her head roughly, refusing to get caught up in the vicious cycle of negativity once more. Instead, she stood and turned the sign on the door to closed. There was only fifteen or so more minutes until she was technically supposed to do so.

She headed out the side door to the back of the complex and stepped into the garage. Sakura never thought she’d have reason to use the garage for anything other than additional storage but, as she opened the door to the Camaro, she couldn’t help the little thrill that lifted her heart.

Sakura slid with practiced ease into the driver’s seat, gingerly placing her hands against the steering wheel. She didn’t crank the car. She never did.

It wasn’t hers, despite the title that named it so. She refused to keep the gift, for that was what it was. And it was a gift she didn’t deserve, one she couldn’t repay. Sakura knew Pein didn’t expect anything in return, just as she knew that the novelty of her existence would be worn away by time and leave only Sakura.

And only Sakura didn’t get free cars.

Instead, she sat there, inhaling the scent of warm leather and relaxing. Sakura rolled down the window, closing her eyes as the breeze wafted against her face. Briefly, everything was perfect.

“Dear girl, what are you doing?”

Sakura jumped, legs ramming into the steering wheel that was bound to leave bruises. She looked around wildly, frowning as she found nothing. She grabbed the nazar from her pocket, tapping it over both eyes before looking around once more.

Nothing.

“Who are you?” Sakura asked, taking the ankh from her pocket and placing it around her neck for additional protection. The knife Sai gave her was tucked into her back pocket and she inched her hand that direction.

“The mortals have assigned me the name Fujin,” he replied, voice rasping.

“God of the wind,” Sakura muttered, incrementally relaxing back into the red leather. Her fingers wrapped tightly around the knife, ready for anything. She wasn’t sure how well she’d do against a god, but she would try. “What brings you out this way?”

“Many things awaken during the Ceremony for Spring,” Fujin replied. “Things that hibernate habitually during the winter and…others.”

“Which are you?” Sakura asked.

The breeze kicked up into a wind with a rumble, ruffling her hair. “You seem an intelligent one. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

Sakura bounced on the balls of her feet, glancing up at the line. It hadn’t moved at all. She sighed, turning her attention back to her phone. From the disjointed, rambling texts Naruto was sending her, it seemed that his tiredness had led to a full on viral infection that afflicted nearly everyone at the grocery store, leaving poor Konohamaru to man the only open register. It was a Friday afternoon and the store was quite busy.

“Quite a line,” a voice said behind her.

Sakura turned, blinking as she met the cool gaze of Danzo Shimura. He was looking at her like he couldn’t quite place her so she said, “Sakura Haruno. It is a long line, isn’t it?”

“Ah, the resident doctor,” he said with a nod. “I am Danzo Shimura. I apologize for not stopping by your clinic yet, I’ve been quite busy with all of the celebrations.” His voice was fondly exasperated. “You played one of the heroes during Founder’s Day, did you not?”

Sakura grinned. “Indeed I did.”

They shuffled forward in line before Danzo said, “You’ve caused a stir here in Pompeii.”

Sakura glanced askance at him, trying to read what he thought of that. His face was impassive, however, and his eyes flinty. “I suppose so. The residents here can be a bit rambunctious so I’m sure they were excited to have someone in town to treat their wounds.”

“You have made a strong impression,” Danzo said, smile turning wry. “Minato has yet to stop singing your praises during town meetings. Many of the clan leaders do the same.”

Sakura flushed, glancing down at her cart. “I can only hope I’m doing my job half as well as they say I am.”

“I’m sure you are,” Danzo said softly. “I will need to stop by soon and find out for myself.” He looked past her for a moment. “Thank you for keeping me company while we waited.”

Sakura turned, fumbling with her cart as she realized that she was at the front of the line. She faced Danzo once more, offering him her hand. “It’s been a pleasure getting to know you, Danzo.”

He took her hand, shaking it firmly. “Dr. Haruno, I believe the pleasure was mine.”

Sakura gathered her groceries as Konohamaru rang her up, loading them into the bags she brought with her. It was her turn to cook tonight and Sakura decided she wanted to be a little fancy with it. She and Yamato had fallen into the habit of eating dinner together two or three times a week. It was nice to spend her evenings quietly, whiling them away in pleasant company.

