#I miss them and I literally have Tsunade as a muse

[ladytsunadehime]

Sometimes I just cry over how Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru ended up

[blackvelvetwriteson]

Hi, could I get a one shot fem! black reader x Kakashi, please? (can be nsfw or fluff, it's your choice)

Hey there! Thank you for the request 🥺🥺 I had a bit of a roadblock with this one simply because I couldn’t think of a prompt, BUT I eventually thought ‘why not write about the holidays’ so I got into a groove with it! Once I got into it, it was a really fun write! I hope that this is what you expected and/or lives up to your expectations! 

𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄𝐒

                                            (  ~ Kakashi Hatake x Black Female                                                                   Reader Insert ~ )

GENRE: Fluffy Fluff!                                                                  

FANDOM: Naruto Shippuden

TRIGGER WARNINGS: There really are none for today, it’s pretty fluffy for today!

SUMMARY: Reader-Chan wants to celebrate the holiday season this year because she never got to, but she doesn’t necessarily know how to approach Kakashi about it since he never celebrates the holidays (or ever even heard of them for that matter.

WORD COUNT: 4303

(Headers are mine, but the art inside of them are not! Please don’t steal or repost without credit!)

     For some reason, you were in an incredibly festive mood this time around. Maybe it was something about how the gilded sunlight made yours and Kakashi’s home feel more… Well, home-y. Maybe it was the remnants of your food that you’d made earlier for your lunch still lingering around the house, or the kids of the village running around outside of your windows, whether subliminally training or not undeterminable, reminding you of your youth. Time had gone by so fast, and already you’d been in Japan for about two years and a half. You already knew that, in general, the people of the area didn’t celebrate Halloween, and actually it was a week AFTER Halloween would’ve taken place in America, but something about today… Something about today made your festive bone quiver and you decided to do SOMETHING to celebrate. 

Since you’d picked up on the shinobi not celebrating American holidays like you were used to, you avoided asking Kakashi about it. Come to think of it, he never really did anything you were accustomed to besides the staring thing; and when you got together he tried to give you food related nicknames. You had to sit down and explain to him why it wasn’t okay and why it made you uncomfortable and then he thoroughly apologized and left it at that. He didn’t really have any nicknames for you, and from research you found that most women in Japan (and men) only go by their given names with -chan/san at the end which was cute, but if everyone had to call you that then it’d lose meaning and it wouldn’t be as cute.

Even still, though, you decided that today would be the day that you participated in the festivities of the holiday season that, in America, would be fast approaching. The only question for you was who you were going to dress up as and suddenly a thought formed in your head as you popped up from the couch and scurried to your guys’s room. You’d dress up as your hero, your boyfriend Hatake Kakashi! He wouldn’t expect it, you’d be able to see how everything fits, AND it’d be cute- at least you thought- and it’d give you something to do so that the crisp, perfect day didn’t go to waste.

You sifted through the closet with eager eyes as you hummed softly, some of your curls coming loose and falling down by your face, your dark brown beautiful eyes twinkling as you pulled out the parts to the outfit he wore from day to day, your eyebrows knitting a little as one corner of your lip lifted a little. “This man, so help me black Jesus,” you whisper softly noticing how much heftier your wardrobe was than his. He had the same outfit to go over about 5 or 5 times, black sweatpants, black shorts, and 3 different headbands all crushed, neatly, together on one side of the closet while your clothing took up the other half. You shook your head and closed the door with your hip once you were sure you had everything you needed for your little plan. You looked it over excitedly, your slender auburn fingers contrasting almost perfectly against the colors of his uniform. “Damn… I never noticed that till now,” you laugh softly as you remove your shirt and start to pull on articles of the outfit, trying to mimic exactly how you saw Kakashi wear his so you didn’t accidentally disrespect him. Of course he only had 2 masks and a shirt with a mask that you’d sewn onto it, and you decided not to mess with any of it. You didn’t want to hide your face at all whatsoever, especially behind masks that might’ve well have been your boyfriend’s comfort items. You had pretty much everything on, the worn out navy blue bringing everything together, the green brightening your pretty almost black eyes. You giggle softly as you look in the mirror and decide to do something with your hair before it dried completely- you’d taken a shower only 30 minutes prior and your hair was a little damp. You scurry off to the bathroom with the bandage and garter in one hand, your yellow hair pik in the other. You looked extremely excited, for once taking a moment to completely love and indulge in yourself. Being in an area where your existence was offensive to others to suddenly going to a place where absolutely nobody looked even close to you was an extreme shift, but Kakashi made it okay, literally brawling with anybody that so much as looked at you the wrong way. You had a small bit of tummy, but he loved that about you; and it’s not like it slowed you down any, made you unreliable, or made you any less attractive than you were. In fact, to some people it wasn’t even really noticeable unless you were wearing certain things. You also had to drop the American style and adopt the Japanese locale and honestly, while that was a HUGE shift, Kakashi helped with that too. Sometimes you’d get yourself in trouble with how you spoke though; that American lingo that’d been generationally passed down to you finding its way showing up and showing out, especially when someone wanted to make fun of your hair, or your physique and compare you to the other local girls, most noticeably Ten-Ten, Lady Tsunade, Sakura, and Hinata. They argued that the more pale girls were more attractive; because you could play in their hair and you wouldn’t have to worry about one slowing you down- at which remarks you stuck the shit talkers to a tree with your kunai for hours after you thoroughly cussed them out and ribbed them a little, telling Kakashi what’d happened so he could go cut them down. On the flip side, the kids absolutely adored you and loved when you were out so they could play tag or ask you unnecessary questions or get some treats from you.

You quick-washed your hair in the sink and started to blow-dry it deciding that you’d give yourself an at home blowout so that you could complete the look. Being the multitasker you were born into being, you found something to prop the blowdryer up while you piked your hair out quickly, smiling as you watched your hair fluff up, watching your coils straighten and then get bigger until it couldn’t anymore. Then it hit you; Kakashi hadn’t seen your hair blown out except once and that was while you were braiding it back and his eyes were fixated on your fingers as he wondered how a person could do that. At this point, your hair was halfway done, and while you let the tool dry your hair even more, you attempted to wrap the bandage around your thigh and it only BARELY made it, your thigh utterly choked in the process. You looked down at your leg and then pensively looked at the garter and decided that wouldn’t fit around your leg and you let out a frustrated sigh. “That man, is fine as fuck, but why he built like a bean pole,” you huff quietly as you let the bandage loose from trapping your thigh before your mind wandered to him. “…. Aight so maybe he got a LITTLE bit of muscle, but we aint talkin’ about that right now,” you laugh softly before looking at your phone seeing that he sent you a text signifying that he was on his way back from training for the day and that he was fine. You smiled cheerily at your text and tilted your head some at yourself, using your pik to fluff your hair out more before you scurried back to your guys’s room and snatched one of his spare headbands up, securing it quickly and tactfully. You looked at yourself in the mirror, your hands coming up and sliding into the arm holes of his navy green vest. You turned to one side, then to the next, then finally you looked at yourself from a front profile and your eyes glistened a little. “You’re… so heroic,” you mumbled under your breath before you heard some clatter coming from outside of the room.

“Oh right… You can do that,” you say as you open the door and watch him freeze completely in his spot, his eyes slowly raking over you from head to toe then back up again, his stoic expression unchanging from what you could tell. “H-Heyy… Honey,” you smile nervously as you wave with one of your gloved hands. He walked towards you and slipped one side of the headband over one of your eyes and then he stifled a soft grunt under his breath.

“It’s Kakashi. We’ve talked about this,” he said softly before he looked over his shoulders, his hands sliding in his pockets again as his back straightened out some. “….Why are you wearing my clothes,” he asked with a slight edge to his voice, meanwhile you were still frozen in place, your legs starting to quiver some. You didn’t know why he was being so cold to you and it made you just a little insecure. “Particularly… Those,” he said as he stared at the wall below the TV you both had, his legs crossed as he leaned back into the couch.

“Damn so you not gonna say ‘hi.’ Or ‘I missed you,’ or nothin’ like that hm? Well… My bad, I guess I’ll just go take it off,” you say softly, the spirit of the day becoming crushed. He mused softly and his head only tilted a small bit. He didn’t even look at you and you noticed this. The whole time you were here… The whole time you were together the only thing you wanted was his eyes on you and his praises. You were struggling and it was on you for the most part because you hadn’t reached out to him for help. He was a real big one for “say what you mean or need,” or something like that. You LOVED the idea behind the last stretch of the year; the days designated for giving thanks, hanging out with the ones you love, amazing food, and gifts, and movies, and music. All of it… But having come from where you had, you never really had good times or a good chance to make memories. Now that you were old enough to have someone of your own and actually be able to create memories, you wanted to… But instead you’d been trying to force it out of your life to make your man happy, however you weren’t having it anymore. You just didn’t know how to bring it up.

“Mm.. What’s-“

Before he could even finish speaking, you’d vanished back into your guys’s room and shut the door behind you. He sat back in the seat and he let out a low drawn out breath and then stood up. Within one second he vanished from the living room and appeared right in front of you with his arms crossed.

“I asked why you were wearing my clothes, not that you had to take them off,” he said as he looked blandly at your hurt expression. “And I was trying to ask what was up with you,” he said as he reached one hand out and gently tipped your head up, his free hand reaching for where your bangs covered your eye but then he stopped as he usually did and he tilted his head some. “May I?” He spoke from behind his mask. You push his hand out of the way and move your hair out of your face by yourself, your sharp eyes peering into his. This time his eyebrows rose a bit more noticeably and usual and he waited for you to talk so he could listen, his hands now in his pockets.

