#Just 'kills' Sakura in front of him to trap him into the journey

[completeoveranalysis]

[2]

Following directly on from the last page of the previous chapter we’re talking about Evil Wolverine’s wish and I LOVE what they do with it here. They frame it as so natural and understandable - a goal that, actually, our entire cast not only sympathises with but already spent part of their own lives already chasing. 

And it’s framed visually here with Fai and Kurogane on the outside and their lost loved ones between them. We have Kurogane’s parents up top, smiling happily in his memory - and the climax of Kurogane’s backstory was him REFUSING to let them go. He went completely feral and attacked anyone who went near him. He had to be shot with a laser beam before he could be coaxed into realising he had to let them go. It’s very easy to see how he would understand the raw emotion behind wanting to bring someone back, especially if you never really let go of that all-consuming grief. Like Evil Wolverine, Kurogane did not hold back from hurting others in that grief, for a while.

And below that we have Fai’s brother, by contrast looking ABSOLUTELY MISERABLE in Fai’s memory - reflecting the suffering they went through but also the part of Fai that spent so long fixated on changing what had happened. Fai spent his whole life from that moment working towards a very similar wish to Evil Wolverine’s - to bring his brother back, but in a much more self destructive way. He hated the fact that he survived, tricked into thinking he had killed his brother, and so wanted to switch places. He was also tasked with killing Kurogane to make it happen. And this was the core of his personality for hundreds of years. So of course he gets it - he got it from minute one. When Evil Wolverine showed up in the pit Fai had already guessed his motivation on the spot. 

Between them both you can get a rough approximation of what Evil Wolverine is willing to do for this same wish - so caught up in it that he’s willing to do anything, to hurt anyone it takes, to spend hundreds of years working on it, never letting up from that core of grief. But the difference is that Fai and Kurogane both changed. They found love elsewhere, and eventually grew to accept that love. They realised what they were doing and, slowly and with difficulty, knew they had to move on. As much as they missed their loved ones they discovered they had worth elsewhere and could do more good for the living than the dead. 

Not Evil Wolverine though! He specifically chose the “fuck the living!” option and has spent his life destroying and manipulating other people into his very same grief on purpose to get what he wants. 

I think you could get a lot out of Evil Wolverine specifically using grief to control people. He kills their loved ones in front of them in order to force them to do what he wants - because it’s the only feeling he understands. He lives his life consumed by that grief, so the only way he knows to get people on his side is to make then the same as him. It’s his only tactic. 

It just wasn’t strong enough to work on Fai and Kurogane. It was BRUTAL and wrecked their entire lives but they still found the strength to let go of the stage of grief that Evil Wolverine refuses to let go of.

[shoyoist]

Hi rekhaaa! I was wondering on what are the Tokyo revengers boys' quirks r gonna be if they're in mha!! Any thoughts??

𝐓𝐑 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐒' 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐑𝐊𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐍𝐇𝐀

been a long time since i got over my bnha phase but this shows that i'd enjoy giving tr characters quirks and writing spin offs for them LMAO — not proofread, but i had a lot of fun thinking of these <3 (i did say my inbox is closed for reqs) but if you sent me individual characters that i havent done, i'll answer w/ quirks for them too!! short hcs are fun hehe

ぞ | hmmm, TAKEMICHI would have the ability to see glimpses of the near future. if he were the protag of bnha, his story would be that he wasted the potential of his extremely useful quirk by choosing to live a plain, ordinary life without aspiring to become a hero. then something absolutely terrible happens, but he gets the opportunity to turn things around for himself and for everyone else, if he goes back in time and claims the rank of top hero and saves the world. op music starts playing and takemichi starts his hero's journey ☆☆☆

ぞ | MIKEY would have the ability to put people to sleep. not just sleep, actually, his quirk enables him to turn people's systems off and render them comatose. if we're talking side effects, he's just sleepy ♡♡ and falls asleep real quick when he gets tired. he's quiet, a little shady but also very sweet, and whether as a hero or a villain, he'd be super powerful and useful <33

ぞ | i'll do DRAKEN a favour and let him have his motorcycle body. he's a cyborg. like genos from one punch man !! he has to get his prosthetic limbs removed and maintained regularly, and needs oil changes LMAO. imagine being the mechanic that takes care of him though <33 or the scientist that creates new body parts and weapons for him.

ぞ | BAJI is like Four Arms from Ben 10 SKHFHKH, he's big and muscley and has four arms. the perfect person to turn to, when you need a good sukuna cosplay. by the time he graduates hero school, he stands at 6'10" ♡♡ and so popular with everyone. holds fan events and meets, is super fun and friendly, good with kids — and he never turns down those calls asking for help bec a cat got stuck in a tree and needs saving LMAO

ぞ | ok ok KAZUTORA would have blood iron manipulation. realistically, your blood doesnt have THAT much iron so this is leaning towards the fictional side — but yeah, he can control your blood (maybe the flow of it out of your body, after a slash?) via the iron in your blood cells. he would be a hero turned villain <33

ぞ | MITSUYA definitely works in the rescue division. he has restoration abilities. i'm not calling it regeneration because it doesnt work on living creatures or people. it works on non living formations and structures, like stone and all. he's one of the front liners of the rescue teams. they locate people trapped under fallen buildings and such, and then mitsuya carefully restores walls and pillars, fixes cracks in the ground, and creates a safe path to reach the people from. he's also really pretty, a good leader, and skilled at providing guidance and reassurance, so everyone has a lil crush on him <33

ぞ | PAH-CHIN would have super strength. he's a lil like sakura from naruto (are there other sakuras? bec i dont know lol) and he would work in rescue, too, but in the opposite way that mitsuya does, i guess. he breaks down obstructing structures like walls and rubble, and paves way towards the people in need of saving.

ok that's takemichi + the toman ot6 but let me think of some more.

ぞ | of course KISAKI has an intelligence quirk. his ability allows him to make foolproof, precise plans that lead him straight to his goal— the catch being that they're only arranged according to his heart's desire. every step of his vision has to be followed out thoroughly to completion, to reach the end goal. however, some steps are incredibly self indulgent (step four: kill takemichi. LMAO) therefore, he's a loner at work, and more of an anti hero type. he does what he wants, how he wants, by himself. unless he met someone that was fine with doing things all his way <3

ぞ | HANMA can speak to the dead. if you come to him with enough grief and longing in your heart, for someone that's dead, he can summon their soul by channeling the power of your longing, and bring their spirit back to the edge of life for a short period of time. he would be a villain with a tragic backstory that's only revealed much later — and he works as the recruiter for his organization, by scouting people with useful quirks that have lost loved ones. "hey kid, if you do this for me and my boss, i'll let you see your sister one last time." that typa beat.

ぞ | i feel like SANZU would have some sort of energy absorption quirk. he absorbs fear. growing up, he was timid and more afraid of others than others were afraid of him, so his quirk was kept in check. however, once he joined the villains' side, he became ruthless — his gruesome murders, skilled escapes and endless number of successful heists make him his organization's beloved poster boy (which honestly only helps people to recognize and therefore fear him even more u_u).

ぞ | SENJU has a camouflage quirk. she's able to change her body to match the colours of whatever she places both her hands against — and therefore, she's part of almost every stealth mission the heroes carry out. she's leader of her division, and gets invited to a lot of workshops and expos — she's got a million fans, and the bnha universe twitter is full of senju stan accounts i just know it !!

ぞ | KOKONOI has charmspeak. it fits him really well — he's an excellent talker, silver tongued to begin with, so when he applies his quirk and slides in, he's able to coax information out of anyone he wants, and get his way no matter what the circumstances. he would've considered being a hero as a kid, but then he gets strung into a villain organization, where he decides to stay.

ぞ | if i mention koko i must mention INUI, who has a shielding ability. he's able to reflect the effect of quirks off him to some extent, giving him some level of immunity to quirk based attacks — and he uses this alongside physical shields provided to him by the hero association's weapon devs, to be both a physical and a mental shield to himself and any one he partners up with.

[vasoula]

The Peepshow (chapter two)

Summary: Two months after his redemption journey, Sasuke is back to Konoha and Sakura couldn’t be more happy about them spending a lot of time together. However, things take a hard turn when Sakura is assigned a special mission and she has to hide it from the rest of Team 7. Everything comes spiraling down when Sasuke finds out exactly what she has to do. 

Tags: hard rated m, blank period, kinda AU-ish

Chapter one here, ffnet, Ao3.

Next chapter

Author's notes: An alternate title to this chapter could be "take a drink everytime sasuke activates his sharingan because of sakura" ;) I tried to keep my boy as much as in character as possible! My girl Saku is easier to approach thought wise. This the point of the three chaptered fic that things really take off :P Man, writing pole dancing is HARD ;) Enjoy some slowburn denial seduction sasusaku with a dose of humor, my loves! Also, big thank to everyone who read this, especially to those who left lovely comments! Thank you so much for your support! :D See ya next week! Just in case, english is not my first language and this chapter is only edited by me :D

“Act two: Seducing one jealous Uchiha”

Sasuke Uchiha, for the first time in years, sees red.

He feels his eye power activate before he can control it as his chakra flares at the images flashing before him.

Sakura, his lovely Sakura, up the stage right in front the pole, looking straight at him in the most alluring way possible. Her body on full display and her face looking so different from her usual choice of make up he almost would tell you this is not her. But, those unmistakably beautiful eyes belong only to one person.

The glass of whiskey in his hand is close to breaking when Kakashi's voice cuts through his rage filled haze.

"Sasuke, stop." His mentor warns in a serious voice, just in time before they are detected by other people. It has the desired effect because Sasuke deactivates his sharingan instantly.

Naruto places his arm on his friend's stump, feeling the chakra pulsating there. The blond man says nothing although a crease in his brow has formed. He looks at Sasuke worriedly awaiting his reaction, averting his eyes from the stage where Sakura is dancing as if she does not have a care in the world.

Sasuke is clenching his jaw so hard, his teeth are aching from the pressure he is putting them on. He cannot believe what his eyes are seeing right now. Sakura who is supposed to be back in Konoha is up there on stage dancing for a target she is supposed to seduce and she has not told him a single fucking thing about this.

In fact, no, she lied to him and told him she would be staying at Tsunade for some medical bullshit she supposedly had to do with her mentor. He remembers the fifth Hokage calling him an arrogant brat for disliking this kind of mission.

Taking a deep breath, he tries to calm his nerves, before he does something risky.

He feels his heart beating ridiculously fast in his chest for some reason as he looks up at the stage. Trying to see her face, he wants her to look him in the eye and tell him how does she feel now that she is making him hurt.

Does she not trust him enough with this information that she knew could potentially affect what they have? Why did she have to lie about it? Sasuke knows that there is some shinobi mission confidentiality, but they both know between them the barrier is drawn and she could tell him anything. Especially something that could potentially strain their feelings. Maybe knowing his nature she knew he would not like what she would have to do, but the outcome is the same anyways. Is he supposed to feel like this? What is the word again? Jealous, he thought.

Sasuke clicks his tongue and ticks his head to the right side. "I see," he says in venomous voice, uncharacteristic of him nowadays.

Acting unbothered, his eyes stay focused on the stage where the most important woman in his life is dressed in a skimpy lingerie trying to bait the target with her high class skills.

Naruto shakes his head knowingly and rests his forehead on his open palm, leaning on the armchair he is sitting on. "Man, this is bad," he says mournfully.

Kakashi finally breaks the ice by speaking again, trying to mend things in the worst way possible, "Damn didn't know she had it in her."

The gray haired man feels the Uchiha's rage before the sizzling stare reaches him.

"Shut it," Sasuke mutters angrily.

All their heads turn instantly when they hear a man shout in excitement exclaiming how hot Sakura is by throwing a bunch of money her way.

Sasuke feels the beginnings of a headache starting to form.

The heavy beat of the song is pounding strongly in his ears and he cannot help it when his eyes focus on Sakura once again. If he is being completely honest with himself, he did not know she had it in her either.

If you had told Sakura Haruno in the past that she would be pole dancing in front of Sasuke Uchiha, she would laughed straight at your face and call you an idiot.

But now, as she grinds her hips on the pole, she feels like she is the idiot. And the butt of her own jokes apparently.

She is really feeling herself actually. The lingerie she is wearing is top notch and it fits her body perfectly like it was made for her. It is dark red in color with stripes both on her chest and belly creating Xs. Her heels are not killing her like she imagined they would and she really likes the sparkle in them. And even though she is starting to sweat, she knows her make up will stay in place because she put all her time and effort on it to make it look bomb. It does look amazing on her as it accentuates her eyes in the best way possible. A red lip and black smokey look will do that to your face. Sakura also thinks her long curly hair really added a whole new vibe to her look.

Sakura grabs the steel in front of her and arches back. She rolls her head, moving her body and spinning around the pole. Her chest glistens teasingly thanks to the light and she pushes her hips forward to gain some momentum. She abandons the pole for now and dances a little around the stage to gain the attention of the crowd.

Stepping left and right, Sakura juts her pelvic side to side to create some form of belly dancing while her hands feel her body sensually, at last leading them to course through hair in an attempt to look sexier.

With all that effort she really feels like she is actually Misty Jade, the persona she is supposed to be impersonating. The pink haired ninja puts her hands on her hips and poses seductively. She looks around and spots her target right away.

Time to put on a show, she thinks bitterly and lifts her hands in air to grab the pole behind her. She pushes her butt against the pole and leans back in an effort to look like she is trapped and the pole is like a man who is holding her captive in a stimulating pose.

A happy yell confirms her move had the desired effect both on the crowd and the target as well.

But as she feels that familiar hot stare on her, she also knows how she fucked up big time. It seems her move had another effect as well. The making Uchiha very angry, hot, and bothered effect.

When she looks in his direction, Sakura regrets it immediately. Even though he is at the back of the club, she would recognize him right away no matter how far he is or what clothes he wears. She does not like the expression on his face one bit.

The moment she had turned around after being introduced she had felt his chakra spike up. It intrigued her how she had that effect on him when she knows for a fact the man is super calm and collected. Sakura will not lie to herself and pretend like she did not take great enjoyment from the fact that he reacted like that to her.

But, but, but.

He is very angry with her right now and it is apparent.

Sakura closes her eyes and pretends everything is fine. She knows the other members of Team 7, who look a lot more at peace than he is, will handle him if he gets too upset.

