#'but icha why are you in /your/ tags and not the main tags for new content'

[icharchivist]

i forgot i was running DAI in the background it's been 2 hours

sorry i dreamt of Solas in my first dream of my 29th year so of course i'm being unwise right now.

[candyopala]

Stuck in his ways, Chapter 7

Chapter Summary:  Y/N and Obito have to get around the awkwardness of the events from that night, and what better to help with that then team seven in all its glory?

Words: 2.3k

AO3

Please like or reblog if you enjoy, check my rules for requests too! My dms are also open if you want to chat or anything else. 

After spending a whole day on the hospital, Obito heads home for some well-deserved sleep. It is only on the next day, on his way to the field, that he starts properly processing what happened that night with Y/N. Her bandaging him up with a weird look in her eyes, him crying in front of her… the warmth he felt when she held his hand. Why did he do that in front of her anyway? They barely know each other, she teases him to no end, but he can’t help to already feel close to her, even if he doesn’t want to admit it. 

The way she held him…. He hasn’t felt this way since long ago, he felt accepted in an intimate way, he felt genuine companionship with her. Obito feels bad when he remembers too the reason for that whole situation, he wanted to get rid of the girl; he wanted to make her go away without giving her a chance. 

I’ve been so blind, shutting her off like that…

Without knowing anything about his failures and only knowing that ugly side he shows to everyone, she still helped him through a tough time. He can’t help but feel his heart flutter with embarrassment, he didn’t even give her much of a chance. She might not be from Konoha, but there’s still good in her. He needs to take his mission with her more seriously.

He walks down the market streets, instinctively analyzing every single action that happens around him, seeing the faces of the people going up and down the roadway busy with their things. It’s not long before he spots four familiar figures walking down the street together: team seven. Naruto and Sakura discuss loudly about a matter Obito doesn’t bother try rearing, followed by Sasuke and Kakashi tagging along. Obito tries to say hi to Kakashi, only to be attacked by a running Naruto that throws himself onto him with all his force: 

“Big bro Obito!”

“Hey! Calm down now! It’s only seven a.m. for Kami’s sake!” He scolds while laughing aloud and hugging the thirteen-year-old back

“I’m learning something new, you have to come see it! Are you busy?”

“I’m going to the training grounds, I can’t Naruto, sorry”

“Come on! Train with us!”

“Hey Naruto, stop bothering Obito, all right? He’s busy” Kakashi tries to intervene in Obito’s sake

“Huh… actually…” 

Obito’s mind starts functioning, he does need to teach some new stuff to Sasuke and bringing Y/N along would be good for her training. He decides to join them, he actually feels deep down the need to introduce her to new people, to get her more settled into the village. 

“I guess I’ll come along. There’s someone I want you guys to meet”

“Oh, is it her?” Naruto says with a devilish sparkle in his eyes.

“Her? Are you dating?” Sakura jumps up, immediately invested into the conversation.

“Finally” Sasuke also joins to make it all worse.

“Guys, calm down…” Kakashi once again tries to save his friend from his hyperactive trio “He’s just training a new member of the village”

A collective “oh” is heard from the two in disappointment. Great, now even the kids are invested in his love life. Obito tells them a little bit more about her on the way to the field, and he notices that even Kakashi seems a little bit more enthusiastic than normal. 

When they reach the training grounds, he finds Y/N laying back on a tree, with a surprised look on her face when she sees the kids. Obito tries to introduce them, but they end up introducing themselves, with a hyperactive Naruto leading the presentations followed by his teammates and his teacher. 

“Nice to meet you guys! Are we training together today?”

“Yup” Obito tries to say in the middle of Naruto’s ramblings 

“How’s your arm?” She asks him back in the midst of it, a bit of what seems worry flashes her eyes, only to be quickly concealed with a look to the side.

“Oh, feeling like new. Some medical ninjutsu quickly solved it.” He states as he gets more embarrassed by the minute, once the memory of their shared companionship floods his mind. He needs to try to actually be nicer to her. 

Meanwhile, Sakura flies a sly meaning smile in Obito’s direction, to his utter desperation. Watching the whole scene develop, Kakashi once again intervenes, trying to get to the subject of training. 

“So, Y/N, dumbi- ahem, Obito told me you need some help with discovering your chakra nature. Coincidentally, that’s what I’m currently doing with the kids, so we could help you with that”

“That would be great, thanks guys! Out of curiosity, what horrible things did my mentor say about me?” 