“Yknow… I’ve tried to work what is normal to me out of my system… And when I was younger, that would’ve been… Easier. But now, it’s not… Kakashi, when you don’t look at me it makes me feel undesirable… Because nobody else looks at me unless they’re making fun of how flat and wide my features are… or how damn burnt I look even though this is my natural skin tone! I just… Want you to call me your baby once in awhile damnit! I want to call you *mine* and not just… Ka-ka-shi. Everybody calls you that… And… I get jealous when I see the other people hanging out with you, the cooler people with the sharingan variants, or the cool eyes and the people with the slim builds, or the people with the advanced shinobi skills that are greater than mi-“ You hadn’t noticed that while you were talking, Kakashi pulled his mask down, then you were interrupted with a kiss. It was a soft, but soulful kiss; the kind where one of his gloved hands had you by the chin and the other by the back of your head. The kind where you could feel his body heat completely wrapping you up. The kind where you felt his trembling breath break his completely calm composure. Your hands were gently pressed against the back of his arms, one of your hands at his elbow as he pulled away and allowed his eyes to slowly open. His shadow was cast down onto you and you saw his eyes squint a little, his smile hidden by the mask he’d pulled back up after the kiss. On the other hand, your eyes were wide and your lips were barely parted, your eyes glistening as you looked over his mostly hidden smile. Your knees buckled under you and he helped make sure you didn’t fall, his chest pressed against yours.

“You done?” He asked as he helped you stand upright again. You were dazed just staring at your man and he smirked a little as he pulled his mask down again still standing close to you. “I see… You want everyone to know that you’re mine and vice versa? That’s it? That’s why you’re wearing my clothes today…? You want me to… Call you mine? Right?” He spoke quietly, he was ONLY talking to you, his deep voice getting a little more hoarse as he continued to drone on, his hands on your hips pulling you closer to him, his intense gaze still cast into your eyes. You swallow hard and nibble the inside of your cheek. “You want you to call you my baby? My beautiful, perfect baby girl? Hm? Is that why you’re acting out? Or… You want me to show you that I care more, right? Maybe… You want me to make dinner once? Or bring you flowers? Or watch you train? Or… Cheer you on? Right? Perhaps tease you a little… Or hold you this close all the time?”

You nod slowly and then look away already knowing what this was sort of leading up to but his slender fingers forced your gaze back on him.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you, baby,” he said softly as he tilted his head a little. “If you wanted that… Why didn’t you just say so? I can’t read minds… And I’m still relatively new to this whole… Romance scene,” he said softly as he gently stroked your cheek with his thumb. “You know this. I’m a little… Dense? I’m not sure if that’s the proper word. But…. You’re just… Ugh… I didn’t know that me hanging around people made you jealous- perhaps it’s in my best interest to just tell you how much you mean to me all of the time. You’d want that too, right? I know you would,” he said softly as his fingers gently trailed up your back. “Or… Maybe you want to have a little bit more sex? Is that apart of it?” The question made your eyes wide, skin burn with an invisible blush, and your jaw drop a little. He let out a hollow laugh in turn, gently pushing your jaw up to close your mouth with the tips of his fingers. “Baby steps. I got it. For now, let me just say this: You’re beautiful… All of your scars, curves, marks and all. Those coffee colored eyes of yours are so much more… Stupefying than any sharingan I have seen and will ever see…. The little spark they get when you’re determined, or that soft glisten when you get embarrassed,” he said as he looked over your whole face. “Your body… Your whole body… Is amazing… You don’t have to be slim to be an amazing shinobi; and so help me, my beautiful queen,” he says softly as he leans down so he’s eye level with you. “If you ever discredit yourself like that again, I’ll work you out so that you’re not able to move for the next week. You’re right on the fast track to be a fine shinobi- possibly even the greatest at that. Well… Not greater than me, but that’s another story and another conversation,” he said quietly as you were pushed back onto your bed while he stood over you. “Are those idiots getting into your head again?” His eyebrows furrowed a little as his hands slipped back into his pockets.

Finally you were able to find your words again and you crossed your legs out of habit. “Y-Yeah… For… Like… The past 3 weeks they’ve been telling me that I’m too slow… Or I’m too… Wide… Or making fun of me and my eyes, or making fun of how dark I am… Or making fun of my hair! My damn hair! It hurts… A lot… And we’re together, but I don’t want to be known as that abnormal girl that calls on her boyfriend every time she needs saving. I got it… Aight? I can handle that… But… That’s why I need YOUR praises…. To validate me I guess… I already know I’m THAT… girl… But I want to hear it from you… I want you,” you mumbled softly. “And the reason I’m dressed up like this is because I’m dressed up for Halloween- In America it’s a day where people dress up and do their makeup and hair and have fun at parties or go trick or treating to get candy and stuff! I’ve always loved it despite not being able to… Participate much,” you say softly as you rub your arm. “I dunno, I guess I just wanted to celebrate the holiday season this year- even if we never do it again, I at least want one memory of a great holiday season with mine… With you,” you say softly. He listens to everything you say with an opaque grin on his face.

“If that’s what you wanted, then why didn’t you just say that?” He said softly as he climbed over you, his hips barely resting in your lap as your heart skipped a beat. He pushed you to lay down on the bed and his hands rested right by your head, your eyes peering up at him with a soft grin rested on your face.

“I-I d-didn’t w-want to get told no… I d-didn’t want to… Bother you with something that seemed so insignificant… I didn’t want you to think of me as weak,” you say softly as he gently kisses your neck. You shuddered a little and bit your lip as you tilt your head up some.

“Well now’s your hot seat,” he huffed quietly against your neck. “Tell me what you want, tell me everything you want, and I’ll do it until you tell me that you don’t want it anymore,” he said as he looked back into your eyes, your hands rested against his chest as you thought for a moment before speaking again. “W-Well… I want you to call me your baby and vice versa… Or come up with a nickname or something… I want you to watch me train and root for me, I want you to let everyone know who I belong to, but allow me to show who you belong to, too… I want you to tease me and hold me close… Everywhere… I want you to go on dates with me and do holiday stuff with me… I want you to make me feel wanted and loved… I just fucking want *you* Kakashi…” you say softly as you look up at him. Upon gazing, you notice that his expression had soften significantly, and the hold he had on you was more protective than ever. “A-And I guess more s-sex would be cool,” you say softly and he chuckles quietly in return. You reach one of your hands up and gently cup his face, your thumb gently caressing his cheek. “You know… You should smile more… You’re quite handsome when you do… Well I mean you’re fine as hell either way, but I like it when you smile… And laugh like that…” you say softly as he leans his head into your hand a little more. He kisses your clothed palm and smiles just for you and suddenly you took on a breathless expression, your eyes halfway open as he blushed a little and you just took this moment to adore him, everything about him. “That’s what you want from me? Okay,” he said softly before moving to pin your hand weakly to the bed above you, his eyes both gazing into yours- well as much as he could anyway seeing as your hair practically swallowed your face leaving your bottom half of your face exposed for him. You could see him just fine, he just couldn’t see you… And for the moment that was fine. His gentle lips pressed against yours from above and your eyes fluttered shut as usual when this happened. You felt a little touch starved because he didn’t like contact very much, but he was warming up to it a little more. You wrapped one of your arms around his waist and pulled him closer, and then the two of you melted into each other on the bed in a fit of grunts, deep, passionate, soft kisses, dulcet giggles coming from the both of you, his hand wandering up your waist up the natural curve of your body as yours tried to find where his clothing allowed you access to his skin. You found it, your warm fingers contrasting against his lukewarm skin. He jolted a little and let out a groan before looking at you again, nibbling your lip gently before he pulled away. “You’re amazing,” he whispered quietly and breathlessly against your lips as you tried to control your breathing again.

“Says one of the most notable and historic ninja warriors of all time,” you say with a soft chuckle, moving your hair out of your face so you could look at him and so he could look at you.

“You know… Paths like that carry plenty of… Skeletons in the closet, right?” He said softly as his gaze intensified only a little bit.

“Yeah, and? You still made it… Everyone looks up to you… You’ve killed people and seen plenty of your own killed… And people that couldn’t handle it… Y’know… But, Kakashi Hatake,” you say softly as you turn his head back towards you and your own expression hardens a little. “No matter what, I’ll still love you like the day that I met you… Just like that day you first came to protect.. Well the other person- after they were bullying me… After you checked to make sure I was okay… Baby I love you, and as long as you love me too, I’m gonna be on your side. I’m your woman- I’m your queen, right? A queen needs her partner in royalty, and this house is our kingdom. You’re my king, and unapologetically mine… And I’m the same for you,” you say quietly as you sit up and smile a little. “I know you haven’t been sleeping, Kashi,” you say softly as you gently kiss his lips. “I’m not a super heavy sleeper… You’re safe now, though,” you say softly as you run your fingers through his hair. “Let me go make dinner tonight and… C-Can I decorate?” You whispered softly, expecting a no as you turned and gently pushed him to make him lay on the bed and he chuckled softly, gently grabbing your hand.

“If decorations are what you want, then I don’t have a problem with it,” he said softly, kissing the back of your hand gently. Your skin burned with an invisible flush and you pulled the covers up on him, trying to make the room just a little more homey so that he could sleep better.