She decides it is time for some impressive tricks that will need her to use some core strength. She makes a quick spin with her hips sticking out and she starts to circle the pole and like it is a prey and she is ready to pounce. Her left hand reaches up and grabs the top of the metallic bar while she puts all her strength in her right hand which grabs the lower part near the base. Then, her left leg comes forward and almost warps around the pole.

Sakura closes her eyes as her right leg pushes her forward and the rest of her body gets send upwards. The beautiful woman feels her hair falling down to her face obscuring it from view for a few agonizing seconds as she stays upside down. With both legs secured on the poll she begins her ascend upwards trying to match her movements with the beat of the song to gain some momentum.

After climbing on top of the pole, Sakura starts spinning around using her hands as leverage. Putting her body in a fetal position, she locks her thighs together and descends towards the ground with her hands upwards pretending like she is falling down from the pole.

In flash, she squeezes her thighs together in an attempt to stop her body from falling down. Right before she reaches the base of the stage, her impeding fall halts.

With her body now close to the ground, she loosens and throws herself in compromising position on the floor. Her palms are flat on the stage, her chest squished together between concrete and her body. Her ass is high up in the air and she slowly goes forward like she is cat crawling her way towards the front row.

In the meantime the crowd has completely lost it. It takes athletic skills to do that and everyone is impressed.

Halfway through the song now with the performance reaching its peak, Sakura decides to pull out the big guns. In order to gain the attention of the target specifically, she will need to find a way to get him to focus on her. Even though he found her skills highly admirable, to him, she was just another girl pole dancing. That is why she has to act interested in him first.

Right now, Misao Takashi is smoking a cigarette like there is no care in the world and he is looking down at some papers.

Way to be inconspicuous, Sakura thought, dropping into a split right at the edge of the stage.

On the other side of the club, right at the back, Naruto is about to cry. He is so confused at the moment, it is not even funny. On one hand, he is really shocked by Sakura and the unknown skills she is displaying, however, he finds himself inwardly cringing because while she is very good at it, he sees her as a very dear friend to him. While he wants to hype her up because she is very impressive, he also wants to go up there and drag her far away from the leeching crowd and hide her from the world with a really big blanket.

On the other hand, he is very scared, because Sasuke Uchiha is about to have the biggest bitch fit of the year right next to him.

The blond man looks at his teacher for comfort only to find him staring him back with a desperate expression on his face which means he is also having a similar thought process. This leads to them having a battle of wills, holding intense eye contact, until one of them crumbles and has to be the one to take care of the green eyed monster that is Sasuke Uchiha.

"Both." Naruto silently mouths, pleading, not wanting to deal with this alone.

Kakashi clears his throat, taking the first step.

"Well, Sasuke, it looks like we won't be needed here," He says in a casual tone, although his voice cracks during the dialogue due to the fact the situation is awkward.

He feels uncomfortable, but he continues on speaking, "The Anbu specialist," he raises his tone slightly at this as if to reprimand him, "is doing a pretty good job on her own."

He folds his hands on top of his crossed knees after finishing his statement.

"I said help, not kill us," Naruto sweat drops and half whispers more to himself than anybody else.

They both hear Sasuke silently growl at this.

Naruto gulps down his saliva loudly and begins, "Look Sasuke, I know this looks bad," he pauses checking for a reaction. Seeing his friend only slightly pissed, he continues, "But, you have to look at the positive side!"

The black haired man looks at his best friend for a split second, his eyes glinting in the dark and says, "And that is?", he questions angrily.

"It is th-the fact that Sakura-chan is strong and she can handle herself!", he tries to explain lamely, "right Kakashi-sensei?"

"Of course, yes." Kakashi agrees quickly.

Sasuke sticks his tongue inside his cheek, pushing it outwards, trying to remain calm.

He wants to curse them, throw water at them or maybe punch them both in the throat, but he will not do it because Sakura would not want that.

His attention diverts back to her dancing on the stage.

"Tsk," he lets out a familiar annoyed sound.

Right at that moment, she decides it is the perfect time to do a split on the floor.

Sasuke feels a vein popping on his forehead while the other two screech like school girls next to him.

He watches as Sakura takes another route to her seduction game and she starts to rely on more sexual tactics. The last Uchiha observes as she starts to sensually rub her back against the pole, her knees slightly bend forward, in an almost squat.

Her right hand goes to her mouth, and she darts her tongue out as if to lick her long manicured fingers while she stares hotly at her target with hooded eyes. In the meantime, her free hand dangles teasingly in front of her torso and begins its descend down towards her pelvic area. Her green nails a stark contrast to her daring burgundy lingerie.

Sasuke almost wants to activate his sharingan just so he could commit that image to his memory forever. He has never felt more jealous and needy than in that moment.

Despite all this unfolding before his eyes, he know this is just a mission, but he cannot help the emotions he is feeling.

The song is about to end, but he knows the torture will not end here. It will continue when she shows up again to lure her target away.

He cannot help but stare as she strikes a pose around the pole; her legs crossed around it and her body circled around the rod like snake hanging from a tree. Her arms are stretched out evenly and her voluminous hair hangs from one side.

Sakura looks amazing, her abs straining against her skin and her muscles showing in all the right places. His imagination of her naked body did not do the real thing justice; so much beauty on that tiny body of hers.

Sasuke heaves a sigh of relief just as the songs ends and the crowd cheers like never before.

"Finally," Kakashi whispers, coursing his hand through his hair.

Naruto plops down on the armchair loudly after hanging on the edge of it for so long.

It feels like a relief for all of them, but they know it is far from over. The lights of the stage close and Sakura disappears in the darkness. Their trained ears hear her heels clanking away despite the buzz she left behind. Everyone is complimenting her and the target looks very interested in her, as his eyes keep searching for her ever since the lights have opened again.

"Op, there it is, it worked, he is into her," Kakashi comments. The red haired male just signaled at a bartender - possibly asking for her company.

"Of course he liked her," Naruto shouts and stretches his hands out in exasperation, "oh my god she looked amazing, I can't believe I just witnessed that," the blond continues to mumble incoherently about their female teammate.

"Did you see that?", The tailed beast owner exclaims loudly, hands coming at top of his head in silent plea for salvation. From the corner of his blue eye, he anticipates his friend's reaction.

"I did," Sasuke responds, "fuck, I know, I did, okay," he says, his voice raising an octave.

He knows the other did it on purpose to gauge a reaction out of him, but he cannot keep hiding from them anymore. It is obvious they both know how he feels about her; except for Sakura of course.

"Op, there it is again," Kakashi jokes this time, his mask hiding his grin. He takes great pleasure in watching his greatest student fall apart in front of him.

"You are both enjoying this, aren't you?", Sasuke asks a question he knows the answer to. He is grimacing, trying to wallow in self pity alone.

"Of course we are," Naruto answers proudly,"have you seen your face?", he wriggles his eyebrows and points an accusing finger at Sasuke's face.

"I hate you both," He says detestably, "Leave me alone."

Before any more banter could continue however, they notice Sakura walking out of the changing rooms in a nice long dress with a slit on the side. It is light pink in color, almost transparent, and it has fuchsia fur on its collar. She is strutting towards the red haired man in very determined steps, getting his attention right away. The pink haired girl sits next to the target and strikes conversation. They watch the scene play out like movie, their eyes and ears alert and attune to everything those two do. Whenever he or she moves, their attention is solely on them - like a hawk which is watching its prey.

Sasuke focuses on Sakura, his eyes calculating every move she makes. He watches as the civilian says something probably funny to her and she laughs heartily, one hand covering her mouth. The woman cocks her head to her right cutely and she blinks her pretty eyes at him while her other hand which is not covering her mouth works in other dirtier ways.

Touch is very important in order to seduce any man. She pats his knee in an attempt to hold her laughter in. To any other person it looks like she is enjoying his company and she is comfortable with him.

But, Sasuke knows, this is her way of making him fall right into her beautifully crafted trap. Her subtle flirting looks like it is working because they both decide to get up at that moment. He does not have a clue what she could have possibly said to him, but the foolish guy grabs her extended hand and follows her to the back rooms.

"She is going in for the kill," Kakashi speaks suddenly, "we better stay alert now in case something bad happens."

It seems he is not the only one interested in how things play out.

The black haired man feels the temperature of the room skyrocket to new heights and he decides it is high time he took off his jacket. In one swift movement the annoying garment is off him and he undoes one more button of his blouse which is straining against his chest.

"Ugh I don't like this at all," Naruto whines and chooses to look anywhere else to divert his attention from Sakura.

Sasuke sits up straighter on his chair, finishes his drink in one shot and puts the empty glass on the nearby table. He feels his throat burning from the sudden consumption of the strong alcoholic beverage. The Uchiha welcomes the pain and cracks his neck to the side.

Kakashi raises an eyebrow at this and he inches his body closer to the outer part of his armchair as if he is ready to get up at any given moment. Naruto quickly catches on and puts his hand on top of Sasuke's bicep.

He grabs the flimsy material of his white shirt, but rearranges his hand in flash in order to grip Sasuke better.

"No," Naruto warns.

The blond's palm discreetly emits some chakra, trying to cool down the raging Uchiha.

Sasuke turns to look at them, his mismatched eyes cold and detached. They see his rinnegan flash in the dark despite being hidden by his fringe.

The brooding male shakes his head slightly and looks down. "I am only going to make things faster," he tries to reason with them.

"Sasuke, no," Kakashi tries to explain calmly. They must not alert anyone in here with their status or their cover will be blown. "We are the back-up, remember?"

"My abilities are more useful than Sakura's right now." Sasuke continues as if he did not hear them, "One look from me and it's over. Tsunade should have thought this through better."

"Sakura-chan can do this, bastard," Naruto speaks in a serious tone and continues, "Don't ruin this for her."

Sasuke stays still for a few seconds, his immobile form having both men on edge.

Before any of them could react fast enough though, they feel Sasuke's chakra flare and they see him disappear in a flash right in front of their eyes. In his place there is a broken bottle of vodka on the armchair.

"Fuck," Naruto curses and Kakashi lets out an indignant sound.

They avert their eyes from the bottle and look towards the changing rooms near the bar. Sasuke smirks, the purple stardust of his eye power blending in with the lights. He bends his head down and steps inside the dark entrance into the hallway behind him.

From their periphery they have no idea what it is going on in there anymore.

Naruto lifts his hands up in the air and says, "I give up."

"I have to admit these events unfolding before me have a more interesting plot than the Icha-Icha Paradise books," Kakashi shrugs his shoulders.

Both of them let out long sighs and fall back into their armchairs.

Meanwhile inside the changing rooms, Sakura has led her target in the quiet corner of her room. She has him pinned against the wall, kunai against his throat, her chakra infused fist holding him captive by his shirt.

"Tell me everything I need to know if you want to live to see another day," she spits out, her glare a complete one eighty compared to the sweet eyes she was batting at him earlier.

"I-I- Who are you lady?" The man trembles in her grip, her threat working.

Sakura pushes him harder against the wall to make him hurt.

"Quit stalling," She keeps the kunai on his throat as her other hand searches his pockets for the key and the papers. "What information do have?" The kunoichi in disguise asks and feels the cold metal of the keys at the tips of her fingers.

Just when she was about to get the juicy info out of him, Sakura feels Sasuke's strong chakra presence behind her.

"You heard her," his velvety baritone voice comes through as he flash steps behind them, both of his eye prowess glinting dangerously in the dark.

The man in question is sweating profusely now as he is faced with two scary looking ninja who look to be very powerful. He knows if he spills out the information the feud lords will come for his ass, but right now as he feels the tip of the kunai on his throat and looks at the threatening eyes of the man next to his beholder, he knows he is dead either way.

"I will tell you everything," He pleads, "don't kill me!"

The red haired man's knees buckle beneath him and he falls down to the ground with a thud. Sakura lets him fall, huffs and stands back.

As she crosses her arms in front of her chest, Sasuke bends down to be at eye level with the target and activates his sharingan, tomoes spinning lazily.

"I could do this on my own, you know," Sakura says annoyed. She is pursing her lips, her eyes going to slits.

"I know," Sasuke admits and stands up. The man on the floor is under a genjutsu, spilling all the information they need.

Sasuke's sharingan still activated records everything the man says that is useful to them. Sakura dangles the keys and puts them inside her pouch. With the man passed out on the floor, Sasuke and Sakura hold eye contact for a few minutes, both silent.

"How did you get in here without me noticing?" She breaks the silence first, taking a few steps closer to the black haired shinobi.

"I concealed my chakra well," Sasuke says laconically, glad for his nimble fingers because he locked the door silently as well.

Sakura hates the way he is so aloof about this as if he did not interrupt her own mission. She is so pissed off right now, the woman can barely hold her wits together. The kunoichi feels herself popping off the moment Sasuke decides to turn his back on her.

"I am not a weak little girl anymore," She spits out fiercely, trying to keep her tone down, "I don't need you going all macho on me!"

Her dress flutters around when she moves suddenly and starts pacing around the room. Sasuke looks at her from the corner of his eye, his visual power no longer activated.

He pretends to ignore her anger and stays mute instead. Unfortunately for her, Sasuke could not help himself and stay put. His jealousy pushed him to go in here with her because the thought of another man even possibly touching her sent him reeling.

Sasuke is glad nothing more had to happen, but god, he is such a coward still and he will not admit to her right now why he did it. He knows she is strong, but her being alone with somebody else, anybody else who is not him...It is eating him away from the inside.

Sakura is furious right now, but she also knows she cannot make a scene in here because someone could come in without warning and start asking questions. They have a man passed out on the floor who is going to arise some suspicions.

Analyzing the situation, she needs to think fast and act later.

Putting her hands on her hips and giving him the angriest bitch face she could master, Sakura barks out her order.

"Go inform the guys the mission is accomplished and we leave tomorrow at dawn," she looks at him expectantly, waiting for him to try and defy her.

When she gets nothing but silence in response, she continues.

"Meet me outside across the street in twenty minutes," Sakura finishes her statement with a dismissive tone.

The pink haired medic raises her eyebrow at him, waiting for him to react.

Sasuke makes his usual humming noise in agreement, his lips slightly pursed. With a curt nod he leaves the room quickly, not once looking behind.

With the door now closed, Sakura lets out a silent growl. In her frustration she takes off one of her high heels and throws it across the room, her target where Sasuke was standing a few seconds ago. Disappointed that she did not hit his imaginary head, she tosses the other one too for a good measure.

