#DAMN YOU SHIKA

[panicky-pansexual]

YEAAAAAAA

GUYS. EDWARD X D10. ED10.

NO DON'T LEAVE JUST HEAR ME OUT-

[anannua]

kiss kiss fall over @dancibayo come get ur morons

[narasnooze]

Anonymous asked:

3/10. 15. (To eleven years old Shikamaru) Someone (at the Hokage's orders) is trying to warm up Aburame Shino to the idea of taking hecleondonosis bugs into his body. This is also called the Midas bug. Find out the story of King Midas. What does the midas touch do to your friends? Togetherness? Wipe out the idea of making new midases in the H. Leaf. Warring States tactic--too powerful. Rushed message. Don't make me consider this mssge wasted.

Anonymous asked:

4/10. 3. Congratulations on finishing the academy without standing out. You did better than I did. But Hokage+J.nin+teach did you a great disservice. You should've been on a team where you can develop freely, not bound by tradition. Boring. Tragedy. Try to switch? Warning: your teacher may be dangerous--mine was. Don't let your teacher become your world. Yamanaka warring states technique: Psychic Nuclear Bomb. You're not on the team to keep Ymka in check. Ymka is your warden. Resume learning covertly. Don't stand out to teach. Repeat: Sarutobi=dangerous. Runs in the family, unfortunately.

Anonymous asked:

5/10. 8. Task: become chuunin. You will get a unique set of challenges from me to you: unique written test, opponents, situations, + I'll personally check your work. C.exam always has casualties so protect your friends. Nothing is random. Eyes open. After C.exam, I'll wait one month for your report on what went wrong and could've been improved. Post it: no address/stamp. Switch teacher to Mitarashi / Ibiki if possible as Chuunin. Do your best on the chuunin exam--first time I can truly measure you. Impress me. Stand out to me, not to others. Failure of task will result in my immediate loss of all communication. I wish you the worst of luck and thus an interesting time.

[lizzy06]

Naruto Fic Recs!! (AO3)

Fandom Masterlist

Hey guys these are my favorite Naruto fics!! Hope u enjoy them too <3!!

No Paring

becoming the memory✨💖 by iinsomniatic(Time travel fix it, Jiraiya raises naruto) Out of options and about to die, Jiraiya writes a seal he’s sure isn’t going to work anyway. Then he wakes up, and damn it all, it’s October 10th. [ONGOING] From me to you: Unsent letters ✨✨by Lady_Ye(oneshot, suicide note)This made me cry so hard!! [COMPLETED]

Naruto Uzumaki x Sakura Haruno

Artistic purpose ✨by StormyInk (one shot, fluff) sai gets his new inspiration of drawing from his friends with which he also sets something off!! [COMPLETED] Just like me by bendingwing (oneshot, fluff)The beginnings of narusaku [COMPLETED] The Children of Omelas byFangirlJo (oneshot, Utopia, Dystopia, inspired by the one who walks away from omelas)She was 8 when she noticed the blonde boy in ragged clothing with bruises, sores and cuts all over him. She doesn't think the adults ever noticed him despite his bizarre looks, but she did.[COMPLETED] Date Night by TwinEnigma(oneshot Wingman sasuke, funny)In which Sasuke tries to do something nice for Naruto and Sakura's first anniversary. Hilarity ensues. [COMPLETED] Of pink and orange by FairyLetters (oneshot, reader is a spectator, fluff and angst)You watch as Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki come to an understanding that Sasuke Uchiha has left again.[COMPLETED] What now? by Kameodash(oneshot, after war)Naruto and Sakura try to cope with the trauma of the war together.[COMPLETED] Leaving You by THE_MAN42(oneshot, Love confession ,Sad ending)Naruto dies in her arms.[COMPLETED] Shinachiku and the Multiverse of...Wait There's a Multiverse?! by DuchessofChaos (time travel,falling in love) shinachiku travels to a world where his parents don't exist[ONGOING] Open Hearts by gabriella0807(post war,fluff)After the war there is a lot of work left to be done and many problems to be solved in the Shinobi world, while our heroes need to heal and move forward with their lives. [COMPLETED] Baby its you ✨by Behla(fake dating, friends to lovers, crush's wedding, single bed) Haruno Sakura finds herself in desperate need of a date for the wedding of a man she's been pining after for over eight years, in order to convince him and his bride that she's getting over him.[ONGOING]

Nara shikamaru x Ino Yamanaka

Red Ribbon by amuk(one shot,humour, friendship)They made a promise and Ino spent three years searching for Shikamaru to keep that promise. Time changes everyone, though, and Shikamaru looks cozy with his coworker, Temari. Some promises can't be kept. [COMPLETED]

In the forest 💖💖💖✨by SenkaHitomi(LadyTegan) - (post war, mission gone wrong, slow burn) shikamaru returns in catatonic state from a mission and ino must go into the labyrinth of his mind to bring shikamru back! [COMPLETED]

Its her again... ✨✨by atmymercy (Highschool au, pinning) Ino gets jealous of the girl who sits beside shika on his train and this leads to a whirlwind confrontation of her feelings..[COMPLETED]

Uchiha sasuke x sakura Haruno

Before the storm ✨by crissy_writes_garbage(Time travel to past, pregnant sakura)Sakura is pregnant and lost, a combination that leads to more trouble than necessary. Specially when you're lost in the past. [COMPLETED]

Gaara x Sakura Haruno

words that tie, ties that bind by Binxxx(soulmates, angst,SHUKAKU THE THERAPIST)During the chaos of the Chunin Exams, Sakura discovers who her soulmate is. [ONGOING] The four heavenly treasures by IRinna(arranged marriage, politics, friends-to-lovers)Princess Sakura of the Land of Fire is offered in a political alliance to the Land of Wind to help survive the incoming war. There she meets Gaara, leader of Wind and one of the champions of the Four Heavenly Treasures. [COMPLETED]

Uchiha Madara x Sakura Haruno

The Black bull by Vesperchan (oneshot, beauty and the beast elements)Based on the classic Scottish fairytale The Black Bull of Norroway.[COMPLETED]

Itachi Uchia(xf!reader)

Ikigai ✨by MissWriter97(arranged marriage, senju reader, alternate au) Uchiha Itachi gets married to the women he does not love to prevent the massacre! This is a lovely fic...[ONGOING]

Senju Tobirama(xf!reader)

A Step in Time by MizzGinger (senju tobirama x Princess! reader ,arrange marriage, time travel, second chances) This is and alternate au story with a lot of war time drama going on!! It has a brilliant set up!![ONGOING]

The Home I crave✨✨ by cafeinthemoon93( arranged marriage, angst, slowburn, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers )I really loved this fics, the detailing and pacing were chef's kiss!![HIATUS]

Some other pairing stories

Iruka x reader

Growing along the line✨✨💖 by FreakyPseudWriter(fake dating, strangers-to-friends-to-lovers, fluff)After a really bad day at your workplace you meet Umino Iruka, who quickly makes you open up to him. But you certainly didn't expect him to suddenly claim you two were romantically involved! [COMPLETED]

Sasori x Sakura Haruno

Bait and Hitch✨✨ by Aelynthi (fake dating, coworkers, crush's wedding)When Haruno Sakura finds out Sasuke is engaged, she does the only thing she knows to do in order to save her pride—she lies.[ONGOING]

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 427 spoilers translations

This week’s initial tentative super rough/literal translations under the cut.

tagline 1 No.427　死柄木弔とはなんだったのか　堀越耕平 ナンバー427　しがらきとむらとはなんだったのか　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 427 Shigaraki Tomura to wa nan datta no ka  Horikoshi Kouhei No. 427 What was Tomura Shigaraki? Kouhei Horikoshi

1 会社員（35） かいしゃいん（35） kaishain (35) Office worker (age 35)

2 恐ろしかったです おそろしかったです osoroshikatta desu "He was scary."

3 退治されてホントよかったです！ たいじされてホントよかったです！ taiji sarete HONTO yokatta desu! "I'm so glad he was exterminated!"

tagline 2 TV特番は語る‼︎ テレビとくばんはかたる‼︎ TEREBI tokuban wa kataru!! A television special narrates!!

4 学生（21） がくせい（21） gakusei (21) Student (age 21)

5 友だちが亡くなりました ともだちがなくなりました tomodachi ga nakunarimashita "My friend passed away."

6 最悪！殺人鬼！ さいあく！さつじんき！ saiaku! satsujinki! "He's the worst! A damn murderer!"

7 ありえないマジ人生めちゃくちゃなんですけど ありえないマジじんせいめちゃくちゃなんですけど arienai MAJI jinsei mechakucha nandesu kedo "Life has become an impossible mess."

8 家壊されてるし いえこわされてるし ie kowasareteru shi "My house is destroyed."

9 主婦（70） しゅふ（70） shufu (70) Housewife (age 70)

10 止められなかったのかなって…ねえ…… とめられなかったのかなって…ねえ…… tomerarenakatta no ka natte...nee...... "I guess he couldn't stop...you know......"

11 思いますねえ おもいますねえ omoimasu nee "That's what I think."

12 飲食店経営 いんしょくていけいえい（30） inshokutei keiei (30) Restaurant manager (age 30)

13 始めはただのチンピラだと誰もが思っていました はじめはただのチンピラだとだれもがおもっていました hajime wa tada no CHINPIRA da to daremo ga omotte imashita "At first everyone thought he was just a hooligan."

14 誰もここまでの脅威とは思ってなかった だれもここまでのきょういとはおもってなかった daremo koko made no kyoui to wa omottenakatta "No one thought he could be this much of a threat."

1 国際支援とボランティアにより急速に進んでいる復旧作業ーーー こくさいしえんとボランティアによりきゅうそくにすすんでいるふっきゅうさぎょうーーー kokusai shien to BORANTIA ni yori kyuusoku ni susunde iru fukkyuu sagyou--- "Restoration work is progressing rapidly with international support and volunteers---"

2 X(た)しかその一方でX(た)だ復旧の手がX(間)に合っていないXXもーー X(た)しかそのいっぽうでX(た)だふっきゅうのてがX(ま)にあっていないXXもーー X(ta)shika sono ippou de X(ta)da fukkyuu no te ga X(ma) ni atte inai XX mo-- "On the other hand, it is true that some restoration work is not done in time XX--" (Note: A lot of this line is cut off from view, so I made some guesses on the words, but I still can't see the whole thing.)

3 堆く積まれた瓦礫は被害が如何に広範囲に渡ったかを物語っている うずたかくつまれたがれきはひがいがいかにこうはんいにわたったかをものがたっている uzutakaku tsumareta gareki wa higai ga ika ni kouhan'i ni watatta ka wo monogatette iru "The rubble piled high tells the story of how widespread the damage was."

4 多くの人間を巻き込み未曾有のテロを引き起こした敵連合 おおくのにんげんをまきこみみぞうのテロをひきおこしたヴィランれんごう ooku no ningen wo makikomi mizou no TERO wo hikiokoshita VIRAN rengou "The League of Villains, which caused an unprecedented terrorist attack in which many people were caught up--"

5 そのリーダー死柄木弔とは何だったのか特集第二弾をお送りします そのリーダーしがらきとむらとはなんだったのかとくしゅうだいにだんをおおくりします sono RIIDAA Shigaraki Tomura to wa nan datta no ka tokushuu dainidan wo ookuri shimasu "we will send you part 2 of the special freature on their leader: What was Tomura Shigaraki?"

1 巨躯や鱗の複数"個性"に耐え切れず「脳無」化しかけていましたがーーー きょくやうろこのふくすう"こせい"にたえきれず「のうむ」かしかけていましたがーーー kyoku ya uroko no fukusuu "kosei" ni taekirezu 「noumu」 kashi kakete imashita ga--- "Unable to withstand the multiple quirks of a giant body and scales, he was on the verge of becoming a noumu, but---"

2 我々がかねてより脳無の研究を進めていた事と われわれがかねてよりのうむのけんきゅうをすすめていたことと wareware ga kanete yori noumu no kenkyuu wo susumete ita koto to "we have been conducting research on the noumu for some time, and"

3 脳無化の進行がまだ浅かった事で辛うじて抑えられました のうむかのしんこうがまだあさかったことでかろうじておさえられました noumu-ka no shinkou ga mada asakatta koto de karoujite osaeraremashita "because the progress of his transformation into a noumu was still in its early stages, we barely suppressed it."

4 何しにノコノコ来やがった人殺し なにしにノコノコきやがったひとごろし nani shi ni NOKONOKO kiyagatta hitogoroshi "What did you come here to do all nonchalantly, murderer?"

5 否定はしない ひていはしない hitei wa shinai "I won't deny that."

6 死柄木の最期を伝えに来た しがらきのさいごをつたえにきた Shigaraki no saigo wo tsutae ni kita "I came to tell you about Shigaraki's final moments."

7 …死体撃ちにでも来たのか？てめェ悪趣味だな …したいうちにでもきたのか？てめェあくしゅみだな ...shitai uchi ni demo kita no ka? temeE akushumi da na "...You came here to shoot a corpse*? You have some bad taste, bastard." (*Note: This is a concept of unsportsmanlike conduct in a first-person shooter video game.)

8 スピナーが生きてたら伝えてくれよ スピナーがいきてたらつたえてくれよ SUPINAA ga ikitetara tsutaete kure yo if Spinner is alive, please tell him [this].

9 生きてるから…伝える いきてるから…つたえる ikiteru kara...tsutaeru "Because you're alive...I'll tell you [this]."

1-2 死柄木弔は最期まで壊す為に戦った しがらきとむらはさいごまでこわすためにたたかった Shigaraki Tomura wa saigo made kowasu tame ni tatakatta “Tomura Shigaraki fought to destroy until the very end.”

3 ……は？ ......ha? "......Huh?"

4-5 ……死柄木にそう言えって言われたのか？ ……しがらきにそういえっていわれたのか？ ......Shigaraki ni sou iette iwareta no ka? "......Shigaraki told you to say that?"

6 スピナーにって SUPINAA ni tte "To Spinner, he said."

7 …俺？ …おれ？ ...ore? "...Me?"

8 トガや荼毘にも？ トガやだびにも？ TOGA ya Dabi ni mo? "And also to Toga and Dabi?"

9 コンプレスには？ KONPURESU ni wa? "What about to Compress?"

1 君だけだった きみだけだった kimi dake datta "It was only [for] you."

2 ……死柄木は………… ……しがらきは………… ......Shigaraki wa............ "......Shigaraki............"

3 希望だったんだ… きぼうだったんだ… kibou dattanda... "was [my] hope..."

4 笑って「全部壊そう」と言った！ わらって「ぜんぶこわそう」といった！ waratte 「zenbu kowasou」 to itta! "He smiled and said 'Let's destroy everything!'"

5 泥花で歪な地平を見せてくれた でいかでいびつなちへいをみせてくれた deika de ibitsu na chihei wo misete kureta "In Deika, he showed me a distorted horizon."

6 あいつは俺の代弁者だったんだ あいつはおれのだいべんしゃだったんだ aitsu wa ore no daibensha dattanda "He was my spokesperson."

7 虐げられても俺自身が しいたげられてもおれじしんが shiitageraretemo ore jishin ga "Even though I was being oppressed, I myself"

8 「異形だしな」って諦めてた… 「いぎょうだしな」ってあきらめてた… 「igyou da shi na」 tte akirameteta... "said 'I'm just a heteromorph' and gave up..."

1 いや…考えるのをやめてたんだ いや…かんがえるのをやめてたんだ iya...kangaeru no wo yametetanda No...I stopped thinking.

2 考えてXくなる kangaete Xku naru (Note: An important symbol in this line is cut off, but this thought a continuation of his refleciton on how we stopped thinking.)

3 そんな俺に夢を見せてくれた そんなおれにゆめをみせてくれた sonna ore ni yume wo misete kureta "He showed a dream to me when I was like that."

4 Xかでかい事が起きるかもって Xかでかいことがおきるかもって X ga dekai koto ga okiru kamo tte "I thought maybe it would awaken something big." (Note: This line is cut off again, so I've made a guess at the gist of the meaning.)

5 何者かになれるかもって…‼︎ なにものかになれるかもって…‼︎ nanimono ka ni nareru kamo tte...!! "I thought maybe I could become someone...!!"

6 無理しなさんなすぐ抑え…！ むりしなさんなすぐおさえ…！ muri shinasanna sugu osae...! "Don't overdo it, restrain him right away...!"

7 死柄木弔は俺のヒーローだった！ しがらきとむらはおれのヒーローだった！ Shigaraki Tomura wa ore no HIIROO datta! "Tomura Shigaraki was my hero!"