“I… Wow… Um… Okay,” you say softly, lighting a candle and setting it on the nightstand, standing in the doorway. “I d-don’t know if I said this already, but I’m gonna make a hot pot for dinner… And I’ll go see if there are any pumpkins in the area… I’ll make us some pumpkin bread and make some cookies for the kids,” you say with a beaming smile, looking at your sleepy man who was already cuddling a pillow on his way to sleep. He admired your soothing voice, able to relax for the first time in a long time, and how the golden sun gave you a gilded glow that made your skin twinkle and your eyes illuminate the room. He had never felt so lucky to have someone as good as you to him, and that was the last thing he saw- or thought- before he slipped off into dreamland and you disappeared behind the door to excitedly start dinner.

[onomatophia]

devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes

Notes: i literally know nothing about police procedurals so sorry for any of the inaccurate depiction/info. shoutout to tswift for releasing Lover and giving me new titles to work with

Pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke

Summary: Because that's what Haruno Sakura is, a paradox. An enigma he's been trying to solve since he laid eyes on her. Who knew that hidden behind that innocent, angelic face is the leader of Konoha's largest mob?

In which Haruno Sakura is a mob boss and Uchiha Sasuke is a police detective playing a game of cat and mouse. It's a love hate relationship.

—

 

"Huh," Haruno Sakura muses as her eyes roam about the interrogation room she's in, "I was kind of expecting more of a bare cramped space with nothing but two metal chairs and a flickering lightbulb swinging above while you give me useless threats to provide you with information. You know, like the ones on TV. How very disappointing," she says and gives out mock sigh of disappoinment.

Detective Uchiha Sasuke only continues to look over the folder containing all the information about her, refusing to spare her a glance.

Seated in front of him is temptation incarnate herself. Dressed in nothing but a flashing red suit and black killer heels, Haruno Sakura is a sight to behold. Her skin tight suit is only buttoned on the navel, covering only her stomach and showing off a portion of her black lace bra, giving him a good view of her cleavage that seems to be taunting him everytime he looks up at her. Her hair is tied up in a messy bun, showing off her slender and creamy neck that makes Sasuke clench his fists. She looks like she's straight out of the garden of eden; one look at her and Sasuke feels like he's committing a sin.

He thinks that such glaringly bright color should clash against the pastel pink of her hair but then again, he supposes it's only fitting. Because that's what Haruno Sakura is, a paradox. An enigma he's been trying to solve since he laid eyes on her.

Who knew that hidden behind that innocent, angelic face is the leader of Konoha's largest mob?

Sasuke clears his throat and tries to focus to the task at hand. He has a job to do and being attracted to the fugitive he's been chasing for the last two years is only counterproductive to his work.

"I assume you are aware what you're brought in for, Miss Haruno?"

"Aww, you even used your pet name for me in your workplace. That's very sweet of you, Detective," Sakura says with a saccharine smile.

Sasuke's eye merely twitches at her jibe. "What were you doing in Shimura Danzo's mansion the night he was murdered?"

She leans back in her chair and starts to examine her nails in a bored fashion. "Mr. Shimura was a close friend of Tsunade's, I figured it would be nice to have a chat about the family business with him."

"Family business," Sasuke repeats. "Didn't know that's what you refer to organized crime these days. What kind of business do you have to talk about with the Chief of Konoha's Police Force in the middle of the night, then?"

"I just came for a truce, that's all. The police has been rather meddlesome with my businesses lately." Sakura leans over the table and rests the side of her face on her palm.  "So you brought me in here because you think I murdered Danzo, is that right, Detective?"

"You were the last person he saw before he died. Your location was ten minutes away from his mansion during the time of the murder. He was the one who started the investigation against you, giving you a motive to get rid of him. I could go on and on but I don't want to waste time. Either confess now or we find evidence against you," Sasuke says smugly.

Instead of fear and panic, however, Sasuke can only find amusement dancing in her mesmerising green eyes and something tells him that this woman in front of him is up to no good.

"Why Detective Uchiha, that might be the longest thing you've ever uttered to me in the last two years. Should I go on a murder spree so I can improve the communication issues we've been having in our relationship?" Sakura asks innocently.

Sasuke just grits his teeth, "It would be in your best interest to cooperate, Miss Haruno."

"His mansion is quite far from my place so I decided to spend the rest of my night at nearby motel bar. And last time I checked, I don't have the ability to teleport nor do I have a doppelganger so how can I be in two places at once?"

"And it just so happens that CCTV cameras in that motel bar were broken?" he asks sarcastically.

"Not my fault that the owner wasn't good at maintaining their establishment," she replies with a shrug.

"You failed to show us a receipt as proof that you were down at the bar at the time of murder."

Sakura smirks at him. "With this pretty face, would you really expect me to buy my own drink when I can barely finish all the free drinks a few hotties had been sending my way last night?"

Sasuke clenches his jaw, not liking ugly feeling churning in his stomach. He chalks it up to irritation at her, not at the thought of her being with other men. "So Danzo's not the only one to fall prey to your deceptions last night, then?"

Sakura laughs. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you're jealous, Detective."

"You're delusional."

Instead of being offended, she lets out a chuckle instead. "Don't worry, Detective. I slept alone last night if that's what you're worried about. After all, there's only one particular man I want to take home with me every night but he's always annoyed with me whenever we see each other."

Sasuke could feel her heels sliding up and down his leg and if it weren't for his practiced control, he would've shivered right there and then at the contact. He gives her a warning look. "Careful Miss Haruno, if you don't want me to have to handcuff you."

"Ooh. Kinky," Sakura says with a wink.

Sasuke tries to hold back a growl of frustration wanting to come out from his lips. He refuses to rise to the bait and give her the satisfaction of reacting to her taunts.

This woman really knows how to push his buttons.

She's been held in the interrogation room as the prime suspect for the murder and so far, no one has succeeded in breaking her. Even Ibiki Morino, the famed interrogator in their precinct, tried to make her talk but to no avail. She is a tough shell to crack.

Sasuke is about to ask her another set of questions when the door to the interrogation room suddenly opens, revealing the captain of their precinct, Hatake Kakashi. A woman with long blonde hair tied up in ponytail and dressed in a formal black suit stands behind him, holding a briefcase and Sakura's belongings with her.

"Sorry to interrupt Detective Uchiha," Kakashi says as they both enter and then turns to Sakura with an inscrutable look, "but Miss Haruno here is free to go."

Sasuke abruptly stands up, brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Kakashi gives him a look of resignation. "The killer just voluntarily surrendered himself five minutes ago. Detective Uzumaki is processing his statement right now."

"I take it my client can leave now? You've already held her here for twelve hours and it would be better that she not spend any more minute trapped in this place." The woman interrupts, her blue eyes sharp, daring them to challenge her words. Sasuke has seen her with Sakura often and assumes she must be her lawyer.

"Yes," Kakashi replies. "Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Haruno."

But Sakura was not paying attention to him, she was busy locking gazes with Sasuke who is looking back at her with accusation in his eyes.

He thinks her alibi is much too sloppy and that it's awfully convenient that some random murderer decides to confess his crime when he could easily get away as there are no traces of evidence of the murder. He knows, with such certainty, that the woman in front of him is the one responsible for killing Danzo but with her power over Konoha, catching her would be like finding needles in a haystack.

Sakura smiles knowingly at him and turns on her heels, "See you later, Detective."

—

Sasuke stumbles as he opens the door to his apartment. He usually doesn't drink because he can never hold his liquor but today proved to be a very challenging day so when Naruto asked the whole squad to go to the nearby bar, he didn't hesitate to go with them.

"You're home late."

He doesn't startle when he hears her voice, he knows she'll be here. It's Friday, one of the days she reserves only for him.

She's the one who bought this penthouse apartment for him anyway, she can come in whenever she likes. It's an expensive place with a pretty good location and it gives Naruto something to tease him about. With their meager salary as cops and with his family's modest background, his friend cannot fathom how he could afford such a place and thus comes to the conclusion that Sasuke has a sugar mommy. Sasuke cannot count how many times he has decked Naruto for such an insinuation.

He removes his coat and hangs his keys before turning to Sakura who sits by the kitchen counter, dressed in one of his shirts and leiurely sipping wine.

Sasuke clenches his jaw, still quite angry with her. Angry with her for not letting him in on her plans, angry with her for just sitting there and looking so perfect and making his heart stutter every damn time. He feels his body burn as they held their gazes for a moment and he's sure it's got nothing to do with the alcohol he consumed.

Still, he might be stupid for her but he has pride to maintain so he decides to ignore her and head straight to the bedroom, aware of Sakura following him from behind.

She sighs as she leans against the door. "Come on, we haven't seen each other in a week. Are you really gonna be difficult tonight?"

Sasuke stares at her for a moment before returning to his task of divesting his vest.

Sakura groans out loud and steps into the room to come near him. She bats his hand away and starts to unbutton his shirt herself, refusing to look at him while Sasuke continues to scowl at her.

Silence reigned in the room for what seemed like a long time before Sasuke decides to break his resolve and question her. This has often become a game for them whenever they had a row, see who breaks first. Sakura always loses; she is far too impatient to prolong their guessing game and Sasuke can be an immovable mountain when he wants to.

This time, though, it's Sasuke who breaks the silence. "Why didn't you tell me about Danzo?" he asks without preamble.