Feeling accomplished, she gathers her stuff including the important papers and the keys and she changes to the civilian clothes she had brought with her. Seeing Misao Takashi slightly stirring, she takes that as her cue to leave. With one last look at him, confident that he will not have the guts to speak to anyone about this, she exits the room.

When the red haired male wakes up a few minutes later, he stands up groggily and looks around the room only to find it empty. Checking his pockets and realizing everything is missing, he recalls the events from before. That is when he takes a look at the mirror across him and he notices the gorgeous girl from before has left him a message.

A smiley face drawn with red lipstick is staring back at him.

He snorts and lets out a sad smile.

Twenty minutes later as promised everybody is out of the club with only Sakura still missing. Ever since Sasuke came back with the news no one has exchanged words besides Kakashi and Naruto who keep talking to each other.

The last Uchiha has been oddly quiet even for his standards. He keeps his face mostly hidden in the shadows of the night, his back against a nearby wall. Kakashi and Naruto are a few meters next to him throwing worried glances at him, fearing one word from them would set him off the wrong way.

The moment Sakura appears, it seems the gears in Sasuke's head have finished turning and he stands up straight ready to take off. The awkwardness in Team seven is palpable.

No one dares to look their female teammate in the eye, even Kakashi who is older than them. They do not speak to each other either. Instead, the male members of the group start following Sakura who is probably leading them to the hotel she has been staying. Sakura looks calm, but everybody seems to know that they should not try to cross her or strike a conversation with her.

Naruto who is usually lively and talkative feels like he is living his worst nightmare. He exchanges a few glances with Kakashi who keeps putting his finger in his mouth as if to signal the blond to keep quiet. Things are so awkward between the medic and the sharingan user that Naruto feels like a literal child confined between his two stubborn and angry grown up parents. Fuck being a third wheel to a conceited flirting Uchiha and a shy Haruno, this is so much worse.

Only when they finally reach the hotel and they forced to say their good nights, the Team manages to acknowledge and speak to each other. Of course it is typical conversation before you go to bed, so nothing weird here. Albeit, it was so disturbing to see Sakura faking a smile nowadays that Naruto wanted to bash Sasuke's head to the nearest wall for making this mission more awkward than it had to be. Thinking better than to try and talk to Sasuke about the situation right now, Naruto heads solemnly to his room.

Kakashi on other hand feels like those two are grown up adults and he should not have to interfere with their feelings. They have to work on their miscommunications on their own, especially Sasuke and his incapability to express his feelings.

With each person having their own thoughts in their heads, the members of Team 7 all go into their rooms respectively.

The moment Sakura steps inside the room, she starts to feel her tear ducts watering. Taking a deep breath in order to calm down, she starts pacing around the room while fanning her eyes.

In these kind of situations it always helps to think of something else to prevent her from crying, so she thinks about Ino and her holy grail set of girl rules.

"Never cry when you have expensive make up on," Sakura tries to pep talk herself.

Although she knows she will have to take it off eventually, she tries to hang on the smallest reason to stop herself from tearing up. If she slips up and allows herself to get sad, the woman knows it will be impossible to stop.

Sakura does have a tendency to get emotional despite being strong. Being apathetic is not one of her strongest assets, regrettably. In comparison to the man she is in love with, the pink haired beauty is quite the opposite of him when it comes to matters like these.

Thinking a good bath will clean her head (and her body), she steps inside the bathroom. Half an hour later, she comes out of it clean and fresh wearing her skimpy black pajama shorts and a white t-shirt. Knowing no one will come and bother her anymore tonight she skips putting on her bra.

Feeling rejuvenated and ready to go to sleep, Sakura starts making a beeline for her bed. She will figure out tomorrow what to do about her strained relationship with Sasuke.

Right just about that thought crossed her mind, she hears knocking on her door.

"No," the woman whispers, her eyes widening in horror.

There is no way Sasuke is behind that door, knocking it and expecting her to open up.

With two powerful stomps and a determined expression on her face, Sakura reaches for the doorknob and pulls.

[kareofbears]

perspective

#42 on my top 100 spotify wrapped: grow as we go by ben platt

read on ao3 or below the cut

—

“I didn’t ask you to do that.”

Haru stops when she hears Akechi’s quiet voice, letting the rest of the Thieves walk past her in Shibuya station. It’s late enough that there are only a few midnight workers hustling to get to their night shifts, heads down and coats tight around them, barely glancing at a group of exhausted teenagers appearing out of midair.

Akira throws her back a look, eyes flashing warning signals. She nods. It’s fine.

Haru waits until they’ve headed down the escalators before turning to face Akechi. “You didn’t.”

“I didn’t,” he repeats. “And yet, you did it.”

“And I’d do it again.”

The trains a floor below seemed to hush as they stare each other down—her smiling and his expression blank.

“I’m not him, Okumura. The mission can still go on if I’m down—”

“This isn’t about the mission, Akechi-kun.” Her voice was harder than usual. “I would have done it for Akira, yes. But I also would have done it for Futaba-chan. Ryuji-kun. I would have done it for anyone on the team.”

“But I wouldn’t have done it for any of you.” He readjusts his gloves passively, casually. “If a Shadow was behind you, your back exposed, and a bless attack strong enough to fry you dead was coming towards you a hundred miles an hour, I would have let my attention fall elsewhere. I would have looked the other way.”

“I know that.”

“I killed your dad, did you forget?”

As if there’d ever be a morning where she wakes up and doesn’t repeat that fact over and over again until she’s forced to get up for the day. “No.”

“And Sakura’s mother,” he says, voice brisk. “Did you forget that part?”

“No,” Haru mutters. “I didn’t.”

His words are flying out of his mouth now, each syllable nearly tripping over each other in their haste to make themselves known. “And that time I trapped your leader in an underground interrogation room to kill him? That was a good one. How about the dozens of families affected by the mental shutdowns? Or that time I fought my damnest to kill you all in Shido’s Palace? Or—”

“I remember it,” she says softly. “All of it.”

Akechi’s cool expression falls; in it’s place, something akin to confusion. Lost. A genuine look of incomprehension. “Then why did you do it?”

“Why did I save your life?”

He nods, and she feels a pang of something, deep in her chest. It feels awfully close to pity. Haru glances around the station to make sure it was still empty, before saying:

“I hate you.”

“I’m aware.”

“I thought I wanted you dead for a long time, Akechi Goro.” It feels strange saying it out loud after countless times of wishing, pleading in her head. “I really, really did.”

“I understand,” he says simply. If anything else, that was one thing she knew they did have in common—the prayer of revenge. “After all that I’ve done, it only makes sense.”

“Right?” she can’t help but smile, just a little. Odd, being validated by the person you hate the most.

“But I saw it. It was inevitable. If I hadn’t done anything—” her smile slips from her features as she remembers it. The moist yet scorching scent of Mementos. The sound of trains on their tracks and their never-ending scheduled journeys. A quiet Shadow within a deafening battle. Akechi’s bloodlust eyes focused, always focused, on the target in front of him. Used to never having someone watching his back. “In that moment…I don’t know.”

Was it a compulsion? A need to save people the way Akira does? “I couldn’t let anything happen to you. I couldn’t let you die, no matter how much I wanted you to.”

A beat passes. She’s gotten good at reading the poker faces that come with dealing in business, the hard expressions with cracks that tell her everything she needs—a slight frown, the gnawing of the lip, the nervous ticks that everyone has.

Despite this, Akechi’s expression remains unreadable. “I didn’t want you to do that.”

When he doesn’t answer, she pulls back her sleeve. “It’s getting late. I should go. We have an exam next week, so I should study for that, I think. I’ve never been good at chemistry.”

She winces. It’s not a surprise, but it still makes her heart sink to hear it. Was it because it was her who did it? Or any of the Thieves? Or was it something that she’d be better off not knowing about?

“It doesn’t matter whether or not you wanted it,” is what Haru says instead. “I already saved your life. It’s done. I’ve already done it.”

She walks away, but before she can get very far, a voice calls out, almost desperately.

“Now what?”

Haru turns, and Akechi stands there, an arm outstretched towards her. “What am I supposed to do now?”

It’s strange. The way his shoulders droop like he’s burdened with stones, his lips tilted downwards, eyebrows scrunched and eyes wide yet doubtful—a decade of begging for help, for someone to notice, and being shot down every single time without fail.

It’s strange, because this is the expression she saw in the mirror before she found the friends she had now.

She smiles, despite the way her chest constricts. “If you want my honest advice, Akechi-kun, you grow. Heal. You don’t have to save anyone’s life, but it might help.” She rocks on her heels. “It doesn’t have to be here. It doesn’t have to be with us. But it has to happen.”

Haru turns back. “If you do that, it’ll make sense why I did it. Trust me, once you break out of what you think the whole world is made of, it gets better.”

Walking towards the escalators, she blinks as she sees everyone waiting at the bottom, waiting for her.

A laugh slips from her lips, remembering how used she was to an empty house waiting for her.

It gets better.

[steeltoss]

Pre Shippuden — Shippuden Era

Ages 16 - 22. This is a continuation of the events in Hokkaido's life.

Age 16

I left off on her six month mission in Konohagakure. Backtracking a few months before she turned sixteen, she worked directly under Tsunade Senju amd had slowly reconnected with her old friends, including Neji Hyūga, Kiba Inuzuka, Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akamichi.

That being said, her sixteenth birthday was spent in the Hidden Leaf. The party was small and planned by Ino, complete with a few cupcakes and dango. This was the first birthday she enjoyed after Emi passed away.

Speaking of Emi, Hokkaido constantly worried over Ichika and often wrote letters to the younger one. After all, next year Ichika would start the Amegakure Academy.

Aside from her mission, nothing too big happened this year. Though she found out Sasuke was missing. He had become a Rogue Ninja. Okay that's pretty big but still.

Age 17

Upon her journey towards Amegakure after the six months had passed, the Kunoichi had taken it into her own hands to search for Sasuke. She strayed off the path she should have been taking to go to the Hidden Rain Village.

From here, she runs into some nasty company.

This was the first time she met Pein and Konan. And they looked like they were ready to end her.

Upon activating her sharingan, interest was sparked in her by Pein. She was spared on one condition. Well a few, but one big one.

She was to join the Akatsuki, accept the Rogue life and abandon her old life. This would mean abandoning the Hidden Rain and Ichika.

But on the other hand, maybe she could find Sasuke. She had no clue just how wrong she was. But she agreed nonetheless.

So she was taken back to the base, fron there, she met the other members.

Okay don't kill me but here's what happens when she first meets the Akatsuki: [her opinion and relationships will change over time]

Pein: Of course when they first met, she was intimidated and activated her sharingan, but being spared and hopefully brought closer to her brother, she would do anything he asked, for now at least.

Konan: Seeing her special skills, Hokkaido was intimidated but wouldn't admit so. She seems to be the only female here.

Deidara: I'm sorry Dei, but my little angel thought you were a very beautiful lady until you spoke the first time. Needless to say, she was rather shocked but admired his hair and explosives anyway.

Kakuzu: one word. Fear. This man is huge and crazy tall, also his personality reminds her of what its like to bite into a crabapple.

Hidan: she admired his dedication, but didn't like how he greeted her with “Fuck, there's another one? At least this one has a decent rack”. She punched him. And threatened his life only to find out he's immortal.

Tobi: well, he's very hyper and welcoming at least, but she wondered why he wore that mask.

Kisame: is he a man? Shark? Man-Shark? Either way, she kept a distance and admired his strength from afar.

Sasori: puppets are completely and utterly horrifying and she wanted nothing to do with this weird puppet man. Until she saw how red his hair was and her cheeks dusted a pale pink. It reminded her of someone she met a few years ago.

Itachi: . . . Her brother. Her brother, who had killed the clan was in the Akatsuki. Upon seeing him, she wondered if it was too late to leave the Akatsuki. She rurned her nose away and sighed.

Zetsu: “are you a. . . Big, adorable plant man?” i think it's safe to say Zetsu stared at her and quite possibly closed his trap around himself to save himself the embarrassment or black Zetsu threatening to eat her.

Back to Age 17

Sasuke wasn't with them, and she felt like shutting down completely. She was now at square one again. She had hoped this was her ticket to helping her brother, but ahe didnt know he didn't want help.

And honestly, you can't help someone who doesn't want any help.

Aside from her mind overworking, she now had to face Itachi as he was staring her down.

“hey, Itachi... ”

From there, the two walked around as he explained what really happened that day. She was torn. The Leaf had ordered this massacre?

Maybe she wasn't ready to go home after all.

Age 18

On her eighteenth birthday, she had spent her very first one with Itachi in nine years, and she oncr again, was crying those sappy happy little tears.

She never really expected a group of terrorists to the villages to get her gifts, yet they had.

Konan had gotten her a pair of fingerless gloves; Hokkaido appreciated the gesture because her hands were usually cold and Konan usually got things she needed or wanted anyway as the two had become closer.

Kisame had given her her very first katana, which, she undeniably adored the gesture; and she was extremely pink cheeked, she wasn't in love with him but she really liked his caring and understanding attitude.

Tobi had gotten her a mask to match his, which she never would wear; instead, she retaliated with offering to share dango with him instead. Which results in him squealing.

Sasori had claimed he didn't give a damn about things she wanted but still placed a small wooden figure of well, GAARA, in front of her; which led to the idea he had read her diary and had fully embarrassed her. But this little figure was different. Gaara was dressed as the Kazekage.

Deidara had picked her up some paint; remembering she hsd spent endless nights she couldn't sleep to paint her ceilinv and walls, and was out of it.

Zetsu uh, well, gave her a few seeds for flowers. It was for a joke since he figured she would never use them, but she held o to them. Just wait. These gifts will be brought up later.

Kakuzu, and i can't stress this enough, didn't do shit.

Hidan, on the other hand, tried offering immortality if she converted to jashinism.

Itachi had saved his for last. He had gotten her a journal and pens, as well as her stuffed panda from Amegakure.

A part of being an official member of the Akatsuki meant missions. And she had completed several, but what made her panic would be the one where the hunt for Jinchuuriki began.

It was a silent battle with herself. She had already dedicated herself to the Akatsuki but she knew two Jinchuuriki. Gaara and Naruto.

The day Gaara's One Tail was extracted, she covered her mouth upon hearing those certain words.