1 破壊が目的の破壊行為なんてのはですね はかいがもくてきのはかいこういなんてのはですね hakai ga mokuteki no hakai koui nante no wa desu ne "The purpose of destruction is vandalism, isn't it?"

2 なんの大義もない考えもないかんしゃくでしかない！ なんのたいぎもないかんがえもないかんしゃくでしかない！ nan no taigi mo nai kangae mo nai kanshaku de shika nai! "He had no great cause, no ideas--it was nothing but a tantrum!"

3-4 ゲームが……好きだったんだよ… ゲームが……すきだったんだよ… GEEMU ga......suki dattanda yo... "He liked......games..."

5 警察の調査が進み悲惨な過去も明るみになってきたわけですが けいさつのちょうさがすすみひさんなかこもあかるみになってきたわけですが keisatsu no chousa ga susumi hisan na kako mo akarumi ni natte kita wake desu ga "As the police investigation progresses, his tragic past is coming to light."

6 原因追明は重要ですがセンチメンタルに取り沙汰せば げんいんついめいはじゅうようですがセンチメンタルにとりざたせば gen'in tsuimei wa juuyou desu ga SENCHIMENTARU ni torizataseba "It's important to identify the cause, but if we get carried away sentimentally,"

7 感化された人間がまた現れる繰り返しますよ かんかされたにんげんがまたあらわれるくりかえしますよ kanka sareta ningen ga mata arawareru kurikaeshimasu yo "people inspired [by him] will apear again and [things will] repeat."

8 引きこもってる間ずっと俺ゲームばっかやってて ひきこもってるあいだずっとおれゲームばっかやってて hikikomotteru aida zutto ore GEEMU bakka yattete "The whole time I was shut in*, I was just playing games" (*Note: By "shut in," Spinner is referring to his time as a hikikomori.)

9 そしたらあいつも soshitara aitsu mo "and he also"

10 やってるゲームけっこうおんなじでさあ！ yatteru GEEMU kekkou onnaji de saa! "was also playing pretty much the same games!"

11 我々はきぜんとした態度で言わなきゃいかんですよ！ われわれはきぜんとしたたいどでいわなきゃいかんですよ！ wareware wa kizen to shita taido de iwanakya ikan desu yo! "We have to say it in a firm manner!"

12 畜生であると！ ちくしょうであると！ chikushou de aru to! "That [in his next life] he'll be a lowly beast*!" (*Note: This term comes from the Buddhist ocncept of a reincarnation into an animal by a person with bad karma in a previous life.)

1 初めてできた はじめてできた hajimete dekita "I was able to do it for the first time."

2 XXだちXXたんだよ…‼︎ XXdachi XXtanda yo...!! "I made friends...!!" (Note: While most of this line is missing, I have provided what I think is the most likely gist of it.)

3 あいつらのヒーローにならなきゃって言ってた あいつらのヒーローにならなきゃっていってた aitsura no HIIROO ni naranakya tte itteta "He was saying he had to become a hero to those guys."

4 死柄木の心の真ん中には敵連合がいたよ しがらきのこころのまんなかにはヴィランれんごうがいたよ Shigaraki no kokoro no mannaka ni wa VIRAN rengou ga ita yo "The League of Villains was at the center of Shigaraki's heart."

5 きっと死柄木も同じ事を思ってたから きっとしがらきもおなじことをおもってたから kitto Shigaraki mo onaji koto wo omotteta kara "I'm sure Shigaraki was thinking the same thing, so"

6 君には伝えたかったんだと思う きみにはつたえたかったんだとおもう kimi ni wa tsutaetakattanda to omou "I think that's why he wanted [me] to tell you."

7 熱に当てられたまま ねつにあてられたまま netsu ni aterareta mama While I was exposed to that heat,

8-9 "流れは止められない"と考える事をやめてきた "ながれはとめられない"とかんがえることをやめてきた "nagare wa tomerarenai" to kangaeru koto wo yamete kita I came to stop thinking, "The flow cannot be stopped."

10 俺という者はつくづく気付くのが遅すぎた おれ���いうものはつくづくきづくのがおそすぎた ore to iu mono wa tsukudzuku kidzuku no ga oso sugita As the person I am, I came to realize it too late.

1-2 もう一歩進んでいれば もういっぽすすんでいれば mou ipposusunde ireba If I had taken one more step,

3 俺は おれは ore wa could I

4-5 俺のヒーローを救えたのだろうか ともだちをすくえたのだろうか tomodachi (kanji: ore no HIIROO) wo sukueta no darou ka have saved my friend (read as: my hero)?

6 今もまた第二・第三の死柄木弔やAFOが息を殺しているかもしれません いまもまただいに・だいさんのしがらきとむらやオール・フォー・ワンがいきをころしているかもしれません ima mo mata daini ・ daisan no Shigaraki Tomura ya OORU FOO WAN ga iki wo koroshite iru kamo shiremasen "Even now, a second or third Tomura Shigaraki and All For One may be holding their breaths*." (*Note: This is an idiom in Japanese that means someone is holding their breath either to not make a sound or to focus hard on something. The implication here is that someone inspired by Tomura Shigaraki or All For One could be out there waiting to see how society reacts to all this.)

7 次の脅威に目を向けなければ つぎのきょういにめをむけなければ tsugi no kyoui ni me wo mukenakereba "If we don't focus on the next threat..."

8 おまえたちは omae-tachi wa "You all"

9 これからも戦い続けるんだろう？ これからもたたかいつづけるんだろう？ kore kara mo tatakai tsudzukerundarou? "will continue to fight from here on, right?"

1-2 そしていずれ死柄木弔も敵連合も忘れて笑うんだろう そしていずれしがらきとむらもヴィランれんごうもわすれてわらうんだろう soshite izure Shigaraki Tomura mo VIRAN rengou mo wasurete waraundarou "And eventually you'll forget about Tomura Shigaraki and the League of Villains and laugh."

3 本を書く ほんをかく hon wo kaku "I'll write a book."

4 死柄木弔という恐怖の象徴をーーーー… しがらきとむらというきょうふのしょうちょうをーーーー… Shigaraki Tomura to iu kyoufu no shouchou wo----... "About the symbol of fear called Tomura Shigaraki----..."

5 敵連合は壊す為に生きたと永劫ヒーローに突きつけてやる ヴィランれんごうはこわすためにいきたとえいごうおまえたちにつきつけてやる VIRAN rengou wa kowasu tame ni ikita to eigou omae-tachi (kanji: HIIROO) ni tsukitsukete yaru "[about how] the League of Villains lived to destroy, and how they contronted all of you (read as: eternal heroes)."

6 過去は消えない俺が死柄木弔を紡ぐ かこはきえないおれがしがらきとむらをつむぐ kako wa kienai ore ga Shigaraki Tomura wo tsumugu "The past doesn't disappear. I will spin [the tale] of Tomura Shigaraki." (Note: Get it? Because he's Spinner? Eh? Eh?)

7 …コミックだといいな ...KOMIKKU da to ii na "...It'd be good as a comic."

8 あァ⁉︎ aA!? "Huh!?"

9 心配しなくていいよ しんぱいしなくていいよ shinpai shinakute ii yo "You don't have to worry."

1 一生忘れない いっしょうわすれない isshou wasurenai "For my whole life, I won't forget."

2 フン… FUN... "Hmm..."

3 俺からも伝言だ おれからもでんごんだ ore kara mo dengon da "Here's a message from me, too."

4 タコに TAKO ni "To the octopus,"

5 頑張れよって がんばれよって ganbare yo tte "do your best."

1 待合 まちあい machiai Waiting room

2 おかえり少年 おかえりしょうねん okaeri shounen "Welcome back, young man."

3 伝言は伝えられたかい？ でんごんはつたえられたかい？ dengon wa tsutaerareta kai? "Were you able to convey the message?"

4 はい hai "Yes."

5 頼まれていた…治崎の件だが たのまれていた…ちさきのけんだが tanomarete ita...Chisaki no ken da ga "You asked me about...the matter of Chisaki, but"

6 みっともねえ姿だなあ みっともねえすがただなあ mittomonee sugata da naa "What an unsightly appearance,"

7 治崎 ちさき Chisaki "Chisaki."

1 組長… オヤジ… OYAJI (kanji: kumichou)... "Pops* (read as: boss)..." (*Note: I'm just going with the dub's translation of the "old man" monniker Chisaki uses for his adoptive father.)

2 寝たきりだった筈じゃ… ねたきりだったはずじゃ… netakiri datta hazu ja... "You should be bedridden..."

3 てめェの"個性"でな てめェの"こせい"でな temeE no "kosei" de na "By your quirk, right?"

4 だがサポートアイテムってのぁ加速度的に進んでるそうだ だがサポートアイテムってのぁかそくどてきにすすんでるそうだ daga SAPOOTO AITEMU tte noa kasoku doteki ni susunderu sou da "However, it seems support items are progressing at an accellerating pace."

5 それと組長じゃねえもう組はねえ それとくみちょうじゃねえもうくみはねえ sore to kumichou ja nee mou kumi wa nee "Also, I'm not the boss, we have no organization anymore."

6 組長 オヤジ OYAJI (kanji: kumichou) "Pops (read as: boss)."

7 人の道外れちゃあいけねえ ひとのみちはずれちゃあいけねえ hito no michi hazurechaa ikenee "Don't stay from the path of humanity."

8 そうなるからだよ sou naru kara da yo "Because that's what you become."

9 俺ぁずっとてめェに手を差し伸べてたんだよそっちに行くなってな おれぁずっとてめェにてをさしのべてたんだよそっちにいくなってな orea zutto temeE ni te wo sashinobetanda yo socchi ni iku natte na "I've been holding out my hand to you for a long time, telling you not to go that way."

10 玄野は叱ってくれなかっただろ くろのはしかってくれなかっただろ Kurono wa shikatte kurenakatta daro "Kurono didn't scold you, did he."

11 ごめん… gomen... "I'm sorry..."

12 オヤジ…ごめん OYAJI...gomen "Pops...I'm sorry."

13 遅ェよその台詞は生涯壊理へ向けろ おせェよそのせりふはじょうがいエリへむけろ oseE yo sono serifu wa jougai ERI e mukero "It's too late. Direct that line to Eri for the rest of your life."

14 壊理はおまえを忘れるがおまえは壊理にした事を忘れるな エリはおまえをわすれるがおまえはエリにしたことをわすれるな ERI wa omae wo wasreru ga omae wa ERI ni shita koto wo wasureruna "Eri will forget you, but never forget what you did to Eri."

15 安心しろ あんしんしろ anshin shiro "Don't worry."

16 てめェがくたばるまX(で)俺がずっと叱ってやるよ てめェがくたばるまX(で)おれがずっとしかってやるよ temeE ga kutabaru maX(de) ore ga zutto shikatte yaru yo "Until I kick the bucket, I'll keep scolding you."

1 塚内さんありがとうございます つかうちさんありがとうございます Tsukauchi-san arigatou gozaimasu "Thank you, Mr. Tsukauchi."

2 いいよエリちゃんに思い出させるよりよっぽどいい いいよエリちゃんにおもいださせるよりよっぽどいい ii yo ERI-chan ni omoidasaseru yori yoppodo ii "It's fine, it's far better than making Eri-chan remember."

3 ………どうすれば .........dou sureba ".........What should I do"

4 こんな事なくなるんでしょう こんなことなくなるんでしょう konna koto nakunarundeshou "to stop this from being lost?"

5 なくならんよ nakunaran yo "It won't be lost."

6 ホークスにヒーローどちゃくそ増やしてもらうか ホークスにヒーローどちゃくそふやしてもらうか HOOKUSU ni HIIRO dochakuso fuyashite morau ka "Should we have Hawks increase the number of heroes?"

7 え⁉︎ e!? "Eh!?"

8 ホークスそんな強権あるんですか ホークスそんなきょうけんあるんですか HOOKUSU sonna kyouken arundesu ka "Does Hawks have that much governmental power?"

9 冗談だよ じょうだんだよ joudan da yo "It's a joke."

10 さ！切り換えていこう さ！きりかえていこう sa! kirikaete ikou "Well! Let's change it up."

11 今日からは新入生も授業に参加する　暗い顔みせたらいかんよ きょうからはしんにゅうせいもじゅぎょうにさんかする　くらいかおみせたらいかんよ kyou kara wa shinnyuusei mo jugyou ni sanka suru kurai kao misetara ikan yo "Starting today, new students will also participate in classes. I don't want you to show them a gloomy face!"

12 でもヒーロー科は縦のつながりあんまり無いから顔合わせる事も… でもヒーローかはたてのつながりあんまりないからかおあわせることも… demo HIIROO-ka wa tate no tsunagari anmari nai kara kao awaseru koto mo... "But there aren't that many vertical connections* in the hero course, and that includes meeting face-to-face..." (*Note: "Vertical connections" refers to a type of relationship between people of different rankings of some sort. In this case, second-year students are in a senior ("senpai") social rank to first-years ("kohai").)

1 轟先輩ィイ とどろきせんぱいィイ Todoroki-senpaiII "Todoroki-senpaiii!" (Note: "Senpai" is an honorific for a person senior in rank to oneself, such as an upperclassman or a more senior employee working at the same company.)

2 ダイナマイト先輩ィイイ ダイナマイトせんぱいィイイ DAINAMAITO-senpaiIII "Dynamight-senpaiiii!"

3 連絡先いいですかあ れんらくさきいいですかあ renraku saki ii desu kaa "Can I get your contact info?"

4 大ファンなんですぅ だいファンなんですぅ dai-FAN nandesuu "[I'm a] huge fan!"

5 写真とってくださあい しゃしんとってくださあい shashin totte kudasaai "Please take a photo [with me]!"

6 かっこいいいィイYEE かっこいいいィイイェエ kakko iiiIIIEE "You're so cooooool EEE!"

7 なんだってんだ？ nanda ttenda? "What are they saying?"

8 除籍だろこいつら全員‼︎ じょせきだろこいつらぜんいん‼︎ joseki daro koitsura zen'in!! "Expel them, every last one of these guys!!"

9 一年生すげえ いちねんせいすげえ ichinensei sugee "The first years are amazing."

tagline 来る新一年逃げろ二年A組‼︎完結まであと３話 きたるしんいちねんにげろにねんエーぐみ‼︎かんけつまであと３わ kitaru shin-ichinen nigero ninen EE-gumi!! kanketsu made ato 3wa Run away from the coming new first-years, Class 2-A!! 3 chapters left until completion.

[animeomegas]

New Things and Misunderstandings - Naruto Omegas x Alpha!reader

A/N: Happy birthday @omeganronpa !!!! I can't write more because ow, but yay, it's your birthday! I don't know what this post is, I just picked a few of your favs and wrote about misunderstandings lol, but I hope you like it anyway lmaoooo ❤️🩷🧡💛💚💙🩵💜🤎🖤🩶🤍

Warnings: Just some innuendo lol. And me thinking I'm funny, that needs a warning.

Naruto

*Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto having a drink together*

Sakura: It's your birthday soon, right Naruto? Do you have anything special planned?

Naruto: Uh, not much. Work is crazy, y'know?

Sakura: Ugh, you don't have to tell me. I haven't got my birthday off from the hospital in four years.

Naruto: Yeah, it sucks. I'll probably just spend the evening at home with my alpha. I was thinking of asking for a quickie or something.

Sasuke: *grimacing* Tmi, dobe.

Naruto: What? I've never had one before, so I thought it'd be cool to try.

Sakura: Naruto! No one wants to hear this.

Naruto: Why? You don't like quickies? I always thought they looked tasty. I mean, they aren't ramen of course, but I always get birthday ramen from Ichiraku, so I can't ask my alpha to make it.

Saskue: ...

Sakura: Naruto, spell quickie.

Naruto: Um, okay? I think it's Q-U-I-CH-E.

Sasuke: 🙄

Sakura: 😠

Shikamaru

Alpha: *in the middle of a chat with Kiba* -and Shikaku was so hot yesterday, it's kind of crazy, y'know.

*Shikamaru suddenly walks in, home from work, overhearing*

Shikamaru: What 😐

Alpha: Shika! You're home!

Shikamaru: What 😐

Alpha: We were just talking about how the aircon has given up in the jounin headquarters. You must have heard about it. The common room wasn't too bad once everyone opened the windows, but I was just saying that your father was suffering a lot in his small office.

Shikamaru: *visibly relaxing* Oh, I see. Yes, for once I've been grateful that Naruto keeps me in Hokage tower most of the time.

Alpha: Yeah, I bet!