Right now they are just in his apartment, not in a cold interrogation room. Right now they are just Sasuke and Sakura, not cop and fugitive. No need for theatrics, they shed their masks the moment they walked through the door of his apartment.

With nothing left to unbutton, Sakura only fiddles with ends of his shirt before she sighs and looks up at him. "He was planning to kill you. He was planning to send you and your squad on a suicide mission so he'd still have his hands clean even as he completed his goal."

Sasuke frowns, "I don't remember doing anything that might've displeased him."

"No, but you reopened an old case that might incriminate him."

He doesn't bother to ask how she knows this. She's Sakura, she owns Konoha and she can do anything she wants. He thinks back to the case he and Naruto had been halfway through solving, a case involving a massacre of some politician's family ten years ago.

Sakura nods to the direction of his bedside table where he sees a stack of folders lay. "You might want to have a look at that. It might help with your case."

Sasuke finds it ironic that he's the cop whose job is to protect people and yet it's a wanted criminal who's been doing all the saving.

"You didn't have to do that," Sasuke says. For me, were the words unsaid.

"Well I can't just let you die, then that's one less cop on my side." Sakura then loops her arms around his neck and smiles at him.

Sasuke only shakes his head. "Bullshit, I don't even do anything for you."

It's true. In the past year they've been meeting up in secret, there were no inside informations exchanged between them that could be of use to Sakura. And while he let himself off on the ongoing investigation against her, he does nothing to get her out of the hook either.

They've both agreed that with their arrangement as complicated as it already is, they should try to keep their jobs out of it as possible. This was the first time she's involved herself in his own matters.

"Fine, if you died then I'd have nobody to warm my bed," Sakura ammends playfully.

"You have men, even women, crawling at your feet," he points out.

She narrows his eyes at him and pinches his chest, "Are you really gonna make me say it?"

They stared each other down for a few seconds before Sakura finally cracks. "You're important to me, okay? I don't—I don't know what I'm gonna do if I ever lose you so I'm gonna do everything in my power to not let it happen, even let this whole city burn if it means you're okay."

She doesn't have to say those three words, it already hangs in the air between them. Sasuke has known for quite some time because even with her cold facade, Sakura wears her heart in her sleeve. He can feel it in her kisses, in every lazy Sunday morning sex, in every tomato flavored dish she tries to cook for him but fails, in that fond smile she reserves only for him, in the different places she brings him to and everytime she gives him a peak inside the walls she so carefully built around herself.

"Sakura," he starts to say before he trails off, unsure what to say and what to do. "I..."

He feels the same way but he's afraid to admit it out loud. They've done such a good job of tiptoeing around each other, ignoring the elephant in the room and pretending what they have is just a casual thing, that there are no feelings involved. He's afraid that if they admit their feelings out loud, whatever fragile thing they have would break.

Sakura takes a deep breath and waves him off before he can say anything. "Danzo's been rather meddlesome lately anyways and I needed a distraction for the upcoming shipments to be unnoticed. It's the"

Her words were cut off when Sasuke suddenly pulls her flush against him, slanting his lips against hers as his hands roam about her body and igniting a fire between them that not even deep kisses can extiguish. Sakura responds immediately, tightening her hold on him and kissing him back with the same fervor. He pulls her even closer, wanting to feel every inch of her as they continue kissing like there's no tomorrow.

"You're mine," she says breathlessly when they pull apart, resting her forehead against his.

"Aa," he agrees because what's the use of denying it?

They were silent for a moment, basking in each other's presence before Sakura decides to break it with the troublesome smirk he knows all too well.

"Now where are those handcuffs you promised to use on me earlier, Detective?"

Sasuke's lips twitches into an exasperated smile as he looks down at her and pushes her back down on his bed. "You are nothing but a pain in my ass, Haruno," he says before climbing on top of her and leaning in to kiss her.

He can't help but feel that something just changed between them and something in him relaxes at the thought that they had just taken the plunge and cemented their relationship as something real, something they both want to fight for.

He knows what they're doing is wrong. He should be putting her behind bars; not caging her in his arms, but he can't find it in himself to care. She's got half the cops of Konoha in her pockets anyway, being the one particular cop inside her pants makes no difference.

 —

this was supposed to be angsty but it turned out soft and fluffy?? lol

just realized that the main theme of my fics is sakura being badass and awesome and wonderful and sasuke on the sidelines being pussywhipped. i love it

[masshirohebi-moved]

💍 ;)

Send me ‘💍’ for our muses to wake up married after a night of heavy drinking // @peepingtoadThey remember watching genin play around in the training fields. They recall how each would one after the other, run passed the very same tree, never once paying it mind. Until one of the children did, as they happily climbed the short distance up to sit above the others on a branch. And they recall how suddenly, lazing about the long grass was simply not enough. How everyone suddenly wished to be sitting on that very spot. How it suddenly looked so much more exciting after it became a joy for someone else. And as it only sat one, so began the bickering of who’s idea it was first to sit on the tree.Never mind the fact that the boy currently sitting there had made it obvious he had thought of it first, given he was the first one to start climbing. And they remember shaking their head and looking back to their book, amused by the sheer childishness of the group, at the primitive instinct to see what another had, and want it. Today however, only a couple months later, and the young Konoha shinobi is behaving just as childishly. No, they didn’t want marriage. There wasn’t the smallest, tiniest part of them that needed the security of a wedding band and spouse. Yet suddenly, Tsunade was getting that happy family. And suddenly, the concept of marriage made them feel as if they were missing out. And they would have pushed it to the back of their mind, had she not dragged her two team mates with her to select a wedding venue.

Just on the outskirts of Konoha, but hidden in the belly of fire country, the wide gardens were certainly marvelous. As were the halls dressed up with tables and flowers, a ceremony in practice as they arrived. Orochimaru loses Tsunade somewhere along the way, as she searches for her fiance, hearing her mention her distaste for how easy it was for outsiders to simply crash the party. Any form of security evidently lacking, privacy completely revoked. And the serpent must agree. For as it stands, they themself have crashed this party, sitting comfortably at the open bar. Open for the bride and grooms guests, they imagine. But they would capitalize on the lacking security.They can not recall how many drinks they have had, nor which drinks they mixed. And that would be enough of a sign that they should quit while they’re ahead. But they spot a familiar figure navigating the crowd. Not too hard to do, with his formidable size and height, not to mention his rakish disposition as opposed to the plainer men around him. They wave their comrade over, for their smaller figure could easily be eaten by the crowd. By the time Jiraiya gets to them, he won’t have to be very observant to spot the telltale signs that they are drunk. For one, they’re smiling, even as people around knock in to them amid all the dancing.They meet him on the open floor, and arms instantly find balance and comfort laced around his neck, “dance with me,” they hum lightly, fingers slipping around to catch on his collar. Brushing closer to him as others enclose on their space, head briefly tucked in the crevice of his neck. A warm feeling, a reassuring scent. They feel the floor moves without them however, as they throw a catlike smile up toward him, “it’s a wedding, we’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves. And in a few months time, it’ll be our lovely friends at the center of the room. We need to practice pretending that we’re happy don’t you think?”Upon no instant reciprocation however, and upon finding the room becoming unbearably hot and stuffy, they give in without actually giving him the fair chance to agree, “if you won’t dance with me, then at least drink with me,” they say, already tugging him elsewhere, back to the same bar they had been hovering around like a wraith near a lake.“It’s on me,” they say, for they decide they would rather not out themself for having been rather rudely drinking on anothers dime. They hand him a drink, leaning over to tell the man behind the bar to fetch another. They almost topple the bar stool they sit on, when they gracelessly find their way to the seat, “careful dear,” they chide lightly, as if he had been the one to upset the stool from a fair distance. They find their balance once more, although they swear they can see his arms brace, ready to catch them should that balance fail once more.“This whole marriage thing doesn’t fit, it’s too soon,” they say, with far more honesty than they would have offered sober, “and to that Dan character of all people. I don’t fancy him an awful lot. He smiles too often, and when people smile too much, they’re either far too good at pretending, or else they’re far too stupid to perceive reality.”And they flash their gaze next to the man beside them, who it now occurs to them, is just as good at keeping a happy persona. Even amid the wars and trials of life, so they reassuringly lean over to pet his hand, where he would be forced to catch them after all as they fall a bit too far forward, “except you dear, I don’t believe you’re false or stupid, perhaps just addicted to pain and misery.” and they tap their glass in to his in a mocking cheers, “here’s to the sick desire for self abuse.”Between their one sided conversation, for Jiraiya would be lucky to get a word in with their decision to download their nights feelings on to him, they find the root of their issue. That perhaps it isn’t that they wanted what she had, but that they were sick of her getting everything she wanted, when she wanted it. That for once, they wished to steal her thunder. Rather than see the precious princess get every ounce of attention the world had to offer. With family, friends and lovers all bowing at her alter. That if they could steal her thunder for once, they would be just a bit more at ease with life.And perhaps they should be happy, with her out of the question, maybe Jiraiya would lose all interest in her. But it would forever bother them that she had both found love, and then tossed Jiraiya’s away. Never needing the ‘spare’ she’d kept around. Daring to call their first choice a ‘spare’ to begin with.The night however, is getting more and more blurry. They aren’t sure how many drinks he has had after the meaningless ramblings they bestow upon him. They certainly haven’t kept count of their own. But they assume drinking will be good for the both of them. After all, although he may not be miserable for the same reasons as them, they are almost certain he is head over heels in love with the woman. And that the sound of wedding bells would be akin to a lament for the man. As such, why not drown their woes away?And they recall flashes of differing areas, the garden, the hall, the reception. They recall the bar a few more times, then an inn room that they swear wasn’t theirs. There are flashes of strangers faces, people they must have spoken to. However when morning arrives, they can’t work out in which order anything happened, most of it merely a blank space in their memory. But they decide in all fairness, that it was hard to remember their own name with the thick head they are greeted by. Cursing that the blinds are only semi closed, they moan softly when they’re forced from the bed to banish the light creeping in.Upon rolling over, they find they are very much not alone in the bed. But waking up beside their comrade after a drunken night wouldn’t prove to be their first time. So they throw their half of the blanket over his form, getting up to adjust the blinds, so he may be spared the same rude awakening they had. Slender fingers move to the small rope hanging down from the corner of the window frame, tugging it closed before a flash of metal catches their eye. They analyze the ring, and quite instantly recognize it. Tsunade’s, as it was. A very stolen ring now that it was on their hand.Turning back to the rest of the room, it is then that they spot the rather elaborate and beautiful flower arrangement. Boasting the duos latest disaster with the excitable letters splashed across a fine printed card; “Wishing you love and happiness on your wedding day, and as you embark on your new life together.” Signed rather sweetly with the venues emblem, and accompanied by a small box of heart shaped chocolates. Which, as sweetly intended as it was, added more resigned dismay than the band around their ring finger. “Get up,” they hiss, in a fashion that would send any marriage in to a future of years of bad luck to come, “let me see your hand.”They snatch it when he is too sleepy to register their demands, spotting Dan’s ring around his finger. They flounce to the other side of the room, picking up littered items of clothing and placing them messily in to a pile, shoes and haori’s all gathered before they toss Jiraiya’s at him. And although they would like to use the fact that they were both drunk to their advantage, they know that the concept of theft and spite would point all fingers at themself. It wouldn’t be hard to guess who had decided that quite literally robbing the joy and sentiment off somebodies hand would prove satisfactory. “Right, well I’m going to go find out the extent of our situation, you’re going to go give these rings back to their rightful owners,” they say, for they would rather not be met with Tsunade’s anger, or mockery, when she found out. If she hadn’t found out already…And before the man can even consider protesting, for it was rather obvious that it was the vipers idea to steal the rings, and therefore should be their mess to clean up, they have spun around to counterattack. For their counterattacks so often ended up being first strikes.“By all legal accounts, you’re my husband. So be a good one, and take this for the team.”