“He's dead”.

As if she had been hoping her life wouldn't get worse, she had already made up her mind. She really, really despised Deidara now. And she knew she would be killed if she straight up abandoned post.

However, on her next solo mission, she managed to leave a scroll for the Hokage and wanted word passed silently between the Five Kage's. She was playing both sides as of now, but desperately wanted out.

Would they believe her?

No. Not yet at least.

Age 19

Silence. She had succumbed herself with silence, almost like a vow she had taken. Deidara, Sasori, they were dead and war was coming.

She promised herself she would hate Deidara for what he did to Gaara, but she couldn't help but feel pity. Deidara was only a teenager when he died. [I think he was nineteen?]

With the Fourth Shinobi War coming, she was scared. Having no idea what to even do, Hokkaido assumed she would die.

Because I'm a lil bitch, I'm making you wait until she turns 20 for more details.

Age 20

The Akatsuki was no more. Almost all had died, and Hokkaido felt a slight empty feeling in her heart as she sat in front of the Five Kage's.

This was judgement. Would she be allowed to repent and become a better person or be banished forever, or die? Her mind was going wild.

Though, she couldn't help the feeling of ease as she saw Gaara, the Kazekage and boy she used to know, standing and perfectly fine.

“During the time of my extraction, I could see she wanted nothing to do with the Akatsuki organization. She looked almost forced to be there”.

The words Gaara spoke made her face turn pink and look away. Why was he trying to help her when she had fallen into the wrong group of people?

As if she hadn't already felt like she had succumbed herself in a repetitive cycle of falling for Gaara each day she thought about it, him helping her only dragged her deeper into the pit.

And Kami, he was so beautiful.

“and I'd like to offer that if you don't trust her, that's fine. She can return to Suna with me and Kankurō. She can build herself from there”.

So she moves to Suna and begins working on herself as a person, much of the things she had thought about was the very questions Gaara had asked along the way.

“why help me?” she had asked, the gaze he gave her was hard but he responded with: “you aren't the only one who was in the wrong. It would be wrong of anyone to not let you change yourself. I was given a chance and was once feared and hated, so can you answer this for me, do you wamt to live? Do you want to start a new beginning? If so, keep walking with us”.

And so she walked.

Age 21

Life in Suna was much different than the Hidden Rain or Leaf. Not many people would contact her or look her way for the first few days. After all she was an outsider and reformed terrorist.

Hokkaido had grown close to Temari once more, as well as Kankurō. These two, when free, helped her with the adjustment.

Hokkaido had left Amegakure behind, the ache in her heart subsiding as she realized Ichika had grown into a decent young child and chose to not become a shinobi, considering shinobi had too many hardships and heartaches to deal with.

As for Gaara, the two often spent time gardening and cultivating cacti.

Something from the past had finally been planted. The flower seeds Zetsu had given her way back on her birthday spent with the Akatsuki.

The katana that Kisame had given her was placed on a display.

Her Traditional Japanese Sword Display

The katana which is the most recognized full sized samurai sword and is often the first piece in any collection. It sits at the bottom and has a beautiful violet ito handle wrap.

The second would be the wakizashi which is a mid-sized sword that resembles the katana and the ito handle wrap was midnight blue.

Then the third which is a tanto. The tanto is the shortest of the swords or in many examples can be as short as today's standard survival styled knife. The ito wrap is black.

This is an example of how the stand is:

Age 21

The mask Tobi had given her had brought up bitter memories and had long sense been tossed into a storage box.

Her fingerless gloves had been destroyed during the war, but since she used them for swordplay, Temari had gotten her a new pair as a gift.

The wooden figure Sasori had given her of Gaara was more or less embarassing since she lived with the sand siblings and had hidden it away in the storage box.

Her panda sat on her bed, displayed and untouched except for during the night.

Age 22

Upon the next year, Hokkaido watched as relationships blossomed between many people, marriages and children coming into the world, she began wondering if she would ever have something like this in her own life. She highly doubted it.

Having been back and forth from Konohagakure, she grew closer to Shikamaru once more from childhood as she often joined the male and Temari on days they'd spend time together.

Other times, Hokkaido would stick to Kankurō and help with making puppets, she rather enjoyed painting them.

And occasionally, when Gaara was free, the two would still garden together and had began talking more, sometimes the two would even go out to the village and walk around together.

Her feelings for Gaara seemed to only hrow stronger as she had grown older, and she imagined herself having a future with him. It always made her heart hammer and her face turn blood red.

This year, she had cut most of her hair off to her shoulders as it had grown too long. She soon admits her feelings to Gaara, unsurprisingly, he was silent.

She most definitely assumed she blew it, but nearly a week later, Gaara had shyly asked if she would allow him to court her.

This was most definitely the beginning of a new and beautiful relationship.

I'll pick up with pre boruto - boruto era soon. Though im not sure if these are even good. @temarihime @thefifthkazekage @how-troublesome @houndninja

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

The Thief and the Samurai Episode List + Summaries

So I got carried away with this fictional show I made up to save some of my OCs, and decided to type out a full episode list with brief summaries.

SEASON 1 – THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

Beginnings, Part 1 - Sakura’s early life and origins are shown.

Beginnings, Part 2 – Sakura’s time training under Master Ishida is shown.

Beginnings, Part 3 – With her training complete, Sakura goes off into the world to begin her goal of protecting the innocent. Soon enough, she meets the wily thief Michelle Kitt, and the two decide to travel together.

A Helping Hand – Sakura wishes to help a village being tormented by bandits to prove herself; Michelle on the other hand just wants to get paid for ridding the town of its problem.

Without a Paddle – Michelle and Sakura decide to take a river boat to their next destination; unfortunately, they get mixed up in a smuggling attempt and must face off with dangerous criminals.

Darke Rising – After yet another misadventure, the two girls run in to Freya Darke, a cyborg who seeks vengeance against Michelle in the name of her master.

Blackmore – Horatio Blackmore makes his grand debut, attempting to pull off a complicated plan to kill Michelle and Sakura.

Framed – Blackmore frames Michelle for the theft of a precious jewel, leading to her and Sakura having to evade the law while trying to get the jewel back.

The Triad – Sakura and Michelle encounter Serenity, Hope, and Faith as they seek out the jewel to clear Michelle’s name.

With Catlike Tread - The two must sneak through Blackmore’s mountain factory, all the while being pursued by the Triad.

Afraid of the Darke – Freya appears once again, this time accompanied by a cyborg attack wolf named Echidna, a prototype of a line Blackmore wishes to mass produce. Jewel in hand, Michelle and Sakura must escape the factory with these two pursuing them now as well.

Hanging Judge – Upon returning the jewel, the two find that none other than Blackmore himself was the owner of the jewel, having lent it to the museum it was stolen from for the sole purpose of framing Michelle. Michelle is then put on trial.

Objection – Ridiculous courtroom antics are brought to a halt when the Triad attacks the courtroom. Sakura and Michelle escape; now fugitives, the two argue, with Sakura very upset about the path her life has gone since meeting Michelle, and Michelle irritated with Sakura and her attitude. The two bitterly part ways at episode’s end, which is all observed by the mysterious Man in Black.

Stop and Stay a While – With the authorities after her, Michelle holes up in an old, out-of-the-way inn. Unfortunately, the inn turns out to be run by cannibals, and she is forced to fight her way out of a deadly situation. Ultimately she decides not to rob the folks but instead turn them over to the proper authorities, noting that maybe Sakura was a bit of a good influence on her after all.

Seeing Green – Sakura encounters a rude, snobby upper class young man who enlists her aid in acting as his bodyguard for an event at his university; he soon reveals himself to be a hypocrite, a liar, and a thoroughly unpleasant individual who abuses others. Sakura determines that he needs to be taken down a notch, and shames him in front of his peers before robbing him blind. She notes, amused, that perhaps Michelle did have the right idea sometimes.

The Man in Black – Michelle ends up chased by the Triad, who nearly kill her in battle. She ends up having a meeting with the Man in Black, who claims she has cheated him and that he has come to collect his due, describing the Triad as his personal band of debt collectors. Before Michelle can find out what exactly it is she did to him, he is fought off by Sakura.

Memories – As Sakura nurses Michelle back to health, she opens up about her past, telling of her life before becoming a thief and the death of her family at t he hands of a twisted serial killer who had the power to turn his blood vessels into barbed wire and attack with them.

The Canyon – Pursued into a canyon, the two decide now is the time to make a final stand. However, not confident in their ability to take them out, Blackmore uses his airship to fire on the authorities, killing them to frame Sakura and Michelle. Freya is noticeably disturbed by this.

The Hounds – Using the supposed terrorist actions of Sakura and Michelle as a bargaining chip, Blackmore gets funding to begin the mass production of his cyborg hounds. Soon amassing an army, he overthrows the queen of England and begins to rule London with an iron fist.

Dirty Work – Sakura and Michelle sneak through old sewer tunnels in an effort to get into Blackmore’s London factory and shut it down. There they encounter the Rat King, a man hired by Blackmore to guard the sewers with the ability to control and mutate rats.

London Calling – After their battle in the sewers, the two emerge into the city proper and begin to fight their way to the factory.

Devil Factory – The true extent of Blackmore’s wicked technology is shown in his factory and the torturous cyborgification process. The two must face the deadly assassin Kirk the Killer here, who may or may not be as competent as he seems...

Fight or Flight, Part 1 – Blackmore attempts to escape on his ship, his factory destroyed and his cyborgs falling to the combined forces of Sakura, Michelle, and the authorities. Sakura and Michelle pursue, and are aided by the Triad.

Fight or Flight, Part 2 – Blackmore finally confronts the two head-on. In a battle of wits, cunning, guns and swords, Blackmore almost emerges victorious, until Freya turns on him and attempts to toss him off the airship. However, prepared for this event, he activates the self destruct and flies off on a jetpack. The ship veers off course, crashes, and explodes; however, Freya, Sakura, and Michelle escape.

Heroes – Returning to London, Michelle and Sakura are praised as heroes and given a full pardon, as well as a large sum of treasure. The two spend much of their time unwinding and figuring out what they’re going to do next, and if the two should part ways. Michelle lets slip that she actually had sold what she stole from Blackmore to a mysterious individual, and Sakura, determining it to be too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands, decides they must find this man. Michelle agrees; however, before the two can venture off, they are confronted yet again by the Triad.

No Escape – After a brutal fight with the Triad, the two women are faced yet again by the Man in Black. He reveals that he is actually Death, and the Triad are his personal angelic entourage who help him hunt down those who cheat him in the game of chess he offers to those who cling desperately to life one way or another. However, after talking with Michelle it soon comes to light that she never actually cheated, and that whoever attempted to kill her had a powerful dark aura to him to muddle Death’s perception so much. He apologized for the miscommunication and considers all debts balanced, before saying they will likely cross paths again. After he leaves, Michelle sighs, wondering who or what her killer actually was. Sakura promises that whatever else, she will help find the killer of Michelle’s family and bring them to justice. Their friendship solidified, the two venture off on their next journey.

SEASON 2A – STRANGE EONS

With Strange Eons – After searching in vain for who Michelle sold Blackmore’s plans to for months, the two come across an ad for the Strange Eons Science Expo in Strange Eons, Maine in three days. Seeing one of  the guests pictured on the poster makes Michelle realize he was the one who bought Blackmore’s work off of her, and so the two decide to head to Maine. The two get aboard a ship, but on their way the ship is attacked by what appears to be a zombie sea serpent. The two end up shipwrecked in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

The Beast in the Bay – The two are begged by the residents to defeat the creature somehow, as it has been attacking ships for well over a year. The two decide it’s the right thing to do, and find a way to end its life. After killing it, they discover that someone had experimented on it to bring it back to life. The residents speak of a scientist there who had shown up to conduct strange experiments before vanishing. Showing off the brochure, they find that the man they are looking for is the man from the rumors.

Clowning Around – As the two travel through New England towards the science fair, they are waylaid by a clown with the power to use their fears against them so that he can siphon their energy. Neither Michelle nor Sakura takes him seriously, much to his chagrin.

Asylum – The two are asked to rescue teenagers trapped in an abandoned asylum; while there they discover the place is overrun with reanimated corpses.

No Fair – Arriving in the town of Strange Eons, they make a shocking discovery: the town is already overrun with zombies. They soon discover the reason: Hojo Doboro, a mad scientist who performed experiments to reanimate the dead. He sics a giant zombie on the two and makes his escape.

Life and Limb – The two slice their way through the town and find their way to the university. There, the faculty and students holed up in there shed some light on Doboro: he was once a teacher there who was kicked out for sneaking in to steal cadavers for experiments. He vanished for years, recently returning with an army of the undead he created with his own experiments as well as the item stolen from Blackmore. Said item is revealed to be an item known as a Keystone, which is described in ancient death cult texts as being able to call forth beings known as Old Ones from a world beyond to do their bidding. If all five were gathered, then the summoner could command the Old Ones to do anything they pleased. Realizing the danger such a power would pose, Michelle and Sakura use the notes they found to locate the other four Keystones before Doboro can get them. However, after finding the notes and attempting to leave, they are attacked by Gemini.

Lost and Found – The girls find the first Keystone in an old burial ground’s secret crypt; however, Gemini arrives and uses Doboro’s re-animation gel to resurrect the bones in the burial ground into a giant bone monster that Michelle and Sakura face down.

The Lighthouse – The third keystone is tracked down to an old lighthouse; however, this time Gemini takes the keystone.

Road to Ruin – The girls try and make haste to the next keystone. Meanwhile, Doboro is preparing his army, and Gemini is beginning to feel uneasy about all of this.

Two of Hearts – The episode focuses on Gemini and her origin, as well as her successful capture of the fourth Keystone. In this episode she begins to waver in her support of Doboro, even if he did create her.

The Gathering – The girls manage to get the final keystone, and then make haste to the old mansion Doboro has holed up in to steal back the others.

Arisen – The girls confront Doboro, only to discover he was counting on them coming all along; the stones needed to only be in the general vicinity of one another. With them all together, Doboro uses the power to call forth an Old One; however, Gemini knocks the Keystones out of balance and thus the summoning is botched, instead merely summoning a powerful demon for a moment before the ritual is shut down. Enraged, Doboro unleashes his ultimate weapon: Viscera, the reanimated amalgamation.