Shikamaru: Okay, I'm going to take a shower upstairs, I'll be back in a bit. *Shikamaru leaves*

Kiba: ...

Alpha: ...

Kiba: Good save.

Alpha: Thanks 😅

Lee

Lee: *sighs sadly*

Alpha: You okay, baby?

Lee: I... Do you think I'm intimidating? To our fellow Konoha shinobi I mean.

Alpha: I mean, I would hope that they have a healthy respect for your abilities, but I don't think people find you unapproachable. Why do you ask? Did something happen?

Lee: I overheard some people talking in the jounin common room. They were saying that they could suffocate in my thighs... But I would never hurt them like that, even in a spar. Do you think they're... afraid of me? 🥺

Alpha: ...

Lee: ...

Alpha: Oh, baby, no.

Shino

Shino: *visibly relieved* Alpha, you're back from your mission!

Alpha: Yes... Is everything okay?

Shino: No... it's Shihori. I'm... I'm worried about her, but I didn't know what to do and you were away and I was scared I'd make it worse so-

Alpha: Woah, slow down. What happened? Is she okay?

Shino: She's... been drawing things. Horrible things. I don't know where she's getting it from, I didn't want to ask in case I made it worse! What do we do??

Alpha: Deep breaths, what sort of things has she been drawing?

*Shino anxiously opens a drawer and pulls out a stack of drawings. They depict large, scary creatures. A brown bear, a purple rabbit, and a yellow chicken. You immediately remember hearing your fellow parent shinobi complain about the latest horror video game trend that became popular with children*

Alpha: Ah. It's Freddy.

Shihori: *overhearing from the living room* YOU KNOW FREDDY, APPA?!?!

Alpha: Of course. And Bonnie. And Chica.

Shihori: 🤩🤩

Shino: 😧

Itachi

Alpha: Oh, hey, you're back from reconnaissance. Did you catch them doing anything suspicious? Pein seemed really sure there were our guys.

Itachi: No. Unfortunately, they both kept entirely normal schedules for the day, as far as I could tell.

Alpha: Damn. So we came all the way out here for nothing?

Itachi: Not quite. While their conversation was mundane, I believe they may have been using a code.

Alpha: Seriously?

Itachi: Indeed. They mentioned at one point that their compatriots had been 'sixty-nining' each other. I believe that might have been code, although I am not sure of it's meaning.

Alpha: ...

Itachi: What?

Alpha: ...

Itachi: You recognise the code?

Alpha: *suddenly remembering that Itachi had no friends as a teenager and parents that taught him how to dismember people instead of teaching him anything about sex*

Alpha: ...I'll explain on the way back 🫠

[actuallysaiyan]

Kinktober Day 21: Squirting(It ain't a crime to be good to yourself...)

warnings/kinks: smut, squirting, kissing, post-war era, biting, mentions of smoking weed, unprotected sex word count: 0.9k pairings: Shikamaru Nara x Fem!Reader teaser: “Fuck, you’re so damn gorgeous,” Shikamaru comments, his large hands spreading your thighs. taglist: @beneathstarryskies @loki-love @witchofcustom @dreadsuitsamus @pyrofanatic

After the war, everyone started getting together. You and Shikamaru had always been really close, but things were different once you two began to grow up. Seeing all your friends hook up and get married made you both realize that maybe you should pair up and settle down. But it was different with the two of you. You had no real reason to want to get married so young, yet nobody could keep you away from Shikamaru.

Once the mental health clinic was established in Konoha, you began to work there as a favor to Sakura. She had saved your hide multiple times during the war, and you were a very empathetic and sweet person. So it just came naturally for you to want to work with the mentally ill. Your daily routine was simple, but it was during the night after your shift was over that you were able to get the release from the stress you needed.

It started off simply with going to visit Shikamaru and you both would sit on his bed, smoking joint after joint and talking about all kinds of things. You would often spend the night there, just keeping one another company. Soon, things took a turn to something more intimate.

One night, Shikamaru couldn’t keep his hands to himself. He had been fantasizing about you for so long. He knew he had a crush on you since you were younger, but damn, you had grown into such a beautiful woman. He had no idea how he got so lucky to have you even been somewhat interested in him, but he tried his best not to question that.

That night cemented everything for the both of you. You found yourselves falling even deeper in love with one another. And so began a routine that neither of you wanted to quit.

The night starts off with a hot shower for you when you arrive at Shika’s place. Then he feeds you a nice meal and then the two of you smoke joints like always. After the marijuana hits you, you feel so cuddly and want to kiss.

“I’m amazed how you always come back to me,” Shikamaru comments as he puts out the joint.

You laugh, “You have no idea how much of a catch you are, do you?”

He smirks as he leans in closer, your lips only centimeters apart. “Mmm maybe I need to hear it from you,”

It doesn’t take long for you to be tangled in his sheets, his lips all over you. Shikamaru has such a fixation for kissing you wherever his lips can reach. As he undresses you, he loves to leave love bites in his wake.

“Fuck, you’re so damn gorgeous,” Shikamaru comments, his large hands spreading your thighs.

You’re already dripping wet at this point. He’d only have to do so little to make you cum. But Shikamaru isn’t a half-measures kind of man. He’s someone who will fuck you until you’re absolutely begging him to stop. His fingers spread your soft folds, and then he leans in to kiss you.

“What’ll it be, princess?” He asks, his fingers just teasing your aching bud. “Wanna get on all fours and be fucked like an animal? Or do you crave some intimacy and want the mating press?”

You were the one who had taught him all these positions names. You were quite a bit impressed to hear him using the correct terms. You take a moment to consider it as he uses his thumb to circle your throbbing clit.

“Wanna kiss you,” You say, your voice laced with lust. “Wanna be able to look into your eyes.”

This makes his heart melt. He knows that you’re in love with him, and he feels the same about you. Just the thought of commitment scares him a little. Still, he pushes those thoughts away as he folds you into the perfect mating press. Shikamaru decides to tease you even more, using the head of his thick cock to rub up and down your soaked folds.

It feels like hours as he continues his ministrations. You try to beg for him to stick it in already, but he’s having too much fun with this. The look on your face when he finally does slide into you is priceless. And the moan that erupts from you once he’s balls deep is just so perfect.

Nobody has ever fucked you quite like Shikamaru, and he knows exactly how to stimulate your body in the perfect way. He’s no stranger to using his Shadow jutsu to keep you held in this position while his hands go about stimulating other parts of you.

With one hand on your throat and the other circling that aching little bud, you know you won’t be able to last much longer. You whimper and whine, choking out the warnings that your orgasm is so close. Your thighs are shuddering as his cock keeps bullying that sweet spot.

“Gonna soak me?” He asks, a cocky smirk on his face. He stops only for a moment to grab the wand vibrator he bought specifically for you.

Your eyes widen and you cry out when he places it right on that spot that makes you cum so hard. Your breath comes out in heavy pants as your walls contract around him so hard. When your juices begin gushing out, you even push his cock out of your pussy due to the orgasm being so strong.

Shikamaru relishes in the sight of you coming undone so masterfully for him. He knows it’s all his doing that gets you going like this. Once you’ve come down a little, he leans in and kisses you.

“Let’s see if you can soak me a little more, princess.”

[13as07]

Weekend #2

(Neji Hyuga & Shikamaru Nara)

[Artwork is not mine! Credit to unknown. Again I couldn't find the source, I'm sorry]

Requested by: xxziggy

Word Count: 3,415

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

I just realized this is the second FWB story I've put Shika in. Our poor man.

Love Triangle

Name Calling: Pet, Princess

Second part is a Neji half-smut so beware :)

Fingering (Female Receiving)

Teacher/Student Roleplay (for like two paragraphs)

Voice Kink

Praising

Verbally Fighting

———————————————————————

"Hey, Pet?" Shikamaru's voice calls out, followed by the sound of the zipper of the tent Ino and I are sharing being pulled down. "Are you ready to meet up with everyone?" He asks, eyeing the swimsuit he never got the chance to see.

"Ya, are you ready?" I ask back, grabbing the beach bag before crawling out of my tent. Once I'm out and standing straight again, I fix the cover I've wrapped around my hips.

Shika hums a soft yes, his eyes trailing over my fingers as I fix the knot. "Let's go," he murmurs, gripping my wrist before he leads me forward. His hand slips into mine, toying with my fingers as we head towards the beach. "Hey?" He peeps up a few steps away from the start of the sand.

"Hey, what?"

"Come here," he mutters, tugging me toward him by our joint hands. I'm pressed against Shikamaru, his free hand sliding up to cup my neck before his lips brush against mine. His kisses are hungry and quickly get rougher the longer he kisses me.

"Hey," I giggle, gently pushing him away from me. "You know the rules. No conjugating on the friends’ weekend."

"Ya, I know," he grumbles, pecking my lips again before turning back to tugging me forward. "A kiss or two won't hurt though," he mutters, jumping down the small edge from the forest grass to the sand of the beach.

"I guess so," I mutter, jumping down the edge too, Shika's hands holding my waist on my way down. 'Hello's are thrown our way by our friends as we walk across the beach. Ino and Choji wave us over their spot, getting an eye roll from Shikamaru. "Come on, stop being so boring," I tease, taking over the tugging as I beeline for our friends.

"Ino!" I cheer, racing forward to gushing over her swimsuit. "You are looking so hot."

"Bsh, this old thing?" She says, fake coyness in her voice. "I just got it off the Clarence rack last season. Look at you though! Hot damn, mamas!"

We both giggle, getting groans from the other half of our little group. "Can we just go swimming now? That's the whole point of this trip," Choji teases, standing up from the sand to stretch. "Aside from the s'mores of course."

"Of course," the three of us mock, following after the large man.

When we get to the dock, Choji races forward, jumping into the lake and making a huge splash. Ino dives in after him, her jump a lot more majestic than Cho's. "Alright, our turn," Shikamaru says, taking hold of me, and hoisting me up before I can stop him. He jumps off the deck, tumbling the two of us off the deck.

"Shika!" I shriek, gripping his shoulders and taking a deep breath before I'm pulled under. The water envelopes us as we sink, the strands of our hair tangling together as we slowly float back up to the surface.

My head breaks the water surface first giving me the chance to catch my breath first. "Meanie!" I giggle, splashing him when he breaks the water’s surface too.

"'Come on, stop being so boring'," he teases, splashing me back before he swims towards me. "Come here," he grumbles again, wrapping his arms around my waist and tugging me against him again.

Shikamaru situates us, letting himself float on the water's surface with me sat on him like a surfboard. "What are you doing?" I ask, squeezing his sides with my thighs as my hands rest on his chest. I paddle my legs in the water, slowly shifting us around the lake.

"I'm going to take a nap," he murmurs, letting his eyes fall closed.

"Shika!" I whine, splashing him again. "We're supposed to be swimming."

"We are swimming," he answers, splashing me back. "Just relax, Pet. We can waste energy paddling around later. You should take a nap too."

I grumble but give into Shika's plans, leaning my head back with my thighs squeezed tighter. As I sink into a half float, I let my upper body rest in the water like he's doing.

In my upside-down sight, I catch a glimpse of Neji and Lee on the beach. Neji's sights are set on us, his face scrunched up as he looks our way. Jealousy or is Lee annoying him? It has to be Lee, Neji doesn't take me as the jealous type.

————————————

"Nara-Chan?" Neji's voice echoes from outside my tent, getting me a teasing look from the girls. "Are you still awake?"

"Yes, I am. Give me a second," I answer, shooting a look at them to knock it off before I unzip the tent.

He pops his head in, a huge smile on his face as he looks at me. "What are you girls up to?"

"Playing a game of poker, a game I'm winning by the way," Tenten taunts enjoying her victory streak and pulling mumbles from the other girls in the makeshift room. "How about you, Nej? What are you up to?"

"I came back to see if Nara-Chan wanted to go on a walk," he answers, focus turned toward me again. "Would you like to go on a walk?"

"Sure Neji," I say, my heart fluttering a bit. We haven't had any alone time since we got here and it would be nice to finally have some. A string of teasing noises spill from the girls as I climb out of the tent, making me roll my eyes. "Hey Nej," I greet once I'm out, climbing to my feet.

His hands shoot down, clinging to my elbows and helping me to my feet. "Hello, Nara-San."

"Would you stop calling me that?" I tease, enjoying the feeling of his hands on me.

     "I suppose I could call you something else. I will have to think about it though," he mutters, eyebrows pressed together in thought. "As for now, let us go on our walk." His arm slides into mine, hooking us together as we start our stroll away from the army of tents.

Our walk is sweet, the two of us walking in silence and enjoying the scenery. Soon the forest gives way to the beach again, a soft yellow of light poking into the night sky a few yards ahead. "Neji," I murmur, my senses heightening at the thought of someone else being around.

"Calm down, Princess."

"Princess?" I ask, the nickname catching me off guard.

"I set us up a spot to enjoy some time together," he explains, blowing off my question.

"Did you?" I ask, letting him lead me forward. He hums a yes, helping down the split between the forest and the sand of the beach. "That's so sweet Nej!" I coo, the little scene he set up falling into view.

A small fire burns, with a blanket laid out in front of it. Pillows and rose petals are littered across the blanket, adding to the romantic star-gazing spot. "Do you like it?" He asks, shifting behind me with his hands softly resting biceps.

"I love it! It's so sweet," I praise, leaning against his chest. After a beat, I take hold of his hand and race forward, sliding a bit in the sand. "How'd you manage all of this? Hasn't Lee been attached at your hip all day?"

"Lee helped me set it up," Neji explains, his hands gripping mine to help me onto the blanket. "He wants 'a full report of the night' when I get back," he adds, sinking to the ground as well.

"A 'full' report?" I tease, adjusting some of the pillows before I lay down. My fingertips got with some of the petals, enjoying how soft and smooth they are.

"Yes," he answers shortly, lying down next to me. "Lee is a bit invasive."

"He's just excited for you," I murmur, letting my eyes jump around the sky, lazily counting the stars.

We fall quiet again, enjoying our star gazing before Neji's voice rings out again. "Are Shikamaru and you something? I feel like I'm intruding."

"No, we're not together," I answer, my hand sliding over the blanket in search of his. When I find Neji's hand, I tangle our fingers together.

"Then what is going on between you two?" He asks, squeezing my hand gently a couple of times.

"Sometimes we just... help each other out... with... our needs."

"Is that so?" He asks, the sound of his head turning against the fabric of the pillow following his question.

I turn my head towards him, squeezing his hand in return. "Ya, that's so," I mutter, looking into his white eyes. "Does it bother you?"

"No, Tenten and I do the same thing on occasion." Neji's eyes jump around me before settling on my face again.

     "Oh ya?"

     "Yes, does that bother you?" He asks, a flicker of concern flashing across his face.

     "No, Nej, I'm not that sallow. I just assumed you were a virgin," I giggle, a string of laughter falling from me because of my honesty.

     "I am not a virgin! I have... been with a woman," he huffs out, cheeks turning red as he turns his head back toward the sky.

     "I don't believe you," I poke, turning toward the stars too. "I think you're a virgin that doesn't know what he's doing."

     "I know what I'm doing," he grumbles, squeezing my hand again. "I know what I'm doing," Neji repeats, now squeezing my hand in repeat.

     "Ya? Prove it. You won't though, I know you won't," I taunt, turning my head again as I let out another round of laughs.

     His voice and squeezing stop before his movements pick up. Neji turns over, the hand not wrapped up in mine slides into my hair, clinging to it as his head moves forward. His lips crash against mine, a bit unbalanced with nervousness for a moment before we fall into a pattern.

     "That..." I start to mutter when he pulls away, my eyes hazily opening to look at a red-faced Neji. "Proves nothing."

His lips purse together as he scans me again. "You are a very attitude-filled person," he mutters, shifting again so he's hovering over me, legs tangled with mine and hands pressed on either side of my head. "But that is alright. It is part of what attracts me to you."

This time it's my face going red as I turn my sights away from him, a smile breaking out on my face. Damn it, Neji, why do you have to be so straight-forward about everything?

"Well that's good," I peep out, slowly focusing back on the man hovering over me. "What else attracts you to me?" I ask, letting my hands wander over his sides.

We're both still in our swim attire, Neji in his swim trunks and a t-shirt, and me with a pair of shorts and my swim bottoms underneath, an open sweatshirt covering my arms and leaving nothing but my bikini top. It's pretty generic rom-com beach wear if I think about it.

"Aside from your attitude, you are also pretty, and nice, and devoted to your work, and good to the people of the village, and get along with Hinata," Neji starts, peppering kisses to my neck after every compliment that spills from her.