“Only the most terrible embarrassing things I found on your file” Obito teases back in a flash, without doing much thinking, letting himself play around a little.

“Oh then I should tell you friend about your new nickna-“

“Let’s start training, shall we?” He interrupts her before she can say it, since letting Kakashi know about that would be the end of him.

Kakashi started trying to teach Y/N a couple of techniques, teaching her to concentrate her chakra and showing her the right hand signs. Obito also explained about the ideal state of mind each element requires, the type of energy each one of them consumes. 

Raiton was immediately out of question, and despite her special punch technique, doton seemed to drain too much of her energy, as well as suiton. She was able to produce a small amount of katon, only achieving smaller jutsu still due to the immense amount of chakra these require, so the fireball jutsu was out of question. 

Futton was their last attempt and the one they were more successful with. She could produce wind with her running speed, creating vacuum spots, using the element in a less concentrated way than the rasengan requires, since she is still inexperienced with chakra concentration at that level. 

Obito was actually pleased with today’s developments; he thinks that she can become even stronger by actually doing jutsu in battle. Naruto was also overjoyed to learn that his new village mate had the same main element as himself, showing her his still developing rasengan, proud of his own training and giving her some tips. 

Obito let the pair talking and went to oversee Kakashi and Sasuke, now training his chidori technique. His little cousin had also developed a lot, and was now opening up to be a wonderful kid thanks to Naruto and Sakura’s insistence on their friendship, and Itachi’s efforts to make him socialize more. 

He then also let them train and sat down together with Sakura, who was watching her colleagues train too, while she herself studied some medical ninjutsu books. The small girl looked at him with curiosity, noting the different expression on her sensei’s friend, who was usually much more uptight and serious. With that knowing look again, she simply stated: 

“Mr. Obito, your main element is katon, right?”

“Yes Sakura, why?”

“Ah nothing, I was just wondering… katon is compatible with futton, right?”

“Yes, both can be used together to create more powerful jutsu”

 “So… we could say that you and Y/N are compatible”

Obito’s eye goes wide with the way the girl says it. Both of them know she is not talking about just jutsu here. The implication of what she said makes him go as red as a pepper. 

“N-no Sakura, she is my colleague, we are just that.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about sir, excuse me.”

The girl gets up and runs into Naruto and Y/N’s direction, winking back at Obito on her way. 

 ~”~

 The team gathers up for lunch, Y/N sits beside Obito’s friend Kakashi, opposite to her mentor, who sat in front of her. She avoided his eye contact, still feeling a little inappropriate for her behavior that night. She fears that what happened was too intimate for her own comfort, that she should not try to get that close to him. She should be his teammate, nothing else. She must ignore that pull that she feels from him, that desperate need she feels to talk to him about why he was crying that night. 

She tries to strike up conversation with the ninja beside her, and he is very receptive, if not for his general lack of energy and relaxed demeanor. She sees a small little orange book protruding from his pocket, is that what she thinks it is? It is! The greatest book series of all time! 

“Hey, is that Icha Icha?”

“Yes it is! I just picked up the latest volume!” he immediately assumes a whole different behavior, now fully invested in the conversation.

“What chapter are you on? Did you reach chapter 37 yet?”

“No, and no spoilers, please! I dying to know what she will do when she finds out about that thing”

“Dude, trust me, it’s going to be awesome”

They both strike up conversation about it for a couple of minutes, Y/N talks excitedly about the romance’s structure and how she finds it poetic in a way. They both discuss the general plots, praising the author despite Naruto’s loud complaints about him being a total pervert. 

When she finally looks at Obito’s direction, she sees the jonin hunched forward, with an unimpressed look on his face, matching Sasuke’s that also seems to be bothered by the subject matter.

“Great, another one, they will talk about it forever” The young Uchiha comments.

“I don’t know what you guys see in this stupid book anyway” The oldest complements.

“He didn’t even give it a try; can you believe it, Y/N?” Kakashi teases in response.

“Sacrilegious! How could he say such things?” She retorts with fake shock.

“Shut up, you two perverts.” Obito says with a scorn forming on his lips, something he usually does that Y/N is starting to find extremely fun and… endearing? 

Y/N, Kakashi and the kids laugh at his little tantrum, and later even himself. He is acting different today, more open, with a more lighthearted attitude, a lot less uptight and grumpy. Y/N feels a little happy knowing that he is feeling better, but she quickly shuts off the realization. 