Even Death May Die – After Sakura, Michelle, and Gemini deal with Viscera, Gemini catches up to the fleeing Doboro and injects him with his own reanimation fluid before kicking him down into the cellar and locking him up. Gemini says she will stay behind to try and clean up the mess made, and helps the girls destroy the Keystones so that they cannot be used for evil ever again. Satisfied, the girls head home, unaware that the demon whose summoning they interrupted, Camazotz, is now plotting vengeance against them.

SEASON 2B – WRATH OF THE DEMON KING

Camazotz – The episode focuses mainly on the demon king forming his plan, as well as Sakura and Michelle’s trip home. When they arrive in London, they have a feeling they are being stalked.

The Terror – While making their way through town, they are attacked by a large, lizard-like demon who proclaims he will destroy them in the name of Camazotz. After winning the ensuing battle, the two decide to figure out who Camazotz is just in case this was more than just a fluke.

Lunacy – After entering the countryside, the girls find their way to a strange church run by a man named Brother Moon, who may or may not be an alien. He offers advice on how to deal with demons as well as an old tome that details who Camazotz is. He offers the girls the chance to stay the night. However, an unwelcome guest sneaks in to their room...

Incubus – The Incubus Thot sneaks in to the girls’ room and, rather than do what is expected of him, instead causes general mischief and just acts like a real jackass.

Hell House – The girls must exorcise a possessed demonic house with the help of Brother Moon.

Sleepless Nights – The demon Hypnox attempts to kill the girls in their dreams.

The Evil Within – Kirk the Killer returns, this time getting possessed by the demon Akuba. The girls must find a way to remove the demon from his constantly regenerating body. They get help from a new ally: Lady Kali.

Lady Kali – Lady Kali assists Michelle and Sakura in fighting off a horde of shadow demons that are attacking a village on the moors.

When We Were Young – A demon transforms Michelle, Kali, and Sakura into children; overwhelmed by being able to see again, Sakura is taken out of commission for the e pisode, leaving Michelle and dKali to fight the demon. However, in their exhaustion they end up being caught by Thot after defeatting the other demon.

Prisoners of Love – Sakura and Brother Moon work together to rescue Lady Kali and Michelle from Thot. After Thot is defeated, he comes to realize he is absolutely smitten with Michelle and vows to win her heart. Michelle is absolutely not impressed.

It Lives! - Doboro returns, this time as a hulking reanimated monster, warped by his reanimating solution. Having found out who is after the girls, he uses black magic to summon Camazotz into the material world.

The Wrath of the Demon King – Camazotz appears to finish what he has started, and he along with Doboro attempt to kill the group. Gemini, Kali, Michelle, and Sakura distract them long enough for Brother Moon to cast them back into hell. However, at the last second Doboro attempts to drag Brother Moon into hell with him; Gemini ultimately sacrifices herself and falls into hell with her creator. In the aftermath, the group mourns the loss of Gemini, Kali returns home, Brother Moon returns to his church to recover, and Michelle determines they need a vacation. Sakura decides they should perhaps visit her father in Japan.

SEASON 3 – SAKURA AND MICHELLE’S WORLD TOUR

Cherry Blossoms – Sakura, Rhiannon, and Michelle arrive in Japan and reunite with Sakura’s father, Hiro. Hiro shows them around and shows how much things have changed in the time since Sakura set out on her journey. The episode is a simple yet pleasant intro that hints at what’s to come, with Orochi Overlong appearing in the final minutes and realizing Sakura and Michelle are likely a threat.

Overlong – Orochi Overlong reveals himself, saying he has heard of Michelle and Sakura’s exploits. After a battle showcasing his sorcerous abilities, he teleports the two across the ocean to America and makes the oceans utterly impassable. He then gives them an ultimatum: defeat his agents that he has scattered throughout the world within 44 days, or Rhiannon and Hiro will die. Having supplied them with a map of where his henchmen reside but no other details, the two set out across Aamerica to begin their quest.

A True American, Part 1 – The two arrive in a midwestern town, stopping for rest at the tavern of Kurtwood Armstrong, a man with fists who hit like iron and who is loud and patriotic. He bemoans the relentless cruelty of the preacher Cyrus Lovelace, who rolled into town recently and began stirring people up into a bigoted fervor. Sensing that this man might be one of the first of Overlong’s minions, they team up with Armstrong to fight him; however, they soon find the whole town has been whipped into a bigoted frenzy by Lovelace’s own power, and so they must proceed with caution, as they do not wish to hurt the innocent people.

A True American, Part 2 – The team confronts Lovelace and ultimately defeats him.

The Hunger, Part 1 – Taking a detour to Mexico, the two are met by Ernesto Banderas, a man with the power to amplify sound into powerful concussive blasts; naturally, he is a guitar player.  He asks the two if they are here to stop Elvis Chavez, a would-be dictator who rolled into town and has begun wasting all the resources.

The Hunger, Part 2 – The group confronts Elvis, who is a massive mountain of a man with the ability to consume anything safely. Determining him to be Overlong’s minion, they attack him. After his defeat, the girls part ways with Ernesto, but not before he has a bit of a romantic moment with Michelle.

Clowning Around, Again – The girls pass through New England and find the evil clown, this time working for Overlong. Yet again, the two absolutely refuse to take the clown seriously.

Falling Down, Part 1 – Returning yet again to London, the girls try to find Overlong’s minion, and instead run afoul of Freya, who decides now is a great time to start a fight with the two. Their battle is interrupted by an attack on the London bridge.

Falling Down, Part 2 – Going to the bridge expecting to find Overlong’s latest assailant, they instead find the minion apparently already dead – Blackmore killed him to lure the two for his revenge. Michelle and Sakura do battle with him, but ultimately he escapes, taunting them that he has wasted their time and that the real minion is still out there, and he only wished to divert their attention so that they would lose precious time in the quest to save Rhiannon and Hiro. Now having fled the city, the girls are at a loss for what to do, but Freya decides to help them track down the minion.

Horse on the Moor – The group confronts the minion on the moors, a man known only as The Rider, who can conjure up a spectral horse made of psychic energy to ride upon. After his defeat, Freya parts ways with the two.

Erin go Bragh, Part 1 – The two venture to Ireland, where they meet Rick and Bailey O’Brien, twins with electrically charged speed that increases the closer the two are to each other. The two say there have been strange disappearences in their town lately, and so Sakura and Michelle help investigate.

Erin go Bragh, Part 2 – As it turns out, the disappearances were caused by Overlong’s minion, a man with dwarfism who dressed like a leprechaun to lure unfortunate souls into his grasp. With his power to turn everything he touches to gold, he attempts to kill the group; however, they manage to defeat him and free his gilded victims. It is believed these two episodes are what got the series banned entirely in Britain.

It’s Personal, Part 1 – The girls head to Italy next, where they meet the irritable dwarf Vinny, who is out for revenge against his family’s killers. Sensing something of a kindred spirit, Michelle asks Sakura if they can help him; reluctantly, Sakura agrees, and they seek out the trio of killers.

It’s Personal, Part 2 – Finally confronting the killers, they discover that they are in fact minions of Overlong.

Heart of Darkness, Part 1 – The two travel to Africa, where they find the woman Lesedi already tracking down a cannibal witch who has been a legend among her people for years. Sensing this may have something to do with Overlong, they offer their help.

Heart of Darkness, Part 2 – The group confronts the evil cannibal witch Morrigan Maro. The witch is soon defeated, and the two move on to Egypt, where they meet the local girl Talia Ishtar, who is looking to plunder a tomb. Ecstatic at the opportunity to do what she does best, Michelle volunteers her help and Sakura goes along with it.

Pyramid Scheme – As it turns out, one of Overlong’s minions had been in the tomb as well. After defeating him they discover hieroglyphics apparently depicting Overlong in ancient times. Not yet knowing what this means, they bid Talia farewell and continue on their journey.

The Perilous Pass, Part 1 – Returning to Europe, the two make their way through Germany. There, they meet Kristopher Cross, who needs help getting through a dangerous mountain pass so that he can retrieve medicinal herbs for his sick boyfriend. Sakura, unwilling to allow someone to suffer if she can help, offers to escort him through the pass. As it turns out, though, the pass has another of Overlong’s minions waiting to ambush them.

The Perilous Pass, Part 2 – The minion, Shepard Starbuck, has the power to easily climb the steepest and most dangerous cliffsides, and tries to split up the group with rock slides. It is revealed here that Cross has magnetic powers, but has been too afraid to use them since he accidentally was responsible for his boyfriend’s current condition. With a little motivation, he manages to control his powers and help defeat Starbuck, and get Sakura and Michelle through the pass. He parts ways with them and returns to his boyfriend through the pass, much more confident and brave than before.

Bloody Tears – Entering Romania, the girls are confronted by an exhausted, miserable Kirk the Killer. He mentions that his country has been taken over by one of Overlong’s minions, and that he will be grateful if they could help him. Reluctantly, they do so. The group confronts the minion, a man who can generate spikes from his body, in a dark old castle. Said man lets slip that Overlong is not just biding his time to kill Sakura’s parents; rather, he is trying to regenerate his body, as he is Yamata no Orochi of legend. Horrified, Sakura determines they must move ever quicker if they are to stop Overlong.

Holy Protector, Part 1 – Arriving in India, the two meet up again with Lady Kali, who is having trouble driving demons out of her homeland. Apparently the reason so many demons aare appearing is because of a man named Raktabija, who can conjure up hell portals.

Holy Protector, Part 2 – Raktabija fights the heroes, but is ultimately defeated when one of his Hell portals frees a familiar face: Gemini. Lady Kali ultimately tosses the man through one of his own hell portals, and after a reunion Gemini joins Michelle and Sakura to take down Overlong.

The Serpent Reborn– Arriving in China to fight the last of the minions, the three soon discover a horrifying truth: Overlong was counting on them defeating each of his minions so that he could harvest their powerful spiritual energy upon defeat so he could obtain his true form. Overlong appears before them to taunt them about this fact before assuming his true form.

Orochi, Part 1 – The girls take their fight to Japan, where they begin the final confrontation with Orochi.

Orochi, Part 2 – The fight against Orochi seems hopeless, and the three are seemingly done for. However, as it turned out the Man in Black decided to step in, as much like him Orochi was a supernatural being of great power. He could not directly help, as that was not his right, but he did aid by calling forth all the friends Sakura and Michelle had made along the way so they could lend their power, as well as allowing the Triad to fight. With the combined might of all their friends from round the world, Sakura was able to land the killing blow and defeat Orochi, killing him and saving her parents. Sakura decides at the end she wishes to return to her master and inform him of her adventures, and Michelle and Gemini decide to go along with her, while the rest of her friends return home, determined to keep in touch somehow.

SEASON 4A – GHOSTS OF THE PAST

Master Ishida – The girls arrive at the mountain school where Master Ishida teaches his students. Happy to see Sakura, he decides to allow her to instruct a new class. She also fills her master in on all of her adventures so far. Things seem well until episode’s end, when two men walk into the hall: Jet and Chicken Wire.

Jet – Sakura is shocked at Jet’s return. He reveals that the fall that supposedly killed him nearly did so, but he was saved by a witch… a witch who then cursed him and took something from him. Bitter, angry, and miserable, he had been taken in by a teacher named Black Phoenix who helped him hone his rage so he could get vengeance. Chicken Wire, whose mouth was wired shut, was someone he had found along the way and who his master had taken in as well. Jet declares that unless Master Ishida surrenders the temple, there will be dire consequences. Obviously refusing, Jet leaves, and Sakura and friends begin to formulate a plan to protect the temple.

Berserker – The next day, the consequences come to light: Rika Ainia, another student of the Black Phoenix who also became cursed, attacks the school, wounding several in her attempt to get to Ishida. After a hard-fought battle, she is apparently taken down.

The Next Day – The group helps repair the school and tend to the wounded, while Sakura tries to find out more bout the Black Phoenix; Master Ishida refuses to speak of it, as it is his greatest shame. Just when Sakura thinks she may get some answers, an attack is launched… from Rika Ainia, who had been killed the day prior. Shocked, they once again fight her, but this time she successfully kills a student in the crossfire of the battle. Coming out of her rage and in a state of shock, she has a complete breakdown. In the chaos, Master Ishida is captured.

Cursed – Rika is interrogated, and a lot of details about her life come to light. She says she was sent as a distraction so that Chicken Wire and Jet could kidnap Master Ishida. Taking her as a hostage, they journey off to find Jet.

Legend of the Black Phoenix – While passing through a mountain village, they try and find more info about the Black Phoenix. However, most of what they find is merely urban legends and rumor, and nothing totally concrete.

Chicken Wire – Chicken Wire tries, and fails, to lure the group into multiple traps as they work there way ever closer to where Jet has Master Ishida.

The Escape – Rika breaks free and runs off, with the group giving chase.

Crossed Wire – The group splits up to try and find Rika, Jet, or Ishida; Gemini finds herself victim of Chicken Wire’s tricks and traps, though eventually she does defeat him and begin tailing him back to his hideout.

Cursed – Michelle finds her way into a shack in the mountains that contains a variety of odd objects, including a large mass of spiky wires, a broken staff, and more. She soon discovers it is the home of a witch, and makes her escape to tell the others.

Reunion – Sakura and Jet meet face to face; Sakura tries to appeal to the good in him and tries to get the boy she once loved to return, but instead the two fight, leading to him being wounded. Michelle and Gemini catch back up, and they track Jet to his hideout via a trail of blood.

The Cave – The group finds the cave where Jet has been hiding, and tracks him deep inside to where he has kept Master Ishida imprisoned.

Phoenix Rising – After finding Master Ishida, he finally explains the truth: That the Black Phoenix was a student of his who he had expelled for violent tendencies ages ago, and who had gained reputation since then as powerful evil. He had no idea that he had been training his own set of students for years. Before they can escape, they are confronted by the Black Phoenix himself.

SEASON 4B – HER MASTER’S KEEPER

The Black Phoenix – Akuma Kokuho introduces himself, and says that he is not going to kill Master Ishida yet; he wishes to humiliate and demoralize him first by proving to him that he is a far greater teacher. To this effect, he has decided to put forth a set of combat challenges to see if Ishida’s students can best his own.

The Challenges – Kokuho’s students and Ishida’s students begin battling and competing in deadly challenges, with Ishida’s students ending up dead. Jet begins to grow ever more disturbed, while Rika grimly accepts all the brutality fate throws at her. Jet’s resolve sways even further when he watches  Chicken Wire get brutally beaten down to the point of near death before intervening.