[peepingtoad]

NFFW meme for Tsunade (If I didn't sent it before X"D)

@redlineoffate Was accepting this just for Sinday a while back but for you I’ll oblige! Otherwise, not accepting :P

[NSFW] put a name in my inbox and my muse will answer:

How interested they are in having sex with them: This would be literally a dream come true!How much they would pay (or have to be paid) to have sex with them: I’ll pay all my medical bills when I’ve been beaten senseless for the mere suggestion of buying Tsunade for a night! As for myself, always easy and freesy~If they would rather bottom or top them: I’d like to be on top the first time, to lavish her with attention and show her just what she’s been missing all these years!How good they think they would be: Because I love her, there’s no way this would be a disappointing experience.If they’d prefer kitchen counter, wall, or shower sex with them: Wherever she is most comfortable. I should think secluded and intimate would be preferable, so perhaps a hot shower?If they’d fuck, have sex, or make love: Aways, always make love! ♥If they were going to make it a threesome, the third person they’d pick: I’d prefer not to the first time, but if we were to do that I’d let her pick!If they think there’s ever a possibility that it would happen: I’m hopeful!  

[kuriquinn]

Samsara [Part VII]

General Disclaimer

It takes two weeks before they are able to pick up Orochimaru's trail, and when they find him, it's in an underground base between the Land of Bears and the Land of Whirlpools.

Sakura is once again sweating through her winter clothes, practically gasping beneath an extra cloak. She doesn't remove it, though. Even without Sasuke's admonition that she should keep her pregnancy literally under wraps, she would have no intention letting Orochimaru see that she is expecting.

"I doubt he'll try anything," Sasuke mutters as they head into the cold, echoing underground chambers. "But still…"

"It's Orochimaru."

"Exactly."

"I'm hurt that you think so little of me," a sly voice whispers in the dark, and even though she has long since gotten over her nightmares of this shinobi, Sakura shivers.

She turns around, having to squint in the dark to make out the figure of Sasuke's former master. As he comes closer, she sees that he has once more stolen a body, this time of an unlucky teenager. His eyes are as cold as ever, however.

"My most heartfelt belated congratulations on your wedding, my dear Sasuke and Sakura," he says warmly, as if they are old friends seeing each other only after a few days instead of years. "I'm afraid my invitation never did arrive, but I don't hold it against you. Had I known you were in the area, I would have prepared a gift for you."

"This isn't a social call," Sasuke says, not bothering with a preamble. "What do know about past lives?"

Orochimaru chuckles. "So serious, as usual, my dear boy. And what a question…is your past history causing you problems perhaps?" Sasuke and Sakura exchange tense looks. Orochimaru's eyes narrow, catching the by-play, and his eyes light up. "Not my dear apprentice, but his lovely wife. That is something I would not have expected."

The way he looks at Sakura now reminds her of a snake preparing to consume a bird. She refuses to be intimidated by it, and takes a step forward.

"Sasuke might trust you, but let me make this abundantly clear to you," Sakura tells the Sannin, a hard smile on her face. Ten years of rage and resentment over what he did to her husband and to her in the Forest of Death build within her. "If you do one thing that strikes me as a threat, I will destroy you. You might not have a spine to rip out, but I will tear your nervous system out of you tissue by tissue if I have to."

Far from being insulted, Orochimaru appears amused.

"You still have the same fire as Tsunade. Far be it from me to encourage your, er, rather gratuitous imagination," he pretends to cough delicately, and then sighs. "Alas, there isn't much I can help you with. Not unless you happen to know where the remains of your esteemed former incarnation are located. In which case, I could summon her – or him – to you to ask directly." Sakura makes a disgusted face. "Ah, it is as I thought."

"Can a previous incarnation take over a current one?" Sasuke asks, finally voicing what has been worrying them both for weeks.

"Of the three of us, I imagine you would be in the best position to answer that, Sasuke my boy," Orochimaru purrs. "As you're the only one who has had concrete proof of living a previous life."

Sasuke frowns.

"From a strictly scientific standpoint, however, it wouldn't make sense," the older man continues. He gestures vaguely. "There are endless treatises on the subject of the soul, and yet the one thing that almost every one of these scholars would agree with is that it is immortal. Unchanging and immutable – a force that exists in continuity no matter what incarnation you inhabit."

"Then that means she could surface again after all," Sakura says, dismayed.

"Don't be foolish, my dear. Note that I said the soul is immortal. People are not. People are the sum of their experiences, their personalities, their hates and their loves. When a body dies, those things die with it. The woman you were, her existence ended when she perished. It's only the traces of her that you are somehow tapping into."

"Wait…what?"

Orochimaru sighs. "I'm disappointed. You were supposed to be the intelligent one."

Sakura narrows her eyes, balling one hand into a fist beneath her cloak; there's a soft touch against the back of her wrist, and she looks up to see Sasuke discreetly shaking his head.

Fine…he get's one. Just one.

"Allow me to demonstrate," Orochimaru says, either missing the by-play or not caring.

He reaches into his robe, causing both Sasuke and Sakura to tense; noting their posture, he smirks and, in a much slower fashion, draws out a scroll. From the girth and seals, it's obviously a summoning scroll.

"This scroll represents a covenant between the serpents of Ryūchi Cave, and has for over a thousand years," he explains, unrolling the paper and showing the names and the blood marks. "The covenant remains the same down through the generations, immutable – but the owners of these marks are not. They are human, after all." He smirks down at his own mark, like he's enjoying a private little joke. "The names and blood oaths never disappear, and are simply added to. I imagine the soul to be the same way – unchanging, immortal and utterly incapable of true death."

"You're saying our souls have an imprint of every life we have ever lived," Sakura realises.

"I am saying no such thing. It's merely a hypothesis, as there has never been anyone to test the theory on," Orochimaru says, his cold eyes focussing on her with a disturbing intensity. "I would be more than happy to pursue the study further, if you're interested."

"No," Sasuke interrupts. "We're leaving now."

He chuckles again, clearly not expecting anything different.

"By my reckoning, the average human is too dull, or too caught up in their own misery to take much notice of their soul, let alone remember a previous existence. And so I wonder, dear Sakura," Orochimaru muses sweetly, "What could possibly have caused such a change in your disposition that you are suddenly more aware of your soul than normal?"

He stares at her intently, his eyes not even straying to her stomach, but somehow she knows that he knows.

"Will it end with the birth?" she asks, not bothering to beat around the bush. Sasuke startles, jerking his head toward her and considering the intense staring match between his wife and former master, as if trying to decide who he might have to protect in the case of the worst.

"Who can tell? If I were to hazard a guess, there seems to be something left unfinished in your previous life," Orochimaru says airily. But his eyes become more intensely focussed on her. "A message is being given to you, my dear, and you are likely not meant to know what it is until the time is right."