"Well... pretty beside the bruise Shikamaru seems to have left you," he mutters, tapping his nose against it before shifting further down my body. "You are very vocal too, at least when you're with close friends," Neji continues, now peppering kisses across the exposed parts of my breasts. "Are you vocal during other times as well?" He asks, head tilling up to lock eyes with me as his fingers toy with the elastic band of my swim bottoms. "Shall I test it out? After all, a virgin like me could use the experience."

Cocky little shit. I go for cocky little shits. "Well..." I stumble out, clinging to the material of his shirt as I get turned on by his soft touches. "Who... who am I to deny an eager student?"

Neji smiles at me softly, pecking my lips as his hand slowly snakes down to my bottoms undoing my shorts before continuing his trail down. He finds my clit almost instantly, rubbing slow circles into the material it's still hidden under. His mouth stays busy with softly sucking on my neck. "Ya... ya, okay," I mumble, fingers digging into the loose material of his shirt. "Defiantly not a virgin."

He chuckles softly, stamping a kiss to my temple before shifting towards my ear. "I told you, but you wanted proof, so I'm giving you proof." Neji's fingertips shift, slowly crawling down before dipping into me.

"Neji," I breathe out, my hands climbing up from his sides to bury themselves into his hair. I toy with it, trying my best not to tug or pull on it as his fingers curl inside me before being pulled out and thrust into me again.

"Princess?" He hums, lips brushing against my jaw now that he's gotten bored of my neck.

      "Aren't you like... like... like a goodie two shoes? A... a... 'follow all... all the rules' guy?" I stumble out, squeezing his arm between my thighs as my orgasm quickly builds.

     My movements don't go unnoticed, Neji's fingers move faster, his thumb moving around before tapping against my clit. "Neji," I whine again, tugging on his hair this time.

     "Princess," he says softly, a gentle smile on his face as his tilted head looks at me. "Yes, I am a bit of a rule follower. I don't think a tad of conjugating will hurt anything though."

     I tug on his hair again, the sound of his voice adding to my quickly building orgasm. "Keep... keep talking," I mutter, using my grip on his locks to tug him closer to me.

     Neji's head settles against mine, lips brushing against my ear as he talks. "Is that what does it for you Princess? My voice? Do you like hearing me talk to you?” He softly taunts, his smile present in his tone. “I’m glad because I like hearing your pretty voice too. I like seeing the way your beautiful face shifts in pleasure. I like seeing arousal in your pretty eyes. I look seeing your chest pump up and down with your breaths. I like - ”

He cuts himself off, my next praise falling silent as I let out a pitched whine, my pussy clenching around his fingers as I ravel undone. “Neji,” I hiss, tugging on his hair as if he could get any closer to me. “Neji, Neji, Neji,” I call on repeat, my voice a whine as I cling to him.

“Calm yourself, Princess. You are alright,” he soothes, rubbing my clit a time or two more before pulling his touch away from my cunt. His hands settle on my bare sides, rubbing circles into my skin as he litters my stomach with kisses. “You made such pretty voices,” he coos, his mouth jumping past my chest to press another kiss to my lips. “Focus on the stars, count them as you breathe, Princess,” he gently orders, tipping my head back before littering my neck with fresh lingering kisses.

One, I count to myself, eyes settling on a star. Two, I continue letting out a shaky breath. Three, Neji is now softly sucking on my skin again, enough to make it tingle but not enough to leave a mark. Four.

————————————

Shikamaru's eyes keep fluttering from Ino to Neji and me walking back to the clearing we've set up camp at. He's not paying attention to the lecture about paying attention Ino is giving him.

Neji's arm which was loose around my hips is no longer loose. His hold is tight, pushing me against his side as we finish the short walk back to Ino's and my shared tent.

"Where have you been?" Shika asks, cutting off Ino's lecture.

"I already told you, she went on a walk with Neji. Do you ever listen when I talk?!" Ino complains, even more huffy at Shikamaru.

"To be fair," Choji says around a mouth full of chips, head poking out of our tent. "If you didn't complain so much, we all would listen to you more." Cho doesn't help the situation, but he does shift Ino's focus from lecturing Shika to lecturing himself.

Shikamaru ignores her, eyes cast at me in their 'I'm waiting for an answer' way; dark and slightly slit with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Like Ino said, Neji and I went on a walk."

"You were gone for an hour. That's a long walk," he grumbles, eyes slitting some more as he noses around the situation.

"We star gazed for a little while. What are you, my dad?" I snip, glaring back at him, mimicking his stance.

"No, but I am your friend, and at the very least your chief. It's my job to care about your safety. You shouldn't be out for so long while it's dark out." Our staring contest continues for a beat or two before Shika's eyes jump towards Neji. "I don't like you taking her out and about so late."

"She's a grown woman. She can make her own decisions. It's not like I dragged her out of her tent and used my legal standing to force her along," Neji shoots back, poking at Shika's 'I'm your chief' argument chip. "It just so happened she chose to go on a walk with me."

"Don't think you're special because she went on a walk with you," Shika hisses, arms falling to his sides as he takes a step forward. "She would have gone on a walk with anyone. Hell, even if annoying ass Lee asked she would have said yes."

"Alright, that's enough," I pipe up, moving out of Neji's grasp to gently shove Shika back the step he took. "Maybe let's not insult Lee since he didn't do anything wrong. Since no one did anything wrong," I look up at Shikamaru during my last sentence, eyebrows raised in an attempt to remind him of his place. "Just a nice reminder boys. I'm single. Do not have a boyfriend. No girlfriend in sight. Haven't been asked on a date in like two years. As single as a person can be."

After my little rant, I grab a hold of Ino, shoving her into our tent before I duck in behind her, zipping it up after myself. The two boys outside continue to argue, comments about my 'honor being taunted and rumors growing' thrown by Shika and comments about 'abuse of power and feeling intimidated' being thrown by Neji.

"Well this is entertaining," Choji says, shifting his bag of chips closer to me. I shoot him a glare but do take a handful. "Who are you going to choose?"

"Neji, duh," Ino butts in, rolling her eyes at our friend as she gets comfortable on her makeshift bed. "He's from a top clan, not to mention he's pretty high up on the ranks in said clan. Plus he's so sweet and soft-spoken. Neji is the smart choice."

I settle on my makeshift bed, leaning on Choji since he's taking up most of the space. "Absolutely not," he says, plopping another bunch of chips into my hand. "Ya, Neji is all like badass and cool or whatever, but Shikamaru is better."

"Shikamaru?" Ino asks, lifting an eyebrow as she gets up, walking across the small space to join me leaning against Choji. "The man that is bored of everything but still somehow complains about even more, is better... than Neji?"

"In this situation, ya. He knows her better than Neji. They grew up with the same culture, same traditions, same childhood, same memories. That's something Neji can learn but never truly understand as Shika can. I think you should choose Shikamaru," Cho says, focusing on me during his last sentence.

"I don't know," I mutter, snapping my eyes closed. "I think I need to sleep on it." For the next two years or however long it takes this to blow over, I mentally add. What the hell am I going to do? Why did it have to all bubble over on our friends’ weekend? This trip is supposed to be about relaxing. I sure as hell was relaxed about twenty minutes, and I sure as hell am not relaxed now.

———————————————————————

[darkdevasofdestruction]

My Reason For Smiling ~ Sasaki Kojiro x Reader

Such a pathetic end to life... Kojiro thought to himself, staring up at the cloudless sky. Surely, this can't be the end... Can it?

He still has so much to learn, so many matches to fight... He can't be killed by a nasty thief who slashed him in his sleep... Right?

Ah, but he's bleeding so badly, in the middle of nowhere, with no village anywhere in sight. Was he truly so luckless that he will be succumbing to a wound like this, not from an honorable fight, but from the cowardly blade of a damned criminal who stole all of his supplies and ran away, leaving him for death - Or to become food for the wilderness?

"Oh? Shika-chi, why are you tugging on my sleeve?" could it be...? The honeyed voice of a maiden, approaching him? Sasaki wanted to call out for help, but his body was working against him, how pathetic. He felt like a man no more, powerless, useless. "Is he alive?" Sasaki internally sighed in relief, hearing the rustling of the leaves and the woman kneeling by his side, checking his pulse. "That's one nasty cut. Are you awake?" he grumbled weakly, but it was enough of a statement of his livelihood. "Hang in there, will you? My cottage is nearby."

All of a sudden, Sasaki found himself being held up like a samurai would hold a pretty little lady who broke her sandal strap. He wanted desperately for his vision to unblur and get a look at the woman struggling to bring him to safety - He could feel her arms were much thinner than his, and she was barely walking with him in her arms - But she couldn't keep him on her back, or the wound might get worse - Smart cookie, Kojiro would have laughed in delight, was he not so drained. "Goodness, you're so heavy..." what an adorable lady, the man thought as he was clumsily placed on a comfortable bed. The tremble of her whole body shook him as he was being carried - At least the bed was static.

Ah, how good it feels - He hadn't slept on a bed in ages! Always sleeping outside, in the wilderness, with a log or a rock in place of a pillow and his haori alone for a blanket. He hadn't felt the comfort of a peaceful sleep since he left his home; Perhaps he will be able to rest properly now, in the care of such a lovely woman.

For a few good days, even though he felt better, Kojiro felt like lazing a bit, enjoying the nurturing way this missy spoiled him so carefully, her delicate hands working on his skin day in and day out. She would help him stand up and even helped him eat! Ahh, even his own mother hadn't spoiled him this way - How was he supposed to let go of all this pampering?

"Are you feeling any better?" the lady would ask in a gentle voice - No, it wasn't just gentle, it was rather tired also. Kojiro was beginning to feel a little guilty for abusing her kindness, in detriment of her exhausting herself. He hogged her bed, while she was just sitting in a corner of the mattress, leaning on the wall as she held one hand gently cupping his cheek, to feel his body temperature, while the other was holding his wrist to her neck, her thumb over his artery to feel his pulse. When sleep would take over her, he wasn't sure, but he was a man, and no matter how much he loved a woman's care, he couldn't let her ruin her health for him.

"Yep, all good! I'm fit as a fiddle! I have been reborn!" Sasaki jumped out of the bed all of a sudden, surprising the lady. "Ah, you little troublemaker, you're pretty bad at faking your health status, you know? You have been good for a few days now." she scoffed at the flabbergast man as she pushed him back down to sit on the bed while she finished cooking the porridge. "Sit down, lunch is ready. It's not good to eat while standing." Sasaki grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck, thanking her for the delicious hot meal. "If you knew I was fine, why didn't you call me out sooner?" The lady shrugged carelessly, not bothering to look up at him. "I've been a bit lonely the past years. Nobody really comes around these places - Not with good intentions, at least. Figured a little human interaction wouldn't hurt." Kojiro's smile fell, and his eyes scanned the woman before him, apparently careless about anything surrounding her. "I can stay a while, if you want!" Once again, she shrugged. "Whatever you want. I'm not forcing anyone to stay here. It's not exactly the life anyone would want, anyway. You're a wanderer - I doubt you'd want to be tied to a spot for more than a week or so." that cunning smirk of her amused the man, though he knew she was right. "Well, why do you stay around, if you say you get lonely often?" Y/N hadn't replied, up until the point they both finished eating. With the plates discarded, she guided the man outside, so she could show the vast vegetable garden, the orchard, the berries - And a little farther away, to the other side, some sheep, even cows. A prosperous and abundant livelihood she had, but also, a very lonesome one.

"This place has been our home for generations - Or so my parents told me. I don't know, I can't prove anything. Well - My parents died when I was 10 years old, and with no other relatives anywhere, I learnt to take care of myself here. It wasn't easy, learning how to survive, a lone little girl in a place like this. Bunch of hermits, my family." she chuckled, strolling leisurely around the place. "I just about became a forest witch or something. Wild animals of all kinds appear out of nowhere. I had a deer when I found you. And just two days ago, a wolf stumbled around. At least with them, I feel safe. Humans usually are pretty nasty." "Gah, yeah, I get you. A thief struck me down while I was sleeping and stole everything I had. Bunch of honourless cowards." Sasaki sighed, shaking his head. "Wait, hold up - But if you're so scared of thieves, how come you trusted with me being in your home?" "Ah, well- About that..." Y/N coughed lightly, looking away. "You looked like a dumbass who really needed help."

Sasaki's eyes widened in shock at such a blunt confession, only to let out a loud guffaw which resounded through the forest. "Well, lucky me, then! I got pampered by a beautiful woman - I sure am the luckiest man alive!" "You're just exaggerating. Silly man." despite saying that, Y/N had a small smile gracing her beautiful features. "And you're being modest!" he shamelessly stepped in front of her, pinching her cheeks to force a smile on her face. "You look gorgeous when you smile - You should smile more! Happiness looks beautiful on you!" his own grin was so wide that it threatened splitting his face in two.

"Dumbass." Y/N groaned, slapping his hands away from torturing her soft, mochi-like cheeks which turned red from the abuse. "Anyway! So, what do you do for fun? Don't you get bored everyday?" the two went to sit down at the edge of a lake. "Nothing." she bluntly answered. "I have so much work to do around the house and the gardens that whenever I'm close to finishing, it's already dark outside and I'm too tired to do anything else." she shrugged simply. "At most, I find some time to seam some clothes, but even that isn't easy. The traveling merchants hardly come by anymore, and they don't really accept trading... They all just want money, and I have none of that." "Don't you get bored at all? Working all day can't be making you happy, can it?" Sasaki's voice turned a little lower, with a tinge of sadness. "I am not happy. Happy would be a person living. When you're just struggling to survive, you are not happy, nor sad - You are neutral. Simply put, you are content." she explained, watching the Sun slowly go down, and the ethereal painting of the sky twinned its image into the water sheen. "So, you're bored. Did I get that right?" Kojiro asked, turning his gaze at her. "You don't smile often, do you?" "Hella bored." she scoffed, resting her jaw on her palm. "I've lost precious time taking care of you. A tremendous amount of work is going to pile up on me once you leave. It's gonna take a while to get it done." she sighed theatrically. "What a drag."

The lone wanderer remained silent for a little while, a pang of sadness hitting his own heart, seeing the lady depicting the very same loneliness and exhaustion as so many other people he knew before, though at least they lived in a village, and could converse with each other. She was all alone, with just a bunch of animals to keep her company.

"Do you want to come with me?" the man found himself asking, all of a sudden. "I have no destination. My only goal is to get stronger. I want to battle all the master swordsmen and get stronger and stronger with each fight." "Admirable wish, Sasaki. I will be cheering on you from here." his smile fell. "I am a woman, you know. Women don't like traveling around the world with no aim and no stability. That's a man-thing. You don't care if you don't bathe for years, or if you don't change clothes, or care for your looks. Women like comfort and cleanliness." Kojiro found himself smiling tenderly at her. He knew she was right, but a little part of him didn't want to ever part with her. "I'm sorry, Y/N." the woman looked at him with a questioning eyebrow risen. "I wish I was a rich man, so I could provide for you - Or, at least compensate you for all the kindness you've shown me. You're a lovely person, and... Well..." his tanned cheeks flushed a little, a boyish smile, innocent and crushing on the lady. "Men like making pretty girls smile. We like to provide for them... But often, we don't really have any money, and clothes and accessories are so expensive." Y/N's piercing eyes bore into him with such blunt intensity that Sasaki almost felt embarrassed for saying something like that. "Jiro." she called out his nickname. "You don't need to buy me anything to make me happy. Your smile is enough of a reason to feel happy."

Far more amplified than before, Kojiro's cheeks were deeply red, and he felt a rush of love forcing his heart to pound swiftly against his chest. "Oh man... Men are supposed to seduce and compliment girls... But you were so cool... For a lone woman, you having fantastic charm-skills! You have to teach me!"

Y/N rolled her eyes playfully as she stood up, offering her hand to help him. Sasaki wondered at the feeling of a woman's hand holding his own - It wasn't soft and delicate like a flower's petal, but he expected nothing different from a work-ridden person like herself. He cursed himself with his inability of providing for her, or at least lessen her harder chores. Yet, despite her calloused and rough hands, they were so small, and her fingers were so slender; Her hand felt so good in his own, he didn't want to let go of her.

Much to his surprise, however, Y/N kissed his cheek, blanking his mind - Only to push him into the lake and leave back home. What a kitsune! He didn't even realise he was so tightly wrapped around her finger - When did this happen? No use denying though. He is very much smitten.

Without even realising when days passed, Kojiro found himself in perfect health, helping Y/N with work around the house - He'd cut wood and carry it for her, and he'd help with the vegetables and the trees. He had to be careful though, as very often, his eyes would linger to the woman sitting at the base of a tree, patching his clothes up.