Concentrate on what’s important here. 

They quickly fall back into training, with Y/N sitting back due to her extreme exertion during the chakra nature tests. After he has finished with his portion of the training with Kakashi and Obito, Naruto joins her. They sit together observing Obito discussing the fireball jutsu with Sasuke, Y/N can’t help but notice the proud look on her teammate’s face when his little cousin does a perfect ball of fire, making her let out a small smile. He’s not so cynical after all.  

Naruto begins to talk about how he needs to be as strong as his father is, and Y/N learns that he is, in fact, son of the Hokage. He talks and explains a lot about the village and also talks about how his mom is always bothering him to make his bed in the morning. The kid is all over the place until he focuses on the subject of Obito. 

He begins to tell her about how he is like a big brother for him and how he taught him his most deadly jutsu, something about a sexy jutsu, and how he is cool even if he has no girlfriend. Y/N, being the innocent thing she is, prods him for more embarrassing details about her mentor. 

“One time he got stuck in the sexy woman form and Jiraya followed him around the village for a day! He had to hide from the pervert in the sewers! And once he choked with candy in the middle of a jonin reunion, Kakashi told me that”

Y/N cannot help but bust out in laughter at the image that forms in her mind, not being able to breathe while the kid continues to spill out embarrassing stories about the Uchiha. Naruto is suddenly stopped when Sakura lands a punch on top of his head, screaming in annoyance with her teammate’s attitude: 

“Stop ruining everything!”

What she meant with that remains a mystery to Y/N. The discussion has to be separated by a tired Kakashi, holding Sakura back with all his force. Y/N is caught off guard by Obito’s presence by her side. 

He helps her get up, giving his gloved hand in support. She accepts it, steading herself up. 

“So, that’s all for today, sewer boy?”

“He told you about that, huh?”

“Of course he did”

“Yup, that’s all for today. Let’s head home”

“Let’s? I didn’t know you had moved into my broom closet, Obito”

“You know I’m not letting you walk around exhausted like that, Y/N”

The change in his tone scares her. He sounds serious, almost protective, and he calling her name like that sends shivers down her spine, in a not so bad way. He also didn’t call her a dumbass, is that an improvement? 

She once again insists on walking by herself, but he insists on it so much that she eventually gives up and lets him accompany her. They discuss her new technique possibilities on most of the way, only for the subject to change as they reach her apartment. 

“So, what did you think about them?”

“They’re nice kids, all of them seem to look up to you, Naruto especially”

“He’s a good kid, they are all like family to me”

Y/N agrees with her head, thinking to herself about the word family. She once had one, but lost them very early on. Moreover, once she found another person she could call that, she lost them too. The memories flood her mind, making her face go serious and eyes to go foggy. 

“Take good care of them Obito, what you have here is… amazing”

“I will, I promised that long ago”

They reach her door, saying their goodbyes quickly. As Y/N closes her door, Obito calling her name again interrupts her.

“Oh! Y/N! I forgot; we have an important meeting with the Hokage tomorrow at ten in the morning. We will be heading out for our first mission, be ready”

[sufferthesea]

Pink Peonies (Kakashi/Reader) Part 3/5

I wish I could add a boiled egg to my ramen, but eggs make me sick )): Luckily I can enjoy as many eggs as I want in Fanfiction Land! (Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors! Feel free to *kindly* point them out so I can fix them!) 

A/N: RIP editing on Tumblr is awful. I had to remove the InteractiveFics box bc it wasn’t working properly and Tumblr kept removing all the edits I did grrr. 

Words: 2.776

Rating: General 

Read part one here: ao3 // Tumblr Read part two here: ao3 // Tumblr  Read on ao3

Tagging: @thetoxicstrawberry​ @thefoxthief​ 

“Wait,” Kiba said slowly, looking from Ino to Sakura with an expression full of suspicion. “So you’re telling me somebody came into your shop and stole six flowers?” “Not just any flowers,” Ino stressed. “Peonies. Pink ones. They’re so pretty - and kind of expensive. They’re really nice flowers and I’d like to find them. My parents left me in charge of the shop and if they find out that somebody stole merchandise, I’ll —” She froze, eyes shooting to the size of saucers. “OH NO!” she screeched, turning white as a sheet. “My parents! They’ll be back from dinner soon! And I left the shop unattended! I didn’t even put up the Closed sign! I’m gonna be in so much trouble!” Frantically, she grabbed a fistful of Kiba’s jacket and yanked him closer. “Listen here, mister, you’re gonna use your dog to find those flowers - and you’re gonna find them fast. Got it?” “Y-Yeah, sure - whatever!” Kiba struggled to free himself but Ino’s nails dug into the fabric even tighter. “P-Please - you’re choking - me!” Akamaru cowered on top of his head, sinking his claws into the hoodie to keep from falling off. “I’m glad we understand each other!” Ino released Kiba and gave him a threatening smile. “Now, get to work!” 