For some reason she is reminded of the far-seeing eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, and she can't help the hollow feeling that grows in the pit of her stomach.

眠り

When it happens, it does without her understanding quite how.

In one instant, she is wandering along the sea shore, a rare moment on her own since the journey began. Asura and his men are bartering passage from some of the local fishermen, while she enjoys a rare peaceful spell by the lotus blossoms. Somewhere in the distance she knows Taizo is watching her, but he keeps his distance.

In the next moment, the cloudless day is darkening, a storm rolling in over the water.

Thunder rumbles in the distance, lightning slicing through the clouds, the tempest growing closer and closer with a speed that has her shivering. She is sure that it will engulf them soon.

"My lady, we should find shelter," Taizo says, appearing beside her instantly. "Asura will not forgive me if I allow you to take ill."

"I can manage myself, thank you," she says, pulling away from his proffered hand.

There's a violent, splitting crack several feet away from them, and she wonders if the lightning hasn't perhaps hit a rock –

But when she turns to see for herself, there is Indra.

He stands before them, face bone white, eyes blazing and spinning with their sinister red and black patterns.

Taizo makes the mistake of looking at those whirling tomoe, and suddenly there is blood seeping from his eyes and nose. He crumples forward, and Shachi doesn't have to see the emptiness in his gaze to know he is dead before he hits the ground.

"Indra," she breathes, the whisper lost in the wailing wind that surrounds them.

She has never seen him so furious, where every hair on his head seems to ripple with kinetic energy. A part of her wants to shrink away, hide in the shadows until his terrible wrath has passed, but she has also seen much worse from him.

And she has missed him so much, longed for him too fiercely, to flee now.

Mustering her courage, she takes a tentative step forward.

He whirls around to glare at her, the reaction of a wary lion against an unknown predator, but she keeps her eyes on the ground, bowing low before him in supplication. He has never, in their entire history together, used his Sharingan to invade her mind, but she has still seen him wield it against those who displease him to devastating effect.

"My lord husband," she greets humbly, relishing in the word on her tongue because she hasn't been able to address him in so long. "I –"

She is cut of when she is hauled to a standing position by her shoulders, forced to gaze into his blazing eyes. His pupils dance back and forth, roving over her features, as if he is trying to confirm to himself that what he is seeing is true.

She holds her breath, half in trepidation, half in awe. She hasn't seen him in so long, and he is just as beautiful to her as when she last saw him. A little more gaunt, his eyes harder perhaps, but undoubtedly hers.

"Shachi," he says, a question and a confirmation, but more important than any of that it's her name falling from his lips.

"Indra," she sighs, dropping all formality in her relief.

To her surprise, his eyes fade to black and an emotion she doesn't recognise flickers in his eyes. There's an inexplicable pause – the future shifts like tumbling rocks, the balance of the moment crystalline in its intensity – and something within him seems to break.

Then he moves.

Before she can react, his hands are on both sides of her face, pulling her face towards his. Then his mouth is on hers, pressing against her own lips with a bruising, desperate force.

Shachi gasps in surprise, and he wastes no time deepening the shocking kiss; sensation splinters through her, so deep that even Sakura feels as if a bolt of electricity has passed through her.

It's impossible to breathe, but Shachi doesn't care. For the first time since he appeared in her life, her husband is kissing her and holding on to her as if there is nothing else in existence but her.

He pulls away only when her lungs begin to protest and tears form in her eyes, and when he looks down on her, for an instant she can see the young boy that her brother-in-law and father-in-law remember. And her heart aches, because she wants to know him to.

When Indra draws her close again, it's not to kiss her, but to pick her up, cradling her in his arms.

"Don't move," he orders her, and then there is a sudden tugging sensation in her gut and the sense of moving quickly – far too quickly. The baby kicks at her ribs in protest, but by the time she feels it, they are no longer facing the open sea.

Instead, they are surrounded by a forest dale, a tiny wooden forest sanctuary behind them. She can't even smell the sea air anywhere, or sense Asura's presence.

"Where – ?" she begins to ask, but he is putting her back on her feet and capturing her lips again, and her questions die in her throat.

夢

Sakura wakes with the memory of Indra's lips on hers, and a horrible feeling in her gut.

She feels on edge, like she's balancing over a precipice of something too dark for words. Sasuke asks her if she's alright, but she waves him off.

The rest of the day she is distracted and moody, thinking of Indra and Shachi, her heart yearning for a happy and hopeful reunion, and her brain telling her it's not meant to be.

For two nights, she is unable to sleep, and on the third, Sasuke finally breaks his habitual tendency to wait for her to share her thoughts with him.

"You can't go on like this," he tells her firmly, sitting up beside her; the tiny bed of the waystation is uncomfortable, but a warm alternative to silent winter storm outside, "You need to sleep."

"I know," she replies faintly. "But I…I'm afraid."

"To sleep?"

"To find out what happens next," she admits, tears filling her eyes. "I have a horrible feeling, Sasuke. I don't even know why, it's like…the moment I woke up from, it felt like a turning point. Like everything from that moment is going to go one way or another, and I don't even know what I'm expecting."

"It's Indra," Sasuke says darkly. "It would be prudent to expect the worst." Sakura's shoulders slump, and he adds, "However…Shachi is you. And if I have learned anything knowing you, it is that somehow, you bring out the best in people. Perhaps she will do the same in this instance."

Sakura sniffs, and nods. She glances over at him. "I'm going to try to sleep. Will you…keep an eye out? Just…just in case."

She doesn't know what exactly he could do in the event that something – whatever that could be – happens, but the knowledge that he is there is a comfort.

Sasuke doesn't answer but to pull her closer to him.

眠り

It happens in a whirlwind of movement.

Him backing her into the wooden structure, mouth relentlessly crushing against hers, fingers tugging her hair out of its fastenings. The desperation is something Shachi has never felt from him before. She is surprised and confused, but most of all pleased, and she doesn't dare tell him any of that for fear he'll stop.

Instead, she murmurs unintelligibly into his lips and against his jaw, down the side of his neck.

That she missed him, that she thought of him constantly, are the children alright, why did he disappear, does he understand how much she loves him…?

He brushes it all of with a terse, strangled, "Later," while continuing to divest her of her clothing.

She chooses not to argue, busy doing the same, practically tearing his robes from his body. It's been so long, and still the actions are so familiar. She wants to weep at the feel of his bare shoulders beneath her hands, the scent of his hair and the scrape of his nails against her arms as he unwraps her garments.

When he suddenly freezes, becoming like immovable stone beneath her touch, she can barely hold back the cry of dismay.

"Indra?" she breathes, offering him a querying look from beneath hooded eyelids.

His expression has inexplicably gone hard, and he pulls away from her, eyes drawn downward. She doesn't understand what the problem is until she follows his gaze, staring down at the thin shift that can't disguise the swell of her stomach. She is larger than normal after seven months, but her voluminous robes still kept it hidden until now.

"You're with child," he states quietly, as if he doesn't quite believe it.

"Yes," she answers, puzzled by his disquiet and already missing his touch. This shouldn't be an unfamiliar sight to him, but then he has always refrained from being intimate with her during pregnancy. That's probably it, and any other time she could take that, but not right now when they've just been reunited. Maybe she can convince him –

"Whose?"

The word is delivered silently, but its impact is like a blow to the chest. She is so stunned she has to repeat it several times in her head to ensure she heard correctly; when she realises she did, it's almost as if she has been stabbed.

The shock of his query obliterates every trace of her ardour.

"Yours," she replies faintly, because he can't think…he couldn't possibly…?

Oh, no.

"That's impossible," Indra says, voice deceptively calm. "You've been gone."

"I…I discovered I was with child the day I was taken," she explains, her voice going a shade higher in sudden panic. He has taken a step back, his expression drawn. "I had hoped to tell you when you returned, but…"

"Is that so," he challenges, without really asking the question.

"Of course!" she cries, desperate. "Did Dewadasi not tell you? She was the last person I saw that day, surely you would have asked her?"

For a split-second he appears to be contemplating her words, hesitant, as if he truly wants to believe her. There is something – something in the darkness is whispering. It is sly and oily, and makes her skin crawl, but she can't make out the words.

His eyes harden again.

"The forest where you disappeared was destroyed," he tells her stiffly, but something like uncertainty lurks in his eyes. "There were bodies everywhere. Too blackened to identify. It was clear you had been attacked and defended yourself."

She knew she had caused some damage, but she hadn't realised…

"You thought I was dead," she realises then, horror and pain hitting her. "Oh, Indra…"

"If you were not dead, where have you been?" he asks coldly. "Our children have been mourning their mother all these months. I hope there's a good reason for that."

He very carefully doesn't mention his own reaction to her perceived demise.

She opens her mouth to answer, but words fail her.

Be careful. The wrong word here could be disastrous, Sakura cautions.

"It was…it was a grievous misunderstanding," Shachi tells him, but the words ring flat even to her hears.

"Misunderstanding," he repeats, as if he has never heard the word.

"He never…it wasn't his intentions for it to happen, just someone taking his wishes out of context and –"

"Where. Where. You."

Shachi exhales in defeat. "I was taken to the house of your father and brother."

Indra's nostrils flare. "Asura."