The dinners were a good distraction from Sakura’s mounting frustration at the general incompetence of the people around her. They still rarely worked together, relying on their familial pride to keep them going. All of them, however, believed that Orochimaru was the culprit behind the attacks. Sakura wasn’t nearly so sure. It was made even worse in the way that they tried to keep Sakura out of the loop, all in the name of “protecting” her.

Thankfully, she had a plan.

A tantalizing scent caught her attention, dashing all fleeting thoughts of espionage and heroism. Sakura turned slightly, surprised that she hadn’t noticed the large tree she was walking beneath. She’d taken a new path today, trying to familiarize herself with every aspect of the town. Unlike most other denizens of the town, Sakura didn’t have the song of Pompeii stirring in her blood or etched across her bones. She wanted to though.

She wanted it more than anything.

Then, maybe, Pompeii could truly be her home and she could be at peace with herself, surrounded by the family marked out for her by the town.

Maybe.

She hadn’t realized that there was a veritable orchard just on the outskirts of downtown. Ripe apples hung low and heavy, ladening the branches. They lined the sidewalks, not seeming to belong to any of the nearby houses or apartment complexes. Sakura juggled her bags, fumbling for a moment, before stretching out a hand and taking a few of the apples.

Sakura dropped them in her bags, counting the ingredients in her head. She grinned.

Tonight, Yamato would get to try her green apple pie.

She paused for a moment, leaning against one of the trees and inhaling deeply. The fragrant fresh smell of the apples surrounded her and for a brief moment Sakura could simply be. She looked skyward, enjoying the view of the brilliant blue sky through twisting, gnarled branches. Sakura didn’t know how long she stood there, just breathing deep and feeling the way the air filled her lungs, until something caught her eye.

Further down, on the edge of where her vision went blurry, was another fruit tree. It was a different tree, with flowering pink buds on the fringe branches. Some, however, were burdened with heavy, fat peaches. They were rather pretty peaches, all oranges and reds amongst a veritable sea of green. The tree stood out too, as the only peach tree among the apples.

Sakura frowned thoughtfully and stepped in its direction.

“Yo.”

Sakura flinched as Sai appeared at her side, dropping down from one of the apple trees.

“Sai,” she said, unable to keep the reproach out of her voice. He just looked at her, juices running down the corners of his mouth as he bit into an apple. She sighed, feeling almost fond. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Do you like the knife?” he asked, cutting through all of the social niceties. Sakura was almost certain he didn’t even notice them. Her heart ached a bit at the thought.

“I do. Where in the world did you get it? It’s been so handy,” Sakura said.

He shrugged but Sakura caught the way his eyes flickered away from her. So he was keeping secrets from her. Charming.

Sakura began to walk, winding her way back to her apartment. She was unsurprised as he fell into step beside her. Their walk was silent but from the grimace hidden at the edges of Sai’s mouth and eyes, that wasn’t on purpose. She decided to be gracious and extend an olive branch of sorts.

“Here, take these bags,” Sakura said, plopping a few of her bags into Sai’s empty arms. He caught them easily, though his expression could only be called befuddled. “If you’re joining me for dinner, you have to help out.”

“What are you cooking?” he asked.

“Tuna steak with roasted purple potatoes,” Sakura replied. “I’m making apple pie for dessert.”

“I’m not a good cook,” Sai said. “And, from the last time I was at your house, it seems that you aren’t the best either.”

Sakura snorted, checking him with her hip before continuing on. She didn’t take offense to the comment.

After all, though he was oblivious to it, Sai was smiling.

That first dinner together set something of a tradition among the three. Every time she and Yamato had dinner Sai would slink in through the locked window, dropping into an unoccupied seat. Usually he brought treats or side dishes purchased from one of the many restaurants downtown. On one memorable occasion, Sai brought a dish of misshapen, slightly singed chocolate chip cookies. Neither she nor Yamato commented on the ashy taste.

Sakura had five.

So Sakura was surprised when a knock sounded at her door. Sakura and Yamato exchanged glances before Yamato shrugged.

“Maybe he’s learned some manners since his last visit,” he said, though he didn’t sound all that convinced.