How was she able to act so naturally with him, when he'd get all blushy around her and act like an idiot? He was even showing off his toned physique, and not even a compliment on his looks! She was so cool and composed that Sasaki felt envious at how level-headed she was.

Still! He was so happy that he could lay off some of her work, offering her some time to relax every once in a while. They would go strolling through the forest and watch the sunset, or climb on some trees to get the ripest fruit. On few occasions, they would go swimming in the lake - Though Kojiro was used to bathing all naked, he couldn't do that in front of a lady, obviously! Not that she gave him any choice to begin with, for their swims usually started with her pushing him in the water. Playful little minx.

On even fewer occasions, she would join in the swim also, instead of just making fun of him from the shore. But there came that one single time when Sasaki braved his awkwardness and pushed Y/N in the lake - Oh, the audacity! To pay back, she pretended to drown, only to pull at his leg to scare him off. As soon as his head reached the surface, she bopped his head back in the water before sitting on his shoulders. "Oh, what a lovely sight - Is this what it's like being tall? What a fortunate gift, being born so tall!" "You are one ruthless lady."

Every day spent with Y/N was a bliss for Sasaki, and he thought there would be many, many more days like that in the future - Alas, one evening when they came down from the mountains, they returned to a pillaged cottage, with all the vegetables either picked or ruined and all the animals slaughtered and stolen. Lifetimes of diligent work put into that home were completely obliterated by a bunch of ravagers.

Nothing Kojiro said was able to simmer down Y/N's rage, and for the first time since they met, he witnessed her being fully manipulated by the burning rage bubbling through her veins. With long strides, Y/N went in the hut and retrieved a samurai sword, so beautiful and evidently untouched in a long while - She rushed, following the traces of blood left behind by the evil-doers, and soon enough, they found their temporary camp - They were munching on her animals' meat and her well-tended vegetables, drinking her mead and wine. Y/N was pissed.

"My blade shall deliver divine punishment on the sinners who destroyed my family legacy." Sasaki could only watch in awe and wonder, stunned at the beauty of her swordsmanship, elegant and swift, agile and graceful; Ribbons of blood were spilling everywhere, and the many criminals were being cleanly cut to pieces before his very eyes.

All his life, Sasaki Kojiro only dreamt of meeting strong Sword Masters to fight and learn from them - Yet he had been living with one for over a month, and he had no idea! He should have known, but he didn't - Such discipline over her diligent work, such a perfect grasp of her emotions, keeping herself balanced and level-headed at all times; And now even, turning wrath into focused strength...

Ahh, he was so in love and so pumped up that he wanted to fight her himself! Alas, with the sad situation of her home being destroyed, it clearly wasn't the time and place to bring that up.

Instead, he brought Y/N into a strong embrace once she was done with her revenge, letting her vent out her anger and sorrow through her tears.

"It's alright, Y/N, it's alright. I'll take care of you, I promise. I won't ever leave you. We can build a new life - The two of us. And it won't be boring; I want to see you smile and be happy, okay, Y/N? So don't be too upset - There's so many fun things to do out there - And I'll help you experience all of them."

At first, Y/N hardly had the strength to smile - But as soon as she looked up and saw that goofy and bright grin of his, somehow, her heart felt lighter, and the burden on her shoulders seemed to reduce. Though it was faint, her lips turned into a small smile, and she embraced the man. "Fine, you win. Let's go see the world and walk an aimless road."

They walked together, a lonely road, one man and one woman holding hands through any hardship that they faced. As promised, Sasaki protected Y/N, though she needn't it, but she felt good, finally being pampered for once. Be it wind or blizzard, heat or rain, they found shelter within each other's arms.

He told her stories of his childhood and the people who trained him at the dojo; A lazy bastard, always late and never diligent in his work - Or so everyone thought. Sasaki's greatest strength was in over-analysing every move of his opponent and shadow-fighting that person, all by himself, until he manages to dominate in a win.

And so he did, with every master swordsman he encountered, from the very first, to the last one, and every single one which he will continue to meet in the future, with Y/N by his side... To witness his glorious defeats.

"You truly are Japan's greatest loser." Y/N scoffed in amusement as Sasaki, once again defeated, let his head fall in her lap to be pet and comforted for his wonderous loss. "But you did far better than last time, at least. It's an evident improvement." "I love it when you praise me!" he declared, as easy going as always. "Maybe if you'd win for once, I'd have a reason to praise you." she teased him, though she continued to spoil him. "If I want to win, I have to fight you too!" Y/N looked down at him with an amused. "Me? Fight? Ha! Don't kid. That's silly." she mocked him. "Don't say that! You were so cool back then!" he praised her, getting up on his knees, his face dangerously close to her own. "Come on, please~? I've been asking you that every day!" "You're such a menace, Jiro. You're acting like a petulant child." she rolled her eyes, pushing him away, only for him to keep persisting over and over again. "FINE!" she yelled at him. "Goodness gracious, you are more of a child than you are a man." "HELL YEAH!" like a hyperactive child, Sasaki ran around in circles before getting his and her swords, ready for a spar. "What if we get hurt though? I don't exactly have the medical resources to treat you like I did a while ago." was her last attempt at avoiding the sparring session. It failed.

Once again, Sasaki Kojiro lost miserably. Day in and day out, Y/N would watch her lover lament over their fight together, yet not even once did he continue pestering her with a fight. It was a lovely peace that Y/N never thought could appear - But it was so good watching him do his best; Not only that, but she felt rather flattered that it took him so many days to defeat her - In his mind, at least.

Though the day did come that Kojiro defeated her, and Y/N got once again pestered with finding a new challenge. In spite of this, he knew just how to alleviate her annoyance with him - It was something only he was capable of doing - Only he could make her smile.

"Y/N." Kojiro ran up to her one day, as she was perched up on a branch and collecting fruit. "Can you come down, please?" "Yeah, sure, one sec. Catch the basket, will you? It's full of sweet pears. You can thank me later." she gave him no second of reaction, for she let the basket fall. On his head. The young man groaned, rubbing his head in pain as he stumbled about to collect the fallen pears and put them back on the basket. "Can you come down now?" he asked - Though he would regret that question, as Y/N let herself fall down the branch with perfect aim. "Trust fall." thankfully, his reflexes were so great that his whole body moved on its own to catch her in his strong arms. "Let's not do that again, please. That was stressful." he let out a breath of relief, gently placing her on her feet. "Maybe for you. I had fun watching you panic." she chuckled leisurely at him. "That's a beautiful smile you have." Kojiro's panic-stricken face turned tender. "I hope to see your smile every day when I wake up, and as the last thing, before I fall asleep, with you in my arms." he held her hand gently, kissing her fingers. "I know I can be a menace of a man, and you always have to take care of me - But... Will you be my wife?"

Sasaki has never seen such a love painted expression on anyone before, not like the way Y/N smiled, breathless, her eyes gleaming with tears of pure glee. "Nothing in this world would make me happier." He grinned so widely, even giggling a little from excitement, as he took out a ring he made from a pretty flower, and he put it on her finger. "I don't have much money, nor can I afford to gift you any pretty kimono or hair accessories as I'd like to pamper you with. You are the most beautiful woman in the world, and I wish I could pick the stars from the sky and put them in your hair. I wish I could give you the things that a rich man could. In spite of all this... I swear... I love you more than life itself."

Y/N must have felt so overwhelmed by such a heart felt and truthful confession, that she threw her arms around his body, holding him tightly and not letting go. They truly were happy together, with fate guiding them forwards.

At only 37 years old, however, Sasaki Kojiro would meet his end during his most exciting duel against Master Miyamoto Musashi; A fight to which he wanted no end, a fight so fun that he forgot everything in this life, except for the love he had for his opponent.

Y/N could only stand and watch with dread and misery in her heart, knowing that she had to accept the ultimate death before her very eyes. As Musashi delivered the killing blow, praising Sasaki for his skills, Y/N caught him in her arms, holding him dearly. "Not only are you the greatest loser in history, you are also the biggest idiot in the world." one by one, her tears would slide down her cheeks, and onto his face - He was smiling. "Are you happy?" "Yes. I am the happiest I've ever been." hearing his words, Y/N let out a broken sob, hanging her head in disdain. "I promised to protect you - Can you forgive me for breaking that promise?" he asked. "I promised to make you smile every day and protect your happiness and heart. I am really... A terrible man, aren't I?" "Shut up, will you?" Y/N whispered in a shaking voice. "The only thing I ever wanted from you was to see you happy. I only ever wanted to see that beautiful smile of yours. How am I supposed to smile again, without you next to me?" "Ahhh, Y/N, I feel so happy knowing that you love me so much." Sasaki's grin, although wide, was also bittersweet, watching the deep sorrow plaguing his most beloved darling. "The only regret I have is never being able to hold your hand again, or see you smile." "I won't ever smile again, Jiro." Y/N held him tightly in her arms. "You were my only reason for smiling." "Y/N..." Kojiro sighed softly. "I hope you will find your happiness without me." she hadn't replied, between her tears. "Will you sing for me, Y/N?" "You, idiot - How can I sing when I'm crying?" she scolded him. "Doesn't matter. I just want your smile to be the last thing I see in this world, and your voice to be the last thing I hear. I know it's too much to ask - But can you please do it? For me?" "I swear... You really are more a child than a man." she shook her head, and with her last bit of strength, she forced a smile on her face. "I truly... truly love you, Sasaki Kojiro. Rest well, my darling."

Just sleep in my tender arms, Don't worry about any harms, All because I'm right here, with you.

One day, you'll become so strong, And someday, I might not see you, Will you come by and say hello?

"I will go." a mystical and wise voice spoke all of a sudden, appearing out of nowhere in the human selection room, ready to battle the Gods.

Sasaki Kojiro/Japan

The image displayed on the holographic screen depicted a young man, not even in his 40s; A strong and fearsome warrior, brave like no other, and just as solemn.

The three Valkyries watched the old man presented before them with confusion - They could see the similarities between this elderly one and the young lad from the screen, but it hardly made any sense. The soul was supposed to appear as he was at his strongest, in his Golden Age - So why was this supposed Sasaki Kojiro so damn old?

"You look so different - You look kinda old! In fact, you're a total geezer!" the youngest of them, Goll, gasped loudly, making him frown a little. "What's going on? I thought that the souls summoned to Ragnarok take their strongest form; their form during their peak, regardless of their age at death." "That's exactly right. So how come you're..." as the young woman with long purple hair rose up to her feet, she knocked over the carafe of milk.

With a simplistic move of his warm and the undeniable grace of a maple leaf swayed by the Autumn breeze, the old man used the tip of his sheathed sword to catch the handle of the carafe, not spilling a single milk drop, before taking a drink. "I got you." he drank it whole, before placing the recipient back on the table. "Is this cow milk? That was good." the Valkyries all had wide eyes filled with shock, their bodies rooted to the spot.

Funny enough, he also crouched to the ground, eating a bunch of pie pieces from a shattered dish. "No doubt about it. He's the real thing." Sasaki grinned like a sly fox. "It has been over 400 years since I passed on. During that time, I have never ceased honing my swordsmanship. My Ganryu's evolution has not yet ended." Brunhilde's eyes sparkled with joy at the man's determination and evident confidence in his skills. "In other words, this is the golden age of Sasaki Kojiro!" "Hrist - You'll go, won't you?" the woman in front of him looked gentle enough, though she hid a great wrath inside of her - The Valkyrie hiding a double personality, the One who trembles with Fear and Anger.

As Sasaki was guided towards the entrance to the arena, he noticed a silhouette in the middle of the corridor. It looked feminine and small; Whoever it was, she was wearing a gorgeous and rich kimono, and her hair was let loose, though it was graced with a lovely golden accessory embedded with gems.

The more steps he took towards the woman, the more excited the warrior became - Somehow, he needn't see her face, for his heart knew who it was. He could tell her apart from a million women. On her finger, a pretty flower ring stood out, the only modest bit from her otherwise glamorous outfit.

"All my life, I wished to see you shining like a princess. All this must have cost a fortune. I am glad that, at least now, I can see you radiating. Y/N." he picked her hand like a gentleman, kissing her fingers. "To think that, through all of these richness, this little thing would carry on with your soul. I feel flattered, truly." his thumb traced gently over the finger with the ring. "And yours hands feel so soft now. I don't know what happened, but... You seem well taken care of. That makes me happy." "I don't understand." Y/N spoke softly, her hands reaching up to cup his face. "You have never reached to see your old age, yet your soul is grey and wrinkled, whereas I died old and ugly, and I look the same I did when we first met." "How about I tell you this little secret after I win my fight?" Y/N's smile suddenly vanished, and she looked down. "Must you truly go and fight? Have I not lost you once? Must I see you die again?" Sasaki's smile only grew. "There is no more room for growth anymore. You canno lose and beat your opponent again later, as a shadow. You'll die, for good. Your soul also. There is no trying again or getting better. It's the end." "Do you have that little faith in me, darling?" he hummed in amusement, watching her worried look. "Yes." her blunt statement made him laugh. "I watched two other incredible fighters, and they lost. I just..." she sighed. "I just don't want to see you die again. It was painful enough the first time, I... Don't think I can take it, a second time." "Y/N. Look at me." she did as such. "For you, I am going to win. This promise, I vow I won't break." "... Fine." she shook her head. "Wipe the floor with those arrogant jerks. Show them that even the greatest loser in history can win, when it matters most." Humming, Sasaki smiled, turning to step away from her. "Then, I will go win and we can catch up later." "Are you going to run away without as much as kissing your wife?" he turned abruptly, watching the small smile on her face. "I don't dare kiss you, when you're so young and beautiful, while I'm just an old and wrinkly geezer."

But Y/N's zori sandals clinked softly against the pavement as she rushed to him, throwing her arms around his neck, pulling him down into a sweet kiss. "In life and in death, old or young - You are still the same Sasaki Kojiro that I love and cherish more than life itself. My husband, who's going to win his very first match." He grinned widely, letting out a loud guffaw. "Wait for me, wifey! I'll make you proud!"

Y/N watched the admirable samurai step towards the arena, and she could only smile. "I've always been proud of you. Silly man." she hummed, walking back towards the stands. There, she found the gallery of Swords Masters, all of them cheering for Sasaki. She easily found her way in front of Musashi, who grunted at her in acknowledgement. Though he had a face of icy stoicism, not even Master Miyamoto was safe from the shattered heart of a woman in love. Thus was the fate of men who strive to become stronger - You either live to reach the peak of strength, or die trying.

The arena was flooded with water now, no doubt, as an homage to the God of the Seas, Poseidon himself. She couldn't care less for their arrogance; Her heart leapt in emotion as she saw the small boat, and her loved standing on it. The presenter announced him in the oddest way -

"Who is the greatest swordsman of all time? Is it the demon of Mt. Kurama, who sliced up the Taira clan - Minamoto no Yoshitsune? Nay!" he began. "Is it the founder of the Shinkage School who struck fear into Takeda Shingen - Nobutsuna Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami? Nay!" how dramatic. "Is it the master of the silent sword, who the great Shusaku Chiba said he was no match for - Matashiro Takayanagi? NAY!" Y/N couldn't help but sigh dramatically, pinching the bridge of her nose. No doubt, Kojiro was enjoying the attention. "I would venture that it is THIS man who is the greatest! How can it be that this loser is the greatest in history? Is it due to his ultimate move, the Tsubame Gaeshi? Or is it due to his desire to get vengeance on Musashi? Nay! Nay! NAY! No! That's not why at all!" "Get it over with already!" Y/N let her head back, groaning a little in disdain - This Heimdall guy sure was pretty annoying. "Even in defeat, he evolves! Even in death, he evolves, step by step to become the greatest! Even now, he continues on his road to become the greatest! The greatest Loser in history!"

SASAKI KOJIRO!

Of course, nobody could understand why an old man like Sasaki would be chosen as Humanity's representative, especially considering he'd be fighting Zeus' own brother, Poseidon. Even Musashi's own child, whose soul transformed into his child's form, was throwing a tantrum, so bitter and salty that his own father wasn't chosen as the fighter, that Y/N took one of the Scrolls with the Book of Five Rings written by Miyamoto and bonked him in the head. "Forgive me for hitting your child, Musashi-dono. I don't take kindly to people looking down on my husband." she huffed, watching the man nod in agreement with her. The child looked up at all the other masters around, asking for their opinion - They agreed that Musashi was the overall master who defeated even them, and it was weird that it wasn't him chosen for this fight. Miyamoto, however, remained silent.