"I swear to you, he did not know about it until I arrived there, and he reprimanded those responsible," she says quickly. "He wanted to return me as soon as possible, but then I became ill, and then winter set in and –"

"You defend him so ardently," Indra sneers. "I should have known – the chakra of the man who was with you. It familiar. I've met him before, I think." His fists clench. More to himself than to her, he mutters, "Was my brother not satisfied with my birthright? Is this one more thing he meant to take from me?"

"I – I am not a thing!" she cries, in spite of her mounting fear. "Why would he want me? He has his own wife!"

"A wife who is barren if the rumours are true," he replies coldly. "While you have proven to be the opposite."

Did he really just say that? Did he hear himself say that? It's completely crazy!

He might as well have slapped her. With one sentence, he has reduced their relationship, every intimate moment to nothing but a burden of function.

Pain and disbelief churn within her, but surprisingly, anger is what rises above both of those.

"Don't," she whispers, the sound harsh and punched from her lungs. "Don't pretend. Not with me. All of this time, I've allowed you to feign indifference because you clearly needed to, but don't…don't reduce what my heart feels to no more than the duty of a brood mare."

"It doesn't matter to me what feel. I warned you the day you came with me that your purpose was to provide me with children," he dismisses. "You have served that purpose. Although perhaps your make-believe world of love was so convincing that Asura's spies thought your value to me was greater. I imagine he intended ransom, until he realised you lacked worth."

"Lord Asura would never do that," she insists before she can stop herself, too wrong-footed by his cutting words to think of anything else to say.

"Lord Asura, is it?"

"He's your brother, In – my lord husband! I only meant – his wife was ill," she attempts. "Her womb was closed, but once I helped her –"

"You healed the wife of my enemy?" he demands, low and dangerous.

"It w-was the right thing to do!" she protests. Although her inborn instinct is to fall to her feet, to beg him to forgive her, her time as a healer has made her instinctively protective of her patients – however short-term and however absent.

And Kanna is her friend.

"Was falling on your back for Asura the right thing as well?"

Her eyes widen then, and even Sakura feels blown away by the disbelief.

"Why would I ever do that?" she cries. "When have I ever been unfaithful to you?!"

His eyes rove once more over her stomach, as if that is answer enough, and they briefly gleam red.

Sakura suspects right then that he is going to kill her.

Shachi makes the same connection about a half-second later. This understanding comes with a strange, emotionless clarity, a detached sense of the inevitable. She has faced death by this man's hands before, but this time she knows there will be no reprieve. His cold eyes are telling her just that.

Strangely, she feels no fear for herself; her only thought is of their child, sleeping beneath her heart.

A child that was meant to be a beacon for the future, but who will never get the chance. She thinks back on her father-in-law's words, wonders if he wasn't just speaking of hopes instead of seeing into the future.

And then it becomes clear to her exactly what she has to do.

Not just you, Sakura thinks in angry desperation. She forces herself to concentrate, trying to will her own strength through whatever veil of time and dreams keep her and Shachi from interacting. We'll protect this child with everything we have!

She's done it before, helping Shachi recover while ill, lending Indra chakra to survive. Shachi has fire nature, one of the stronger chakra natures, and from the degree of destruction she is capable of, she can likely survive a lot. Maybe even create a protective barrier around herself. Sakura has regenerative capabilities, and if she can just awaken those here, channel them into her, they can –

What? Save ourselves? Even if I can miraculously transfer my chakra to you, it's not a permanent fix if he wants to kill us.

"No…" Shachi whispers. "You can't truly believe this…please, Indra – if any part of you has ever felt even a shred of warmth toward me, don't let it be marred by this suspicion. Since the moment we met, I have lived only for you. And over the years, our children… I would never let anything jeopardise that."

His jaw works at this, and she can see something like doubt there – reluctance. He doesn't want to kill her, but every action he has ever taken demands it of him.

We have to give him a reason – something to make him pause again, like he did when we mentioned finding out about the baby before being kidnapped!

If there's anything else in the world Indra wouldn't deny caring for, it's his children.

"At least stay your hand until our son is born," Shachi whispers, cradling her belly. She doesn't understand how she knows the child she is carrying is a boy, but it's as certain to her as her own name. "He will be your greatest legacy – the mightiest of our offspring, the one who will inherit your strength and your resolve. He will fan the flames of your will, and beget a powerful clan – an unbroken line that will gain more power with every generation."

Somehow, she sees all of this clearly in her mind, as if it is happening before her. She wonders if the old man passed his foresight to her when they said farewell.

Indra's eyes gleam, and she knows that for all his anger, he is listening to her. He is considering it –

The whispering is back now, louder but still unintelligible; it sounds almost cajoling, like it's trying to reign Indra's rage back.

Zetsu, Sakura realises dimly. Of course – he wouldn't want to lose this opportunity.

He wants to corrupt Indra's line. And even if Shachi were lying, and this child were Asura's, having access to it would mean Zetsu could more easily engineer a Rinnegan and figure out a way to bring Kaguya back.

Sakura knows how that story goes only well; it would be disgustingly ironic if that's what saves Shachi in the end.

"You would use the child to buy yourself time?" Indra asks, contempt lacing his words.

"I don't care about myself," Shachi replies. "I only want him to live. Even if I die today, everything I told you will come true. Except…" She remembers Hagoromo's warning. "Our son and all of his descendants may see with the same eyes as you possess, and yet be blinded by ambition. They will love with the same intensity that I have loved you, but will be doomed to lose that love in pursuit of power."

"Do you mean to curse me now?" Indra asks her coolly. "If so, your words do not worry me. Love is a weakness that exists only in those doomed to expire and be forgotten."

Tears run down her cheeks now.

"I love this child," she whispers, "as I love you. Neither of these truths will ever be forgotten."

"Your words are pretty, but they mean nothing if the child is not mine."

Shachi clenches her fists at the insult.

The Sage was right. There is no hope of her husband escaping his hatred. Not in this lifetime.

And this time, it's Shachi who glares up at her husband, furious and hurting and still desperately hopeful.

"If you were to call down lightning from the skies or set me alight with your strongest flames, I swear on my love and fidelity to you that they would not touch him," she vows over the sensation of her heart breaking. "Only a child born of our union could survive such a thing."

Wait – what? What are you doing! You're practically throwing down the gauntlet!

"Do you think because you are with child that I will hold back?" Indra challenges.

"Of course not," she responds softly. "I only hope it makes you take pause. Because if you do this, you cannot undo it. You are not so mighty that you can resurrect the dead, my love."

And she knows right away she said the wrong thing, because Indra doesn't take well to reminders of his fallibility.

He face looks like the shadow of death itself, and they both know that there is no more time.

Protect the baby – we have to protect the baby!

Shachi frantically sends every bit of chakra she possesses toward her womb, surrounding the infant there with a protective cushion of energy. Her panic radiates across the link to Sakura, who finds herself doing the same – just as she did when she breathed air into Indra's mouth on the beach, or when she saved him from poison. It's a supreme effort of will, but this child must live.

Especially if it's in any way connected to her own.

"Husband, I hope that one day your heart can be cured," Shachi tells him sadly. "Only then can new hope be born to your line…only then will you no longer need your sons to fight and die for your legacy. And when you realise I have spoken nothing but truth to you and how deeply your hatred has scarred you – know that I died still loving you despite the action you take tonight. If it takes the rest of your life, or many lives, I will wait for you. If I had an eternity, I would spend it waiting for you to return from the darkness that has you ensnared."

"You don't have an eternity," he tells her, raising a hand to point at her. His eyes spin into the sinister six-pointed star.

"Don't tell him my death came by your hands," she begs, trying to stir some last flicker of emotion from him. "Don't tell any of them – if you ignore anything else I have, said…please. Tell them I thought of them in my last moments."

He pauses here, the muscles in his face working like he's trying to hold back something.

"Irritating woman," he calls her, offering the tiniest, least perceptible nod of acquiescence. For one brief second, she thinks he might relent.

Then his Sharingan glows.

"Amaterasu."

Black flames engulf her and she screams.

夢

"Sakura! Sakura, wake up now, damn it!"

Someone is shaking her, lightly slapping her cheeks, and when she opens her eyes, the first thing she sees is a glowing red iris. Shrieking, she shoves her assailant away, the force of it causing him to land on his back several yards away.

It doesn't seem to phase him, because he instantly beside her again, Sharingan and Rinnegan both gleaming, determined and panicked.

"Sakura, it's me," he tells her softly, hand raised as if caught between defending himself from her or reaching out to her. "You're alright. You're here with me, and you're awake –"

She's not listening.

Instead, she is sobbing, struggling free from the blankets, clutching at her abdomen and trying to see if there's anything that shouldn't be there. Blood, or amniotic fluid, something to explain the sharp ache in her uterus that woke her.

But there is nothing in the sheets, and the pain is phantom.

"Sakura…"

"You…" she gasps, breath staggering as she comes back to herself. Reality begins to coalesce.

Sasuke, not Indra; Sakura, not Shachi.

"H-he killed her!" she sobs, barely taking in Sasuke's stunned expression. "He…she was trying to convince…she didn't…she never…and she was pregnant! And he…the flames! Black flames!"

And she's heaving and convulsing with pain and grief – emotions that aren't just her own, even if she feels like she is very much alone in her head right now. This time when Sasuke reaches for her, bringing his arms around her back and pulling her close, she doesn't push him away. She leans in, pressing her face into his chest to muffle to sobs.

Sakura doesn't know how long they stay like this, but Sasuke's grip never wavers. As the fear and disbelief finally leave her, she tries to speak again.