Disgrace – Disgusted by Jet’s weakness, Kokuho determines the only solution is to put him into combat against Ishida’s greatest student: Sakura. The fight is to the death, and if Jet refuses to fight, Kokuho will kill her himself. The two fight, but seem at a stalemate; Sakura does not want to kill Jet, and Jet does not want to kill her while at the same time he must put forth effort to seem as if he is not throwing the match. The match ends when Sakura, sensing the problem, impales herself with her own blade.

Betrayal – Having angled the sword in such a way it did not harm any of her organs, Sakura is injured but otherwise okay. Irritated, Kokuho demands that she be prepared to fight again the next day; disgusted, Gemini and Michelle go off to spy on him. They catch him abusing Jet and, strangest of all, they find him sneaking off to the hut of the witch Michelle previously visited. It turns out the witch is Kokuho’s daughter, and she curses people by taking away things precious to them so that they have no choice but to turn to Kokuho so that they can find any semblance of peace. They try to escape and bring this information back, but they are caught by Kokuho.

To the Pain – Rika, sensing something is amiss, wanders off into the woods, finding herself at the shack. There, she witnesses Kokuho fighting Michelle and Gemini, and though they fight valiantly, Kokuho bests them. Before his daughter can curse them, Rika leaps in and maims the daughter, only to be beaten to a pulp by Kokuho. This does, however, give Michelle and Gemini time to escape.

The Hero Within – Gemini and Michelle return, and try and warn all of Kokuho’s students of his treachery, but only Jet and Chicken Wire seem very interested in the truth, with the rest threatening them. When Kokuho makes his way back, Jet stands up to him and fights him to a standstill, injuring him and stealing medicine to heal Sakura.

Rage of the Phoenix – Kokuho attempts to kill Sakura and friends, but a now fully healed Sakura fights him off. The group manages to beat a hasty retreat so that they can form a concrete plan on how to stop Kokuho and his witch daughter.

End of an Era – After attempting to retreat to Ishida’s school, the school is destroyed by Kokuho.

Her Master’s Keeper – Ishida, worn out and tired from the running and his failure, decides to stand up to Kokuho. He fights valiantly, and though Sakura leaps in to protect him, he is ultimately slain, but not before passing on his greatest secret to her.

The Secret Technique – Sakura and Kokuho do battle once again, though this time she uses the secret technique that Ishida taught her: the Strike of Ages. This allows her to astral project into Kokuho’s mind and sift through the evil to defeat his innate dark spirit.

  The Fog of Ages – Sifting through his memories, Sakura learns about Kokuho’s past. Eventually, she duels him in the center of his mind, defeating him and rendering him comatose.

Phoenix Down – The group manages to find their way to Kokuho’s daughter, who puts up a great fight but is ultimately defeated. Upon her death, the cursed objects all disappear, returning what they stole to their owners. All seems well, with Rika promising to find a way to atone for her sins, perhaps by remaking the school and leading Kokuho’s students to a peaceful way, and with Jet determining he wants to confess his love to Sakura. However, Chicken Wire too is freed from his curse, and with his barbed veins and muscle mass restored and his mouth free once again, he kills Jet and reveals himself to the group. In a shocking cliffhanger twist, it is revealed to Michelle’s horror that Chicken Wire had been her family’s killer.

[ariphyll]

and your eyes, they hide a thousand words

--- Chapter 1: Preface

Ao3 Ver.

Xander/Takumi --- Arranged Marriage AU

Word Count: 2382

Summary: Regardless of what may come, Takumi knew that going through with this marriage was the best option for Hoshido. He would get used to Nohr and King Xander in time, he would have to, otherwise it would all fall apart at the seams.

A/N: I've had this first chapter sitting in my docs for months now. Perhaps if I post it I'll finally sit down and finish the next one. (I'll finish this fic even if it kills me I swear.)

Also, why not follow me on my twitter? Collect me on every platform to have me help put Fire Emblem rarepairs on your feed

Takumi had to remind himself over and over again as his carriage pulled him through the heart of Nohr why he was doing this. Why he was allowing himself to be whisked away to a bleak country and live under dark skies and clouds for the rest of his life. A political marriage is not something anyone wishes for, but it was his duty as a prince of Hoshido to do whatever was needed for his home.

It was clear that by the end of the war a marriage would be an extra facet needed to help cement the bonds between Hoshido and Nohr. Even if the two sides of Corrin’s army had come to a mild peace the rest of their countries still had heavy wounds to heal. Who better a choice for Nohr’s half of the marriage than King Xander himself?

When it came to Hoshido’s side however, it was a bit more difficult. Even if Ryoma hadn’t married during the war, acting for once on emotions rather than bleak rationale, wedding two kings together would be a dangerous arrangement. There was too much risk of tempted foul play and over-exerting power. So that left Takumi and his siblings to take up the empty role.

Hinoka was the first in line to be the marriage candidate and almost was for a short time. However, before the deal could be arranged Takumi had volunteered on impulse. Nothing about the prospect of marriage in Nohr thrilled him but it was no hidden fact that Hinoka only had eyes for women and the battlefield. It was only kind to spare her of a marriage keeping her trapped in Nohr, and Takumi wasn't going to try and pin it off on Sakura. It was a fair deal that the available sibling who was already dedicating himself to politics marry for it as well.

Even if the betrothal meant leaving his family and home for a make-shift Nohrian one. He would have to adjust eventually, right?

The journey to Castle Krakenburg was a slow process but Takumi wasn't going to cry about being a day or two late. Glancing across the small carriage he rode in, he watched his retainers doze together. He was grateful he could take them with him at least. Takumi didn't exactly have many close friends even at home, and that number was only going to drop while in Nohr. Everything about the situation seemed a little less bleak with his retainers there by his side though.

His wedding to King Xander would take place in two weeks once he arrived, and from then on Takumi would be officially tied to Nohr. There would be a ceremony in Hoshido a month or so later to celebrate his marriage, but after that he had no idea when he would see his home again. He could probably search out reasons to have to travel back there from time to time…

Takumi looked out the carriage window at the clouded sky. He would have to read up more on Nohrian weather and climate. Surely everyone was exaggerating over how little raw sunlight they get? He knew of the country’s barren lands but he couldn’t see how people could survive in a place of near-constant darkness.

A yawn caught his attention and Takumi turned his head to see Oboro stretching in her seat.

“Comfortable?” Takumi asked, leaning back against the carriage wall.

“Upright isn’t my favorite sleeping position, but it could be worse,” she responded. “Want me to ask someone how much farther, milord?”

Takumi tilted his head to look out the window at an angle, trying to see ahead of them. “No, it's fine. I think I see looming walls so Windmire can’t be that far off.”

Oboro huffed, folding her arms. “Everything looks the same to me. Nohr isn't what I’d call the most colorful place.”

“Perhaps inside the walls it’ll be a bit more lively. It can’t all be so… dark.” Takumi paused, watching Oboro for a moment before turning his eyes back out. “You didn't need to stay in my service. I know Nohr holds no good memories for you, and even if you say most of your hatred has healed... I had offered to let you go before we left for a reason.”

“My answer is still the same as then, milord.” Oboro gave him a weary smile. “Even if Nohr is still- unfavorable, I still swore to be your retainer. And there's… good people here. Even if it’s difficult to remember at times, there are.” Her smile grew brighter. “Besides, if I let just Hinata protect you you'll surely wind up hurt.”

Takumi huffed a small laugh. “I do feel better having you both here, that's for certain…”

A short silence passed between them before Oboro spoke up. “Are you nervous?”

“Depends, nervous over what?” Takumi kept his voice guarded and even. It would do no good to let his retainer know he was anxious over almost everything about the situation.

“Your marriage,” Oboro said. “King Xander isn't exactly a… Well, he doesn’t seem the most personable man, milord.”

“Well it's good I'm not marrying him for personality, now am I?” Takumi said, evading the question. He didn’t bother on rebuking Oboro’s casual comments either. When they were alone, it was nice to just be friends. “He's at least just and cares for his country, I've been in enough war councils with him to know that. There's worse people I could end up marrying.”

Oboro stared at him, visibly trying to sift through his words. “I suppose you're right, milord, I apologize for bringing it up. Hopefully your marriage will be a peaceful one.”

Takumi nodded, dropping the conversation as fast as he could. The less discussion he had over his future wedlock the better. He much preferred to just ignore it until he couldn’t anymore.

It was getting easier to tell from the angle of his window that it was indeed Windmire they were headed towards. He could only guess how much longer until they reached the castle deep inside, but at least they were starting to see something that wasn't jagged land and distant, thick forest.

Takumi got to his feet, pushing open the carriage door a bit as he glanced over at Oboro. “I'm going to see how much longer. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Takumi supposed if there was one good thing to come about Nohr lacking the sun, it was that he wasn't blinded every time he stepped outside. He set a brisk pace towards the front of the line, searching for where Xander’s retainer, Laslow, was riding. He was a personal escort sent with the other  servants to help guide him safely to Nohr, and was at least a somewhat familiar face.

Spying him, Takumi hurried over. “Laslow, how much longer until we reach Windmire?”

Laslow hummed from atop his horse, a light smile on his face. “About two hours or less left I'd say. It’ll probably be late evening by that point.” Gods, it was already the afternoon? How was he supposed to tell time when he couldn’t see anything in the sky? “Growing restless, milord?”

“You could say that,” Takumi mumbled. “Any space becomes cramped after a while.”

“Well, once we reach the castle I'm sure you're legs will be in good use as you’re dragged around constantly. Two weeks isn't very long to help get you ready for the wedding.”

“I'm sure it'll be a nightmare but it's for the best.” Takumi bit back a sigh. Showing anything below neutrality wouldn’t do him any favors in the long run.

Laslow flashed what seemed almost like a sympathetic smile, biting his lip for a moment. “I’m... not originally from Nohr either, you know. Once you get used to the place though it really isn’t that bad. There’s just a bit of an adjustment period.”

Beyond talking about the wedding directly Takumi didn’t want this kind of conversation in the slightest. He didn't need pity shoved onto him, forced reassurance about how he would get used to this. He was well aware that time fixed most things - it didn’t mean he had to enjoy the process.

“I’m sure I’ll get used to it, I hope at least.” Takumi waved in farewell, trying to escape quickly before he could say anything else. “Thank you, Laslow. Uh, I’ll be heading back now.”

Despite leaving Laslow to carry them onwards, Takumi took his time walking back to his carriage. It did feel nice to stretch his legs after hours and hours of being cooped up. Running a hand through his hair, Takumi thought over how the weeks would pan out.

He would have to be fitted for clothes, first and foremost. Oboro, he was sure, would be fighting the whole time with the Nohrian seamstresses over what the final product would be. He would need lessons on certain dances, instructions on certain ceremonies. Laslow was right about two weeks being hardly enough time to ingrain another country’s traditions in him, but he would have to suffer through it.

After a few moments of walking alongside his carriage he stepped back in. Oboro was dozing once more, leaning against Hinata’s shoulder. With an inaudible sigh, Takumi curled up in a corner on his side to stare out the window. He supposed he could try to sleep the rest of the way there. He was grateful that the last few days of travel had kept his dreams peaceful, but it still didn’t stop him from sleeping as little as possible while in close quarters.

After a few hours and Takumi had managed to come back to the world of the waking, they had made their way deep into Windmire. He could see Castle Krakenburg looming up ahead, and it was only a few more minutes before everything stopped. Stretching, Takumi moved to leave the cramped carriage. As he stepped out, Laslow was already there, hand stretching to open the door himself. He took a step back, surprise flickering across his face but he covered it up with a smile.

“The other soldiers and servants can help your retainers move your things inside,” Laslow said. “Milord and the other royal siblings are waiting for you up front.”

And I'm sure a large amount of nobles hiding and watching as well, Takumi thought. Leo had told him before that the Nohrian court could be much more vicious than Hoshido’s. Especially back when concubines ran wild the Nohrian nobility was in complete shambles. Leo had said Xander planned to replace most of his advisors and keep the other lords in check, but Takumi knew you couldn't get rid of every watchful bird lurking around. If there was noble Hoshidans still itching for war, there had to be some here as well.

As Laslow and him walked side by side, Takumi kept his face as neutral as possible. He could see the Nohrian family standing a few yards away and while there wasn't too extreme of a respect issue here, especially with the younger siblings, he didn't want to already cause tension. Overly formal was better than accidentally impolite.

Elise, however, had little intention of being formal. She bounded up to Takumi, grabbing his hands with a broad smile. “Prince Takumi! I'm so glad you made it here safe!”

During the war, Takumi and Elise had made a begrudging friendship of sorts. Well, it was begrudging on his side. Even after losing a great deal of his prejudice against Nohr, Elise was still just too much sometimes for him. Leo wasn’t much better when he was running his mouth, but at least a good book would get him quiet for a bit. The two siblings exerted their energies in different ways but Takumi could still wind up with a headache from either of them.

Elise tugged him along towards the rest of the royals, a bounce in her step. Her happiness was contagious though and Takumi felt a small smile start to tug at his lips. Princess Camilla let out a short, tinkling laugh as they approached.

“Elise dear, no need to drag him here.” She gave Takumi a warm look. “Welcome to Nohr, Prince Takumi.”

“Thank you, Princess Camilla.” Takumi said. The joy infecting him from Elise ebbed away and an awkward, nervous feeling took it’s place. He was most likely imagining the eyes on him but he felt them all the same.

He gave Prince Leo a curt nod in greeting before growing stiff as Xander approached. He was half a head taller than him, if not more. His armor did nothing to make him seem smaller as he easily lorded over Takumi. Even after seeing him throughout the war being right next him, Xander was... intimidating at best. Takumi was not one to back away easily from just nerves though.

Xander’s eyes were dark and stressed but not unkind. He grabbed one of Takumi’s hands to lift it slightly, leaning down the rest of the way to press a small kiss to the back of it. Xander was almost bowing to him like this, and Takumi wondered if that was the point. The more he looked at the situation the more this felt practiced and rehearsed, which he supposed made sense. An act played for the watching birds. He wondered if Xander felt any of the discomfort Takumi did.

“Prince Takumi,” Xander said, lifting his head up slightly. “I welcome you to my home, which in time will be yours as well. I hope you find everything well accommodated for you.”