In a beautiful, fluid move, Kojiro took out his trusted sword, merged with the soul of the Valkyrie Hrist, and eyes the God in front of him carefully, yet with a confident smile. The waves have calmed, and Musashi snapped alert. "There he goes again, showing off." Y/N giggles softly. "Hey, stop being so surprised! That's just some dumb deception by that Sasaki!" the child scolded her, and the other masters around. "Do you want me to hit you again?" Y/N's smile sent a shiver down his spine. Instead, his own father flicked his sword out, ripping apart all of the scrolls along with the boy's blouse. "Father, why did you slice up The Book of Five Rings?" the boy asked, surprised at what just happened. His father's greatest legacy, his life's work - All sliced to shreds. "They are no longer needed!" Musashi was crying rivers, along with all the other master swordsmen around. "He has achieved the state that all sword practitioners strive for. The Number One Under the Sun! Sasaki Kojiro truly has become The Number One Under the Sun!" "That's right! Have some trust in my husband!" Y/N's grin mimicked his own shrewdness.

The tension in the ring was through the roof, yet none understood why none was stepping forward, or even why the human was sweating. They didn't understand how Sasaki worked, how he fought; His greatest strength was that shadow fighting of his which never failed. "Heh! He's exhausted just keeping his distance! That Sasaki Kojiro is as much a loser as he ever was!" "No wonder you're still a child, even though you died old. You cannot comprehend the genius of a Master Swordsman." Y/N shook her head in annoyance. "Kojiro is fighting millions of battles - All in his head. He's devising the perfect strategy against that foe." "That Poseidon truly is powerful. I wonder if there even is a way to defeat him." one of the masters sighed in fear. "If there is one, Kojiro will find it." Y/N huffed at them. "Why do you keep taking his side, anyway?! What do you even know of him?" the child shouted up at her like a brat. "Do not speak with such disrespect to Sasaki Kojiro's wife." Musashi grunted at his son. "Wh-What?! Wife?! But -- But that guy's so old, and you're -- You're...!" Y/N simply smirked, shrugging at the boy. "That man may look old, but he's as much a child as you are." Y/N giggled, watching Sasaki let out a sigh and sit on the ground leisurely. What a brat.

"Ahh, I sure don't want to die, but I doubt I can get away with surrendering this time." his eyes never once left the God. "I can't afford to look uncool when Y/N is watching and praying for me to live. What to do, what to do. I am a man, I want my wife to be proud with me. I gotta show off for her." he bowed to the God. "Please allow me to fight you." Sasaki looked at his opponent who completely disregarded him. "I guess I've got no choice but to go after him."

He lifted his sword up above his head, thinking of all the people who have supported him throughout his life, the people whose skills he assimilated whole-heartedly, those who believed in him and who dedicated their whole lives to getting stronger and teaching others. He couldn't afford to dishonour them. A strong gust of wind surrounded him, and the whole arena, symbolising his imminent strength - He was ready for his first move.

For Sasaki's first strike, he swung his nearly meter-long blade, the drying pole, made by Nagamitsu Bizen, downward from over his head, with all his force behind it - However! At 1,5 times the weight of a normal blade, the drying pole sped downward. The laws of physics would dictate it impossible to stop the move instantaneously; Since it resembles a swallow reversing at 200 kph, the swift strike is known as the famous Tsubame Gaeshi! Though he didn't manage to draw blood, Sasaki cut away at Poseidon's golden locks - The God finally looked his opponent in the eyes.

"Sasaki!"

Musashi remembered that faithful day, April 13th 1612 in Funashima, where he encountered this man and they fought to the death - That time when he used the very move on him, slicing at his face at lightning speed, from his opponent's blind spot - A slashing swing impossible to defend against or dodge! "That really takes me back, Sasaki." the Master grinned, proud at the man. "Listen, God of the Seas - I don't care if you're a God, but if you think you can face the man who achieved the level of Number One Under the Sun without defending yourself - You are mistaken!" not only Musashi and Y/N, but all the sword masters around them chanted together in pure support and confidence in the man known as Sasaki Kojiro.

Without as much as breaking a sweat, Poseidon stepped forward, unleashing his trident thrust barrage move, named after his wife, Amphitrite - One thing he and his elder brother, Hades, shared was their love for their wives and the way of honouring them through that which they did best - Fight. Hades was the only God Poseidon could stand; Or, rather said, like.

In the face of Poseidon's raging assault of strikes, Kojiro weaves and dodges, avoiding every one of them. He had already experienced each and every one of these hits - How many times has he already fought Poseidon before even stepping forward to attack his physically? Not even he knew. Countless times.

Finally, mankind was cheering for him.

A whistling tune came from Poseidon, surprising the whole arena into remaining quiet as he took a stance, lunging forwards, faster than Sasaki predicted - Much, much faster. So fast that he got sliched in the side with that damn trident.

"JIRO!" Y/N found herself shouting, her body pushing forward into the stands. "Damn that stupid God." she sneered, hearing Musashi's incredulous gasp behind her. "GET UP! GET UP! GET UP!" she continued to yell, watching her husband fall to his knees, spitting quite the amount of blood. Was that injury more than a nick of his flesh, then? Damn, that's not good at all. "What's wrong?" it was the first time this God had spoken to a human. "I thought you were able to read your opponent's moves. You loser!" Poseidon's wicked grin, full of disgust, was addressed to the warrior. "I'LL RIP HIM TO SHREDS!" it took Musashi, his child, and a few other men to hold the angry woman from running into the arena to defend her husband. Though none of the others knew of them during their time together, Musashi was there, and Musashi killed Sasaki. It was only him who saw her desperation and heart break, all caused by the deep love they had for one another. That woman's rage could drive her to fighting a God for Kojiro, even without a Divine Treasure weapon.

Sasaki grinned, in spite of his pained body, yet he bore through all it, and he stood up, gripping tightly onto his sword. All the Gods were cheering for him - Only for Poseidon to glare at them with such intensity and darkness, that they were all reduced to a deep silent. "Lowlifes."

Sasaki was deeply surprised when he heard the God's radical stance of the others of his kin and the idea of friends - What a pathetic existence, he declared, angering Poseidon so much that he sprung up with a rain of trident strikes from above - Chione Tyro Demeter was a force to be reckoned with, but Sasaki's Senju Musou was far too advanced to fall for this - His sword has surpassed the limits of humanity and approached the level of godhood.

However, his opponent was as much of a beast as he was, reading him and dodging his attack, striking from his blind spot, continuing yet again with a rain of strikes. No matter how close Sasaki gets, Poseidon feels one step ahead.

No. Sasaki will persevere. He can do it. Ganryu Hiyo Torakiri - And his blade was shattered. "Don't push your luck. Maggot."

"Th-That can happen even with divine weapons?!" Y/n gulped, seeing the petrified expression on her husband's face. "How can he win without his Divine Treasure? Man-made weapons can't harm Gods!" Y/N was outright freaking out.

"I... Surrender." came Sasaki's soft voice. "Or so I wish I could say that now." he rose the broken sword to his eye level, smiling. "But this time, that won't do. Not like back then." in the reflection of his blade, he could see his beautiful wife whom he worried to hell and back, and the powerful Musashi right behind her. "My wife is watching me - I cannot disappoint her a second time."

It was the same back then also - He had every right to surrender, being at an evident disadvantage and needing so much more to learn to defeat Master Miyamoto - But he couldn't find it in himself to surrender - If he did, he'd never forgive himself. He was having so much fun fighting this man, as he's never felt before with any other Sword Master! Ahh, but he made his poor Y/N cry - He makes his wife cry, yet he calls himself a man. Just a bit of a jerk. Surely, she will forgive him though - This fight made him the happiest man in the world. If he quit now, he would regret it for the rest of his life - And he said it with such a bright smile on his face! Wasn't he ashamed of himself at all? What a child.

Still, Musashi gladly took him head on for the few minutes that it lasted, a time of true contentment for the both of them - One man loved the sword and was taught by all of creation, whilst the other lived a proudly independent life in pursuit of becoming the Number One Under the Sun.

Sasaki carried himself to pick up the discarded piece of the sword. "Hey, Mr. God of the Seas - Have you ever practiced your swing all night long, until the break of dawn? Have you ever wept tears of gratitude to a foe who made you stronger? Have you ever felt a fervent love for a foe you dueled to the death? Ahh, nevermind, sorry I asked." his bloodied hand held tightly on the blade. "I know there's no way you ever have!" he grinned widely, mocking the God for his ignorance. He continued explaining that him, and the sword, all of his fighting prowess are the combined passion of all the fools against whom he dueled - An emotionless man like Poseidon who didn't understand the excitement of fighting could never defeat him.

Through his passion and love, combined with the trembling soul of the Valkyrie Hrist, Sasaki's two broken sword pieces transformed into the different swords, adopting the duel-wielding style of the great Msuashi-dono; Niten-Ganryu, Sasaki Kojiro. Whether it was through his deep love for his wife, or the way he valued everything that she taught him, the smaller sword forged from the broken piece became an exact replica of her own - No, it wasn't a replica. It was Y/N's heirloom katana. She was fighting with him. Her soul was there to guide and empower him. He truly was the luckiest fool.

"Loser" Poseidon insulted him once again, before the two went on to battle again; This time, none of the Amphitrite strikes landed. For a second there, Musashi's child saw not Sasaki, but his own father - Kojiro not only managed to mimic and learn all of Musashi's school, but even surpassed him. He gained the small sword technique of Toda-ryu, and the flowing footwork of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, the destructive power of Itto-ryu, the infinite variety of strokes of master swordsman Nobutsuna Ise-no-kami Kamiizumi, Musashi's Niten Ichi-ryu and he even acquired Y/N's harmony with nature and foresight. Sasaki managed to slice the God's face with the aid of all the people that supported him for the past four centuries.

Sasaki Kojiro isn't mimicking or imitating any of them. They all dwell within his soul. He is the compilation of all the swordsmen; After the ultimate in training, he has reached the pinnacle at last!

All of humanity was cheering and chanting Sasaki's name, calling him the God Slayer. Poseidon, once again, began whistling his tune, watching the blood he shed, painting his palm. He smirked impishly, slicking his gold hair back with his own blood. "You claim to be able to read my every move? Such arrogance." the God's muscles bulged and he sprung forward with such speed that it was barely visible, managing not only to strike Kojiro's shoulder, but graze his temple also. With his speed, the Senju Musou wasn't as effective anymore - Though he can see his attacks, they are so fast he can't avoid them.

More and more strikes, at such an abnormal speed, kept rushing him down - He felt as though he was drowning in bottomless ocean of despair and hopelessness - How can he defeat such a monster? It went beyond humane capabilities... Yet, as he was succumbing farther down into the sea, his eyes snapped open, feeling the gentle caress of his face. He saw Y/N, smiling at him. All around him, the people whom he battled grasped at his body, stopping him from succumbing any further, like a heavy rock.

"KOJIRO!"

Sasaki looked back, seeing all the swordsmen there, chanting his name, repeating the basic sword move as an homage to him, encouraging him to continue with his duel. He can't sink now, people depended on him. His wife depended on him. He can't look like a fool no more, he can't worry Y/N any further than he already did. He died once, from his own whims and wish to have fun - He was a man and a child at the same time - But not now. Not anymore.

"I WANT TO WIN TOO!" he yelled at his opponent, parrying his strike. That was the moment that the tip of mankind's sword reached the very bottom of the depths of the deep, dark ocean. He reads all of creation, not just the moves of his foe, but also the flutters of the air and the vibrations in the earth. Every element of the cosmos told Kojiro what the God would do. Manju Musou! Not even the lightning-fast strikes of Poseidon could graze him anymore. How many millions of moves ahead can he predict?

At last - He made it this far, standing right in front of the God of the Seas. "SASAKI!" Musashi and Y/N yelled at him from the stands. Swordsmen have always staked their lives on their forged hunks of durable steel; All these men have shaped the history of the sword - Niten Ganryu Ougi - Soen Zanko Banjin Ryoban.

Poseidon's trident arm was slashed right off, flying away. Though the God didn't seem to flinch, and easily grabbed the trident with his other hand, that, too, was cut clean off. With no more arms to fight and the weapon flying away, the God held the trident in his mouth - Sasaki double slashed his torso in a wide X. "You... You loser..." were Poseidon's last words, as his whole body crumbled in bits of flesh and viscera, on the bloody arena.

All of humanity was screeching in glee that they won, whilst the Gods remained deeply silent, flabbergast that a human actually managed to kill not just a God, but the Zeus of the Seas, King Poseidon himself. "Pfew, I actually won. This feels pretty darn nice." Y/N was squealing in joy, tears of happiness overwhelming her as she pushed everyone out of her way so that she can find a way towards the arena. That fool was injured enough, he needed medical treatment - And a lot of pampering. Lord knows, that idiot missed her pampering him. The winner of the third round is - SASAKI KOJIRO OF MANKIND!

Poseidon's body shattered into small shards of glowing green, scattering into the air, whilst Sasaki looked up at the beautiful clouds embellishing the azure heavens, feeling fulfilled with the greatest win he could ever dream of achieving. Even he was shocked he managed to win, against a God, of all things. He turned around, bowing in appreciation and gratefulness at the humanity that helped him. "Whoa, what a racket. Well, this was my first victory - I guess I'll bask in the glory a little while longer." he grinned widely, hearing his name being sung like that with laurels and praises.

A bridge formed from the ring to the corridor leading inside the arena - He was certainly glad he needn't row a boat again. This surely tired him to hell. Sasaki could only see the faint silhouette of a running woman - Ah, that must be Y/N, he made her worry again even though he won. What an unreliable man he is. In spite of all that, he still smiled happily. "Jiro!" his body failed him, strength depleting as he collapsed. Before he could hit the ground, Y/N slid swiftly, catching him; Hrist also, transformed back into her humanoid self, worrying over him. "You are always going to make me worry, aren't you, you big baby?" Y/N chuckled softly, holding him in her arms. "Last time I held you like this, you died. Let's not have a repeat of that. We're going to the medical wing." "Awww, that brings back memories of our first meeting. Isn't that nostalgic?" he giggled weakly. "Won't you tend to me again?" "Silly man." perhaps it was the strength of the soul, or some godly power she possessed in the after life, but Y/N picked her husband up once again, as though he was the bride, and followed Hrist to the medical wing. "I'm blushing." he grinned shamelessly. "I can see that."

The fantastic medics were able to heal him for the most part, and even sewed the hole in his gut, though he insisted that Y/N takes care of him. Jerk. He always liked giving her so much trouble. Just as when they first met, she had her hand delicately over his cheek, feeling his temperature, whilst the other hand held his wrist, her thumb feeling for his pulse. How reminiscing of the past.

"I'm glad that you were happy. Silly man." as soon as everyone else left the room, she spoke to him. "Happy, and selfish also." he chuckled weakly. "You weren't happy, were you?" "Nope." she smirked lightly. "My reason for smiling died in my arms, in case you've forgotten. You do tend to be rather forgetful." "Aw, man, don't call me out like that." he whined playfully, relishing in her gorgeous smile. "What have you been up to?" "After you oh so selfishly left me all alone in the world..." she purposely teased him. "I wandered around aimlessly, until I found a pretty fine village. Took on some jobs here and there, and this dumb guy took a liking to me, for whatever reason. Maybe because I threatened to kill him every time he crossed my path." she hummed in amusement. "Funny enough, his mother was desperate to marry his good for nothing son to someone who won't throw the whole legacy down the drain, so she begged me to marry him. I shamelessly married rich without as much as bothering to even stay around that poor bastard." she laughed, leaning into his touch. "He died young from a disease anyway, and I and his mother remained the women of the house until our death. It was kinda fun actually. Had a bunch of girls around and we taught each other random things, gossiped a lot also. I died sooooo old and wrinkly - I was even uglier than you are now!" she continued making fun of him. "I bought myself all the prettiest things you said you wanted to gift me, and I just pretended they were from you." "You haven't smiled since that day, did you?" she shook her head. "No. But I am smiling now, aren't I? I lived a comfortable life until my death, and now, in the after life, I am reunited with the love of my life and I can smile again. Not only that, but I got to watch the greatest loser humanity ever had actually win so gloriously against a God. Now that - That was fucking awesome." Sasaki's beautiful dark eyes widened in shock, and his cheeks flushed as innocently as when he was a young lad. "You cursed! You never curse!" "Oh, shut up, you big baby." in a single mischievous move, Y/N pulled him into a deep kiss. "Ohh, so bold! My beautiful wifey became so bold!" he giggled like a child getting a new toy. Without the least bit of care for his well-being, Kojiro pulled Y/N on the bed next to him, his arms wrapped tightly around her, playfully peppering her face with tons and tons of kisses. "You have no idea how much I missed you." "Likewise." she stopped his kisses by cupping his face dearly. In front of him, Kojiro saw the most beautiful woman in the world, wearing the most loving and tender smile that he's ever witnessed before. "I can't stop looking at you. You're just so beautiful and I love you so much." her voice vibrated softly, tears prickling at her eyes, escaping down her face. "I wish I could have seen you like this when we were still alive. I wish we had more time together. Life was so bleak and lonely without you. I just hoped I'd die faster in hopes that I'd be seeing you again somehow." the beautiful blush on his tanned, scarred face, and all those gentle features of his, roughened up by the battles he fought in; His long hair, such a beautiful shade of silver, and all those wrinkles everywhere on his body - Everything about him was old - Everything, but his eyes. His eyes, such a beautiful brown, so warm, so welcoming, so happy... Those eyes of his were sparkling with love and vitality the same as when he was alive and young. "I just love you so much, Jiro."