Sakura threw open the door, breath catching on a laugh. It quickly fell away as she met the eyes of the person.

“Kimimaro,” she greeted, eying him curiously. “What brings you here this evening?”

Kimimaro cleared his throat, tucking his hands into his billowing sleeves. He had traded his lab coat for a haori. With his unbound hair, Kimimaro appeared ageless.

“I find that I have been remiss in my neighborly duties. I would be honored if you and Yamato joined me a few nights from today for dinner. Would Friday work?”

“Friday should be fine by me,” Sakura said. “Yamato-” She glanced back to him, startled to find that he’d silently moved to her side. She thought she’d be better used to this now with Yamato and Sai constantly in and out of her apartment. “Yamato, how about you?”

Yamato’s face was placid, but his eyes were hard as he stared Kimimaro down. “I’m available,” he said, leaning against the door frame.

Sakura watched him for a moment, trying to figure out what the issue was. She decided to ignore the unspoken tension in the air, turning her attention back to Kimimaro and looking at him expectantly. “Is there anything you’d like us to bring?”

Kimimaro shook his head, smile soft. “Your company is more than enough.” He looked to Yamato and in his eyes was a challenge. “I will eagerly await your visit at 7:00.” With a slight bow, Kimimaro turned and headed down the stairs.

“How’d he get in?” Yamato asked, shutting the door. “I thought the door downstairs was locked.”

“I probably forgot,” Sakura replied through a flicker of unease. She always locked the door. “In any case, I’m sure he could’ve gotten in just as Sai does.”

“Sai has no understanding of society. Kimimaro understands far too much. He has no excuse.” Yamato’s voice was firm and unyielding.

Sakura shrugged, retaking her seat. “You can ask him on Friday if you please. My only request is that you leave me out of any of the passive-aggressive neighborly antics you choose to get up to.”

His eyes lit with interest.

“What are these antics of which you speak?” a new voice asked.

Sakura looked between Sai and Yamato for a moment before shaking her head and digging into her chicken divan. “If you two really want inspiration, you can go by the library or look it up.”

From their twin looks of determination, Sakura knew that they were going to take her up on that.

Sakura mentally sent up a prayer for her sanity, hoping it didn’t go to any god she knew personally as she prepared herself for what she was about to say. “Sai,” Sakura began, treading carefully. “Yamato and I have something for you.”

Sai cocked his head, watching them blandly. “A gift? Am I obligated to ‘return the favor.’”

“What books has Hiruzen given you?” Sakura asked. “No, you aren’t required to return the favor. Just…well here.”

Sai took the envelope from her and opened it quickly and efficiently, only for his hands to still when he found the contents. She saw a slight tremor run through his body and Sakura feared the misstep.

“These are keys to your home?” Sai asked.

“Well, to mine,” Yamato said, scratching his cheek. “I figured, with how often you’re over, it’d only make sense for you to have a key. You’re basically my roommate already.”

“We can get a bed set up for you,” Sakura said nervously. “There’s that smaller room you stay in sometimes as it is. It’d be easy to get it all fixed up-”

Sai abruptly stood and Sakura shut her mouth. He looked between them for a long time, face unreadable. Then he lunged, awkwardly throwing his limbs across their shoulders and drawing them close to him. He pat them once, twice, and released them, watching them anxiously.

“That is a hug,” Sai said. “The books say they are given to express gratitude and affection. Did I do it right?”

Sakura’s laugh was high and free as she grabbed him once more and pulled him and Yamato close. “Almost,” she said. “It just needs to last a little longer.”

[syao]

Neji Plays an Otome Game

Read time: 6 mins. | Pairing: NejiTen

“So let me get this straight.” Hyuuga Neji wore an unmistakably dark expression as he surveyed his bedridden female teammate of ten years. “On yesterday’s mission, you fell down unconscious from a height of twenty feet, broke your arm, suffered a low-grade fever, and was told by Tsunade-sama to limit your activities.” His anger grew amidst his litany of Tenten’s recent misadventure. “Yet you want us to fetch your handheld game so you can play.”

“T-That’s right,” she croaked, barely unable to get up from the mattress without slamming her sling on the bedpost. “I don’t want to miss a chat message from Prince today.”