Kiba grabbed a shaking Akamaru and set him on the ground. “It’s okay, boy. Don’t listen to her. Do you know what peonies smell like?” Akamaru whined and shook his head. “UGH! WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!” Ino screamed, startling nearby shoppers. “You guys wait here - Sakura, make sure they don’t leave!” With that, Ino stormed off down the road and back to her flower shop. “Where’s she going?” “I don’t know,” Sakura admitted, watching the girl sprint away in a storm of dust. “Hopefully she comes back, though.”

Kakashi stood outside of the bookshop, eying the new releases displayed on the shelves. “Hm,” he sighed quietly, feeling the cool stems of the three flowers against the pads of his fingers. “I wonder how Y/N is doing. Ha. I’m sure they’re fine. They are a shinobi, after all. Ah - is that?” His eyes stopped on the cover of a pale blue book in the corner of the display bookshelf. “Is that a new Icha Icha book?!” Quickly, he ran inside the shop, not sure if he quite believed his eyes.

Panting and sweating, Ino stumbled back to the group and held up a single, solitary pink peony. “This … is … a peony … You … should … smell it … so you … can find … it.” She shoved the flower at Kiba who dangled it to Akamaru’s level. The small dog took in several hurried sniffs and yipped. “What’s that, Akamaru?” Kiba asked excitedly, pulling the flower back and tucking it into his jacket pocket. “Hey, you can’t keep that —” Akamaru barked again and took off down the road. “Come on, guys!” Kiba shouted, running after the dog. “Seriously?” Ino gasped, resting her hands on her thighs. “I just ran all the way to my shop and back, and now I gotta run again?” “Well,” Sakura said casually, “you don’t have to go. I can just find out who they’re for and tell you.” “Nice try!” Ino jumped up and glared at the girl. “You’re not going anywhere without me! They are my flowers, after all! Now let’s go before we need another tracking dog to find Kiba!” The two girls took off together, barely keeping up with Akamaru and his owner. All four followed the dog through crowds, behind a few shops, and finally down a street that seemed mostly deserted. “This doesn’t seem right,” Sakura said quietly. It was getting dark fast and the air was thick with the smells of oil and fire. “Where are we? I can’t imagine Kakashi-sensei coming down here.” “Huh?” Kiba asked, glancing over his shoulder. “What’s Kakashi-sensei got to do with this?” Ino threw a punch at Sakura and hit her in the shoulder. “I - I - I mean -! I can’t imagine a flower thief would come this way! Ha ha ha ha ha!” “Billboard Brow,” Ino hissed through clenched teeth, “you keep your fat mouth shut before you spill the beans!” “It was an accident!” she hissed back. Akamaru stopped suddenly and began sniffing the ground, turning in circles. “What is it boy? Do you smell something? Where is it? Where are the flowers?” Akamaru lifted his head and started off down another side street. “Jeez, this guy sure went a long way,” Kiba muttered. “I wonder what he wanted with flowers, anyway? A waste of money if you ask me. I guess he thought the same and that’s why he stole ‘em, right? Ha ha ha.” “Hey!” Ino growled, ready to throw another punch. “Flowers are a beautiful expression of love and appreciation! They are appropriate for any occasion and can often say more than what we ourselves are comfortable saying! And nobody asked you!” “Whatever. Huh? Look! That guy there - he has a pink flower!” “What? Where?!” both girls shouted together, shoving against each other to be the first to see. Sure enough, down the street was a man in a light blue yukata with dark hair, carrying a single peony. “That’s not —” Sakura began before stopping herself. “I mean, Ino, is that the person who stole