His heart was throbbing with overwhelming emotions, all of them powerful and positive. He couldn't take his eyes away from his soulmate, the only person who could ever stir such a strong reaction out of him. His lips trembled into a smile, and he embraced his darling in his arms; Gently, with one arm keeping her body flushed against his own, and the other hand stroking her hair. In life and in death, they were connected. "Just seeing my sweet wifey is the only reason an old geezer like me needs to keep smiling." and for the first time, Y/N heard her husband singing; the very same song which she sung to him upon his dying breath, as he lay resting in her arms. This time, the bittersweet song would serve as a clear bond between them, instead of a farewell into the afterlife. This time, Y/N was comfortably laying on his chest, cuddled into his arms, allowing her whole being to rest and achieved the much needed peace of mind, in the presence of her most beloved person, his old voice humming the tune which had rung into his head every night, in the after life, as she watched the Sun go down, and began counting the stars, wondering whether they were looking at the same thing, from the other side of the life barrier.

Just sleep in my tender arms, Don't worry about any harms, All because I'm right here, with you.

One day, you'll become so strong, And someday, I might not see you, Will you come by and say hello?

[ohai-there]

Can you please write a fanfic where reader is kakashi's soulmate who isn't aware about it... She doesn't believe in soulmates so shika and kakashi and the gang and others help kaka by hiring the reader as personal chef in the hokage residence.. they slowly begin getting close and it's followed by fluff and smut please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please

errr I don't really write reader/SI stuff and smut is something i can only write when the stars align (horny, high motivation, high energy, lots of time) haha but I can give you a snippet :) "I really am so glad that you came to help," Ayame chirps gratefully as she dries off her hands, "I really don't know what i would do without you."

"Shoo, shoo," you say, nudging her towards back entrance, "go and visit Uncle Teuchi, I'll hold the fort until dinner. Tell Uncle I said I hope he's doing better, today."

Ayame leaves with an exhausted, graceful smile and jogs out, disappearing behind the door quickly. When you'd heard news of Uncle Teuchi collapsing from health issues, you'd dropped your job as a waitress of a tea shop in the quiet town of Oe and headed straight to Konoha to check in on your uncle and cousin.

Poor Ayame had been drowning at the workload of keeping Ramen Ichiraku as usual while fretting for her father's health, so you'd just told her I can help, and she'd run you through with the basics of keeping the store open.

Ayame wakes at three in the morning to get the broth going, and gets the shop warmed up until you begin at ten, before the lunch rush, then she gets a few hours break to visit Uncle Teuchi and catch a small nap, before she's back to help with the dinner rush, before clocking out when it quiets down and leaving you to close.

It's a good, stable system. You always were more of a night-owl than a morning bird, and the customers understand that you're new and learning, and are very much forgiving to your slower speed.

The only real downside to the job is - "Aw, Ayame-chan's already gone for the day?" Naruto Uzumaki, the supposed next Hokage asks as he saunters into the shop with a grin - the damn shinobi.

Not that you have any particular hatred for shinobi, but they're just... Well, they're murderers for hire, no matter how you try and dress it. It sure doesn't help that all the blood does something to their brain - as one of your colleagues from the teahouse had whispered to you after a fight had broken out - they're all odd.

Naruto's a good boy, though, he's not quite like the other shinobi who frequent Ichiraku, nor like the occasional ninja you'd seen at the teahouse on those rare days. The problem with Naruto is that where he goes, more shinobi follow - he just has something about him that invites others to join him.

Usually it's that shinobi with the scar over his nose, sometimes it's the youngsters with the freaky eyes and the one with the dog, but today it's a spiky haired, lazy faced man and the goddamned Hokage - again.

"Welcome," you says stiffly, as the air inside the shop gets stuffy with claustrophobia, it's the guards, Ayame had said casually, they're invisible - some shinobi magic - but they have to come in to make sure that Hokage-sama is safe, "Ayame-chan already left to visit Teuchi-oji."

"Ah, right. I'll make sure to visit him, too. He's doing okay?" Naruto beams at you, smile white and bright.

"I think so, what can I get for you today?"

You turn to start cooking up some pork, mouthing along silently as Naruto says, "miso ramen with pork! Extra pork!" and you say, "yes, yes, what about everyone else?"

"I'll have tonkotsu," the lazy one says, slumping into his seat, and the Hokage hums a bit, "I'll have whatever you recommend!"

Customers like that are the worst, how are you supposed to know what they're feeling like eating? You hold back your scowl as you turn back to the brother and make a second serving of Naruto's order to give the Hokage, miso is basic enough that everyone should like it, right?

It takes a while, you're definitely not as skillful as Ayame when it comes to making the ramen, you'd always preferred frying, but you're passable enough the eventually you get three decent bowls served to your customers, Naruto's and the lazy one's served first with twin calls of, "itadakimasu," before they eat and you turn and take the Hokage's bowl, reaching over the counter and placing it in front of him.

He watches you the entire time, his eyes glued to your hands, ignoring the bowl of ramen you'd just placed in front of him to stare at your fingers.

"I didn't poison it," you say dryly, "eat before it gets cold."

"Ahaha, of course I wasn't thinking that, that'd be cruel..." the Hokage says, his eyes flickering to your face as he slowly reaches up to hook a finger to pull his mask down.

You just watch him blankly as the fabric pulls down and reveals a straight nose, thin lips, pale skin and a single beauty mark.

Fuck, you think to yourself, willing the heat in your cheeks to dissipate, why is he always so pretty, because he is, his jaw sharp and bones delicate enough to teeter between classically handsome and unfairly beautiful.

The Hokage's lips pull tight over his white, straight teeth in a soft smile, "itadakimasu," he says smoothly and begins eating with a bright, "delicious!" even though you know that your ramen is mediocre in comparison to Teuchi-oji's and Ayame's skillful cooking - you always overcook the noodles just a bit - and the Hokage's light eyelashes casting a shadow on his cheeks as he lowers his head to slurp up some ramen what the fuck why are they longer than your own?

You're dragged from your staring by the lazy one's voice, "say, what do you think about soulmates?" he's already done eating, and has taken to watching you carefully.

You can't help the disdain from twitching across your face, "I suppose soulmates are an idealistic concept," "I'm asking what you think about them," you can't help but click your tongue, "the idea of having one person you're locked into by fate or whatever, it's a bit... I don't like it, the thought of being trapped from the beginning like that."

"Do you believe in it?"

"Not really," you shrug as Naruto finishes up his bowl, raising a hand saying one more, please! and you turn to get started on another bowl of miso with extra pork, "if soulmates were a thing, wouldn't there be more proof of it? Maybe it's more of a I'll believe it when I see it kind of thing for me, perhaps."

"What about the red string of fate tied around your pinky?"

"Sounds inconvenient," you say, frying the pork with a nice sear, "wouldn't it get caught on something?" and the lazy one just replies with, "hm," and you begin scooping the broth for Naruto, "shinobi-san, is there a reason for your interrogation? Did you find your soulmate? If it's me, I think you're out of luck. You're not quite my type."

"Not me," the shinobi says, his face blank as you turn to give NAruto his second serve, "I'll take a beer."

"Shikamaru-kun," the Hokage pipes up, pulling his mask up as he finishes eating, "you're still on the clock," and the lazy one, Shikamaru, scowls and says, "you owe me, Hokage-sama."

"Now, now, didn't I say to just call me Kakashi? No Hokage-sama going on here," then he looks directly at you, and winks, the bastard knows he's handsome, the fucker, "you don't need to formalities, too."

"Hokage-sama," you say, trying to keep professional, "are you the one paying today?"

"Oh what's that? I think I hear an emergency, I've got to go!" the Hokage chirps and in a flash, far too quick for you to see, disappears in a blur, leaving a single leaf floating onto his empty seat. You stare at it for a second, before you turn to Shikamaru, "you'd better pay for his share."

Shikamaru curses lowly under his breath and takes a gulp of his beer, "bastard," and gives you a curt nod, "by the way, what are you planning on doing after Teuchi-san has recovered?"

You think for a second - you'd essentially thrown away your life in Oe in your haste to come to Konoha to support your only remaining family, so there's nothing left for you in the little town you'd spent the past decade of your life in - so you just shrug and say, "Ayame-chan and Teuchi-oji are my only remaining family. This shop's a bit too small for three of us, though, so I might try to find a job somewhere else so I have enough to get my own place. I'm not too poor at waitressing nor cooking; just not ramen."

"An offer, then," Shikamaru says as Naruto calls out another bowl! Please! and you turn to make Naruto's third serving of ramen, "well paying, extremely safe, board included."

You hum, laying down the pork to sizzle satisfyingly in the oiled pan, "sounds too good to be true, what's the catch?" you add in an extra slice of pork, because Naruto is a good kid and perhaps your favourite customer.

"No catch," Shikamaru says, then, "okay, maybe one catch. You'll need to deal with shinobi, a lot," and that makes you pause, because you'd been trying to keep your general discomfort around shinobi as quiet as possible, damn, how unprofessional.

"What's the job?"

"A personal cook," Shikamaru says after a brief second of silence, "for the Hokage. You'd be offered to stay in the Hokage Residence - there are a lot of empty houses for hoursekeepers and servants available in the compound, you'd need to make three meals a day on all weekdays."

You whirl on your heel, spatula in hand and pointed at Shikamaru from flipping the pork, "I'm not a servant, I'm not going to do anyone's laundry or clean their house nor tuck them into bed, do you understand?"

There's a displeased pull to Shikamaru's face and he just sighs and mutters something like troublesome under his breath and says, "right. Just cooking."

You huff, putting Naruto's bowl down in front of him with a grim smile and he says, "thanks, nee-chan!" and begins scarfing down his ramen, and you turn to Shikamaru, "we can discuss this further after Teuchi-oji recovers. I want a written contract of all specifications by then, to review and decide."

"You should just say yes," Naruto says with his mouth stuffed full, "Kakashi-sensei wouldn't treat you bad."

You grimace and pinch his cheek, "you should just focus on eating. Besides, aren't you a shinobi? You shouldn't be so wishy-washy about things that affect your future."

"But it's Kakashi-sensei! And you're you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" You give his cheek a pull and Naruto spills out half-chewed noodles from his mouth with an ow, ow, ow, nothing, sorry!

Shikamaru, watching the entire interaction, grumbles he owes me so much, then says, "I'll get you the contract by the end of the week. Teuchi-san is already well on his way to recovery," and then he pushes up and saunters from the shop, throwing out a sloppy wave and a quick, "Naruto's paying for all of our meals," just as the door slides shut.

"Wait, Shika?! Everyone's ramen?!!" Naruto yelps, looking like he's about to run after his friend but you grasp him by the collar of his jumpsuit and just say, "Naruto-kun, you'd better not be thinking about running off without paying."

He gulps, "can't you put it on Kakashi-sensei?"

Damn shinobi.

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Drama CD - Hijikata Biyori Track 25 Eng translation

For about five minutes today, I was contemplating translating all the other biyoris that I haven't translated but were translated by other people... then I put off making a decision since I've got a backlog of stuff to subtitle and I know I've been procrastinating with that. 😅

Anyway, enjoy!

Hakuoki Drama CD - Hijikata Biyori Track 25: Hanafuda

Translation by KumoriYami

Harada: Alright! Inoshikachou [raw is 猪鹿蝶 in JP. This apparently is a high scoring combo in Hanafuda*]! I win!

Toudou: Ahh, Damn it! Sano-san, one more time, one more time!

Harada: Hey, hey, give me a break! I've spent the day playing Hanafuda with you. Let's go out for drinks, Heisuke.

Toudou: Are you trying to run away after winning?

Harada: I'm not going to run away. We can do this again tomorrow.

Toudou: I got it… I just had a bad hand today, I'll definitely win tomorrow!

Harada: Hehe, who knows if that'll happen. Well, let's head out today. Let's have a drinking contest.

Toudou: That's what I want. Hijikata: What are you two doing over here?

Harada: Oh, Hijikata-san... Hey, Heisuke, this is all your fault that Hijikata-san found us. Now we can't go out.

Toudou: How is that my fault!

Hijikata: Hey, what are you doing?

Harada: No, nothing/No-Nothing.

Hijikata: Oh~ Hanafuda, huh.

Toudou: Ah, yes, that's right. I was playing Hanafuda with Sano-san just now.

HIjikata: Speaking of which, it's been a while since I've played Hanafuda. Yosh! I'm going to play too!

Harada/Toudou: Eh?

Hijikata: What, are you dissatisfied [more literally this is 'What, are you not pleased' so I guess 'got a problem' could hypothetically work]?

Harada: No, it's not like that. There's nothing to for it then/nothing that can be done. Just go along with it so we can get through this. Don't take it too seriously. Just lose to him.

Toudou: Leave it to me.

.... [I assume some amount of time passes here though the tl didn't mention it.]

Harada: Ah, Hijikata-san... isn't it about time?

Hijikata: No, one more time!

Toudou: What should we do, Sano-san! Hijikata-san is really into it.

Harad: Ah, I didn't expect Hijikata-san to be so bad at playing Hanafuda.

Toudou: At this rate, we'll be playing Hanafuda until morning.

Hijikata: What's wrong? Let's begin. Ah, but the cards in my hand are really bad.

Harada: Hehehe...

HIjikata: Oh, what's wrong?

Harada: No, it's nothing. It's just that I was thinking that we're all alike/similar.

Toudou: Alike?

Hijikata: Us?

Harada: Ah, it's not so bad for everyone to be playing Hanafuda like this. Alright, I'll accompany you until morning.

Toudou: Eh? Sano-san, wait a sec!

Harada: What is it, Heisuke. You were frusturated too, right? I won't show any mercy next time. Prepare yourself/Be prepared.

Hijikata: Haha, that's just what I wanted.

Toudou: I'm not going to lose either!

Harada: Then let's begin!

Hijikata/Toudou: Yes!

------end------

reference: https://fudawiki.org/en/hanafuda/games/ino-shika-cho

[kyriolex]

Lord it cannot be understated how much I absolutely CANNOT STAND Shikamaru!

He's the fucking Hokage and yet instead of trying to help protect the village himself, he sent out children (including Himawari, a 12-13 year old GENIN) to fight Ten-Tails level threats all while he sits on his ass hiding in the Hokage's office.

Like Okay even he if didn't know about the Shinjus at the time, there is still the fact that as soon as Jura and Hidari arrived in the village, everyone thought one of the enemies was SASUKE

Everyone INCLUDING Shikamaru know precisely damn well just how powerful Sasuke is.

Sasuke by himself is literally an S-Class Ninja and any mission against him is automatically an S-Rank mission

Yet this pineapple head moron thought it would be a good idea to let new Team 10 and Himawari go confront him?

Say what you will about Naruto and Tsunade. They weren't perfect but GODDAMN they never let Genin go on missions that they knew damn well was beyond their ranks/capacity

AND neither Naruto or Tsunade would just SIT BY IDLY while there are S-Rank Threats in the village. They got out there and actually joined the fight!

Even HIRUZEN, as shitty as he was, literally joined the fight when Orochimaru invaded the village

Maybe I could give him a bit more leeway for sending New Shika-Ino-Cho out there since they are the same age/rank as their parents were in Shippuden

But HIMAWARI? That's like the equivalent of sending Genin Konohamaru to the 4th Shinobi War

WTF is Shikamaru even doing? Get this man out of the Hokage seat

I'm going to play devil's advocate here, not because I like Shikamaru, but because work today put me in a mood. I'm going to argue that in a rare change of pace for Boruto-era Shikamaru, he is behaving somewhat competently right now.