Neji recalled her telling him a week ago that it was the name of a character in the video game she was playing. “You’re getting addicted to that otome game, Tenten.”

She averted her eyes from her friends. “I-It’s just that if I miss a day’s chat, I’d have to pay ryo to play that part again...”

Rock Lee wore a mediative smile. “See? Tenten’s just being careful about her expenses!”

“...and I’ve already spent this week’s food budget on unlocking more story chapters.”

A panicking Lee barely stopped the Hyuuga in time from hurling Tenten’s device outside the window. 

“R-Relax, Neji-kun! We all have our own little vices in life, don’t we?” He snatched the handheld from the prodigy’s grip and hid it behind him so the accursed object would cease raising the latter’s blood pressure.

“Once she recovers, I’ll bring her to the nearby waterfalls so she can purify herself of her worldly vices,” muttered Neji under his breath.

“Don’t talk about my boys like they’re demons to exorcise!”

The Hyuuga clan genius paused, eyebrows knitting in immediate dislike. “Your boys?” He was not used to sharing his sparring partner’s attention with anyone, least of all, an entire group of guys.

“Leeeeee!!!” The sickly kunoichi turned to her more supportive teammate instead, eyes as wide as a puppy’s. “You’ll let me play, won’t you?”

Neji let out a grunt. “Tenten should be resting.”

The male was trapped between Neji’s forceful glare and Tenten’s begging, tearful gaze. “U-Uh...”

Just then, a brilliant idea sparked in his head. Of course, how could he have not thought of this earlier?

The key to ending wars is to understand each other and meet halfway. He was overcome with a vision of their benevolent mentor Maito Gai standing at the top of the tallest beach rock as waves rolled and crashed with majestic violence beneath him. This is why these jagged beach rocks exist... so land and sea will have a place to meet halfway and frolic in their springtime of youth together!

“Alright, why don’t we have Neji-kun play in place of Tenten?” suggested Lee cheerfully. “That way, Tenten won’t miss a day’s streak and can still rest, while Neji-kun can learn more about Tenten’s games! Whaddya’ think?”

His bubbly warmth was met by a stunningly cold silence.

Tenten scratched her cheek as she eyed her displeased teammate discreetly. “Um, I don’t think Neji’s... um... down with your idea. Why don’t you do it, Lee?”

The bowl-haired shinobi firmly shook his head. “NO! It has to be Neji, or the sea will never understand the land’s feelings!”

“Huh? Whose feelings?” The patient looked dumbfounded as the patented springtime fire of youth roared in her teammate’s eyes yet again.

“Fine.” Neji turned his steely eyes to the kunoichi. “I’ll play.”

“...why do I have a feeling that it sounded more like a threat than a compromise?” sighed Tenten.

Manly Competition 

Neji loaded the game on screen and was instantly greeted by a chorus of young males’ voices crooning about fated meetings and unwavering devotion to their lady love. What followed was a montage of various men, some with a brown-haired heroine. They were engaged in varying levels of intimacy.

“Are these men aware of her, uh, dealings with other men?” asked Neji as the song came to an end.

“It depends on which route.”

“Route?”

“That’s the path you take to end up with a specific guy,” she explained patiently. “On some routes, the other guys know about your route guy and compete with him for your attention.”

“Compete, huh? I see.” Neji suddenly imagined the tournament arena where the Chuunin Exams were held, filled with school uniform-clad students cheering for their bets. Wearing a jounin flak jacket and proctoring the match was the game heroine.

“A beautiful fight to the death!” seconded Lee, as he visualized the giant screen showing the otome boys’ respective montage. Not too long after, a huge red X mark appeared on the left side, with K.O. scribbled on top of the unfortunate boy’s face.

Seeing the expressions on her teammates’ faces, Tenten snapped, “You guys, stop turning my otome into an Arcade Versus game!”

Helpful Lee

“So if it isn’t through a tournament match, how else do they compete?” asked the Hyuuga.

“By seducing the girl, of course.”

“SEDUCING?!”

“Yes, Neji-kun,” nodded Lee somberly. ‘That’s when you entice a person into engaging in sexytime--”

“I KNOW WHAT SEDUCING IS!”

“Well, Tenten had to explain what a ‘route’ is earlier, so I thought you needed more context.”