your flowers?” Ino gave a worried look to the other genin. “Gee, I don’t know Sakura, I didn’t get a good look at his face.” “It has to be - come on, guys! Akamaru, wait up!” Kiba took off after his dog and the two girls reluctantly followed. Akamaru nipped at the heels of the man and barked wildly. The man, caught off guard, let out a surprised yelp and stepped backwards, dropping the flower on the ground. Akamaru grabbed it in his mouth and growled at the man. “H-Hey, is this your dog?” he cried when Kiba approached. “Yeah, and you’re a thief! Where are the other flowers, old man?” “Wh-What? What other flowers?” “You know what I mean!” Kiba grabbed the peony from Akamaru’s mouth and shoved it violently into the man’s face. “These flowers! You stole six of them! Give ‘em all back or else you’ll have to pay.” “P-Pay?” the man sputtered, looking terrified. “Yeah, pay what you owe to the shop! You can’t steal things, man! It’s not cool!” Proud of himself and his ninken’s work, Kiba turned to Ino and Sakura. “I caught your thief. You’re welcome.” “N-No,” Ino stuttered, looking bewildered and very embarrassed. “I - I don’t think this is him —” “What are you talking about? I caught him red-handed! He has the flowers! Or, at least, one of them. Again - where are the others?” “Listen, I don’t know what you’re talking about! I didn’t steal anything! I was given this flower!” “Huh? Given it? By who?” Sakura asked. “I don’t know. There was someone walking down the street and they offered me one. Didn’t say much - except that they had a few to spare. Said I could take it home and give it to my wife. Give it back!” He reached out and snatched the flower from Kiba’s hand. “Well,” Ino began eagerly, “who was it? What did they look like?” “I don’t know - nothing memorable. They had a yukata on, like me. I think theirs was … kinda green-ish? And they had hair lighter than mine.” “Is that all you remember?” Ino gaped in exasperation. “Well, which way did they go?” “Listen, kid, I met them about five minutes ago. They could be anywhere by now! They seemed to be in an awful rush, too. And so am I!” Turning on his heels, the man stormed away, muttering unkindly about the state of ninja these days. “Well that was a bust,” Kiba sighed, his shoulders slumping. He reached down and scratched Akamaru under the chin. “You did good, boy. You found what you were supposed to!” “Yeah, but not all of them.” Ino looked up and down the street, contemplating what to do next. “Do you think he can try again? Please? I really need to find them - even just a few of them! I can explain away one or two missing, but six? My parents are going to be so mad.” “Fine. Akamaru, do you smell anything now?” The dog sniffed around in the dirt again, trotting along down the side street. Sakura and Ino both felt a wave of relief wash over them when he started leading them back to the main street where most of the people were. They hung back a ways as they followed, making sure Kiba couldn’t hear them talk. “What do you think Kakashi-sensei’s doing, giving away the flowers?” Sakura whispered, her voice almost lost in the clamor of the upcoming busy street. “I don’t know. Is that like him?” “I’ve never really known sensei to buy anything for anyone. He’s kind of a cheapskate.” “Huh. So that means that whoever the flowers are for is really special, right?” “Yeah, I’d say so.” The pink-haired girl sighed and looked up to the darkening sky. “I’d really like to know who they’re for, too, you know. I think it’s so romantic that Kakashi-sensei has somebody he’d buy flowers for. I’d like to meet that person, whoever they are.” “I think Akamaru’s onto something,” came Kiba’s sharp tone. “Hurry up you two! It’s your flowers we’re finding!” “Okay, okay,” Ino relented, “we’re coming!”