A cynical part of Takumi reared up, wanting to laugh at the thought. Nohr was probably as far as he could get from his real home. Still, he donned a gracious smile to flash at Xander. This was after all a duet and he couldn’t miss his lines.

“Thank you, King Xander, for your- warm receiving.” Takumi’s hand twitched in Xander’s. He urged to snatch it back, to simply be taken to his quarters and hide from prying eyes.

As if sensing his wants Xander dropped his hand and stood back up to his full height. Takumi was already growing sick of looking up. He hoped that annoyance wouldn't be a common feeling through the years.

[kingotabek]

Fic Tag-Game (alternately titled ‘20 fics i wrote that yall can read if ya wanna’)

List the first lines of your last 20 stories (or however many you have altogether). See if there are any patterns. Then, tag your favourite authors.

i was tagged by @boxwineconfession and i’m not sure when because I just saw it

and i’ll go ahead and tag: @seeyounextlevel @altisetsky @harryburger & anyone else who writes fic and follows me you can say i tagged you mmkay

   Like A Sun, It Burns - When Yuri was little his grandmother told him stories about how he would one day stumble upon the love of his life.The stories always featured him finding a soulmate, fantastical and fanciful, and when pressed for evidence of love being profoundly storybook in its nature, she’d always state her and Nikolai as proof.

The Feeling of Your Skin, Locked In My Head  -Victor loves when Yuuri’s tummy gets soft. Not just his tummy, but his thighs and his hips too. His skin is so smooth, and the tiny bit of added weight he gains in the off season makes him plush and malleable under Victor’s touch. The only issue is, Yuuri doesn’t see how great it is, how great he is, no matter what size.

Until - “How could you do this to me?”Yuri’s scarf feels like it’s tightening around his throat, but he doesn’t reach to loosen it. There’s a prickling breeze wrapping its way around him, and he barely feels it against his numb skin. 

A Journey To Love - “Pull over. Let me drive for a while.”Yuri shouts the words over the wind, and Otabek feels them vibrate against the back of his neck.

Raincheck -  “Do you love me?” Otabek asks the question to the open air of the living room, as he shuts the front door behind himself. He’s careful not to knock against it with any of the bags in his hands.

An Errant Spark -  Yuri tugs at the material of his black sleeved tunic, trying in vain to cover his shaking fingers with the fabric. The southern land’s winter climate isn’t a nightmare, but it sometimes feels like it. The lines of gel paint that coat his cheeks harden in the chill, masking his pale skin and making him unrecognizable.

With All My Tiger Stripes -  He hasn’t seen Otabek in a few weeks. When Yuri was sick Otabek had taken care of him for two solid days— before Yuri forced him to turn over care to Yuri’s grandpa so Otabek could go compete while Yuri was on ice-ban.

With Us Went The Sun - It’s one forty-five in the morning and the sky is bright. Not with stars or the lights of buildings rising through the night, but bright like day. Lit with shades of pale yellow like some forgotten painting; phosphorescent as it burns, and blinding.Otabek forces his stinging eyes away, and looks to Yuri.They’re standing in silence on a hill above the city. It’s not St. Petersburg, not Almaty, not home, but the last city they will ever see all the same.The dust begins to rise.

Someday, In This Morning Light -  The sun billows in through the cracked window in small fractures, color-skewed by the pale blue curtains wisp-ing ever so gently in the morning air that sneaks through. It casts little azure glints off of the master bed’s multi-patterned blanket, that shrouds it’s still sleeping occupant in mismatched lumps. There’s a wrinkled space on the left side that Otabek previously occupied, abandoning it’s warm in favor of making this morning’s breakfast—pancakes with tiny flecks of cut chocolate— not his personal favorite, but someone else’s.

Like The Ache Of Life - Victor lives a life of aching limbs, high spins, and blades against ice.He’s trapped.

With Friends Like These - Birthday cakes with black icing should not exist, and Kakashi really needs better comrades.He really wishes there was no correlation between those two things, but unfortunately they go hand in hand. He’s currently standing in his shower with his clothes on and his mask sticking wetly to his cheeks. He watches the water run a nasty green-blue-black color as it swirls down the drain at his feet. Gross.

Even Tigers Ain't Always Tough -  Otabek senses it almost as soon as he actually touches Yuri. The fact that something isn’t quite right rolls over him in a wave. His hands feel like they’re burning where they grasp Yuri’s wrists, and Yuri’s breathing is a bit more ragged than usual. Considering their current positioning, he’d normally write it off as being due to exhaustion on Yuri’s part, or overexcitement. But even under the circumstances something seems off.

A Tiger Likes A Tight Leash -  Yuri Plisetsky doesn’t like authority, he never has. He’s always associated weakness with being easily bossed around and controlled (much to the dismay of several coaches).  It’s a principle rule, he’s somehow etched into his entire being, that no one should be able to tell him what to do without him at least pushing back first.

How To Tame A Tiger (You Don't) -  Otabek is perfectly content to allow Yuri to pout for a while.

Teasing A Tiger -  They are watching Izla Ivanovich practice her positively brutal routine, as they wait for the rink. Her red hair contrasting against her green shirt is somewhat whimsical looking. It’s very out of place when compared to the rest of her; a tall mass of competitive drive and solid muscle.

Bitter Birthdays -  Kakashi isn’t hiding...not really. He’s just not going outside today, or letting anyone know he’s home. He’s also definitely not being childish, no matter what Sakura says. He can’t be childish... he’s not a child. As of today he’s a 35 year old adult male

Trust In The Terrors That Wake -  Kakashi awakens in a cold sweat. His chest is heaving; his throat burns as though he’s been screaming and he can’t make his one opened eye focus. He’s aware of strong hands on his shoulders holding him down and every instinct in his body is screaming at him to fight; to kill.

Let's Embrace The Point - Sakura is an adult. She’s a trained medical nin, and one of the strongest people in her village. She. Can. Handle. This. Except…she isn’t sure what this is, or what handling it implies.

(not yet published) Easy Tiger - Otabek stares at his phone screen. He needs to be boarding his plane, but Yuri’s words outlined by the little gray text bubbles are mildly distracting. 

(not yet published) Paint Me Wings, So I Can Fly - Heartbreak burns red like bright ink lines; running from the bruises on his collarbones to the curves of his fingertips. He’s in ruins, but that’s what he gets for constantly letting go of bits and pieces of himself; letting his love get strewn about and scattered by people he never should have trusted in the first place. People who are taking him apart on purpose; stealing the multi-patterned chunks of what makes him whole; what makes him, Yuri.

[thefacade-23]

In The Future

SASUSAKU WEEK: DAY THREE “Favorite quote” No other clan treasured love as much as Uchiha First attempt at posting a fanfic. Sorry for the late Day three. Accidentally closed app mid-writing two times (what am i doing). Arghh. To whoever reads this, thank you for the time! Please feel free to criticize, it’ll be helpful.

Blurb: After a forced two week leave, Sakura had a lot of time of in her hands But with not much to do, she naturally found herself thinking about him. However, her thoughts took another turn when she remembered the Uchiha’s ancestry and thought of a way to help Sasuke with his mission. After successfully finding the clan’s temple, she would learn what Tobirama means when he said those words.

Warning: You may find this a bit over the top but I hope I did the characters justice. Please don’t hesitate to butcher the writer.

Ah. It is really different when boredom strikes in. It can cause us to do impulsive things that we may or may not regret. And it is starting to look like the former, Sakura muses. Where the hell is she? She checked her map for the nth time now and she was sure that the map points to here. Frustrated, she can’t help but look back on what landed her on her current predicament.

It was just yesterday when things were normal, though not by her definition of normal. Her normal is hectic, tiring, and insane, especially these past few weeks wherein she tackled opening a new clinic on the nearly remote village west of Konoha, taking on few serious cases, and all sorts of never ending reports. But she’s used to that and she loves it. But no, that’s not the normal she was talking about. It’s the kind where she’s lying spread eagle, surrounded by medical books in futile attempts to read and do something remotely similar to her job. But on a two- week forced leave imposed to her by the hokage himself who was urged by her concerned co-workers, including that traitor Ino (she’ll get her back later she swears), she doesn’t have much to do as she was banned from stepping foot on the hospital unless necessary. They thought she worked too hard. Sigh.

She was bored so she’s here in the library instead. She gave up reading at home because alone with her thoughts, she can’t help but remember him. Even now, while choosing books, the library’s atmosphere can’t change her focus. Then she thought about the great war, of what transpired his decision to journey alone.

Then it clicked her. If she remembered correctly, somebody had told her that the Uchihas descended from Hagoromo’s son, Indra, and considering how the clan values their blood line, it would be possible for them to have a temple or a place where their history is kept. It might help give Sasuke a lead on what he was looking for. Feeling excited, she started working.

After five days of alternating between the library and the village’s information research center, she finally had an address. What do you know, who knew being bored can be productive? It took another two days for her proposal to process, another for the go signal by what she suspected was an equally bored hokage who gave her an impressed, amused, and suspicious look, and after two days of travel, here she was, seemingly stuck nowhere. If she was an Uchiha (she stupidly blushed at that thought), what would be her best defense for a sacred place? She looked around the fog covered forest one more time to see any hint of entrance and for some reason, she keeps looking at her north. Then she noticed it. The fog was thickest at that area. She was right. It was genjutsu. She never had time to celebrate her easy success on releasing it as the fog revealed a tall, pale, bearded old man. He was wearing a white high collared robe which she was sure has the clan crest at the back, and in typical wise old man fashion, held a wooden staff on his right. She didn’t dare look at his eyes.

“What brings you here in the middle of nowhere my child?”

I could say the same to you she thought. “I am sure you know I am looking for the Uchiha clan’s temple, Oji-san.”

“It has been centuries since we had proper visitors. Follow me child.”

Sakura decided to trust him for now and remained alert of her surroundings. They quietly walked through the woods and she can’t help but feel a bit ominous as she noticed the scratches and the shurikens and kunais stuck on the trees. She placed her hand near her bag of weapons just in case she really needs to fight.

“Do you know the history of the temple, child?”

“Yes. I have read that the temple was built by the first Uchihas to celebrate their clan and their ancestor, Indra Ootsutsuki. However it was said that the third generation received a prophecy from a passing by oracle known for his accurateness. It was said that the clan would face a downfall in the future and the terrified clan heads have agreed that the Uchihas must strengthen their bloodline and make it as pure as possible. If a member of the clan desires to marry outside the clan, the candidate must either be of good bloodline or they must pass the initiation on the temple, and only then would they be accepted.”

“That is right. The Uchihas are a proud clan. Even with the power they already hold, they still strived to get stronger. I am sure you noticed those marks on the trees. Those are evidences of how much people want to be a part of them at that time. Every candidate underwent three tests. First is their physical and fighting prowess, if their techniques or jutsus were worth passing on. Second is intelligence, and the third is the hardest and only few had passed that. Almost exactly like a shinobi exam.”

“It was. But what do you mean about proper visitors?”

“Ah. There are those who tried to force their way in the temple thinking it holds a secret to power.”

Sakura then started throwing multiple kunais in different directions.

“Just like these?”

“Just like those.”

She automatically went to defend the man and make a quick work of the intruders.

“Mind if I shake the ground a bit?”

“Go ahead.”

Done.

“Impressive, child.” She just smiled to that, but realized her mistake.

A quick sword attack came at her from nowhere which she fortunately had dodged. However, upon seeing the face of her attacker, she felt like her heart leapt out of her chest.

It was Sasuke.

Of course, she was surprised and happy to see that face, after all, she missed him terribly she felt like she was hallucinating. Well, of course she was, as she realized it was genjutsu after all. She accidentally looked at the man’s eyes.

“Here is your last test, child. The sharingan are eyes that reflects the heart. I have seen that the biggest decision you ever made in your life was to kill this Uchiha. Would you do it this time? Or would you choose to protect others even if it means killing him? Many of the candidates fail to be recognized when they realize the extent of the power of the sharingan. More than physical wounds, seeing one’s deepest fears come to life is more than enough to break a person’s heart and mind. Trust is broken.It is when love turns to hate which is even harder to cure. It is also a glimpse of what you would carry on your shoulders as an Uchiha. It is generations of dirtied hands in exchange of a pure, powerful bloodline. Would you be willing to accept it all child-”

Illusion Sasuke’s sword flew away as Sakura protected the man from their attacks.

“Oji-san. I do admit that it was the worst decision I’ve ever made. But I didn’t regret it at all. It is because I did it that I knew that we can’t save him. He needed a chance to save himself first. He needed to find himself again. And I am alive, doing things that I love, and that ultimately makes it one of my best ever decisions. I needed to trust him as well. He’s seeing the light finally and he started to do things for himself, and I am terribly happy for him. Whatever he did in the past and whatever he decides to do in the future, I’ll accept them all. He knows how much we love him and we are here if he ever gets lost again. I for one, will never hold back. I will never again try to kill him and myself. I’ve seen enough sad and angry tears to last a lifetime and all I’ll accept are happy ones. But I’ll make sure to break two or ten bones if necessary, just like this.” And released the genjutsu with a powerful punch. “No amount of powerful genjutsu can ever compare to the real thing. By the way he’s going right now, it’ll be ten years before he misbehave again. I’ll be ready that time.”

The old man happily laughed and led her to the temple. Indeed it contains carved pictures on walls, statues, scriptures, and a whole lot of other stuff. With the old man’s permission, she took pictures for the research center in exchange for their help. She felt like she learned a whole lot about Sasuke, and Uchihas in general, not only history wise. At the exit of the temple were carved names of couples who have been united there. She noticed a small carving written in another scripture.