Because here's the thing: while these events have unfolded for us over the course of several months, from Shikamaru's perspective, it's been 5 minutes at most.

In a short summary of Shikamaru's actions so far:

Jura and Hidari approach the village and immediately set off the sensory unit's telepathic alarms.

Shikamaru hears the name "Sasuke" and immediately gives orders to evacuate civilians.

Every known ninja in the village converges on the Ten Tails. It's unclear if Shikamaru gave orders, if this is protocol, or if Sasuke's chakra just acts as a psychic magnet urging everyone nearby to fight him.

Jura attacks Team 10, and they fight him off. The Sensory Unit doesn't manage to page Shikadai in to his dad until a pause in the fight.

Shikamaru orders all hands to support Team 10. He also tells Boruto and Kawaki to stop fighting and go save their sister.

So basically, Shikamaru's been getting a feed of updates and immediately responding with escalating orders to his troops. He literally hasn't had time to leave his seat yet.

Although let's be honest: Shikamaru has been doing a desk job for two decades. His shadow jutsu can't restrain people who are exponentially more powerful than him. If he tried to fight Sasuke, even a tree-based knockoff of Sasuke, he would be turned into juice on the pavement.

That said, with the benefit of a reader's perspective, I would say Shikamaru has still made two significant tactical errors.

The first was not trying to set up communication with the Ten Tails to ask what the hell they want. Even if passing on telepathic messages through your subordinates is awkward, he could at least stall for time until Boruto gets there. (Although it's possible Shikamaru will try this next chapter.).

The second mistake was leaving Mr. Goatee here on payroll. He's the guy who was on guard duty when Kawaki and Boruto snuck out of the house. If he'd been alert enough to catch two teenagers sneaking out past curfew, he could have prevented the whole Momoshiki SNAFU and the chain of events that led up to this point.

WHY IS THIS MAN GROUPED WITH KONOHAMARU AND THE OTHER COMPETENT JONIN IN THE FIRST RESPONDER SQUAD??? Shikamaru needs to pick his people better. I am more frustrated about Mr. Goatee's presence than nearly anything else in this chapter.

[chromeya]

Let's be honest.

Shikanaru.

Guys, this ship is just so damn good and wholesome. But there is simply not enough fanfiction, and I desperately need more.

If you don't like it, then down there is a button to close this app. Or fight me! Because I love this ship!

I like Sasunaru as well, but something about Shikamaru and Naruto is just - well, enticing. I love their dynamic, and Shika's wish to be Naruto's advisor is just too cute.

[elmaxlys]

The way Rika acts is soooo deeply affected by Sniper abandoning him, god... He's so scared of being left alone that he's making damn sure Yuri never will be.

You know, we got Rika and Sniper's first moments in the realm from Sniper's POV, but I'd love to see it from Rika's too. When he realizes he's trapped and doesn't know Yuri is there too. When he thinks Yuri will be left behind (much like Shika with Prophet, if you think about it)

[dark-elf-writes]

More for the team seven as teachers more specifically about Naruto.

Team Naruto has a baby genius that just truthfully doesn’t care much about anything. I’m talking rock bottom scores at the academy because they never turned anything in. Only passed because their practicals and any strategy tests were off the charts. Responsible for the other half of Iruka’s gray hairs that didn’t come from Naruto or Konohamaru. Think a baby Shikamaru with even less drive to do anything that isn’t Shogi or reading.

Which leads into Naruto breaking into Shikamaru’s home at three in the morning and looming over him like a sleep paralysis demon and almost getting his ass shadow choked for scaring Shika so bad. Once they settle down and are less murder happy, Naruto demands Shikamaru teaches him how to play shogi and the exchange is basically:

Naruto: teach me shogi

Shika: It’s three in the fucking morning

Naru: Yeah I know. Teach. Me. Shogi.

Shika: Why

Naru: Because I know how to bond with my other kids but [Name] only likes books and shogi and I haven’t read a book since I proofread for pervy sage and I will not be talking about that with them.

Shika: … I can’t teach you to win. That kind of skill takes years.

Naru: with how smart they are the only way I’m winning so if I eat the pieces. They can beat me every time for all I care I just want to be able to play with them

Shika: … meet me at the damn board

Naru: THANK YOU SOMMUCH I LOVE YOU

Shika: You’re buying me dinner for a week for this

Naru: done!

Naruto is awful at shogi but he still takes the time to play with his kid (always his kids. He never calls them anything else) in the set aside team building time where he and two clones bond with the kids in whatever way they want. Sometimes Shika stops by to play the kid and their games are something of legend tbh.

[blackcatruse]

𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔞𝔰𝔥𝔢𝔰

«prev. ❃ next» ❃ first chapter ❃ m.list ❃ ao3 pairing: r. haitani/fem!reader ↳ she/her, fem descriptors, nickname ❃ chapter synopsis: job one? check. telling shika that you're "seeing" rindou? fuck. word count: 2.5k chapter cw(s): swearing, possible ooc a/n: this was actually supposed to be stapled into chapt 16, but i felt it made the chapter drag a little too much

After several car changes, you were supposed to meet with Kakucho and South. During one of the swaps, somebody looked at your cheek while Rindou made a few calls. Dried blood had made itself at home down your face and neck. You hissed at the alcohol wipe that cleaned the scratch, then you had some gauze taped to your cheek. Any time you pressed against it, the wound yelled in protest, but part of you couldn’t stop messing with it.

By the time the final leg of your journey pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned restaurant, the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. The instant your feet were on the pavement, exhaustion hit you with a vengeance. You had to brace yourself on the car frame briefly before shaking your head. After retrieving the goods from the trunk, you and Rindou headed into the building.

South, Kakucho, Ran, and a stranger were waiting. They looked at you when you entered the door. You slid the bag off your shoulder and lifted it by the strap, simply saying, “We got the stuff.”

The stranger motioned to you and spoke shortly with a thick accent, “Put bag here.” Before moving you glanced at Kakucho, who nodded.

Both you and Rindou set your bags down and stood off to the side. The portly stranger flicked the cigarette in his mouth before opening the satchels and taking inventory. He nodded, muttering to himself in a language you didn’t recognize.

Ran inched towards you and leaned over to whisper in your ear, “What the hell happened out there?”

The hidden threat in his voice made your blood freeze. “Let’s not talk about it in front of company, hmm?” you murmured back.

Ran hummed and straightened up. He looked over your head at Rindou. It didn’t take a genius to know the brothers were silently communicating. You thought about moving so you weren’t in the middle of it, but you were almost certain if you tried, you’d collapse. You needed to go home and sleep for the next 24 hours.

“Is all here,” the man announced. “Money will be wired in few days.”

Before the man could go, Kakucho spoke up. “Who hired you?”

The man shrugged. “Don’t know, was given job and did job. I got money, does not matter who.”

“I see,” Kakucho said, dipping his head respectfully. “Thank you. We won’t keep you any longer. Have a good day.”

The man picked up all the satchels and grunted. No other words were exchanged and the remaining five of you stood in silence, only glancing around occasionally. You did your best to avoid South’s intense stare, but he was focused on you. Actually, it seemed like everyone except Rindou was staring at you with several heavy questions on their faces. Once the door opened and shut, you all watched the man get into a nondescript car and take off. The tense silence was oppressive.

“What?” you finally asked, knowing damn well what they wanted to know.

“What the hell were you thinking?” You flinched as you waited for the punch that usually accompanied the question, but once you cracked an eye open, you saw Kakucho staring at you with concern. You would rather he punched you.

“The job needed to be done, right?” you pointed out. “The job was just transporting goods. I’m not the only competent runner, and they wanted me. So it made sense to me to try and distract them so you would get your money. And before you ask, no, I don’t fucking know what they want from me.”

“You play a bigger role than you think,” Kakucho spoke carefully, trying to be firm yet not berating. You really wished he’d just hit you and yelled at you instead.

“You can yell at me, you know,” you said. “Let loose, I can take it. Nothing I haven’t experienced.”

Kakucho sighed and put his right palm to his forehead. “No, no. You’re right to prioritize the job, but you were reckless.”

You winked and said, “It’s a special trait of mine.”

Everyone except South sighed heavily. You didn’t blame them, you’d probably be sick of your own shit by now too. “I’ll be laying low for a while anyway,” you said, shrugging. “Do you need a formal report from me?”

Kakucho shook his head. “No. We’ll send you on your way.” He looked at the Haitanis. “You look dead on your feet. Go home, get some rest. We’ll do the debrief this evening.”

Ran and Rindou nodded sharply. Without another word the three of you exited the building and blinked at the morning sunlight. The job took a lot longer than you’d anticipated. You hoped Shika was okay and your cover wasn’t blown.

The rendezvous point wasn’t that far from the cargo bay or where the bikes were parked, but the several cars and detours were to cover your asses. Thank fuck they were parked close, because you could pass out from exhaustion right now. Your ankle throbbed with a dull pain you didn’t even realize was there until now. You really hoped it wasn’t sprained or anything. You put weight on it to test the extent, and while the pain did get worse, it wasn’t unbearable. You’d still take a look at it when you got home anyway.

When you arrived at the bikes’ location, you quickly removed the coveralls and sighed at the chill that settled around you. You were sweaty and gross and didn’t want to put your hoodie back on, so you tied it around your waist. You passed the coveralls, hat, and earpiece to Ran. He was still staring you down, but you didn’t have the energy to care. He opened his mouth and you immediately snapped, “Spare me the lecture, Haitani. I know I’m stupid. I know I’m a fuck up, you don’t have to remind me.”

Ran shut his mouth and clenched his jaw. “That’s not it.” His voice was so low and dark you actually froze.

“Then what is it?”

“You risked my brother’s life.”

Your brain stopped working, not that it took much. Ran was worried about his baby brother. Of course. How silly of you to forget that some siblings have close and caring relationships. You weren’t sure if you should be flabbergasted or angry. Normally you’d have jumped to defend yourself, but you didn’t have it in you at that moment.

Your voice was flat when you said, “I told him to leave me behind. He made the decision to come find me. He’s a big boy, you know.”

“It’s not important, bro,” Rindou interjected. “We both made it out and the job is done.”

Ran spun to face his brother and flexed his jaw. Clearly the older Haitani had something to say, but he didn’t want to air out the dirty  laundry in front of you. Instead he gritted out, “Don’t let it happen again.”

Rindou almost looked embarrassed, and you’d be amused if you weren’t on the verge of passing out. “You have my number,” you said, waving your hand in dismissal. “Yell at me again when I’m not tired. I might enjoy it then.

Ran would usually banter back with you, but he was deadly quiet instead. Your nerves spiked a little as he stared you down, but you didn’t look away. It wasn’t until Rindou stepped between you two did you look away. Something in the younger brother’s eyes said, We’ll talk about this at home. It was convincing enough for Ran to snort and turn around.

You sat down on Rindou’s bike with a heavy sigh. You were ready to go home and you were sure Rindou was too. Yet he still had to take you to yours before he could go to his. There was a pang of guilt so transient you almost missed it, but you had to convince yourself that you didn’t care about that.

“I’ll see you at the apartment,” Ran said, his back still facing you and Rindou. Even you could pick up the undertone of you have explaining to do.

Rindou grunted in affirmation before taking his seat and starting up the engine.  “It’s really not that serious, bro,” he said. “It wasn’t like the time Kakucho dragged me to that yakuza headquarters.”

That caught Ran’s attention, but before he could say anything, Rindou took off. You grabbed Rindou’s waist tightly in a panic. “A little warning next time!” you shrieked over the wind.

“Nope,” Rindou called back.

“If I fell off and died, your rescue mission would have been in vain,” you responded.

He laughed at that, but said nothing else. You held on and rested your head on his back. You were so tired you didn’t care. You didn’t think much of the way Rindou stiffened in your hold. You simply closed your eyes and let Rindou weave between morning traffic. It was odd how at this moment, on the back of a rival gang member’s bike—a gang member that you were sure hated you as much as you hated him—everything was peaceful. There was nothing left in you to try and fight it, so you let the warmth from Rindou permeate into your chilled skin. If you didn’t have to hold on, you thought you’d fall asleep almost instantly.

Oh how pleasant would it be to ride in the early morning with someone? The thought that crept into your mind stunned you so much that you jolted upright, removing all but your arms from Rindou’s body. No. No, no, no, no. You were just tired. You had lost your inhibition. Nothing more nothing less.

Fuck, you were going to tell Shika that Rindou was your lover. The other runner had planted an idea in your head and it was hard to keep the reality at bay.

“You good back there?” If Rindou attempted to look back at you, you were going to let go of the bike and fall into traffic.

“Fine, don’t worry about it,” you responded, shaking your head lightly. You fought the heat that flushed your cheeks, but told yourself it was just your body trying to make up for the cool winds. That made sense, right?

You didn’t like him. He didn’t like you. You were barely even business partners, but for some reason, he came back for you. Anyone else would’ve left your ass behind and you had expected it. You wanted to ask him why, but something deep down inside you didn’t want to know the answer. You were a part of the job. He only cared because you were an important pawn. Normally that didn’t bother you, but everything that had transpired in the past few hours made you feel something like hope. And that was dangerous. You weren’t out of the woods yet. You still had one more job before Rokuhara could bargain for your freedom, and who knows when that would be.

Convincing yourself that these were incoherent thoughts of someone whose brain needed to be turned off was easy. You were confused and emotional because of the toll last night took on you. That had to be it. You would lie to Shika, pass out, and wake up good as new, meaning you would stop thinking about Rindou and what he did.

You leaned forward and rested your forehead against his back. You closed your eyes again and didn’t open them until you felt the bike come to a stop. You sat back up, letting go of Rindou and yawning. Shaking off some remnants of your exhaustion, you got off the idling bike and stretched out. When you glanced over your shoulder, you noticed that Rindou wasn’t looking at you. Maybe you could be courteous to him. He didn’t have to come back for you. The part of you that wanted to know couldn’t be shut up and you asked softly, “Why did you do it?”

You watched Rindou sigh and his form dropped low as if the sky were on his shoulders. He didn’t face you when he mumbled, “You’re important to the jobs. Kakucho wouldn’t have liked me abandoning you.”

It was what you knew he would say, but you weren’t expecting the sharp pang in your chest at the confirmation. What were you even hoping for? You shook your head and threw your hoodie back over your body. You thanked Rindou one last time and he only grunted in response. Not wanting to hold him much longer, you headed off, but not before telling him, “Don’t miss me too much.” 

Something rustled and you just waved. If he glanced at you, you wouldn’t know. You weren’t about to turn around either. The next thing you needed to do was sneak back into your apartment and hope none of your guard dogs discovered you’d left. You didn’t want to distrust Shika, but you knew getting too comfortable was a death sentence.

You scaled the chain link fence that blocked off the alley behind your apartment building. It shook and clanged and you prayed nobody was near enough to hear it and come inspect what was happening. Once over the fence, you dropped to the dumpster lid and then the ground. Your ankle did not like that, and you stumbled as your leg buckled. You hissed a swear under your breath and dusted off the front of your leggings. You stayed hidden behind the dumpster and when you didn’t hear anything, you looked around the edge and saw nothing. The fire escape to your window wasn’t that far away, but it was broken and you’d have to haul yourself up the rusted black metal. Maybe you could get fit while you were quarantined.

Hauling yourself up proved to be more difficult than you thought, but after you got to the platform you scaled one more level and had arrived at your window. You knocked in the pattern Shika had told you to do and waited. A few moments passed and the window slid open. Shika stood at the window, hair disheveled and brown eyes wide.

Your brain unhelpfully had you cracking a joke. “Honey, I’m home!”

Shika did not play along. Her eyes narrowed at you, but she stepped away from the window so you could clamber in. Your boots thudded softly against your floor and you slid the window shut. Home. You were safe.

“They didn’t figure anything out, right?” you asked, knowing the question was pointless.

Shika nodded, confirming that nobody suspected a thing. She looked you over and her brow crumpled when she saw the bandage on your cheek. “What the hell did you do for your date?”

You coughed to try to hide your embarrassment. Right. You were meeting a lover and now you had to confess who you were seeing. You should have lied. You should have made up a name, but you couldn’t think of one fast enough. You might as well just be honest, so you told her, “There’s a lot I need to tell you, but a promise is a promise.” You swallowed back your pride and nerves before saying, “I’m seeing Rindou Haitani.”

Please do not reupload, translate, or steal my work! If it isn't here or on my ao3, it's not me! Likes & reblogs appreciated! <3 Dividers courtesy of @/cafekitsune & @/firefly-graphics