"She tried to save him, and she couldn't," she whispers dully.

"It was too late for him."

She pulls away, shooting Sasuke a look of surprise and protest, but his expression remains adamant.

"Yes, Sakura, it was. He was a man grown when he met her, and he'd already given into his hatred, even long before it was a curse."

"But…but you were saved…"

"I'm younger than he was," Sasuke tells her in a gentler tone. "I had you. And I had Naruto, and even Kakashi. You were all trying to save me. Indra never had anyone like that until it was too late."

"He still cared for her, though," Sakura says, desperate. "If he cared for her, why did he kill her? He knew she would never be unfaithful, he had to know it, but he –" She trails off, the details of her dream jumping out at her again. "Zetsu. He was there. I think he was trying to stop him, but –!"

"Tell me what happened."

She is still shaking, shock making her fidgety and nervous, and in contrast Sasuke is utterly still. She reaches for his hand, needing something to ground her while she tells him. And it's as if she is reliving it again as she details Shachi's reunion with her husband, the first kiss that she felt down to her own bone marrow, and then his irrational anger. The heat of the black fire.

By the end of it, she is weeping again, curled up on Sasuke's lap with her head tucked beneath his throat.

"Why would he do that?" she can't help repeating, over and over. "After everything…it makes no sense."

"I think that was a rare moment when even Zetsu's carefully controlled manipulations wouldn't have been able to stop him."

"I don't understand…"

"It was too much for him to take," Sasuke tells her quietly. "He was overwhelmed." Sakura makes a strangled, questioning noise in her throat. "You said yourself – when he saw her, it was as if something within him snapped. He was pleased she was there, more relieved than he would have ever expected. He lost complete control of himself. Probably for the first time in his life."

"Sasuke?" she shifts to get a better look at his face and sees that he is staring into the flames, brows furrowed in thought.

"It was likely the most vulnerable he had ever been," he goes on. "And then, in the height of that vulnerability – at the moment when he finally allowed himself to give in, to entertain the thought of happiness and of trusting someone – he discovered she was pregnant."

"But he didn't even stop to think…"

"Even the average man would have some doubt after seven months of absence," Sasuke tells her. "Indra was paranoid. And it wasn't a simple absence, either, but his wife spending time in the company of the person he hated the most in the world."

"His mind went to the darkest possible scenario," Sakura realises faintly.

"And that would have escalated quickly, amplifying every other negative emotion or insecurity he had. Maybe she wasn't kidnapped – maybe she fled. Maybe she betrayed him, in which case he felt he shouldn't be welcoming her, but punishing her."

"So, no matter how many times she told him the truth, he wasn't ever going to listen," Sakura concludes sadly.

"But he did listen," Sasuke points out. "If he hadn't, he would have killed her instantly. Even then, he was wrestling with his own doubts, and it gave her the chance she needed."

"To curse him," Sakura remembers with a shudder.

"To try to save him," Sasuke replies. "If what you said about her last words are any indication, they weren't meant to curse him – they were her hopes that he would be cured of his hatred. And not just him, but their child and all of those descendants. From where I'm standing, that happened."

Sakura pulls away from Sasuke, kneeling under her own power now and frowning at him. "You think the baby lived."

"I know it lived."

Her heart beats hopefully, but her practical mind makes her shake her head.

"It's unlikely. She was only seven or eight months along. Premature babies don't have the highest survival rate now, back then, without the right medical care, and the fact that – " She shudders here, the imagery making her stomach twist, " – Indra would have had to cut it out of Shachi's dead body –"

"The child survived," Sasuke insists. "She – and perhaps you – made sure of that. It wasn't touched by the flames that killed its mother. A mother who, with her dying breaths, vowed their child was going to have a purpose and a destiny."

"'Fan the flames'," Sakura remembers. "The Sage said it too. That there would be more destruction before things got better. That there would be heartache if she wasn't – oh! He knew she was going to die!"

"And he knew that without her in the picture, the child would go on to father a bloodline that would become more and more powerful, and more and more cursed," Sasuke confirms. "The Uchiha."

"That's why the child wasn't included on that Kaguya clan mural. He was different from the others," Sakura understands now. She suddenly has no doubt that the child, the baby Shachi sacrificed herself to save, would have inherited more of his mother than the others. The inherent talent for fire jutsu, the blind devotion to family –

She gasps.

"It wasn't Indra's fault," she murmurs, staring at Sasuke in shock. "I thought it was – when I met him, when I saw how he acted around her and then later the children, I thought that's where it comes from. That unwavering love that can make you…that can make you into a monster. But you were right – he wasn't capable of that, not really. But Shachi – that came from her, didn't it?"

"Back during the war, Tobirama Senju told me that the Uchiha feel more deeply and more passionately than any other bloodline," Sasuke agrees. "They shatter much more completely than others as well, turning to hatred as if a switch has been flipped."

"Shachi's love – Indra's hatred."

They are quiet a long while.

"But that's over now, isn't it?" Sakura finally says. "Indra's curse broke with you. When you and Naruto had your big, epic grudge match. That's not the sort of thing that can just…start up again, right? That's not something that our child will ever have to worry about?"

"I honestly have no idea," Sasuke tells her. "I don't think so. I believe it's like a blade – once it's broken, it has to be entirely re-forged to be of use again." He frowns. "The only thing I don't understand is why you've had these dreams to begin with. If she was trying to warn you or inform you about Indra's curse, and the Uchiha…it's a little late. The curse was broken."

"Unless…" Sakura begins thoughtfully, an idea occurring to her that slowly causes bits and pieces of information to connect in her mind. "Unless it's more than one."

"More than one what?"

"Indra's curse was broken," Sakura reflects. "Shachi's wasn't."

"I don't follow."

"She was waiting for you – him," she says slowly. "Like I was waiting for you, so that I could tell you that I forgive you."

Sasuke is silent a beat, and then meets her gaze with an intensity that was absent moments ago. "And do you?"

Sakura smiles softly. "You already know I do. I told you that a long time ago."

"Not for what I did," Sasuke says quietly, and the way he is watching her now chases the smile from her lips. "For what he did."

"I…"

"For the things he didn't do," Sasuke goes on, a muscle in his jaw working. "For not being the man she deserved him to be. For never saying 'thank you' for everything she gave him, and not letting her save him. For killing her."

And she wonders right then if it's a trick of the firelight upon his face, of if she doesn't see the shadow of Indra there, awaiting her answer.

"You stupid man," she tells him with soft affection, and the words that tumble from her lips feel like there is a double timbre to them. "I forgave you the minute my spirit left my body. You just needed to be ready to accept it."

The kiss that follows is startling in its intensity, setting her nerves and synapses ablaze as if she too had been set on fire. It is desperate at first, an insistent press of lips and threading of fingers into hair – and she's not quite sure who initiated it. It's not exactly forceful, but still driven by more than just hers or Sasuke's need. The surrounding world goes silent – there is no gentle breeze or rustle of leaves, no warmth from the dying embers, no scratch of their blankets – and existence narrows to their shared breath and syncing heartbeats. Something within her breaks with relief, as if a piece of her that has been long broken has finally been fitted back together.

They only separate when neither can breathe, and Sakura rests her forehead against Sasuke's.

"Sakura…?"

His voice is rough, strained from lack of oxygen and bewilderment.

"I'm me," she whispers to him. "She's gone now." She doesn't know how she knows that, but she's positive. She brushes her lips against his once more and then draws back. "And she was right. Even with everything, with resolving your issues with Naruto, trying to find redemption, even this trip – you weren't ready to forgive yourself. Not until this." She tugs at his hand, moulding slackened fingers until they lay across her belly. "Not until this child became real. And that's why I've been having these dreams. Because you didn't believe you had been forgiven – either of you. And you needed me to tell me you were."

Her husband looks as if he isn't sure what to say to this, but Sakura won't allow him to question this. She has never been more sure of anything.

"You said yourself our child is hope," she reminds him. "Remember? And you were right. This is an end of the cycle, a promise that we won't repeat those mistakes. The future of the Uchiha is going to be very different – and you know how I know that?"

Sasuke's expression is expectant, but there is a softness in his eyes instead of apprehension. "How?"

"Because for the first time in centuries, I'm fairly certain the main Uchiha line is going to have a daughter," Sakura informs him with smug certainty.

The stunned face he makes absolutely rivals the one he made when she first told him she was pregnant.

終わり

Wow.

I'm actually done.

I think this is the first long-fic that I've actually completed in this fandom. I feel fairly accomplished right now, especially considering this was supposed to be just a one-shot for SasuSakuFestival!

Final edits will be done whenever I and my beta can get to them. I may flesh out some things or tweak others, but this is pretty much how I intended to end the story from the beginning, so don't expect major changes.

I know some of you want other details, and likely have questions that have remained unanswered. I figured I'd keep things vague so as not to accidentally rewrite certain ninja abilities, and of course, to keep the mystery alive :) Besides, I'm planning to write a long original work based on Indra and Shachi, and I don't want to give away too much. As it is, the glimpses of Indrachi relationship were only ever meant to offer more dimension to the Sasusaku relationship, not act as a gateway to an entire other plot, and I feel they've done that.

A huge, HUGE thank you for all of you awesome readers who took the time not only to read my story, but to leave comments. I wouldn't be as inspired to write this story if it weren't for you guys being so interested!

You're all amazing!

クリ

Epilogue