“Lee, this and that... are two different things,” said Tenten, sweatdropping.

Childhood Memories

“So Neji,” said Tenten as she watched him tinker with the screen. “I won’t be able to see what’s happening on-screen, and not all of the dialogues have been voice-acted. That’s why you’ll have to read some of the parts aloud for me, okay?”

Neji scowled. “I refuse. It sounds strange to narrate out loud what people on the screen are doing and saying.”

“Isn’t this just like what our parents did? Reading aloud bedtime stories to put us to sleep?” she asked.

“Not really.” The Hyuuga prodigy crossed his arms in front of his chest. “They used to put me to sleep by triggering my cursed seal.”

His teammates gaped at him.

“What? Father said it builds character.”

Tenten held a hand up. “Just... just read those damn texts out loud, Neji.”

Naming Conventions

A scarlet-haired male in school uniform appeared in the middle of the screen. 

“Good morning, Tenten! I called you, and you didn’t pick up, so I thought I’d just personally come here to invite you.”

Neji looked up from the screen, stunned. “He... he’s talking to Tenten! He called her by her name!”

Lee peeked behind Neji’s shoulder. “You’re right! It feels as if this person’s right here with us, talking to our Tenten!”

“Well, that was the name I put in,” the kunoichi hurriedly explained. 

“So we can actually put in any name that we want?” asked Lee curiously as the Hyuuga clicked on the right arrow to continue the rest of the scene. 

“Sure!  Seeing them call you by your name makes it feel like you’re really part of the game.”

Lee nodded slowly. “Ah, I see. Well then, why don’t we--”

Suddenly, a sound of locked door and tinkling chimes were heard from the game. A cutscene played, with the male character cornering the brown-haired heroine against the wall. A fearful moan could be heard from the girl.

“Why must you fight me, Tenten? Are you shivering, my sweet? Just close your eyes and accept my feelings, Tenten.”

Neji read the words out loud with the excitement reserved for a 500-page medical tome.

The kunoichi sighed. “A cutting board can move my emotions far better than your reading can, Neji.”

“Well, excuse me for not meeting your expectations. I am at loss as to how to properly do it, seeing that I’ve never forced any woman against her will before.”

Lee was quick to offer an advice. “Neji, try saying those lines again, but with your name instead! Tenten said it’ll feel more real!”

“LIKE HELL I WOULD!!!”

Dere-Dere

"Dang it, Neji! You just turned my Prince into a yandere!”  

“A yandere?” The Hyuuga’s forehead creased. “What’s that?”

“I’m not going to help you anymore with that, Neji-kun,” said Lee with a huff. “You were so ungrateful to me earlier!”

“Forget it. I think I’m more concerned now that you know what a yandere is, Lee.”

Dere Dere Part Deux

“A yandere is someone who starts out as nice and kind,” explained Tenten to her teammate, “but becomes violent and obsessive with the person he likes when triggered.”

Neji took a moment to digest what he just heard. “So...  your Prince has mental issues? One that may lead him to actually hurt you?”

She shrugged. “Well, nobody’s perfect.” A peal of laughter rang from her when she earned his withering gaze. “Kidding, kidding!”

“And Neji’s a tsundere!” Lee chimed in.

“What’s a tsundere?” 

“Not tellin’~!” replied the bowl-haired shinobi in a sing-song voice. 

Neji looked away, miffed. “Fine. It’s not like I badly wanted to know or anything. Idiot.”

Remorseless

Tenten gave the Hyuuga a quizzical look. “But really, how did you manage to turn Prince into a yandere when you just made one choice in the game? What happened?”

“He invited your character to walk to school so he can keep you company, and I told him to go to hell.”

“NEJI!”

“I’d do it again, too, if I can.” Neji sounded crossed. “You are the kind of woman who can perfectly take care of herself on her own.”

She felt something akin to a cold hand touch her heart. “N-Neji, that’s really--”

Lee looked up from the handheld, which he was now playing with. “Good news, Neji! There’s a button here for reloading the last auto-saved scene!”

A satisfied smirk appeared on the male’s face. “Good. Take me to the scene with that Prince guy again so I can reject him once more.”

He’s a tad too fired up for this, isn’t he?

Click here for the finale.