Somehow you’d managed to pass by Kakashi again while you were wandering around the village. You’d just come back from walking around the Academy and now you were headed towards Ichiraku. You saw Kakashi strolling about, his nose deep in another book. Figures, you thought a bit bitterly, a final peony in your hands. Kakashi still had two more, though he didn’t look like he was busy getting rid of them. When you passed by, he glanced up and smiled. “Yo,” he said, throwing up a peace sign as best as he could, the two flowers dangling precariously from his palm. Without saying anything else, he walked off. That man, you grumbled as you headed off towards the ramen stand. If he’s not gonna buy me dinner until this whole thing is over, I might as well treat myself. I’m starving! I wish I’d gotten some dango while I had the chance. As you headed towards the brightly illuminated stand, you passed by a group of strangers. One was walking slower than the rest and you nearly bumped into them. “Oh, sorry!” you said quickly, looking up from your courteous bow of apology. You froze, bug-eyed, and stared at the person in front of you. They stared back, just as concerned and perplexed. “You - You - You -” they sputtered, pointing a shaking finger at you. “You have my - my face!” Oh of COURSE! Of all the people I could run into it HAD to be the civilian I transformed into! You laughed wildly, shaking your head. “W-Wow! What a wild coincidence! I’ve heard that there are seven people in the world who look like you - I never thought I’d meet one so soon! Ah ha ha! Well, I don’t want anyone thinking I have an evil twin out there! So you behave for my sake, and I’ll behave for yours. Bye!” You scurried off before they could say anything, though you could hear them trying to form a coherent thought as their friends backtracked to ask what had happened. Teuchi and Ayame greeted you warmly as you ducked under the cloth curtains and took a seat at one of the barstools. The strong aroma of grilled meats, fishcakes, and fresh veggies hung on the air, cut through with the sound of bubbling dashi and the solid thunk of a large knife slicing through food and hitting a wooden cutting board. “Good evening!” Ayame beamed, heading over towards you. “Welcome to Ichiraku! What can we get for you?” You looked over the menu tacked to the wall and cupped your chin with your thumb and index finger, your heart still racing from your exchange with the civilian. “Hmm. You know, I think I’ll go for the barbecue pork ramen - with an extra egg!” After all the ridiculous crap you’d gone through today, you certainly deserved to treat yourself. “Sure thing!” You pulled out your wallet from under the thin belt of your yukata and thumbed through the bills. Tch. I should really charge Kakashi for this. Oh well. “Oh, that’s such a pretty flower!” Ayame breathed, noticing the peony you still held. “Huh? Oh, thank you! It was a gift. I mean - uh, it is a gift.” You laughed lightly and held it up for both cooks to see. “I’ve only got one left!”

Kiba, Ino and Sakura stood outside of the bookshop, looking at the display window of new releases. Akamaru insisted that this was where the smell was coming from and he would not budge from his position beside the front door. The flowers were in the shop. “Well, we’re not getting any younger,” Kiba finally said. He pushed open the door and the others followed him inside, though rather reluctantly. There were few places to hide and spy in the store and they didn’t feel like confronting Kakashi in such a cramped place. Still, they had no choice - if Akamaru said the flowers were here, then that’s where they were. Inside the shop, they carefully studied the lady at the front counter and a few customers who were browsing the fiction section, but none of them had any flowers. Kakashi wasn’t among them. “I think your dog’s sniffer is broken,” Ino grumbled. “There’s nothing in here.” “Just give him a minute. Look - he’s onto something.” Kiba led the group towards the back of the store and around a corner. Their eyes were trained on Akamaru as he darted back and forth down the aisle and to a bookshelf. He turned and let out a soft grunt, letting Kiba know that this was where the smell was coming from. “Now I know it’s broken,” Ino griped. “There’s nobody here. Maybe he’s got some smells crossed and he’s been sniffing out something else?” “No way. Akamaru is an excellent tracker. There must be something here.” Kiba started hauling out the books and inspecting the wooden shelves. Ino and Sakura followed his lead and removed stacks of novels, checking in between pages and even seeing if someone had possible taped a flower underneath the shelves. “I can’t find anything,” Sakura said desperately as she shook one book violently. “Where else in this aisle would they be? Who hides a flower in a bookshop anyway?” “You know who,” Ino growled quietly, shooting a mean look at the other girl.    Akamaru whined when Kiba picked up a pale blue book and pawed at the boy’s leg. “I think this is it, guys!” Kiba grinned, not bothering to look at what book it was. He flipped through the pages and soon a handful of pink petals came tumbling out from the book, followed by a few torn leaves and a crushed stem.    “What?!” Ino cried, collapsing to scoop up the ruined flower. “Who did this? Why would they do this? My - My flowers!” Kiba grimaced at the sight and then turned his attention to the book, hoping maybe there’d be a clue as to who left the flower there or where the others were. His face flushed bright red and he shoved it back on the shelf. “Uh, guys - I don’t think we’re supposed to be here.” “Huh? What do you mean?” Sakura started, helping Ino clear up the mess. “This is a —” “Hey! You kids!” The three of them wheeled around to see an older man standing there, gesturing wildly at them. “You get out of there! That section is adult only! You can’t read any of those until you’re 18!” Sakura and Ino jumped up in horror and looked to the book Kiba had just reshelved. It was one of the Icha Icha books, which Sakura immediately recognized as the series her teacher read. “S-Sorry!” she stammered out, grabbing the two other ninjas by the wrist and dragging them off. “We - We just got lost! Trying to find a book our friend recommended. It’s not in there, though! Bye!” As fast as their legs would carry them, the three ran out of the shop and onto the dark street.