“Ah. It has been a long time since I have seen this. It simply means ‘No other clan treasured love as much as the Uchiha”. It was written by the sister of the third generation head. As you know the clan had been given a terrible prophecy which is why they started this trials. She loved her family and never defied them. She especially adored her older brother and supported him with all her heart. Her only fault was she had loved an ordinary man her brother disapproved. He long for her to marry another Uchiha or at least a man from a good bloodline but she was determined. The young man was was promising and had passed the first trials but he failed the last. He was emotionally traumatized from seeing his family tortured and killed in front of him. The biased brother took advantage of this of course and casted a very cruel genjutsu. It was his past but it included his lover as well. He couldn’t take it and killed himself in real life. This devastated his sister. Her hate awakened a different power and trapped her brother’s consciousness with the fog barrier you’ve seen at the expense of her life. She wrote this at her last breath.“ ”….I think she must have really loved her brother even till the end.“ “How can you say?” “She let him protect the clan he loved so much. Though I would say forever is a bit too much, but still.” The old man just smiled. “Congratulations on passing the trial, child.” She laughed. “I was never here for the trials though. I was expecting the temple to be abandoned because people thought it was just a legend.” “That’s probably true. Because Uchihas became hungrier and hungrier for power, people coming here gradually decreased. They have decided to close off themselves. With this, it makes the sister’s deed a curse.” “That’s true as well. But giving them a chance to change for the better even through a drastic way is a form of love as well, I guess.” “I am impressed, child. The boy did say you didn’t need to but I need to see for myself.” Sakura was baffled. “Wha-” “The Uchiha heir was here a while ago and investigated the temple. We had an interesting conversation. He told me what happened with the clan and it is ironic that it is because of our efforts that the clan met its downfall. But I’m not worried about it now. This is his time.” “Wait! S-sasuke was here?!” “Yes child. We do this to know if the chosen person is suitable for an Uchiha. The Uchiha presents the chosen candidate and shows their sincerity and desire to be with that person through their sharingan. If they found those emotions strong, only then would the trials start. Think of it as passing a proposal, waiting for it to be checked and processed, then being approved or discarded. Nobody can start an Uchiha trial without an Uchiha don’t you think?” “E-eh?! Then-” “He said to thank you for this information.” That’s why Kakashi sensei was smiling ominously. He was indeed bored. “And he said he’ll never doubt you in the future.” “What?” “Why, child, have you forgotten what this temple is for? There’s no other grander way to express love for an Uchiha than this one.” “S-s-shanarooooooo!!!” It was so loud that it was heard even on not distant villages where the said heir was. This gave birth to what we know today as the legendary smirk. Later… The old man kept thinking about the young pair. The heir was right. The girl was indeed talented despite being common birth. She was cautious from the start. She knows what she’s getting into. She’s almost resistant to genjutsu and definitely strong in all areas. From what he had seen, she’s a medic nin and a very good one. Most of all, she’s kind, loves purely but not naive, and understanding. Definitely a good match for an Uchiha. Speaking of the heir, he had met many who claimed success of their partners even without the trials, but his eyes have shown a different kind of confidence, he know she will succeed because it is her and not because she is well known for something like her bloodline. In fact, his eyes have shown a silent determination, which made him think that he didn’t even choose, he was set on her from the very start even if he was still unready to fully accept her love. He can’t help but remember his sister who used to be in the exact situation. He can’t help but think of his sister who have shown the same eyes and he truly regret of not ever granting her happiness. Maybe this was what she wants to tell him. Sharing true love in any form with another would be one’s salvation, just like how her love saved him , and just like how the girl and her friends had saved the heir. Maybe she did loved her brother till the very end just like the girl said, as he can now see how the Uchiha who has well and truly learned their lesson, would once again rise if these two would lead. They will make sure that if he ever meet another Uchiha in another decade or century, the only emotion he will see reflected on the sharingan will be real love. END

[jacksmusesdrv3]

Part of the usual interpretation of Ouma rigging the first two game sessions to draw is that he wanted to 'continue' them, until the end of course where 'Some games can be won by not playing'. Does it represent the continuity of the killing game?V1,V2 and V3? Or is it Ouma saying ' I will allow you 5 chances, you have x events left to figure things out'?

‘Some games can be won by not playing’

That’s one I used to subscribe to, though annoyingly the vague resolution (no thanks to our detective failing to pursue the matter) means that certain odd things he did - for one, the impromptu tea party costing Shuichi a chance - went into a great deal of obscurity along with Ouma’s entire intent. Which in itself is concerning owing to how roundabout Ouma is overall.

As for this, I’d say that ‘not playing the game’ - in context of participation in killing games - is a motto that was implicitly given ingame, anyway. More to this…

If Ouma gave something as banal as this for his underlying cryptic message, it would be analogical to a message in the treasure chest saying ‘it’s the journey and friendships that count’ rather than presenting you with actual loot, considering Ouma’s intimate knowledge of things about and around the game situation, particularly Monokuma. And… put bluntly, Ouma evidently knows how Shuichi ticks well enough to know that he wouldn’t willingly ‘play the game’ anyway, so I don’t think he even has to convince him of something like that. There’s also the.. matter of Shuichi unwittingly contributing to Chapter 1′s situation and starting the game - by making an exploitable trap - which was a damning example of ‘playing into it’ while being unaware of the actions.

That’s not to say it’s an entirely bad message and it’s not completely out of place or anything, it’s more like it’s just the surface level of this situation, [like ‘fiction’ is merely the tip of the iceberg]. What’s more, Shuichi’s complacency being mirrored in the game’s true mode is a big red flag, like not doing anything about that part of the situation will… eventually lead him to hell. This much is heavily lampshaded by Kaede’s message to him before the trial, too.

And yeah, I’d say the latter of those things. The events were Shuichi’s chance of course; if Shuichi wanted to know things, and initiated contact for that, Ouma would of course give him a fighting chance considering he’s actually been pretty up-front with information at times (like Chapter 2), but naturally where it comes to his and the gamemaster’s agenda, he cannot be so straightforward, just like Sakura and Chiaki couldn’t be so forthright about their own situation. He has even less luck when Shuichi isn’t even taking him seriously enough to start with.

[arachcobra]

Naruto Episode 7, 8 and 9 Review

Enter the cowprint ninja and his boomerang blade of doom.

Review of Naruto Episode 7, 8 and 9: The Assassin of the Mist! The Oath of Pain! And Kakashi: Sharingan Warrior

ArachCobra

So we start out with our intrepid crew being rowed to the Land of Waves through the fog. We get some exposition about Gato, who's a very small colossal asshole and how he has broken the land. The Tazuna emotionally blackmails three teenagers and a grow man into risking their lives for him, despite the fact that they're only here because he lied in the first place. You're so sympathetic, Tazuna.

Yes, I know it's a joke. Doesn't make it funnier or any less dickish.

So then they arrive and start going through the forest, with Naruto scowling at Sasuke all the way, thinking about how cool he is and how he'll prove himself better. At this point, he's moments away from pulling his dick out and yelling: “LET'S MEASURE THEM!”

So then to prove how badass he is, Naruto runs ahead and stars attacking random shrubbery, just to prove how on guard he is.

You see, Naruto isn't very smart.

Then he almost murders a rabbit. He's so apologetic that he starts rubbing the rabbit all over himself. It's weird.

Then Kakashi realizes that the rabbit is white and must have been saved from winter to be used for substitution. Which raises some questions. Like, does ninjas have to prepare materials for substitution? If yes, does that mean Kakashi has a stack of logs somewhere? And if no, why would anyone bring a rabbit when there's probably a thousand less suspicious objects in a forest?

Then Zabuza throws his sword at them like a Frisbee. I have no idea how he manages, but it looks stupid. It slices into a tree and he just materializes on top of it so he can look all dramatic.

Now, before I continue, I actually do like Zabuza. I like his second outfit better than the cow-print and I do think his intro is silly. But as a villain, I like him. Unfortunately, Zabuza is a severe victim of being off-model these episodes. At one point, his torso is stretched, in another his pants have been pulled up to his nipples and in one shot, it looks like he broke his neck just so he could glare at our protagonists from under his armpit.

Anyway, Naruto takes one look at this guy who's build like four brick outhouses stacked together and made from pure muscle, wielding a sword that's bigger than he is and just goes: “Yeah, I can take him.”

You see, Naruto is a bit of an idiot.

Kakashi has to point out that no, he can't take Zabuza on and reveals his right eye. We are informed that its a sharingan. It apparently allows you to see very well. So the fighting begin and fog envelops the area.

Now, we're informed that Zabuza is the master of the silent kill technique. So of course, he start yapping about all the ways you can kill a man. The tension of it all gets to Sasuke, who's having a surprising moment of vulnerability. That ends with him wanting to kill himself. Yeah, maybe that's a tad bit too vulnerable. Anyway, it's okay, Kakashi comforts him.

Then Zabuza gets ready to kill them all.

But then Kakashi appears and kills Zabuza.

But it was just a water clone and Zabuza appears and kills Kakashi.

But it was just a water clone and Kakashi appears and stops Zabuza.

But it was just a water clone and Zabuza appears and kicks Kakashi in the stomach.

Then things get a little weird. I think what happens is that Kakashi, while being kicked in the lake, drops some caltrops. Zabuza then stops in front of them and spends some time talking about how Kakashi thought he could delay him with the caltrops, thus being delayed by the caltrops by talking about how the caltrops aren't delaying him. Then he backflips into the lake and catches Kakashi, who's spend all this time floating like a rubber duck, in a bubble.

Then he summons another water clone to attack the crew, which it does with gusto. Naruto tries to flee, but then sees his own bandaged hand and remember he swore to never give in, never surrender. And therefore, he has to fight the musclebound blademaster goliath that is Zabuza.

Point actually goes to Sasuke here. He also realizes they have to fight. But his reason is much smarter. That without Kakashi, Zabuza will just hunt them down and then kill them.

Sakura yells warning and occasionally she and Tazuna groans like they decided to spend their off-screen time vigorously banging each other.

Anyway, Naruto charges Zabuza and then gets the shit kicked out of him. But he got his headband back, so it's all cool.

Then he and Sasuke performs this actually pretty clever strategy. Naruto jumps him with some clones of his own, transforms into a giant shuriken, passes it to Sasuke, who throws both it and his own big shuriken(Not sure when he got one of those, but whatever), forcing Zabuza to catch one and jump over the other, only for Naruto to transform back and throw a kunai, so Zabuza has to let go of the prison and let Kakashi go free to avoid getting an impromptu lobotomy.

As I said, this is actually a very clever strategy that, for the most part, utilizes the skills we've seen and gives a believable way that the characters can outmatch Zabuza, without negating everything we know about Zabuza.

But here's the problem.

This entire combo relies on Naruto and Sasuke being so in sync that they can concoct and perform such a strategy without communicating.

Bull.

Fucking.

Shit.

Those two have shown nothing but scorn for each other so far. The most teamwork we've seen was in the bells test. There's no way they've fought enough together to be able to pull that off. And don't tell me their rivalry allows them this insight. They've barely interacted with each other. Maybe if they had fought with each other for years, I could buy it, but here, no way.

Anyway, Kakashi gets free and him and Zabuza attack each other simultaneously by spending half a minute chanting and then summoning water dragons to bite each other.

I'm unsure how that technique would be useful in battle, but okay.

Then they clash in melee. You'd expect this to be a tense battle where Kakashi would have to use all his acrobatic skills to avoid Zabuza's superior reach and power.

Instead, Kakashi blocks Zabuza's blade with his own dinky kunai and then they stand there pressing against each other while grunting. It's kinda lame to be honest.

Kakashi then wages a campaign of psychological terror against Zabuza and overwhelms him, smashing him through the forest with a water spout. It's actually pretty cool. But just as he's about to finish the swordsman off, he gets needled in the throat. The swordsman, that is.

A masked ninja shows up and says he's been hunting Zabuza for going rogue.

And then Naruto gets super pissed that someone that young could be that much more powerful and skilled than him, yelling about why are they there and that they don't know anything. Rarely is Naruto this much on point.

And then Kakashi faints.

All in all, an enjoyable battle with some issues. Sakura feels completely superfluous, but I suppose somebody did have to guard Tazuna, just in case.

Givenea

Let’s just start at the beginning of episode 7, shall we. The gang is in a boat on the final stretch of the journey to the Land of Waves, and Tazuna finally comes clean about everything, from his reason for lying about the assignment to just how much danger they will be in. This is where Kakashi actually sounds like the leader of the inexperienced team he has, as he contemplates if they can handle it.

BUT FORGET ABOUT THAT, before anything can come of this, can even be properly discussed, Tazuna guilts them into continuing by saying his family will be sad if he dies. Then he turns to the camera, holds up two fingers, sends us the most shit-eating grin and proclaims “I win” in an almost singsong voice.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS ASSHOLE???!!!

Anyway… once ashore, they run into the terrifying rogue-ninja Zabuza Momoji, who traps Kakashi in a bubble, forcing Naruto and Sasuke to enact a daring and complicated plan to save him, while Sakura… does her job and protects their client???

Okay, I’m just gonna put this here… SAKURA NEEDS TO BE UTILIZED MORE! SHE NEEDS SOMETHING TO DO!

Anyway, Naruto’s plan involves him attacking Zabuza, then making a bunch of clones and attacking again, to disguise that he has turned into a giant shuriken, which one of his clone tosses to Sasuke, who pairs it with his own giant shuriken (PS. He has one of those) and tosses both at Zabuza who catches one and jumps over the other. But uh-oh, the second shuriken was Naruto, who now transform back and throws a kunai at Zabuza’s face, forcing him to let go of the bubbled Kakashi, who breaks free.

Naruto then explain that the purpose of the plan was always to free Kakashi and that he only had to toss the Naruto-shuriken at Sasuke for him to be completely in on everything.

Sakura then declares Naruto and Sasuke the perfect team.

And… I don’t buy it… Nope… Not even for a second… Na-ah…

Naruto and Sasuke has up to this point never communicated really. Naruto has whined that Sasuke is too cool for him to keep up with and thrown a few insults. Sasuke has ignored Naruto, aside from a few times where he has mocked him.

So, I don’t believe, not even the tiniest little bit, that they are capable of this level of understanding and teamwork.

This scene comes too early for that. If this was the season finale and we had seen them train and grow and learn together for some 20 episodes, seen them develop a begrudging respect, as they fought together and got used to each other’s different strategies and fighting styles, then sure.

Here… It’s just stupid, go back to square one and try again.

Fluttersniper13

There was the boatman who said he couldn't take them all the way, but he clearly almost did and then the forest of boredom, and then Zabuza show up with his boomerang blade of doom. And his amazing silent kill technique of never shutting the fuck up and taking way too fucking long to do anything. Sakura is useless, Naruto is useless, Sasuke is useless. Tazuna just stand their gormless and Kakashi look like he wants to be anywhere but here. Then dragons out of nowhere, tsunami and needle to the throat. Naruto says some stupid shit and Kakashi decides to take a nap. The end.

Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13125294/6/Naruto-Rewrite-1-Road-to-Ninja